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haddonfieldwhore · 4 months

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winter things - matthew tkachuk

matthew tkachuk x gn!reader

summary: your best friend matthew brings you home to celebrate the holidays with his family. their only christmas wish is for the two of you to finally get together

warnings: mentions of drinking, use of y/n like twice? (this is my first time including the whole tkachuk fam in a fic and i’m not super confident with it so please take it easy on me)

i hope you all enjoy the fic! happy holidays🌲♥️❄️

word count: 2.8k

you smiled at the familiar house that came into view as matthew pulled the car into the driveway. you had spent so much time here growing up with the tkachuks that it was almost a second home, welcoming you back with open arms as you stepped out of the car, a thin crust of snow crunching beneath your boots. matthew sniffled as he walked up the driveway next to you, and you laughed, watching as he struggled to carry all of the gifts that he insisted to bring all in one trip from the car.

“calm down, florida. it’s not that cold,” you laughed, careful not to drop the tin of christmas cookies your mitten covered hands held tightly. you and matthew had traveled from the sunshine-state to st.louis, where you had grown up together. whenever you came back to visit, despite all the years he spent living in calgary, it always took him a day to get used to the snow again.

“shut up,” he pouted, but even he couldn’t contain the smile that spread across his lips. even with his hands full of gifts, matthew held the outside door for you, and before you could even raise a hand to knock the inside door opened, revealing taryns smiling face.

“hey! took you guys long enough to get here,” she laughed, and matt sent her a mocking glare. “let me take that from you”, she offered, grabbing the cookie tin from your hands as you and matthew walked inside. you shook off the light dusting of snow that had gathered on your shoulders, before you felt matthews hands slide your jacket off your arms, hanging it up in the closet for you. keith stood up from the couch and walked over to greet the two of you as you dusted a few snowflakes out of matt’s hair. keith embraced his eldest son in a hug, which matthew happily returned, before he gave you one as well.

“we almost thought you two weren’t coming. did matthew forget how to drive in snow?” keith asked, causing you and taryn to laugh, and matthew to roll his eyes.

“i haven’t been here 2 minutes and that’s two florida jokes,” he raised his hands in disbelief.

“i didn’t hear dad say that word, did you?” taryn asked you, and you shook your head, and matthew narrowed his eyes at you playfully.

“why is avery one ganging up on me?” he asked, and you heard the thump of footsteps coming down the stairs behind him, as brady and his wife emma appeared.

“that’s what happens when you show up late, buddy,” the younger tkachuk brother teased, and matthew grabbed him in a headlock in response, but it quickly turned into a friendly hug.

“y/n got here at the same time as me,” matt argued, and you raised your hands in mock surrender, as chantal walked into the living room to see what all the commotion was.

“we don’t pick on our guests, that’s the rule. it’s so nice to see you!” she smiled, and gave you a warm hug.

“mom!” matt protested, and she walked over to hug him too.

“oh, relax. come here,” she pulled him into her arms.

taryn brought you into the kitchen, and after each of you washed your hands, she helped you take the cookies out of the tin and put them out into a festive plate.

“have you been home from school very long?” you asked, and taryn shook her head.

“just a few days. how was the drive from the airport?” she asked.

“it was pretty good,” you said. there wasn’t too much snow this year so driving conditions were good. “my driver wasn’t great, but he was cheap so i can’t complain-“ you teased as matthew walked into the kitchen and within earshot.

“i heard that,” he smiled.

“good,” you smiled back, scrunching your nose up as he stuck his tongue out at you.

“you two should take your bags upstairs to matthews room. there’s a little early christmas present for each of you up there,” chantal instructed, and you smiled, laughing as matthew stole a cookie off the plate on his way past. you followed after him, protesting as he grabbed both his bag and yours from by the front door, before heading up the stairs.

you knew this house like the back of your hand, and you smiled as the familiar scent of the tkachuk family home mixing with the smell of christmas cooking and baking filling your nose. you turned the corner and saw matt already sitting in his bed, your bags placed on the floor neatly as he read the tags on two gift bags that sat next to him on the bed.

“this one is for you,” he said, holding out the green gift bag to you, keeping the red one for himself. you opened them together, each pulling out flannel pyjama pants, yours green with a plaid pattern and his red, just like the bags had been. it had become a tradition for chantal and keith to buy christmas pyjamas for each of their kids every year, and then for emma as well, and you felt honoured each time you were included.

“we get to match this year,” he smiled, and you set the pants on top of your bag to wear later, and looked around matthews room. while his decorating had changed since you were younger, there were things that remained the same; the small dent in the ceiling from when matthew and brady had decided to play hockey inside and sent a puck flying up into the plaster. there were pencil marks on the door frame with the three siblings initials next to them, even a few with yours.

you walked over to desk and admired the bulletin board with pictures push-pinned to it, most of them containing the two of you, ranging from when you were kids until last time you had visited his parents with him for his birthday a few years ago.

“is it weird being back here?” matthew asked, coming over to look at the pictures with you. his hand rested half on top of your as you leaned on the desk, and you smiled, shaking your head.

“no,” you answered. “it kinda takes you back in time though, doesn’t it? like nothings changed?” you asked, and he turned his head to look at you.

“yeah. i feel like i’m a kid again whenever i’m here with everyone.”

“thank you for inviting me,” you leaned against his shoulder, and you felt him rest his head on yours.

“of course. it wouldn’t be the same without you here,” he replied, and you hummed contently in response.

“hey, dinners almost ready,” you heard taryn’s voice from the doorway, neither of you having noticed her come up the stairs to find you. you turned towards her, a smile on her face as she looked at you and matthew standing together. it had come up a few times between her and matt’s family if the two of you were ever going to realize you were in love with eachother, and as the years went by, taryn was convinced the two of you would never figure it out.

“okay, we’ll be right there,” matthews arm had snaked around your waist at some point, and he pushed you towards the door after taryn, following his younger sister downstairs to eat.

-🧣🧦🌲❄️-

after dinner, keith and chantal watched as ‘the kids’, meaning the three tkachuk siblings along with you and emma, decorated the tree. the lights had already been strung a few weeks before, but it was a family tradition to hang the ornaments on christmas eve. chantel had requested everyone get changed into their pyjamas for pictures, and you noticed that the pattern on brady and emma’s matched, as well as hers and keith’s having a matching design. still, neither you or your best friend figured out that they were in fact meant to be couples pyjamas.

“this one’s yours, brady,” matthew said, handing his brother an ornament with his name on it.

“what movie are we thinking this year?” keith asked from his recliner, holding a few dvds in his hand. “home alone, the grinch, elf…”

“i like home alone,” emma offered, and brady and taryn agreed.

“any of those are fine with me,” you smiled, choosing an ornament and hanging it on the tree.

“sweetheart, why don’t you put the star on the tree this year,” chantal suggested, passing you the tree topper. “you’re the guest after all.”

“are you sure?” you asked, and she nodded with a warm smile. carefully, you stepped up onto the small wooden stool next to the tree so you could reach the top, and you were relieved to feel matthews hands on your waist, gently steadying you so you wouldn’t fall. keith looked at chantal with a knowing glance, watching matt take your hand to help you down from the stool after you had successfully placed the star on top of the tree.

“okay, i want a picture of all you kids by the tree, while it’s still snowing outside. it will look really pretty in the window behind everyone,” chantal said, getting her phone camera ready.

taryn stood in the middle, while brady had one arm over her shoulder and the other arm holding emma close to his side. matt stood behind you with his arms hugging you and his chin on your shoulder as you all smiled for the photo. you and emma made the siblings and their parents take a photo together as well, before taryn put the movie in, home alone winning the vote. keith was sat in his recliner, while taryn and chantal sat on the loveseat. emma and brady sat on one end of the large couch while you sat in the middle of it and matthew leaned against the armrest at the other end.

maybe it was the flight from florida, or the spiked eggnog you’d had after dinner, but you began to feel sleepy about an hour in to the movie, and tried not to make it too obvious that you were yawning as not to be rude. matthew still noticed however, and he gently placed a blanket over your legs, stealing some of it for himself as you curled up under the warm material. while you appreciated the gesture, the added warmth only made you more tired, and you soon drifted off, matthew catching your head just in time as it fell to the side. he rested it safely in his shoulder, and smiled down at you as you snuggled into him.

emma elbowed brady in the side gently, pointing at the two of you, completely in your own little world. chantal glanced over, her eyes meeting emma’s with a quiet laugh before she watched her eldest son place a gentle kiss on the top of your head, oblivious to the two women watching him. the movie ended with you still fast asleep, and as it neared midnight, everyone said goodnight and went off to bed, leaving you and matthew alone on the couch.

“hey, sleepyhead. time to get up,” he shook you gently, and you mumbled incoherently in protest, your fingers digging into the material of his hoodie as you snuggled impossibly closer. “unless you want to sleep down here, but i warn you - dad wakes up at like 6 am,” he laughed, and the sound pulled you out of your slumber.

“why didn’t you wake me up sooner? i feel bad for falling asleep.”

“don’t feel bad,” he laughed again. “you could probably set the house on fire and my family would forgive you, they love you so much. but maybe don’t- i kinda like it here,” he teased.

“i promise not to set the house on fire,” you mocked him playfully, and his hands tickled your ribs, causing you to fall backwards onto the couch with him on top of you. “please, i’m sorry, please stop-“ you pleased through tears of laughter.

“fine, but only because it’s christmas and you asked nicely. lets go up to bed, mom will want us up early to open presents,” he surrendered, getting up off the couch and extending a hand to help you up.

matthew didn’t let go of your hand as you both walked into his room, only letting go of it to go into the attached bathroom to brush his teeth. you did the same after him, walking out to see him already under the blankets.

“come here,” he held his arms open for you to crawl into, his hoodie discarded in a pile on the floor, leaving him in just the flannel pyjama pants. it wasn’t an unusual sleeping arrangement; having shared a bed with him many times when you were kids, and anytime you came to visit his family. you switched off the bathroom light and laid down, curling up next to him as his arms pulled you close, tucking you securely under his chin. the soft facial hair on his chin tickled your forehead as you wrapped your arms around him, his body invitingly warm as you felt yourself getting sleepy again.

matt squinted his eyes, looking at the clock on the nightstand that read 12:03am.

“merry christmas, bug,” he mumbled softly, and you hummed in response.

“merry christmas matty.”

-🧣🧦🌲❄️-

you woke up to the sound of the alarm matthew had set on his phone going off at 8am, the time chantal had requested everyone be up for presents and then breakfast. you tried to get out of bed but matt refused to let go of you, his arms holding you tight as you tried to squirm out of his grip.

“come on, before brady eats all the cookies,” you argued, and that woke matt up, but he still grumbled and groaned as he finally let you of you and rolled out of bed. he pulled a t-shirt over his head, tossing you one from his dresser to throw over your tank-top. running a hand through his messy curls to tame them as best he could, and you rubbed your eyes as you followed him towards the hallway. you bumped into his muscular frame, not realizing he had stopped in the doorway, and you looked at him with confusion, realization flooding over you as he pointed upwards.

“oh-“ you breathed, looking at the small green bundle of mistletoe that had been hung from the doorframe while you were sleeping.

“that wasn’t there before, was it?” matt asked, looking down at you, and you shook your head, your eyes meeting his.

“why would someone hang it there?” you asked, and he laughed, finally getting it.

“i think maybe my family is trying to tell us something,” he said, reaching for your hand with his.

“matty-“ you mumbled, your voice barely above a whisper as you looked at your lips, and then up to your eyes again.

“can i kiss you?” he whispered, stepping closer in the small doorway, leaving almost no space between your bodies. you mind was racing a mile a minute, unable to form words as you nodded, and he leaned forward, pressing his mouth against yours so softly, his lips only ghosting yours before he pulled back, waiting for a reaction.

“do that again,” you smiled, and his hands went to your hips this time to pull your body flush against his, as he kissed you again. his lips lingered on yours longer this time, and your hands rested against his broad chest as you kissed him back, never wanting to let go.

like all good things, the moment had to end, as you heard taryn call from downstairs.

“are you guys awake?”

“yeah, be right there,” matt called back, his eyes never leaving you as you stared up at him, everything making sense as you both put the pieces together.

“i love you, matthew.”

he smiled warmly, and kissed you once more, like he was making up for all the times he should have done it before.

“i love you.”

“i think we’re the last to know,” you admitted, looking down at the matching pyjamas, and up at the mistletoe, before looking back at him, a smile permanently plastered on his face.

“i think you’re right,” he laughed. “come on, before they send a search party.” he dragged you gently by your hand down the stairs, taking a seat on the couch and pulling you to sit in his lap.

taryn and chantal each looked at you with a raised eyebrow, and you had a sneaking suspicion they were behind the mistletoe. taryn watched matty place a kiss on your cheek, and she sent you a wink.

maybe it was the warmth from the fireplace, or matthews arms around your waist holding you close to him, but your heart felt warmer than you could ever remember. brady and emma began passing out the gifts, and you took one for matt from her hands.

“you go first,” he said, gesturing with a nod for you to set it on the coffee table. emma placed a present with your name on the tag in your hands, as matthew whispered in your ear.

“i already have everything i want.”

disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned

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doc-pickles · 5 months

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waking up in vegas | matthew tkachuk x hughes!sister (pt.5)

series masterlist

summary: your families come to visit you and matthew in florida for christmas

warnings: none I think???

a/n: this is the definition of a filler chapter. it’s here solely so I can post my next chapter this weekend. enjoy!

xoxo

nina

“Y’know moving a week before Christmas wasn’t really my best idea,” you groan as you shuffle through your closet for what feels like the tenth time. “I can’t find what I’m looking for and at this point I’m not sure it even exists.”

It's two days before Christmas and Matthew’s family is in town to celebrate the holiday with the two of you. Your parents and Quinn are also coming, your other brothers stuck in New Jersey with a game to play tonight.

“What’re you looking for?”, Matthew calls from the hallway and you groan from inside your closet.

“A green and white sweater that doesn’t make me look like I ate a bowling ball for lunch,” you sigh as you flip through the racks of your closet. “God damn it!”

“Is it striped?”, Matthew asks.

“Yes! Did you see it?”

Matthew walks into your room with the aforementioned sweater in hand but freezes. It’s then that you realize you’re only wearing leggings and a sports bra, your now very obvious cleavage and baby bump on full display.

“Let me-“

“I’ll just-“

You reach out for the sweater just as he steps forward, your bodies bumping against each other. Matthew’s hand darts out to wrap around your waist, steadying you and unintentionally bringing you closer to him. Your eyes meet and the heat burning between you two is so tangible you can feel its flames licking your cheeks.

“Matty,” you whisper as one of his hands moves up to brush against your cheek. You lean into it,

the soft touch from his calloused hands stoking the fire burning in you. “You feel so-“

“Matthew! We’re here!”

Chantal’s voice douses the fire threatening to consume both of you. You take a step away from Matthew, taking the sweater from his hands and slipping it on quickly, “I just need a few minutes to get ready.”

Matthew nods, still staring at you. He shakes his head and walks out into the living room to greet his parents and siblings. As soon as your bedroom door closes you release a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You work on grounding yourself for a few minutes before heading into the living room, immediately hearing Chantal and Taryn shrieking.

“Look at you!” Chantal gasps as she takes in your small baby bump, hands moving to the swell. “Oh you’re practically glowing, sweet girl. Your mama is gonna die when she sees you!”

You blush under Chantal’s compliments, meeting Matthew’s eyes over her shoulder. His eyes are glued to you, a dopey smile on his face as he meets your eyes. His stare confirms one thing for you; the fire between you two is still burning bright.

Your parents and Quinn arrive and your mother spends the first 20 minutes fawning over you. Brady and Quinn get into an argument about fantasy hockey while Taryn and Emma watch them with amused smiles and rolling eyes. Matthew sticks close to your side, not letting you get much further than a few feet away before he’s right next to you again.

Dinner is easy, something you’d worried about for a few days. But the way Quinn and Matthew chirp lovingly at each other across the table puts you at ease.

After dinner is finished and the boys have done the dishes you all settle into the living room to watch the Devil's game. You find yourself squeezed in next to Matthew on the couch, his arm casually swung over your shoulder as you lean into him.

“Let’s see if Jack can score me a few points in fantasy,” Brady says, leaving him, Quinn, and Matthew to begin a conversation about their league.

As you all watch the game, a strange feeling makes its way across your stomach. Your brow furrows for only a moment before a dull pain jabs you in the side and you let out a groan.

“You okay?” Matthew whispers, trying not to draw attention to the two of you as he looks you over with concern.

“I’m fine just feels-,” you’re cut off when another jab comes from the same spot. A third jab is right behind it and your eyes widen in realization. “Oh my god.”

Before he can ask more questions you grab Matthew’s hand and place it on your bump. You wait for a moment before there’s a small kick against his hand. A grin forms on his face as Matthew lets out a loud laugh, attracting everyone’s attention.

“The baby just kicked for the first time,” you explain with a smile, laughing as nearly everyone runs over to place their hands on your belly. The baby, however, decides that they don’t like the attention and instantly stops.

When everyone returns to their seats you lean into Matthew, his arm curling around your shoulder as his lips brush your forehead. His hand remains on your bump the rest of the game, both of you staying curled up with each other.

After the Devils secure their win you all share dessert before your families are excusing themselves. Your parents are flying to Jersey tonight to see Luke and Jack while Quinn is heading back to Vancouver. The Tkachuks are heading to St. Louis in the morning, leaving you and Matthew to celebrate Christmas on your own before he leaves for an extended road trip the next day.

“Dinner was delicious, you did a great job,” Matthew’s voice is soft as he comes up behind you in the kitchen, boxing you in where you’re grabbing a mug from the cabinets. “Thank you.”

You turn in his hold, smiling up at him. You two are close, only a few inches separating your faces as you stare at each other, “You’re welcome, it was fun and I’m glad everyone could come down.”

Matthew’s breath fanned across your face, his fingers coming up to brush your cheek just like he had earlier. Your eyes fluttered closed, relishing the feeling.

“You look beautiful,” he whispers. “So pretty, especially carrying my baby. You’re glowing.”

The words have an instant effect on you, a sigh leaving your lips in contentment. You know your panties are damp without having to check, your second trimester hormones having your body on edge all the time.

“Matty…,” you whisper, eyes fluttering open as you meet his dark gaze. You’re both so close to breaking the tension between you and letting the fire burn. But there’s hesitation still and you know Matthew can see it in your eyes.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” he whispers as his lips brush your forehead softly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” you murmur as you watch Matthew disappear down the hall. When you hear his door click shut your head falls back against the cabinet and you let out a loud sigh. “Well… fuck…”

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk fanfic #matthew tkachuk fic #matthew tkachuk imagine #nhl fic #nhl imagine #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nina writes

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campbyler · 7 months

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ACSWY OFFICIAL LIVE TIMELINE

as one direction once said, "you and me got a whole lot of history (whoa)," so we thought that this timeline might be a useful reference for you (and us!) to keep track of mike, will & co.'s very loaded history within the acswy universe! this will be updated as more information is revealed -- that said, feel free to holler at us if you feel we've missed anything!

only significant months and/or dates will be highlighted. if a month is skipped, nothing significant happened and/or significance has not been revealed yet. if there is a timeframe, it means no set date has been determined, but the event happened within that ballpark.

timeline begins below the cut:

MAY

mike, will, lucas, and dustin's first year as campers; jonathan's first year as a jr. counselor; joyce's first year as camp nurse

JULY

steve (yellow cabin counselor) and jonathan get into a physical fight and end up in the isolation cabin together (referred to as the Isolation Cabin Incident of 2017)

AUGUST

mike and will share their first kiss with each other

SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER

will comes out to joyce and jonathan

jonathan and steve start dating

will and max become close friends at hawkins middle

JANUARY-APRIL

will comes out to max

hopper fosters el

chester, the byers family dog, passes away 💔

MAY-AUGUST

el and max's first year as campers; jonathan's first year as a counselor (blue cabin)

mike and will rivalry begins

canoe incident of 2018

mike and el begin dating

MAY-AUGUST

slime incident of 2019

mike and el break up

hopper and joyce start dating

steve and jonathan's last year at camp whiteman

SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER

hopper officially adopts el

MARCH-MAY

hopper and joyce brady bunch the shit out of el, will, and jonathan (home from nyu bc of the pandemic)

discord era

pasta sauce incident

JUNE-JULY

condensed version of camp (two weeks, monday-friday, daytime only)

mike, will, lucas, dustin, max, and el's first year as junior counselors

DECEMBER

18th: will starts dating derek, who is a year older than him

between christmas and new year's: mike comes out to will, lucas, dustin, max, and el as bisexual

JUNE-JULY

will and derek break up

mike is there for will during his break up

will pushes mike off the dock (but in a #fun and #chill way)

MAY

follow the sparks (i'll drive)

out of focus, eye to eye

mike, will, lucas, dustin, max, and el's first year as counselors

MAY-

events of a cruel summer with you begin

offscreen, during ch08: events of you know that i caught it

#acswy #acswy reference #timeline 1.0 #we've talked about everything on this timeline in at least a vague way. but there are some confirmations here that we hope you enjoy hehe

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thomasschabot · 3 months

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bet all i have on that furrowed brow

jakob chychrun x fem!oc

isobel has a workplace crush and healthy dose of loneliness that jakob is more than willing to cure

word count: 3.1k

warnings: mentions of spending the holidays alone, cursing, partial nudity, alcohol consumption

a/n: for @wyattjohnston 🩷 thank you so much for putting together yet another incredibly successful event, and for giving me the best gift of all - getting to write for you! i hope you enjoy x (we're just pretending hockey works like american football and the sens have a bye week over christmas okay? okay!) many wonderful thanks to @matthewtkachuk for singing my praises via text and fluffing up my ego

The string of days between Christmas and New Years always feels like purgatory. One holiday bleeds slowly into the next, and there’s a general consensus no one knows what day it is or how long it’s been since they ate something moderately healthy. For most it’s time well spent with family and friends, but for Isobel it’s a sentence to near solitary confinement. She has no family remotely close, few friends, and is much too stubborn to take up her co-workers’ invitations to join them on holiday getaways to ski chalets or sandy beaches. Isobel refuses to be more of an inconvenience than she already feels like she is, but it isn’t necessarily best for her mental health.

She spends as much time as possible at work, researching rising social media trends to present to the team and making sure all paperwork is up-to-date. The team will be able to start with their best foot forward in the new year, something Isobel is extremely proud of, and it keeps her going into the office even when she’d much prefer to stay in bed and wallow in the intense loneliness she feels. There isn’t a pressure to produce new deliverables, which is a slight stress relief. The analytics department isn’t needed as much with the bye week and most of the incoming reports can be run by Isobel alone. A number of years ago the NHL implemented bye weeks in addition to the all-star break, which allows each team to not have scheduled games during the regular season. This year Ottawa got lucky, with their break over the Christmas holidays, and players and support staff alike took the opportunity to get the hell out of the snowy capital.

As far as Isobel’s aware, very few members of the Senators organization stayed in the area. From social media she could see co-workers posting from almost every continent, enjoying all the world has to offer. Many roster players were in tropical destinations, hungry to get away from the ice and snow that ruled much of their daily lives. Claude Giroux has taken his family to the Caribbean and posts a rare snapshot of his young boys enjoying the water. Brady, ever the gracious captain, has taken what seems like half the team home with him to St. Louis in order to cheer on his sister’s university tournament being hosted in the same city. Only Jakob’s whereabouts are unknown, his absence from her life palpable, but Isobel’s sure he isn’t in Ottawa. Why would he be? There are a thousand different people and places vying for his attention, and one of them was sure to be the lucky winner.

It’s her most guarded secret, the fact that Isobel has an almost debilitating crush on who is technically a co-worker, but she’s also sure everyone has figured it out, even Jakob himself. Working with professional athletes means there’s a serious lack of personal boundaries, and one’s private life isn’t exactly private, no matter how well guarded they may be. The boys Isobel works with will stop at nothing short of blackmail to get information out of her, even if it’s only ever used for in-house teasing. No one has said anything yet, which she’s incredibly grateful for, but Isobel can’t help but think it’s the main topic of conversation when she’s not around.

The suburbs of Ottawa are desolate as Isobel winds through the streets to the Canadian Tire Centre. No car is on the road except her own, and there is only one in the parking lot when she pulls in. Badge in hand, Isobel treks up the steps and pulls open the large door at the back of the arena, one that isn’t used by anyone except members of the organization. Jamie, one of the building’s security guards, is face down in a book — it must have been his sedan parked beside her own sensible compact SUV.

“Isobel Walker,” he says, surprised to see another person. The offices were open upon a technicality in contracts that is now grandfathered in, but it’s likely Jamie hasn’t seen anyone since he started his shift. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready with friends? The New Year's festivities start in a few hours.”

Isobel shakes her head. “Just wanted to square away a few things before the weekend. Besides, it’s not like I have anything better to do. It’s just me this year.”

The attentive man doesn’t miss the sad downturn in her voice, or the longing for companionship in Isobel’s eyes. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll get invited somewhere.” Jamie sounds resolute in the statement, but she knows it must be easy for him to think when once his shift is over he’ll return home to a wife and kids. When Isobel is done putting in work there’ll be no one waiting at home.

The elevator dings then, signalling its availability to deliver a human to the floor where the data and analytics department is located. Isobel waves goodbye in an almost timid fashion, insisting she’ll take good care of herself and promising to at least look into doing something. Nothing will come of it, this she’s sure of, but a small white lie has never hurt anyone. In fact, Isobel deals almost exclusively in little white lies, whether it be to scouts who want to hear a specific player is doing bad so they feel less guilty about not advising the general manager to draft them or to teammates when they ask what she’s doing on the weekends. Telling Jamie one more won’t cause the world to fall apart. Isobel is sure of it.

Her cubicle is tucked just inside the glass doors that shelter the front office from the rest of the floor, but Isobel doesn't head there. Instead, she tiptoes through the space until the corkboard of Senators and their individual season stats is right in front of her. The photo of Jakob immediately catches her attention — not an official headshot but instead a picture from the charity gala last season — and Isobel notices it’s a cropped version of one she has on her desk. In the photo he’s posing with the analytics staff, goofy smile plastered on his face as he stands three people from Isobel. She also remembers that in the photo she’s not looking at the camera, but at him. Eventually she forces herself to stop looking at the gorgeous specimen that is Jakob Chychrun and accomplish what she intended to do. Taking one last look, Isobel places a distant memory that their eyes had locked seconds after the camera’s shutter went off.

⭑⭒⭑

It’s long past sunset when Isobel returns home, and there’s no sense trying to scramble downtown to an overcrowded bar. She hadn’t been planning on it anyways despite what she told the only person she’s interacted with in a week. Things at the office didn’t take long to complete, despite the frequent distraction of Jakob’s gorgeous portrait in the background, but Isobel couldn’t bring herself to return to her empty home. Since the conversation with Jamie in the lobby she’s been dreading the silence that would greet her when the door rocked on its hinges. Instead of immediately returning home, Isobel drives eastward towards more connected areas of the city and marvels at the tourists in town to ring in the new year surrounded by history. Each street sign passed amalgamated into a mushed series in her brain, and once she could no longer tell what was real or imaginary Isobel turned and headed for home.

As expected, the modest craftsman house Isobel occupies is dark and silent and lonely, as well as a million other words she can’t think of to encapsulate how isolated she feels. If she had been thinking clearly Isobel would have picked up take out on the drive back, but she wasn't in a completely sound frame of mind, therefore being resigned to heating up three day old broccoli pasta and drinking room temperature beer. She can’t even be bothered to change into comfortable clothing, instead throwing her blouse and slacks over the back of a dining room chair seconds before crashing onto the worn leather sofa inherited from a college roommate nearly a decade ago but that she can’t seem to get rid of.

The television turns on at the press of a button, and Isobel briefly watches the sports highlights for updates on potential trade targets before deciding she’s done more than enough work for the day and switching to a New Years special. This one seems to be taking place in New York, a place she’s never been nor cared for, but at the moment Isobel would give anything to be there amongst the suffocating crowd. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so earth-shatteringly alone.

Hours pass by and more beers are consumed, but Isobel can’t seem to reach the buzz she’s so desperately chasing. The performances and countdowns meld together but if questioned there wouldn’t be a detail missing from her recollection. No one could do that inebriated, further proving that getting drunk isn’t in the cards for her tonight. A chill settles over the room and Isobel struggles to wrangle a throw blanket free from its perch on the back of the couch. Though comfortable, sitting in only undergarments doesn’t provide much protection against the drafty windows she should call a repairman about. Some pop star, whom she doesn't particularly care about, is thanking fans for helping them reach a milestone this past calendar year and she zone out. Nothing and everything floats through Isobel’s brain all at once, swimming in circles and causing a beautiful confusion.

The dull thud of a fist against the front door shakes Isobel from her stupor and possible slumber. Panic encroaches and her sharp survival instincts set in — the baseball bat normally kept in the corner of the living room grabbed and work clothes are haphazardly tossed over frame. The person on the other side of the wood slab is the last person she’s expecting to see, and the fact he’s standing there with a sheepish smile is astounding. Jakob Chychrun is on her doorstep, shifting his weight between the balls of his feet and carrying a large bottle of expensive champagne and a bag of garlic bread.

“Hi.”

“Can I help you, Jakob?” she asks, but immediately backpedals when she realizes how ill-tempered the tone of the words made her seem. “I just wasn’t expecting any visitors and am wholly unprepared.”

He smiles even more, as though Isobel can actually solve a problem he’s been faced with, and gestures to the objects in his hands like it’s obvious. “Jamie mentioned you were spending the evening alone when I went into the rink this afternoon, and I had no plans, so I thought we could watch the dumb special programs and drown our sorrows in alcohol.”

The answer is so Jakob, so perfect and friendly and warm, Isobel can’t help but return his grin. “I told him I’d look into going out. What are you doing in the city?”

“I wanted a relaxing week.”

Isobel arches her eyebrow. “The beach isn’t relaxing?”

“Not as much as staying at home.”

“Oh.”

Jakob doesn’t skip a beat in bringing conversation back to his original proposition. “Well sweetheart, what do you say?”

All the air leaves her lungs at the pet name, but she manages to nod semi-enthusiastically and move to the side. Jakob slips off his shoes while Isobel closes the door and treads into the living space carefully, inspecting-without-inspecting the decor. She quickly plays the role of gracious hostess, getting her handsome guest a crystal flute and asking if he’d like anything to eat. Jakob declines, saying he had leftovers before coming over, and urges her to sit down and ‘stop fluttering around like a hummingbird’. She obliges, turning to face him and tucking her legs underneath her center of gravity.

Jakob rakes his eyes over Isobel, once, then a second time, before coughing rather aggressively. It rings through the quiet like a gunshot and nearly makes her jump. Unsure of what could have caused such a reaction, she looks down to find the previously hastily buttoned shirt has shifted, revealing a rather large patch of red lace that hints at what’s underneath. Surely that can’t be the reason the normally suave man across from her is a blushing mess?

He respectfully looks away while she adjusts, and Isobel finishes quickly before placing a tentative hand on her shoulder to let her know everything is back to normal. She’s desperate to dissuade any awkwardness. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Jakob laughs, but it comes out a little strangled. “Happens to the best of us. Well not me, in that exact way, but I’ve been caught in my fair share of wardrobe malfunctions.”

Isobel focuses extremely hard on not thinking about what that means, and unsure of where to go from the moment that was somehow vulnerable and impersonal at the same time, she reaches across Jakon to grab the bottle of champagne and doesn't even bother getting a glass. The cool liquid does wonders to soothe the fire in her insides, exacerbated by the fact that Jakob came to her, wanted to spend time with her. Some alcohol misses Isobel’s mouth, dribbles down her chin, but before she can even lift the bottle from her lips it’s being wiped away.

It’s Jakob, she realizes, stroking his thumb across her skin tenderly and making sure there isn’t an opportunity for the champagne to stain the silk button up that she can never remember to take to the dry cleaners. Clouds immediately form in her mind and Isobel closes her eyes — this has to be a dream. An incredibly elaborate fantasy. Under no circumstance is Jakob Chychrun sitting on her couch staring at her with longing and centimetres away from her lips. She must have fallen asleep, and her dreams are vivid due to the beer.

“Iso, sweetheart, hey,” Jakob says barely above a whisper, eyebrow furrowed with concern and the slightest bit of amusement. “You alright?”

Her eyelids flutter open, a bit heavy from all the alcohol she’s consumed, but her gaze is met with his blue eyes so close to her own and his fingers fiddling with the hem of her pants. Apparently this is in fact real life, and while Isobel had been trying to convince herself otherwise she’d missed Jakob inching closer and resting his forehead against her own.

“Yeah,” she sputters, nearly choking on air for the second time that evening. “I drank a bit before you got here and I think it’s all catching up to me.”

Jakob smiles softly, like he already confirmed this, and it’s then she clues in to the fact there are four empty beer bottles on the coffee table. “Are you drunk?”

Laughter trickles from her lips. “I wish,” Isobel confesses, “It would make the loneliness a lot easier to ignore.”

Again, Jakob smiles like he understands. It’s a bit surreal, the way the two of them are so similar, but Isobel can’t help but enjoy learning about him through these small glances. If she could keep her cool around the man for longer periods than the handful of minutes long interaction they’d shared, Isobel is almost sure they’d be friends, but the universe is cruel and unyielding. She’s destined to never know Jakob all that well, watching from the sidelines as he jokes with Brady and Tim, marvelling at his beauty and resigning herself to the fact he’ll never be yours.

“Can I kiss you?”

The question steals every ounce of air from Isobel’s lungs. Jakob is looking at her intently, studying her features for clues or transgressions he unknowingly committed. She’s never been good at keeping her emotions steeled away, and Isobel knows everything is splayed on her face for him to decipher if he wants to. The most prominent one is shock. Isobel is beyond surprised he’s asking the one thing that’s been on the tip of her tongue and whispering in her mind for years.

“Are —” she struggles to find the words she wants to say. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

It’s Jakob’s turn to laugh. It’s a beautiful sound, his deep rumbles as he nods his head, and Isobel does her best to imprint it to memory. If this is the last time she’ll ever hear it she wants to give herself the best shot at remembering.

“Pretty damn sure, sweetheart. I’ve wanted to do it since I joined the team.”

Isobel is now beyond shocked. “You’ve wanted to kiss me for three years?”

Jakob smiles in a way that allows it to reach his eyes. Beautiful, Isobel thinks, but doesn’t allow herself much time to focus on it, too eager to catch his next words. “Four if you count the time I got lost when Arizona was the visiting team and you held the door for me to get back to the locker rooms. You were wearing a black turtleneck that made your eyes look even more angelic than normal. I didn’t know that at the time, of course, but I did know I wanted to kiss you senseless.”

“Fuck me, you never thought to say anything when I was so clearly pining after you?” she whispers, emboldened and growing more confident under the confession and moving even closer until her lips are so close to Jakob’s she can feel the breath he inhales.

It takes a moment, but Isobel gains the courage to tilt her head slightly upwards and slot her lips against Jakob’s. Time stops with the flourish of a cheesy romance novel, though she can’t find it in her to groan internally even if she would under normal circumstances. Nothing about what’s happening is normal, however. Kissing Jakob is perfect in ways Isobel could never accurately describe — all plump lips and gentle touches and whispered sweet nothings. She never wants it to end, but eventually he pulls back.

He doesn’t stray far, just tucks her into his side with a hint of possession if Isobel squints , and cards his fingers through the matted ends of her hair. Jakob seems to have quite an affinity for the strands, allowing them to keep his attention while Isobel processes the fact that the man she’s been secretly in love with for years has also been in love with her for just as long.

“You know,” she says breathlessly, still in a surreal state from the kiss, “Maybe ringing in the new year won’t be so lonely after all.”

Jakob giggles in the same warm and gleeful way that made Isobel fall in love with him all those years ago. “I hope not.”

The pair of them spend the remaining hours of the night eating, drinking, and talking about what the future holds. When the television program begins the countdown Jakob looks at Isobel with a gleam in his eyes, and waits until the ball drops to kiss her into the next year.

⭑⭒⭑

enjoy this fic? give it a reblog :)

#jakob chychrun imagine #jakob chychrun x oc #jakob chychrun fic #ottawa senators imagine #ottawa senators fic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #the winter fic exchange 2k24 #cwrites

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tkachuktkaching · 7 months

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Matthew and Brady on @ The Rink Podcast

Most of what they said bits of it has already come out in previous articles a few weeks back

Brady discussed his summer wedding, his excitement going into the season, the growth of his team and what he learned watching Matthew and the Panthers go on their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Brady : "Just to see the every-day grind of taking care of himself, making sure he's ready for the game, and just as a leader too, taking care of yourself so you're able to demand from the rest because you're doing it right," he said. "I'm definitely ready and hopefully it'll be me in the playoffs soon.

"Seeing what he did created a lot of motivation for me over the summer."

Matthew discussed the broken sternum he sustained during the Stanley Cup Final and the pain he was in, the help he got from his brother at that time, Brady's bachelor party in Miami, and feeling a different vibe in the South Florida market after last season.

"Very different," Matthew said. "A lot more buzz. There's a lot of buzz around every sports team. It's turning into a sports crazy town and that makes it fun. [Soccer star Lionel] Messi coming in makes that much more buzz. The past few years the Dolphins have been great. What us and the Heat did last year really gave a lot of traction for us as a hockey team. So it's pretty cool." via NHL.COM

Listen to Brady from 16.04 Matthew from 40.30

______________________________________________________________

A few added things from Matthew's interview on the podcast some of which we've already heard & posted previously but included here for anyone that missed it first time round.

His injury allowed him to work on his strength & conditioning.

He wishes there was no social media after all the wedding stuff posted online, his family like to have a good time at weddings and doesn't know where people get this stuff (footage that goes viral).

Things Brady is better at than him: a better shot, video games & being a all round better human being than him (but he'll work on that!), Matthew says he himself is a ball buster, Matthew takes the bragging rights when it comes to Golf though he says his Dad is better at chirping and more witty & more funny than him & thinks his dad's game was underappreciated & underrated at the time he played, people realise from Matthew & Brady's game style how good & valuable he was and his dad gets belated recognition which he appreciates.

Says Brady's bachelor party in Miami took a few years off his life!

His summer consisted of the trip to Nashville for the player Awards, laying around in the hotel doing nothing, Bachelor parties, four weddings, and a trip to Montana in August, though he hasn't really done much of anything over the last month.

The Blood vessels and stuff were the the scary part of his injury at the time and half his body felt like it was out here, he knew something wasn't right, he didn't know what it was at the time, until they did his tests the next day. He was in the most pain after winning game three the overtime win. But now he's all good.

It was doctors who gave him the go ahead to do what he could to play just one last game. Despite the serious nature of his injury he would do it all over again if he had the chance.

He's excited to get going for camp & the new season though mentions the missing guys until around Christmas will be a tough ask (Montour & Ekblad) he feels The Panthers have more depth especially with the D this year.

Calls Alex Lyon The Lyon King & Big praise for his (Lyon) & Bob's heroics. How they had to play with only six D & two Goalies with Knight's absence last year.

The goal is to again make the playoffs, and be in the mix he wants to get of to a good start and how it sucks to have to chase for a spot like they had last year.

The Allstar was a good jump start because the Panthers weren't doing well as a team at that point which created a buzz that carried on leading on the cup run.

#matthew tkachuk #brady tkachuk #nhl #podcast recap #florida panthers #ottawa senators #tkachuks #Spotify

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thebrightmillenial · 9 months

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SAM WINCHESTER HEADCANONS

Sam Winchester is left handed.

He is lactose intolerant, which isn't confirmed but is also my headcanon and I am keeping it because I can.

He enjoys forensics, chemistry, law, english and theater - particularly law and forensics, but is really skilled in english which is mostly canon.

Not a huge fan of tattoos, but still got his along with Dean after Sam got possessed by Meg.

His favorite scent is grass and old books. He just finds it comforting and reminds him back of Stanford, when he and Jess would sit together under a tree, on the grass, reading books. Total silence, but still no time was being wasted.

He can't enjoy being around cats. He just doesn't like them. There isn't really a reason or a trauma behind it. He sees a cat, he keeps his distance if he is given the chance.

Sam feels relatively anxious if he can't understand something. This will sometimes cause him to chew on his nails or even obsess over the problem in question to no end.

The reason his wifi is exceptionally good is because he actually befriended a witch. The deal was an essay in exchange for all wifi bars anytime he needed. This isn't my headcanon but I love it.

He is able to draw really well, but only when he has visions about it.

Sam sleeps mostly laying on his stomach but sometimes feels comfortable sleeping on his right side.

Mostly vegetarian - once or twice he will break the rule but he likes to keep to that diet.

He actively searches hunting lore. He doesn't fully hate hunting itself. He just hates not being given the choice.

This is more canon than not, but if you want to read Sam Winchester's emotions, look at his eyes. What his face won't show, his eyes will immediately show as much as he tries to hide it.

Sam can't stand to talk about himself without talking about other people's problem's first. The moment he tries, he finds himself struggling to get the words out.

He is non-binary bisexual, but really can't care much about the labels.

He will always finish what he starts and avoids making promises he can't keep.

Sam absolutely loves dogs and if he can, he will stop to pet one.

Sam's favorite colors are powder blue, brown, white, black and gray-green and his favorite season is autumn

He seeks control for himself. He needs to be able to feel in control of his life, thoughts and actions, since people are always depriving him of that, which then becomes an issue with the entire Ruby situation (she made him think he was in control).

Sam's playlist is very strange. He'll listen to Bon Jovi, Amanda Palmer, Celine Dion, but would probably enjoy some styles of classic romantic music or baroque on certain days.

He's the type that would listen to christmas songs in June. Especially Frank Sinatra.

He is sometimes able to sense ghosts in his presence - this has been something that he's felt since he was a kid but had nobody to tell (he feared Dean would be upset with him)

He would definitely shamelessly listen to Adele.

Jess taught Sam how to knit, or at least started teaching him.

Sam is actually a decent cook.

Sam's friend group at Stanford was Luis, Jess, Brady, Zach and Rebecca.

They sometimes went over to Zach's and Rebecca's just to play Mario Kart and watch movies all day after their exams.

Their group photos burned down along with Jess so Sam never had the chance to retrieve them.

Sam was actually really short until he turned 17-18. His growth spurt came out of nowhere.

Sam had to wear knee braces during most of his time at Stanford.

Autistic with some slight OCD

#queer sam winchester #sam winchester #supernatural #non binary sam winchester #non binary #bisexual #stanford era #sam winchester headcanon #some canon facts mostly headcanons tho

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wishyoumerrychristmas · 1 year

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#christmas #santa claus #christmas tree #a very Brady Christmas #80s tv #80s movies #80s #reunion #mike Brady #carol Brady #Greg Brady #marcia brady #peter brady #jan brady #bobby brady #cindy brady #Alice Nelson #Alice #Sam the butcher

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msmargaretmurry · 3 months

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I am loving all this haw lore! I'm wondering, at this point in the hawniverse, how many people know that Matthew is 1) in a relationship 2) with a man 3) who is Leon Draisaitl? And also when do they tell people/people start figuring it out? (At the end, McDavid and Hyman have some idea, right?) Thank you for sharing all of these details :D

hi anon, thank you, i'm glad you're enjoying it! ❤

by "at this point" i'm going to assume you mean up the the latest point that i've written, which is the one-year-later timestamp (which on the calendar would be summer 2023 but not the REAL summer 2023, y'know? the hawniverse summer 2023) so here is a brief timeline from the end of haw up to that point:

mcdavid and hyman know pretty much from the end of the fic, connor more than hyman, because connor kind of knew before anyway and leon REALLY needs someone to talk to after the events of the last chapter and connor is his sounding board for most things. hyman gets a more brief explanation because leon feels like he is owed one after the matthew encounter at leon's house, not a lot of details but enough that he knows there's a relationship there.

obviously matthew tells brady and taryn he has a boyfriend at the very end of the fic, but they don't know that it's leon until later.

matthew comes out to his parents over the summer and does tell them he's seeing someone, but doesn't tell them who yet. (leon does the same with his family, except he does explain the whole "it's another guy in the league and i'm not telling you who because i want to respect his privacy until he's ready to tell people" thing)

at the beginning of the next season matthew tells his close friends on the flames that he's seeing a guy, but not who it is yet.

matthew does the big identity reveal to his fam at christmas, because he and leon are planning a post-asg vacation together and he doesn't want to have to be all secretive about it. leon tells his parents shortly after, before the next oilers/flames game when he and matthew can facetime them together.

matthew tells his close teammates on the flames that it's leon after the asg, when he has plenty of vacation pictures for proof lmao

after that is it kind of a slow trickle of sharing the information on a need-to-know/it-feels-right basis. matthew's uncle-agent and grandparents also know at this point, his close friends like rob thomas and auston know (he wasn't kidding that it would be hard to keep a secret, lol); leon's sister and brother-in-law know, and a handful of his close friends and teammates. it's a small but not SUPER small group, which means they definitely have some spaces where they can just exist as a couple together, which is initially kind of anxiety-inducing for matthew but eventually really nice ❤

#ask #ratnovel #hockey for ts

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hockeyboysimagines · 5 months

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A very Merry NHL Christmas

Warnings: Mild cursing, some sexual humor, talks of Christmas, Jesus and the holidays.

This was originally planned for last Christmas but ya girl had writers block. So enjoy this now. Let me know what you think!

Note: this is a small group of blurbs about all the couples currently in process on my Masterlist. This won’t include anyone who’s not currently being written about. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and happy holidays to the rest🤍

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, the kids were asleep, and Matthew and Brady were trying to get Keith into a Santa costume without laughing too loud.

Chantal had one hand over her mouth as she watched them struggle with the zipper before finally closing the suit, and adjusting Keith’s beard. Brady was red faced, and coughing to cover his laughter as Keith whipped around and glared at him, while Matthew had one hand braced on his knee, the other holding his side laughing openly.

“I’m never doing this again.” He grumbled as he stepped into the boots and straightened up looking for the sack of presents. The kids had set up a hidden camera earlier in hopes of catching a picture of Santa putting presents under the tree. Taryn was outside picking up the reindeer food they had left in the front yard and making hoof marks on the front walkway, the milk and cookies had been disposed of and Emma, who would be spending her first Christmas with them since they got married, was sprinkling sand by the front door because south Florida Santa had no snow to work with. Noticeably pregnant Hallie rubbed her hands together and smiled excitedly. Keith placed the presents under the tree, keeping his back to the camera.

“They’re going to love this.” Chantal said giving her hand a squeeze.

Matthew was smiling at her from the doorway as he watched his dad carefully set out gifts and made his way over. He glanced down at her baby bump and rested a hand on it.

“Merry Christmas in there.” He said softly rubbing it “Can’t wait to celebrate with you next year. And by that time someone else will be taking up your space.”

“Uh I don’t think so.” Hallie said shaking her head “This mama is done….for a little while.”

“How many fucking-freaking kids are you guys gonna have Jesus.” Brady said around a mouth full of Christmas cookie. They were all looking at them mildly interested and Hallie wasn’t really sure how to answer.

Matthew shrugged “I guess until I don’t get it done on the first try.”

Her face burned in embarrassment, and she couldn’t believe she had let him answer, but the others were laughing. He threw an arm around her shoulders “But who am I kidding, that won’t happen. I’m 3 for 3. A triple champ.”

“Yeah kind of like an ugly, skinny, Conor McGregor.” Brady said elbowing him.

That started a scuffle and Hallie crossed her arms shaking her head, eyes moving over their house. Over the pictures on the walls they’d amassed over their years together. The ones that started with just them, and then their family, and then their children. Over the decorations, and lights, and ornaments the kids made for them at school that hung on the tree. Her life was so full, so wonderful.

Taryn bumped her shoulder and smiled, eyes moving around before coming back to meet hers “So? Is it everything you hoped for?” She looped an arm around her waist.

She nodded, reaching an arm around her “It’s more than I hoped for.” And then she laughed when Matthew and Brady’s scuffle dissolved and he came over and grinned at her.

“If you don’t stop fighting with Brady you’ll end up on the naughty list, and you won’t get any presents.” She said, reaching forward to wrap her arms around him, as much as possible, with the baby bump in between them.

“The naughty list is more fun anyways. It’s how I became 3 for 3.”

*************

Music played softly in the background of Pierre’s apartment as snow fell outside. It was warm and cozy, the house smelled of cinnamon, and Mila and Pierre were snuggled on the sofa watching the snow fall.

“It’s so pretty.” Mila said off handedly, eyes following the flakes as they blanketed the ground below them, creating a fluffy white blanket on the ground.

“Not as pretty as you.”

She rolled her eyes and tilted her head up to look at him “Your so cheesy.”

“It’s all part of my appeal babe…which speaking of. I have something for you.” He nudged her so he could stand and disappeared around the corner and came back with a box.

“Here.” Pierre said handing it to her. It was long and rectangular shaped and she took it before looking at him.

“Didn’t I tell-“

“Oh shutup.” He said waving her off “Stop trying to police my spending habits on Christmas.”

She giggled and rolled her eyes “Okay Jesus.”

He held a hand up to his chest “Did you just take the lords name in vain…on his birthday?”

“Okay now you shutup.”

“Open it.” He said nudging his chin impatiently at her.

She pulled off the paper, which was no easy feet as it was wrapped like a car ran over it, and pulled out a long blue velvet box. Inside of it was a shining, glittery diamond bracelet.

“Pierre!” She said mouth falling open “This is-“

“Nope!” He held up a hand “It’s not too much. You are worth every single dollar I spent on that, which is none of your business before you ask.”

Mila bit her lip. It was gorgeous, platinum with what looked like a hundred tiny diamonds, held together by a small clasp with her initials on it.

“Well?” He was smiling widely “Do you like it?”

“Of course I like it.” she held it out to him so he could put it on. She turned her wrist so the light caught the diamonds and smiled a little before looking at him.

“Merry Christmas Mila.”

*************

“Wake up! It’s Christmas Eve!”

Vince felt a weight bounce across his bed, rip the covers off of him, and a body wriggle under the blankets, kicking him out of his warm spot.

Josie had come barreling in the room, smiling so wide it could light up a city’s worth of Christmas lights.

“Noooooo.” He groaned eyes closing again. He reached down and pulled the blankets up over his head, and then pulled her closer, leaning down to kiss her deeply but she pushed away from him and tapped him on the lips.

“Uh uh. Santa says no funny business on Christmas Eve until we do something fun!”

“Well Santa can-“

“Ah! None of that or you won’t get any presents!”

She jumped out of bed and pulled the covers off of him, pointing at a neatly folded pile of clothing, “Get dressed. We’re going somewhere.”

He sighed and rolled over with a groan, but when he saw the look on her face he sat up. She looked so excited, hands clasped under her chin as she stood in the doorway of his bedroom.

“Okay, okay I’m awake.”

She squeaked excitedly and bounced from the room, leaving him to get dressed and brush his teeth. She was bundled by the front door as he came around the corner.

“So where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

10 minutes later, he was chuckling as they stood in front of an outdoor ice rink, and he knelt down to tie her skates. He finally got them tied, even though her legs were shaking in excitement and looked up at her.

“Do you even know how to skate?” He asked as he adjusted her leg warmer over the top of her skate and then did the same on the other one.

“Nope!” She said brightly, tapping him on the nose and standing, hands resting on her hips “That’s why you’re going to teach me.”

He helped her out on to the ice and stood facing her, gripping both of her hands in his. He skated backwards pulling her along. It was slow going and he was laughing as she went split legged a few times.

“Hang on. I have a better idea.” He skated around her and pressed himself against her back, arms coming to rest around her waist.

“Hang on.” He said lowly in her ear.

Josie smiled with excitement as he started moving, allowing her to just let her skates sit on the ice without having to do anything else. She closed her eyes and breathed in, the winter air stinging her skin.

“Having a good time?” he asked from behind her.

“Always when I’m with you. Are you having a good time?”

“Of course.” He slowed down a little and walked over her shoulder to kiss her cold cheek “Even though I’m doing all the work. Santa had better reward me with a great gift.”

Josie giggled to herself thankful for Christmas with Vince.

And thankful that he didn’t know, she really did know how to ice skate.

************

“Smile!”

Mat snapped the picture of Leighton and Lucy in front of the tree and smiled.

“Beautiful.”

His first Christmas with his girls had been perfect. The entire month of December had been like something from a dream. Lucy had been to every possible Christmas event they could find on Long Island, often accompanied by her godparents, who were across town celebrating their first Christmas together. Snow angels, Christmas decorating, and even the first time she’d been in an ice rink had all happened in the part month and Mat’s heart felt so full it might burst.

“Let me see.” She squinted at the picture and smiled down at Lucy, who was looking more and more like her as she got older.

“Who’s that beautiful girl?”

He smiled down at them and stood up, setting his phone on the couch and picked up a box and went to hand it to Leighton.

“From Santa. I guess I’m not the only one who thinks you’re beautiful.”

She rolled her eyes and blushed, but pulled out a box and handed it to him. “Here open this first. I think you’re gonna love it.”

He sat on the sofa and pulled at the paper. It was small, enough to fit in his hand. The box was flat, with a cardboard lid and when he pulled it off he saw a blank sheet of paper that said “Pick me up.”

He glanced at her, to find her smiling brightly and she nodded “Go ahead.”

He gripped the paper and pulled, and from it another long sheet of paper fell like an accordion. He pulled it up to look at it and saw that it was t a sheet of paper.

It was a sonogram.

He whipped up his head to find that Leighton was now crying, cheeks red.

“Are you-Oh my god.” He reached forward to hug her, chin resting on her head.

“Are you happy?”

“More happy than I’ve ever been.”

She closed her eyes and breathed him in as he spoke again “This is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten, and I love you.”

************

“Is this dress to short?” Ginny asked turning in front of the mirror. Beau leaned out of the bathroom and grinned in a way that was not appropriate on any level, but especially not on Christmas.

“Yes. You should definitely wear it. Can’t wait to take it off later.” He leaned back in the bathroom.

She smiled and looked at her closet for shoes. The Islanders Christmas party was in a half and hour and they were running a little behind.

She’d been on time until he came into the bathroom and cracked a joke about opening a present, which turned out to be his jeans and the rest of it was a Christmas story for another time. But not the kind you read before bed.

He walked out of the bathroom looking better than he needed to in a pair of grey pants and a black button up. Ginny paused while she slipped a shoe on, eyes moving from his face to his feet and then back up. He winked and smiled at her.

“Not bad huh? But you’ve got me beat. WOW.” He said as he took in her red dress, and heels. It had been a little over six months and she continued to surprise him by outdoing herself. This was the first big holiday they were spending together and tomorrow she’d be meeting his parents.

He stood staring at her “You look beautiful.”

She smiled and blushed a little. Though she was used to a slew of compliments from him, and she knew he was always being genuine when he said them. But it still made her blush.

“Thank you.” She said softly, slipping into her shoes and turning back to the mirror.

“Are Mat and Leighton coming?”

She nodded and sat at her vanity to find earrings “Yes. She said she has something for me.”

“Like a gift?”

Ginny shrugged “I’m not sure. She just said it was something I would love.” She smiled a little as she poked an earring in her ear.

“You know what I love? That dress. Gosh.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her hair over her shoulder to put in her other earring “Why are you being so nice to me? Keep being too good and I won’t let you unwrap my present later on.”

His mouth fell open “I think it’s supposed to be the other way around. Only people on the nice list get to unwrap presents.”

Ginny smiled at him over her shoulder “I much prefer my present openers to be on the naughty side.”

Beau leaned on the doorway, smile as wide as it could possibly get “Best Christmas ever.”

***********

“Stop laughing.”

“I’m not!” Nash giggled from the ground.

Travis was up on a ladder hanging lights from the archway inside the living room of their new house. She’d insisted for weeks that she didn’t want any there, until she announced she was throwing a Christmas party, and then decided the house wasn’t festive enough, which meant she’d shoved a bunch of lights into his hands and told him to hang them.

“Oh come on!” He yelled as he turned the bulb on one of the strings and the rest went out. He’d been fighting with them for 10 minutes “One goes out, they all stay on. One goes on they all go out!”

“Well at least we know that if hockey doesn’t work out, you won’t have a career as an electrician.” She said from the bottom of the ladder with a shrug.

He glanced over his shoulder “Ha Ha. I’m glad you’re having fun down there.”

“Of course I am. The view is fantastic.” She said with a wink.

Travis chuckled and went back to hanging lights, finally getting them all lit “Finally.” He turned to find her smiling at the bottom of the ladder, hands on her waist “How does that look?”

She nodded and pursed her lips “Perfect. Thank you.”

He shrugged “Don’t thank me. It’s the least I could do. And it makes you happy so it’s a win in my book.”

He made his way down the ladder and pulled her into his arms “Besides. A good deed on Christmas always gets rewarded and I-“

But he was cut short when there was an electrical pop and every light in the house went dark.

“It’s not funny.”

“I’m not laughing. You can’t even see me.”

He grinned “I don’t need to.”

She sighed and he felt her arms slide around his waist “We could just stay here…in the dark I guess.”

“But then how would Santa find our house?” As he said that the lights all lit up at once just in time for him to see her smiled widely at him.

“Who cares? Nothing he could bring me would ever be a better gift that the one I have right here.”

***********

“Merry Christmas!” Sawyer yelled as she pulled open the door to find Nolan’s parents on the other side. She pulled them inside and out of the cold Winnipeg winter and into their cozy house that was full of friends and family.

Nolan was parked on a barstool at the counter watching Sawyer. She was having the absolute time of her life and just looking at her made him want to smile.

It had been a hard year. A hard few years actually but this one in particular had been rough. They’d had so much hope for Vegas and it had only been more of the same, and no one was sure that he’d ever be able to play hockey again. It was sad and scary and she held his hand every minute, but he’d come to terms with it now.

But he didn’t have time to think about it because Sawyer herself came bounding over, hanging mistletoe over his head and kissing him on the cheek with a loud “smack”

“Come on you Grinch! At least smile a little.”

He smiled and she made a face “I mean a real one. Santa is watching.” She pointed upwards.

“I thought that was Jesus who lived up there.”

“Yeah well then he’s watching too. So you won’t get any presents and you might get struck by lightning and that will ruin the whole holiday.” She grinned “And I’ll have to take all these decorations down by myself.”

He chuckled and reached forward, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

“Thank you.” She said against his chest, quietly enough that only he could hear.

“For?”

“This.” She pulled back and gestured around “I know this isn’t your thing, but it means a lot to me that you let me throw this party.”

“It’s not that bad. I’d do anything to make you happy, you know that. My Christmas gift to you.”

She looked up at him and smiled the most beautiful smile “Your the gift that keeps on giving Nolan Patrick, and no gift could ever be better than spending my life with you.”

Nolan rested his chin on her head “Merry Christmas Sawyer.”

“Merry Christmas Nols.”

************

“Cash will you sit still!” Tyler grumbled as he tried for the third time to stick reindeer antlers on his head. Marshall, Molly and even Gerry were all sitting obediently, but Cash had shaken them off twice. Even though he was as uncooperative as possible, Ava was having so much fun. There was a magic in the air that only lasted one month out of the year that you couldn’t find any other time. The feeling of Christmas was unlike any other and it was the first one she was spending with Tyler, and the first one she could remember being excited for.

She was knelt down, phone in one hand, tennis ball in the other which had the attention of the other three dogs, waiting for Tyler to quit wrestling with their most unruly child.

“Freakin dog.” He said with a huff as he finally got them fastened and made him sit.

“Just like his dad.” She said smiling at him “Okay ready, hey guys!” She waved the ball so they all looked and quickly snapped several pictures before they all started moving with excitement.

“Got it!” she said tossing the ball.

All four took off running after it, skidding through the house and falling over each other like Bambi on ice, and Ava and Tyler both yelled “No!” as Gerry went flying right into the tree.

It swayed for a second before it fell in slow motion as Tyler raced forward to catch it, which he did, but not before it rained ornaments that hit the floor and rolled in all directions.

Ava covered her mouth the keep from laughing and hurried forward as Tyler tipped the tree back up on to its stand, and made a loud noise of annoyance.

“What’s so funny?” He asked when he saw her laughing.

“What’s funny is now you have to help me redecorate it. Since you conveniently seemed to be missing last time.”

“I was at practice.” He said eyeing her with a small smile.

“Sure. That’s why Jamie called looking for you.”

“That douche. Busted I guess. Okay I wasn’t at practice I was out-“ he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box “Buying this.”

She smiled and glanced up as she took it “That’s funny cuz I wasn’t here waiting for you, I was out picking up this.” She pulled a bigger rectangular box from under the sofa.

As they opened their respective gifts she heard Tyler make a noise like a gasp and an exclamation and she smiled. She’d had blown up and framed the first picture they’d ever taken together, them and all four of the dogs. It had been the first time Ava had let anyone take a photo of her in years, and Tyler was so proud of her for it. But she’d kept it hidden, telling him it didn’t take for months. This was the first time he’d seen it, and his eyes softened as he looked at it and then at her.

“I love this. Thank you it’s amazing. We gotta hang this.” He glanced around and picked a spot right by the front door “There. So people see it right when they get here.”

He turned as she pulled her own gift out, a silver locket with a tiny photo of the dogs on one side, and them on the other, and a date a time inscribed on the back.

“This is beautiful, but what’s this?” She asked pointing at the date and time that was engraved at the bottom.

“The day and time I saw you for the first time.”

“Oh my gosh.” She was blushing but he continued “That day and time changed my life. The only thing that could would have made it better was if you wanted to join the mile high club or something.”

She laughed and swatted his arm “Tyler!” She turned holding up her hair so he could put it on and then smiled “Thank you for this and for making every other day better than the one before.” She placed a hand on his heart.

“Thank you.” He said placing his hand over hers “For letting me.”

He squeezed her hand and then pulled her into a hug. He was warm, and she could feel his heart beating through his chest. Tyler smiled and squeezed her tighter. “Best Christmas ever. Don’t you think?” He asked glancing down. She nodded with a small smile.

“Better than all your others?”

“Everything with you in my life is better, Christmas included.” She closed her eyes and squeezed him tightly.

There really was something magical about Christmas.

************

“Ho Ho Ho!” Joel rumbled as he made his way inside of the Connolly’s house. He and Libby had gone home for Christmas and though they wouldn’t be able to stay long, there was no way they were missing her parent’s Christmas party.

“AH!” Heather screamed rushing forward to pull them both into a hug, as she had also voyaged home just for the holidays “Happy kissaversary lovebirds.”

Th house was packed with guests and family and friends, and Libby couldn’t stop smiling. It felt so good to be here in her parents house, on Christmas Eve, with Joel where their story had started. She’d kissed him for the first time right upstairs in her room, and at that moment their lives together began.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked from beside her, arm around her shoulders.

“Oh just about that Christmas Eve when I kissed you upstairs.”

“Uhm no.” He scoffed “It was me who kissed you actually.”

“Im thinking about-“ they turned to find Heather, standing with her sweater half open to conceal a bottle of wine under it. Discreetly they all made their way up to Libby’s room and out on to the roof, bundled in jackets as they each took sips from the bottle.

“Last time we did this we were teenagers.” Joel said from his spot next to Libby.

“The last time your mom had a party was when I was in Florida and you guys were in there making out, thinking we all had no idea.”

“Well you might, but my parents didn’t.”

Heather rolled her eyes “Yes they did Libby. They just didn’t think Joel had it in him so they didn’t care.”

Joel gave her a dirty look and an eye roll, and stared off into space for a second before he asked them “Do you guys ever think about what things would be like if you hadn’t moved here in 8th grade?”

“I don’t like to.” Heather said rubbing her arms “You moving here was the best thing that could have happened to us.” She said smiling at Libby “Because I gained a best friend and Joel finally found someone who would go out with him.”

Libby started laughing, breath turning into fog and Joel’s mouth fell open “On Christmas? Really Heather? Aren’t you already pretty low on the naughty list?”

“I live on the naughty list. Alright I’m not 15 anymore. It’s too cold for this, you guys coming?” She said as she climbed back in.

“In a minute.” She disappeared out Libby’s bedroom door leaving her with Joel on the roof. She reached forward grabbing his hand to hold it in her mittened one.

“If I hadn’t moved here in 8th grade, we still would have found each other some way.”

“You think?”

She nodded and looked out across town, at the black sky, white snow and twinkling stars above their heads “I do. Just would have needed some magic. Some Christmas magic.” She pointed at a star that streaked across the sky and disappeared before she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Can you think of a better way to spend Christmas Eve?” He asked.

She shook her head “No. I want to spend every Christmas Eve here, and every other day of the year with you until we’re old and grey. Promise me that?” She looked up at him, eyes wide under her glasses.

“Promise. Merry Christmas Libby.”

“Merry Christmas Joel.”

48 notes · View notes

a-b-riddle · 22 days

Text

Pen Pals Chapter One: Welcome to the Internet

I feel like most girls who claimed they loved world history either had a hot history teacher or a Percy Jackson obsession. Well, I'm not like most girls. I had both. I may have been failing math, but when I tell you I was passing history with flying colors...

It was 2009: I was a freshman in high school and at 14 years old, I was very impressionable. Full disclosure: I was not groomed. Well, by my teacher at least. My history teacher wasn't like that weird, over-friendly coach with the students. He was just hot. Very incredibly boring, but hot by my standards as a 14-year-old who up until that point had only kissed two boys, but read some very questionable fan-fiction.

Our semester closed on the unit about World War II. It was the week of Christmas, we just finished our finals and we watched a movie I highly recommend called 'Pearl Harbor'.

That movie just kind of fueled my obsession with World War II. It's like those little kids who had a really nice nurse when they were sick and they grew up wanting to be nurses. I saw Ben Affleck in a WW 2 uniform and was fucking SET.

Now don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed it besides the hot actors. I loved the stories. I loved the heroes. Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy: The most decorated soldier of the war. He was credited for killing over 200 Germans. Corporal Desmond Doss was a medic, never picked up a weapon and saved 75 men by lowering them down from a freaking cliff. I cry every time I watch his interviews and if you want to know his full story watch Hacksaw Ridge. Then there was Private Steven Grant Rogers. Started out as an E-1 and then promoted to a O-3 (or a Captain) and was renamed Captain America.

Just like how people think of Tom Brady when they think of the Super Bowl, I did the same thing when it came to Captain America and the war. Now, I don't want to say I idolized the man, but I did admire the hero.

My obsession made me major in History and later get a Master's in Conflict Management. Now, I was applying to one of the biggest companies in the nation: Stark Industries. Now, that was partly because I could not find a job anywhere and someone that I went to college with started working in HR and was able to get me an interview. It didn't have to do with anything pertaining to my degree, but it had been a while before I was able to find a job that paid this well.

I felt like I was running my sponsor dry with his support and I had applied several times to multiple colleges in the city. I mean I had a freaking Master's degree with intentions of pursuing my Doctorate for crying out loud and the best I could do was be a personal assistant.

I was going to be a secretary. Nothing important, but the pay was more than exceptional.

Stark Tower was intimidating to say the least. Over 90 floors and reflective glass windows. It hurt my neck to look directly up at it.

When I walked into the building, security instructed me what floor to go to. When I got there, I was greeted with an empty desk. I waited several minutes downstairs before a strawberry blonde woman with cute freckles came down to greet me. "Hi, you must be the secretary applicant." She smiled. "I'm Pepper Potts. So you're resume here is quite impressive and Harrison in HR highly recommended you."

"Yes, I was so excited when he told me you had a position available."

"Usually, I would be doing the interview, but I'm afraid I have to head out on some other business, so if you want to take the elevator to floor 82, Mr. Stark will be waiting."

"Of course." I said holding a folder that contained all the documents he requested I brought in.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." I greeted.

"You must be Pepper's replacement."

"Oh," I said. "Is she not-"

"She's been made COO." He clarified. "She can't leave that easily."

"Oh, good." I said. "She seemed really sweet."

"To you, yes. To me, I can't do anything. Don't put your life in danger, don't challenge terrorists." He mocked. "She's no fun." He walked further into what I assumed was a common room of sorts. It gave no indication that he lived on that floor. There was a full bar and it looked more of a place he hosted parties. "So tell me a bit about yourself." He began to pour himself a drink. "Something that isn't on your resume."

"Um, well, I'm taking a course in French and Greek right now. Just online classes, nothing too time consuming. I prefer dogs over cats because I think that its important if you die, for your pet to at least be sad and I am the first one in my family to live in New York, that I know of. I'm the first girl to graduate with their Master's. I plan on eventually getting my Doctorate, but not for a while. I don't like hot coffee and I'm terrified of snakes."

"Who would actually prefer cats over dogs?"

"Pepper?" I asked to which he laughed, even though it wasn't that funny.

"I like you." He took a sip of his drink. "It's not liquor. Pepper has this rule that alcohol should only be consumed during certain times of the day."

"I think 9:30 on a Monday is acceptable. I was debating on getting Mimosas after the interview if it went well."

"And if it didn't?" He asked.

"I would say tequila, but I got food poisoning from the limes once."

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I had about 15 limes and felt terrible the next day."

"I prefer a good scotch myself."

"I like anything that doesn't taste like alcohol. I'm really impressed that a bottle of wine can cost thousands of dollar, but I guarantee it can't be as delicious as a Moscow mule."

"I haven't had a Moscow mule in forever." He said. "They were my go-to in college."

"Where did you go to school?" His response was to point at a wall that was covered in awards and accomplishments. "You went to Andover?" I asked looking at his degree.

"Seven years." He said. "I really liked the science department."

"I've given a few guest lectures there. It's a lovely school."

"What was the topic of discussion?"

"The North African campaign during World War 2, but specifically the Battle of Ramree Island."

"History nerd. Nice." Mr. Stark replied sarcastically when the elevator door dinged. "Speaking of historical nerds."

If my legs could have physically turned into jelly at that moment they would. None other than Steve Rogers walked in with a blonde following dutifully behind. "Tony."

"Capscicle and the ice queen." He whispered too low for them to hear.

"Rogers, meet our new secretary." Tony introduced and started to head toward the elevator.

"It is such an honor, Captain Rogers." I said taking his outstretched hand.

"Please, call me Steve." He insisted. The blonde beside him remained quiet and eyed me up and down with a stoic expression.

"Not that I'm trying to cut you off, but I'll let you two old ladies reminisce on the glory days." Tony clicked the elevator door and waited until it dinged opened. "I have somewhere to be. Congratulations. You got the job. Blah. Blah. Blah. Monday at 9, don't be late." He pressed a button I couldn't see and the doors began to close. "Or do. I really don't care, but if you're late, bring coffee."

"He's..." I began, but couldn't quite pick the right word.

"Arrogant." Steve finished.

"I was going to say interesting." I said.

"So what 'glory days' was Stark referring to?"

"Oh. I gave a few lectures about a few battles at the University he went to. Nothing exciting."

"Well Mrs.-"

"It's just Miss." I said. That was stupid. Why did I say that? That was rude to cut him off like that. "Sorry." I apologized. Why was I apologizing?

"Well, Ma'am. It looks like we'll be seeing you Monday morning. If you're late Tony gets a triple shot of espresso and a disgusting amount of sugar in it."

"Being late isn't really my style. My mother always said if you're not early, you're late." Why was a quoting my zealot mother right now. Jesus, stop it. Not like Jesus Jesus. You know what, never mind. "I think I can find my way out." I said.

The walk back home I felt my cheeks burn the entire time. I haven't even started and I'm already flustered. Jesus, get a grip.

Suddenly my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was him.

*So how did it go?*

*I got the job* I replied back.

*That's wonderful. I'm so proud of you* I couldn't deny the pride that swelled inside of me at his praise.

*Thank you, although I did make a complete ass out of myself*

*How so?*

*Well, my new boss introduced me to one of his partners and I felt like I made a fool of myself.* I typed. *Not partner in the sexual way, but someone he works with. He called Mrs. and I corrected him and said 'no it's just MIss' like it didn't even matter, he was just being polite. Then I quoted my mother. I was just flustered, but I start Monday.*

C didn't reply after that. We were supposed to have a date tonight so I'm sure he would just finish the conversation later. I had a caprese salad, but ate mostly the mozzarella. I showered, shaved and waited until I got a notification.

*Sorry. Something came up. Regardless, I think you'll do great.* I smiled at his message, but was disappointment that he was cancelling our date tonight. Well the closest thing we came to date nights which usually ended in me being in an unsavory position.

Initially, C and I met on a chat forum in 2016. I was working on my senior seminar and had sort of an open ended question regarding the war. It was something along the lines of taking the notion that if a war on that scale were to happen in today's world in what ways would American citizens contribute to the war effort at home? Back in the 40s most companies like Ford made strictly military equipment. It was an honor to have a government contract whereas now it's more like any other business deal.

I received a lot of interesting responses, but a user named CR0876 replied that shifting the current American ideal of self-preservation to what we had before which was sacrificing for your country was the only way in which today's America could possibly aid in a war. I messaged CR0876 to further discuss the topic.

He wrote me: All I am saying is we now live in a day and age where you have people who won't vaccinate their children simply because they choose not to. They don't have an issue with you vaccinating your kids, but not theirs. We eradicated some of the deadliest diseases that are still present in some third-world nations and you have entitled people who don't trust science to preserve the health and well-being of not only their children, but everyone they come in contact with. The reason that our life expectancy has shot up isn't because of ground breaking medical break throughs like chemotherapy, it is for preventative measures. Getting vaccinated. Getting checkups. Wearing sunscreen. Washing your hands after wiping your ass.

A few minutes later he sent an apology for getting so riled up in his rant and I told him that no apology was needed and I completely agreed with him. From then on our friendship started to blossom.

Most of our conversations had something to do involving the war, but then it got more personal. I felt comfortable with him. I talked about my time at college and what I was studying. We went from a few messages a week to communicating everyday. Eventually when graduation came around, I offered him a graduation ticket. I was a little disappointed to find out it was too far for him to travel. He asked for my mailing address. That he felt guilty for missing such a big event and he wanted to make it up to me. I was a little apprehensive. I mean, we were taught to never give your stranger your address, but I was an RA in a college dorm. I would be out into the real world soon and he wouldn't know my room number or what I looked like.

So I sent it.

A few weeks passed and I got a pair of beautiful pearl earrings with a card that read. A beautiful girl always needs a set of beautiful pearls. Congratulations on all of your hard work. -C

Four and a half years later and I still have that card. We still talk about the war. I recommend him movies, while he recommends books then we both point on the inconsistencies. It was stupid, but it was fun. Now, I just sort of tell him about my day to day life and he tells me small tidbits about his. It was earlier in 2020 when the pandemic hit that things started to get... well things just changed.

I had just moved to New York in early February to start teaching at a local college. I was going to start with May-mester classes, but then Covid hit and the world stopped.

I had moved in with little to nothing. I had a few pieces of stuff for the kitchen and a bed. It wasn't much, but it was mine and I was damn proud of it.

My pride was short lived when I got the e-mail. In a panic, I sent him a message.

Hey can you talk?

Sure. What's up?

Is there anyway you can call me? I'm kind of in a bad place right now and I really don't have anyone else to talk to. I felt guilty as soon as I hit the send button. I'm not like going to hurt myself or anything I am just super stressed and if you have the time and energy, I just need to unload some stuff.

Seconds later my phone began to ring.

"What's wrong?" He asked. I took a deep breath. I can't believe this was the first time hearing his voice. It wasn't what I was expecting. I expected almost a pompous scholarly tone in his voice. But instead he was borderline on being batman. His voice was deep.

"They rescinded my offer." I took a deep breath. "I just spent all of my savings literally to move to this stupid freaking city and they told me over an e-mail 'we are sorry to inform you that your offer for employment has been rescinded until further notice due to the impending pandemic and the unforeseeable circumstances it holds. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and wish you the best in your future endeavors.' They said sorry and good luck."

There was a pause and I heard him sigh. "Sweetheart, I am so sorry."

"Thanks." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Looks like that chapter closed before it got any good. I guess I can see if maybe I can do virtual learning for a high school, but I don't know if my degree is enough. I think you need an education degree to teach."

"But you always wanted to teach college..." His disappointment matched mine.

"I know..." I looked down at nearly clear streets of New York. "But I need a job, C." I sighed. "It's either that or call my parents and I would literally rather be homeless than ask them for help."

"How much?"

"What do you mean?"

"How much was your job going to pay you?"

"80k a year starting." I said and felt another wave of nausea wash over me. 80k wasn't much to some, but it was a lot for me and it would be doing something I loved.

"Tell you what, that is about 6 and a half grand a month. I will pay you 7 grand a month if you promise me not to give up."

"What?" I couldn't believe this. "There is absolutely no way I could ever accept that kind of money."

"It's not like I don't have it, Princess." He can't be serious. That's crazy. He never mentioned having money or being well off.

"And what do you want in return?" The butterflies in my stomach began to churn. God I hope he wasn't wanting to do anything... unethical. "Surely you wouldn't do that just because you want me to be a college professor."

"Nothing." He said. "Absolutely nothing. I just want you to be taken care of and pursue your dream."

"I really can't let you do that."

"It's only temporary." He tried to assure me, but I still felt guilty.

"C-" He was always so argumentative and authoritative over messaging and he matched it over the phone.

"I promise." He interrupted. "It won't put a dent in my wallet."

"Only until I have a full-time job." I tried to say.

"Until you become a professor."

"No," I said. "As soon as I get a job and can support myself."

"Sweetheart, it's not polite to argue."

"I appreciate it." I said. "I really do."

"So does that make your day a little bit better?" He asked.

"It does."

"Anything else gone wrong you need help fixing?"

"No." I responded and felt like a child and and adult came up to fix the mess I had made.

"Good." I heard him sigh. "I'm glad that was easy to fix and now, that I got you on the phone... it's nice to finally hear your voice."

Chapter Two: Confessions

#steve rogers #bucky barnes #tony stark #marvel #anonymous

10 notes · View notes

svechnikovvv · 1 year

Text

memories

pairing: andrei svechnikov x fem!reader

warnings: profanity

summary: you just wish andrei could stay in your memories

a/n: this is inspired off of memories by conan gray

masterlist: here

you called it off with andrei a couple months ago. it wasn’t exactly the easiest thing, either.

***

“i can’t do this anymore.” he cups your face gently as if he were cradling a baby and you can see tears pooling in his brown eyes.

“don’t say that.” his voice is quiet and you shake your head.

“it’s the same thing every night. you come home at ungodly hours and slip into bed beside me smelling like some other woman’s perfume. you don’t even try to hide it. do you know how many times i’ve had to wash those bedsheets just in a week alone?”

“but she’s just a friend.”

“i was just a friend too, andrei.” you say barely above a whisper.

“you were never just a friend. you’ve always been something more.” you try your hardest not to break right then and there, managing to shake your head.

“i can’t keep hurting myself. i can’t keep allowing you to do this to me. i think it’s best we break up.” you step back away from him and you can see something flash in his eyes. his expression goes cold and he nods.

“i’ll be back next week to get my stuff.” and with that, he leaves your apartment, slamming the door behind him. the loud noise makes you flinch and you slide down the wall, bringing your knees up to your chest and sobbing.

***

yet here you are, scrolling through your photos when you see one of you and andrei. it was during christmas when it snowed in raleigh.

***

you, andrei & brady were walking through downtown raleigh at night, when brady speaks up.

“svechy said he’s never made a snow angel before.” you gasp and look at the giant you called a boyfriend.

“come on drei! it’s fun!” you laughed and grabbed andrei’s large hand in yours, dragging him over to the snow-covered ground.

“i don’t want to freeze my ass off.” he trudged behind you and you roll your eyes, lying down on the ground. andrei looks down at you spread out on the ground. you start to move your arms and legs back and forth and andrei sighs, lying down next to you. he starts to move his arms and legs back and forth as well, laughing a little.

“see! i told you snow angels were fun.”

“and very cold.”

“you’re from russia, how is 28 degrees cold to you?”

“was only joking, y/n.” after a couple minutes, you get back up and head back over to brady.

“how was your first snow angel, svech?” he shrugs

“maybe they’re not bad.”

later that night, brady sent you a picture. it was a picture of you and andrei lying on the ground, laughing as you both made snow angels. you were definitely saving that.

***

the picture used to make you cry every time you looked at it. now you just smile. you haven’t felt that way towards a photo of you and andrei in a while. you were pulled from your thoughts at the sound of a knock on your door. that made your brows furrow since it was late and pouring outside. either way, you get up off the floor and walk over, answering the door.

who you saw on the other side, you weren’t expecting.

“andrei?”

“i just want to talk,” he slurs out.

“are you drunk?” a lazy smile spreads itself across his face.

“you always did pick up on things very easily.” you let out a sigh and move out the way to let him in. a part of you knew you shouldn’t do this, but another part of you wanted to. you kept telling yourself it was because it was pouring and late outside.

“come in, andrei.” he stumbles through the threshold and looks around at your apartment. he makes his way to the kitchen and you’re following behind him like a lost puppy.

“what did you need to talk about?”

“us.” you shake your head

“no, andrei. there is no us to talk about. i thought it made it very clear that we’re no longer a thing.” he heaves out a sigh and sits down on the kitchen floor.

“you never gave me a chance to say my side.”

“how naive do you believe me to be? just… take the couch or stay in the kitchen.” you walk off to your bedroom, not wanting to listen to him try and play the victim. you were about to fall asleep when a knock on your door prevented that.

“yes, andrei?” he cracks open the door and leans against the frame.

“i need a change of clothes.” right. it slipped your mind that he was out in the pouring rain. you get up and head to the back of your closet where kept everything andrei failed to take. grabbing one of his hurricanes hoodies and sweatpants, you tossed them in his direction. you were able to catch a brief smell of his cologne. even after sitting in the back of your closet, they still smelled like him. you’re worried it got onto your sweaters.

he says a small thank you before you nod and head back to bed. no matter what you said to andrei, he was going to believe that there was a second chance for him. that the past is just that—the past. but you knew that the ending will always be you two broken up. you’d like to, someday, find it in you to move past everything and be friends, but not anytime soon.

you just needed him to realize that. you preferred he would stay in your memories.

a/n: i was listening to this song on repeat and thought it’d be perfect for drei

#andrei svechnikov x reader #andrei svechnikov #nhl hockey #nhl #carolina hurricanes

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