#Royal Couple of the NHL

[thornescratch]

Al Koken: Well, Nick, you've been with Alex longer than anyone else, how much fun is it to be part of these big nights?

Nicklas Backstrom: Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. I mean, what he accomplishes every night, milestones like this that we're gonna celebrate tonight, it's obviously a lot of fun. We're so happy for him.

Al Koken: I know you're part of the guys, one of the guys who helped select the gift tonight. Without telling us what it is, how tough is it to shop for a guy who's got a lot of things already?

Nicklas Backstrom: (smiles) He's got a lot of things but I think we came up with a nice little thing for him and hopefully he'll remember that forever.

Al Koken: You're wearing a 8 tonight as well, does it put a couple extra mile an hour on your slapper?

Nicklas Backstrom: I mean, hopefully. (smiles) I'm just hoping to get some magic from number eight tonight.

Nicke's total confidence here, like, "Oh yeah. I know exactly what kind of bling he likes. I mean, I'm still gonna make it kinda tasteful but I got this." That is a man who knows he can get some magic from eight any night he wants.

[sweetteainthesummerx]

|◁ II ▷| down bad ! |◁ II ▷|

★・・・・★・・・・ ★・・・・★

nhl masterlist !

pairing: quinn hughes x famous singer! reader

warnings: fluff, smut is implied but not graphic!! use of y/n.

summary: your sister sends you an article of you and quinn being absolutely down bad for each other...

word count: 2.4 k

notes: saw one too many edits of my handsome boy on TikTok and this is the consequence :) also, this is sort of based off of taylor swift and travis kelce. enjoy!

★・・・・★・・・・ ★・・・・★

you're finishing up in the studio, just done tweaking one of your last songs on your new album when your phone dings! with a notification.

it's your sister, who sends a trail of emojis that don't really make sense and a link.

you press on it, confused and assuming it's something she wants for her birthday that's coming up soon.

instead it's an article that reads, TOP TEN FAN FAVOURITE MOMENTS OF NHL AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S ROYAL COUPLE.

you laugh, because the cover photo is one of you and quinn from last year when you took him as your plus one to the grammy's. you have to admit, you both look really good, and so, so in love.

so you nestle into your chair to read it.

TOP TEN FAN FAVOURITE MOMENTS OF NHL AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S ROYAL COUPLE

one of Hollywood's up and comings, y/n l/n and quinn hughes of canucks and nhl fame have been dating for over three years, and have been public for two. we have complied a list of fan favourite moments of the couple over the span of their relationship that show their deep (and public) affection and love for each other

10. 2023 Grammy's Award Ceremony

picture: you are wearing a light blue floor length gown, hair loose and curled. your makeup is simple and glowy. quinn stands next to you, in a clean, slate grey suit with a hand wrapped around your hip, fingers nestled in the dip of your hipbone.

the award ceremony for the grammy's - where y/n won best album for the second year in a row - was when the famous couple first went public officially, not counting the many paparazzi pictures taken in both vancouver and Los Angeles.

sources show that the two could hardly keep their hands off of each other. they were seen kissing multiple times through out the night.

it was true, quinn had been extra handsy that night, and had all but ripped that dress off of you when you got back to the hotel. you sigh at the memory, stomach warm and a little achy. you can't wait for him to come back from the roadie he left for only two days ago.

9. y/n's tiktoks

despite their massive success in their respective industries, it is easy to forget that they are also part of gen z. y/n's TikTok page features fashion, her music and most popular of all, her boyfriend. here are only some of her most viewed and liked videos:

video one: you smile into the camera, fluffing your hair in a close shot. the subtitles read: fit check with my bf! quinn pulls you against him by your waist, kissing your face over and over as you laugh, pushing at his chest. over the song, you tell him to let go so you can show your outfits. he lets go reluctantly but holds your hand, spinning you around to show off your sundress. then he grabs you and dips you low, hands dangerously close to your ass, as you giggle into his cheek.

video two: the video is taken by one of your friends who took your phone. she's on the couch and you and quinn are in the kitchen cooking for the small get together in your vancouver apartment. you lean up to smile at him, and he bumps his nose with yours. some trending love song plays in the back.

you flush at the comments gushing about how he looks at you, the height difference and how cute you guys are. there's something so sweet at seeing the two of you from an outsiders perspective.

8. quinn knowing y/n's entire discography

during media days, one interview has elias petterson and quinn hughes guessing songs and the artists. the journalist managed to sneak at least four of y/n's songs in, quinn getting all four correct, with the full name of the song, name of artist and then album, all under 10 seconds of the song playing. now that's a supportive boyfriend!

you watch the video linked, your boyfriend sweaty and hair wet. the media person is impressed, and quinn just shrugs bashfully and offers a crooked smile. you look at the time stamp and bite a grin: it's from before you guys went public. no wonder all of your fans say you guys were obvious.

7. quinn hughes: nhl player and personal bodyguard

fame in hollywood forces many in the industry to have body guards, and y/n is not exempt. for many years before she started dating the canuck's defensemen, she's had many bodyguards following her around. now, it seems like her boyfriend has taken over that job.

video: your body guard, john moves to open the limo door as you and quinn arrive to an event, but your boyfriend crosses from his side of the car to open it himself, patting john on the shoulder and gently pushing him from the entrance and helping you out himself. he helps you balance on your heels as you stand and wave at the cameras, one hand on your waist as he maneuvers you to the other side of the sidewalk so he can block you from the cars. he keeps your hand cradled in his, his other arm around your waist as he shoulders through the paparazzi.

quinn looks so attractive and so masculine in this video. you've never had boyfriends who took princess treatment so seriously, but quinn has always been a defender, on ice and off. it was a little awkward and it took a long a while for him to get you, but ever since he had you, he's made sure he tried his very best to keep and protect you.

6. getaway in hawaii

although the couple hasn't had any announcement of engagement yet, early last year they were sighted in hawaii on a trip eerily like a honeymoon: here are some pictures.

picture one: you're in a tiny pink bikini and he's in board shorts. he's taken off his hat to give to you, and you're pressing on a pair of your too-small sunglasses onto his face while both of you laugh.

picture two: the two of you are standing in the water up to your calves. he's got his fingers tangled in the strings of your bikini bottoms, and yours are on his chest as the two of you look into the horizon.

picture three: quinn has you balanced on his shoulder, smiling as you clutch at his back. one of his forearms is possessively covering your ass from the camera, and his other hand is wrapped fully around your ankle to give you a semblance of balance.

you still smile every time you think of that trip, afternoons playing in the water, romantic dinners and nights with his head between your legs, your fingers tangled in his hair. you silently remind yourself to book a vacation back there the next time both of you are free.

5. the NHL award ceremony

the recent NHL award ceremony when quinn hughes received the James Norris award for his skills as a defenceman gave us another peek into y/n's relationship with hughes family.

video one: you're sitting between quinn and luke in your pretty dark blue gown. your hair is pulled back from your face the way quinn likes. he's got an arm thrown over the back of the seat, fingers rubbing your shoulder as you talk to Luke about his hair routine. quinn murmurs something the camera can't catch into your ear and you laugh, tucking your hand into the his that's resting on his lap. he leans back, stretching his legs as you absentmindedly rub his knee, leaning over his brothers to talk to his mom.

video two: his name is called, and you stand with him, clapping loudly. he hugs you first, and you press a kiss into the corner of his lip, but he plants a firm, real one on yours. your manicured, white nails contrast against the black expanse of his suit and broad back. you push him gently towards luke. when he's finished hugging everyone and comes back down the aisle, you quickly fix his tie and smooth down his lapels. he kisses your cheek again and goes down to the stage.

photo three: the trophy is in the middle, the whole family wrapped together. you're tucked between ellen, the older woman has an arm around your waist and your boyfriend's got is arm slung across you shoulders on you other side, everyone smiling big for the camera.

you still remember ellen and jim insisting that you get in the photo, because "you're practically family anyways," and "it's any day now" that their son proposes to you. the photo is on their fridge, to this day.

4. quinn's y/n shirt

another video from y/n's tiktok. during the christmas season, she spent the holidays with the hughes family. her future brother in law (hopefully), jack hughes got quinn a pretty special present.

video: jack is holding the camera, and it pans to you and quinn. your holding a giant sushi stuffed toy (long story) from luke on your lap as you sit next to your boyfriend.

"here," he extends a hand holding a bag to his older brother.

Quinn smiles in thanks and digs into it, retrieving shirt. but it's no ordinary shirt. it's one of those old, retro looking ones with your face blown out all over it.

pictures from red carpets, your album covers, and in gaudy, shadowy text, it reads: IF LOST, RETURN TO Y/N L/N.

Luke cackles as you bury your face in quinn's shoulder. he's letting out a deep, belly laugh as his parents smile and take pictures of it when he holds it out.

he immediately pulls off his sweatshirt and tugs the shirt on. it fits a little tight.

"merry christmas!" jack yells as he gives you a high-five.

he still wears that stupid shirt around the apartment, just because he knows you like the fit and your face plastered all over his chest.

3. y/n's songs about her boyfriend

through many new releases, we have determined a list of songs about quinn from her new album, lover.

sweet nothing

paper rings

lover

daylight

I think he knows

afterglow

good looking

wow, you think. these people must not have lives if they're rummaging through your digital footprint and media presence with your boyfriend just to link them with your songs.

2. quinn's interview

since the couple has gone public, y/n has been seen at Canuck's games with family and friends. since she's from vancouver, born and raised, she is passionate about hockey and fits right in.

video one: the jumbotron flashes your face an name; you're wearing quinn's canucks jersey, hair loose. you smile and flutter your fingers at the crowd that's going crazy. one the ice, quinn's teammates jostle and holler at him, and you blow him a kiss. he pretends to catch it, and the screaming in the stadium reaches a new level as the screen pans to him: he's pink and all smiley.

video two: the ref makes a call and you stand, throwing your hands up in the air, exasperated. you huff, sitting back down with your head in your hands. your friends watch on with disappointment, and the three of you let out complains.

video three: quinn grins while looking off camera in the middle of an interview, and the journalist laughs.

"your girl?" he asks, and quinn nods shyly.

"yeah, it's real nice to see her here supporting. I mean, she's really busy too with her tours, but it's nice to have her on my turf."

"I saw! she got really riled up for the penalty during the second period. she's wearing your jersey as well."

"yeah," he scratches his neck, scrunching his nose to hide the big ass smile on his face, "she looks great, eh?"

"glad to see her in her hometown, too."

"right. yeah, I love her so much."

you snicker at how love sick he looks, because early on in the relationship he followed you around like a clingy, lost puppy. he still does sometimes after a roadie or one of your tours. you love it.

1. karma is the guy on the rink, coming straight home to me

the internet broke when y/n changed one of the songs on her song list for her tour last year at rogers arena in vancouver: instead of "karma is the guy on the screen, coming straight home to me", which is a reference to her ex, she changes it to better fix her new romance.

video: you dance through the song, your backup dancers clueless as you reach the line.

"karma is the guy on the rink, comin' straight home to me!" your voice breaks a little in a giggle at the end, your dancers shocked laughter and gasps visible from their faces that even an iPhone camera from 25 meters away can catch.

video two: quinn's in the tent with your parents and some of his teammates and their girlfriends, all of them are vibing to the music and dancing, most holding drinks in their hands.

when the line hits the speakers, everyone is screaming so loud and filming him, and he blushes so red that it spreads to his ears and neck, even in the dim light. his boys are slapping his back, and your dad gives him a high-five. he just smiles at you, dopey and deliriously happy in his shirt of your face and the 20 friendship bracelets your fans had made for him.

you remember that show perfectly, and the night after even better. you barely got any sleep because of his attentions, and your makeup artists spent nearly half an hour covering up the bruises on your neck and chest the next morning.

all in all, we can come to the conclusion that quinn hughes and y/n l/n are completely down bad for each other, like she teased in the song list of her unreleased album. we only hope for good things in the future for this famous couple!

you smile at the closing statement, sending it to quinn to read later in his hotel room.

he facetimes you that night, hair wet and eyes sleepy.

"that article was absolutely right. I am so down bad for you." he tells you seriously, with the promise of lots of love when he comes straight home to you.

★・・・・★・・・・ ★・・・・★

© sweetteainthesummerx.tumblr. all rights reserved. unauthorized copying, translation, or claiming of my writing or any works as your own is strictly prohibited.

[cupidbedsy]

୨୧ the secret's out ; tz11

➪ summary: pictures and text messages of her and her brother's best friend leak and she stays curled up in her room, not talking to anyone. so mason calls up her best friend and soon enough, trevor is on a plane to england

➪ warnings: things being leaked, crying, reader thinks her brothers hate her, crappy friends

➪ word count: 1.3k

➪ cupid's notes: red, white, and royal blue is 100% the inspiration to this fic and yes i did basically copy the phone call and speech but its just too cute to ignore. i literally am in love with this movie. part two will be out tomorrow i hope! this would’ve been out earlier but i took a nap (shocking i know)

© cupidbedsy ; do not copy, repost, or translate my work and designs on any other website or here

Nothing was how it should be. They were supposed to be careful, they were careful. They were only seen together when it would make sense for them to be together; when he was in town for a game, when he was supposed to be hanging out with her brothers, or when he had a game against the Devils or the Canucks. And when they were seen together, they made sure everything was strictly platonic: no hand touches, stolen glances, nothing.

However, maybe they should’ve accounted for the fact that one, her friends were journalists, and two, her friends weren’t really her friends in the first place. They had a few classes together in college, back when she was still undecided, but despite that? They only found her interesting because of her last name and who shared it.

Somehow she was too predictable, her password was as basic as it got. It was the day Trevor asked her to be his girlfriend, they’re anniversary. It was the best day of both of their lives but now it was the root of all their problems. It wasn’t the biggest scandal on the dance floor, there were things much worse going on in the NHL and the world in general. No one would care about this besides the Zegras and the Hughes families and the girls who were too obsessed with hockey players and their relationships for their own good.

She was studying abroad in England this past year and she couldn’t help but fall in love with it. She had decided to extend her stay into the fall semester, not wanting to go back home. This sort of worked in her favor, she was 3,444 miles from Jack and Luke and 4,632 miles from Quinn. She was in a different time zone, country, and continent than them. All she had to do to avoid them was not answer her phone. 

She was good at that, blocking out social media and her phone as a whole. Growing up the sister of hockey players and her mom being who she was in the hockey world, she got used to the hate and backlash she got from not wanting to do hockey. Her phone was shut off and thrown into her desk drawer. Her friends tried to comfort her but were to no avail, she was too worried about what other people thought about it.

Not only had pictures of them been put out into the world but their text messages as well. However, she couldn’t remember a time she left her phone unattended. She hadn’t spoken to Trevor in two weeks, she hadn’t spoken to anybody besides her roommates in two weeks. She had seen a couple of articles and videos that were spreading, the one of Trevor’s interviews where he was addressing the situation was not only the biggest one but the most recent one. 

It was before the game, that the reporter had asked him about how everything in the media that was speculating had impacted him and his play. To which he responded with, “Y/n and I are together and have been since the beginning of the season. And whether people choose to support or hate it, isn’t my problem nor my business. We’re happy and hope everyone can support that decision and respect our privacy. I fell in love with a girl who happens to be related to my best friend. How is this affecting my mindset? I wouldn’t say it has, I’m still playling, and Greg still thinks I’m playing as best as I can and even better. I’m worried about her, that’s for sure. She hasn’t had the best track record with the media.”

He said a few more words, none of which mattered to y/n. She wasn’t sure if she cried more because of what he said or the situation. She curled up on the chair in the corner of the room, reading a book. Her friends looked at her sadly, they hated the fact that she had gone back to her reserved nature. 

Trevor on the other hand was acting like it wasn’t bothering him, he couldn’t hide himself from the media or anything really like she could. But, it was eating him alive. He didn’t know if she was okay or if something had happened or if she was ignoring him.  He was too desperate to know if he was okay so he attempted to reach out to all three of her brothers but he got nothing back in return.

It wasn’t until Mason walked into his room with his phone in hand, “I called her friend for you.”

Trevor looked at him with wide eyes, “What?”

“Thank me later.”

Her friend had been walking up the stairs to their apartment when she got the call from Mason, they had met when y/n and Trevor took them along on a trip to ensure that no rumors would start. She had practically run the rest of the way and bolted into the apartment. She walked over to y/n and handed her the phone.

She reached out for it and held it up to her ear, “Hello?”

“Baby!” 

Her voice stuck in her throat along with the sob that had been forming for a while. “Trevor? Oh my god, are you alright?”

“I’m hanging in there. Are you okay?”

She paused, “No. No, I’m not okay.”

“You know what, I’m coming to London tonight. Just hold on until I get there.”

“Hurry please.”

And just as he promised, 8 hours later he was standing in her apartment, opening his arms for her. She ran into them once she heard him call out and buried her head into his chest. Trevor sunk to the floor with her, his back pressed up against the wall, “It’s okay. I’m here. I got you.”

He could feel her body racked with sobs and he couldn’t help but start crying himself. He had torn himself apart these past two weeks as he waited to hear from her and knowing how much she had been in pain had hurt him. He picked her up soon after and carried her to the bedroom, laying her down on the bed. He crawled in next to her and wrapped his arms around her once more.

“Have you heard from your brothers yet?”

“Not a word. Not that I have checked my phone since the article came out.”

He frowned at her, tightening his hold, “Sometimes I wonder if part of their acceptance is just to forget it ever happened in the first place.”

This made him laugh a little as he pulled back to look at her. He moved the piece of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. His face changed when he realized that her small smile had turned back into a frown, “I feel so lost. They used to adore me, used to protect me, but now. It feels like they just wish I never existed.”

“Hey, they still love you.” She just blinked at him, “I’m sure if you looked at your phone they would just be wondering if you were okay.”

“I liked your speech, it was very put together.”

He smiled at her, “It made me very proud to be your girlfriend.”

“Hey, I’m always proud to be your boyfriend.”

She giggled and kissed his cheek, “You know what I mean you dork.”

“Speaking of boyfriends and girlfriends. Did you know Mason and Lia were dating?”

She perked up, “No! When did that happen?”

“Apparently-”

“Hey.”

The two turned and looked at Lia, “What’s up?”

“Your brothers are here.”

꒰ MISCELLANEOUS PLAYER TAGLIST ꒱

@toasttt11 @chiblackhawks @pucks-goals-penalties @dancerbailey3 @quinnylouhughesx43

PART TWO ; TZ11 MASTERLIST ; NHL MASTERLIST

TAGLIST ; NAVIGATION

[voidvannie]

꒰ఎ JANESSA BIEBER ━━━━ LOSE CONTROL AU

ᥫ᭡𓆪┊Get To Know Janessa Bieber !

┍                                      ┑

⋆✩⋆ ─── meet nessa

┖                                      ┙

nessa's profile ─── ⋆✩⋆

୨୧ Full Name ─── Janessa Marie Bieber ୨୧ Nicknames ─── Nessa, Little JB, Nessa Marie ୨୧ Date of Birth ─── November 29, 1999 ୨୧ Hometown ───Ontario, Canada ୨୧ Family ─── Justin Bieber, Jeremy Bieber ୨୧ Face Claim ─── Olivia O'Brian

୨୧ Favorite Animal ─── husky puppies ୨୧ Favorite Drink ─── Water, Monster, Apple juice, Pepsi ୨୧ Favorite Food ─── Anything greasy ୨୧ Favorite Celebrity ─── Selena Gomez ୨୧ Favorite Movie ─── Cheaper By The Dozen ୨୧ Favorite Color ─── Royal BLue ୨୧ Favorite Season ─── Winter ୨୧ Favorite Holiday ─── Fourth of July

𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪┊EXTRA FACTS !

୨୧ she grew up in ontario, canada. ୨୧ she's justin's younger half-sister. ୨୧ her mom signed her rights over when she was born & jeremy raised her. ୨୧ nessa & justin hated each other but grew closer the older they got. ୨୧ the half-siblings bonded over music. ୨୧ her favorite color is Royal Blue. ୨୧ 34 has always been her favorite number. ୨୧ she has absolutely no filter! ୨୧ has been singing since she was seven years old and taught herself to play guitar and piano. ୨୧ nessa initially gained the attention of gnash after posting a cover of one of his songs on soundcloud, after beginning to create music at the age of 13. ୨୧ she then sent a voice note of her original song, "i hate u, love u", and he invited her to record the song with him in los angeles. ୨୧ thereafter, nessa signed with island records and released her debut solo single, "trust issues", in august 2016, which premiered through complex magazine. ୨୧ she has a podcast called 'daily dose of nessa'.

𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪┊NESSA & AUSTON TIMELINE!

୨୧ nessa meets auston in 2018 at a leafs vs islanders game. ୨୧ he noticed her during the game a she sat behind the players bench, doing everything to get her attention. ୨୧ he gets her number after the game, tracking her down in the parking lot. ୨୧ they have their first kiss june 22, 2019. ୨୧ they go on their first date february 14, 2019. ୨୧ nessa & auston start dating august 17, 2019. ୨୧ when auston's parents and sisters' met her, they all instantly fell in love with her. ୨୧ she writes breakup songs to throw everyone off. ୨୧ due to auston and mitch's close friendship, nessa and step are super close with one another. ୨୧ auston has her name tattooed on his chest right above his heart. ୨୧ nessa has auston's named tattooed behind her left ear. ୨୧ they spend four years keeping their relationship to themselves with only their closest family and friends knowing. ୨୧ they make their first appearance as a couple at the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend game.

[blindbatalex]

a little marcheron treat for your Tuesday morning c:

The sun no longer warmed.

It had been a gorgeous fall day, with clear blue skies and sunshine that made the air feel a good few degrees warmer than it was.  But now the sun sat low among the trees, its light as pale and golden as the dying leafs they held, and the chill made itself known.

“Remember the first time we were here,” Brad asked, “just the two of us?”

Somewhere around Arlington Street Patrice had linked their arms together and now they walked through the Common, sharing one breath.

Patrice let out a chuckle.

“You mean the time I had to come fetch your drunk ass and haul it home?  I’m surprised you remember it.”

“I wasn’t that drunk,” Brad protested.

“You were passed out under a tree.”

“I was resting my eyes!”

“Uh-huh.  You know it took me half an hour just to find you because when I asked where you were, you said–”

The memory was well-worn in Brad’s mind, a stalwart feature of his ‘isn’t Patrice Bergeron the most amazing human being to walk the earth?’ reel he revisited every time he was drunk, high on painkillers or otherwise unable to sleep, but they rarely brought it up, out of consideration for what shreds remained of Brad’s dignity.  And still they finished the sentence in tandem, bursting into giggles as they did–

“I’m by a tree!”

He had really said that.  He looked down as they laughed.  The soles of his feet knew this path, having walked it more times than he could count.  His skin knew this air, its biting cold, and his eyes every inch, every plane and valley of Patrice’s beautiful face – the exact way the evening light caught in his brown eyes, his stubble, his royal brow, his eyelashes.  These trees around them, the grass and the hot dog stands.  The three of them – he and Boston and Patrice – were so intertwined, his bones said one could not exist without the others.  

There was, of course, no use in dwelling on any of that.  That was not how the world worked.

He smiled.

“I was so sure you were going to snitch on me.”

Patrice shook his head, like the thought was abhorrent to him even now.

Had he done so – and arguably he should have done so – they would have sent Brad down immediately and thought long and hard before calling him up again the next season.  But instead, Patrice had taken him back to his own place, tucked him into bed, and the next morning delivered the speech on professionalism and making the right decisions himself.  And when they did send Brad down a couple of games later for unrelated reasons, he’d given Brad the firmest hug.  Looked him in the eye and said– ‘you will be back’ half a statement of absolute faith and half order.

You will be back.

Come back.

“I never did ask.”  Patrice’s lovely voice broke Brad out of his reverie.  “Why did you get so drunk that night?”

Brad laughed, not expecting the question.  He quickly tried to think of a lie but he had given himself away; Patrice’s inquisitive gaze was now boring into him.  Unfortunately at this point Patrice also knew every expression that flitted through his face.

So, out with it, then.  The truth.

“Because you were too gorgeous.”

“Oh, come off it,” Patrice huffed and Brad filed his fond indignation away for safekeeping, too.  

“No man, I’m dead serious.”

“You got smashed out of your mind, potentially risked a whole NHL career, because I was too gorgeous?”

“Yep.”

“Dude, even for you– God, Marchy.”

He was laughing though, in these little halting bursts, and Brad liked that so he laughed along with him.

To their left a couple were packing away their picnic.  They chattered away as they folded the blanket and placed the last of the plastic plates back into the picnic basket.  They were in their early twenties.  They were clearly in love.  This was probably going to be the last picnic of the year; the air would grow colder and colder, scarves would come out, then snow boots, and the ground they now sat on would be blanketed in a thick layer of ice and snow, before it all melted again and spring touched the blades of grass, the tips of tree branches, with its gentle breeze, bringing them back to life.

Patrice stopped them both and turned to Brad, a terrible, helpless look in his eyes. 

Perhaps he had figured out the part of the explanation Brad didn’t give – the gay panic and the certainty he felt in his gut that all of the effort he put in to get to where he was would go down the drain in a single breath because surely any one person would see the way he looked at Patrice and clock him – or perhaps he too was thinking of the spring or of the time they wasted.

Brad put his hand on Patrice’s cheek.  None of them would do.

“Let’s just enjoy this moment,” he said quietly.

Patrice nodded, forcing a smile onto his face, brave and determined as always.  Then he leaned in to kiss Brad and Brad went gladly, meeting him halfway. 

The way his lips felt against Brad’s lips, his breath against Brad’s skin, his warmth, his hands as they pressed against his back– 

They were so new and they were already a part of him, rooting him in place, whispering–

[butterflyintochains]

Taking The Plunge

Hi, I'm Heather! I'm new around here. So, If anyone into literature, hockey, tennis, and music wants to say hi, that's totally cool! Been lurking on tumblr forever, and figured I should probably get off my ass and make an account. So, I'm finally taking the plunge!

Fave bands: Starset, Nightwish, Breaking Benjamin, and Evanescence

Fave writers: George RR Martin, JRR Tolkien, Fredrik Backman

NHL teams: Canucks and Penguins

I love Fantasy fiction, anything staring Pedro Pascal, and anything about space just in general. So yeah, here I am, taking the plunge!

Fic Masterlist

The Butterfly Effect - Kris Letang/Erik Karlsson

How It All Began

It's A Cruel Summer

A Second Chance

Those Small Details

Finding Out

Those Who Tried

Long Distance No Longer

Rival Captains In Love

Getting The Talk

Sickness And Health

The Power Couple Contest

Putting Family First

A Norris and A Masterton

Of All They Survey

To Have And To Hold

An Achilles Torn Twice

Le Nouveau Regime

Snapshots of A Family

Too Close For Comfort

The Price of A Mistake

On Midnights Like This

The Pittsburgh Gambit

One Missing Piece

Facing The Four Horsemen (one-off mafia au)

Best With Three - Gabriella Lemieux(oc)/Quinn Hughes/Elias Pettersson

Social Media AU - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

The Anatomy of A Nervous Breakdown

First Winter In Vancouver

The New Queen of Quebec

Reaching The Summit

Our Long Road - Juliette Leclerc(oc)/Max Verstappen

Announcements In Australia

Calling The Old Man Out

Post Suzuka Surprises

Forced To Choose

A Tropical Depression

Goodbye Joseph

The Grid's Royal Family

Crossing A Rubicon

Persona Non Grata

Making Their Debut

The Verstappen Kids

The Late Bloomer - Princess Daenaera Targaryen (House of The Dragon)

Princess Daenaera and Silverwing

The Long Journey To You

House Targaryen

The Targaryen Six + Dragons

The Desert Dragon - High Queen Shaena Targaryen (A Song of Ice and Fire) - not updating often anymore.

The Dragon's Daughters

Leaving King's Landing

Going To War

Moments of Calm

Revealing The Truth

The Purple Wedding

Princess Shaena Targaryen-Martell

Headcanons

Titles

Namesake

Children

In Safer Arms - Veronica DeAngelis(oc)/Anthony Beauvillier

In Safer Arms

El Maestro's Heiress - Adriana Fangio/Felipe Drugovich

Alfa Romeo-Maserati Team

Team Lineups

Legacies and Love Stories

Alfa Romeo and Juliet

Their Home Stretch

Making History Together

[laresearchette]

Monday, March 11, 2024 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: CARPE DM WITH JUANPA (The Roku Channel) LAKEFRONT EMPIRE (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?:

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA INVINCIBLE (Season 2 Part 2) THE PRINCE OF EGYPT: THE MUSICAL

NETFLIX CANADA COCOMELON (Season 10) YOUNG ROYALS (Season 3) (SE)

MLB SPRING TRAINING (SN) 1:00pm: Jays vs. Rays

TENNIS (TSN3/TSN5) 2:00pm; Indian Wells - Early Round Coverage Day #6

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 7:30pm: Capitals vs. Jets (SN) 10:30pm: Islanders vs. Kings

NBA BASKETBALL (SN Now) 7:30pm: Suns vs. Cavaliers (TSN/TSN4) 8:00pm: Warriors vs. Spurs (SN1) 9:00pm: Raptors vs. Nuggets

MURDOCH MYSTERIES (CBC) 8:00pm: Murdoch suspects the murder of a fledgling composer may have been motivated by jealousy.

BELGRAVIA: THE NEXT CHAPTER (CBC) 9:00pm: As Clara's fascination with Stephen's world develops, she makes a bold decision that alarms Davison; James' private life finds him under threat; Frederick grows determined to become part of the Marquise's new venture.

ANCIENT BODIES: SECRETS REVEALED (Super Channel Fuse) 9:05pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Human remains are discovered near Croghan Hill, Ireland, a significant place for ancient kings; the investigation takes a turn when authorities realize the body is not a current missing person or murder victim.

SIGHT UNSEEN (CTV) 10:00pm: Jake and Tess are investigating the shooting of a trucker when the Vice Squad shows up, demanding they cut their main suspect loose before they compromise one of Vice's investigations.

INTERVENTION CANADA (T&E) 10:00pm: Find out why devoted animal rescuer Shannon is helping everyone but herself. See her terrified family try to convince her that a life of abuse, assault, and addiction is a dead end for her and her relationship with her three-year-old daughter.

TIMBER TITANS (Discovery Canada) 10:00pm: Logging teams tackle steep ground and climb some of the tallest trees in the British Columbian wilderness. Over 300 miles away,other loggers are rocked by an unexpected fall snowstorm that turns the block road into an ice track.

LAKEFRONT EMPIRE (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Peggy's criminal past may be an issue for a couple who want a big boat dock; Justin's friends are looking for a weekend cabin getaway, and he's happy with a fixer, but she wants move-in ready.

LAWLESS ISLAND (Nat Geo Canada) 10:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): A long winter forever changes the paths of Port Protection's residents.

[hhughes]

⭑     …     ❝ 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 ❞ ; connor bedard

𝓹airing , fem!crosby!reader x connor bedard

in which supporting a crosby is in every canadian’s blood , so when sid’s daughter competes in the olympics, everyone is there to support, including her boyfriend connor.

꒰ 𝓷ote , I did use a few of summer’s pictures in this if you recognized her. she was obviously a huge inspiration for this smau. this was such a fun pairing to write! I might just have to write them again in the future 😋 . . . ꒱

TSN

liked by connorbedard, jackhughes and others.

TSN: Y/N Crosby competed at the 2024 olympics. The eighteen year old won four medals in total for Canada. Three of which were gold, while also setting a new world record.

. . . view all comments

user87: those crosby genes are strong

natemackinnon: YEAH SHE DID!

user12: always a good time when we get to see a crosby competing at the olympics

user15: *** a crosby carrying canada on their backs at the olympics

user98: *** a crosby dominating the olympics

pittsburgpenguins: baby sid all grown up and breaking records 🥺

kletang: just the other day she was a baby barely fitting in the stanley cup and now she’s a grown up

geno.malkin: little sid doing big sid things 😌

user11: I wonder if she ever gets tired of everyone always mentioning her dad when talking about her accomplishments

user52: I mean it’s hard not to mention him, considering her dad is THE sidney crosby.

user14: I think it’s really sweet how sid always tries to stay out of the spotlight to let her have her moment though. always trying to make sure no one spots him at her events and stuff. so all the attention will remain on her.

user19: I also think it helps that they have a really good relationship, Y/N is always happy to talk about her dad and has said countless times how much she admires him and how big of an influence he’s had on her life and her career. I think she understands what a big figure in canadian sports history her dad is and copes with that pretty well.

bradmarchand: doing us proud 🇨🇦

user70: am I going crazy or did you guys also see bedsy on your screen while she was swimming?

user56: I saw him too! wonder what he’s doing in Paris👀

yncrosby

liked by connorbedard, willsmith, and others.

yncrosby: had my brat summer in paris😚⭐️🥐

. . . view all comments

charlixcx: so iconic of you 💋

yncrosby: OMGG

yourbff: my best friend is an olympic gold medalist ⭐️😌

bradmarchand: kid better watch his hands

yncrosby: you can’t even see his hands ??

natemackinnon: exactly.

geno.malkin: good job baby sid

yncrosby: thank you G💛

user16: girl just tag him already we all know who it is

user13: fr. as if the TSN panel hasn’t been discussing their relationship for the last week 😭

sportsworld

sportsworld: nhl superstar connor bedard seen with girlfriend Y/N crosby in vancouver over the weekend. the pair was spotted having lunch with Y/N’s dad, Sidney Crosby.

. . . view all comments

connorbedard: *** seen with three time gold medalist Y/N crosby

user17: tell them king

user89: the fact that him confirming their relationship is because he won’t allow them to diminish her accomplishments is so freaking precious 😭

user19: canada’s royal couple

user99: they’re so cute🥺

user12: the way they look at each other , stoppp

user98: sitting on his lap in front of your dad is brave

user90: oh to be a fly on the wall when they announced their relationship to sid😭

user65: or all the honorary uncles. I just know nate, brad, geno, etc. gave him soooo much shit

connorbedard

liked by macklincelebrini, kevinkorchinski, and others.

connorbedard: wag summer 😌

👤 ; yncrosby

. . . view all comments

adamfantilli: my favourite wag🙂‍↕️

yncrosby: same😋

user16: a rare unsponsored bedsy post

user13: all his posts are either about hockey or his gf. there’s no in between

user99: dedicated to the two loves of his life. we love to see it

maddybedard: these pics are so cute 🤍

yncrosby: thanks to you ms photographer 🥰

maddybedard: the least I could do since you took me to paris

yncrosby: ❤️❤️❤️

connorbedard: ❤️❤️❤️

user14: simp

user95: the fact that he only responded to her comment

user61: can’t wait to see all the content we’re about to get of these two since they’re public now

[thornescratch]

8 repped by 19

HE’S SMILING SO MUCH.

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

♡ hey! i'm lizzie. 21. she/her. intp. gemini sun. taurus moon. sagittarius rising. habs/canucks fan. leafs hater (not sry)

♡ i also have a blog @crazycat-ladys-blog

♡ requests for one-shots and all aus are open (unless said otherwise below)

♡ what i will/won't write

♡ dividers by @saradika-graphics

my aus!

- ♥︎ consistent uploads (loose term) ♥︎ -

Taylor Swift x Fem!NHL!Reader

Older!Rockstar!Eddie x Popstar!Reader

Spencer Reid x Famous!Reader

Spencer Reid x Morgan!Reader

Regulus Black x Potter! Reader

- ♥︎ sporadic uploads ♥︎ -

Rockstar!Eddie x R&B Singer!Reader

Quinn Hughes x NHL Player!Reader

Quinn Hughes x Royal!Reader

Luke Hughes x Actress!Reader

Jack Hughes x Commentary Youtuber!Reader

Jack Hughes x Teen Mom!Reader

one shots!

🎀 fluff 🩰 angst 🩷 smut 🌷 social media edit

♡ celebrities!

🌷🎀 Karma Is My Girlfriend | Taylor Swift (has an au)

♥︎ Taylor goes to her girlfriend's hockey game, and Y/n goes to her girlfriend's concert.

🎀 Harry Girls | Platonic!Niall Horan

♥︎ Reader and Niall reunite on The Voice, fighting over the One Direction fans

🎀 'It Couple' | Andrew Garfield

♥︎ Where Andrew and Y/n are the 'it couple' of Hollywood

🌷Marriage Rumours | Andrew Garfield

♥︎ Rumours of a marriage end up to be true

🌷 Dunphy-Styles | Harry Styles

♥︎ Two child stars growing up and getting married.

♡ characters!

🎀🩰 Best Friends-With-A Baby | Eddie Munson

♥︎ When a best friends-with-benefits situation becomes a best friends-with-a baby situation.

🎀 Out Of Your Comfort Zone | Spencer Reid

♥︎ During a bookstore date Y/n's taste in books gets Spencer out of his comfort zone.

🎀🩰 History Repeats Itself | Jess Mariano

♥︎ Being a teen mom is hard but without any help it's even harder, after saving up enough she can finally move to Stars Hollow to be closer to her baby's father

🩷🎀 Aftercare | Eddie Munson

♥︎ Eddie believes the best type of aftercare is food

🎀 Meetings on a Window Sill | Remus Lupin

♥︎ Many don't know that during summer, Remus goes home to a muggle girl, and he spends more time on his fire escape than in his room some days

♡ athletes!

🎀 Unofficial Litter Sister | Platonic!Quinn Hughes

♥︎ Luke's girlfriend is sick, so Quinn comes to take care of his unofficial little sister.

🌷Eras Tour Love | Quinn Hughes

♥︎ How will fans react to Quinn dating one of Taylor Swift's dancers?

🎀 In Concert | Luke Hughes

♥︎ Luke brings Jack and a few teammates to his girlfriend's concert

🎀🩰 Moments In Time | Luke Hughes

♥︎ Moments in time during Y/n and Luke's relationship

🎀 So American | Nico Hischier

♥︎ Y/n invites her brothers and her boyfriend to one of her concerts

🩰🩷Second Chances | Trevor Zegras

♥︎ Reader giving Trevor another chance, after his already second chance and a complicated history. Right on the cusp of releasing her debut album

🎀 Caught The L-O-V-E | Quinn Hughes

♥︎ Quinn only falls more and more in love after going to his girlfriends concert

♡ youtubers!

🎀 Valentine's Reunite | Johnnie Guilbert

♥︎ After reconnecting after a few years, Y/n and Johnnie tell their fans they're friends again by a Valentine's video. With old feeling resurfacing the two have some tension that doesn't go unnoticed by said fans.

🎀 New Set | Johnnie Guilbert

♥︎ Giving boyfriend!Johnnie head scratches after getting new acrylics

[hrh-princess-amalia]

Flash forward - 2041

The year is 2041 and Fredrik and Amalia have been King and Queen of Lillistaad for just over ten years now. Fredrik’s father had decided in 2030 that his time as King was coming to an end and had abdicated in favor of his son that summer. The couple has three children now:

Princess Alexandra Amalia Isla Sophia - May 21, 2021 - at 20 years old, Princess Alexandra has just finished her university studies in international relations and economics. She is an accomplished equestrian rider and represented Lillistaad in the last summer Olympics, winning silver in the individual Show jumping event and bronze in the team jumping event. She has recently moved back to Lillistaad and lives on the grounds of the palace in her own apartments.

Prince Christopher Magnus Fredrik Joseph - September 19, 2023- At 17 (almost 18) years old, Prince Christopher is enjoying his secondary school years in Lillistaad, having chosen to stay close to his family instead of going the traditional route and attending a boarding school. He plays ice hockey and played on the nations junior team during the world junior championships this past winter. There are rumors that Christopher will be drafted into the NHL later in the summer, rumors which the palace has chosen not to comment on at the time.

Princess Vivienne Elizabeth Kirstin Josephine - February 3, 2028 - at 13, Princess Vivienne is the youngest of the royal children. She is an avid equestrian like her older sister Alexandra but also excels in art and music. She hopes to follow in her sisters footsteps one day and represent her country in the Olympics.

[mumaugh]

“alex not only made the commitment to us, but made it to nick”

[mywashingtonhockeybabes]

There is just so much about this picture to love. Longer you look the better it gets...

from the capitals Instagram story

[midnightsoldier187]

Of course

Nicklas Backstrom got his 900th point in his 900th game with Ovi and they combined for a few point. Like what are you new here, i would be more shocked if it didn't happen.

You know who was surprised my boyfriends cousin lets call him Dave from Georgia. And couldn't understand why two life long Capitals fans who have witnessed all of the nicky/ovi since 2006 were not.

[chanelfunnell]

some mail by an elf.

A) I think Julie Petry looks pretty in face and a great bod. Not just for a mother of 4 kiddos without big help and with the work.

B) well British. No ice hockey better cheese, one NHL female commentator with a record as a woman. She has apparently an old test modelling photo with a gym kit on likeulie Petry but it is very valued possession when it comes to a choir girl from a nunnery Marketa lol. UK Navy started to value their accomplished female commanders, much older than M, with talks to the press about sport bras for their female soldiers lol. Sad for these female officers but I say UK are Dumbos taken for any ride. What do they think young sporty girls wear for a sport and active life under the tops if not a gym cropped top? A wired Wonderbra if they have C cup like Other Windsor Girls

ByLike many young sporty girls and athletes in North America certainly UK armed forces paid fifty fifty for the order and corrupted lobbyists' fees as a norm. They try to buy overpriced containers plus costs from tin dictatorship Qatar for their open borders problem with housing illegal immigrants who are apparently accommodated in four star hotels because a woman in charge of police and homeland takes huge cut in billions paid by taxpayers. She has apparently posted racist Christmas card with her dream stuff as inept bully of her staff and she sold also all UK biometrics, is behind huge surge of immigration like we face on the southern border and her illegal trades with Rwanda and Albania has opened influx of Albanians. She uses brutal force to chase old grannies as incompetent PR cretin bully and made from their police walking drug woke zombies tolerating substances and their abuse because apparently majority of the last governments since Brexit in their party is on a class drugs and so Parliament but the ministers are heavy users and we're heavy users. Not just found in their Senate's wash rooms and a country seat of their former inept female PM but often around the mistress of that bat dishevelled journo who stole money for taxi ride. Apparently UK general is fired for a personal use of the car but the mattress with similar Narcis personality disorder like Markle commanded Grenadiers from a discussion about possible pretty royal candidates for honorary colonel Marketa (Margaret) and Kate (Catherine) lol. No worries with old crow trolling Diana to Marketa with Peep Show bs because anything as corruption has not been known and found. Markle has apparently hired Black Rock ? Agency to dig any smear about M and found anything, just companies in Delaware and Nebraska for tech which is not illegal but M stuck her little foot into the army ministry door and blocked couple of army land sales and army bases., cancelled outsourced quasi fake company from a recruitment process featuring one overpriced video with a hot fake blonde babbling for a hour and called it a lullaby for a cobra or mamba but no action, info,, action . Ukrainians have Xmas on January 6 like Russians. Not December 25th. M is medically trained for the army and wants them to give max 3yrs on visa and out of UK as majority of Ukraine is safe to accommodate own folks and so the rest of illegals and heavy patrols on the borders all round UK. They run media campaign about poor Ukrainian GPs and a medic immigrant homeless while Pro russian Czech President had his daughter visiting Czech army hospital bcs of Marketa. Those tin pot dictators gave own PR regardless who 8svattackef and UK got it with new Tory Wave like with Blair who attacked Iraq and ignored UK soldiers. M is apparently checked every time crossing UK borders and her name on electrical roll in Harrow checked and all about the address and trying to track her. Patel and Markle claim that M is not living in UK lol and it is bs by M's trolls who said something to local police force as they belong to some Christian sect with HQs close to Norwich airport. Check what she has recorded on files of MET police. They refuse to reveal it but M was seized from the plan on arrival from Ireland where she helped upon certain fake alert. Army thinks it was done by fattie's mistress and her friend corrupted Ex Homeland minister woman upon Markle and Czech communist ex Pam's idea. Weeks later Belarusian journo was kidnapped from the same plane on the way to Lituania but copied from M's capture. M said that Elena Zelrnska is a lazy poser dressing up for Vogue photoshoots why their brave soldiers die and she should lift her lazy bum to go and look after them on frontline. So..UK is all PR spin and a pitch for spies and corruption like in 3rd world. We know why. .check facts or shop around like UK for new party after their corruption and dictatorship with cult personalities by PR spins is over the top. We chucked idiots after high taxes by a tea party lol. Bras or not so they don't have an ice hockey anymore.

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 32

A/N: Another ‘friend’ of ours makes an appearance in this chapter (unfortunately for me lmao)

August 2nd, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was as prepared as she could be for Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.  

Scotiabank Arena was freezing – more freezing than normal – because of the three-games-a-day and all the hockey being played.  She knew the players and team personnel would complain if the ice was crap (apparently they could tell, though it beat the shit out of her how they could tell), and of course Scotiabank Arena, and the Leafs in general, wanted to make an excellent impression.  They were the centre of the hockey world, so Aberdeen knew they could pull it off.  It just didn’t help that it was August and it felt like early November indoors.

She joined Brendan and Kyle in their usual box – luckily they didn’t have to give that up.  The team was taking their pre-game skate below and Aberdeen watched as William shot pucks towards Freddie in the net, sneaking one past him before skating around their perimeter of the rink a few times.  On the other side of the ice, the Columbus Blue Jackets were doing the exact same thing, though she barely knew or recognized a soul on the team.  One of them could walk by her in the arena and she wouldn’t know better.  

“How do you think it’s gonna go?” Brendan asked from six feet away from her, his black mask covering his face.

Aberdeen shrugged her shoulders.  “You should stop asking me these questions, Brendan.  I know nothing about hockey.”

“That may be,” he said, not letting up, “but you know the boys, on a level far superior than your knowledge of hockey.  So what do you say?”

Aberdeen thought about it.  She knew them on a personal level, but that didn’t matter at all – at least she didn’t think it mattered – when it came to a playoff game.  She knew how much pressure the guys were under.  She also knew that they were still adjusting to the bubble life and how weird everything was.  Make no mistake – they were being taken care of exceptionally well by the staff at the Royal York Hotel, and Aberdeen made sure she said a loud thank you to every worker she came across and interacted with.  She heard every single one of the guys do the exact same thing.  But she didn’t know how that would translate into a hockey game.  They were two different things.  They were to different entities that she had no idea how to join together.  

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, her voice soft.  “When you ask me these questions, I feel like you want me to be Nostradamus or something.  What if I said they were going to lose 2-0?”

“I’d believe you,” Brendan shrugged.

***

The Leafs lost 2-0.

“C’mon Nostradamus,” Brendan said as he packed up his clipboard and tucked it under his arm.  “The social media posts can wait.  You need to go mediate the post-game interviews and press calls.”

Aberdeen packed up her iPad after she rolled her eyes.  She shouldn’t have said anything.  She should have responded ‘They’re going to win 5-0!’ the first time he ever asked her that question and kept that answer throughout the entire season.  She followed six feet behind Kyle, who was in turn six feet behind Brendan, as they made their way to the locker room.  By the time they got there, Sheldon was nearing the end of his post-game speech.  Most of the guys were half undressed – at least at the top – and a few of them were shoving off their elbow pads and chucking their tape from their socks into the bins.  They all looked irritated.  

She made her way into the media room and set up the Zoom call where a bunch of reporters joined.  Morgan and Auston walked into the room, and she quickly typed in the chat which players were there so they could organize their questions accordingly.  Morgan and Auston sat down in their chairs.  

“Is Steve on the call?” Auston asked suddenly while Aberdeen was adjusting the camera.

“Uh, yeah.  Why?” she asked.

Auston pursed his lips together and shrugged it off.  

The interviews were going fine.  She hated hearing the sound of her own voice on recordings but she knew she’d have to suck it up for the sake of the media call.  She called on each reporter by name.  The boys answered their questions.  It was all very routine.  

“Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun,” Aberdeen called out.  She waited, and while waiting, she saw Morgan’s and Auston’s demeanour completely change.  

“Uhhh, Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun for Auston – it’s one thing to hear about how tight they play, and to even watch the films of how tight they play.  What was it like to experience it?”

Auston took the lead.  “Uh, well I mean first of all, it’s unfortunate that I’mn getting a question from you at this point, Steve, but I just wanted to say I didn’t really appreciate the article you wrote about me a couple months ago.  I thought, uh, it was very unethical to be honest, but…uh, moving along…”

Aberdeen didn’t hear the rest of his answer.  Truthfully, she didn’t care.  All she could feel was a burning sensation shooting up her spine at Auston’s words.  He did it.  He called out Steve Simmons, the most annoying reporter known to mankind.  

She smirked.

***

After the media interviews, Aberdeen found a quiet space and took out her iPad again to post the final score graphic to the team’s Instagram page.  As she finished typing the caption – ‘Battled hard.  Back at it on Tuesday.’ – she heard some fairly loud footsteps behind her before they stopped.  “A girl?” a voice from behind her said.

She didn’t recognize it – and it wasn’t like anybody from the team would refer to her as “a girl” – so she furrowed her brows and turned around.  She saw what had to be a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets staring at her.  She couldn’t see it, but she automatically knew from the way he was standing and the energy he gave off that he was smirking smugly underneath his mask.  “Yeah, we exist,” she shot him a look, not ready to take any bullshit from him or anybody else.  The way these men thought she was a complete novelty astounded her.  “Have you never seen one of us before?”

“So Barzy was right,” the man continued.  “The Leafs have a girl in their bubble.  Incredible.”

Aberdeen could tell by the way he said and emphasized girl that this conversation – if you could call it that – was gonna be a doozy.  The guy was huge but didn’t look any older than she was, so she knew she would be able to put him in his place.  “What are you even doing in this hallway?  You’re not supposed to be on this side,” she said sternly.  “I suggest you leave and go back to your area of the arena unless you want me to complain to the NHL that your breaching protocol.”

From the very end of the hallway, another figure walked by, stopping at the gap when he apparently found who he was looking for.  Aberdeen could at least recognize him – John Tortorella, the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.  “Pierre, what the fuck are you doing there?  Come on, we gotta go.”

The man, named Pierre, gave Aberdeen a smoldering look.  She rolled her eyes.  “Must have taken a wrong turn,” he said, loud enough so John would hear.

Dead set on not taking any bullshit, and just really, really wanting to put this guy in his place, Aberdeen didn’t let up.  “Perhaps you should remind Pierre of how to speak to the staff of another NHL team,” she said sternly.  Both men were too far away to notice how red she was getting, but she could see Pierre whip his head to look at her and his eyes go wide in shock.  “And perhaps he should read another copy of the social distancing and bubble protocols tonight in his bedroom so he doesn’t make this unfortunate decision again,” she said, deliberately using ‘decision’ instead of ‘mistake’, because she fucking knew this was no mistake.  She wondered what other rumours were swirling in the Royal York about a girl being in the Leafs bubble.  

Pierre scurried to the end of the hallway.  From her spot, she could hear John chuckle.  “You must be the Aberdeen Bloom I’ve only ever heard good things about,” he said.  “Keep it up.  I might ask you to take my place to keep the boys in line.”

She couldn’t help but smile.  Pierre took one last look between his coach and ‘the girl’.  “I could take ‘em,” Aberdeen commented, getting a nod from John before he and Pierre disappeared.  

She let out a breath.  

***

After the team got back to the hotel, picked up their pre-packaged dinner, and settled into their rooms, Aberdeen showered and changed.  She sat at the desk where she put the meal and took out her phone.  She sent some quick texts to her parents, Siena, and Camden before bringing up William’s name.

U up?

lmao minskatt isnt that what i should be saying to u *wink emoji*

Do you want to eat dinner together?

of course

I’m ready whenever you are babe

She waited for him to start the call.  Not even two minutes later, her phone began to ring and “Head Empty” flashed across the screen.  She accepted the FaceTime call almost immediately.  When it connected and he appeared on her screen, walking in his hotel room with his bathrobe on and his hair wet and tied back, she smiled.  “Hi.”

“Hi minskatt,” he said, his voice low.  She watched as he put a pair of headphones on.  “That’s better.”

Hers were already in.  “I’m sorry about the game tonight,” she said, perching her phone on a high point on the desk.  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

He shrugged.  “Not really.  At least, not right now,” he said, putting his phone down too.  “Maybe later.  Like, after we have dinner.”

“Promise me we will.”

“I promise,” he said, looking into the phone.  He knew she would want him to talk about it, and he made her a promise all those months ago.  He would never break it.  “Right now I just want to have dinner over FaceTime with my girlfriend even though we’re less than fifty feet away from each other.”

Aberdeen chuckled, if only because she agreed wholeheartedly that this whole thing was ridiculous.  The tone of William’s voice made her know that he thought it completely ridiculous too.  “It’s hard.  I know.  At least we get free food,” she held up a forkful of the marinated chicken breast.  “And good food.  It’s not like it’s airplane food.”

William smiled slightly.  “First thing I do when we get out of here is bring you to Canoe or Ardo or Miku and splurge on every meal they have on the menu,” he said.  

“Sounds good to me.  Maybe by then I’ll have a new job to celebrate, anyway.”

“How’s the article coming along?” he asked.

“Fine,” she said.  She’s started in the other day and already had about 1500 words worth of material.  She figured the best way to go about it was keep a sort of diary every day and then edit it down when she could.  “Might talk about how fucking awkward you hockey boys are these days with women.”

“I’m excluded from that, right?” he asked.  “I mean, I totally swept you off your feet when we first met.”

She couldn’t help but smile.  “You did.”

***

August 3rd, 2020

Aberdeen accompanied the team to one of the workout facilities just so she could catch a glimpse of sone sunshine on the day off.  Instead of working out, she sat on the sidelines of where all the equipment was and the boys worked out, furiously typing away on her personal laptop.  Every so often when she’d glance up, she’d see Morgan’s thighs almost ripping through his shorts as he did some lunges; she’d see Auston’s biceps almost bursting through his sleeves as he lifted weights above his head; she’d see William’s thick torso exposed as his shirt rode up from him throwing a heavy medicine ball above his head.  

A million girls in this city would kill her to be in her position.

And here she was, writing 10,000 words about them instead of ogling them.  Well, everyone except her secret boyfriend.

***

August 4th, 2020

Game 2.  

Aberdeen was confident that the boys would respond to Columbus’s win in Game 1.  She could tell in their energy throughout the day and in the arena they were ready and they were ready to win.  

“Hey Nostradamus,” Brendan called out, winking.  Aberdeen saw Kyle chuckle from behind his mask.  “What’s the score gonna be?”

“Oh shut it,” she shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest and smirking to herself.  Except she couldn’t hold her tongue.  “3-0, but this time for us.”

“I believe her!” Kyle piped up.  

Brendan snorted.  “Who’s placing bets?!”

The bell rang and everybody settled down to stand for the anthem.  As the game got underway, Aberdeen could feel rushes of electricity move up her spine every time the Leafs touched the puck.  They were playing phenomenally.  They looked focused, into it, and like a complete team.  It was a night and day difference from Game 1.  Though the first period didn’t have any goals, Aberdeen knew they’d be coming – for the Leafs only.

In the second period Auston scored and Aberdeen jumped out of her seat to celebrate.  And when John scored late in the third period to get a two goal lead, she was even happier.  

Then, with less than two minutes left, disaster hit.  

It was a play behind the net.  Pierre Luc Dubois – the guy from the other day, Aberdeen had learned – basically cross-checked Jake Muzzin, and Jake fell awkwardly, trying to break it, with his head hitting a Blue Jackets player’s leg.  He fell to the ice.  

He wasn’t getting up.  And the referee hadn’t blown the whistle.  

Those fuckers.

“BLOW THE FUCKING WHISTLE!!!” Aberdeen screamed at the top of her lungs, startling Brendan and Kyle.  Her face was turning red.  She was sure she’d been so loud the referee actually heard her, because he finally blew it.  Jake was having a hard time getting up, and then he lay back down.  One of the trainers immediately made his way onto the ice, rushing towards Jake.

The replays began to play from every angle, and Aberdeen watched on the TV screen in the box how his head and neck contorted once he hit the player’s thigh.  She had tears in her eyes as she watched the worst angles.  She looked back out onto the ice to see Jake still lying there.  The trainer was still with him, though more were making their way onto the ice now.  Then, she saw one of the trainers put his hands near Jake’s neck.  They called for a stretcher.  

She bolted out of her seat.

“Aberdeen!” she could hear Brendan call out after her, but she didn’t listen.  She didn’t turn around.  She hurried down to ice level, her mind running a mile a minute, and flashed her credentials to anyone and everyone she needed to, not bothering to stop so they could actually see them.  

By the time she got to ice level, she could hear the distant sound of sticks tapping, letting her know he was being stretched off.  She met all the trainers and the stretcher at the entrance.  “Jake?!” she asked frantically.  

“Aberdeen?” he asked.  

“Are you okay?  Did you break your neck?!”

“I didn’t break my neck.  I can feel my arms and legs,” he said.  Aberdeen let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding in.  “Did it look scary?”

“Is that a joke?” she asked.  “I ran down here the second they called for the stretcher.”

“We’re going to take him to the hospital.  He’s going to have to leave the bubble,” the head trainer informed Aberdeen.  “You need to tell Brendan and Kyle.  Then update us on the protocol of what it will take to get him back into the hotel.”

Before she could acknowledge what was just said, Jake spoke up again.  “Aberdeen?”

“Yeah Jake?”

“You need to call Courtney for me.  Tell her I’m okay,” he said.  “She’s probably worried sick.”

Aberdeen’s heart sunk into her stomach.  Courtney.  “Yeah yeah, of course—”

“—You have her number, right—”

“—We really need to get him to the hospital—”

“—Yeah, I have her number—”

“—Call Courtney, please,” were Jake’s last words before he was stretchered off.

Aberdeen watched until they were out of her line of sight.  For a few moments, the images of what just happened flashed through her mind, and she momentarily forgot about everything.  She felt sick to her stomach.  Jake said he felt okay, but she knew hockey players always just said that.  Morgan had been playing injured for the better part of the year until he actually got injured.  High sticks to the face, lost teeth, blood drawn – these guys just put a bandaid on it and said they were fine.  But this was different.  

When Courtney’s face crossed her mind, she jolted back to life and grabbed her phone out of her pocket, scrolling until she found Courtney’s number.  The phone didn’t even have to ring twice.  “Aberdeen?!” she asked frantically.  “How’s Jake?”

“Hey Court—he’s okay—”

“He’s okay?!”

“Well, they’re bringing him to the hospital right now,” she said.  “But I was able to talk to him because I rushed down to ice level and he told me he was fine and to call you.”

“So you—you were able to talk to him,” Courtney said, her voice much calmer than just moments before.  “You saw him?”

“Yes.  He told me he could move his arms and legs,” Aberdeen informed her.

“Okay.  Okay.  Does that mean he has to leave the bubble though?  I mean can I go visit him?”

Aberdeen cringed.  “I don’t think so,” she said.  As she did, she could hear Luna being fussy in the background and Courtney trying to calm her.  “The NHL has an agreement with Toronto General about potential injuries.  If everything is okay and he comes back into the bubble, all he has to do is pass three negative tests,” she explained, listening to Luna get even fussier.  

“Okay.  Alright.  But they’ll call me, right?”

“Absolutely.  I’m sure Jake will even be able to call you from the hospital.  Our trainers all have their phones on them.”

“Thanks Aberdeen,” Courtney said, and Aberdeen could hear the relief in her voice.  She knew all Courtney wanted was to hear from her husband.  Luna let out a loud cry.  “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye Court,” Aberdeen ended the call.  

Families.  So many of them had families.  So many of them had families that were suffering and making do with a prolonged absence and Aberdeen couldn’t take it.  The players were sacrificing so much to be in the bubble.  And their families were sacrificing so much letting them go into the bubble.  She knew most of them had money – to cope, to do whatever, really – but that didn’t compensate for presence.  That didn’t compensate for having daddy around to play and snuggle with.  

She began to cry as she found herself walking towards the locker room, not even knowing whether or not the game had ended.  She didn’t really care at this point.  All she could think about was Courtney and Luna at home, worrying about Jake as he was being taken to the hospital.  To Aberdeen, nothing else mattered right now.  

She heard some commotion from the locker room and she knew the boys were back in.  She didn’t know how long they’d been back for, and didn’t bother to peek in to see.  She didn’t want to when her eyes were still red and welling up with tears.  Instead, she hid herself around a corner, crouching down with her knees against her chest, wiping at her eyes every so often and trying to control her emotions before having to go in, or getting called by Brendan, or by Kyle, or—

“There you are.”

Well, so much for that.

She looked up from her crouched position and saw Jason looking down at her.  He wasn’t completely undressed – he had all his UnderArmour on – but he was still sweaty from the game and his hair was matted against his head.  She wiped her eyes one last time before getting up.  “Hi.”

“Did you see Jake?”

She nodded.  “He’s okay.  He can feel and move his arms and legs or whatever.”

“Why are you crying?”

She knew he wasn’t asking to be insolent, but did she really have to have to spell it out for him?  “Don’t tell me you’re immune to this shit,” she said.  “I just had to call Courtney and explain to her that her husband didn’t break his neck and end his God damn career.  Luna was crying in the background.  It’s a lot, okay?”

Jason nodded his head.  “I know it is.  I’m not trying to…fuck, I know that came out wrong.  He’s gonna be okay, Aberdeen.”

“Thanks.”

“Come on, Aberdeen,” he said soothingly.  “It’s gonna be okay.”

She shook her head, wiping away the last of her tears.  “I know.  I’m just being a big baby.”

“No you’re not,” Jason said.  “You’re not being a big baby.  You’re being a human being.  Someone you cared about got hurt.  Do you want to talk about it when you get back to the hotel?” he asked.

She considered it for only half a second before she shook her head.  “No.  I know you call your girls every night.  I can’t take time away from them.”

“Aberdeen—”

“I’ll be okay,” she asserted.  “I promise.  I’ll be okay.”

“Aberdeen!” Kyle’s voice suddenly called out.  He rushed towards her with his phone in his hand.  “They took him to the hospital, right?”

“Yeah,” she nodded her head, trying to steady her voice and make it seem as professional as possible.  “He’s technically left the bubble, so we have to update the trainers on protocol to get him back into the hotel and how—”

“I’ll handle that with Brendan and Josh,” he interrupted.  “But he was okay?”

“He could feel his arms and legs.  That’s what he told me.  Then he asked me to call Courtney and I did that.”

Kyle nodded his head, looking – really looking – at Aberdeen for the first time in their conversation.  “Were you crying?”

“I’m going to be fine,” was all she said.  

***

“I’m going to come to your room,” William said through the phone in a strained voice.

“Don’t you dare,” Aberdeen chastised him, a new batch of tears having fallen down her face as she lay in bed.  “Don’t you even think about leaving your room, William.”

“Aberdeen, you need me and I need to be with you right now—”

“And you need to stay in your room so you don’t get kicked out of the bubble,” she said sternly.  “I’m being serious, Will.  Don’t come over.”

She watched as he bit his lip and shook his head.  She could see all over his face how conflicted he was.  It was one of the things she loved most about him – to the world, he seemed cool and unemotional and that he didn’t really care about anything or take anything too seriously, but to her, he was the entire range of emotions in one conversation.  He had a heart full of gold and she knew it would always stay that way.  “This is killing me, minskatt,” he whispered, his voice defeated.  “I want to be there for you when you need me.  Always.  I mean…you need me, right?”

Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.  She didn’t know where this was coming from, but like some things with William, she felt like it was something that had been on his mind for a while and was only letting out now.  He was still learning to talk to her about his feelings.  He was keeping his promise from February, so she could appreciate that.  “Of course I need you,” she said softly.  “I’ll always need you like you need me.  We’re in this together.  You know that.  But you need to be on this team right now.  You need to help them fight.  This isn’t about me.  It’s about the team.”

“It’s always about you,” William said.  “You still don’t get it, do you?  It’s always about you.”

“Don’t make it about me right now, Willy.  It’s not about me.  It’s about Jake, and the team,” she paused for dramatic effect.  “Make it about me later,” she added, trying to be humourous.

It garnered a small smile from him, and she felt proud of herself.  “I love you, minskatt.”

“I love you too Willy.  Promise me you’ll get some sleep?”

He nodded slightly.  “I promise.”

***

Aberdeen’s iPhone was still in her hands as she woke again from its vibrations.  She jumped at the sensation of being awoken in the middle of the night.  If it was Willy calling her at three in the morning, she was gonna kill him.  

“Hello?” her voice was groggy.

The voice on the other end was not William’s.  “I lived, bitch.”  

***

August 6th, 2020

It wouldn’t be a Toronto Maple Leafs series without some drama, apparently.  And the drama tonight was how the team blew a 3-0 lead, allowing the Columbus Blue Jackets to win 4-3 in overtime, with Pierre-Luc Dubois scoring a hattrick.  That meant the Columbus Blue Jackets were now up 2-1 in the series.

It meant the Leafs could go home tomorrow.

Aberdeen tried not to think about it.  

She didn’t bring it up with anybody as they went back to the hotel, and she knew, judging by the looks on their faces, that they didn’t want to hear about it either.  Nobody would be turning on their TVs tonight, and she doubted they would check the news on their phones, either.  Maybe they’d play video games to take their minds off of it.  Or maybe they’d go right to bed and rest, since they had to do all of this again in less than 24 hours.  Fuck.

Aberdeen took a shower.  She washed her face.  She did her skincare.  She put on a sheetmask.  

Her phone rang.

She knew it was William, so she tucked herself into bed and accepted the FaceTime call.  When he realized that she had a sheetmask on, a smile broke out on his face from ear to ear.  “Nice sheetmask,” he said, biting his bottom lip.

She smiled cheekily and shrugged her shoulders.  “You’re used to it by now.  Shouldn’t come as much of a surprise,” she said.

“I am used to it by now and—oh shit, hold on, I forgot something…” he said, trailing off as he set his phone down so Aberdeen could only see the ceiling in his room.  Knowing William, he probably forgot to turn the light off in the bathroom or something.  But the longer he took, the more Aberdeen became skeptical of his whereabouts.  She barely heard anything on the other end.  “There we are…” she heard his voice.  And then she saw what he had on his face: a sheetmask.  He was still smiling from ear to ear.  “Now where were we?” he asked.

“William!” Aberdeen squealed, letting out giggles she couldn’t hold in at the sight of him.  He looked ridiculous.  It was clearly the first time he’d ever put one on himself.  “What in God’s name are you doing?”

“You love these things!” he tried to justify himself.  “I brought one because I knew I’d catch you at least once in here with one of these things on.  And if we can’t do it together…well, physically, then we can do them together in separate rooms.  Like everything else we need to do.”

Her cheeks flushed red – not that he could see.  He bought sheetmasks and put them on with her.  He gave her time to write.  He encouraged her writing.  He listened to her.  He cared for her.  He was even better than anything she could have imagined in a dream boyfriend.  How did she get so lucky?  How did she let guys treat her like shit before him?  She felt tears well in her eyes.  He was going all out to make the best of the bubble, and she couldn’t be more thankful.  “I love you so much, Willy.”

“I love you too, minskatt.”

“No…I love you Willy.  Like love you love you.  Love you love you love you.  I don’t even have the words…and I’m a writer!  You make me speechless, Willy.  There aren’t enough words in the English or Swedish languages that I can string together that will, like, tell you or show you how much I love you.”

“I get it, minskatt.  Don’t worry.  I feel the same way.”

“I don’t know how I got so lucky with you.”

“I annoyed you enough until I wore you down,” he quipped.

She giggled.  “You seduced me is what I’d call it.”

“I don’t know about that.  If I remember correctly it was you rubbing yourself against my thigh that morning.”

She made a face at him.  He made the exact same face back but crinkled his sheetmask so he had to flatten it with his free hand.  She watched him with complete adulation.  “Willy?”

“Minskatt?”

“Can we listen to our song together?”

William smiled.  He fiddled around with his phone and his ‘Minskatt’ playlist until the familiar chords started playing over the phone, filling the air with the nicest, best, most beautiful sound Aberdeen had ever heard – save for Willy’s laugh, maybe – because she knew this song was about her, about them, and it was still their little secret.