#anyway Leo goes. genuinely a bit insane for a while I think. I mean how couldn’t you?

[eye-of-yelough]

Once again going insane about doing Legacy right between All That Remains and the last act 2 mission (forgor the name) and headcanon-ing that they all take place within a month

Like imagine. You are Hawke. Your mum just kicked it. You’re in mourning, haven’t left the house since, and you get RAIDED by Carta dwarf cultists. Then, in no particular order, you

- find out about some Really Weird Shit your dad did with Wardens, and that your (recently deceased) mother was almost killed by this guy you sort of trusted

- venture in to the deep roads and kill an Old Fucking God.

Oh and by the way during this, the love of your life, only person you have left, light in darkness is being driven insane by said Old God in front of you, and talking about how you would be better off without him. And then he attacks you.

So your mum just died and your mourning was interrupted by This Shit. You’re nearing the end of your fucking rope down here but by some miracle you survive and get back to Kirkwall to mourn in peace. And now add “process this traumatising insanity” to that list.

eeeexcept you can’t do that actually. You come home to a letter from the Viscount begging for your aid to help his son. Oh, of course, Seamus. He was such a nice boy you can’t let him die. So you go Do That.

And THEN. Aveline, the woman partially responsible for your mothers death like TWO WEEKS AGO shows up in your house with another mess for you to clean up. Also your best friend is there too saying she’s gonna die. And she leaves and you think she’s gonna be gone forever and. Ok this is getting really long.

Fast forward, Arishoks dead, you’re in mourning and every hightown noble feels entitled to your company all of a fucking sudden because you’re a “Champion” now. Hooray.

[okayoonoh]

JAEHYUN’S FAMILY

a/n here is jaehyun’s family! honestly, imagining jaehyun as a dad fills me with so much joy lmao

here’s a link to the masterlist with all things nct dad related! go and check it out if ya want!

JUNG YOONOH:

he has has two kids, 1 girl and 1 boy. jung lani is 4 years older than her baby brother, jung leon.

JUNG LANI: >> as a baby <<

smiles galore

she got her dad’s dimples

and she used them

she also got her dad’s little “smile whiskers”

jaehyun is honestly the best dad

like he is so caring

he did so much research and everything

he knew more than enough to raise lani

he was pretty calm throughout most of it

and lani was calm too

she really loved watching you and jaehyun

like if jaehyun was just walking around doing chores or something

or if you were working on something

her eyes were on y’all

like she had the biggest eyes too

they were full of wonder

jaehyun held her like she was the most precious thing in his life (bc she is)

he was confident in his skills from the start

she made it easy on him tho

she wasn’t a super needy baby

she could be pretty independent when needed

it was really easy to get her to smile

like all you had to do was play peek-a-boo with her and she’d smile instantly

she’s easily entertained

if you sat her down in the living room

a snack in one hand, a toy in the other

she’s occupied for at least 30 minutes lol

snacks are literally her favorite thing

she was a big eater from the start

but like snacks just hit differently for her

she had so much hair as a baby

like headbands were her aesthetic from the start

you had to baby proof anything and everything in your house

bc she really liked to follow you guys when she learned how to crawl

like if you guys had to put gates so she wouldn’t crawl into the kitchen

she just wanted to hang around her parents :,)

whenever you and jaehyun were both home, you would rock paper scissors or flip a coin for who’s cooking/cleaning and who’s playing with lani

the boys fell in love with lani

like jaehyun would bring her to practice and it would just be so much fun

they would be so amazed with how easy it is to make her smile

johnny would be like “it takes so long to make noah smile but if i just put lani in front of him, it’s all he can do... wth...”

honestly, most of the guys were just so amazed that she was so smiley and just chill overall

like if jaehyun left her with the dreamies, she wouldn’t freak out

even like if he left her with the newer artists she’s never met

just as long as she sees that they’re not weirdos she won’t freak out

she loves to friend everyone she meets

she’s just full with natural cuteness

honestly like return of the superman situations with lani and jaehyun would be the best

they would get so much content because everyday, lani would just bombard you with cuteness

she’s just really out here being the cutest.

>> as a child <<

still a sweetheart

she is still a huge daddy’s girl

she still loves to give the biggest smiles all the time

like even when she lost her front tooth, she still would flash her beautiful smile to the world

jaehyun is still so whipped for his daughter

he would buy her the most gifts every time he left for tour

she honestly wasn’t super defiant

like she would play a prank here and there

or something would go wrong with her playing

for example, one time she was playing salon with jaehyun

and he was kinda sleepy so he didn’t notice that much

then she grabbed the actually scissors and cut his hair

like a huge chunk of it right in the back

no one told him the whole day until you got home and noticed

he wasn’t even that mad lol

when she found out she was gonna be an older sister?

she was so happy

like she loved being an only child

but she was so excited that she was gonna have a baby brother to take care of

she’s honestly a pretty good older sister

she always makes sure leon is taken care of

like always

i cannot emphasize this enough:

HEAD!!!BANDS!!!

that is your family aesthetic

jaehyun wears his 2/3 dollar headband

you wear your own

lani wears one

leon wears one

your pets wear one

eVeRyOnE

omg imagine

like again, return of the superman situation lol

lani is marching around while jaehyun is cooking her breakfast

and she goes up to the cameramen/women in the tents and is like

“excuse me... do you think you can wear one too?”

and they don’t even hesitate

when jaehyun goes around to give the cameramen/women coffee or some breakfast

he starts to laugh when he realizes they’re all in headbands

she’s best friends with mark’s oldest, ethan lee and ten’s second child, somchai leechaiyapornkul (shawn)

they’re an iconic group

they all compliment each other so well

like ethan is pretty energetic and a little bit of a crackhead

lani is happy smiley and just good vibes

and shawn is super shy but he’s doing his best!

like lani and ethan really just do things to get shawn to be more daring and stuff

and shawn does!

they’re all pretty smart for their age

like if they go out to buy something, they’ll combine their money to get a value pack (i explained this a bit in ten’s family description if ya wanna check it out)

they’re just super cool and just a really good dynamic

lani is honestly the most empathetic of the entire group of kids

like from a young age she was already doing her best to listen and understand the emotions of others

and like from a young age her advice was actually good?

she’s really pretty

like a lot of the guys in her classes had crushes on her

the only dudes she cares for are ethan and shawn tho

pero yeah

like she was just a sweetheart who was really mature for her age and still shocked everyone haha

>> as a teen/adult <<

she becomes a solo artist

she does a lot of chill vibe songs

like she loves chill r&b songs

lani is just so aesthetic too

she films a lot of her music videos in nakamoto yui’s flower shop

she gets along well with yui because they’re both rather calm by nature

she’s honestly just super iconic

she inherited her dad’s poreless skin

like she’s so wholesome and kind

she’s more on the quiet side

she has so many fans lol

she get’s overwhelmed with them a lot tho

again, still jaehyun’s biggest fan

a lot of people like her because she’s not living the pish posh life

like you know those hidden cams that see the reactions of celebrities and stuff?

like her reactions are really really the same ones she shows on tv

like her personality is just so genuine and kind

everyone who meets her tells that she’s like that too

as a solo artist, she loves to learn more about music

she learns a lot from kun’s oldest, qian lei.

lani understands a lot about music and they work together to write songs and stuff

it’s definitely not a competition between her and the other music artists amongst nct’s kids

like they all are so supportive of one another with any and every concept

if the company has luna, youngmi, and aria’s group do something a little odd

all of the music artists in the group would still go nuts over it lol

they all support and love each other

anyway

the person she loves and supports the most is her brother tho

like they don’t usually quarrel a lot like kaleb and aria or noah and leo

almost every show/interview she’s on, everyone asks her about her brother

and she just fills with so much pride

she’s so proud of her little brother and all of his accomplishments

like no jealousy whatsoever

she’s also like super humble

she forgets that she’s an idol sometimes

like her manager would be like “lani, DPR LIVE wants to collab with you, are you down?”

and she’s like “THE DPR LIVE??? what??? why me??? what?? is this a prank???”

her manager is like “lani... don’t forget that your famous too...”

she takes a while to understand certain jokes

like her brother makes a lot of jokes but a ton of them just fly over her head lol

snacks are still her favorite thing

her manager has to stop her from eating snacks because her fans give her so many and she just wants to eat them all forever lol

ethan becomes a rapper and they collab the most out of all the people she collabs with

they honestly lowkey realize they like each other and just start dating haha

shawn is a pretty dense dude

but the second ethan and lani got together he was like “bruh even I COULD see that you two liked each other.”

they became the celebrity couple of the century™

they’re honestly that couple that’s like “okay, why haven’t they been together like this entire time?”

anyway, lani is just so empathetic and kind and just so happy to be alive and born into her big and beautiful family

JUNG LEON: >> as a baby <<

also inherited his father’s dimples and smile whiskers

he was pretty smiley like his sister

he also wore headbands a lot because he had so much hair lol

but honestly

he was an alien lol

he was weird

but it was so cute

like if people asked him a simple yes or no question

he’d answer incorrectly

allow me to provide an example:

“is your name jung leon?”

“NO!”

he was so giggly and stuff

loved to make people laugh from an early age

like whenever any of his uncles would watch him

he’d make them laugh so hard

like most days, leon would just be chilling in the living room giggling the day away

and like nothing is happening but he would find ways to make himself laugh

like there was a mirror attached to his little play mat

and he’d look at himself, smile, then laugh, then repeat

leon would learn this while jaehyun was on tour and like you would have to explain to him that your child isn’t insane

he just thought everything and anything was funny

those days were the best for y’all tho

like every single day, leon would do something that made you just laugh like crazy

whether it was somehow taking his socks off and putting them on his ears

or somehow moving his diaper from the front to the back

he just made you laugh

jaehyun was so happy to have a son

i mean, he’d be happy regardless

but still

i feel like he would just be so happy to have a mini him

and that is exactly what leon is

a mini him

lani looks a little more like you

but leon is all jaehyun

leon inherited the trait that turns his ears red when he’s crying/embarrased

he honestly loved to play too

like he honestly needed to be doing something all of the time

leon simply just didn’t know when to stop

he eventually learns, but still

he just can’t stop/won’t stop hahaha

>> as a child <<

still kinda weird

he’s really funny tho

like he’s genuinely a comedian

he makes you and jaehyun laugh a lot

he’s best friends with the squad™ of him, jungwoo’s middle daughter, kim jieun, hendery’s middle son, wong mochou, and haechan’s middle daughter, lee haeun.

all of them together is just a treat

they’re all so loud but all of their personalities are just so unique

leon is the oldest in the group so he’s sort of the leader

i’m just gonna say it

they’re all crack heads

the most calm out of all of them is kim jieun

but she even still has a huge personality

leon is like the clumsy leader

like he tends to fall a lot

but they’ll follow him when he falls lol

like if they’re just walking a line or just in a group

and leon trips

they’ll all fall with him lol

leon is definitely the class clown

but he’s not like super annoying

he has “class” (badum tsssss)

leon can just be so genuinely weird sometimes

he doesn’t really make any super inappropriate or bad jokes

he’s still a little bit of an alien

just a straight up weirdo sometimes

lani cares for him a lot

and he looks up to her

they don’t really quarrel with each other

like they’re both just chill with each other

every year, they work together to get a birthday gift for you and jaehyun

and every year they succeed in getting the best gift for the two of you

when lani was old enough to watch leon by herself, their gift to you was a date night lol

leon picked up a love for basketball at this age

he learned that he was lowkey really good at it lol

jaehyun would play basketball with him as often as possible

it was the sweetest :,)

leon is also really good with scary things

like he seems fearless

but 

he is scared of one thing and one thing only

the pure and utter rage of the maknae of their squad, lee haeun

take all of the burning rage haechan has and put it in his daughter

that is haeun

when she’s mad, she’s MAD

leon isn’t scared of spiders, snakes, heights, etc.

he’s scared of angry haeun lol

he’s just a goofy soul that is just vibing tbh

>> as a teen/adult <<

ooh boy

he’s so handsome

he’s also so funny

he becomes a model™ 

like with a face like that? why waste it?

he works under noah seo

leon and noah both do a lot of modeling gigs together and stuff

leon is honestly following in noah’s footsteps

at first, a lot of the high class modeling agencies didn’t like leon because they thought he smiled too much and his dimples were too deep

but noah was like “exUSE ME THIS BOY RIGHT HERE IS ONE OF THE MOST HANDSOME BOYS YOU’LL E V E R MEET.”

noah teaches leon how to be an independent model and leon is honestly thriving

so many people use him in music videos like just because he’s so handsome?

people also started to realize that he’s like really really funny

like he’s almost always smiling

and his jokes are just so funny

they realized this and were like “okay, time to put him in front of a camera just to see what he does.”

and like

he’s just so goofy

not only is he a well known model

he becomes a well known comedian/tv personality

he embraces his goofy personality and honestly just vibes

he’s also really good at keeping up with the trends

like when he models, he’s pretty serious

but like right after? one of the funniest people you’ll meet

he’s just super quick witted and comes up with so many good jokes

lani can’t catch on to some of the jokes but it’s okay

he’ll give his sister a second lol

he’s also kinda dense when it comes to girls

leon is super confident in his looks and everything like that (like lucas level confident)

but when it comes to girls?

he just doesn’t think he’s good with it lol

which is a lie bc he’s actually really good with girls

he’s really really really good at making people like freak out over him

like he does the thing his dad does that makes everyone weak in the knees

he poses, runs his finger through his hair, and just stares

uGH

everyone melts whenever he does this

he still loves basketball

he plays a bit in his free time

when it comes to acting tho?

he sucks lmao

he just can’t stay serious for too long

like in front of flashing cameras, he’s fine

he can honestly fit any concept

but if you have him act like a serious role?

he can’t do it

he’s really good at doing the funny roles

but he honestly just can’t do serious roles

he still is scared of haeun

he also still respects his sister

he’s just a goofy dork who’s just living life lol

---

i honestly just can’T jaehyun’s my ult and just thinking about him as a dad just uGHHGHHGHG

also, i’m sorry if i started to get carried away, i just honestly couldn’t help myself

anywayyyy i hope you guys liked it! i’m so hyped for winwin’s family lol

again, requests are open and let me know if you want me to tag you so you can stay updated everytime i add onto nct’s family things!

- amy <3

[welllpthisishappening]

Of Babies and Hockey Mascots

It had been a very long time since the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers had made Matthew Jones want to scream in fear. He was, after all, a grown man. But being a grown man also meant seeing other adults in his life have kids. And Roland had always been very popular in Philadelphia.

------

This was/is and continues to be exceptionally self-indulgent next gen Blue Line hockey fic. Because life is life and good things happen in this universe. Also because I write them that way. So, here’s like almost 4K of Matt Jones, his girlfriend, his parents and both Roland and Henry ragging on Matt Jones for being terrified of Gritty. And the Rangers play hockey tomorrow. So.

This one goes out directly to @shireness-says for being an absolute, goddamn delight at all times. Also, also @optomisticgirl for constantly letting me bounce ideas off her, @stealing-vengence because I didn’t have these words to send last night and @distant-rose just for, like, existing. 

This is the video mentioned in the story.

------

“Babe.”

Matt didn’t answer. 

“Babe.”

Nothing. If he didn’t answer, then Claire would definitely go back to sleep and it was stupid and petulant and—“Babe,” she said, that one sounding less like an endearment and more like the audible and understandable sound of middle-of-the-night frustration. She jabbed him in the ribs. 

Matt groaned. 

“Answer your phone, Matthew.”

He hissed in a breath, burying his face into the pillow like that would make the phone stop, but that was a pipe dream and Claire’s nails absolutely left marks on his skin when she scratched down his side. 

“I got it, I got it, I—“ 

The phone fell on the floor. 

“Oh my God,” Claire grumbled. 

None of Matt’s muscles appreciated when he leaned over the side of the bed, fingers scrambling for a phone that was somehow still ringing and sounded as if it were getting louder with each passing second and—

“Someone better be dead,” he growled, barely moving his thumb away from the screen after he swiped before lifting it to his ear. 

He hadn’t checked who was calling. 

That was definitely his first mistake.

Well, second. Maybe third, actually. 

He’d gotten hit pretty hard after that turnover in the zone and he should have just started shutting his phone off at night. Like several dozen years earlier. So those probably took precedence. 

And the tongue click on the other end made it blatantly obvious who it was anyway. 

“No one is dead,” Dad said. “That’s kind of the whole point of this call, actually.”

Matt blinked. Once, twice, three times, probably to match up with the number of mistakes and—he would absolutely blame whatever time it actually was for how long it took him to realize what was going on. 

“Oh, shit.”

Dad sighed. And it sounded like Mom laughed. 

It must have been nearly three in the morning. 

“Got there, huh?” Dad asked. “That was a good pass in the third, by the way. Almost made up for the turnover and—“

“—You do not get to critique my turnovers right now. It is the middle of the night and that was just like…your greatest weakness and—“

“—And not really the point,” Mom called, what sounded like the couch creaking in the background and they must have been in the living room. Waiting. Or something that sounded a little more familial and far less menacing. 

“It’s not really the point,” Dad admitted, voice turning a little repentant. “But it was a really good pass, the legend of the wrists continues—“

Mom sounded like she was growling. 

There was a quiet scuffle on the other end of the phone, Claire’s laugh working its way under Matt’s skin when she pressed her head into the curve of his shoulder, reaching a hand up to brush away far-too-long curls because they were in the middle of a playoff run and he desperately needed to go back to sleep, but—

“It’s a boy,” Mom announced, and of all the very sore muscles that made up Matt’s current bodily structure, he hadn’t ever really expected his cheeks to ache quite that much. 

Or so suddenly. 

Smiling like an idiot would do that though. 

“Oh, shit.”

“Mattie, you can’t keep saying that over and over. It’s just—it’s not the world’s best reaction.”

“I know, I know, I just—a boy, for real?”

“You knew that,” Claire mumbled, nosing at his collarbone and he could feel her smile too. His stomach felt like it had thrown into his throat. 

“Yeah, I know I did, I just—“

“—Used up all those well-thought out responses in post, huh?” Mom asked, and maybe they were all just smiling like idiots. That made him feel a little better. 

It had been a really good pass. 

“Something like that,” Matt muttered. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging lightly as if that would wake him up, but the prospect of Roland and Lizzie’s kid had already done a pretty good job of that and Claire only gasped softly when he pulled her up with him. “Is everything—I mean, everything went ok, right? No one’s—“

“Everyone’s fine, kid,” Dad said, clearly on speaker now and that was probably for the best. “Except maybe Liam who—“

“—According to El, snapped at several different orderlies, demanded hourly updates from the nurse and—“

“—Wait, wait,” Matt interrupted. “Hourly? This was a multiple hours thing? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Nothing.

Huh. That was annoying. 

“Well,” he prompted, “the resounding echo of your own silence is pretty deafening. Who else was there? Why didn’t Rol call?”

“Presumably because he’s staring at his kid like they’re the greatest thing in the entire world,” Dad said reasonably. 

Matt slumped against the pillows. “I’m going to blame the turnover. For, you know—being a dick.”

“Matthew!’

“Mom, you don’t get to ground me anymore, I just—“

“—Henry was there,” Dad finished. “He’d been planning on coming back here, but something about fate or whatever and he got delayed in Atlanta, so he rerouted to Philly and from what Gina said, he was the only rational one and Rol kept walking in and out of the room. Rumor has it there was quite a lot of pinching the bridge of his nose.”

“He does that when he gets nervous.”

“I can’t imagine why he’d feel that way in this scenario.”

“But everything’s ok, right? I mean—with Lizzie and Rol, the nose thing aside and—“

“That’s very normal,” Mom mumbled, another telltale tongue click from Dad and Claire kissed Matt’s shoulder that time. “Some would say even calm compared to other reactions.”

“This is not an answer to my question, just sly jabs at Dad for being a freak and—“

“—I will absolutely ground you, Matthew,” Dad cut in, a distinct lack of any actual frustration. “Also, today is not the season-opener. So, I can’t see how the two situations are even remotely comparable.”

Matt hummed. 

Claire might have mumbled something that sounded a hell of a lot like this family is crazy, which—well, fair. 

“And,” Mom continued, “I wasn’t really being sly about it. I thought that was a pretty obvious commentary on Dad’s nerves.”

“A name, Mom. Does the kid have a name?”

She hissed in a breath. 

And Matt waited. Or, tried. Doing his best to temper his impatience because he was only a little annoyed Henry had been there when he hadn’t and that was absolutely insane. 

Seriously, it was all that turnover’s fault. 

He hoped Roland hadn’t seen that. 

He’d never hear the end of it. 

“Mom. Do I have to guess? I’m not going to be able to guess, I—“

“Noah Miller Locksley,” she finished, and Matt nearly dropped the phone again. 

He swallowed. More than once, tongue darting between suddenly dry lips because he’d started breathing through his mouth at some point, the way his eyes falling shut having nothing to do with how utterly and completely exhausted he was. 

“Oh shit,” Claire whispered. “That’s good.”

Matt made another noise — something he was only vaguely hopeful sounded like an agreement. “Did Aunt Gina cry?”

“She absolutely wept according to several reliable sources,” Dad answered. 

“Were those all just Henry?”

“And El. Who told me this while crying rather hard.”

“God, that’s so stupid.”

“In the realm of exceptionally stupid, yeah.”

“Idiot,” Claire mumbled, and it might have just been a trick of the minimal light in their room, but Matt would have sworn her eyes had gone a bit glossy too. He blinked several times. 

So as not to also be accused of idiocy.

And Matt’s phone buzzed in his hand. 

“There it is,” Mom muttered fondly, Matt’s hand shaking when he glanced down at the screen and a group text that was very active for the middle of the night. 

Roland Locksley, 2:47 a.m. :: image attached ::

Noah Miller Locksley. Ten fingers, ten toes. Seven pounds, eight ounces. Far more hair than expected, which we assume means he’s some kind of super baby. 

Do not send us hockey sticks, I will punch you all in the face. 

Matt scoffed, a quick sniffle and tears on his cheeks that he hadn’t really planned on, but seemed pretty inevitable for the parents of a kid who had absolutely fought over who got to use him on their side of the aisle at their wedding. 

Claire kissed his cheek. 

He didn’t read the rest of the messages — Peggy sending at least ten in a row and Chris’ didn’t look like much more than the same gif of Roland celebrating a playoff goal four seasons before, Leo’s all just several lines of exclamation points — tugging the phone back up to his ear and his own parents were definitely smiling. 

Beaming, probably. 

“I’m going to buy that kid so much team-branded merch,” Matt said. “All blue. Only blue.”

Dad chuckled. “I’m sure Roland will genuinely appreciate that.”

“How many hats do you think one hospital goes through with its baby population every day?”

“This is why you answer the questions and don’t ask them, kid.”

“That’s a serious question.”

“Make sure you ask Lizzie that later.”

“Don’t ask Lizzie that later,” Mom countered, and the couch made another noise. “And it really was a good pass in the third.”

“Ah ha! I thought you said that wasn’t the point of the conversation!”

“I mean—not a huge point, but definitely a sidebar and,” her voice dropped low like there wasn’t another person sitting directly next to her, “Dad nearly destroyed the chair when he jumped out of it. So.”

“So?”

“So,” Mom echoed. “Something paternal.”

“Yuh huh.”

“Go back to sleep, Mattie.”

“Sure thing, Mom.”

She one-hundred percent narrowed her eyes at the air in front of her, several dozen blocks away, but Matt still wasn’t all that worried about getting grounded and the small flutter of feeling in the pit of his stomach didn’t disappear when he woke up the next morning. 

He only checked one of his text messages. 

Dad, 8:15 a.m. The chair would have deserved to get wrecked in celebration of that pass. I’m proud of you, kid.

Matt, 8:17 a.m. Something, something, you’ve got a pretty solid head start on best dad. 

Don’t tell Henry I said that. 

Dad, 8:18 a.m. The something really made the message. I will not tell Henry. 

And it all probably would have been fine — more photos of Noah while he was sleeping and being held and the group text had several thoughts on Roland’s technique when Lizzie sent a video of him rocking their kid back and forth in the middle of the hospital room. But then that same video got several gazillion retweets and likes and Matt had to go to film and skate and he didn’t really forget, but—

“Christ, Jones, is your phone going to explode?”

Matt shook his hair away from his eyes, tossing his practice jersey into the hamper a few feet away and it was a legitimate question. The stupid thing was buzzing and ringing at the same time, wobbling precariously on the top shelf of his locker, like it was getting ready to take flight.

He really needed to start checking who was calling before he answered the phone. Because Henry was already talking. 

On video. 

“Matt, Matt, Matt, listen, I need you to not check the group text and—“

“—Wait, what? Why do you sound like you’re out of breath?”

“Are you in the locker room?”

“I am in the middle of a series. I have skate and I need to go to PT and—“

“—Go in the hallway.”

“What?”

“The hallway,” Henry repeated, sounding as if he were issuing declarations or possibly grounding his own kids and Matt was twenty-nine. He needed to stop thinking about getting grounded so much. “Now.”

Matt widened his eyes, but Henry’s expression didn’t change, clearly tucked in the corner of a hospital with particularly aggressive overhead lighting. 

“Fine, fine,” he grumbled. It only took a few moments, not bothering to grab his sandals when he hadn’t even had time to take his socks off yet, slumping down the wall almost as soon as the sounds from the locker room dimmed behind him. “You look like you’re about to tell me that they’re taking away my assist from last night.”

“That was a ridiculous pass.”

“Ridiculous here, meaning—“

“Good, obviously,” Henry sighed, an obviously exhausted hand running over his face. 

“You sleep at all, old man? Where are your kids?”

“At my apartment? With my wife? What kind of question is that?”

“You’re really stressing me out.”

“Did you look at the group text yet?”

Matt shook his head slowly, some of that pleasant fluttering and general good that had made it easier to skate on such sore muscles disappearing. “I get the feeling I should have, though.”

“No, that’s—Matt, that’s the point. I—ok—“

The footsteps that moved down the hallway in a hospital with particularly aggressive overhead lighting in Philadelphia, weren’t all that loud — presumably because he hadn’t gotten much sleep what with having a baby to take care of, but then Matt also felt kind of bad about referring to Noah solely as a baby less than twenty-four hours after he’d been born and Roland looked torn between hysterics and…mostly hysterics. 

“Are you kidding me, Matthew?” he balked, sliding down next to Henry slowly enough that it took several moments for him to find his way into the phone frame. 

Matt arched an eyebrow. 

Henry sighed. 

“Seriously, why wasn’t this something I knew about?”

“Should you be out here? Shouldn’t you be like—I don’t know, documenting Noah’s every move or making sure Lizzie is—”

“—Lizzie told him to come out here for reasons we’ll get to that are not my fault,” Henry finished. 

Matt’s eyebrows could not get higher. 

And Roland rolled his eyes. “Ok, well, thanks for that vote of father-like confidence—“

“I’m not your father, Locksley, that sentence didn’t even make sense.”

“You want to acknowledge how cute my kid is…or?”

“Obviously,” Matt snapped, a weird counterbalance to the way the ends of his mouth tugged up. “He’s a super cute kid. I’m going to buy you twenty hockey sticks that are all legit, pro size.”

“I’m already kind of annoyed with you, so that’s not helping.”

“What could you possibly have to be annoyed with? Aren’t you just, I don’t know, buoyed by emotion and those father-like feelings?”

“Good use of the word buoyed,” Henry mumbled, Matt’s eyes flickering his direction. He still looked a little nervous. 

“What’s going on? I feel like I’m missing something.”

“Nah uh,” Roland objected, “you’re the one holding out on us, Matthew. It’s—how do you even play here?”

Matt tilted his head. The fluttering was gone completely, replaced by something that felt like entirely unwelcome dread and he nearly yanked several pieces of hair out of his head when he ran his fingers through it. 

Henry grimaced. 

“This is not my fault.”

“So you’ve mentioned.”

“I never told.”

“Yuh huh.”

“But, uh—ok, are you by yourself? Because…just maybe look at the group text and see what this stupid team did.”

Roland had to put his hand over his mouth. Presumably so he wouldn’t disturb the other babies. With his laughter. 

Matt wondered how long they were required to wear hats.

And it only took a few scrolls back for Roland to find it, brandishing his screen towards Henry’s — the whole phone call almost understandable because Chris had posted the video and he didn’t know, no one really knew, it was a stupid, childlike fear that he’d absolute, positively, shaken as a grown man with a very serious girlfriend he was really considering proposing to at some point and—

“Oh, fuck,” Matt gasped, pushing his arm out like that would stop the video from playing or the goddamn Flyers mascot from moving around so much in said video. 

Roland snickered. 

Matt squeezed his eyes shut, whatever filler music the Flyers had used in the video sounding impossibly loud. As if it were heightened by his fear 

Of goddamn Gritty. 

He was decorating a locker — streamers and balloons, every move making his stupid eyes rattle around because the eyes hadn’t changed in years and Matt still hated him with every fiber of his being. As if there were totally normal. 

The video didn’t end. 

It seemed to last forever, Gritty glancing back at the camera every few seconds — presumably just to remind Matt that his eyes defied the laws of gravity — but then the locker was decorated and the sign said Welcome Baby, Locksley and Matt could not remember the last time he took a deep breath. 

Roland had given up on trying to hide his laugh. 

“Why did that happen?” Matt hissed, rolling his shoulders like that would make him look more adult or less terrified of another grown adult in a costume. “You’re not even on this team anymore. You are—“

“—A beloved alum, it seems,” Roland alum. “Oh Captain, my captain and all that.”

“Isn’t he dead in that poem?”

“Honestly?”

Matt glanced at Henry, the color in his cheeks nothing do with embarrassment and more with Gritty. “This has taken a pretty morbid turn, don’t you think?”

“Why is the mascot decorating a locker that isn’t yours, Rol?” Matt demanded. 

“I’m very popular on this team. Still, or whatever. Plus, you know—the kid is exceptionally cute.”

“God, that’s not fair.”

“Say the kid is cute, Matthew.”

“Obviously I think the kid is cute. God, you are so annoying.”

“Tired,” Henry amended. “He’s tired.”

Roland nodded. “That too. And maybe a little delirious on like—I don’t know, joy? Is that lame?”

“Yes,” Matt nodded “But nice too. Dad said Gina cried.”

“Wept. Seriously. Shoulders shaking, sniffles. It was not dignified at all. Made the whole thing.”

“You’re a giant freak, you know that?”

“Lizzie’s going to call you later, she’s got—“

More footsteps. Those ones with a distinct squeak that came from those very specific shoes nurses wore and the woman smiled when she noticed both Henry and Roland. 

On the floor. 

“Mrs. Locksley is awake again,” the nurse said, “and, uh—well, she’d like to know why you didn’t wake her up if you were going to—“ Roland’s eyes widened. And Matt laughed that time. 

“She wants to know why they’re ragging me about the video without her, isn’t she?” he asked. 

The nurse nodded. 

“Maybe I should just ask her to marry me again,” Roland mused. “That���s romantic, right?”

“I mean the kid was a pretty good sign that you were into your own wife, honestly.”

“True, true, c’mon. I bet she’s got scathing opinions.”

She did. For several straight minutes, a gurgling Noah resting across her chest and that didn’t do much to stop Lizzie’s right hand from flying through the air while she talked. 

Matt chewed on his lower lip. 

“What I can’t understand,” Roland mused, slumped in one of the few chairs the hospital room seemed to offer, “is why we didn’t know you were so terrified of the mascot? You play here all the time.”

“Never came up.”

“Matt.”

“What? When would I have told you that? And would that not have ended with you trying to get me to run into the stupid thing every time was at Wells Fargo?”

“Eh, yeah, that’s probably true.”

“It’s one-hundred percent true,” Henry said. 

“And how did you know, exactly?”

“Oh, I’ve known forever. Matt was—I don’t know, little, little. Like a baby and Killian was on the road in Philly and he lost his mind when Gritty came on TV. Just one of those fundamental fears, I guess.”

“Is that a thing?”

“See,” Matt challenged, “we shouldn’t be talking about that stupid monster because then you’re going to mess your kid up after less than a day.”

Lizzie glared at him. “You’re a jerk.”

“I’m only going to buy you Rangers gear.”

“Please, you’re going to take it from the team store.”

“Eh, column A, column B.”

“Still stealing,” Roland muttered, head lolling back. 

“Whatever. Go to sleep. I’ve got to go back to the locker room and acknowledge PT and—“

“—A will yell at you if you blow that off,” Lizzie interrupted, her own eyelashes fluttering and Henry was already moving towards the door. “Just, you know, on principle.”

“I know, that’s why I’m trying to end this conversation with you.”

“Charmer.”

“Mmhm, hey you want to know a secret?”

Lizzie cracked open one eye. Noah was definitely already asleep. And still as cute as ever. “Did you cry?”

“How’d you know that?”

“Please,” she scoffed. “I know everything about you.”

“You did not know about Gritty.”

“I knew there was a reason you hated being on the ice for too long during warmups here. And it wasn’t that hard to put two and two together. Who do you think told Henry the message was in the group chat?”

“You were reading the group chat?”

“It was a genuinely insane pass last night. You guys going to win tomorrow?”

“An attempt will certainly be made.”

Lizzie laughed, soft and obviously exhausted, a heaviness to her that hadn’t been there before, but wasn’t altogether bad. Almost like she was more…something. Good. Protective. Maybe even understanding. 

“I will probably fall asleep during the game,” she warned. 

“Ah, well, you did just have a kid, so…”

“Exactly.”

A voice called for him from the other end of the hall, one side of Lizzie’s mouth ticking up when she slumped further into the hospital bed. “Score the kid a goal, huh?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He did. In the third period. A quick stick and impossibly fast wrists, no mascot in New York to terrorize infants and Matt grinned when Claire found him outside the locker room later that night, a bag with a Rangers onesie clutched in her hand.