#arizona coyotes fic

[nhl-stories]

Rue – Clayton Keller

Summary: Ines has a bit of a dilemma, marry her ex-boyfriend or get deported

Author’s Note: I don't even go here but an anon suggested Clayton and I ran with it and loved every moment. This is obviously a dramatized version of immigration in America, while I tried to keep aspects as authentic as possible, I also took creative liberties to fit the story.

Also his mom's name is Kelley Keller and that is just so insane to me

Word Count: 9.2k

Album Series Masterlist

Don't wanna make it worse I'm gonna make it work

“What if you married Clayton?”

“You think marrying my ex-boyfriend for a green card is the answer?”

Ines doesn’t mean to raise her voice; Kat is just trying to help. But it’s been a long 24 hours and she can’t really control her emotions anymore.

“I think there should be reformed paths to citizenship. But that’s not going to happen in the immediate future, so I’m spit balling here.”

Ines flops face down on couch cushion and screams.

“I don’t hear you coming up with any better solutions,” Kat adds.

She lifts her head in shock, “You’re being serious?”

“Kat’s serious about what?” Nick comes back with drinks, his solution for comforting Ines.

“Nez should marry Kells for a green card,” Kat keeps saying it like it’s realistic.

Nick ponders the idea for a moment and shrugs, “It’s not the worst idea.”

“I’m just in a hellish nightmare, I’ll wake up and everything will be normal and everyone will be sane,” Ines rubs her temples.

Kat rubs her shoulder and nudges the drink closer to her.

Ines downs the drink and Schmaltzy passes his own drink before retreating for refills.

“I know it just happened, but have you thought at all what you’re going to do?”

“I mean, I’ve spent my whole life thinking about what I would need to do, it’s just never been so real.”

Ines feels a fresh batch of tears coming, she takes another drink to push them back. Nick comes back with a pitcher of drinks this time, clearly sensing where this night is headed.

“Didn’t one of your sisters have immigration problems?” Nick asks as he pours her a refill.

“Sort of, but it only came up because she was getting married and applying for a green card.”

Kat opens her mouth and Ines shoot hers a glare, “to the man she loves who happened to be an American citizen.”

 “Yeah, well, you kind of still love Clayton,” Kat mumbles, “I mean you guys still have pretty regular sex right, Nick?”

Ines turns her boiling anger towards Schmaltzy, “Oh my god, he told you we were having sex?!”

“No, you told her,” he points towards Kat, “and she told me, Kells hasn’t said anything.”

“We don’t do it that often.”

She huffs defensively before squeezing her eyes shut, hoping to return from whatever alternative universe she stumbled into.

“I know the idea sounds insane but think about it, you have all these pictures of you two together, you never made some big breakup announcement or anything, and you still live with him.”

“I mean it would be pretty hard to prove that you aren’t together,” Nick adds.

“From what you’ve told me about this babe, marrying someone is the easiest way for you to get on the right track for citizenship without having to go back to Mexico, where you might not be allowed back.”

She knows Kat is right, that she’s making an excellent case, but that doesn’t make the idea any easier to swallow.

“There’s not enough alcohol in the world.”

Ines spends the next couple hours putting that theory to the test; she doesn’t process much, too busy preserving her brain in alcohol. She loses track of time, of what she should be feeling.

The alcohol makes her feel warm and giddy, but her brain is screaming at her to feels anxious and alert. The mix of the emotion just leaves her a sobbing mess, curled up in Kat’s arms.

Then she hears a shuffle at the door followed by Clayton’s voice.

“You told him?! Oh my god,” she buries herself further into Kat.

“We called him to take you home, we thought you’d prefer to wake up in your own bed.”

Nick is speaking to him in hushed tones and Ines is immediately suspicious.

“I don’t need you to marry me, arcilla, I’ll be fine in Mexico,” her filter is non-existent at this point but somehow, she can still talk this much through her tears and inebriation.

“What is she talking about?” Schmaltzy clearly didn’t spill the beans.

Kat sits up, cradling Ines off to the side, like she’s a child who’s not supposed to hear an adult conversation. Even one this pertinent to her.

“Someone found out she doesn’t have legal citizenship and he’s probably going to report her.”

“What the fuck,” Clayton feels every muscle in his body tense.

“And these two idiots think you should marry me so I can get a green card.”

“Oh.”

Clayton’s never been great with big emotions, and Ines’ tears mixed with her words has his brain frazzled. He came thinking he was just being the DD for Ines, not DD for Ines in distress.

“Nez, babe, why don’t we table this for tonight. Let Kells take you back to your own bed and sleep it off. We’ll start fresh tomorrow,” Kat gently moves some hair behind Ines’ hear.

Ines doesn’t respond, just stands up and follows Clayton to his car on wobbly legs.

The drive isn’t far, but Clayton still feels like he has to say something, anything. He can’t find the words; they aren’t his strong suit. So instead, he wordlessly reaches across the console and grabs Ines’ hand.

⁄⁄⁄

The sun pours through her curtains with a vengeance; telling her it’s pretty late in the morning without even needing to open her eyes. Normally, she would hate wasting most of her day away in bed, but sleeping is a nice escape; not just from reality but from the pounding headache she feels behind her eyes.

Ines flips onto her back and throws an arm over her eyes, debating whether getting up and eating something is better than sleeping more.

Clayton makes the decision for her with a knock on the door, he sheepishly pokes his head in before coming to sit at the end of the bed. Offering up a bag of food, which Ines greedily takes knowing it contains her favorite breakfast sandwich.

“You’re a lifesaver,” she moans after taking a bite, digging into the bag to grab the extra hot sauce she knows Clayton didn’t forget.

She looks up and chokes on her sandwich.

Clayton is holding open a ring box with a diamond ring.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I talked to Schmaltzy and Kat this morning and you know, I think they’re right. Getting married to me is gonna be the easiest way for you stay in the country.”

“And ruin your life.”

“How will being married to you be that much different than it is now?”

He makes a good point. They broke up before the last off-season and he had offered to let her stay in his house since he would be traveling for a big chunk of the summer. Not worry about finding a new place while she got back on her feet. That was months ago and she’s still here, cooking him meals, cleaning up around the house, having sex with him.

The only real difference is she has her own room now.

“I don’t know, legal paperwork, maybe me being detained by ICE, you being shackled to me for god knows how long, probably two years at least. What if you meet someone?”

“I’m a professional athlete, I don’t think people would be to shocked if I cheated on you.”

Ines isn’t impressed by his attempt at a joke.

“This isn’t fair to you.”

“And it’s fair that you have to move back to a country you barely remember living in?”

He has a single-mindedness that no amount argument will sway. Especially while Ines is in this hungover state.

“Okay, Mr. Machismo, where’d you get the ring?”

“I– um– got it this morning, Kat helped pick it out. You know, need some proof this is real. And before you freak, I bought it with cash so there’s no paper trail or whatever.”

“Christ, you really thought this through?”

“You always told me it could be a possibility, so you know, I thought about what I’d do, especially when we were actually together.”

The look on his face makes her want to cry. He’s so sure; certain that she’s worth the effort, was worth having an escape plan for her.

“I know it’s crazy, but I’d hate to just sit by and watch you get torn away from your life when I could do something.”

“Okay,” Ines’ voice cracks, wet through the tears she can’t hold in anymore, “If you’re sure.”

Clayton nods, plucks the ring out of the box and holds it out on his palm for her; it seems too intimate or too sacrilegious for him to slip it on for her.

“I’ll call my immigration lawyer,” she twists the ring on her finger.

⁄⁄⁄

“Hola Ines!” Sierra, her immigration lawyer squeezes her tightly.

“And this must be the famous tonelada de arcilla,” Sierra grins at Clayton and shakes his hand.

“I can’t believe she told you that,” Ines grumbles as she takes a seat.

“Soledad couldn’t keep her big mouth shut if she tried,” Sierra moves to the other side of her desk, “besides I love your mom’s inability to understand American names, like Ashton.”

“Oh yeah, tonelada de ceniza,” Ines giggles.

“You’re saying I’m not special?” Clayton smirks.

“You’re very special mi arcilla,” she bumps his knee with her own.

“So, we’re here to talk about a marriage green card?” Sierra gets to business.

“We got engaged right before this, but now some asshole is threatening to report Nez’ status to immigration. So it sounds fishy, but we just want to start the process before anything happens.”

Ines nods with a tight smile. She was expecting Clayton to be here for moral support, not for him to take the lead.

“Okay, so we don’t know if he’s reported anything or if ICE will even investigate you. But since you work for a political organization that isn’t exactly beloved in Arizona, we’ll prepare for the worst.”

Instinctively, Clayton reaches out to hold Ines’ hand, stop her from fidgeting before she even starts.

Sierra looks at her watch, “we probably don’t have time to get you married today, but definitely can get your license today. It’s probably for the best, since this is kind of rush job you’ll probably want to dress up, have some friends as witnesses, make it clear this is above the board.”

Ines squeezes Clayton’s hand. Sierra is too busy shuffling through papers to notice any nerves, or maybe she’s just used to it.

“How’s that sound? Married by tomorrow, try to finish the paperwork in the next couple weeks?”

“Um- what about signing a pre-nup?” Clayton snaps his head towards Ines, “I mean I know it’s best if we have like joint accounts to show it’s legit or that I won’t end up on welfare immediately, but most people aren’t marrying millionaires.”

“You don’t need to sign a pre-nup,” Clayton sounds almost hurt at her suggestion.

Ines slips her hand out of his, “Don’t be stupid, we’re only moving this fast because of me, I don’t want you to be at any legal risk just because I need a green card.”

“I haven’t worked with a case quite like this, but a pre-nup might help your case that this is for the right reasons and not just for a green card.”

Ines starts chewing on her thumbnail, Clayton grabs her hand to stop her.

“I’m not your agent, but we can probably draft a quick contract of sorts that will say she will sign a post-nuptial and you can sort that out after with your people.”

Sierra then goes on a spiel about what to expect, what documents they’ll need, forms they need to fill out, the medical exam Ines will need. Clayton is trying to pay attention, but his eyes are glazing over. She hooks her foot around his ankle and tries to give him her most grateful smile, she hopes it doesn’t look too much like a grimace.

They find themselves at the courthouse the next day. Kat had insists they don’t see each other before the wedding, so they go in separate cars. It makes no sense since the foursome all knows this isn’t real, it’s all an act.

Kat stops her on the steps of the courthouse,

“You have your something old with the dress,” she gestures to the huipil her abuela had made for her mother, it was the only mostly white thing she owned, though it was mostly covered in bright colored flowers.

“And your something new with that rock on your finger, so here’s your something borrowed and blue,” she digs through her purse for a box with a pair of simple sapphire earring.

“You know it’s not–“

“This may not be your dream wedding, but let’s no fuck around with good luck.”

Kat looks like she wants to say more, but that’s not something Ines wants to dissect at the moment. She pulls her into a tight embrace instead.

Clayton and Nick are already waiting inside. Ines makes a silly scrunched up face that Clayton returns.

“Don’t be gross,” Kat nudges her, it’s when Ines realizes she’s filming.

“I honestly thought you were gonna wear a Gucci t-shirt,” Ines grins when they stop in front of the guys.

“I made him put on something with a collar,” Nick gives Clayton a playful shove.

“Aww he could have been your something blue,” Kat coos as Ines fixes the collar of Clayton’s steel blue shirt.

“But I still would have needed something borrowed,” she laughs until she remembers she’s borrowing Clayton, she drops her hands to her sides like they caught on fire.

Thankfully, the clerk calls their names, saving them from dwelling too long on that truth.

The ceremony takes all of 15 minutes. Ines all too aware of her hands sweating in Clayton’s as they hold hands in front of the judge. Picture perfect.

“By the power vested in my by the state of Arizona, I know pronounce you married!”

When neither react right away the judge speaks up again and winks, “now would be a lovely time to kiss.”

An awkward giggle bubbles out of Ines, but then Clayton is cupping her face and kissing her. She kisses back, and what should probably be a more chaste kiss gets a little heated. Ines likes kissing Clayton, sue her.

They’re broken a part by the obnoxious cheers from Kat and Schmaltzy. Both are flushed when they pull away, neither quite sure if it’s from lust or embarrassment.

“Now that’s how you start off a marriage, congratulations,” the judge smiles.

⁄⁄⁄

Ines is fidgeting with everything. She’s moved a vase of flower about twenty times, though it’s only moved about 1 inch away from its original place.

Clayton grabs her arms and pins them to her sides, “relax, it’s just your family.”

“Oh yeah, my totally calm, quiet, chill family. Nothing to worry about.”

“Your family loves me, we’ll be fine,” he lets her arms go and she immediately moves the vase again.

“Where’s your ring?”

She reaches into the pocket of her dress, “My mom will notice it immediately, I’ll put it on after we tell them,” she starts to turn before wheeling back around, “that we’re engaged they don’t need to know we’re actually married, I don’t want them worrying about immigration.”

Clayton nods.

“And where’s your ring?” she instinctively grabs his hand to look.

“You just said they shouldn’t know we got married,” he laughs at her pinballing thoughts.

Ines opens her mouth to say something but he cuts her off by pulling out one of his chains, the silver ring hanging off of it.

“Okay,” she lets out a sigh, “keep it in your shirt, arcilla.”

Ines moves over to straighten an already pristine tablecloth; all the deception is making her ill. She doesn’t want to tell anyone, but she knows the news will get out somehow, and her mother will never forgive her. She might not forgive her if she learned she’s already married.

“When are we gonna tell your family? We can’t just be ‘engaged’ for two years or so without them knowing.

“We can call them after probably,” he shrugs, his confidence over this decision clearly wavering a bit. Ines feels secretly happy about that, they’re on a level playing field.

The doorbell rings, the commotion of her immediate family barely muffled through the door.

“Showtime,” Ines plasters on a big smile.

The family stumbles in, a cacophony of Spanish follows as they all speak over each other to greet Ines and pass off food.

“Clayton, mi amor,” Ines’ mom cups his face and kisses him all over before pulling him into a tight embrace, “I knew you two would figure it out.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we did.”

He takes some food and follows Ines to the kitchen as she gives directions to her family in Spanish. They’ve been together long enough he recognizes some of it, but he feels bad for never trying to learn Spanish in earnest.

One of her sisters, Teresa, is pouring shots of tequila. Ines smirks at him and is about to comment when a small body rams into him.

“Clayton! Look I lost a tooth at hockey,” Ines’ niece, Marisol smiles to show off the gap.

“She didn’t lose it during a game, she lost it shooting in our driveway,” her twin brother Mateo sneers.

“You’re just mad you have all your teeth still,” she sticks her tongue out.

“You know when you get adult teeth you want to keep them all, even as a hockey player,” Ines butts in.

“Whatever tia,” the little girl rolls her eyes and gets a scoff back from her aunt.

“The new season just started, how’s the new gear?” Clayton changes the subject.

“I don’t have to wear three pairs of socks in my skates anymore, and the sticks are so nice.” Mateo’s eyes gleam with excitement.

“Maybe later we can shoot around a bit,” Clayton smiles back.

The twins cheer at the idea before running off to tell their mom.

“You bought them gear for their new season?” Ines furrows her brows.

“Yeah, I have my connections,” he tries to play it off.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, but last season they had all that hand-me-down gear, it was literally the least I could do for getting them into the sport in the first place.

Ines nods.

“Lovebirds, we’re taking shots in your honor,” Teresa calls them over to the rest of the adults and hands them cups.

“¡Arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’dentro!”

The tequila goes down smooth, relaxing her enough to rip off the band aid.

“Well, we have something else for you to cheers,” Ines leans into Clayton’s side before reaching into her pocket and putting on the ring, “we’re engaged.”

There are screams, hugs, kisses, and even some tears. Ines feels the alcohol going to her head far faster than it should. Another glass being thrust into hand and another toast.

“Felicidades mija,” Ines’ dad brings her in close.

He’s a man of few words, partially because he never really learned the language of his new country. Those two simple words and the joy in his eyes makes Ines want to weep. He turns to Clayton, placing a strong hand on his shoulder and holding his other hand out.

“Bienvenido a nuestro familia.”

“Uh, gracias Hector, soy muy um–“ he leans over to Ines “how do I say I’m very excited?”

“Está muy emocionado, papi.”

“¡Más tequila!” He shouts and the family cheers.

“He’s happy for us, right? Not trying to kill me?” Clayton ribs Ines.

“I think this might be a test, if you die you wouldn’t have fit in anyway,” she smiles back.

“So, when are you going to get pregnant, mija?”

“Jesucristo mamí,” Ines furiously blushes, “couldn’t you have at least asked that in Spanish?”

“It takes both of you, I thought he should understand too.”

Her family is a little less embarrassing the rest of the party, they genuinely seem excited for Clayton to join the family. Her niece and nephew ask if Clayton is finally their real tio while she watches them pass around a ball on the sport court in the backyard.

Her heart aches with the truth.

It’s keeping her up in her bed. Usually, after that much tequila she’d be asleep within minutes, but there’s too much going on in her brain.

Her door creaks open and Clayton creeps into the room.

“How drunk are you still?” Ines tries to suppress the smile in her voice as Clayton clumsily crawls into the bed.

He merely grunts in response and moves around to get comfy.

“And you’re in here why?”

“I think the air conditioner isn’t getting into my room,” he mumbles and drapes an arm over Ines, burrowing his head into neck.

He can’t see her epic eye roll; she knows the air conditioner is probably fine and there are two other guest rooms he could use.

“You don’t have to lie, I know you like to cuddle when you’re drunk, babe.”

She winces at her casual use of a pet name, feels Clayton freeze for a second too.

She runs a hand through his hair until he relaxes again, “since my family tried to poison you, I’ll make you a hangover-approved breakfast before practice tomorrow.”

He hums in response, breath evening out until he’s asleep.

Ines is quick to follow, the weight of his arm a grounding comfort.

⁄⁄⁄

A month into the regular season and Ines still hasn’t been to a game. Kat warned her some of the significant others were starting to talk. Rumors of her breaking up with Clayton before the off-season had been swirling around. Sure, those rumors were true, but there was no concrete reason to believe them until her recent absence.

From what Ines heard about other teams, this group wasn’t particularly cliquey or gossipy. But sometimes that meant when there was something to talk about, they were hyper-focused. And that seems to be the situation now.

So being the girlfriend/fiancée/wife/whatever the hell she is to a member of team leadership, she invited the group over for dinner and drinks to watch an away game.

In actuality, it comes at the perfect time. Ines likes planning and organizing and it’s the perfect way to keep her mind off everything else. The most pressing being that Clayton is in St. Louis and made her promise to Facetime with him and his parents after the game. Keeping up appearances when she didn’t travel for the first game with her future in-laws.

Coming in at a close second is the fact the Blues are playing in town the day before Thanksgiving, so his mom thought it was a great time to visit for the holiday. Especially since Ines couldn’t make it out to Missouri this trip.

She’s already nauseous at the thought of moving her stuff back into the master bedroom, hiding all evidence of the truth. For now, the door is locked, so no nosy and/or drunk women pop in tonight.

“Pour yourself a drink and sit the fuck down Nez, the game is about to start,” Kat warns from her spot on the couch.

Ines stops organizing the growing pile of mail and rolls her shoulders back. She grabs a new bottle wine, knowing this group has already emptied the ones on the table before the anthem is even finished. She settles in the middle of the couch and cuddles into Kat’s side.

It’s nice to be back with a group of friends. Ines always gets lonely in the summer when most of them go back home and she’s stuck here, but this summer had been especially brutal.

“Ines, what the hell is that?” Claire shouts moments after puck drop.

Ines’ eyes dart around the room, looking for a scorpion or something that made it into the house.

“The ring on your finger!” Claire is grabbing her hand; the game is quickly forgotten in favor of this.

“Clayton proposed,” she feels her mouth attempt to smile, but it feels all wrong.

“Finally!” Someone cheers from behind her and the rest of the group seems to concur.

She didn’t mean to leave the ring on, it still feels so bulky and foreign. But she’s trying to at least wear it to work, so it doesn’t seem like some secret green card relationship. Though maybe keeping it from the WAGs makes it seem like a dirty secret.

In her mind it’s easier to cut and run from work acquaintances if this all blows up in her face. Clayton is stuck with most of these people, and Ines can’t imagine hurting him when he’s being so kind.

“Look how red she’s turning, no wonder she was staying away from us, Nez hates the spotlight,” Claire laughs.

“How did it happen?”

Ines wants to melt into the couch.

“Nothing special, he just brought me my favorite hangover breakfast and proposed while I was still in bed,” she shrugs, not wanting to lie more than necessary.

“Makes it convenient if you’re already in bed,” Kat waggles her eyebrows and Ines punches her arm.

“He knows I wouldn’t have accepted anything that wasn’t lowkey.”

“Yeah, except that gorgeous diamond, good work Kells,” Claire adds, giving the ring one last look before the action onscreen grabs back their attention.

Ines is a little wine drunk by the time the ladies clear out. Her face feels flushed and warm as she tries to clean up wine glasses and plates.

 There’s one bottle with a little wine left and she pours herself another glass while she waits for Clayton to call.  She starts to go through the mail she tossed aside before the game. A reminder for a dentist appointment, a credit card statement, a letter asking to go paperless for billing.

Her phone starts to buzz against the kitchen island, she answers the Facetime wishing it were a phone call instead.

“Hi arcilla, you played well tonight,” she’s actually not positive he played well, she mostly drank and caught up with her friends.

She looks down to the mail again, an official looking envelope addressed to her stares back at her.

“You, okay?”

“Yeah, sorry I’m a little tipsy,” she holds up her glass of wine for him to see.

“You had fun then?”

His dimple is on full display when he smiles and it reminds her of when they used to do this all the time; a call before either went to bed just to say hello or see each other’s faces. Ines knows what every hotel wall and headboard looks like in the NHL.

She plays with the corners of the envelope, “This is great and all, but I thought this was so I could say hi to your parents.”

Clayton starts to move, “they wanted to give us some privacy first.”

“Did they think we were gonna have quick phone se-ehh,” Ines peters off when his parents appear on screen.

Clayton is trying to hold back a laugh while Ines feels her flush grow brighter, “Hi Kelley, hi Bryan.”

“Hi honey, when are we gonna get you out here?” His mom asks.

“Sorry ,work never seems to be in my favor.”

She lies, it’s easier than saying she hasn’t been on a plane in 20 years because she’s afraid she’ll get deported. She’s never seen Clayton’s family outside of Arizona or somewhere within driving distance. They haven’t seemed too bothered, but she’s always worried they’re just good at hiding their true thoughts.

“One day,” she smiles, “we’re excited to see you in a couple weeks, is there anything you want us to make special for Thanksgiving?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re coming to our house.”

“Let me be a mom and take care of it” she scoffs, “you are my first daughter.”

Ines just nods because her voice might crack if she speaks.

“We’re getting a late dinner, so we’ll let you go. But can’t wait to see you, Ines,” Bryan says and gives a wave.

“Yeah, should be fun, enjoy dinner,” she waves back.

“Bye babe, love you,” Clayton waves, his eyes go wide before the call ends.

She’d give the moment more thought if she wasn’t itching to rip open the envelope in her hands.

Notice to Appear.

December 11th.

Suddenly the walls feel like they’re closing in.

⁄⁄⁄

When Clayton gets home from the road trip Ines is in the hot tub. Her muscles having felt wound tight for the last week.

“Saw you’re all moved in,” he says as he dangles his legs into the tub.

Ines doesn’t open her eyes to look at him, just nods.

“And you have your immigration hearing in December.”

She nods again, she left the letter out by the table where they put their keys. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she had to tell him.

“I’ll be in Buffalo that day, but I­–“

Ines opens her eyes, gives him an exasperated look, “You’ll play a hockey game and I’ll be fine on my own.”

“It’s not–“

She moves closer, almost to the space between his legs, “you’re doing so much for me, please don’t fight me on this. Just go play hockey.”

“Okay,” he nearly whispers.

Ines thinks about how easy it would be to give him a blow job right now, let her mind go blank for a bit. Shut up Clayton for a bit.

Before she can actually act on those thoughts, he places a hand on her cheek, running his thumb across her cheek bone.

“And you’re doing, okay?”

She honestly doesn’t know, but she does know she doesn’t want to talk about it.

So, she grabs Clayton’s wrist and pulls him in closer. She doesn’t wait for him to catch up, smashing their lips together and pushing her tongue into his mouth before he even starts kissing back.

He’s quick to catch up to her. Pulling her flush against him, filling the space between his legs. It’s the first time they’ve done this since they got married, it feels like all the building tension is finally exploding. Ines feels molten.

Clayton unties the back her bikini top and tosses it somewhere behind him with a wet splat. His hands cover her chest and she can’t help but shiver, maybe from the cold air but probably not.

She grabs his hair and pulls him away from her, “we should take this inside.”

Without second thought he pulls her out of the hot tub and towards the house, the strings of her bottoms undone and left outside as well. Ines paws at his shirt, trying to get her own fill of skin.

He pulls it over his head in one fluid motion as he maneuvers Ines towards the bedroom. Her back hits the mattress before she realizes they’re in the master bedroom.

They haven’t done this here since the break up six months ago, like it’s too intimate, too full of the past.

Clayton is hovering over her, the chain with the wedding ring dangling. The room is filled with her belongings again and she feels like she’s in some alternate universe. A world where they never broke up, where marriage was a logical step in the future.

She tries to clear her mind again, pulling Clayton down for a kiss because she wants this.

⁄⁄⁄

An alarm starts to blare and she feels the other side of the bed move.

“Sorry, that’s mine,” Ines apologizes and turns it off.

She lays back and stares at the ceiling for a bit. It feels too familiar to wake up in here, naked in the softest sheets she’s ever felt. But nothing has actually shifted, she’ll get out of bed and everything will be as it was.

She rubs the sleep from her eyes and gets out of bed to take a shower. Clayton is getting ready for practice when she gets out of the bathroom.

“I forgot how nice that shower is, you should redo the one guest bathroom, it could have better water pressure,” she jokes, though it doesn’t really land.

She wanders into the walk-in closet where she’s haphazardly put away some of her clothes, she feels Clayton follow her in, even though he’s mostly dressed.

“My parents get in today; do you want to go to the game with them tonight?” He sounds like he’s asking out a girl for the first time.

“The twins have a music recital or play or something I said I’d go to, but they can take my car to the arena so you don’t have to worry about that.”

She drops the towel on the floor and starts getting dressed for work, stopping before she zips up her dress, reading between the lines of Clayton’s question.

“But I’ll be at the game with them on Wednesday, I mean if you can get me a ticket,” she turns to flash a smile at Clayton to find that’s he’s only a step away.

“I think I can manage that,” he turns Ines around, moving her hair out of the way and zipping up the dress for her, fingers lingering at her neck for a second too long.

Ines stops herself from shivering and turns around, “I have to leave, but see you after the game.”

She gives him a quick peck against her better judgement, “good luck.”

The casual touches don’t disappear in the following days. Ines can’t tell if they’re putting a show on for his parents or not. The touches seem too instinctive to just be a spectacle, but maybe that’s because they’re sharing a bed again and can’t seem to keep their hands off each other behind closed doors.

Though that seems to be seeping outside of the bedroom, too.

The morning after his parents arrive, Kelley is in the kitchen making coffee and gives them a knowing look when they come out of the bedroom, as if to tell them they were too loud even from the other side of the house. Ines decides to pick up breakfast on her way to work rather than sit through breakfast at home.

That night Ines is laid out on the couch not paying attention to the football game playing on TV. Clayton lifts her head up and then places her back down on his lap when he sits.

She groans as she tries to get more comfortable, “You make a terrible pillow, you’re too bony.”

“I think it’s the titanium rod in my leg,” he says back, squirming underneath her to make her more frustrated.

“You were bony before then too,” she rolls her eyes and pretends to focus on the game and ignore Clayton’s fingers brushing under her shirt.

Wednesday is a half day for Ines, she gets home to a surprisingly empty house and enjoys drinking a beer and mindlessly watching Tiktoks in peace.

“Hey, wasn’t expecting you home,” Ines jumps when Clayton comes up behind her.

“Wasn’t expecting to find an empty house,” she shrugs.

“My parents are picking up Jake from the airport,” he wraps his arms around Ines’ waist, “I was about to take my pre-game nap, but I wouldn’t say no to some company.”

He presses a couple kisses into her neck, “an afternoon nap sounds nice.”

She barely finishes the sentence before he’s walking her to the bedroom. Clayton is a little handsy as Ines crawls into the bed.

“I’m serious about an actual nap, I won’t be held responsible if you have a bad game.”

Clayton rolls away, hands up in surrender.

Ines rolls towards him wrapping an arm around his middle, “For all your suffering, I’ll give you a blow job if you win tonight.”

“A victory blow job? You didn’t even do that when we were dating,” he chuckles, the sound amplified with her ear on his chest.

“What can I say, I’m in a giving mood,” she kisses his pec and closes her eyes.

Clayton’s alarm goes off and Ines groans.

“You can sleep longer,” he runs a hand through her hair before slipping out from under her.

“Nah, I’ll just be more tired later,” she rolls over but doesn’t get out of the bed, watches Clayton go into the closet.

“You should wear the green suit from the awards, it’s a special request from Marisol.”

“Oh yeah?”

“She thinks I have a say over what you wear and she told me it’s her favorite,” she watches Clayton start to get undressed, “you did look hot in it,” she smirks when he fumbles with a hanger in response.

When he comes out dressed, he still has bedhead. Ines gets up to fix it, he jokingly bats her hands away as they leave the room.

“Just let me fix this one piece arcilla, you look like we just fucked,” she stops in her tracks at the sight of Clayton’s family, “Hi Jake, good to see you.”

Jake nods in her direction, not particularly friendly, but she can pretend it’s because of the awkward conversation they just heard.

Ines knows Clayton told his brother everything, or more than Ines would like. She’s not sure exactly what he told his parents about the break up, but they seem to have forgiven anything pretty quickly. She knows Jake is a little weary of her now, and maybe her motives.

Clayton is either oblivious or just trying to play it off and gives him a bro-hug before he heads off to the game

The awkward air between Jake and Ines remains, not that they were ever specifically close, but this feels extra icy. She tries to avoid sitting next to him, but the two get caught between the parents. And she’s not even in her usual seats near Kat to have a buffer.

The game is a bit messy, passes aren’t connecting, the power play might as well be missing, but the crowd is into it. Mullett is small enough to feel like you’re always in the game, which helps Ines because before Clayton she knew next to nothing about hockey. Being this up close means she’s 99% sure she understands the rules, except goalie interference.

The second period ends with the Blues up by one, which isn’t too bad considering how the game is looking.

“Have you two talked about any wedding plans?” Kelley turns to Ines,

On her other side she hears Jake snort on his drink, she makes a mental note to double check how much Clayton has told his brother.

“Not really, I had a quinceañera so I already had my big party and fancy-dress moment,” it’s the truth, her 15th birthday fulfilled a lot of princess dreams she may have had.

“You’re both still young, you can have long engagement to figure it out if you want.”

Ines feels the anxiety seep out of her bones.

“You two could even get married at a courthouse if that’s that you wanted.”

The tension comes back so quickly it almost gives her whiplash.

Jake shoots up and mumbles something about food. Ines would follow him, but she’s not sure a public confrontation is the best idea.

Thankfully there’s some more hockey to distract her, the Coyotes end up clawing back but lose in OT on a poorly timed line change.

There’s not a great place to wait for the boys at Mullett, so they sit in their seats for a while before meandering down.

Kat jumps on Ines the moment she sees her.

“Look who’s gracing us with her presence,” Kat kisses her cheek and slides off her back before she can accidentally knock them to the ground.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, bad WAG alert,” Ines swats her away.

She hears Jake mumble something, but can’t quite make it out. That’s when Kat actually seems to comprehend that Clayton’s family is here.

“The two lovebirds have been busy being cooped up, we haven’t seen them both in the flesh for a while,” she gives a cheeky smile and winks at the Kellers.

“We’re in the same house and they’re having a hard time keeping it in the bedroom, so consider yourself lucky,” Bryan laughs with Kat while Ines cheeks burn.

“Oooh la la Nez, loving this pre-honeymoon phase for you,” she gives Ines a meaningful pinch on the side, a warning they will be talking about this later.

“Speak of the devil,” Kelley laughs and pulls her son into hug.

“Kells show me some of this PDA everyone is talking about,” Kat is clearly not above egging this on despite the sharp look Ines gives.

Clayton pulls her in tight, ducking his head so he can whisper to her.

“Sorry, I didn’t live up to our end of the bargain. No prize for me,” he fake pouts.

“Cause I’m still in a giving mood, here’s a consolation prize for a one-point night,” Ines pulls Clayton in for a kiss, ignoring the catcall from Kat.

“That’s it?” Clayton her pulls her in tightly to his side.

“Don’t push it,” she elbows him in the side, ignores the knowing look Kat is directing her way.

Ines manages to convince everyone the brothers should ride home together, since they don’t see each other enough. Partially, to prove to Kat that there’s nothing going on; partially hoping that Clayton and Jake will talk through whatever weirdness is going on.

⁄⁄⁄

“Do you have to go golfing and leave me alone with your mom?” Ines complains before stuffing her face in the pillow

“You like my mom,” Clayton rolls back onto the bed and rubs her back.

“Yeah, but preparing Thanksgiving is like serious mother-daughter shit, I’d love some backup.”

“You could come golfing.”

“Cause I’d love to get made fun of instead.”

“Those are kind of your two options,” he kisses her shoulder.

“Fine, staying home it is,” she flips over onto her back, “can you at least make sure Jake won’t be weird when you guys come back.”

“He’s just looking out for me, doesn’t want you taking advantage of me,” Clayton absentmindedly traces up and down her arm.

“Did you tell him this was your suggestion? And that I signed a pre-nup? I won’t take advantage and steal your money if that’s what he’s worried about.”

His hand stills for a moment, “I’ll talk to him again, don’t worry about it.”

He stands up again, “have fun cooking.”

“I hope you lose!” Ines calls back.

Ines wanders into the kitchen an hour later, Kelley already deep in prep.

“Sorry, I went back to sleep. Though I’ve never cooked Thanksgiving so I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

“You’re a great cook, I think you’ll be fine,” Kelley laughs before instructing her on how to finish prepping the stuffing.

Ines takes off the engagement ring and places it in the middle of the island, out of reach. She rubs the naked finger and notices there’s already a faint tan line. She flexes the fingers, like that will give her some answers. Like why taking it off doesn’t feel like unhooking an anchor that’s pulling her under anymore.

She looks up to see she’s been caught by Kelley. If she has some thoughts, she doesn’t share them with Ines.

They work mostly in quiet, the Thanksgiving Parade playing on the TV in the other room. Kelley stopping every once in a while, to watch or tell Ines about watching the parade growing up. How Clayton used to worry the balloons were going to eat the people holding them when he was a toddler.

“This is your first turkey?” Kelley says as Ines puts the bird in the oven

“Yeah, I spent most of my Thanksgivings helping my mom with housekeeping, so can’t do this but ask me to make a bed, I got you,” Ines laughs.

“This calls for a toast then,” Kelley finds some Bailey’s and pours it into their coffees, “To sharing my secrets with my new daughter.”

She clinks her mug against Ines, the sound scrambles something in Ines’ heart, “You know Clay and I broke up right?”

Kelley takes a long sip of her coffee and hums.

“He told us you needed some time apart. Because of all the uncertainty around the team and some things he didn’t really get into,” Kelley trails off.

“It’s understandable you’re both so young and had to go through some really intense things together. I think it was really mature what you two decided, but I’m really glad you worked it out, you make Clayton so happy. I think happier than hockey, if that’s possible.”

Ines lip starts to wobble, she tries to stop the tears. But how can she when even Clayton’s mom believes their lie? How can she break her heart down the line?

“Oh darling,” Kelley pulls her into a tight embrace that only a mom can give, “love is never easy, and if down the road it’s not right anymore, that will be okay too. It’s privilege to find love at all.”

That sends Ines into another wave of sobs. She buries her face into Kelley’s shoulder as she gently rubs Ines’ back and sways them side to side.

Once her cries seem to calmed down to sniffles, Kelley moves away enough to see Ines’ face. She wipes away the few stray tears, “I see the way you two look at each other when you think no one’s watching, I think you’ll happy together for a very long time.”

Kelley smiles, her eyes a little glossy like she might cry too. And with a shaky breath Ines tries to give her a smile back.

They hear the door open and the boys start to come into the house.

“Who won?” Kelley calls out as they come around the corner.

Ines tries to busy herself by rolling out the pie crust they had forgotten.

“Jake squeaked one out,” Bryan comes around the island and kisses Kelley, “smells great ladies, you need any help?”

“Not right now, we were gonna take a break soon,” Kelley winks at Ines.

Clayton comes and leans into Ines from behind, his hands boxing Ines in. He kisses her cheek before he notices her eyes rimmed red.

“You, okay?” He whispers, kissing below her ear.

“Yeah, whatever onions we bought were like tear gas,” she cracks a smile and leans back into him.

“We had to evacuate for a while, I think we just got it under control before you guys came home,” Kelley smiles and pulls Bryan out of the kitchen, following the sounds of a football game Jake put on.

Ines turns around, still boxed in by Clayton. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and hangs her weight on him, feeling a bit tired. He moves his hands to her hips, giving them a gentle squeeze.

“Was it rough morning alone with my mom?”

“No, it was really nice, actually.”

She pulls back to give him a genuine smile, plays with the ends of his hair, “And did you talk to Jake?”

“Yeah, and I let him win so I think he’ll be in a good mood.”

“Wow, you did that for me?”

“Yeah, of course,” he smirks before dipping down to kiss her.

“Why can’t you let me win?” Ines pouts when the pull a part.

“I can’t act that well,” he’s biting back a mischievous grin, “but if you ask nicely, I can help you improve your back swing.”

He’s gently moving her hips side to side when Ines gives him a playful shove, “Keep it in your pants Keller, your family is in the other room.”

“Hasn’t stopped you much this week,” he pulls her flush against his chest, his hands wandering to her ass.

“Oh my god, there’s not gonna be that kind of giving today.”

Clayton’s about to respond, “Is it safe to come into the kitchen or are you two fondling each other?”

Ines moves Clayton’s hands off her butt and to his sides, “All clear Jake, your brother was just leaving to take a shower, a cold one,” she whispers the last part.

Jake makes a gagging sound, “you two are gross.”

“One day you’ll have someone to fondle other than yourself,” Clayton punches his brother in the arm on the way out of the kitchen.

⁄⁄⁄

Ines and Kat are sitting on the steps of the courthouse, finishing their coffees. The coffee was probably a mistake, it’s sitting acidic and heavy in her stomach.

At least the universe wasn’t cruel enough to have her hearing at the same courthouse as she got married. She doesn’t think her heart could take the irony.

Kat is jittery, her knee bouncing erratically. Caffeine doesn’t have that kind of effect on her, so Ines knows it must be something else.

“I think I’m supposed to be the nervous one.”

“I still don’t understand why you broke up with Clayton in the first place.”

Ines whips her head around like there’s someone waiting around the corner to record this kind of damning evidence.

“You said you’d explain, but you never did. And it’s clear you still have feelings for him.”

Ines scoffs.

“Fine, you don’t love him, then tell me why you broke up and why you never moved out? You had plenty of time to find a new place, Nick and I would have let you move in.”

“I was tired of holding him back.”

Ines gulps down the cold remnants of her drink.

“It was so exhausting telling him no. No, I can’t go home with you to meet your parents. No, I can’t go to the All-Star Game in Florida cause it’s not in driving distance. I can’t be your date to a wedding because I can’t get on a plane. I can’t have bye week with all our friends in the fucking country I was born in because I may not get to come home!”

She tries to take even-keeled breaths; she doesn’t want to start crying before her hearing even starts.

“And he couldn’t tell people because what if someone slipped up and I got deported, or worse they found my parents or Soledad. She has kids!”

Kat puts a gentle hand on her knee.

“And he shouldn’t have to deal with that, he could find someone less complicated and someone who could actually be there for him.”

“Did he ever tell you those things were a problem?”

“No, but I could see how frustrating all those little things were becoming; how upset he’d get with every new thing I couldn’t do.”

“Yeah, he’s upset because you couldn’t live a full life without worry. Because he loves you, Ines! He’s still in love with you.”

“No, he isn’t. He’s just nice. He would have said something by now, not just married me and suffered in silence.”

“Oh, he should have said something? Like you’re saying something because you clearly still love him, too?”

Ines just blinks at Kat, like her brain can’t possibly comprehend what her friend is saying. She doesn’t even get the chance to argue because her alarm goes off.

“You have a court hearing, but don’t think justice will stop us from talking about this later,” Kat says sternly.

In the court room, Ines sits between her lawyer and Kat. Her brain feels too fried to keep up with the basics the judge opens up with.

“Now it says the couple was wed on September 14th of this year. Just a few days before the official report was filed about Ms. Ruiz’ status. You’ll understand why this seems a little convenient.”

“Yes, your honor,” Sierra stands up holding a file, “but the couple was engaged before any officially filings were made. And you can see in the documents we have a receipt from when Mr. Keller bought the engagement ring back in March of this year. If you need to see Ms. Ruiz’ ring for confirmation she can approach the bench.”

“That won’t be necessary. Seeing as all the applications are going through the appropriate channels, I see no reason to hold Ms. Ruiz in custody while she waits for her green card interview.”

The gavel bang echoes in Ines’ head, but the judge is already moving on to the next case. Sierra and Kat help lead her out of the courtroom. They’re excitedly chattering, and Ines knows she should join in, knows this is good news, but she hasn’t quite caught up.

She sends Clayton a text: Hearing went well, won’t be going to prison, then promptly turns off her phone.

⁄⁄⁄

Ines gets two days to stew before Clayton comes home.

He picks her up and spins her around in excitement the instant he sees her. His smile falters when he sets her down and sees the borderline grim look on Ines’ face.

“You bought the ring in March?”

Clayton doesn’t know what to say, shocked by the realization.

“They brought up the receipt during the hearing, to help prove that it wasn’t just a last-minute wedding.”

Ines bites at her thumb nail, the ring catching the light. Clayton feels some relief that she hasn’t taken it off.

“You wanted to marry me before we broke up?”

“You breaking up with me kind of ruined my plans,” Clayton shrugs, not sure the direction this conversation is taking.

Ines laughs in spite herself.

“There were all those weddings you couldn’t come to and I thought you needed a chance to think without any pressure from my life, I didn’t expect it to be permanent.”

Ines audibly swallows, they’re walking around the heart of the issue, both too scared to be the first to show all their cards.

“I still got to marry you, not in the way I wanted. But I don’t regret that, no matter what you think.”

Ines moves to take off the ring, Clayton holds his breath while his heart clenches painfully.

“Ask me again.”

“What?”

Ines hands him the ring, her voice wavers a bit, “ask me again.”

He fumbles with the ring for a second before dropping down to one knee.

“I- uh don’t have anything romantic to say. But I love you Ines and I want to be with you as long as you’ll have me. So will you marry me?”

Ines lets out a small sob before covering her face, “Oh my god I can’t believe I’m a girl who cries when she gets proposed to.”

“Is that a yes? Cause otherwise this is really fucking mean.”

“Shit, sorry, yes. That’s a yes,“ she clambers to get Clayton standing again and kisses him desperately.

“I love you arcilla, I’m sorry it took me a while to realize I never stopped,” she says between kisses, not wanting to stop now.

Clayton laughs and pulls away enough to put the ring back on, “it was worth the wait.”

This time Clayton pulls her into a kiss, savoring the moment he imagined for months and months.

[ilyasorokinn]

can you do clayton keller where y'all get into a huge argument & you walk out, so he freaks out and drives around to find you

WORK PARTIES

i love clayton keller so much and he deserves so much and he is so slay! also, i kind of changed the prompt around a little, but it mostly follows it.

"clayton, i'm sorry, i really am, but it's just one party." you sighed, rubbing your forehead.

"where's marcy? why can't she go with you?" he asked.

"she has plans. i tried to find someone else to go with me, but you really are my last resort. i already signed up with a date."

every year, your company would have a little party just so everyone could mingle and clayton hated going to those things. he hated team events because he didn't like faking smiles for hours and sweet talk people. it was overstimulating for him at times.

"so why can't you just go without one?"

"because i just can't." you sighed.

"y/n, i don't want to go." he groaned.

"fine." you grabbed your bag and headed for the door, slamming it as you walked down the hallway.

as the door slammed shut, clayton was left alone with his thoughts and the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much it really meant to you.

he groaned, rubbing his eyes as he realized what he had to do. he got up and, as quickly as he could, got dressed in the most formal outfit he could put together on short notice.

he was in the car and driving through the streets near your house, trying to find out. your office was fairly close to your apartment, so you usually walked to work.

luckily for him, you didn't make it too far and were walking down this street, a sad look on your face which successfully broke his heart.

"y/n..." he rolled down the window and shouted. you froze, "i'm sorry." he drove slowly alongside you as you kept walking, "i know it means a lot to you for me to be there, so here i am."

"that's the worst apology ever." you crossed your arms.

"i know." he sighed.

"i know you hate these parties, and i really did ask everyone i knew but for some reason, today is a very popular day to plan parties cause everyone else was busy."

"well, i'm here now." he smiled, stopping the car.

you sighed, "last one, i promise."

"are there those finger sandwiches? that was always the best part of those parties."

"yes, i checked just for you."

"we might just survive this party then." he switched gears before reaching for your hand as he drove off.

again, requests are closed :)

[toasttt11]

sunflower

August 15, 2022

Viola had come back to Montreal a few weeks before Cole as school and her season was starting before his so she was home alone for a few weeks while Cole visited his family.

Viola was going to go on the date today that she has had planned with Maveric for almost a month now. They haven’t been able to see each other in almost five months.

Viola was zipping up her last knee high boot when she heard her doorbell ring, she looked at herself in the mirror once more, she was wearing a plaid skirt with a white sweater and black knee high boots. “Coming!” Viola called out as she grabbed her phone and put it into her purse and slipped her purse over her head.

Viola walked through the apartment and opened the door, she looked up into her favorite pair of eyes and smiled sweetly.

Maveric beamed back and quickly took a step forward picking her up into a tight hug and started spinning them around.

Viola squealed as he picked her up and started giggling once he spun them around, she had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and buried her head in the crock of his neck.

Maveric chuckled loudly at her giggles but slowly stopped spinning them and gently set her feet back to the floor. He wanted to see her gorgeous face in person but she seemed content to hide in his neck.

“Giggles.” Maveric soflty cooed, feeling her warm cheeks on his neck and smiled softly loving how any nickname or pet name makes her melt for him, “Come on i want to see your gorgeous face.”

Viola blinked rapidly but reluctantly pulled away and looked up at him through her lashes, “Hi.” Viola soflty mumbled biting her lip.

“Hello Belle.” Maveric softly mumbled back and Viola tried not to fold at his extra strong accent when he speaks french.

Viola leaned up on her toes to be closer to his face even though she is quite tall he is still a whole foot taller than her. Her hands started fiddling with the nape of his neck.

Maveric watched her intently looking over her face multiple times wanting to make sure he didn’t miss any changes he couldn’t see over the phone.

“Are you going to kiss me now?” Viola teased him with a flirtatious smirk, remembering when they almost kissed at the end of last season.

“There is nothing i would like more.” Maveric lovingly mumbled leaning his head down closer to hers, he could only hear the sound of his heartbeat in his ear and his nose was filled with her perfume she always wears.

Viola smiled wider making her dimples come out and Maveric gently brought his hands up from her waist to her face and gently cupped her face. His thumb gently caressed her dimple and then her cheekbone before he eventually pulled her even closer making their noses gently bump against each other.

Viola kept her eyes flickering between his lips and eyes before she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his softly but definitely desperately.

They both let out identical sighs of reliefs as their lips finally touched. Viola’s hands moved from the bottom of his neck to through out his hair, running through his curls.

Maveric brought one of his hands to the back of her neck gently pulling her closer as his other hand rested on her lower back.

Viola gently pulled away but stayed close enough her nose was still touching his, “Will you be my boyfriend now Mav?” Viola sweetly smiled batting her eyelashes up at him, flirting with him.

“As long as you want me Ma Belle.” Maveric softly promised leaning back down and pressing multiple kisses to her dimples making her giggle and squeal trying to move away but Maveric held her there.

“Mav!” Viola giggled and Maveric smiled and kissed her cheek once more before reluctantly stopping.

“Now i believe i promised your date.” Maveric reluctantly stepped back but still held out his hand for her and Viola smiled happily grabbing his hand intertwining it with hers.

Viola locked the front door and they walked down the hallway and into the elevator, Maveric hit the lobby button before standing back next to Viola and pressed a soft kiss to her head. Viola made a hall sound and leaned her head on his arm and closing her eyes contently as the elevator started the long ride down to the bottom floor.

Finally the elevator opened and Maveric and Viola walked out and walked through the front lobby to the parking outside where Maveric left his car.

Maveric led them to his car and he unlocked his car and opened the passenger seat for her letting Viola hop in, he leaned over pressing a soft kiss to her lips before sadly stepping back and closing the door.

Maveric walked around the car and walked to the back door and opened it and grabbed something before shutting the door and opening the drivers door and hopping in, he pulled out a bouquet of sunflowers, Viola’s favorite flower.

“For you giggles.” Maveric soflty spoke handing the bouquet to her, Viola smiled softly feeling extremely touched because no one has ever gotten her a bouquet of her favorite flowers, sure when she was younger after a hockey game once or twice she got flowers from her family but never just because and sunflowers.

“Thank you.” Viola softly beamed at her now boyfriend and leaned over pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

“Always.” Maveric winked at with a soft smile and gently grabbed her hand pressing a kiss to the back of it before intertwining their hands and resting them on her thigh, “Now i believe i owe you a date?”

Viola beamed and nodded happily back.

[hearts4drysdale]

Jamie should get a buzzcut for funzies

I'm not sure if he should...

[itsnotgray]

gray’s fic recs

my tagging/recommendation system is a mess beyond the point of fixing, so i made a masterlist. (i’ll slowly be adding fics to this!)

- an asterisk is next to players who play for the ahl team of said nhl team

- if works focused on more than one person, they’re listed under the other people, but only tagged in the first one you see in the list.

- also, apologies if the links don’t work correctly, it is in fact my first time making a masterlist

NHL/AHL

Anaheim Ducks

Jamie Drysdale

hey roomie by @emaanemaa

- trevor and jamie threesome. that's right, that's all it took to get you to go read it.

Trevor Zegras

chameleon by @hischierhaze

- listen- if you're someone who, whether it be consciously or unconsciously, changes themselves and their personality for those around them, or you have a history of it- please read this. I promise you, you won't regret it.

now that we don't talk by @sc0tters

- it's a toxic relationship with trevor, of course I'm gonna eat it up (she might end with trevor... or she might not. you'll never know if you don't read it.)

hey roomie by @ emaanemaa (fic linked above under jamie)

the penalty box series by @starsandhughes

I- if you're not already keeping up with this series... where have you been? every update is laugh out loud hilarious, and leaves you itching for more.

cruel weather- apart of the penalty box series by @starsandhughes

cruel weather gets it's own link because of the amount of emotional damage this inflicted upon me.

Arizona Coyotes

Boston Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

Devon Levi

like it very much by @jackhues

there aren’t many devon fics (which there totally should be), but the way i squealed when i read this one. further affirmed the fact that i think he’d be the best bf.

Calgary Flames

Nikita Zadorov

that scar hurt by the way by @swissboyhisch

- listen…. i’m the farthest thing from a flames fan, and can wholeheartedly admit it was an adorable read.

Carolina Hurricanes

Chicago Blackhawks

Colorado Avalanche

Columbus Blue Jackets

Adam Fantilli

to you, my adamo by @hischierhaze

- it's adam's birthday + his debut, can you blame me for crying?

his return by @hischierhaze

-this made me cry. but in making this, i'm convinced anything kei writes with the fantilli brothers makes me want to cry from either just how sickeningly sweet it is, or of course, sadness.

tiny dancer au by @letsgetrowdy43

god when i say sunny and adam have my heart- i mean it. they’re sososo special to me.

Dallas Stars

Wyatt Johnston

our song by @lovinbarzal

hands down one of my favorite wy jo fics/au’s. it’s wyatt x a barzal sister, a pairing i wouldn’t have thought of, but works so well!

Detroit Red Wings

Edmonton Oilers

Florida Panthers

Matthew Tkachuk

waking up in vegas by @doc-pickles

- matty t x hughes!sister is a dynamic i didn’t know i needed.

Mackie Samoskevich*

perfect girl by @dmercer91

- this had me feeling things like no other... a big hint as to why? she's shared.

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Turcotte*

who does it better? by @harry-hollands

one of the cutest social media au’s in a while (technically has two parts, but they don’t have to be read together)

Minnesota Wild

Montreal Canadiens

Kirby Dach

here with you by @sc0tters

- it's amber's writing + kirby, what's not to love? (if that's not convincing enough, maybe the line, "I will follow you to the ends of the earth," is.)

Nashville Predators

New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes

timeless by @babydollmarauders

- if I hadn't originally read this in the middle of the grocery store, I can almost guarantee that I would've cried from just how heartwarmingly adorable this is.

out by @babydollmarauders

- equipment manager x jacky boy- aka a trope I never knew I needed, but now crave after reading this.

ballad of a homeschooled girl by @babydollmarauders

- hands down one of the best pics I've probably ever read in terms of conveying emotion. my stomach was in knots the entire time, attesting to just how realistic the writing is.

never grow up by @aliaology

- i'm sorry but you're not human if you don't get even the tiniest bit emotional at any fic with "never grow up" as the song. BUT A FIC WITH THE BROTHERS? this rendered me emotionally unavailable for a solid 20 minutes.

medía management au by @babydollmarauders

the media management au is an ongoing series staring mr jack hughes and his lovely girl, dove! the updates always bring a a smile to my face, and more than likely make me laugh out loud.

4:41 am by @sweetestdesire

listen, as much as i adore brynn’s smut like no other, her fluffy, soft and sweet fics just do something to me. she writes them so detailed, and consistently has me craving for soft moments with a significant other (a significant other i do not have)

John Marino

stay for a while by @sc0tters

- when i talk about made me feel things, i mean it. amber never fails in writing panty-dropping smut, while also having an thought-out plot.

Luke Hughes

welcome back by @leaentries

- this literally made me swoon. a protective lukey- what's not to love?

nobody's love by @eyesthatroll

- my heart was in my throat while reading, and my emotions were all over the place. regardless of how emotional it left me, it was amazing and deserves all the love.

never grow up by @ aliaology (fic linked under jack)

- older hughes sister watches her brothers grow up + never grow up = tears

summer aches by @starry-hughes

- this fic makes me want a luke to take care of me when i get headaches, triggered by heat or not

what’s not to like? by @starry-hughes

- queen ellen and jimmy are a little apprehensive of you…

jack’s best friend by @lvrzegras

okay listen- any of the brothers x their best friends is great, but jack’s best friend x luke… it just hits different, yk?

Nico Hischier

I never could've seen you coming (I think you're everything I could've ever wanted) by @writingonleaves

- this is probably as close to a literary masterpiece as a fanfic posted on tumblr will ever get

will you take a moment? promise me this (that you'll stand by me forever) by @writingonleaves

- listen- it's apart of the universe she began in the fic above. I have the fic linked under nico (because the oc eventually ends up in a relationship with nico, as seen in the part above), but this is sososo found family heavy. if found family is your trope, then this is your fic

New York Islanders

Mat Barzal

it's nice to have a friend by @youunravelme

- put me through the emotional wringer in the best way possible.

winnie martin's favorite person by @ilyasorokinn

- god- i cannot even begin to describe how cute this is. all i can say, is that I need more pictures of barzy with kids... for science of course.

New York Rangers

Ottawa Senators

Philadelphia Flyers

Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby

she was the (red) devil by @crosbyscurls

- hockey meets f1 is already a dream combination… but sid x f1? absolutely amazing

San Jose Sharks

Seattle Kraken

St Louis Blues

Tampa Bay Lightning

Toronto Maple Leafs

Vancouver Canucks

Quinn Hughes

these michigan summers by @lukevangelista

i feel like the only way your not aware this series exists, then your new here. because if you haven’t read this, where have you been? this is for sure one of my top three series’ on tumblr, finished or unfinished. will in fact, forever have my heart. (currently unfinished)

the sun to my moon by @ghostfacd

this fic is part of an au! i highly, highly recommend checking it out- quinny + a grumpyxsunshine trope, what’s not to love?

never grow up by @ aliaology (fic linked under jack's name)

- older hughes sister watches her brothers grow up + never grow up = tears

Vegas Golden Knights

Washington Capitals

Dylan Strome

it's never too late to come back to my side by @lukevangelista (a series)

- one of my recent favorites. particularly geared towards those who think back on old friendships (...and constantly overthink on whether you should reach out. spoilers- it's never too late)

Winnipeg Jets

NCAA

University of Michigan

Luca Fantilli

missing you, quietly by @bitchinbarzal

- emotional torture in the best way possible. i re-read a concerning amount

i lost him by @hischierhaze

- made me cry- but in a good way

baby 101- name reveal by @hischierhaze

- it's dad!luca... yeah that's right, now that you have that cute thought in your head, you kinda have to go and read it

I tell you that I think im falling back in love with you by @writingonleaves

- this fic is sososo special to me for so many reasons- and I think you should totally read this fic to figure them out... just saying

opposites attract au by @dmercer91

this is a link to the head anons for the au- but please go read this sweet au. luca and landen are one of the sweetest pairings.

Nick Moldenhauer

sundays are for textiles by @drewsbuzzcut

- super cute read, and it's apart of an even cuter au

all american lace by @drewsbuzzcut

- also apart of that super cute nick au she has- but this part was not so cutesy (it was at the end). had me on the edge of my seat, and tears building in my eyes. the type of angst you physically feel- but with the type of ending that makes up for it (trust me, it does!)

Mark Estapa

icy roads by @nicohischierz

the simplest explanation i can offer is that this broke my heart- but i loved it anyway!

Boston College

Gabe Perreault

princess!gf x gabe perreault by @yankstrash

- these two are on my mind at least three times a week. i aspire to become amelia- aka find someone who is as down bad for me as gabe is for “his meels”

[hogans-heroes]

Freight Train, Baby

(Westcore AU)

On summer break from his university in San Francisco, Bucky goes to stay with his grandfather in an Arizona mining town. He might be able to get used to the edge-of-the-world feeling or the social microcosm of the town, but a lone boy and his motorcycle whom no one knows the origins of might derail Bucky in more ways than one.

———

“Ay!” said Bucky’s grandfather, jabbing him with the broom handle. “You just got off the bus from San Franfrisky and I won’t have you hankerin’ over local renegades, ya hear?”

Bucky made a face, taking the broom. “I flew here. And you’re a local renegade yourself, Gramps.”

Gramps huffed. “Not to your grandmother I wasn’t. Suppose every rebel’s got a believer. That one though…” He pointed toward the window. “You’d better treat that one like a wild coyote.”

Bucky leaned against the sun-warped glass, peering through the heat shimmer at the rising trail of dust where the mystery boy had departed the main road. That deep voice had dripped into Bucky’s insides like the traces of melted popsicle still on his fingers, tugging his barred-up heart out to the desert with a danger-tinted urge to find what it was about this place that made people into rebels and believers.

———

(Yet another chaptered fic in my WIP list. The American West is my first love and I’m feeling nostalgic so gonna be sharing it with you XD)

[cosinelanguage]

Double Overtime -- extended author's notes

as with the last long fic I wrote, I have some extended author's notes on the fic haha. posting them to Tumblr was fun the last time, so without further ado:

Hockey Details

I went into this set up being like ‘i know a reverse sweep isn’t likely but it IS dramatic so i’ll do it’ and then i watched in awe/horror as the Panther’s 3-0 lead shrunk down to 3-3 and the oilers were set to pull of a reverse sweep (and spoil the end of my fanfic.). The oilers ALMOST did it but whiffed it at the end. Still, wild timing for me. We’re living in one of Connor McDavid’s failed timeloops. 

I have a like, novice level understanding of hockey but a huge amount of enthusiasm. A time loop was the best plot to get around that– i only have to focus on one hockey match rather than the logistics of an entire season or more. There’s still a lot more i could do if i understood the game more, but hey, i was here for the fights and i provided for myself. 

The Baratie Steelheads and the Syrup Village Sockeyes aren’t the most fitting names for the both (types of salmon), but they are names that were on the Seattle Kraken’s original team name shortlist, so it was an easter egg for myself.

Sanji’s entire contract thing is definitely over the top plot contrivance, but there’s a certain amount of over the top required when adapting his backstory. The Steelheads leaving Baratie is inspired by the poor Arizona Coyotes being relocated. RIP to the Coyotes, coolest jerseys in the league squandered by poor management

Most the fights were actually based on hockey clips from twitter lol. thanks for the insp hockey

Character Details

I didn’t include all the character details for the strawhats, primarily because it’s Sanji’s POV and he’s mostly focused on zoro. But, for the list, with more details about characters with less screentime lol:

Luffy: Captain, Center. I think he’s pretty versatile and also sometimes plays LW/RW, but he’s primarily the Strawhats center and captain, with a huge near-elastic reach

Zoro: Defenseman, though a particularly offensive d-man and an enforcer. Roughly, this is basically an unofficial role for the guy who starts fights with people who make dirty plays. 

Nami: Technically the social media manager of the team, acts more like the team’s overall manager. Team manager kind of seems like a lazy spot to put her in, but i like to think she’s a travel enthusiast and expenses it all on the company card lol

Usopp: LW/RW, and one of the top scorers when he’s backed up properly. Pretty underrated when initially being recruited, but shines under the Pirates’ strategy

Sanji: LW, and a pest. Basically he annoys people into fighting him HAHA. the perfect role for him. I wanted him to be LW primarily for the whole pirate king’s wings energy

Vivi: owner of the alabasta ducks! And a former olympic figure skater. Her and nami have a complicated on again / off again relationship, which mostly comes up whenever there’s a Ducks vs Pirates game (and they either get together / break up)

Chopper: ok, chopper was a complicated decision. I was caught between him being a gentle giant of a defenseman VS him being team doctor, but in the end decided that doctor required less justification

Robin: Robin was difficult to fit in. I ended up deciding on her being the Pirates local commentator. Commentator is fun at the least because there’s a lot of context/history/etc of the players on the ice you need to know to be good at the job, and i think she’d be HILARIOUS

Franky: Goalie! Franky fits well as goalie, first of all because of how beefy goalie equipment is, and second of all because a goalie with a big personality is quite fun. There’s something extremely fitting about him doing the ‘super’ move with leg guards

Brook is the Pirates DJ! What Else. i think he picks great songs for the stadium. zoro tells him to use mamma mia as sanji’s song and sanji nearly sends him into an early grave.

Jinbe: coach He was initially the goalie in a very early draft, but coach makes sense in terms of how he’d be able to support the team and his general level headedness. There’s a lot of clips of Paul Maurice, the Panther’s current coach, having this absolutely chill energy about him that’d work so well

Plotting/Planning Thoughts

I decided on ‘Double Overtime’ as the title pretty quickly, just because it’s (a) a hockey term and (b) a fun way to describe two people (double) caught in a time loop (overtime). The emphasis on double overtime as a win condition came after the title

I decided on ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘Waterloo’ as the main song insp for these early on. Mamma Mia itself is this good mix of an upbeat song that’s just a bit sad and just a bit ominous, and the lyrics can be fun for a time loop (‘here I go again’). Waterloo was always the credits song (‘i feel like i win when I lose’ come on now)

I decided that I’d post in early June like the actual Stanley Cups, and 6/6 was decided on as the in-date and IRL start of the time loop because it’s Germa Day (66): something kind of poetic about Germa fucking up their perfect win on Germa day 

Time Loop Win Condition

The time loop win condition! Zoro was always going to win and Sanji was always going to lose, but the details took a bit to figure out. I knew it was going to incorporate (a) him trusting Zoro and reaching out for help (impossible task for him), (b) him wanting to play hockey on a team that doesn’t hate him, (c) remix of Sanji’s Baratie arc, and (d) the concept of double overtime. 

There was a lot of changing around on what exactly Sanji would be able to do; initial drafts actually had him coming out pretty clean from the double overtime deal (saving the Baratie) but that didn’t feel earned, I liked the kind of bittersweet selfish sacrifice of letting the team go, otherwise it’d feel a bit too contrived. this is already a late reveal loophole— it wouldn’t feel earned without that tinge of regret 

In the end i liked what I went with, though I think I could’ve built up a little bit more before hand, and had a bit more emotional consequence to Baratie’s relocation. But ive written like, FIVE separate sad zeff phone calls in the last few months, i decided i had Enough. I had to Limit Myself. Only one sad zeff phone call this time for me ok

things to do differently

Look at me!!! Finishing a fic before i post!!! This was good actually, and meant the pacing was better than what i did with my last long fic lmao. Still had some issues imo, but considerably stronger on keeping scenes regularly paced. I should always do this.

IMO after reread (after it being finished for weeks) i think one of the weaker points is just really sanji’s apology– zoro figures out the duel time loop deal fairly fast (benefit of relying on other people) and folds pretty easily. I mean he’s unfortunately smitten but it doesn’t change the fact that he was hurt. There’s a specific degree of pulled punches I do sometimes with emotional moments that I’d like to get better at, but live and learn lol

Intermission 

Hey i had a lot of notes on zoro’s POV the entire time loop. and also a lot of thoughts on the fade to black scene of my T rated fanfic. There were three main points I wanted to explore with Zoro’s POV

First: there’s a fun contrast with Zoro (VS Sanji) both feeling utterly alone as the lone person in the time loop and having an actual support network. Sanji talks to basically Iva, Zoro, and Reiju only during his loop, and all of them he keeps at arm’s length, but Zoro is both deadset on winning for his team, and lets his team helps him. Sanji is meanwhile stewing in his own anger alone, despite knowing he’s not the only person stuck there

Second: Zoro is way more of a time loop speedrunner. He has the timeline down pat. He thinks about the details of the game. He’s shaving off minutes of conversations. Sanji doesn’t plan as much, primarily because Zoro’s an unknown that shakes up the loop too much. 

Third: the hookup lol. i liked the idea of their hookup being good but limited emotionally due to how closed off and testy sanji still is about the time loop– in the end an extension of him refusing to show zoro his own injuries. There is that enticing flash of vulnerability at the end, but then Zoro’s back to square one. 

One of the first times i’ve written not like, funny porn for Z/S (which is my default), so look at me. Varying the porn i guess. congrats

epilogue

I have a lot of thoughts on an extended epilogue HAHA. i felt bad adding a secret sad smut chapter but not having the chance to do the opposite; i had one going but i spent like 4k on a luffy recruitment scene and decided… another time…

Zoro is smug about the whole ‘you only get to touch the stanley cup if you WIN!!!’ thing and uses it as an excuse to be the one to touch sanji in the pwp, since he never got the chance in the loop.

I also think luffy takes the stanley cup into the middle of the ocean, gives the one piece speech as usopp livestreams, and tosses it into the sea. Zoro and sanji have to save it (this is how it’s revealed sanji is somehow being traded to the pirates)

[fuckyeahfightlock]

I just sat down to deal with removing the National Hockey League references in my Boyfriend Material fic series, and with trepidation googled "NHL pride tape ban" to see what's gone on since the season opened.

Hero ally Travis Dermott of the Arizona Coyotes quietly defied the ban during a game (pride tape had formerly only been used in practice and warm-ups), then spoke eloquently about why he did so.

Within a few days, the League wised up and lifted the stupid, stupid ban. No cheers for them; they did the wrong thing and that can't be erased. But kudos to Travis Dermott for standing up, and to his team for standing by his choice to engage in some civil disobedience.

[ilyasorokinn]

hi hi can u make an instagram edit for clayton keller plz<3

SUPPORTIVE BOYFRIEND

i’m back with my ig edits 🫡 again, requests are closed so please don’t send anything in :)

fc: bailee madison

yourusername

Liked by lucyhale, taylerstrome and 28,294 others

yourusername coming soon 🤫

View all 239 comments

ynfan1 👀

claire_crouse so excited!!

yotesfan23 this is gonna be so good!

yourusername

Liked by ginagostisbehere, kellerfan19 and 42,944 others

yourusername it’s finally here!! pretty little liars: original sin is out!! (well, the first episode is out) to everyone involved, i love you all. i can’t even put into words how much i love you.

this has been a labor of love from everyone, and we can’t wait for you all to see it!

View all 384 comments

arizonacoyotes our tvs are ready 🫡

adela0brien so proud! love you ❤️

ynfan2 new fav show 🫡🫶🏻

claytonkeller19

Liked by chandlerlkinney, nhl and 6,294 others

claytonkeller19 saw someone we knew on the side of the building.

tagged: @/yourusername

View all 194 comments

yotesfan29 i just know he saw the posters and pulled over so fast 😭

↳ yourusername and you’d be right.

claytonkeller19

Liked by arizonacoyotes, maiaeficco and 5,294 others

claytonkeller19 shoutout to the best girl i know! so excited for people to finally see what you’ve worked so hard on! i’m so proud of you; and glad that i get to call you mine. love you ❤️

tagged: @/yourusername

View all 152 comments

yourusername clay 😭 i love you!! 🩷

yoteswags this is so cute 🥹

(none of these photos belong to me. they all belong to either bailee or her bf blake!)

[toasttt11]

really well

July 24, 2022

Viola was sitting out on the dock waiting for the sun to start rising, she had a hot chai in a mug in between both of her hands and her favorite very large blankets draped around her.

Viola doesn’t love waking up early but she seems to always wake up early at the lake house to watch the sunrise.

Quinn held a coffee in his hands as he walked through the dewey grass and onto the dock and walked down to his baby sister and sat down next to her.

Viola knew who sat next to her and lifted her blanket up and wrapped it around Quinn, Quinn joins her most mornings she is out here and they always like to go on a run after.

Viola rested her head on her brother’s shoulder and enjoyed the peaceful silence only hearing the ripples of the lake and chirping of the morning birds and watching as the lake look like glass from the night.

“You wanna tell me about this boy.” Quinn soflty asked his baby sister, he’s seen her over the last few months seeing how happy she is on her phone and could hear through their shared wall the many Facetime’s she has with him.

No one besides Cole noticed it but Quinn saw how happy she was when they were watching the draft when a certain player was drafted and Quinn noticed he played on her team and had the same name as the name she gave them, and Quinn knew that was the boy who’s been making his baby sister giggly again.

Viola bit her lip and nodded slightly as she knew Quinn would never tease her in a way that makes her upset, “I met him my first day when i went to get a tour and to see my doctor for the first time.” Viola cleared her throat and brushed her finger over the ring of her mug.

“I wasn’t doing great with my injuries and um he just always kept popping up and making me laugh. Felt like he was the only person who wasn’t looking at me like glass.” Viola hated how much her family, friend and coaches kept looking at her like she was going to break, she understood their worry but it was frustrating the only who didn’t was Cole and then she met Maveric and he just treated her like normal.

“Does he treat you well?” Quinn frowned hating how much she was going through this last year and how he couldn’t be there more for her but he was glad she had found someone who made her laugh on the hard days.

“Really well.” Viola smiled brightly, they aren’t even together yet and he treats her like a princess.

“Are you guys together?” Quinn smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder giving her a squeeze.

“No, not yet.” Viola just shrugged she wasn’t worried, Maveric has been very honest about his feelings for her and she knows he likes her but they didn’t want to start a relationship before summer especially because it’s his draft year and he’s crazy busy all summer.

“We are going on a date when i get back.” Viola blushed slightly remembering how he asked to take her out on a date the other day when they were facetiming.

“I’m happy you’re happy Vio. I’m so proud of you.” Quinn kissed the top of her head and Viola beamed back always being slightly bashful from praise.

“Thank you Quinny.” Viola mumbled back.

[stereax]

whos your favorite player on every team?

Ooh, this is a fun one! Under the cut :) Also not gonna use former Devils, and gonna try to stay away from just naming the most known player on each team... we'll see.

Anaheim Ducks: Lukas Dostal is doing a damn good job tending that net. I'm super excited to see where he goes!

Arizona Coyotes: Of course, our pride king Travis Dermott!

Boston Bruins: Look. I said I was gonna not name the most known players. But you can't expect me not to name a goalie for the Bruins! Impossible! I'm gonna give the edge to Jeremy Swayman.

Buffalo Sabres: Probably Jeff Skinner, honestly. Most cursed man in hockey. Does that make me old?

Calgary Flames: I don't follow the Flames much but I do really like Cody Taylor.

Carolina Hurricanes: Pyotr Kochetkov is, in my opinion, the only Cane with rights.

Chicago Blackhawks: All Star Jason Dickinson just seems like a funny dude. Well, for having to play for Chicago...

Colorado Avalanche: I am forgiving Ross Colton for that really shitty shift against the Devils because he's holding Woody's hand and they're cute. But I'm watching you, mister.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Alexandre Texier. He's French! And played in Switzerland last year! And is suffering!

Dallas Stars: Thomas Harley is carrying half my fantasy teams and he seems like such a fun dude!

Detroit Red Wings: Jake Walman, hitting the griddy, and getting a bobblehead after it.

Edmonton Oilers: I am not immune to Ryan McLeod propaganda. Just look at his smile!

Florida Panthers: Sam Reinhart, the highest-paid Panther, has no goals and one assist in his last six games and his ice time is declining. Where are the Sabres fans who told me how much they would miss him? When I hear of all the positive qualities the team lacked in the past, I think of Reinhart - lol nah that's just the Reino copypasta. Love him!

Los Angeles Kings: Long Distance Girlfriend Kevin Fiala and his hysterical wife!

Minnesota Wild: Mats Zuccarello is very short. This is always fun. Especially because his stick is very long. Also fun.

Montreal Canadiens: Juraj Slafkovsky is not only worryingly homoerotic with every single Slav he meets, he is also trying valiantly to overcome the bust narrative, and he's silly and goofy! What more do you want?

Nashville Predators: Roman Josi. I am not immune to a good-looking Swiss man.

New Jersey Devils: All of them. I'm in a Dougie Hamilton mood right now, though. (Aka, I miss him :'( )

New York Islanders: The Real Sebastian Aho, simply because it's funny there's two of them. Also, this one is prettier.

New York Rangers: There's a fic out there that makes me somewhat like Braden Schneider.

Ottawa Senators: I'm saluting Jacob Bernard-Docker for his services to my fantasy teams.

Philadelphia Flyers: The image of Known USNTDP Member Cam York fielding calls from Zegras on how to take care of his platonic soulmate is truly peak.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Other Smitty, Reilly Smith. I am predictable. I have a type.

San Jose Sharks: Anthony Duclair! And his many sons on the team.

Seattle Kraken: Kailer Yamamoto. I just like him because he's short, okay? He also seems to have a very fun character, which I admire.

St. Louis Blues: Colton Parayko, for no other reason than it's a very good hockey name.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Brayden Point is another of those players that just eternally carries my fantasy teams.

Toronto Maple Leafs: I think Calle Jarnkrok is eternally underrated. And I'm right.

Vancouver Canucks: Stanley Cup Champion Teddy Blueger. He deserves it.

Vegas Golden Knights: I simply believe that if one does not at least admire Jack Eichel for his dedication to being a bitch and ruining all the narratives, one does not exist to me.

Washington Capitals: They have Dylan Strome from the fics! It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride, everything everything will be just fine, everything everything will be alright alright...

Winnipeg Jets: Nino Niederreiter. God, I hope he finds a home some day. I hope it could be Winnipeg.

[averagepsychouser]

Talk about zephyr pretty please she sounds super duper uber cool

Holy shit…. Oh my goodness….

Zephyr is my original courier (named after a Red Hot Chili Peppers song) who I have dedicated 22175 words worth of time to (and soon more). The fic is about a third done.

Minor warning for mentions of violence, s/a, and slavery. nothing graphic though. You have been warned.

Her basic story goes like this.

After helping Caesar’s Legion to take over New Vegas (the reasons for which consists mostly of greed) she decides to mope around the Lucky 38 most of the day. After a couple of months a small group of legionaries are like “you’re married now.”

Lets back up a little. Vulpes Inculta had begun a relationship with an NCR colonel to get access to important information for the war against the NCR. They had children closer to the second battle, and once Hoover Dam had been won he was like “surprise, I’m actually a Frumentarius and our relationship has been a lie.” Gets promoted, shipped off the kids, “married” her (now that he is promoted he is in control of the majority of the Strip, and so has the option to marry) and continues to live like that for a little while. About a month before he purchases the rights to marrying Zephyr, his wife tries to poison him by putting cleaning supplies in his food. He has her tongue cut off and sends her away.

Back to Zephyr, she finds out she has been married to Vulpes Inculta. She doesn’t particularly like him, but he might be more forthcoming with information on what happened to her friends now (spoiler alert, most of them are dead). The marriage is a relatively peaceful one, as far as relationships in the Legion can go (no s/a, I’m a firm believer that Vulpes has no “need” to assault someone because he is a spy and infiltrator and can engage in profligate activities whenever. There is a small amount of domestic abuse but Vulpes is cautious of Zephyr and never bruises her) the marriage is mostly just a bid for even more power on Vulpes’s part. At some point Zephyr learns about Vulpes’s past wife, but that’s more important in the story than in this explanation. She also receives a Fixer perscription due to her smoking addiction, and Inculta absolutely abhors smoking.

Everything comes to a head when one night Zephyr cooks Vulpes dinner. Although it was extremely unusual for Zephyr to cook (Vulpes only cooked food for himself after the poisoning attempt) Vulpes decides “hey, wow, look at that, she’s finally becoming a good wife.” He does not know it, but she has spiked the wine. He drinks a glass and it is enough to affect him. She leads him to the bed where she sits on his stomach and eats him alive.

After spending a couple of nights in the apartment with Inculta’s corpse in the bathtub she decides to escape on a night with no moon out, disguising herself as a vexillarius (asshole’s coyote hat) she makes her way out to the wasteland. Here’s where things get a bit tricky.

She knows that Boone is defending Jacobstown and slaughtering legionaries that get too close, so she heads there, is discovered, and I cannot figure out what happens next. Her and Boone definitely have a conversation since they used to be friends, and I’m leaning towards Zephyr trying to get him to kill her and him saying the equivalent of “you made your bed, lay in it.” So that’s all I have so far.

There’s also a few things I didn’t mention, like Arcade’s death and glasses, Veronica’s death, Raul and Cass’s disappearance, how Boone managed to keep living, the Arizona wives, the tiny statue of Juno Vulpes slipped to Zephyr unbeknownst to her, Vulpes being promoted because he’s actually going to be replaced soon, et cetera. But that’s pretty much Zephyr’s active story! She also has a very lengthy backstory.

[tradetobest]

hrpf recs? 🙏

OH BOY OK. so. this list definitely leaves out some of my faves, but thats just because there are some things that i Will Not rec... like 300 of my bookmarks are private its CRAZY. anyway.

in the interest of length i will probably only be reccing 1-3 fics per ship, so this is my ao3 recs section shortened from the 78 eligible items to whatever i thought fit this list best. so. with that out of the way lets get started

sidgeno

More Things In Heaven And Earth by CloudCover (Unrated, 23.8k)

The hydrophones have been picking up nonsense for the past three days and Zhenya has had it up to here, honestly.

i must have babbled about this fic for a full fucking week to anyone who would listen after i finished it. MERMAIDS. the way their relationship develops over time. the way. the way EVERYTHING. i love this fic with my whole heart

Just What Was Rumpelstiltskin Expecting to Do with a Baby, Anyway? by withershins (T, 24.7k)

Turning to a witch to save a loved one's life is one of the riskier gambles a person can take, but it's one that's arguably noble and brave. Falling in love with the witch, though—now that's just foolish.

now if theres any sidgeno fic i have recced more than the first one its this one because OH MY GOD i love this fic so much. like .... the tumblr post its based off of is one of my favourite little blurb posts EVER and withershins captured it PERFECTLY this fic is PERFECT to me..... please read this

Clear Blue Morning by CloudCover (Unrated, 10.4k)

Zhenya is re-looping the hair elastic around Alina's braid when he becomes aware there’s someone standing in the doorway. He glances up, and his hands freeze in place. Sidney fucking Crosby is standing there, looking hesitant, with a half-empty water bottle dangling from one hand.

not only am i a sucker for kid fics i am an absolute SUCKER for single parent/hockey player fics, and this encapsulates my love for that. plus, geno's daughter is adorable in this. i ADORE this fic ive read it like 8 times.

the full version of this list is here and i would REALLY recommend checking it out because all of the fics on it are really good and i literally got a headache trying to cut it down bcs of how good these fics are ok

1634 (marnsthews)

Pull a Tavares by nationalhorribleleague (Series link, T, full series wordcount 42.2k)

Mitch Marner signs as a UFA with the Toronto Maple Leafs after seven years as an Arizona Coyote. How Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner deal with it (and fall in love).

OUGHHHH..... WHAT CAN I EVEN SAYYYY,.,,, yotes mitch to toronto and him and auston fall in love is like My Perfect Fanfic. literally my dreams come true. if you have never read this PLEASE READ BOTH FICS theyre both so fucking good

Three Loves by MycroftexMachina (T, 20.8k)

Mitch Marner: secret genius.

i used to joke about hrpf fics being super minimalist in their tagging and descriptions but holy fuck does this fic's outside understate whats on the inside. i have never felt the way i felt while reading this fic its literally insane. if you read nothing else on this list read this because the sheer emotion it evokes and the subject matter and everything to its core spoke to me on an insane level. i love this fic so much.

mceichel

LITERALLY ANY MCEICHEL FIC BY IDDAY IS GOOD. ALL OF THEM ARE GOOD READ ALL OF THEM. THIS LIST WOULD BE ALL IDDAY IF I RECCED ANY OF THEM JUST READ THEM ALL (but particularly you can make me a drink, take it offline, camera flashes make it look like a dream, with abandon, no other shade of blue but you, and out of the blue) READ ALL OF THOSE TRUST

Part of Me (Pours out of You) by crankyrage (M, 14.2k)

“I don’t know if you’ve heard but Edmonton Oilers’ Captain Connor McDavid is using your last single as his goal song this year,” the interviewer tells him lightly. “I’ve seen,” Eichel smiles at him charmingly. “I write songs for people to cry to at 1AM, so I’m not really sure if he understands what that song’s about.” (Or, Jack's an international, grammy-winning pop star, and Connor's, well, Connor.)

once again i fall victim to my own nonhockey/hockey tendencies, but this fic is worth all of it and more. i AM crazy about popstar jack and the entire plot of this fic. please read this

Some People Watch Golf on TV (and Neither of Those Things Make Sense to Me) by crankyrage (T, 40.4k)

His relationship with golf is probably one of the most complicated in his life. He loves it. Breathes it. Lives it. Gives everything to it, and the only thing he gets in return sometimes is rejection and this pain to carry around to remind himself that he’s a failure – that he’ll never be what they say he could be. And yet, no matter how much golf rejects him, makes him hate himself, makes him hate the world, hell golf even took his best friend from him, he always comes back. It’s almost like an addiction. So, Connor loves golf. Would die without it, probably. But, at the same time, sometimes not only is it not rewarding, it isn’t fun in the slightest. (Or a PGA Tour AU that no one, truly no one, asked for)

I ASKED FOR IT. I DIDNT KNOW I ASKED FOR IT IT BUT I DID AND IT IS AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND OHH. THIS FIC LITERALLY ALMOST MADE ME WATCH GOLF. in all seriousness, i have blabbed about this fic so much anyone who knows me irl would probably roll their eyes but its just so good, such a good exploration of learning to love and just. god. read this

the ghost you're dressed up as by brockachu (E, 36.7k)

Jack thinks he made his own dream boy. Jack thinks he made his own nightmare. "The whole house creaks, long, drawn out, groaning, like some sort of creature calling in the night. Maybe old houses just can’t help being old. Connor leans into Jack’s left side, runs soft lips up the curve of Jack’s ear, whispers not-words that Jack can’t process. The hum cuts out. The groaning snaps off. There is no sound. No Connor."

a MASTERFUL exploration in how writing can be used. literally one of the best pieces of literature i have read PERIOD. i have never been a big fan of horror OR non-linear narrative but this fic does both AMAZINGLY and in such a way that i can and will talk about it all the time. READ THIS FIC.

mcstrome (plus)

The Next Next One by yourblues (M, 71.2k)

No, Dylan has not picked up a copy of the book, nor does he plan to anytime soon. No, he has not talked to Connor about it. He hasn’t talked to Connor about anything in a long time, but the media does not need to know that.

oh my god. this fic got recced to me and i didnt read it and shoved it in my marked for later and it kept like, popping up to haunt me and finally i said fuck it and read it and OH MY GOD ITS SO FUCKING GOOD!! nevermind that im insane abt the 2015 draft class this fic is just SO GOOD its insane. read this because op did SUCH a good job i cant even describe it

nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy by orphan_account (T, 14.4k)

The thing is, Dylan and Mitch and Connor used to be in a band, in high school. They were a fucking trio, like Blink-182: Mitch on drums, Dylan on bass, and Connor on guitar. They called themselves Ten Minute Misconduct, and they fucking ruled. They sold an unprecedented 40,000 copies of their first album, which was out before they’d even graduated high school, and they went on legit tours and had legit fans. Brothers for life. They were gonna conquer the world together. And then, two years ago, Connor abandoned them. (Or, sometimes you just have to bury the hatchet. The Pop Punk AU.)

the second in a series that has a benneguin prequel that is also very good!! i LOVE bands . and my bandom history made me read this and NO REGRETS i loved this fic so fucking much. if you love bands and warped tour and like. that sort of Vibe please read both fics in this series

Heart Duplex by jamesiee, solarperigee (T, 15.6k)

“Oh, shit,” Dylan laughs, pointing at the screen. “What about this guy?” The description is objectively bad and Dylan has to bite his lip to keep a straight face while Connor reads it. What up I'm Mitch I'm 19 and my best friend fuckin ditched me to get a place with his hot swedish boyfriend so I need someone cool to make him jealous Must be chill w hockey (leafs 4 lyfe) gays (dick 4 lyfe) and video games (fortnite 4 lyfe) NO LIZARDS THEY SCARE ME “Oh my god,” Connor whispers in the flattest voice possible.

this is the plus in mcstrome plus because this is mitch/connor/dylan!! it is FUCKING HILARIOUS and amazing and beautiful and just. the vibe is excellent. i have reread this fic so much and it gets better literally every time because its just that good. insane.

mattdrai

liebe geht durch den magen by lighthousetowers (T, 6.2k)

All Leon wanted were some easy recipes, and instead he got this guy, this – Matthew Tkachuk, alias tkachukycheese, YouTube channel owner by bi-weekly afternoon and dietician who works a lot with school classes by normal profession. Matthew holds up a potato peel broken in two pieces. “And just remember, if it doesn’t work out perfectly, that’s fine. It’s all about practice and trying and enjoying the process. Perfection isn’t a prerequisite for being liked. Just look at the Oilers."

this fic unironically singlehandedly got me into mattdrai. literally SO good i have read it so many times. and another nonhockey/hockey au. you know me.

ambigous middle area between mattdrai and mcdrai. mcmattdrai

(Get a Torch and a Flame and) Burn the Path You Want by Linsky (E, 80.2k)

If there’s one thing Leon knows, from the very beginning, it’s that Connor McDavid isn’t for him. If there’s a second thing he knows, it’s that Matthew Tkachuk is a grade-A asshole.

common linsky banger. i LOVE the wolfverse and these three in this fic are jus SOOOOO,..... GAWD. like i ate it up like fucking . pasta with butter. and i LOVE pasta with butter.

mcdrai

if we make it through december (we'll be fine) by softnoirr

“Are you uh,” Connor takes a breath, “Are you doing anything for Christmas?” Leon pauses. Or: Connor and Leon go home for the holidays, break up, and come back together, just not precisely in that order.

WHO BRINGS THEIR EX TO THEIR PARENTS PLACE FOR CHIRSTMAS. connor mcdavid, thats who. and it makes for some EXCELLENT FIC. i lovelovelove this one so much

j,. jamie and trevor?? ship name. 611???? what are they called

There's Gold in Them There Hills, or Alchemy for Dummies by CitrineDaydream (E, 43.2k)

Jamie Drysdale is a witch. Well, a witch-in-training, out on his final journey to prove himself-- a pilgrimage to put himself through the seven steps of Alchemical Process. His contentious spirit guides have sent him across the continent from Ontario to California to find something that they refuse to reveal to him. Trevor Zegras is a rookie ranch hand, leaving New York for the freedom of the West. Far from home, he's still kept up with his families traditions and the ways they work with nature for prosperity and protection. He is absolutely, definitely not a witch. Jamie is at least intuitive enough to know the gold he seeks isn't literal metal, but that's about as far as he trusts his instincts, and that's the majority of the problem. When his spirit guides freeze him out in an attempt to foster his intuition, the goofy cowboy seems to be the best bet he's got to unlock his path to growth that he can't seem to find to on his own.

this started my cowboy kick literally this fics fault its CRAZY. i dont even. know how to describe how much i fucking loved this fic its so good PELASE read it if you love cowboys or witches OR if you have eyes. 10/10

AAND THERE WE GO!! or at least. i have to stop because i ran out of open ao3 tags and the site has stopped working. please enjoy when you can anon!! and if you want somethign specific just lmk

but also there is this one elias pettersson/brock boeser or however you spell that fic and i literally know NOTHIGN about these guys but this fic was so good ask if interested because i am interested in introducing others to it

[asunsetgrace16]

⌜ ｔａｇ ｄｉｒｅｃｔｏｒｙ ⌝

   ➪⌇ 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓁 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset nonnies ⟶ for all my anons

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset emoji/name nonnie ⟶ any anons who want to be/are an emoji or have a name

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset mutuals ✨ ⟶ all of my mutuals

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset.txt ⟶ any thoughts or chats I post

‣ ✦ ‣ inbox ✉️ ⟶ everything from my inbox

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset recs 📖 ⟶ anything I've read that I'm recommending

‣ ✦ ‣ requested ⟶ any work that was a request

➪⌇ 𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset works ＞ fics ⟶ all of the fics I've written

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset works ＞ smaus ⟶ all of the smau's I've created

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset works ＞ headcanons ⟶ all of the headcanons I've written

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset works ＞ aus ⟶ everything for my aus

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset works ＞ blurbs ⟶ any blurbs I've written

‣ ✦ ‣ sunset talks aus ⟶ any thoughts about my aus

‣ ✦ ‣ fic feedback 📃 ⟶ any feedback I reblog from fics

➪⌇𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ nhl ＞ 〈 regular season 〉 🏒

‣ ✦ ‣ nhl ＞ 〈 playoffs 〉🏒

‣ ✦ ‣ nhl ＞ 〈 offseason 〉🏒

‣ ✦ ‣ nhl ＞〈 media 〉 📼 ⟶ any content related to/for the nhl

➪ 〈 game media 〉 ➪ 〈 draft media 〉 ➪ 〈 4N media 〉⟶ any content related to/for the 4 Nations tournament

‣ ✦ ‣ college hockey ＞〈 media 〉📼

➪ 〈 game media 〉

‣ ✦ ‣ johnny 🕊️ ❤️ ⟶ anything for Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau

‣ ✦ ‣ team canada ＞〈 four nations 〉🇨🇦

‣ ✦ ‣ team canada ＞〈 olympics 〉🇨🇦

➪ 〈 olympics media 〉 ➪ 〈 wjc media 〉 ⟶ World Junior Championships ➪ 〈 wwc media 〉 ⟶ Women's World Championships ➪ 〈 mwc media 〉 ⟶ Men's World Championships ➪ 〈 wnt media 〉⟶ Women's National Team ➪ 〈 mnt media 〉⟶ Men's National Team

‣ ✦ ‣ olympics ＞ 〈 media 〉📸

‣ ✦ ‣ pwhl ＞ 〈 media 〉🎞️

‣ ✦ ‣ pwhl ＞ 〈 offseason 〉🏒

‣ ✦ ‣ pwhl ＞ 〈 regular season 〉🏒

‣ ✦ ‣ pwhl ＞ 〈 playoffs 〉🏒

➪⌇ 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃𝑒𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ players initials and number!core ⟶ anything for the vibe of a player (ie cb98!core)

‣ ✦ ‣ 〈 players name 〉⟶ anything for the player that is specific to my blog (ie ‣ ✦ ‣ 〈 connor bedard 〉)

*until further notice (aka when the team has a name) the Arizona Coyotes and all applicable writing will be tagged as #utah HC

➪⌇𝟫𝟣𝟣 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞ 〈 the actors.INITIALS 〉⟶ everything from the actors or about the actors

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞〈 bucktommy 〉⟶ everything for Buck and Tommy

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞〈 bathena 〉⟶ everything for Bobby and Athena

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞ 〈 season x episode 〉⟶ to sort content

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞ 〈 bts 〉📽️ ⟶ all behind the scenes and outtakes

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞ 〈 content 〉🎞️ ⟶ gifs, videos, etc about the show and actors

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞〈 specs and wishes 〉🤞🏻 ⟶ any head canon-y type things, potential things for future episodes, things we want to see happen

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞ 〈 begins 〉⟶ content from the begins episodes or potential begins episodes ideas

‣ ✦ ‣ 911 ＞ 〈 discourse 〉

➪⌇𝟫𝟣𝟣: LONE STAR 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ 911: LONE STAR ＞ 〈 the actors.INITIALS 〉⟶ everything from the actors or about the actors

‣ ✦ ‣ 911: LONE STAR ＞ 〈 content 〉📷

‣ ✦ ‣ 911: LONE STAR ＞ 〈 tarlos 〉⟶ everything for TK and Carlos

‣ ✦ ‣ 911: LONE STAR ＞ 〈 season x episode 〉⟶ to sort content

‣ ✦ ‣ 911: LONE STAR ＞〈 specs and wishes 〉🤞🏻 ⟶ any head canon-y type things, potential things for future episodes, things we want to see happen

➪⌇Criminal Minds 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ Criminal Minds ＞〈 content 〉📷 ⟶ gifs, videos, etc about the show and actors

‣ ✦ ‣ Criminal Minds ＞ 〈 season x episode 〉⟶ to sort content

➪⌇S.W.A.T. 𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓈

‣ ✦ ‣ S.W.A.T. ＞ 〈 the actors.INITIALS 〉⟶ everything from the actors or about the actors

‣ ✦ ‣ S.W.A.T. ＞〈 content 〉📷 ⟶ gifs, videos, etc about the show and actors

‣ ✦ ‣ S.W.A.T. ＞ 〈 season x episode 〉⟶ to sort content

‣ ✦ ‣ S.W.A.T. ＞ 〈 bts 〉🎥 ⟶ all behind the scenes and outtakes

[nhl-stories]

Them – Jakob Chychrun

Requested: Yes ∆ No

Author’s Note: Jakob seems like a cute wholesome boy who loves dogs and his mom so he felt like the person to use. But obviously I can’t be up to date on all the hockey discourse about all the players so if anyone is ever more problematic than I know please lmk.

Word Count: 1k

“I like the shaved head a lot more than I thought I would,” Jakob said rubbing Blake’s freshly shaved scalp.

“I knew you secretly didn’t want me to do it.” Blake ran a hand through Jakob’s now much longer hair in comparison.

“It’s your head you can do whatever you want with it, but you had exceptionally soft hair that I loved. Besides I thought you’d feel more prickly,” Jakob laughed as he ran both hands of Blake’s head like it was a crystal ball.

“We’ll see how soft it is in a few weeks, but when I start growing it out again can we get matching haircuts like Gwyneth and Brad?”

Jakob furrows his brows, “C’mon you’re a beautiful blonde like Gwyneth.”

“Oh so you’re Brad in this scenario?” Jakob laughed before pulling Blake on top of him.

“The fact you are even questioning that I’m Brad is insulting,” Blake laughed before leaning down to kiss Jakob.

They continued to kiss and it got heated fast, tongues crashing into each other, hips grinding on hips, Blake reached under Jakob’s shirt trying to pull it up.

Jakob put his hands on their arms pushing them back, “I want you to meet my friends tonight.”

“Really?”

“As your boyfriend, I think it’s about time.”

“Oooh is that what you’re calling yourself now,” Blake gave a shit eating grin.

“Don’t be an asshole,” Jakob said as he deftly flipping them over on the couch, so he was on top.

“Do you think they’re ready to meet me?”

“Only one way to find out,” he started to get up, but Blake stops them.

“Can we have a quickie first?”

“No, cause your definition is three quickies in a row, which isn’t very time efficient.”

“I can change my definition…”

“That’s what you always say,” Jakob kisses Blake, “now get ready.”

Blake groans out, “Fine, but I would like my definition of a quickie afterwards.”

“I think I can handle that.”

Blake whipped off their shirt as they made their to Jakob’s room, “Are you sure we can’t have a quickie?”

Jakob came in to find Blake wearing one of his short-sleeve button ups, mostly unbuttoned and tucked into their shorts, “Are you sure you have to steal my clothes?”

“If you were less fashionable or I was richer this wouldn’t be an issue,” Blake gave a cheeky smirk before wrapping their arms arounds his shoulders and kissing him.

“Ok we gotta get going or I might change my mind.”

The couple weaved through the crowded bar to find the group of Coyotes who immediately cheered when they saw Jakob.

“Finally Chych shows up with his mystery date,” Christian Fischer shouts.

“Hey guys, this is Blake. Blake these are the boys. I’m not gonna waste your time with names cause I know you won’t remember.”

“Nice to meet you all. I will hopefully, eventually remember your names.” Blake waved.

“Awww, you guys are Jakey and Blakey,” Lawson grinned.

“See I told you that was cute,” Blake slapped Jake’s chest.

“We’re glad to finally meet you, Jake keeps details about you pretty close to his chest,” OEL smiled.

“Oooh what have you heard about me?”

“That you exist,” they all laughed while Jakob blushed.

“Why have you been keeping her a secret Jakey?”

“Actually my pronouns are they/them not she/her.”

It was like the air got sucked out of the room as they all stared like deer in the headlights.

“There was the look I was waiting for, you didn’t bat an eye at the shaved head so I was pretty impressed.” Blake smirked before turning to Jakob, “I’m gonna get us some drinks while you help them process this information.”

They all watched until they were sure Blake was out of earshot.

“So s- the- Blake is…?” Fish said leaving the question open, hanging in the air.

“Blake is genderqueer, that’s who they are. Blake’s pronouns are important to them so they’re important to me. That being said, Blake is pretty understanding of slip ups as long as you’re trying.”

The group still wasn’t exactly sure what to say Jakob could tell a few of the guys we’re still confused. Some opened their mouths as if they had questions to ask but were unsure what to say.

“Blake left the table so you guys could ask your potentially offensive questions and hopefully I can answer them.”

“How did you find out, was that weird?” Lawson asked.

“Blake told me a little bit after we met and yeah it was a little weird, but mostly cause I didn’t really know any queer people before.”

There was another awkward silence.

“So are you guys like, um, Blake has like girl, I mean what’s going on down–“ Fish stammers out before being interrupted.

“Damnit, I thought the genital thing would be the first question. I should have taken longer the bar.” Blake said handing Jake a beer before sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around their waist, half affectionately, half protectively.

Fish flushed red at being the one caught asking.

“But as far as what’s going on in my pants, you’re not fucking me so it shouldn’t matter.”

Blake took a swig of beer, “Honestly you guys handled this better than I thought you would, I mean it shouldn’t be a big deal but I understand why some people don’t know how react.”

“If it makes you all feel better, to this day my dad thinks it’s his fault cause he named me Blake. Which obviously it is.”

“You guys can laugh that was a joke,” Blake added.

The group let out a delayed laugh.

“You think that’s good?” Jakob asks after he finishes his beer.

“Yeah, I think a solid trial run.” The pair got up, “We’re gonna head out so you can gossip about me, but now that you have this knowledge you can loosen up and treat me like any other teammate’s SO next time.” Blake winked grabbing Jakob’s hand and walking away.

“Hey Jakob,” OEL called out stopping the couple, “they’re a good one.”

Jakob and Blake grinned, “thanks, I think they are too.”