#and what a time to get your first... after three games of being shutout

[frostbeees]

michigan goal gifs (32/?)

[malk1ns]

march 7 @ golden knights, 4-0 loss

not even A goal? honestly, boys. aren't you all old enough to know better than to hit the town in vegas the night before a game*??

*disclaimer: i do not know if they went out the night before the game. probably they didn't...unless....?

The bus to the airport is quiet.

The team is always quiet after a loss, especially a shutout loss, but this is the day after the game, after a night of sleep to get over it and a solid practice to reset and look ahead to the next one. Normally, there would be chatter, dinner plans and bets being laid on lineups and shot totals and who’s going to score first.

Not today.

Zhenya slouches back into his chair and pushes his sunglasses further up his nose, attempting to block out more of the unrelenting afternoon Vegas sun. All the shades in the bus are drawn, but every time they take a turn or go over a bump and a ray of sunshine makes its way into the interior of the bus, someone moans in pain as it hits their eyes.

“Oh god,” Sid groans.

With great effort, Zhenya turns his head to the side to look at Sid, who’s massaging his temples so hard Zhenya wonders if he’s going to puncture through to his brain. “Your fault,” Zhenya croaks. “I say we take it easy, just do magic show, play game, get out of here. You’re make us go to clubs. No wonder we lose so bad.”

Sid slits open his eyes just enough to glare. “We were fine last year,” he hisses. “I was fine. Why would that have changed?”

Zhenya would shake his head, but he thinks his brain might slosh right out of his ears. “You old now,” he says mournfully, watching as Sid tips forward and digs the heels of his hands into his forehead. “One day you big party animal, go out and wake up fine next morning, next day you’re have two drinks and want to die for three days, lose games because you’re throw up at intermission.”

“I didn’t throw up,” Sid mutters.

“I did,” Kris says from the row behind them, voice dire. “And so did Karl and Rusty. Both intermissions.”

“Shut up, oh my god, you’re gonna make me hurl again,” Rusty moans from across the aisle.

“No clubs next year,” Sid promises, listing to one side until he’s leaning heavily against Zhenya. “Fuck, no bars. No beer. No drinking at all, ever again. Fucking hell, nobody better have told Flower what room I’m in this time, if he did some shit to my bed this year I’m going to lose it.”

Zhenya texted Flower their room assignments earlier today. He feels no remorse; this is all Sid’s own doing, and in exchange for his complicity Flower promised he’d leave Zhenya’s room alone. “You stay with me then,” he says, shrugging until Sid’s head isn’t pressing painfully down on the top of his shoulder. “Take picture, let him think he wins, then come sleep with me.”

“Will you rub my head,” Sid whines, and Zhenya sighs heavily before draping his palm over Sid’s eyes and pressing down. “God, that’s good. But we always sleep in my room when we’re in Minnesota.”

Zhenya wonders who he pissed off in a past life to have fallen in love with such a stubborn annoyance in this one. “Ok, you sleep in bed filled with rice or whatever he do. I stay in my room, like, no problems for me.”

Sid grumbles to himself, but it peters off as they approach the airport and they have to contemplate the reality of walking through the casino floor sideshow that is Harry Reid International.

Once they’re off the bus, Zhenya squares his shoulders, summoning every bit of resolve he usually reserves for Game Sevens. He’s got Sid at his side, green and off-balance, and Kris just behind him looking queasy and fragile. Inexplicably, he’s in the best shape of the three of them; it’s up to him to get them to the blessed quiet of the lounge.

They barely make it. As Zhenya collapses onto a bench and vaguely registers Kris sprinting for the restroom, he musters up just enough brainpower to calculate how much sleep he can get if he falls directly into his bed when they get to the hotel in Saint Paul.

It might be enough to sleep off the rest of his hangover. Based on how Sid looks, he’s totally screwed.

Maybe this year he’ll finally learn.

[9w1ft]

I’m sorry if you already talked about this but I feel like whatever you say makes sense so I wanted to ask. Do you think Taylor and Karlie have been dating all this time or was there a breakup somehwere in there? I always thought they might’ve been dating whole time but after the Great War and Labyrinth and Maroon I think they did breakup somehwere in there and then got back together. What is your timeline and did it change from before Midnights came out?

thank you for this ask! first off let me say that this is my belief and ultimately everyone needs to come to their own conclusions.

this album did not change my impression of the length of their relationship. in particular the “2190 days of our love blackout” line in glitch blew my mind. like if we are playing Guess Who? that’s what you’d call a… almost a shutout question!

concerning the three examples you give, the great war suggests she “almost lost” her lover, and to this i would assume so! it was a pretty damn stressful time!! maroon doesn’t completely read kaylor to me at this point in time (my personal opinion) and my take on labyrinth is uhhh much different ☺️

there’s also the small but not insignificant fandom dynamic consideration that every annual campaign to say they’ve broken up in a new way has never ever felt genuine.

i’m going to stray from your question a little bit but i will add to this all by saying,

i absolutely understand how ridiculously high the bar is being set. from the outside looking in, it just reads as impossible on so many levels and i fully respect that. there are things we may never know completely and so much of it is rife with sensitive topics and i really feel the way we discuss things has had to evolve.

and over the last two years in particular, i’ve had to get comfortable with the idea of just enjoying the way i see things with the few that believe the same i do. and it’s actually been great. of course, i always love when earnest new people jump in of their own volition and it’s the best thing ever to share these fun time with all of you. and i also i had this realization of like.. why would i want to work hard to gain and maintain the company of people that act unpleasantly? why not be the one to define your rules for engagement! and that changed the game for me! i’ve just reached a sort of nirvana about it. if that makes sense.

[brockadoodles]

sydämellinen (warm) - m. rantanen

AN: SURPRISE BITCHES HERE’S A CHRISTMAS FIC. I wrote this little thing specifically for @hockeyboysiguess​​. So Merry Christmas in November, my dear. I hope you love it. It might be some of the softest content I’ve ever written, for a boy I don’t even go here for. So let me know what you think. 

*Also if any of the Finnish is wrong, I apologize, I don’t speak Finnish rip. 

Word Count: 2362

Warnings: None

Christmas traditions were something that you never quite understood until you weren’t at home anymore to have them. Growing up, you had never considered the things that your family did around the holidays as monumental or special traditions, oftentimes you felt boring and inadequate when asked about them. Your mom, your dad, and you, that was all you had, and the holidays seamlessly came and went each year. Sure, a tree would get decorated, there would be some sort of family dinner, but nothing felt magical or special like the holidays were always made out to be. Everything in your world felt stagnant until you met him. 

Mikko Rantanen adored everything about the holidays, it was part of growing up for him. Christmas in Finland was no debatably the largest celebration in the country all year, every year. He found extravagant light displays enticing, and the warm smell of Christmas ham comforting. To him, there was nothing more memorable than his childhood memories of Christmas with his family, the traditions held strong each year, traditions that he packed up and took with him when he moved away for his career. His Christmases changed from large family gatherings to small close-knit nights with the few teammates and friends who also didn’t go back home for the holidays, attempting at recreating that fleeting feeling of home that he desperately missed. A feeling that he hadn’t felt since he was young until he met you. 

Mikko knew you never cared for the holidays, he realized this on your first date, a cold, snowy evening in November. He watched as you sat there in the soft candlelight, face twisting slightly at the mention of what both of you were doing for Christmas that year. When Mikko lit up at the mention of the holidays and started telling you about his traditions from home, you tried to hide your distaste. You tried to hide the sinking feeling in your stomach, the one that was pulling you down into a self-deprecating mess sitting at a far too nice restaurant with a far too expensive-looking meal in front of you, waiting for this person as wonderful as Mikko to realize that you weren’t worth sharing his traditions with. Mikko noticed though because Mikko noticed everything about you, even the things you hopelessly tried to protect him from. He noticed it all because that’s what happens when you love someone as much as Mikko fell in love with you. 

The first Christmas, you had a reasonable excuse for not seeing him. Your parents had insisted on a Christmas spent in Aspen, a three and a half-hour drive from Denver that acted as your barrier from Mikko and his Christmas traditions, something that was overwhelming so early on in your relationship. You simply packed up a bag, driving your old car through the mountains, and spent Christmas sitting in front of a fire in a far too expensive resort town, no Christmas tree in sight and nothing but an unread text from your boyfriend to keep you company. 

The second Christmas together, his schedule is what kept you apart, with the Avalanche getting the unlucky Christmas Eve game out in New York. A schedule that would have him sitting wide awake on a redeye flight after a 6-0 shutout loss back to his condo alone in Denver with a heavy and longing heart, knowing that he needed to give you space during Christmas but also desperately wanting to share his favorite holiday with his favorite person. Instead, he spent the holiday alone on his couch, his texts to you left on read and a cold cup of miso soup on his coffee table as he wished for the day to pass. 

By your third Christmas with Mikko, you knew it was time to actually spend the holiday together, to swallow your feelings and make an effort to learn the traditions of the man you had come to love over the last two years. A diamond ring sat nestled on your left hand, unfinished wedding plans for the following Summer in Finland, and a hole between you when it came to the holidays that you were finally ready to fill. 

“Mikko?” You murmured into his shoulder, your lips pressing soft and slow kisses down his skin, your legs tangled with his own, a warmth nestled between you that made your stomach fill with butterflies, even after all this time together. 

“Mhm, kultaseni?” The Finnish pet name running from his lips effortlessly, a term of endearment that made you blush every time. You kissed his shoulder once more, letting your fingers dance along the bare skin of his arm as you breathed a sigh that you didn’t know you were holding. 

“Will you share your Christmas traditions with me?” 

Mikko had to take a moment to make sure he heard you correctly, to make sure that the mechanisms of his brain that were translating English into Finnish as you spoke were working as they should. When he looked down at you, he saw something in your eyes that he didn’t recognize in all the years that you had been together. He saw, for the first time, a fleck of excitement about the holidays, and he wasn’t going to be the one passing that up for anything. 

“I love you.” He whispered into your hair, pressing a soft trail of kisses down your temple and lingering there for a moment, before he slowly adjusted his arm, rolling his body to hover over yours as he properly kissed you for the millionth time, but the first of that morning. The two of you stayed like that for a while, comfort nestling into your heart with each kiss that he gave, and each touch you felt. You were hopelessly, and entirely in love with Mikko Rantanen, and for the first time in your life, the idea of a Christmas tradition didn’t seem so bad. 

Mikko knew he had to start slow with the traditions, he didn’t want to give you too much and have you pull yourself back from the idea. He wanted this to be a good experience for you, and if it took giving you one minuscule detail at a time for you to re-wire the part of your brain that associated Christmas with your parents that were somehow still together, yet should have been divorced, and a lack of lights and warmth into a special time for you and him, he would. Mikko Rantanen would have made the snowmelt in Denver for you if he could, because he loved you, as much as someone is capable of loving another person. And all he wanted for Christmas was to give you one new tradition that you loved, one that could be shared with just the two of you until hopefully one day there were toddlers running around the tree. 

The first thing you did together was get a tree. It was a small tree, its branches were short and stubby and it couldn’t have been more than 2 feet tall even in the pot that it was nestled in. It wasn’t the tree that Mikko would have chosen, but when he saw your eyes brighten at the ceramic pot it was planted in, the 6 feet Douglass Fir’s lining the tree farm suddenly disappeared from his line of sight.

“Are you sure this one’s okay, Mik? I don’t want to mess with the tradition.” You quietly asked, your arm wrapped tightly around his as he pushed the tree in the cart toward the car. You didn’t want to change the things that he was trying to show you, but deep down you were finding yourself longing for this to be something you created with him, memories and traditions to have together. It may have seen silly to outsiders, putting so much thought into something that should have been simple, but you were trying to let him show you the magic of Christmas that he had spent years keeping from you at your own request, and part of that process was trying to redesign the idea about Christmas that you had built in your head. 

“I love it, it’s perfect for us.” He smiled at you, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, the black pom on your hat ticking his nose slightly as he stood back up.

The tree sat undecorated on a table by the window for nearly a week. With Mikko being gone on a road trip, you had just pushed it to the outskirts of your mind, figuring it would get done eventually. On the fifth morning that you woke up alone, you leaned over the counter as your coffee brewed, the tree sitting there on the table directly in front of you, Mikko’s good morning text replaying in your mind. You looked out the window, admiring the snow falling over the city, the grey clouds casting a shadow into your already grey and modern home. You sighed, and before you realized what you were doing, you found yourself wandering into the storage closet and pulling out a bin that you had never once touched or even looked at. 

You set your coffee down on the floor next to the tree and slowly opened the plastic container, the contents carefully wrapped in protective tissue, ornaments you knew he had collected over the years since moving to Denver. You took a shaky breath and closed your eyes slowly, an image of Mikko dancing through your mind. You opened your eyes and grabbed an ornament, a small antique looking Santa, a chip on his leg from wear and tear and a black ink smudge on the bottom, 2002, presumably the year that it was bought. You carefully hung it on the tree, leaning back to admire it for a moment before reaching your hand back into the bin to grab another. This one, 1999. You took each ornament one by one, taking almost an hour to decorate this two-foot-tall tree sitting on a table against your high rise condo window, each ornament having a year written somewhere on them, leaving you to begin to wonder all of the circumstances that had led to Mikko having that specific ornament.

When all was done, the tree had ornaments but no lights, a pot instead of a tree skirt, and there was nothing sitting on top of it that resembled a star. Instead, you placed a photo of you and Mikko carefully next to the pot, one that was taken just shortly after you told him you loved him for the first time, one that to you, symbolized a new shift to your relationship, one that you were hopefully emulating by decorating this tree. 

When Mikko came home late that night, tired and ready to crawl into bed next to you after almost a week apart, he stopped in the living room when he saw the light still on. In his foggy state of mind, he didn’t even notice the tree until he was reaching to turn off the small lamp sitting next to it, pausing in a state of shock when he realized what exactly he was looking at. It wasn’t how he would have decorated it, the ornaments were in the completely wrong places, some too densely placed, and the lack of lights was a design choice that he wasn’t sure was intentional or not. But, Mikko felt his heart grow looking at it. A tree that a year ago you would have never said yes to buying, let alone decorating that you had spent time on doing yourself. Mikko turned off the light, walking into the bedroom to find you peacefully asleep on your side of the bed. He wrapped himself around you, pulling you close and pressing a soft kiss into your neck, murmuring his love for you before drifting to sleep. 

The next morning you woke up in a familiar trance, soft and needy kisses shared between you as his hands guided your hips and their movements on top of him, heavy breaths filling the space as you held each other close, making up for the lost time of that week. When you slid off of him, he pulled your face down to his one last time, pressing a tender kiss to your lips, “Minä rakastan sinua,” melting from his lips, “I love you,” in Finnish. 

“I love you, too, Mikko.” You said back, your heart full and your cheeks flushed. 

By the time Mikko emerged from the shower, you had already made coffee and were sitting on the couch reading. He came up next to you, setting a small box in front of you as he sat down. You set your book down, eyeing him curiously as he began to speak.

“I noticed you decorated the tree, and I have something for you, for us that we could put on it together.” He carefully unwrapped the box, a silver ornament resting neatly in it. You carefully pulled the ornament from the box, the shiny material feeling smooth in your hands until you noticed something scratchy on the sides. You turned the ornament, your eyes welling with tears when you saw what was engraved on the side. A date, the date that you said the famous three words for the first time, the same magnetic pull coming from the ornament he had made that you felt from the photograph. 

“I thought having a special ornament each year for just us could be a tradition we start together. It’s sort of like our first Christmas together, but it’s not the first that I’ve felt love for you.” He smiled. Mikko reached up and wiped your cheek tenderly, drying the tears that had fallen as he pulled you up and toward the tree. You hung the ornament on the small, imperfect tree with no lights, and as you looked out at Denver in the background, with Mikko curled around you, you felt that warmth he had always told you he felt about Christmas for the first time, a feeling that you hoped to carry with you for the rest of your life together.  

[awanderingdeal]

Chapter two of ‘Three of a Kind’ - A Nalexy and O’Knutzy fic. 

Rating: Explicit 

This is the chapter where Logan and Kasey cause a bit of chaos at dinner - all in good fun, of course! There is a little sauciness in this chapter but it’s very mild in comparison to chapter 1, the link to which is here if you need to catch up.

Thank you to @bkfstclubmember for betaing this, you incredible human being.

And as always, @lumosinlove thank you so very much for creating these characters and this universe and for allowing us to run wild with them. 

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Despite the several hours of sleep that Alex had achieved the previous night, he still found himself exhausted as he took a seat at the large dining table.

Finn raised an eyebrow at the yawn that escaped Alex’s mouth. “Boring you already, big brother?” he smirked, uncorking a bottle of wine and placing it on the table. “Help yourselves. Or there’s beer in the fridge if you’d prefer.”

“You, bore me? Never.” Alex bantered, pouring for both Natalie and Kasey before filling his own glass. “These two just wear me out.”

Finn grimaced, almost choking on the sip of wine he had taken. “There are certain things that I do not need to know, thank you very much.” 

“I didn’t mean that!” Alex protested, flashing a glare at Natalie and Kasey as they failed to hide their laughter. “I just meant that we’ve been busy today! Basketball, shopping, helping Nat film her next video…”

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” Leo interrupted as he sauntered into the room. “Food will be ready in ten minutes,” he added whilst placing the stack of plates that he had been carrying into the centre of the table.  

Alex rolled his eyes, a habit that had been happening with increasing frequency since he’d started spending more time with Natalie, “Thanks for the back-up, Knut.” 

Leo grinned at Alex before turning to the other O’Hara, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Stay, catch up with your brother,” he said, pre-empting the offer of help from his boyfriend. 

Before Finn could argue, Kasey had pushed back his seat and stood up, “I can help carry stuff. I’m strong,” he said, sending Alex an entirely indiscreet wink and enjoying the blush that crept over his cheeks.

 “I don’t even want an explanation. Just come and be useful.” Leo raised an eyebrow, leading his fellow goalkeeper back towards the kitchen. 

The conversation fell into a comfortable rhythm; general life updates, small complaints about work, gentle teasing about relationships. Finn tried to avoid the last one because he was outnumbered but he found Leo and Logan’s names constantly falling from his lips. 

He told Natalie about the time that they were on a vacation in France and their parents were frantic because they had lost five year old Alex. They found him in a cupboard eating a baguette that was “as tall as he was.” 

“I don’t know why you have to constantly tell that story?” Alex questioned, his arm slipping from around Natalie’s shoulder as he became more animated. “You would have been...what, six months old? You don’t even remember it happening.”

Finn was about to reply when Leo’s voice from the kitchen grabbed his attention, “ Don’t you dare, Tremz.” 

Finn could just imagine the slow smirk growing across Logan’s face and he couldn’t resist the urge to witness the exchange that was about to happen. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, expecting Natalie and Alex to stay at the table, but they were right behind him as he hurried to the other room. 

As they arrived, Logan dragged his finger out of his mouth, lips smacking together with a dramatic moan. “It’s so good.” he smirked, his eyes never leaving Leo’s. 

Finn quickly put  together the scene before him.  Leo’s exasperated expression. The dent in the macaroni cheese. Logan’s grin. 

Leo paid no attention to the crowd that had gathered in the doorway. He quietly placed the oven gloves down on the counter, rounded the island, leaned into Logan’s ear and whispered. Finn couldn’t make out the words, but the tap on Logan’s butt gave him a good idea of what had been said and his eyes widened at the thought. Logan, however, didn’t even blush. He just gave a nod before reaching for the dish of macaroni. 

Leo smacked at his hands. “Nope, you can take the salad.” 

He turned to Kasey, “And you, stop encouraging him.” he chastised lightly, placing a bowl of green beans into one of Kasey’s giant hands and the coleslaw in the other. 

“I can take two, as well,” Logan objected.

Leo pushed him gently in the direction of the door. “How about you concentrate on getting to the table without eating all the food first, huh?” 

As the pair made their way out the room, Kasey stopped placing a kiss on Natalie’s lips. “Hey, gorgeous,” he smiled, giving Alex a kiss as well when he whined, dropping a whispered comment that Finn thankfully did not hear. 

Still, he proclaimed loudly, “Lalalala, I can’t hear you,” shuddering dramatically at the end of his words. 

Natalie rolled her eyes at Finn’s dramatics, took Alex’s hand and returned Kasey’s kiss on his cheek, “Come on, troublemaker, you’re supposed to be making Leo’s life easier.”  

Finn returned the stuck out tongue that Alex gave him as he retreated from the room before making his way over to Leo and pulling him into a hug. “Hey Nutter Butter, you okay?”

Leo leaned into the hug, leaning his head on Finn’s, “Yeah, you know Lo. He doesn’t mean any harm. Also, I promised to make it worth his while later if he behaves so you know…” he replied, letting a small laugh slip into his words. 

“You know that is just going to make him worse, right?” Finn snorted, bumping Leo’s chin lightly as he looked up. 

“I do.” Leo nodded, giving Finn a cheeky glance as he reluctantly pulled away from his boyfriend. “Can I trust you with the mac ‘n’ cheese?” he asked jokingly as he placed the dish into Finn’s hands. 

“I don’t know,” Finn chuckled, “It smells fucking amazing.” 

“Always with the compliments.” Leo smiled gently, dropping a kiss to Finn’s hair before picking up the last two serving dishes - bourbon soaked ribs and potato salad. “Go on, before they think we’re up to no good in here.” 

Finn led the way into the dining room, putting his dish down with a grin knowing they had approximately 3 seconds until -

“What the hell?” Logan began, his tone far less aggressive than his actual words. “ So Finn gets to carry the macaroni, but I can’t?” 

Finn was about to chirp back at Logan when Leo added his platters to the table. “Finn doesn’t stick his fingers in the macaroni on the way,” Leo quipped, taking a seat to Logan’s right.

“This is favouritism.” Logan whined.

“Anyway.” Leo started, not letting himself get baited into the argument, knowing that was exactly what Logan wanted, “Let’s eat, shall we. I know it’s far from dietician approved, but what they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

The next few moments were an organised chaos of serving dishes being passed back and forth around the table, eventually falling into a conversation about the Lion’s latest game. 

“Told you it works.” Alex boasted after Finn recalled the new play that he and Logan had tried for the first time. “You two executed it pretty well though,” he admitted with a smile. 

“Excuse me,” Kasey interrupted with a grin. “I got a shutout. Are we just not going to talk about that? I had to listen to you two shower lover boys in praise for weeks after his.” he moaned.

“You did great, sweetcheeks,” Natalie leaned in, wiping a mess of sauce from Kasey’s lips with her napkin, replacing it with a kiss.  

“Did you not get enough praise that night?” Alex hummed, bumping his shoulder against Kasey’s. 

Finn screeched, “ Nope, no, absolutely not. We will have no talk of you sexing my brother at the dinner table.”

 “Wow, O’Hara 2.0,” Natalie placed her wine glass down on the table. “So, that’s how it is, huh? We get to listen to you drone on about your boys for hours at a time, but one mention of Alex’s prowess in bed and all bets are off?”

“See, you get it. This is why you are the brains of the relationship.” Finn replied, before gesturing in Leo and Logan’s direction. “Besides, we are cute.”

“Hmm, I suppose you are.” Natalie cocked her head, “I still think I got the better end of the deal though.”

Suddenly, a piece of bread flew across the table hitting Kasey square in the forehead. “Not such a good goalie, now, huh?” Logan jibbed. 

“That’s not fair!” Kasey whined. “Natalie was being all cute. Do it again.” he encouraged, adjusting his sitting position.

“Absolutely not.” Leo drawled, placing a hand over Logan’s, which was tearing another piece of bread off his roll, “How old are you? Do you need to sit on your hands?” 

Leo realised his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth and Logan’s eyes shined a little brighter. 

“I can sit on my hands, but you’ll have to feed me.” 

Finn bit back a groan, trying to ignore the way his all of his blood seemed to have rushed southwards. He really, really loved the fact that Logan was seemingly shameless sometimes.  

“And we were being inappropriate?” Alex taunted.

“Oh, I can be inappropriate if you want.” Kasey said lowly.

Natalie let out an uncharacteristically high pitched giggle, seconds before Finn felt a brush against his foot. Kasey managed to maintain an expression of perfect innocence for barely ten seconds before a guilty smile replaced it. There might have been a time in previous years where he might have enjoyed the contact a little bit too much, but now any thoughts of Natalie and Kasey were infinitely linked with his brother and it made him feel a little bit nauseous. 

“Are you playing footsie under the table?” Finn groused, lifting the table cloth. 

Leo sat back in his chair and gave a sigh, “How am I the youngest person here and yet the most mature?” 

“Sorry, Leo. The food is great, it really is.” Natalie apologised, sending Kasey and Alex a look. 

“Kasey started it.” Alex grumbled under his breath, but quieted when Natalie’s eyebrow rose. 

“Don’t worry.” Leo waved it off, “I can grab dessert if we’re ready?” he asked the table, receiving a round of nods. “Do you mind getting the plates, Fish?” he asked, smiling at the eager nod that he got in reply. 

“Lo, come help me?” he added, squeezing Logan’s shoulder affectionately as he got up from the table. 

Once Leo was out the room, Natalie waved a hand in Finn’s direction, “Cover your ears if you’re going to get all dramatic.” 

Finn shoved his seat back, grabbing the pile of plates that he had made. “Just give me ten seconds to get out the room, please?” he pleaded. 

“Don’t behave...beg…” Finn only caught a few words as he was leaving, but the quiet groans from Kasey was still too much.

His thoughts of bleaching his brain were dismissed when he reached the kitchen. Logan was pressed up against the counter, Leo’s hand shoved down his pants, their faces inches apart.

“Oh hey, sweetheart.” Leo greeted, his hands playing idly with Logan’s balls drawing a whimper from the shorter boy. “I was just explaining to Logan that what happens later is entirely up to him and that he might want to check his behaviour,” Leo worked a mark into the expanse of skin on Logan’s neck in between words.

“I love my life,” Finn murmured quietly, taking a breath before making himself move. He wasn’t sure how he managed it, but he was able to put the stack down onto a counter without dropping them from his shaking hands. He contorted his features into something resembling relaxed as he leaned his weight against the marble work surface. “I’m sure Logan will be very well behaved from now on. Right, Lo?” 

Logan’s curls bounced at the side of his snapback with his nods, “Yes, I’ll be good. I promise,” Logan gasped out. 

Leo kissed Logan firmly on the lips, did his boyfriend’s pants button up and stepped away. “Let’s try and get through dessert without scaring our guests then, yeah?” 

“I think he’ll have to work a bit harder if that’s the goal. Those three are worse than us.” Finn laughed and then shuddered as he realised that his brother was included in ‘those three’.

“Not helping, Finn,” Leo shot back, grabbing the small glasses of panna cotta out of the fridge. “Allez. Come on,” he added, once he’d checked that Logan and Finn had mostly recomposed themselves. 

The three of them made their way back to the dining room to find Alex sat in Kasey’s lap, lips nuzzling his cheek and Natalie’s eyes crinkling with laughter. 

“I will never unsee this,” Finn groaned, pressing the heel of his palms into his eyes. “Can you make out somewhere that isn’t my house?” 

“We are not making out,” Kasey scoffed, “But maybe we should make that happen? For accuracy’s sake.”

“Who invited you, again?” Finn questioned, automatically reaching to take the tray from Leo, but received a shake of his head and a quiet, “I’ve got it thanks, Fish”

“I’m down for you making out, if we can make out.” Logan piped up, when Leo leaned over his shoulder to place his dessert in front of him. 

“So much for good behaviour,” Leo remarked, taking the final glass for himself and putting the empty tray into the centre with the rest of the empty serving dishes.

 Probably should have cleared those too, Finn thought, but in his own defence he’d been otherwise occupied. 

“This is actually a recipe that Logan suggested, so if it’s disgusting then you can blame him.” Leo started to explain the dessert. “It’s a vanilla panna cotta with a -”

The words were interrupted by a quite frankly obscene groan from Logan who hadn’t waited for the description to be finished before diving into his desert. He looked up sheepishly when he realised that the entire table's eyes were on him. 

“Ok. That was truly an accident,” Logan defended, his accent filtering heavily into the words - a sign that he was actually a bit embarrassed. “The rum jelly is just so good with the vanilla, mon lion.”

Leo coughed a few times, his throat suddenly itchy. “Thanks Lo. I guess that’s the cue for the rest of us to start.”

There was a beat of silence before they all began to eat and the atmosphere relaxed again, the conversation moving quickly between topics. Finn was just getting suspicious of how quiet Logan had become when he began to speak, “Hey! Shall we play truth or dare after we finish? That could be fun with drinks.” 

There was a collective groan followed by a resounding, “No” from everybody except Kasey, whose voice broke through the noise. “I’ll play.” he grinned. “I choose dare.”

“This is how people end up in fountains, Kasey!” Finn waved his hands about, a bit of panna cotta flying off the spoon he was holding and landing on Leo’s t-shirt. He didn’t think it was that funny, but Logan and Kasey practically had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard.

“Sorry,” Finn apologised quickly, picking up his napkin to dab at the offending mark. 

Leo patted his hand against Finn’s, “Hey, it was an accident. Leave it, it’ll come out in the wash.” he reassured before looking up, his eyes meeting Natalie’s, “I don’t think we’ll be playing any games after dinner, I’m afraid. My mama would probably scold me for chucking you out but it’s been a long day. I hope you understand.”

Natalie flicked her hair back off her shoulder, “Of course, darling. That’s not a problem. We should be getting off soon, anyway. Early start in the morning, you know.” she smiled in a way that was somehow both completely innocent and yet menacing. 

Despite the fact that they ate their dessert in record time, every second seemed to drag for Finn. He felt a bit guilty that he wasn’t taking better advantage of the time with his brother but he’d see him again soon enough. Besides, he reasoned with himself, Alex was probably just as eager to get home as Finn was to have them leave. The thought was confirmed later as Alex pulled him into a hug as he was leaving murmuring into his ear, “ Enjoy your evening little brother, I sure will.” 

Finn was sure his face had turned a shade of red that matched his hair as he shoved Alex away but despite all the exasperated sighs and groaning, he was glad that Alex seemed to have found the same kind of love that he had. 

[bqstqnbruin]

Come back to me part 3

I actually finished this today and then they won (to my Flyer’s fans please do not hate me I love you all) so here I am posting part three much quicker than I posted part 2.

I hope you like this!

Update! Read the entire series: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6  // Part 7

________________

“Y/N, guess what?” you hear Kyle yelling as soon as he hears you come in the door. You were incredibly late getting out of work, stepping in your apartment at almost nine pm. You follow his voice to the kitchen to see him standing at the stove, stirring something in a pot, which means he waited to have dinner with you. Either that, or he got tired of waiting and decided to start cooking anyway. Before you can answer, he kisses you on the cheek and starts bouncing on the balls of his feet like a child. “I got a job.”

“Oh, my god! Kye, that’s awesome!” you say, truly excited for him. “Where?” 

“With you!” he exclaims, clearly not noticing the shock on your face. He got a job at your company? Oh god, that means you would have to spend your entire day with him. “I’m doing stuff with the finance department.”

Not your department, thankfully. “Kye, that’s amazing! We should celebrate!” you say, going into your pantry to see if you had any wine on hand. 

“Can we invite Mat?” you hear him say as you stick your head in the fridge, hoping to find an open bottle there instead.

“After what you said to him at the restaurant the other night? That we still haven’t talked about?” you ask, not removing your head from the fridge.

“I need to apologize to him.” 

“And me.” 

“Yeah.” You close the fridge, no wine, which you suddenly desperately wished you had. You cock your eyebrow at him waiting for an actual apology. “Oh,” he says, when he looks at you, seeing the annoyance in your face, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten mad. And then I shouldn’t have stormed off.” 

“Thank you,” you say, going behind him and wrapping him in a hug. “You really want me to call Mat and ask him to come here?” 

“Yeah.”

You go off to get your phone, dialing Mat. “Hey, what’s up?” you hear him ask. 

“Hey, what are you doing tonight? We wanted to have you over.”

“Uh, the guys and I are fucking celebrating!” he yells, commotion going on behind him. You can make out Anthony and Kieffer yelling, too, screaming in Mat’s ear about who knows what. “Come celebrate with us,” he says, clearly already drunk. “I’ll text you the address.”

“Uh, sure. Is it alright if Kyle comes, too? We had planned to celebrate a little anyway.” 

“Yes! Bring your boyfriend,” he hiccups, you can’t help but smile and roll your eyes, “Fuck, sorry. Bring your fiance! Let’s all celebrate together!” he says, hanging up.

“I guess we’re going to someone’s house? Is that alright?” you ask, plugging the address into your phone. You could feel your heart start to race at the thought of going to see Mat, even with your fiance right there.

Even with your fiance right there. “Yeah, I’m down,” he shrugs, handing you a plate of food. 

----------

“If that was Mona, I’m going to kill you,” Tito says once Mat hangs up his phone. All of them were already way too wasted for their own good. But they had reason to celebrate: they not only broke their losing streak, but they broke it with a shutout against the Rangers. None of them cared that they were going to regret their partying in the morning. 

“No, it was Y/N, her and Kyle are coming,” he says, probably too chipper considering you would be flaunting your fiance in front of him. 

‘Stupid Kyle,’ he thought to himself, ‘Kyle gave you that ring on your finger as if you belonged with him. Y/N belongs with me. Fuck am I drunk.’ He knew he had to sober up fast if he was going to see you and Kyle, but part of him didn’t really care. They won a game for what felt like the first time in forever. 

“How are you letting the wife bring her fiance here?” Tito asks.

“She is Kyle’s wife, not mine,” Mat slurs, praying it was enough for Tito to stop that. He didn’t need a reminder that the love of his life was with someone else. 

Holy shit. Love of his life? Since when did he think you were that? Was he only thinking that because he was drunk?

“I’m going to get some water,” he says, navigating his way through his teammates and their wives and girlfriends. He chugs the cup, quickly getting another in hopes that he could sober up enough to see you. Given his thoughts, he wasn’t sure what word vomit would spill out of his mouth when he saw you walk in with Kyle. 

“Mat!” he hears Tito yell. “Come here!” Mat rolls his eyes, filling up his cup with water one more time. Going back to where he left his two teammates, he sees two more people have joined them. 

His heart starts racing as he approaches you and Kyle, both of your backs to him. You were intently listening to something Kieffer was telling you, seemingly unaware that Mat was even approaching. He stops and almost turns around when he sees Kyle put his hand at the same of your back, rubbing his hand in small, circular motions. You look at him, a smile on your face, one that doesn’t quite reach our eyes. 

“There he is!” Tito says, clearly needing the water more than Mat did. “Look who it is! Y/N and Kyle!”  

His breath stops when you turn to look at him, yours doing the same. Your eyes light up at the sight of him, feeling excited that he was there. You couldn’t remember the last time you felt like this about Kyle. ‘No, stop that,’ you tell yourself, ‘you’re just excited over seeing an old friend.’

“Hey, do you guys want something to drink?” He offers, hoping that a drunk Tito and Kieffer wouldn’t follow and start rambling about you being with Mat. 

“I’ll have water,” Kyle says, waving his keys in the air. 

“I’ll take whatever you have,” you say, smiling at Mat.

He returns the smile, leading you and Kyle into the kitchen to get you drinks. A bunch of the girls had congregated around the island in the center, guarding the drinks like it was their only mission for the night. 

“Mathew! Who’s your friend?” one of them squeals as he tries to weasel his way between them for whatever was left to drink.

He introduces you and Kyle, only getting a few seconds in of conversation with you before one of the girls yells, “Ok, boys out. Leave, now,” pushing Mat and Kyle out of the room, leaving you to fend for yourself in a group of drunk and giggling girls.

“I’m Lauren,” one of the girls introduces herself to you, “Jordan’s wife.” You nod along, pretending to know who that is while the girls lose themselves in conversation. “So you’re engaged? Did Mat not tell us he had a fiance?” Lauren asks you, quiet enough that the other girls couldn’t hear you.

“Oh, yeah I’m engaged, but no not to Mat,” you explain, telling her the other guy with you was your fiance. “What’s married life like?”

Her face gets soft, thinking about her husband, the same type of expression you get when you think about Mat. Wait, no. When you think about Kyle. Wow, this alcohol hit fast. “It’s hard, but it’s still blissful. I mean, we’ve been together since high school. It’s like, ok well, picture this,” she says, taking a sip of whatever was in her cup, “Like imagine you’re sitting there on a rainy day on your place. You’re reading by the window, and he comes over and brings you a cup of tea, then lifts your legs so that he can sit with them in your lap. He’ll watch something on his phone with ear buds because he doesn’t want to disturb you, but he doesn’t want to be away from you. It’s sweet moments like that where you know he loves you without you having to ask him why.”

You close your eyes, picturing the scene she just described. You aren’t in your home, though, you’re somewhere else, you just can’t figure out where. You’re sitting there reading, the rain falling against the window. He comes over, gives you your favorite tea in your favorite mug, you not even having to ask for it. He gives you a quick kiss on the cheek before settling into the couch, this phone ready to watch whatever show he wants to.

But it isn’t Kyle. His blonde hair was no where to be seen in your thoughts. You saw a brunette, and you knew exactly which one it was.

You open your eyes, Lauren staring at you with a smile, knowing you were thinking about your future. “You and Kyle?”

You force a small smile. “Yeah,” you lie, “Me and Kyle.”

------------

You know when you see her blonde ponytail that you were going to regret what was going to happen next. You knew exactly what was going to happen, since the same thing seemed to happen daily. Thank god Kyle didn’t work in your department, because something tells you he wouldn’t like to see your reaction to this.

“I need to see it!” Rachel squeals, standing in your cubicle when both of you were supposed to be working. 

You can’t help but roll your eyes at her, more of your friends surrounding your chair. God, why did they like the ring so much? “You’ve seen it every day since I started.”

“And? It’s fucking gorgeous. That kind of stone belongs in a museum,” Ally adds, obviously exaggerating.

It wasn’t that the ring wasn’t beautiful, it just wasn’t your style. There was also no way it belonged in a museum, but whatever. You extend your hand, the girls gushing over it as you fake a smile. Once they get it out of their system, they start to file away, hopefully going back to work. One of the girls stays around, Jessica. 

“Ok, what’s up,” she asks, plopping herself down on your desk.

“What are you talking about?” 

“Call me crazy, but shouldn’t you be excited to show off your engagement ring? I mean, you’re planning a wedding, it’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life.” 

“We haven’t even started planning it, actually. Honestly, it’s never even on my mind,” you admit. And you’re telling her the truth. You have no plans, and part of you isn’t sure you want to start making any. 

“Well, why do you think that is?” Jessica asks. She’s probably your closest friend at the office: she knows the most about you, she already knows about Mat, but she doesn’t know everything. 

“When I see myself married, I don’t see Kyle as my husband. And I want to, I do. I love him. I mean, he moved here from Vancouver for me, we’ve been together since we were in high school. How could I not love him?”

Jessica looks at you. She has to know you mean what you say. You really do love Kyle: he’s sweet, he’s caring, yeah he forgets shit, but you don’t remember everything about him, either. But, there’s just something missing. Maybe you were with him because it was just easy? “It sounds like you’re engaged to your boyfriend, not your future husband.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Around the corner, Kyle was coming to surprise you with lunch. He knows you were planning on going out anyway, so he figured he might as well get you something and the two of you could eat together. He hears his name, stopping in his tracks.

“I think that Kyle is at most going to be your boyfriend. I don’t think he’s the right man for you to be your husband, and that’s not fair to either of you.”

“What do I do?” you ask, burying your face in your hands. You had to call it off with Kyle, but could you tell him that?

“You can’t let your boyfriend get in the way of finding your husband. But, I think your husband is closer than you think,” she says, getting up to leave. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Kyle had heard that entire thing. Were you going to break up with him? He couldn’t lose you: for him, you were everything. He loved you, he wanted to marry you. He couldn’t see his life without you in it. He watches Jessica walk away, hearing you sigh and mutter something under your breath. He can’t let you know that he heard everything. 

You get out your phone, texting Mat that you wanted to catch up with him tonight, just the two of you. You felt like you had to talk to him and him only. 

“Hey, babe,” you hear, startling you as you press send slightly prematurely on your text to Mat. You see Kyle standing in front of you, two to go containers in hand. “Want to have lunch together? We can go sit outside since it’s still nice out.” He’s trying to hide the sadness that he was feeling. Who was your husband then, if it wasn’t him? 

“Uh, yeah, sure! Let me just send this and then we can go?” you ask, pointing to your phone.

“Who are ya texting?” he asks, in a sing song voice, the only tone he can get out without sounding mean or hostile in anyway.

“Mat.”

Mat. Mathew. He couldn’t be the husband, could he?

---------

Mat’s phone starts buzzing on his counter, an involuntary groan leaving his lips. He had been avoiding Mona since the game, telling her that he was going right to sleep after the win instead of to Cal’s house like they actually did. That, of course, meant that Paxton and Mona decided to leave his phone constantly buzzing.

Another text from Paxton shows up on his screen, in addition to the many that he had already ignored. ‘You have a date with Mona tonight.’ Not asking him, telling him. He rolls his eyes, putting his phone down and tries to make lunch for himself. Another vibration: ‘so text her and tell her you’re taking her out.’

He could easily pretend that he was working out when these messages came in, or just said he was at practice, something, anything that would mean that he wouldn’t have to answer Paxton and Mona’s constant complaints. 

His phone starts buzzing again. “Mother fucker, do you ever rest?” he nearly screams, picking up the phone to see what Satan or Satan’s keeper wanted. Instead it was a text from you, immediately followed by another one. 

‘Hey, can we get together to’

‘Fuck, sorry, got distracted. Can we get together tonight?’ 

He smiles at the thought of you asking him out. No, wait. You were just hanging out as friends, it’s not like you could date him or anything. He immediately starts laying out a plan with you, where what time, stuff like that. 

As soon as he hits send, Paxton’s name pops up on his phone. “So where are you taking Mona tonight?” 

“Hello to you, too,” Mat huffs, clearly annoyed. 

“Where. Are. You. Taking. Mona. Tonight.” Paxton repeats, pausing between each word so that he could be as dramatic as possible.

“I have plans with a friend who’s in town from home. They leave tomorrow and this is my only chance to see them. I’ll see her tomorrow,” Mat fibs. He was going to be out with you, a friend from home. You just weren’t leaving tomorrow.

“If you wait until tomorrow then Mona will have no choice but to break up with you,” Paxton says calmly on the other end, as if that were actually a threat.

“Is that a promise?” Mat snaps, picturing Paxton’s shocked reaction at his outburst as he gasps, “Have you really not figured out that I do not care? She’s a sweet girl, but she’s far from being my girlfriend.” 

“Then tomorrow, Mona will dump you, and she will be made out to look like the one who needs pity. You will never date someone from this agency again.” 

“Another promise? Wanna go for three?” Mat asks before hanging up his phone, not letting Paxton get another word in. He could be rid of Mona tomorrow. What an amazing thought. 

----------

You were meeting Mat at his place, ordering dinner, watching a movie, having wine, pretty much having a girls night, expect for the fact that Mat wasn’t a girl. You had to really talk this out with someone, and he was the only one you could before facing Kyle. 

The two of you were half way through the large pizza you had ordered, a movie on that you weren’t paying attention to, your feet in Mat’s lap while he focused on the TV.

“Hey Mat?” you ask him, looking at his profile.

“What’s up? Do you need another piece? It’s so much easier for you to reach than for me to stretch over your big feet,” he teases, a smile growing on his face even without looking away from the TV.

“Asshole, no. I wanted to talk to you.” You take in a deep breath as he pauses the movie. “It’s about me and Kyle.” 

“What about it?” he asks, finally turning to look at you.

“Well, you know both of us before we were together, and you know us now. So I guess, what do you think of us?”

“You’re not you when you’re with him,” Mat says, studying your face. “You’re cold, you’re closed off. You’re not like you were when we,” he stops, sucking in a breath. Neither of you had outright mentioned your past to each other, even though you knew it was there. “When we were together.”

“Mat, we were together between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. I’ve been with Kyle since we were eighteen. People change. You have,” you say, trying to make a point. 

“How?”

“You’re,” you start, wishing you hadn’t. You don’t know how he’s changed. If anything, he was just a better version of what you loved when you were young: he wasn’t afraid to act like an idiot, but knew when to tone it down and get to work on something. He was sweet, paying attention to every detail of the people he cared about. He dove right into everything he was passionate about, never letting anyone tell him it was ridiculous or letting people talk him out of whatever it was he wanted to do. “You haven’t. You’re high school Mat 2.0.” 

“You have changed, though,” Mat says, looking down at his hands. Even though he was hiding his face, you could see the frown forming on it, reaching to his eyes and dulling the spark that was normally there. 

“What was I like then?” you ask, wondering who he saw you as.

He swallows, “You were chaotic perfection,” he looks up at you, a smile on his face, “You were somehow all over the place and perfectly composed at the same time. You would always have the loudest laugh, the widest smile, never afraid to be spontaneous, like that time we decided to drive to Seattle, but you were always planning everything. No detail would go unnoticed, but you could never pull away to see the bigger picture. I think that part of your high school self you’ve kept, but I don’t know about everything else.” 

He stops, waiting for you to say something. When you don’t, he continues, “When you’re with Kyle, it’s almost like you don’t want to declare to the world that he was yours and you were his. Like you don’t want people to know that part of your identity is him. You’re careful about what you say, and what you do say is the bare minimum. When we were together, and this might just be because we were younger and more obnoxious, we would be proud of each other. Fuck, every time you tell someone you’re engaged, your ears get red, you tuck your hair behind your ear and you don’t look the person in the eye. You just look at the ring, but not like you’re admiring it. It’s like you’re questioning it.”

You can feel the tears in your eyes start to slide down your cheeks. He was right. Every word he said, he was right. “Y/N?” he says, putting his hand on yours. “Can I ask something?” You nod, not sure if you can get words out without sobbing. “Why did you say yes to him? To Kyle?”

“I don’t know,” you let out quickly. 

“Do you love him?”

“I don’t know,” you admit. You think you do, but something was telling you that what you felt wasn’t the love you wanted. “Can I ask something now?”

“Always.”

“Do you love Mona?”

“No,” he says, point blank. “I don’t. I do not love her.”

“Then why are you with her?”

Without missing a beat, because he’s told this to Tito and Kieffer, he starts, “Right now it’s just easy. It’ll be over soon, though. Tito keeps telling me I need to find my wife, but I don’t know where to look.” That was a lie. Tito called it from the start: you are the wife. Mat knew it, the entire team knew it.

“My friend from work told me don’t let my boyfriend get in the way of finding my husband,” you admit. You sit there for a moment, just staring at each other in silence. “Kyle isn’t the one I’m meant to be with,” you say, shocked that you even just said that out loud. Part of you always knew that, but you never thought you would say it.

Mat laughs, running his hand through his hair, “Looks like we’re both gonna be looking for our spouses, then?” he asks, adding a slightly disgusted tone to the word ‘spouse.’

You look down at the ring that’s still sitting on your finger. “Fuck. I need to look for a different husband.” You look up at Mat, who’s looking off to the side at something. Maybe you didn’t need to look too hard. 

[leafs-lover]

Because Two People Got Drunk: 11

Series Masterlist

A/N: Never be with someone like Mike, find someone who has respect for you and everyone they meet!

Summary: You bring Oliver to some team functions and meet some of the wags and players. You test out the dating pool for the first time since getting pregnant.

Warnings: Angst, swearing

Word Count: 4100

Chapter 11

January 26, 2022

Fred returns from a morning skate, with a game later that night. He has a small bag in his hand that he sets on the coffee table before sitting beside you on the couch as Oliver is lying on his play mat.

“Hey can I talk to you for a sec?” he asks.

“Yeah”

“So I was wondering if you wanted to come with Oliver to the game tonight.”

You stare at him, not completely unreasonable. Most wags brought their kids to games or at least warm ups. Even though you weren’t a wag you were the only person who could bring Ollie, as you hadn’t even discussed if there was a need for a part time nanny. What else would you be doing on this Wednesday night?

“If you think he is too young or are uncomfortable with it, it’s not -"

“Yeah let’s do it. He’s more active and alert I think he’ll love to go.”

Fred smiles “good cause I got him this." He leans forward to grab the bag, he reaches in the bag to pull out a very tiny Penguin’s home jersey, it has his number but instead of his last name it says daddy . “His last one was getting a little tight” he says as you smile.

“You knew I was going to say yes this whole time.”

“I feel like I know you pretty well, and it’s for 3-6 months. I figured at some point in the next three months you would bring him so he can see his old man play” he says picking up Oliver who reaches for his dads face smiling.

You chuckle lightly. Fred kisses Oliver’s head “I’ll get a ride to and from the game so you can take my car with the car seat and leave early if needed. I’m going to go nap” he says handing you Oliver.

Later that night you pull up to the underground parking for family and players. You pull the car seat out and his diaper bag as you drop your purse “damn little lands” you mumble.

“Oh, let me help you" you hear as someone reaches down and grabs your purse for you “I’m Kathy, Sidney’s girlfriend. You must be (Y/N) I heard you would be coming tonight.” She says taking the diaper bag from your shoulder.

“Thanks, I didn’t think I needed a stroller for the small walk into the building,” you say smiling “probably could have helped.” You make small talk as she leads you to the WAG lounge where you are introduced to more beautiful women.

“Oh he has Fred’s eyes” one says “and his hair.” You pull him from the car seat and hand him off to Christina. You make casual conversation with them “want to go down for the warm up?” Kathy asks.

You nod scooping up Oliver, laughing as the women groan and grumble “don’t worry I’ll be back ladies” you say taking his little hand to wave goodbye.

“They can be a lot sometimes” Kathy starts “but they are great girls. We’re like a family, a bunch of sisters” you nod as you approach the glass. Fred see’s you and skates to the glass taping in front of Oliver’s face, Oliver stares at him.

You shift Oliver, instead of lying in your arms he is upright looking through the glass at Fred. Fred continues tapping on the glass smiling at his son.

“Oh that’s so cute” Kathy says.

“Yeah he is the best dad. Oliver’s really lucky” you start staring at your son “but so am I. This has been a crazy few months and although it’s not an ideal situation I wouldn’t want it with anyone else.” Fred skates away as the warmup is done up as you and Kathy find your seats.

“How are you doing with all this?” she gestures around the rink.

“For the most part he has kept it all pretty private. I mean even when he was born the team labelled it a ‘personal situation’ to the press, they didn’t say the birth of his son. I honestly don’t know if anyone outside last year’s leafs and some of this year pens know about him. Fred hasn’t posted anything on social media but he doesn’t put a whole lot on there.”

“How are you doing with the living situation, I know you are staying at Fred’s.”

“Yeah it’s been good; there have been these moments of like tension sometimes. Or at least I think there have been, maybe I’m imagining it, I don’t know.”

“Tension? Like fights?”

“No, more like sexual tension” You start as Kathy nods. “But I’m not sure. I think it will be better once I find a place of my own.”

“Oh Fred didn’t mention you were leaving.”

“Yeah I haven’t brought it up to him, I mentioned it back when I was pregnant but we decided to play it out.  I think it will be better if I leave, then we can date if we want too.”

“Do you want to date?”

“I don’t know, I was at a coffee shop the other day and started talking to someone while in line and gave him my number.” Kathy keeps staring at you “He has messaged me a bit, wants to meet up but I don’t know if I’m ready yet.”

Just as she is about to respond Oliver starts to cry “it’s probably the noise cancelling headphones, he is not a fan of them” you explain. Kathy nods as you head to the suite. You feed Oliver and change him into his penguin pyjamas as you set him in the car seat.

“Oh don’t leave” Christina cries.

“I can stick around for a bit, it’s just easier to have him in there in case he falls asleep later on.”

“Nonsense” she says grabbing him and scooping him up. “He will be perfectly fine right here” and he watched the remainder of the game being passed around between the women. When the final buzzer goes the Penguins have beat the senators 3-0, you didn’t mean to stay the whole time but Oliver didn’t fuss much and you were distracted talking to the girls.

Kathy leads you down to the area where you can wait for Fred after the game. Slowly players begin to trickle out, when Sidney comes out wrapping his arms around Kathy giving her a light kiss.

He turns to you “You must be (Y/N) and this guy must be Oliver” he says bending down to look at Oliver, who is asleep in his car seat on the floor.

“Yeah it’s nice to meet you.”

“Fred should be out soon, the media always has questions for the goalie after a shutout. Must have been his good luck charms he brought tonight” he gives you a soft smile. “Yeah” you chuckle in response.

“Well we better get going. Bye (Y/N). Nice meeting you” Sid says. “Yeah you too.”

Fred slowly strolls out a few minutes later looking down at his phone. He has on a black three piece game day suit, with his tie loosely hung around his neck.  The top two buttons of his shirt are undone providing you a glance at his chest, his hair was thrown to one side partially wet from the shower, seeing him like this makes you weak in the knees. He almost walks by until you call his name.

“Hey” he pulls you in for a hug. You smell his cologne mixed with his body wash, being pressed up against him breathing him causes your throat to catch. “I’m surprised you guys are still here.”

“Yeah the girls didn’t want to let go of him all night, I think they held onto him so he couldn’t leave.” He chuckles into your hair.

“Whatever the reason I’m glad you’re here” he says releasing you and picking up the car seat.

January 27, 2022

You wake up with Oliver and feed him leaving him on his play mat. As you are brewing coffee you hear Fred’s feet on the hardwood in the living room. He walks over to Ollie scooping him up from his swing “morning” he says.

“Morning. Coffee’s on, I’m going to go shower” you state heading down the hall. After your shower you return and hear Fred talking in hushed tones in the kitchen. “I don’t understand how this happened, I should have been consulted first.” You turn the corner from the hall to the kitchen and see he is on the phone “I have to go” he spits out before hanging up.

“Everything okay?” you question as you go to make a coffee.

“I have to tell you something” he starts as you sit at the island, Fred sits beside you holding Ollie in his lap. “So last night when you came to the game the Pen’s social media took some footage of you two.”

“Okay…” you respond waiting for him to continue.

“When you brought him to the glass they took a video of you holding him and put it on their story. They also took a picture where you can see the 3 of us. In both of these you can see his jersey that says Daddy on the back. The picture was posted that on their actual Instagram page after the game, with some caption about being daddy’s good luck charm.”

You casually take a sip of your coffee “and you are upset about this?” you question.

“Well I mean yeah. I have kept him hidden from my life, and I feel like I should have posted a picture of him before the team” you nod. “But you aren’t upset?” He asks kind of confused.

“I mean his dad is a professional athlete so I would be naïve to think he wouldn’t be photographed from time to time. But I don’t care if you keep him 100% hidden from that part of your life. It’s your choice, because it’s your career that will bring him into the light. If you want to post pictures you can, he is your son I won’t be upset about it. I’m not upset that his picture is posted but I get why it’s upsetting the team doing it before you.”

“You don’t care if I post pictures of him?”

“No. I post pictures of him all the time.” “Yeah but you are set to private.” “Would it bother you if I was set to public and posted pictures of him.”

“Well no, not at all.”

“Well that’s how I feel. He is your son so if you want to post pictures or videos post them, if you don’t want to then don’t. It’s your choice.”

“Are you upset about your face being shown in the picture?” he asks.

You shrug before answering “well they didn’t tag me in it. And nobody knows who I am, so I doubt people will be able to figure out who I am or find my page. And even if they do I’m private, I don’t accept people I don’t know so it’s not a big deal to me.”

“Oh I was mostly upset because I thought you would be. But since you’re not I guess I can call the team back before someone gets fired over it.”

“Good idea” you laugh. Fred hands you Ollie and stands up, just as he is leaving the room he turns around. “We have a family event this Sunday with the team.” He starts before pausing briefly “You guys want to come?”

“Of course” you smile, bouncing Oliver on your leg “it will be fun” you continue leaning in to kiss his cheek as he laughs. Fred stops and comes over to him “is that the first time he’s laughed?” he exclaims.

“Yeah it is! Quick get your phone!”

Fred pulls his phone out to videotape him “do it again” he says. You lean in kissing his cheek as you gently tickle his side. Oliver’s cute baby laughter fills the room as you continue doing it. Oliver stops and Fred turns the camera off kissing the top of Oliver’s head as he leans in to hug you. He kisses your hair “I can’t believe he did that” Fred whispers. He holds you for maybe a little too long before you chime in “Do you think you can watch Oliver tonight?” you question.

He pulls away “yeah of course. You going somewhere or just need a night off?”

“Um yeah… I was invited out to dinner” you answer shifting your eyes to Oliver “with Mike.”

You bounce Oliver a few times before you hear “like a date?”

You look up and see the disappointment in his eyes “I think so.”

“Oh. Well yeah Ollie and I will have a great time” he says scooping him from your arms “won’t we buddy.”

Later that day you are finishing getting ready for you date, Mike said he would pick you up at 7. It’s about 6:30 now. You straightened your hair and done your makeup as you stand looking into your closet. You settle on a simple black dress, has 3/4 sleeves with a high neck and ends just above your knees. You pair it with some high black boots. You walk out into the living room and see Fred carrying Oliver to the couch with a bottle in his hand. He tries to be subtly but you see his eyes lingering longer than they should, “you look nice” he says.

“Thanks” you say lightly.

Mike shows up late, at 7:20 and doesn’t even acknowledge that he is late, Fred went down to his room a little while ago, likely to avoid any awkward situations. He hands you a bouquet of roses “thanks” you say taking them from him “let me just put them in some water.” You walk to the kitchen, leaving Mike at the door to find a vase. You quickly place them in the corner of the kitchen before leaving with Mike.

The drive is painfully slow, the man beside you doesn’t seem like the man you met or have been texting with. He has told you multiple stories about “hanging with the guys” and some of the stuff that they do. He originally seemed sweet but at now he is coming across as a dick.

“Can you believe she brought us that?” he scoffs. “Like who wants the ’77, that wine is just trash.” You stare at him, unsure on how to respond. It seemed like a simple mistake to you, not something to berate the waitress over.

“What do you do for work?” he finally asks after an hour of talking about himself.

You shift slightly in your seat “I um work for an environmental consulting firm back in Toronto.”

“Oh why are you in Pittsburgh then?”

You take a deep breath “I am here on maternity leave, my sons father lives here so I came here.”

“Oh that’s awesome I love kids” he says, but somehow you don’t believe him. “So you heading back there after maternity leave or are you moving here for good?”

“Yeah I plan on leaving after my leave is over. I don’t have visas or a job to work down here” you say as you see a devilish grin come across his face. “So you’re not looking for something too serious then eh?” You aren’t sure how to process his question, but it is becoming very apparent to you what he is expecting from this.

As dinner wraps up you continue to become annoyed by Mike, he is continuously rude to the staff at the restaurant.

“Any dessert tonight?” your server asks.

Mike looks to you “I’m actually pretty full” you say lightly, trying to get out of this date as soon as possible. “Just the cheque please” Mike says to her.

After paying Mike heads to the bathroom. You put your coat on and look at the bill and realize he provided an extremely low tip. “What a dick” you mutter as you pull two twenties from your wallet and quickly slide them in the envelope.

“You ready?” you hear from behind you as you pull your hair out from inside your coat. You turn to walk in front of him, putting your hands in your pocket.

During the drive home he reaches over and rests his right hand on your thigh and begins sliding it up your leg. You grab his hand and push it off your leg toward the steering wheel. About 10 minutes in to the date you knew you weren’t going to see him again, and you wish you had of walked out then. He pulls up and parks in front of your building, you undo your seatbelt as you reach for your bag.

“Thanks for dinner” you say reaching for the door. You feel him reach across and turn your face to look at him. He leans in for a kiss as his hand firmly grips your leg. He begins sliding up, lifting the hem of your dress. You turn away from him “I feel like you got the wrong impression” you say removing his hand from your leg “I’m not interested in seeing you again.”

“You don’t need to see me again, just keep seeing me a little bit longer tonight” he moves you hair behind your ear “it will be fun.” His hand is back on your leg when you forcefully push him off you and quickly reach for the door practically running out the door.

You run to the elevator, your heart pacing as you step in trying to calm yourself. You don’t stop running until you are inside your apartment with the door locked behind you. You walk into the apartment the lights are off, but you can see the TV glow coming from Fred’s door indicating he is still awake. You kick your shoes and coat off as you walk to the kitchen to get a drink. You notice Fred moved the flowers to the middle of the island to be on display. Normally something so sweet would make you smile, but seeing them makes you angry.

Seeing them just reminds you of how big of a douche Mike was, and how terrible tonight was. You reach for the flowers to throw them in the trash but instead knock it the vase over, shattering on the floor.

You bend down picking up some of the larger pieces by hand. You are so agitated and stressed by the night’s events tears begin to build in your eyes. Through your blurry eyes you feel a piece of glass cut your palm as you mumble “fuck.”

“You okay?” you hear Fred question. “Yeah” you whisper. Fred see’s you gripping your hand, with blood dripping down.

“You’re bleeding, you’re not okay” he says leading you to the sink. He helps rinse your hand, he runs his thumb over the cut “I don’t think there is any glass in there. Stay here I’ll get some bandages.”

He comes back into the room with a first aid kit, and places some bandages on your palm.

“That should do it” he says.

“Thanks” you mutter.

Fred walks away to grab the broom and begins to sweep up the smaller pieces as you start cleaning up the water. The mess is cleaned but you are still on your knees with paper towel. You don’t want to stand up and let Fred see you cry so you are trying to stifle your tears.

Fred bends down beside you “It’s just a vase and some flowers, it’s not a big deal” he says tilting your chin up and wiping your tears. “I don’t care about the stupid flowers, I was trying to throw them out.”

“Why?” he questions.

“Date was that good” you mumble.

Fred pulls you in for a hug “want to talk about it?” he asks.

“No I want to put on pyjamas and forget tonight happened” you say before abruptly walking away to your room.

January 30, 2020

You and Fred haven’t discussed your date or that night since it happened. Today is the day of the family skate, you arrive dressed in jeans with a light sweater and bomber jacket, with a Pens toque Fred made you wear. Fred leads you to a dressing room handing you some skates “oh if I knew we were skating I could have brought my own. I played growing up a bit.”

“Oh I didn’t know, can’t wait to be dazzled by your skating abilities” he teases.

“I stopped playing the year my parents died. I started up again in college, but I’m not the best.”

“So I should carry Ollie.”

“Yes, 100%” you respond. After strapping his skates on he puts on the baby carrier sliding Oliver into the front of it. He looked so small pressed up against Fred’s chest in his snowsuit. “Oh he is so cute” you hear a wife say.

Fred grabs your hand and leads you to the ice “you ready to see mama’s skating abilities?” he questions touching Oliver’s cheek. You step on and begin skating, turning around to go backward too “Impressive” he says catching up to you. You do a few more laps before you begin to lose your balance when Fred sticks his hand under your elbow to support you. You skate a few more times before heading to get some water where you make casual conversation with Sid, Evgeni and Anna. “What are they talking about?” Evgeni questions. You all look to centre ice seeing Kathy talking to Freddie, in what appears to be an intense conversation. “Who knows” you shrug.

“That video Fred posted was adorable” Anna says.

“What video?” “The one with you and Oliver and he is laughing. It’s just the cutest. Baby laughs are the best.” You smile “yeah.” You aren’t surprised that Fred posted something of Oliver but you are surprised he posted with you in it.

Shortly after you all get off the ice and head to the team dinner. Fred places Oliver’s car seat on the floor and sits at the end of the bench so he can keep an eye on him. You sit beside him as Kathy and Sidney sit across from you. The four of you sit there drinking as the night wears on, your wine glass almost never emptying as Kathy keeps refilling it.

“So we’re going to watch Oliver for a night in the near future” Kathy says to Sidney.

“Oh really?” he questions

“Yeah give them a night off and get us some practice for when we have one” she quips and Sid chuckles lightly. You give Fred a light glance and he shrugs, but you know he knows what she is talking about. He leaves to change and feed Oliver, returning beside you but this time sitting closer to you. He puts his left hand on the bench behind you, gently grazing your ass as your breath gets caught in your throat. You sit there as you finally check your watch realizing its 9:30.

“Whoa, we should get going eh Fred” you say showing him the time.

“Yeah we better get the little guy to bed.”

 Dress for you date:

Next Chapter 

[halliewriteshockey]

OH! A PROMPT! canner/jars and forehead kisses (whether a 5+1 thing, or a feelings realisation thing, or something else entirely)(obvs based on him smooching goalies in the goalie train)

Five times Jared kisses Tristan + one time he kisses someone else

The first time Jared kisses him, it’s in the goalie line after a shutout, and it happens so fast Tristan’s not even sure what’s going on. Jared’s grinning so widely his eyes are crinkled almost closed, and he reaches up and cups Tristan’s helmet, pulling his head down.

Tristan bends obediently, not entirely sure what he’s doing, and Jared releases him a split second later, slaps him on the shoulder, and moves so Sid can take his place.

Okay, he thinks. Hockey players are weird. They tend to be emotionally stunted because they’re so focused on hockey instead of developing life skills like actual humans. 

Tristan accepts the rest of his team’s congratulations and puts the incident out of his head.

Until it happens again.

The next time, they’ve barely eked out a win, scraping through by the skin of their teeth and a desperation move by Tristan late in the third that only just kept the puck out. He thinks he might have pulled something stopping it, but the twinge fades when his team lines up to thank him.

Jared pulls him down and repeats whatever he’d done last time. Kissing his helmet? Tristan goes home and watches the game, taking notes on his performance while he ices his groin, and then watches the lineup.

Sure enough, Jared’s kissing him. Tristan checks the shutout game. Yup, kissed his helmet then too.

A little weird, Tristan thinks, and goes to bed.

He does it again after the third game too, smile wide like this is all totally normal.

The fourth time, the game hasn’t even started. Tristan’s warming up in the hall, surrounded by players. He’s in the zone, letting everything else fade as he focuses on getting into that perfect headspace where he doesn’t hear anything except the sound the puck makes when it streaks toward him.

He’s absolutely not expecting Jared to come out of the locker room and make a beeline straight for him. Tristan leans back to let him pass but Jared stops in front of him. He looks serious this time, blue-grey eyes determined, and he reaches up with one hand to pull Tristan down into the kiss. When he releases him, he pats the back of Tristan’s helmet and turns away without a word.

They lose. 

Tristan’s scattered, unable to focus no matter how he tries. The opposing team slots three in the first two periods, then another two in the last, and the goals Teddy and Jake score between them aren’t enough to make up the gap before the buzzer goes.

Murray starts the next game. He brings home a win with ease, grinning at the players as they line up after. Jared’s bouncing on his skates, ahead of Tristan in the line, and Tristan has a perfect view when Jared reaches up---a lot higher because Muzz is part giraffe---and plants a big, smacking kiss on his helmet.

Oh, Tristan thinks. He does it to everyone. It’s a goalie-specific thing, not a Tristan-specific thing. That’s... well, that’s okay then, isn’t it?

He starts the next game, and Jared doesn’t kiss him before it starts. Maybe that’s why they win, he decides. Everyone’s bright-eyed and happy, knocking their foreheads against Tristan’s helmet after, but Tristan’s not really paying attention, too focused on Jared’s place in line.

He doesn’t kiss him. Doesn’t even meet his eyes, the smile on his face hollow like he’s faking it, and he only slaps Tristan on the shoulder before turning away, leaving Tristan to stare after him.

It’s fine, he tells himself, and follows his team off the ice. 

And it is fine, mostly. They’re winning more than they lose, climbing the standings with dogged determination. Tristan’s able to force himself into focus again, and he doesn’t care that Jared doesn’t kiss him after wins anymore. He doesn’t. He especially doesn’t care that he still kisses Muzz after his wins.

He doesn’t care so aggressively that he glares at Jared when he approaches him after games, until Jared’s looking anywhere but at him and the congratulations he offers are nothing more than a nod before he turns to skate away. 

“Any chance you’re going to get past this on your own?” Sid asks one evening after the media’s gone.

“Get past what,” Tristan snaps, and immediately feels guilty for being rude to Sid, of all people, who only wants the best for everyone on his team. “Sorry,” he says more moderately. “Just been on edge, I guess.”

Sid examines him with dark eyes that see too much. “Maybe you should talk to him,” he suggests.

He definitely sees too much.

Tristan shoves his feet into his shoes. “Goodnight, Sid.”

He stalks for the garage without looking back. He’s almost to his car when he realizes someone’s waiting for him. He gives serious thought to hiding behind a pillar and calling a Lyft when he realizes it’s Jared, arms crossed over his chest and a thunderous scowl on his face.

He doesn’t, but it’s a near thing. 

Jared straightens when he sees him, hands dropping to his sides. “Um. Sid said I had to talk to you or I was benched.”

Goddamn meddling captains.

“Tell him we talked then,” Tristan says, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Goodnight.”

“Yeah, that won’t fly.” Jared doesn’t sound any happier than Tristan feels. “You know Sid. He won’t let it go until whatever this is is fixed.”

“What is this?” Tristan snaps.

“I don’t know!” Jared retorts, matching his tone. “We were okay one day and then we weren’t and I... I fucked something up but I don’t know how, okay, but I’m trying here, can you just... work with me a bit?”

Tristan glares at him for a minute. To his credit, Jared doesn’t flinch. He just lifts his chin and waits.

“Get in the damn car,” Tristan growls, and Jared wastes no time scrambling for the passenger side.

Tristan doesn’t start the car once they’re inside. They sit quietly, watching the last few players heading for their cars. Finally, Jared stirs.

“Why did you kiss me?” Tristan asks abruptly.

Jared blinks. “I---what?”

“You started kissing my helmet after wins,” Tristan says. This is horrible. He wants very much to just disappear altogether and not have to talk about his feelings or whatever, but Jared’s twisted to look at him. “Then you stopped. Why?”

“Why did I, uh, kiss you, or why did I stop?”

“Yes,” Tristan says, exasperated. “It’s fucking with my head, so could you please just... explain and then get out of my car so I can go home?”

Jared shifts in his seat. He looks weirdly guilty. “I didn’t mean anything by it,” he mumbles, and Tristan’s bad mood gets worse somehow. “I just---I was happy we won. I wanted to show you how much I appreciated you. But then that time I kissed you before the game, we lost and I know you blamed me, so---”

“Wait, whoa, back up. I blamed you? For us losing?”

“Well yeah. Didn’t you?”

“No,” Tristan snaps. “I blame JJ for turning over the puck and Rudy for forgetting how to be a D-man when I needed him, and the rest of you for not playing a good enough game to make up for it. And I blame myself because I still should have been able to keep the pucks out anyway and I didn’t. What did you have to do with any of that?”

Jared is gaping at him. “But. I kissed you. And we lost.”

“Correlation does not equal causation. It had nothing to do with you.”

“Well, that’s why,” Jared says. “I thought... I thought you were mad at me.”

“Well, I wasn’t,” Tristan says. “Not until you started kissing Muzz but not me.”

Jared’s eyes widen. “Did you want---”

“Forget it,” Tristan snaps. “Get out of my car.”

“No, I don’t think I will,” Jared says, lifting his chin again. “Explain what you meant and then I’ll go, how’s that?”

Tristan slumps in his seat and glares out the windshield. 

“Were you jealous?” Jared asks.

Tristan glares harder at nothing.

“Oh my god,” Jared breathes. He sounds delighted. Tristan sneaks a look. Yup, he’s grinning. “Jars, you could have said. Why didn’t you just say?”

“Why are you still here?” Tristan asks, making his voice as forbidding as possible, but if anything, Jared’s grin just widens.

“You like me,” he says.

“Right now, there are Flyers I like more than you,” Tristan growls.

Jared laughs. He actually laughs, and Tristan reconsiders the viability of making a run for it.

It’s already too late. Jared is leaning over the armrest, reaching out to cup Tristan’s chin in his hand and turn his face. Tristan decides it would be childish to resist, so he allows it. Jared’s only a few inches away, a smile dancing in his eyes when Tristan meets his gaze.

“You don’t have to be jealous,” Jared says, and a shiver runs down Tristan’s spine. “Don’t you know you’re the only one I want to kiss?”

“Hearing a lot of big talk,” Tristan retorts. “Maybe you should put your money where your---mmph!” 

Jared’s mouth is warm and soft, and all rational thought flees Tristan’s brain. All he can do is hold on as Jared deepens the kiss, cupping Tristan’s face in one hand as he licks into his mouth.

They’re both breathing hard when Jared pulls away. He’s smiling as he thumbs Tristan’s chin.

“I do have a confession to make,” he murmurs, and Tristan’s never heard him sound like this, his voice all breathy and soft. 

He manages to quirk an eyebrow.

“What the hell is correlation does not equal... whatever that other word was?”

“Causation,” Tristan says, fighting the laughter. “Read a book sometime.” And he pulls him back into another kiss, feeling better than he has in weeks as Jared laughs against his mouth and kisses him back.

~~~

Inspired by Jared actually doing this to Tristan after a win

[un-sweetenedtea]

Worth It

who: Tsukishima x  Fem! Reader

warnings: fluff, angst, volleyball terms will be how they are in the anime, mild swearing, and parental problems.

features: Hinata, Kageyama, Asahi, Coach Ukai, Sensei Takeda, Hajime Iwaizumi, and Tooru Oikawa

A first-year, starter libero for the girls’ volleyball team at Karasuno. That’s who you were.  Today, though, you were a temporary manager for the boys’ team for three days. 

“Hinata, damn it!” Kageyama cursed as he watched the ball drop right in front of Hinata. 

“I couldn’t help it, Kageyama! It was the highest I’ve jumped I swear! It was all like WHOOSH!” Hinata exclaimed, expressing the height of his jump through the motions on his hands.

“Alright, you two, back at it again, minus tempo, Hinata,” Coach Ukai stated, giving them a bored look. 

You heard a snicker from beside you. 

“Tsukishima, on the court now! y/n, help Tsukishima block,” Coach Ukai demanded, whooshing you both on court with a sweep of his hand. “You too, Asahi.” 

You stood a bit wary beside the two starting players. You were a mere 5′2 standing between two 6′1 front-row players. Being a libero wasn’t a position that demanded height, but demanded more of skills. You shook off the nerves as you always do and focused in on getting a shutout on Hinata. You all watched as Hinata jumped, preparing for a spike. 

You jumped along with the other blockers and felt a hard push against your side. You braced yourself to be thrown against the floor, but instead feeling something warm under you instead. It didn't take long for the buttons to click, you turned and saw that Tsukishima broke your fall. You hurried to get off of him, feeling a soreness in your wrist. 

“y/n, I am so sorry, I thought I could block Hinata’s dominate hand when I felt I was too far off,” Asahi apologized, bowing down, and you gave a short nod that showed your appreciation for the apology. 

“Tsukishima, are you okay? Thank you for breaking my fall, I’m sorry you had to,” You apologized, leaning over his body. 

You surveyed his body for marks, but you couldn't help yourself to admire for a small moment at the end of his shirt that barely revealed a hint of abs underneath. You bit your lip, trying to stop your blush. You grabbed his wrist to check for a pulse, which thankful had one, and Asahi shoved an ice bag into your hand. You got a cold rag and laid it on Tsukishima’s head, and held the ice bag in your hand. 

“Okay let’s give him some space,” Coach Ukai said, redirecting the surrounding team members. 

Tsukishima groaned and slowly opened his eyes. His hands instantly went to his side, wincing when he applied pressure. You pressed the ice bag on his side, wincing with every groan Tsukishima let out. 

“You’re one heavy son of a bitch, y/n,” Tsukishima teased, letting a small smile slip through his lips. 

“Oh great, you’re awake, Tsukishima. y/n, get him check out at the nurse’s office,” Coach Ukai said, propping up Tsukishima to put all his weight on me. 

You nodded and hobbled off with a heavy Tsukishima. You internally winced with every groan Tsukishima gave with every step. His hand started to slip off you shoulder, you intertwined them to stop it from slipping off. You couldn’t help, but blush at the sight of holding hands with the big salty beanpole. 

Stop, y/n, get your head out of the gutter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the big day. The first day of Inter-High prelims. Your team didn’t play until the second day and the boys’ team needed a manager. It was the perfect chance to get hours for college and see your big brother. Hinata had talked your ear off the entire bus ride, but now he was itching to get off the bus. 

You looked through your bag to find your phone, but you couldn’t find it. You haphazardly searched through your bag as the team went on inside without you. You finally found it stuck between the seat, after finding it, you ran out of the bus. You tucked your phone inside your bag for safe and sound, but you ran into someone. Almost familiar. 

“I’m sorry-” You began, looking up. 

“y/n?” He asked, staring at you in confusion. 

“Onii~san?” You asked, peering back into your big brother’s eyes.

“I missed you!” He exclaimed, picking you up into his strong arms. 

“I missed you too, Hajime!” You happily exclaimed, wrapping your arms around his neck. 

Tsukishima’s POV

I turned the corner after going to the bathroom to check up Hinata. Damn him and his weak stomach. I saw y/n wrapping her arms against Iwaizumi, the ace of Aoba Johsai. I swallowed down the lump of bitterness in my throat. Of course a girl like her would have somebody like Iwaizumi by her side. 

Damn feelings and Aoba Johsai. 

y/n’s POV

“Where’s your team, y/n?” Hajime asked, looking around the lobby. 

“I came her as a temporary manager for the boys’ Karasuno team,” you replied, smiling up at your brother. 

“When does your match start? Me and Oikawa will watch,” Hajime asked, giving you a knuckle sandwich. 

“Tomorrow, first thing. I have to go, but we should meet up after?” You asked, pulling yourself away. 

“Can’t, Coach Mizoguchi has a meeting after this,” Hajime said sadly, waving you goodbye. 

You nod and make your way to the gym. It was a long match, but Karasuno came on top after taking the two sets. Your heart swelled the happiness as you watched Tsukishima blocked every spike, looking like the swelling bruise of you falling on him was gone as so the one of your wrist. When you shot him a thumbs up, he looks away. Breaking your heart with every glare. You looked away in embarrassment, swallowing your shame. 

What did I do to Tsukishima?

After the game, you spot Hajime talking with your parents. You smiled a big smile and ran towards your family. 

“Mom! Dad!” You exclaimed, opening your arms wide. 

“HI, sweetie! We came to watch Hajime’s great match today!” Mom said with pride, giving Hajime a big hug. 

A feeling of jealousy swirled inside your stomach, watching Hajime get all the praise you worked so hard for.

“Will you watch my game?” You asked, swallowing the fear of jealousy and replacing it with excitement.

“Darling, we wouldn’t make it in time, but you can watch Hajime’s game with us tomorrow,” Dad offered, patting your head. 

That feeling swirled more, rising inside of you. 

“It’s fine,” You smiled bitterly, swallowing the jealousy once more. 

“I’ll go as your mommy and daddy instead, y/n,” a proud voice called from behind Hajime. 

“Right, me and Sh- Oikawa will go,” Hajime said, patting Tooru’s back, wary of your parents beaming beside you. 

“We will play the role of mommy and daddy, only if I get to play Daddy,” Tooru said, smiling down at me. 

“We have to go, but we love you. See you at the game tomorrow!” your parents called out, leaving the gym, sending a weirded out glance towards Tooru. 

You watched longingly as their backs disappeared in the crowd. Tooru wrapped his arm around me and spoke inspiring words of my match. You swallowed the bitterness and smiled at Hajime. 

“Iwa~chan, will you us out to eat ice cream tomorrow?” Tooru asked, placing his head on top of mine. 

“No, Shittykawa, you’ll get fat,” Hajime stated, rolling his eyes, and getting Tooru off of me. 

“Woah! y/n, how do you know Iwaizumi and Oikawa of Aoba Johsai?” Hinata exclaimed, his eyes filled with stars. 

“Oh, I forgot, guys, this is my brother Hajime Iwaizumi, and Oikawa,” You said, pointing to them. 

“If it isn’t the flightless crows,” Tooru said, giving them a shit-eating grin. 

“That’s enough, Shittykawa, we have to go,” Hajime demanded, pulling Tooru away. 

“Bye, Onii~san!” You exclaimed, waving them both goodbye. 

“y/n, you could’ve mentioned your brother was Iwaizumi,” Kageyama said, giving me a glare. 

“I didn’t think it was necessary,” You mumbled, looking down at your shoes. 

“Alright, meeting back at the school! No match after today’s,” Coach Ukai said, clapping his hands. 

You helped the team clean things up for the next team. You strolled out of the the gym, the jealousy weighing heavy on your heart. Hinata was too tired to talk to you about his plays. The team all wore tired faces, Suga looking like he was about to nod off. But, Tsukishima offered to walk with you. 

“I’m sorry for ignoring you on court,” Tsukishima started, giving you a sorry look.

“It’s fine, but why did you do it though?” You asked, looking up in his golden eyes.

He looked away, his cheeks tinting a pink. 

“I thought Iwaizumi was your -uhm- boyfriend,” Tsukishima apologized, putting his hand on my shoulder. 

“Ew, no,” you laughed, looking at Tsukishima’s sorrowed face. “I wouldn't even date Oikawa, he’s like another brother to me.”

Tsukishima’s eyes lit up, the fog in his eyes dispersing. 

“I wish I was him though, Hajime, not Oikawa,” You sighed, glancing away, trying to control your tears as you sat on the bus next to Tsukishima. 

“My brother goes to Aoba Johsai because we were both accepted to go, but only one of us could go. We didn’t want to decide so my parents did for us,” you said, smiling bitterly. “Hajime is their golden child and I'm never going to be out of his shadows. That’s why I didn't tell you I was his sister, I was too embarrassed. Embarrassed to be the unwanted child.”

You looked up at Tsukishima through your tears, looking around at everyone else sleeping, and making sure nobody heard your confession. Tsukishima gave you a smile and offered his hand to hold, which you happily took. 

“Hell, my parents don't even want to go to my match. Everything I do, I work harder than Hajime ten times to get praised by my parents. Anything he does, he’s praised for it! Aoba Johsai was too far away to continue to make the travel between home and their so he stayed in the dorms there, he hasn't even come home in months! Too busy with practices, I guess,” you said angrily, tears flowing. “I just don’t feel like I’m worth their time.”

“y/n, you are so worth it,” Tsukishima said with passion, giving me a kiss that was filled with emotions that were raging between the both of us. 

[bongaboi]

Arizona State: 2019 Sun Bowl Champions

EL PASO — In a scene imagined by few if any before it actually happened and almost assuredly never preceded by anything quite like it, Arizona State players poured a cooler of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes on the head of their coach in celebration on Tuesday.

It was not the traditional Gatorade bath that invariably comes with the biggest of wins. There will be no lighting of victory cigars. There may be some champagne toasts in the aftermath but those will primarily be to ring in the New Year and only more obliquely related to the outcome of their football game played several hours earlier.

But, still, the Sun Devils ended their 2019 season the right way and so they bathed their second-year head coach Herm Edwards in breakfast cereal and he certainly didn't mind it.

"First time I've ever got a bucket full of Frosted Flakes, that's new," Edwards said. "That helps. That's not cold. All I needed was some milk and I would have been fine."

In the play-calling debut of its new defensive coordinator Tony White, ASU forced six turnovers — more than in any game since October of 2009 against Washington State — and perhaps needed every one in its 20-14 win over Florida State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in front of 42,412 fans in the 86th playing of the game. The win concluded ASU's season at 8-5 overall, better than their initial 7-6 season under Edwards. Florida State finished its season at 6-7 overall.

Though they have aspirations for more extravagant celebrations in the future, the Sun Devils are content with where they are currently at two years into the Edwards-experiment, which was initially widely panned but now has taken on an unmistakable aura of emerging success.

"It shows the potential for our defense and how strong we're going to become," freshman safety Willie Harts said after collecting one of four ASU interceptions on the afternoon. "We're very young and still experienced and we're going to learn so much over the years."

With both teams missing key players due to early-NFL declarations and undertaking significant staffing changes including a new coordinator on both sides of the ball for the Sun Devils, there was a lot of sloppy, forgettable play on Tuesday. But also, some very memorable moments.

The Sun Devils held a halftime 9-0 lead and appeared to have the Seminoles offense in a vice grip before a five-minute stretch late in the third quarter that flipped the game upside down.

With multiple deep reserves on the field for ASU's defense due to the absence of starting redshirt freshman safety Cameron Phillips and injuries to junior cornerbacks Chase Lucas and Jack Jones, Florida State marched 91 yards in 11 plays including a fourth-and-3 conversion to score its first points at 3:47 of the third quarter and make it a suddenly close 9-7 ASU edge.

After redshirt sophomore punter Michael Turk — excellent in the game with eight punts for a 45.8 yard average with four inside the 20 — ended ASU's third straight series of the quarter with a punt on its next possession, the Seminoles immediately struck again to take a 14-9 lead. With Lucas and Jones watching from the sidelines, sophomore cornerback Timarcus Davis gave up a 91-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Tamorrion Terry, a one-play scoring drive.

It didn't dent ASU's confidence whatsoever. On their next possession, the Sun Devils marched 59 yards on 12 plays in a drive that included a highlight-reel 27-yard scramble by freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels on third-and-10 and ended with sophomore kicker Cristian Zendejas making his fourth field goal of the day to tie a Sun Bowl record and cut his team's deficit to 14-12. But it was the Sun Devils' fourth red zone trip and they only had 12 points to show for it and still trailed.

That's when Harts sprung into action on a miscommunication between Florida State sophomore quarterback James Blackman and a receiver that placed a ball directly in the arms of the safety who started in place of Phillips. With a clear path to the end zone, Harts pushed ASU's lead to 20-14 after a successful 2-point try. The interception was Blackman's third of four on the day, with the Sun Devils needing two more turnovers later in the fourth quarter to salt the game away.

On Florida State's next drive, sophomore ASU linebacker Darien Butler made a tackle-for-loss on a fourth-and-2 get his team the ball back. Blackman then threw his fourth interception of the day to ASU senior linebacker Khaylan Kearse-Thomas on Florida State's next drive. And even with all of that, the Seminoles had one more chance in the game's final two minutes when Terry lost a fumble to ASU forced by sophomore linebacker Merlin Robertson and recovered by sophomore linebacker Tyler Johnson.

"Can't say enough about our kicker and our defense," Edwards said. "We get six turnovers we should probably win a game. That being said, these guys kept fighting back for us. They really did. I'm happy for our seniors. To end the season with a bowl victory for them is very important. We hit a slump during the season where we had lost four in a row. I reminded the players, when you get tired of losing, you're going to win again. We've won three in a row now. This is a good way to set the 2020 season off for us, with a bowl game (win). That's very important to us."

Kearse-Thomas, who early in the game was given a reprieve when a hit on Blackman was called targeting on the field but overturned on review, and Williams excelled in their final ASU outing. Kearse-Thomas had a team-high six solo tackles and nine total in addition to his interception and a quarterback hurry. Williams concluded his season without giving up a touchdown pass in coverage and was excellent throughout a game in which ASU's pass defense yielded just 155 yards excluding the 91-yard touchdown.

"I can't say enough about Khaylan and Kobe," Edwards said. "These guys are seniors. I take my hat off to them. When you get a coaching change and you put in your defense, that's hard. It's hard on seniors. It really is. They're looking at a new staff, saying, 'you're playing all these young guys, what about me?' Without these two guys we're not the defense we were this year.

"I'm glad for these guys because of what they've meant to me personally. I lean on them. They were always there, always energetic. They were the keys to the defense to be quite honest."

The Sun Devils won despite being out-gained in total offensive yards 470 to 282 because their defense held up well other than the flagging late third-quarter stretch and Blackman committing five turnovers on his own out of the six total by the Seminoles. Robertson had perhaps his best game of the season and forced both of Florida State's lost fumbles and recovered one of them on his own. Sophomore safety Aashari Crosswell and junior safety Evan Fields each had a first-half interception to contribute to the shutout pitched by ASU before intermission, the latter doing so after promising his mom he would get one for her on her birthday.

While Daniels — sacked three times on the day and under duress throughout — received the game's MVP honors for the Sun Devils despite a low-percentage 12 of 28 passing performance for just 195 yards in part because he led the team in rushing with 36 yards on 12 carries, it was the team's defensive playmaking that took center stage in the absence of senior receiver Brandon Aiyuk and junior running back Eno Benjamin.

Moreover, it was White's successful first attempt at calling plays after being promoted from cornerbacks coach to defensive coordinator, which resonated with Edwards and ASU players in the game's aftermath, particularly as it came in White's hometown in front of a large group of family and friends.

"One hundred tickets," Edwards said. "'One hundred tickets Tony White.' He has a fan base now. He grew up here. It was fun, we visited his brother's high school, worked out over there when we got here Thursday. He was excited. I'm happy for him. Gets to take over as the coordinator. I thought he did a great job. Had a shutout going in the first half."

Added Kearse-Thomas: "He got us prepared really well. I mean, we had all month to really prepare. We were very detailed in what we were doing and then he got the play call in for us and told us to go. [Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce] told us before the game, 'This could be a stat game if you want it to be.'"

Stats make players happy and especially so when it includes winning football games and having fun doing it. Under the team's previous coaching staff, that was not the case for some Sun Devils who now believe they are passing a torch to the next generation with a lot of fuel for what they see as an even brighter future.

"It's changed tremendously (under Edwards)," Kearse-Thomas said. "It's like (the movie) Coming to America. "Coming from a dictatorship ... just the freedom. Coach Herm, he allows us to be us. A couple years back we couldn't do that. It played a role in the success with ASU. I feel like him letting the kids be kids is a big step for the program."

[burning-up-ao3]

From the Point  11 15 2019

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League have been short-handed this season, too. All those injuries at the NHL level meant that they had to fork over three of their best players for a little while. Plus, they've had a bunch of bumps and bruises, too. After a so-so start in their first season under coach Mike Vellucci, the Baby Penguins are on a roll. They've won four of their last five games, allowing a total of five goals, to climb into third place in their division.  They host the Springfield Thunderbirds, the second-place squad, at Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday night. Eight of their next 10 games at at home. Thursday, we checked in with Vellucci, whose fascinating backstory includes surviving a car accident with former teammate Al Iafrate, to see how things are going down on the farm. He had some interesting things to say about Casey DeSmith, the late addition who has 11 goals in 15 games and three notable prospects who have been hit by injuries or illness. Here's a transcript of our conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity. Post-Gazette: What are some of the challenges your team has faced early in the season and what has helped you get on a roll lately? Mike Vellucci: It was difficult. We had 11 guys that we expected in our lineup that weren't. So we were playing guys that are in Wheeling now and playing a lot of rookies that had never played a pro game and were learning what it takes to be a pro and also understanding what my expectations are for them and the way we want to play. So it was just a lot of teaching, growing pains, finding ways to win. I just feel that structurally the last six, seven games were getting to where we need to be. PG: What was it like seeing Sam Lafferty, Adam Johnson and Joseph Blandisi come up to the NHL and make the impact that they did? We know that's what you're preparing guys to do. And what kind of message does that send to your players when they see that happen? MV: As a coach, you're thinking, 'I hope they're doing what I told them to do so they don't make mistakes.' And then it's such a great feeling when you watch them play so well and do the right things. As for what the other players see, if they're doing it right down here and do it right up there, then they could end up staying and doing well. That means don't take the shortcut. Make sure you're doing everything the right way. I think it's very helpful as an organization to see that. And, as a coach, I'd use that as motivation for the guys that aren't there yet. PG: And when someone has success at the NHL level and comes back to the AHL, like Lafferty, can you sense a different confidence about them? And how much of a boost did that give your team when those three call-ups were returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton? MV: Yeah, you play with confidence. My job is to tell them to not take any shortcuts. Do what you would do in the NHL. Don't make a change down here and think that you need to cheat for offense. If you're not going to do it up top, why would you do it here? And then continue to play with speed and passion and those things. It was good they came back. The only difference for them was that they went from eight or 10 minutes to 22 minutes of ice time. PG: We talked to Casey DeSmith a couple of weeks ago. He admitted that he was frustrated and, frankly, hurt by being put on waivers and sent down to the AHL club. How do you think he's responded to that and how critical has he been for your team? It seems like he has found his game down there recently with shutouts in back-to-back games. MV: Yes, of course he was hurt and disappointed and all those emotions, which is understandable. I talked to him when he first got down here and I pulled him aside maybe 10 days ago and just said that he can't let this affect him. He can't control that he was sent down, whether it was because of money or the cap situation or whatever it may be. The only thing he can control is how well he plays and how he tries to get better every day. So I think from that point on he's been preparing to be the best he can and not worrying about things he can't control. I think he's settled in nice. And from a team standpoint, we've settled in with our structure to limit the chances against him. And when we have broken down, he's been there to bail us out. Photo via Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins PG: Tell us about Stefan Noesen. Your team signed him just before the season started and it seems like every time we check Twitter he has just scored another goal. Tell me about him as a player and a potential prospect, because he seemingly came out of nowhere. MV: He came out of nowhere for you, but not for me. I coached him in juniors [with Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League]. So I know him very well. He was a first-round NHL pick [by Ottawa in 2011] and he had some tough injuries early in his pro career. He missed a lot of time. He played the last couple of years in the NHL  and has been a very good player there. I know him. He's got great hands. His hockey sense is off the charts. He's competitive and he hates to lose. It's been a great signing for us. He's been a huge part of all of our wins, especially early on when scoring goals was difficult for us as a team. PG: How has Emil Larmi's adjustment to North American pro hockey been going? MV: Early on, he was really good, and then he had that freak, weird injury that gave us all a little scare there. He's finally gotten cleared and we're just trying to get him back into game shape so he can play. I like him a lot. I think he's a very good prospect for the organization, and he's a great person. PG: Speaking of injuries, two of the organization's better prospects, Kasper Bjorkqvist and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, have been out. Bjorkqvist had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago and is out for six months and Joseph is dealing with mononucleosis. How disappointing is it that you haven't been able to get a longer look at those two and help them develop? MV: We had all those injuries up top [in the NHL] and Joseph gets mono and Bjorkqvist goes out for six months. Go on down the list. Thomas DiPauli was hurt. It was crazy. It's difficult. It stunts their growth really. It's just going to take more time. P.O.'s getting close. He lost a lot of weight and mono really kicks your butt. So we're trying to get him back in shape and hopefully he gets cleared here in the next 10 days. Bjorkqvist, I mean, that's a big blow. One good thing is that he's in great shape and will continue to be. But he was really making some strides in his game. So it's very disappointing to see that he's out that long. PG: Last question – What's the next step for your team? You said they've really bought in structurally and you're getting some guys back in the lineup. What's the next step for your players? What do you want to see from them in the next month or so? MV: Continue to get better in all areas. But we've improved in everything we set out to improve in. We've been exiting our zone way better. That's something we worked on the last two weeks. Our forecheck is getting better. Our special teams, our power play's been really good but our penalty kill struggled early on. That was more from everybody being new to it but it's been oh-for-20 maybe in the last number of games. Just continue to get better as a team and individuals, and then being at home for the next little bit will definitely help. WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED 1. Sidney Crosby is expected to be out six weeks after undergoing sports hernia surgery. 2. Are all these injuries simply bad luck or is there something more to it? Note that Crosby, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist are all highly paid core players in their thirties. 3. Jim Rutherford goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. He'll be sure to thank a lot of folks from Windsor, where he spent four formative years as a young hockey exec. 4. What's it like to bodycheck a buddy? Bryan Rust knows a little something about that. 5. Olli Maatta was back this weekend and had a lot of nice things to say about Pittsburgh. THREE STARS OF THE PAST WEEK 3. Evgeni Malkin. OK, so he was at least partially responsible for the Rangers' game-winning goal in overtime Monday. But he has been really good otherwise. He had a pair of assists in the comeback win against the Blackhawks and another Monday. That was a continuation of what he did in the previous week. The Penguins need Malkin to keep this going. 2. Jared McCann. McCann scored the shootout winner against the Blackhawks and got the team's first power play goal in a month in the loss to the Rangers. Going back to last week, McCann has two goals and four assists in his last four games with a plus-6 rating. 1. Matt Murray. He stopped 29 of 31 shots against Chicago and kept hope alive in New York after they got off to shaky start. They've lost in regulation in only four of his 15 starts. PENGUINS STAT LEADERS Goals: 8, Guentzel Assists: 12, Crosby Points: 17, Crosby +/-: +12, McCann PIMs: 17, Blueger Save %: .929, Jarry Wins: 9, Murray IT’S A GREAT WEEK FOR HOCKEY Friday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins at Devils. Three days after getting their first look at Rangers rookie Kaapo Kakko, which wasn't pretty, the Penguins have to chase after Jack Hughes for the first time. The speedy Devils center, picked first overall ahead of Kakko in June, has nine points in 17 games. Not bad. Hughes, a native of Florida, also has a minus-7 rating. Not good. Saturday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins vs. Maple Leafs. No Crosby for the Penguins and no Mitch Marner for the Leafs. The Leafs still have a few more big names, including American-born center Auston Matthews, but so far they have been pretty disappointing. With this being the second half of a back-to-back, Tristan Jarry could get his first start since Oct. 23. Tuesday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins vs. Islanders. The Penguins, as you probably recall, got a small measure of revenge last week when they rallied from three goals down to beat the Islanders in Brooklyn. The Islanders since then have started another streak and are one of four teams that entered Thursday with a better goal differential than the Penguins, who are plus-13. Thursday @ 7 p.m.: Penguins at Islanders. Jeez. These guys again? The Penguins and the Islanders play for the third time in 15 days.  They won't meet again until March 15. STAT OF THE WEEK 4 – consecutive games in which the Penguins have fallen behind by two or more goals. Improbably, they won two of them and lost Monday's game in Manhattan in OT, earning a point. Opponents have scored first in 11 of the past 13 games, in part because the Penguins have just eight first-period goals. They should probably score some of those. QUOTE OF THE WEEK "I will be fire." – Evgeni Malkin, inspired by a fire alarm, on stepping up with Crosby out. EXITING THE ZONE I'll use this space to share quick Penguins tidbits, hot takes and random thoughts on hockey and life. ... Losing Crosby stings but it would hurt a lot, lot more had they not gotten off to a good start despite all their other injuries. They shouldn't fall too far behind the pack with a record like 8-11-4 in his absence. ... Now would be a great time for Nick Bjugstad to produce. I like Bjugstad as a player and he's one heck of a dude. But the points haven't been there for his linemates and him since arriving in February. ... Looks like Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel will skate together against the Devils. Eager to see if that union works. Not sure if their games mesh. ... Wrote about this Monday and it still holds true today. Jack Johnson has been pretty decent so far this season. Heck, even advanced stats back that up. Playing a lot with John Marino helped. But let's give credit where it's due. ... You should really read this story my partner, Mike DeFabo, wrote about a homeless veteran who was looking for a place to sleep outside PPG Paints Arena while the Pens recognized Veterans Day inside. Sobering stuff. subscribe here: https://my.post-gazette.com/newsletters/?utm_source=pg.com&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=newsletter-subscribe&utm_content=navbar

[futuredrmedic]

“Life is a team sport”

I never learned how to lose. Not that I didn’t face adversity or struggles, I just didn’t know how to lose. I was a skilled goalie from day 1, in hockey and soccer, making use of my innate ability to always be in the way. I was a bad team specialist. I loved playing for bad teams and knowing that more often than not I was the reason behind the win. Until I wasn’t.

I went four seasons straight without allowing a goal in soccer, when I finally allowed one I didn’t know how to handle it and whacked my own head against the goal post in frustration. If I remember correctly we didn’t even lose, I just got beat for the first time. Hating myself unless I was perfect became an unhealthy pattern for me. It continued with hockey, I picked it up a little later but I was a natural talent with the potential to really do something with it. I played for a college coach who told me (as a senior in college) if he’d seen me a few years sooner I would’ve had a full ride. He didn’t mean to break me with that comment, he meant it as an encouragement but boy did it throw me. My life had gone totally of course when my parents decided to move to Central America and home school us and this was just another thing I missed.

In 2015 I got into one medical school, a DO school in the south, and for a lot of reasons I decided I needed to wait a little bit (some day I’ll get around to writing that up) but one of the factors (not a huge one but a factor) was hockey. A new women’s pro league was starting, the current (no longer existing) league had openings, and I just might have a chance to play pro. I moved to New England, I started an expensive grad program that I was unfortunately unable to finish due to finances and some personal shit related to an abusive relationship. I didn’t make the team. I was among the top few at the tryouts in performance and I was confident, but I didn’t have college play for them to look at, my high level performance at tryouts could’ve been a fluke and they weren’t willing to take the risk (for what it’s worth I don’t think they won another game after that- not that I could’ve changed it, I’m just smug about it)

I wound up playing with a D (LOW) level team because the season had already started and all the high level teams were full. I was rehabbing an old shoulder injury that was acting up and I was MISERABLE. I had a losing streak of like 10 games. I was allowing horrible goals (fwiw d level shots are flukey and I still allow weird goals when I skate with d teams). My abusive girlfriend told me it looked like it was the right level for me. I had just been cut from a professional team and she was telling me this was where I belonged. I continued to sink.

I never learned to lose. I was an excellent player, I was talented, usually the best on a team. But I wasn’t any kind of team mate. I’d slam my stick when I’d get scored on. One time I threw my mask AFTER A WIN because I wasn’t happy with the game. I was miserable, I was a bad teammate, I hated the game and I hated my life.

I got back on an ambulance, I’d been an emt for 6(ish) years in New Jersey before moving here, I’d only done 911 there, doing transports was new and honestly kind of boring, but it started to bring me back to myself, my personality started to resemble what it had been, and everything started to fall into place. I decided to go to paramedic school, being a doc was still my end game but I loved ems and I wanted to do more, learn more, be better. One of the girls I had been playing hockey with invited me to play a tournament with her and a bunch of the people I’d played with the season before (they were largely not happy about it). I never saw the abusive ex gf again after I left for that tournament.

That tournament was the start of everything changing and staying that way. We won the first game 4-0. As a team. They hustled their asses off to help me keep my shutout. Years ago it would’ve felt like “mine” but this was “ours”. That night one of my team mates sat me down and told me she used to hate me and hadn’t wanted me there at all. She played defense and always thought I was slamming my stick because I was mad at her, I wasn’t, I was mad at myself but I also resolved to stop doing that.

We were a rag tag group, short a few skaters. The next morning, all hungover, we beat a team that was expected to steam roll us, we lost game 3 but went to the finals. In the finals we lost 2-3 to the third team we had played. The game winning goal was one I should’ve had. We lost. It was my fault. And we danced. The whole team danced on the blue line in our silver medals and to this day that’s one of the biggest wins of my life. It was the day I changed forever

I’m still a bad team specialist. That following season I was brought in to play (along with my defenseman then girlfriend, now wife) on a team that hadn’t won in quite some time. We were told 1 year. It was three. It was a frustrating season. We won exactly one game. I often wanted to quit. But I refused to show it. My reputation stopped being the angry goalie and became an excellent teammate. I sought to build, to fix chemistry problems, to make the team better.

I got a severe concussion that almost took the game from me and almost crushed me in medic school (head injury + pharm and cardiology = a bad time). I was extremely lucky to have instructors that noticed that I was more functional early in the evening and the accommodated that while I recovered. It all started to come together for me. Hockey was a team sport. It didn’t matter how talented I was if I was a terrible teammate. EMS is a team sport, you have to be able to rely on your partner, on your supervisors, on PD and fire, and they have to be able to rely on you. LIFE IS A TEAM SPORT.

This past season was just as bad as last year. I played great, we kept losing. We won one game, tied a few, lost a ton. My frustration showed occasionally but I was still known for being an excellent teammate. For hyping everyone up, for leaving it all on the ice for the team and not just my own performance. I grew into an excellent teammate, a leader, a better person, because of a game and because of a job.

I sustained another serious concussion this past February. I’m still recovering. I had another opportunity to try out for a pro team and was again bitten by my lack of college play- but that’s ok- I don’t need to go pro and won’t likely pursue it again (though I can’t say I would turn down an opportunity). I took the MCAT this weekend after lots of encouragement from some friends -my TEAM (and a disappointing lack of encouragement or acknowledgement from some other friends. I went to drill with the National Guard on Sunday, and then I went into work 11 hours early because someone was sick and needed to go home- because that’s my team now and I couldn’t leave him there sick when I was home and able to go in. Yesterday during the middle portion of my 35 I had more than one coworker comment that I was know at work for being easy going and super pleasant to work with. I couldn’t have asked for a better compliment. I know I’m a good medic, that my skills are good, that I know my shit. But being told I’m easy to work with coming from where I did was huge. Because life is a team sport, and at this point in my life, I am finally an excellent teammate.

[gunnygazette-blog]

WEEK #7 GAME-BY-GAME

WEEK #7 GAME-BY-GAME

This week starts the play-off watch...as the halfway mark is the point that teams can start clinching a dance card to the post season...or realize they can only play spoilers…  This week the North provides most of the premier games...8 of the top 10 games to be exact...

For those that are interested...the FFA challenge is pretty one-sided as the Ol’ FFA is currently...34-6...  This week there are nine more match-ups...  

Game of the Week

  (28) Minners (0-4) @ (40) Iron Chickens (0-4) : 25-3

-  “What?  Have you lost your mind?”...uhmmm...no…  For long time readers this would not be a surprise…  As much fun as watching the top teams go at it...watching two winless teams go at it is just as entertaining… Like the midget wrestling undercard the often comical outcome will make for an entertaining game…  Horrible offensive output (both scoring less than 7pts a game) will face-off...while the Chickens have the worst ranked defense…  Advantage here goes to the Minners because of their top 15 defense…  But expect a low scoring game...lower then what the Algorithm gives...

G#2  (5) Du-vowel Raid (5-0) @ (19) Grizzled-ones (3-2) : 27-26

- Both former FFA foes look destined to make the play-offs…  Their first meeting was a 26-6 Grizzled win...but since than the Raid have taken three straight including two shutouts…with a total of 52pts scored to 12pts…  It seems the first to two scores will be the winner. Expect a physical game from the Bruised bruins...but the Raid will find away to hang in there...and sneak a win out at the end...

G#3:  (8) North Weasels (5-0) @ (11) Chicken-hawks (4-1) : 42-18

- currently holding the #1 & #3 seeds in the north…  The Weasels have not truly been challenged yet as they run out to big leads and force others to play catch-up…  They might be able throw the ball around the yard right now...but bad weather could strike come later in the year… The C-hawks only tripped-up against the current two seed… so they are not slouches...but they will have to step up their play this weekend, protect the ball, and get the ball to bounce their way if they want to pull off the upset...

G#4:  (15) D-League Champs (2-3) @ (13) A-meri-cant’s (3-2) : 22-24

- Last Year’s Champ is having a rough time of it, as all three of their losses came from their new straight from the FFA neighbors…  Last weeks game was a bitch slap by the perennial third place in the ol’ west and exposed their youth and lack of physicality.  This week they get another team from the FFA, but this ones from the weak Coastal and qualified for the play-offs on the final day.  What the Red, White & Loose have in common with last weeks foe is a desire to run the football...just not as physical…  Could this be Last Year’s smoke’s first FFA win?

G#5:  (33) Otha Kitties (1-4) @ (32) Windy wanna-bears (0-4)  : 8-12

-  Not sure this game will happen...but may be the Chicago-ites best chance at a win… With all the Mediocrity on the field the bruins will have the biggest advantage from their defense…  See if they can entertain the home crowd...

G#6:  (10) Du-vowel Kitties (4-1) @ (20) The Newest Comic-als (2-2) : 22-16

-   Boldness only seems to play every-other-saturday…and even with one of the softest schedules they look like they may struggle and fall short of last year’s Bold Team’s record…  If they think they can just flip a switch and make the play-offs...it could happen...but it may be a short visit...  After next week they could go on a four game run… The Kitties have been tough...and were deadlocked near the end of their first week loss...until the roof caved in…  They look set to stay in the top 6-seeds...and if they can protect the ball...may start tearing away the Comics chances at the post season...

G#7:  (29) My lil’ Ponies (2-3) @ (35) F-Criminals (1-4) : 21-28

- The ponies have yet to taste victory on the field...being the recipients of two forfeit wins…  While chain-gang crew have been able to celebrate once…  This game could be summarized as mediocrity on mediocrity….and weakness on weakness…  Da ponies are middle of the pack on offense...while the Jailbirds are the same on Defense… When the roles are reversed...the Parolees have a pretty inept offense and the ponies are pretty dismal on Defense as well…  So expect a pretty equal battle.

G#8:  (14) Hooded Snakes (4-1) @ (21) Bad Weather (3-2) : 29-16

- On paper this looks lika good match-up...both teams with winning records...but there records belies the fact their middle of the pack teams...scaly-ones are the better team...yes…  But they seem to play-down or play-up to whoever they face…  They need to play every team like it’s week #1…  

G#9 (1) Sorry-Ass Champs (5-0) @ (6) Otha Sparties (3-2) : 36-23

- Last year the Sparties didn’t wanna travel to Gorilla Isle in the regular season and than got shellacked 39-0...extending the Glad streak to eight straight over the 300…  With the Sorry-ass champs putting up 214pts to Sparties 65pts during that streak …a win for Sparty would go a long way as they play the Glads twice...and their remaining schedule is pretty soft... The Glads on the other hand will try to keep their undefeated streak up with the hardest southern slate.

G#10 (24) Rubber Snakes (3-2) @ (16) Water-Lizzies (4-1)  13-32

-  Reptile on Reptile…both play-off teams...but the ones’ with legs have bigger teeth on that defense…  

G#11 (22) Tampa spotted Kitties (2-3) @ (9) Cow-Pups (2-2) 0-18

- The Pups have the last seed...the Kitties wanna a seat at the Play-off table being only a half game back …that flip could happen..  But I don’t see it...the pups will tree the kitties using their defense...

G#12  (25) King Kitties (1-3) @ (12) Mee-ah-Mee Raid  (3-2) : 15-34

- The Algorithm is being very kind here… The Kitties will struggle to get A score...let alone two…  The Raid may be sloppy enough to let this happen...but I don’t think the outcome will be in doubt...

G#13:  (36) Reaps (0-5) @ (27) Feather Dusters (2-3) : 6-30

- The Reaps schedule lightens up almost too late…  This is a very winnable game, but the heart may have already left the building to go on a road trip…  

G#14:  (2) Waskily-Weasels (5-0) @ (18) Jesters (2-3) : 36-11

- Da Weasel gang takes anotha trip to the middle of the state...and will face a slightly tougher opponent this time…  But it isn’t one of the teams that are expected to make some noise come play-off time…  The Jester secondary will have a hard time matching-up…  Skunk-bears keep tearing throught their soft schedule...

G#15:  (3) Angry Fairies (4-0) @ (26) Concrete Shoes (3-2)  : 47-0

- Match-up looks better on paper...if there is a letdown it could be a lil’ closer… But the Ugly helmets are more Godfather than soldiers...

G#16:  (37) Striped Kitties (0-5) @ (7) Pee-Rats (4-1) : 0-47

- The worst Bay area team is facing a crew of patch wearers who just had their biggest regular season win...is there a let down?  The striped-ones hope so...as it is there only chance to hang close…  But the Pee-Rats will grind’em out a big win...

G#17:  (30) Otha Bull-pups (1-3) @ (4) A.R.M.Y. (4-1) : 0-65

- Pups are bad...the toy soldiers wanna a “get right” game...shouldn’t be close...

FORFEIT GROUP:

G#18:  (34) Ghosts (0-2) @ (39) N-Criminals (0-5) : 12-18

- Would have been close

G#19  (31) Corpse Munchers (0-5) @ (17) Southern Spotted Kitties (2-3) 6-24

- Vultures were already roadkill

(23) RainCoats (Pegasi) (3-1) @ (NR) Chum Bait (0-0)  No Score

- The Raincoats really need a game after the whoopin’ they got last week...but pretty sure the Chum will not come out to play...

BYE GROUP:

(38) Hybrid Kitties (1-4)

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 57 - NYR - Burn the Tape

We came into this seven-game homestand with some needs: capitalize on your home-ice advantage and get into this playoff race in a more consistent manor. That mission didn’t start well for sure but whether it felt like it or not the Sabres win percentage went up. It was the ugly win-loss pattern that is torture to endure during a playoff race this tight but it was better than the losing stretches that prevailed before the bye-week. As this homestand went on it became clearer some switch had been flipped even if not always to successful ends. From the end of the Carolina game onward, maybe even the end of the Minnesota game in places, the Sabres defense has stepped up and fought tough matchups. If the Sabres were going to end this homestand on a high note it would take all cylinders firing properly. That Winnipeg game was closer than that final score would indicate and one bounce different against the Hurricanes and the standings look quite a bit different right now. The past is the past though and so is the Rangers Cup window. Yes, let’s do some Playoff Trash talk: Rangers, during your supposed Cup window you never looked close. In fact, having watched most of those years during the Sabres tank years I could see the truly dominant performances were rare. That’s how the Rangers win in the playoffs: barely. This season its very unlikely you make it and a matchup like this seems to take on a different flavor when its locked in together for 4-7 games. Sabres in 5. So, remember those positive things I said about Buffalo before the trash talk? The Sabres did not do those things. This was probably the most disheartening loss of the season, if not its damn close to the Home Opener shutout. This game made me not want to do these for the rest of the season. Nonetheless, I am your Sabre Soldier and won’t ever give up. This mess ended 6-2 Rangers. You know how we all thought the Rangers would be the easier New York team to beat? Yeah, fuck us, right?

This game was so bad its in a category of games that don’t even earn a full goal-by-goal recap. Spoiler Alert: Jeff Skinner scored all the Sabres goals this game. To be specific, he scored two goals. That was all we got this game. Yes, there were other opportunities. Jack Eichel rang one off the bar. Sam Reinhart was stopped by this young Bulgarian sensation in Rangers goaltender Alexsandar Georgiev. Tage Thompson missed two wide open nets right in front when the score was 3-2. Apart from a section of the second period and the last ten or so minutes of the third period this game looked like no one knew how to play hockey. Everyone was watching the puck, everyone seemed to bump into each other like they were all playing their own game. The Sabres had opportunities on a night New York was not playing a sound defensive game. Remember how we’ve been talking about the Sabres cleaning up play in their own zone the past three or four games? They took that and threw it out the window. I feel so bad for Linus Ullmark who you kind of feel was in the wrong place at the wrong time starting in this game. What goals are we blaming on him? Right, I said I wasn’t doing a goal-by-goal recap. Well fuck it with this game. For Ullmark’s sake let’s dissect this train crash.

4:09 into the first a grown man named Boo Nieves scored the first goal. This was a scrambled play no matter which way you cut it and Ullmark was screened maybe two different ways. The second goal came about ten minutes later when Vlad Namestnikov launched a shot from the blue line that got redirected in front of Ullmark by Jesper Fast. Ignoring the fact that he was screened the Sabres were playing basketball-style zone defense this period and it was not working. The Linus Ullmark fault counter is still at 0 now as the Sabres find themselves down 2-0 going into the second period. The Rangers are getting penalized frequently now, once for putting the puck over the glass in a delay of game. This Rangers team is bad. THEY’RE BAD! Luckily in the middle period the Sabres did respond a little. Jeff Skinner got the puck out alone in front and put it far side around Georgiev. The visitors responded because good things can never last with this Sabres team and Jimmy Vesey of all the hated little Eminem-looking motherfuckers tucks one in like a blot of lightning on a blown coverage. Ullmark had locked down the post. I am not blaming this one on him. Jeff Skinner got another goal, this time on the powerplay later in the period. This got me feeling maybe the Sabres could salvage something from this horror show. I mean if they can score a powerplay goal then why not? Why not, because we must be tortured with no frigging back-to-back wins for eternity! The Sabres poured it on late in the third and could’ve tied it on several shots. None beat the Prince of New York and Buffalo blew a d-zone coverage in their own zone to allow Pavel Buchnevich to tap it in. That goal is the only one you can sort of blame on Ullmark. The air left the building and I turned the radio off full of disappointment and hopelessness. Okay, so the first of the two remaining goals could also be blamed on Ullmark if you feel the need. The net was wide open for Namestnikov, but the 6-2 goal is literally an empty net. 6-2 Sabres but 2-2 if we’re only counting the goals Ullmark gave up. That thing stung.

There was other stuff that happened in this game on top of defensive breakdown, horrible play in their own end and generally unacceptable performance. Uhh… Kyle Okposo fought. He probably shouldn’t be fighting, and it looks like he got hurt doing it. No updates on his condition as of the posting of this but a cursory look over his history tells you exactly why its so scary that this fight happened. You know what, there really isn’t anything redeemable about this game. Burn the tape! Burn the tape and well you’re at it Fire Housley. There is no way this team not being able to beat lesser opponents consistently, except for Detroit, is not a problem of coaching. Housley said they played soft after the game: You think, Phil? Something has got to change. I said I’m on this crazy rollercoaster until the end but boy did I want to get off after this game. After New Jersey tomorrow night, you have the Leafs, Caps, both Florida teams, and the Penguins in the following six games. There was no help on the out-of-town scoreboard last night and the Sabres now sit five points out of the last playoff spot and five points back of the first team out in Carolina. This was hot trash last night and I don’t know if I have any confidence this team won’t continue to be hot trash and fall out of the playoff race in the coming weeks. I guess we’ll have to find out! Like, share and comment: I feel bad asking after this mess. Enjoy your weekend maybe not thinking about the Sabres.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Imagine if Jeff Skinner isn’t on this team. Yeah, its like last season all over again.

[freerebelmentality]

AN: “ I have a Condibear request 🤗🤗🤗🤗 it’s game day, he’s in net and reader is at home watching the game nervously. So to distract herself from stressing out the game, she decides to bake a cake. The more she mixes, pours, pan and oven. The Sens are leading and it’s a Sens win. She makes the cake extra special by adding food colouring to the icing she made and when he comes home she surprises him with the cake that says it’s a win. From there it’s been tradition to bake while he starts. Pls&thx!! “ requested by @jacobmarkstrom25 There you go and I hope you like it. Finally getting things done, well slowly anyway. But its done. Enjoy this while I work on the something else. Have a good read everyone

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

Word Count: 1,624

Its game day, the day you always look forward to because its a literal game of Russian roulette if your boyfriend will get the start in net. Being the girlfriend of a goalie is nerve racking but its always such a joy to see him be the starter and even more joy when he gets the win.

You have been dating Mike Condon since he has been traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins. You bumped into him every where the both of you went and he finally said something.

After countless of dates is when you couldnt stay away from him anymore and took a leap of faith.

Since then everything has been great and even happier when he got a contract extension, knowing the both of you will be in Ottawa for a while.

“You starting tonight? Or is Andy starting?” you ask looking to your boyfriend.

Mike stops in his tracks before walking out the door to go to the arena and get the start for the night.

“Yeah I am. Have you seen my keys?” he asks going through his pockets and realizing he doesnt have them

“Check the bowl” you say while smiling to him

“Thanks” while sighing and gives you a small smile

“Are you sure you dont want to come to the game? Its not to late” he asks looking to you one last time before walking out the door

“Yes, I am sure. Im bad luck when Im at the game, so I will play it safe and watch the game from home” you reply while helping him with his jacket

“You’re right. I’d rather have you stay home” he replies while wrapping his arms around your waist and bringing you closer.

“Funny. Maybe by the time you come home the locks will be changed” you sarcastically reply

He chuckles while giving you a kiss for good luck and another because he loves you dearly. He leans his forehead against yours and opens his eyes. He looks to you adoringly.

“Now I am looking forward to more of that after the game when you get back” you say as he walks out the door

“Every time I leave the house” he says as he closes the door

You laugh as he walks out and its nothing but echoes. You look around the apartment the both of you share and get to the paper work you didnt do at work.

You wanted to finish before the game started. You switched to the station the game is being televised so that way you wont forget to change the channel as you work.

By the time Mike gets to the arena is when he meets up with his other teammates.

“Y/n coming to the game?” Andy asks walking along side with Mike

Craig Anderson has become a dear friend to Mike and even though they share the net, it feels as though they battle for starter. Then again which goalie doesnt feel that way for their team.

“No, not this time” he replies as he takes a sip from his coffee

“Really? Im so used of her coming to the games” he asks while passing a few security guards and stopping for small talk

“Normally but she says she is bad luck when she comes out for the games” he says with a chuckle.

“So thats her bad vibes. Think we will play better tonight then” he jokingly replies and enters the locker room

They both share a laugh while the others ask what they have been laughing about.

“Alright I am almost done. Finally” you mutter to yourself as you look over your paper work

You get up from the chair and make yourself a cup of coffee from the keurig machine.

Once the game started, you sat in the living room watching nervously as Mike took the net and its puck drop. On the first play the opposing team tries for a scoring opportunity but Mike saves it and passes the puck to Dzingle.

Once the puck is poke checked away from him and another shot to the net is when Mike saves it but has lost the puck. There is a scrum in front of his net and he is all over the place following the puck and blocking it. Finally there is a slap shot to the net and Mike gloves it. The whistle blows and its time for the face off once more.

“Oh my god that was just too close” you mutter to yourself as you continue on watching the game

Finally the Sens score a goal on a break away and the crowd at the Canadian Tire Centre goes nuts.

“Nah I’ll just stay home. I dont want to spoil anything” you say to yourself as you change your mind about going to the game

You didnt realize how superstitious you were until you realized Mike has rubbed off on you. You chuckle to yourself as you continue watching the game. Nervously watching while hoping the other team wont score or get a go a head goal.

The first and second period passed like as if you were watching the game for five minutes. Which always feels like that. You pace around the apartment and look through the cupboards of the kitchen and see that there is cake mix. Finally you decide to bake a cake.

As you take out the mix, the pan, the mixer, the eggs, oil and water. All the things you would need to mix it all. While mixing all the ingredients together, you hear the Sens have scored again and taking the lead in the third period.

“Just a few more minutes in the third period” you mutter to yourself as you look to the TV

“Get my baby a shutout” you yell at the TV as the minutes go down to the last minutes of the third period.

Once its all well mixed is when you pour all of its contents into the pan. Again the Sens score again making the game two nothing.

You place the cake in the oven and set the timer. You look to the ingredients you placed on the counter to make the icing. The idea came to mind where you will make the icing black, red and gold. You hoped you would have the colours.

You looked through your baking cupboard, which Mike made fun of you for because of your organization to the kitchen. But it was necessary to organize the kitchen because you would know where everything is.

“Game it out?” Ryan asks looking to Mike

“Sure, I dont think y/n wont mind” he replies as he begins to get ready.

“Shes always cool with everything” Ryan says while getting ready as well

“What is y/n always cool with?” Mark asks as he looks over his shoulder to his teammates

“I asked if we can game and y/n is always cool with gaming out” Ryan replies as he looks to him

“Can I come?” he asks looking between Ryan and Mike

“Sure” Mike replies as they finish everything else for the night.

Once the cake is all cool down is when you get to work with icing the cake. Used the colours for the lettering and the number of Mike’s jersey.

You heard Mike unlocking the door and in time as you finished the cake.

“Y/n I hope its ok if Ryan and Mark are here. We are going to game out for a bit” he says as he enters the apartment.

You turn around with cake in hand

“Its fine” you smile as you look to him

“Look, its a win” you say as you smile

You smile as you see the other two walk into the apartment

“Whats this?” Mike asks looking to you.

“You made this?” Ryan asks looking to the cake

“Yeah I did while watching the game. I got nervous” you reply while setting the cake down

“Hockey then cake” Mark says with a big smile spread across his face

“Shall I cut through the cake now?” You ask looking between the three of them

“Yes” the three of them say in unison

“Oh and uh. I hope you dont mind but we are gonna game out for a bit” Mike says while helping you get the dishes to serve them out

“Go right on a head. Im gonna clean up” you tell him while serving the cake

“Dont, I can do that” Mike says while handing out the cake

“Oh thanks” you reply giving him a kiss to the cheek

While you, Ryan and Mark eat cake while Mike begins to clean the kitchen. He throws the pots and bowls into the dish washer and starts it.

“That wasnt so bad” Mike says as he sits down and finally eats his cake

“This is really good” Ryan says while getting up to rinse out his plate and fork

“Even the icing is really good, its not as sweet but still really good” Mark says while doing the same

He places his plate and fork on the rack to dry.

“Well I am going to get ready for bed and read a little” you tell them as you do the same

“I’ll be up in a little bit” Mike says while giving you a kiss to the lips

“Alright, good night guys” you tell them while going to the room

You were really happy how things turned out and how Mike brought some of the guys back so that they can enjoy a piece of cake.

Mike loved how you went above and beyond with the win and everything else. He is happy how lucky he is to have someone like you in his life.

[justlookfrightened]

NHL!Bitty, Part 5

This is it for this fic. I had a request to maybe continue this from Jack’s POV. Watch for that in a week or so. In the meantime, Part 5 is the longest yet ... Bitty likes to ramble.

Part 1    Part 2   Part 3   Part 4    Sequel: NHL!Jack

Bitty still had his key to the Haus, so after graduation, after Chowder got a ride to the airport from Dex and Nursey’s moms took him back to New York, Bitty sat in the quiet of the backyard and contemplated  the rest of his summer.

It was too late for him to want to start driving towards Georgia that day. Heck, it might have been too late for him to think about going back to Georgia at all. His time there after the season ended had been suffocating in a way it never was before. It wasn’t only the way Mama and Coach talked around his sexuality; it was that they still treated him like a child, and he allowed it. What would they do if he walked in the kitchen door and said, “Hi, folks, I’m gay”? Even if they kicked him out, he made more money in the last year than his parents had in the last two years combined. He could pay for a place to live. He didn’t think they’d do that anyway. He just didn’t want to lose their emotional support. But how real was that support if it would evaporate if he said he was gay?

It was a question that had never occurred to him before he came to Samwell, and one that had been gnawing at him one way or another ever since. Maybe he shouldn’t be worrying so much about it now; with his position on the Aeros, he couldn’t exactly go looking for dates, even if his teammates didn’t seem to mind. The only people who would understand would be those in similar positions.

Once or twice he’d thought Jack … but there was no way Jack had been flirting with him. Not in front of Mashkov and Marty and Aeros he didn’t even know. Besides, Jack had made it painfully clear the other night what he thought of Bitty. Had he been amused that Bitty was pathetic enough to come and watch another team play after the Aeros were booted from the playoffs?

Then he was so annoyed that the boys had invaded his precious dressing room. Maybe their presence stopped Jack from giving his own team a massive dressing-down. No one seemed to mind that they were there, except Jack, who decided to take it out on Bitty by reminding him of his own team’s failure.

Still, it had felt good, those last three months or so, to occasionally see Jack’s name pop up with a text notification. It felt good, Bitty supposed, to have someone who was undoubtedly one of the best players in the league notice him, encourage him, act like he thought Bitty actually could play hockey. Bitty knew he could play; he’d been drafted as a sophomore and called up during his first season, hadn’t he? But somehow, Jack’s opinion carried more weight.

It had also felt good to glimpse the man behind the image. Somehow, that poster of Jack in his underwear concealed his personality more than a full suit did in person, at dinner after a game. The pre- and post-game interviews never included Jack’s sly smile when he got a good chirp off, or his laugh, especially when a chirp was at his expense.

Well. Jack didn’t exist to make Bitty feel good, and Bitty could be generous enough to admit it had been a bad moment after the game for Jack. That’s what Bitty told Chowder on the way back to Samwell, when Chowder left off praising Holtby and Snow long enough to say, “Jack Zimmermann didn’t seem very friendly when you were talking to him. Have you met him before? He always looks like he’s about to yell at someone.”

“Not always,” Bitty had told Chowder. “But no, he wasn’t very friendly tonight.”

Now Chowder was gone, owner of a newly minted CS degree and an invitation to the Schooners’ training camp after a stint at home in northern California.

Tomorrow Bitty would start the drive back to Georgia, but not until he called the Aeros conditioning coach. He would ask the coach to set Bitty up with someone to work with over the summer -- maybe work with Bitty himself -- and when Bitty  got back to Madison, he’d pack the truck and move himself to Houston. Sure, he might be heading back to Baton Rouge in the fall, but showing enthusiasm for the Aeros wouldn’t hurt.

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

Bitty folded his lawn chair and brought it into the kitchen as the sun moved further west. The Haus was empty except for Bitty, and no one would be here until a couple of last year's frogs arrived to take up summer residence next week.

Bitty wanted to bake something, but he’d have no one to share it with, and the nutritionists would not look kindly on him eating a whole pie because he was lonely. They wouldn’t know, really, but Bitty would. Mini pies maybe? He could eat one or two and put the rest in the freezer for the summer frogs.

That sounded like too much work. Bitty wished he still had his vlog. That way he could bake something to leave in the freezer and moan about his life at the same time. Not that he had any right to moan, but still.

Maybe he could call Ricksie, find out how his time in suburban Toronto was going. That was another point in favor of spending the summer in Houston: Ricksie had announced plans to move south after a few weeks at home with his parents. He also wanted to get away from being treated like a child, although his motivations were a little different.

“Dude, I mean, it’s not like I can bring anybody home to my parents’ house,” Ricks said. “I still sleep in a twin bed with my peewee trophies on a shelf.”

Ricks was a year younger than Bitty, but he’d been in the Aeros system for longer, having gone pro right out of junior hockey. Still, he reminded Bitty of his SMH teammates more than anyone else he’d played with since graduating.

Ransom and Holster were on their annual pilgrimage to Niagara Falls now that Holster’s season was over. Bitty had seen the snaps to prove it. Maybe Shitty and Lardo were in Boston. The last time Shitty had weighed in on the group chat, he’d been complaining about exams. That was last week. Maybe he was done now.

Bitty reconsidered his plan. If Shitty was done, and he and Lardo were in the Boston area, Bitty could take at least another day or two before leaving for Georgia. He missed his old team.

Bitty found his phone on the counter where he’d left it when he went outside. There was a missed call from Mama -- she’d want to know his plans, the better to worry over him driving that old truck by himself. There was also a text from Jack, the first contact since two nights ago.

Can I call you?

He checked the time: 6:30 p.m. Jack was due on the ice for Game 2 in a hour and a half.

Bitty texted him back.

Sure. Whenever you have time. Good luck tonight!

Before Bitty moved away to forage for dinner from what was left in the kitchen, his phone rang.

“Bitty,” Jack said. “Thanks for talking to me. I have to apologize for my behavior the other night. And I do know,”

“Um, ok,” Bitty said. “Apology accepted, I guess. Don’t you have a game to play?”

“Yes, but Marty said I should call before the game if I could,” Jack said.

“Marty said?” Bitty asked. “What does Marty have to do with this?”

“He kind of said I was being an asshole to you,” Jack said. “And he’s right. That game was bad, but there was no reason to take it out on you.”

“Ok,” Bitty said.

“And I do know what it’s like to watch other teams move on,” Jack said. “We didn’t even make the playoffs my first year. I’m kind of impressed that you were willing to bring your friends by -- I don’t think I’d be able to do it.”

“It really wasn’t a chore,” Bitty said. “I like those guys and I like hockey, so it seemed like a good plan. Now go play your game, Mr. Zimmerman.”

“Are you somewhere you can watch?” Jack asked.

“I’m still in Samwell,” Bitty said. “Everyone left after graduation today, so I was going to tidy the Haus up a bit and get back to Georgia tomorrow or the next day. But I’ve got my laptop and NHL Network, so yes, I’ll be watching.”

“Good,” Jack said. “Can I talk to you after the game?”

“Sure,” Bitty said. “But …”

“But what?”

“Look, I don’t want  to say anything negative, and I’m sure you’ll play well, but if you lose, don’t feel obligated,” Bitty said.

“No,” Jack said. “I won’t feel obligated. But I will want to talk to you.”

“All right,” Bitty said. “I’ll make sure to stay up a while after the game.”

Jack ended the call, and Bitty looked around. If he was going to stay up, he should be doing something besides sitting on Chowder’s old bed with his laptop.

There were still apples in the kitchen. Mini pies it was.

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

Two hours after the game, Jack hadn’t called.

It couldn’t be because he was upset; the Falconers had put on a clinic, winning 5-0. Jack had a goal and and an assist, and 10 different players made the scoresheet, not to mention Snow’s shutout.

Maybe the team was out celebrating. They had an extra day off before their next game in DC.

If Jack was celebrating with his team, Bitty couldn’t begrudge him. It was a big win to even the series, to build confidence in the team, to head into the opposition rink with momentum.

But there was a limit to how late Bitty should have to stay up and wait for Jack’s call. He’d go to bed with his phone on Chowder’s desk (what used to be Chowder’s desk) and if Jack called, if the phone woke him, he’d answer.

Bitty finished wrapping the mini pies in freezer paper to store them away. He hadn’t eaten any after all. Without his regular training regimen, he wasn’t as hungry. Another sign that it was time to get back to it.

Before he could put the tray of pies in the freezer, there was a knock at the door.

It was past midnight, and no one should be here. But a burglar wouldn’t knock, and Samwell was kind of empty right after graduation, and maybe someone needed help.

So Bitty flipped the porch light on and peeked around the curtain, ready to open the door as long as it looked ok, although even a teenage girl could have a gun … and he’d been listening to Mama too long.

There was Jack Zimmermann.

“Oh my Lord, Jack, what are you doing here?” Bitty said while he was still pulling the door open. “It’s the middle of the night. You shouldn’t have driven all the way up here after your game. You must be exhausted -- have you eaten anything?”

Jack, still in his game-day suit (which had to have been custom made to fit like that), waited for Bitty to run out of words.

“I’m fine, really,” Jack finally said. “I ate at the arena before I left, but I could eat a little more. It’s not that far -- a lot of the guys live at least this far from the arena. But if you’re heading back to Georgia tomorrow or the next day, I didn’t want to miss my chance to talk to you.”

Jack looked down. He was still standing on the welcome mat that Bitty’s mother had sent up with him the year he moved in, the one that had, “Hey, y’all!” in cursive script carved into the sisal fibers.

“Where are my manners?” Bitty said, finally stepping back to let Jack in. “I just made some mini pies. Let me heat some up. You can sit in here if you want --” Bitty gestured toward the living room, then winced -- “but you might want to avoid the nasty couch.”

Jack just kept following him, so Bitty said, “Or we could sit in the kitchen. Much cleaner.”

Bitty busied himself by turning the oven on and unwrapping four of the small pastries. 

“Good thing I hadn’t put these in the freezer yet,” he said. “It’ll only take a few minutes. Do you want -- not coffee, it’s too late --”

He rooted through a cabinet that had three kinds of protein powder. What had these boys done to his kitchen? Then he found a box of orange herbal tea with no caffeine. Orange tea and apple pie. Not ideal, but not too bad.

“Do you want some tea?”

Jack was leaning against the counter just watching him.

“Sure,” Jack said. “Tea would be fine.”

Bitty checked the water level in the electric kettle -- he wasn’t sure who had brought it, but he’d decided it was a valuable addition to the kitchen -- then flipped the switch. “That should just be a minute. Please, have a seat.”

Jack sat at the rickety table and Bitty pulled out plates and mugs, forks and spoons.

“I heard that you baked,” Jack said. “Marty said that you promised him a pie for the tickets.”

“I did,” Bitty said. “But I figured it would be better if I sent it after the season. Do you know what his favorite kind is?”

“No idea,” Jack said.

“I’ll have to ask him, then. Or ask Pops to ask him,” Bitty said. “I don’t have his number.”

“I can give you that,” Jack said. “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Jack didn’t seem to be any closer to explaining why he’d driven to Massachusetts at midnight.

Bitty poured hot water over the tea bags in the mugs, then turned to pull the tray with the mini pies from the oven.

“What’s your favorite kind of pie, then?” Bitty asked.

“Uh, I don’t really know,” Jack said. “I don’t eat a lot of pie. Do you ask everybody that?”

Bitty shrugged. “People I like,” he said. “I keep a list for people on my team. Figure they might want to keep me around longer.”

“I don’t think you really need to worry,” Jack said. “The Aeros winning percentage went up as soon as you got there, and the team scored more and gave up fewer goals with you on the ice.”

“You looked me up?” Bitty said, taking the seat opposite Jack.

“I try to keep up with my opponents.”

“You haven’t played the Aeros since February.”

It was Jack’s turn to shrug.

“You’re a better player than you give yourself credit for,” Jack said. “You’d be better if you didn’t try to hit so much, but you’re good.”

“Is that what you drove all this way to say?” Bitty asked.

“Not really. I wanted to apologize for being rude,” Jack said.

“You already did that, on the phone,” Bitty said.

“I wanted to explain,” Jack said. “I know it was only one game, and I know we didn’t play that badly. But when Marty pointed you out, I wanted to impress you.”

“I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about,” Bitty said. “I mean, look at the two of us.”

“No, I mean --”

Jack stopped and took a bite of  the pie on his plate.

“Damn, that’s good,” he said.

“I know,” Bitty said. “Go on.”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” Jack started again. “But Marty said he heard that maybe you weren’t straight?”

Bitty felt himself straighten up. This could be very bad, or it could be very good. Very, very good. But he didn’t need other teams targeting him, which was why the first words out of his mouth were, “I’m gonna kill Pops.”

“No,” Jack said. “I mean, it’s ok, whichever way, I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“Ok?” Bitty said, still not willing to give anything away.

“I think Marty and Pops were trying to be the world’s most interfering wingmen,” Jack said.

Bitty noticed that Jack hadn’t quite given anything away either, although it looked like …

“And you drove all this way to apologize … for their interfering?”

“I’m not doing a very good job of this,” Jack said. “Look, I’m going to trust you, because I like you, and Marty said Pops said you were a good guy, and I know you went to school here, and I know the reputation, and even if you are straight you wouldn’t be an asshole.”

Well, there weren’t too many other ways to interpret that.

“I’m not,” Bitty said.

“Not an asshole?” Jack said.

“Not straight,” Bitty said. “I’ve known I was gay since before I knew the word for it.”

Jack released a breath Bitty hadn’t known he was holding.

“I’m not either,” Jack said.

“Not an asshole?” Bitty arched a brow, suddenly feeling more sure of his footing.

“My behavior the other night notwithstanding?” Jack gave a rueful laugh. “Not straight. Bi, actually.”

Bitty nodded. “And there’s a reason you’re telling me this?”

“I like you,” Jack said again. “Not just as a hockey player. I like talking to you and listening to you and looking at you. If you’re willing, I’d like to get to know you better.”

Bitty felt himself melt a little bit inside, watching this beautiful man watch him while he spoke so earnestly. He reached over the table and fit his hand over Jack’s.

“I like all those things about you, too,” Bitty said. He tightened his hand. “And I like touching you. I’m pretty sure I’d like kissing you, too.”

Jack pushed his chair back from the table to make room, and Bitty got up and let himself be pulled in. The first kiss was a just a brush of lips, the second was a brief press. Then Jack tugged Bitty closer, encouraging Bitty into his lap. Bitty kissed along Jack’s jaw, coming back to Jack’s mouth when gasped and Bitty could take Jack’s lower lip and suck on it.

He pulled back briefly and said, “Yep, I was right. I do like kissing you.”

Then he let Jack gather him back in.

They stayed like that, Bitty perched on Jack’s thighs in the kitchen chair, until Jack groaned and Bitty remembered that Jack had played a game that night and must be ready to collapse.

“Come on,” Bitty said, standing up and extending a hand to Jack. “Let’s go upstairs to bed. You need to sleep.”

“Just sleep?” Jack said.

“Well, there’s always morning,” Bitty said. “But you need to rest. Just don’t look in the hallway bathroom.”

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