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idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 · 3 years

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Life As We Know It | Part 10

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove @matbarzyy @hockeywocs @ggggmoneyyyy @great-puck-work @calgarycanuck @toplinetommy @fiveholegoal @itrocksmysocks @joelsfarabee @barzysreputation @iangiemae @stlbluesbrat @c-tangerine @yzas-stuff @canadianheaters @jeylia-haj @roopehintz @dreamsndior @beauvibaby @2manytabsopen @nazdaddy @sorryjustafangirl @sidscrosbyy @fallinallincurls @pastelpapermoons @miranda0102 @hockeybabe87 @teenagekook @svechnikolan @kayt-marie @heatherawoowoo @barzypatty @whoeverineedtobe @lovethepreds @ohpuckyeah @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @mf-mightyducks @day-dreamerr @ficsilove10 @notaccurateornice @rapidfever @dylancozzys @gravyoverall @newlibrary @lena306 @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @honestreputation [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 9.6k

Warnings: Alcohol.

Comments: I know I know... It’s been longer than I would have liked to go without an update but I hope I make up for it in length? The series is officially over 63,000 words making it the longest thing I’ve written and we’re only at part 10! Hope you all like it, and I hope you share your thoughts!!! xx

Introducing Sorel to solid foods was interesting.

Dominique recommended carrot puree because that’s what she started with Anthony and Francis, so that’s what they did. But the puree was a different thickness, texture, and taste from her formula, and Sorel was not thrilled about it.

She did a good job taking it and swallowed it without a problem, but she tightened her lips in distaste as she looked at her dad, making Tess laugh. “I don’t think she likes it,” Anthony said, looking back to Tess.

“It’s new for her, that’s all. Keep going,” she encouraged. Sorel hadn’t had anything but formula her whole life, so of course she wasn’t going to like the puree, it was only natural.

Anthony nodded and scooped more puree onto the tiny spoon and guided it into Sorel’s mouth, collecting what got on her lips back onto the spoon and into her mouth. “Yummy?” He asked despite the expression on his daughter’s face that said otherwise. “Come on,” he sighed. “It can’t be that bad.”

Tess covered her mouth to hide her laugh as he stuck his pinky finger into the bowl and brought it up to his lips. “It tastes like carrots,” he said, looking at Sorel.

“Because it’s literally just carrots,” Tess laughed, taking the bowl and spoon from him. “Come on, baby,” she said as she stopped more food up and raised it to Sorel’s mouth. She took it easier since it was Tess, but she still didn’t like it. But she also didn’t spit it out, so that was a win.

“I think we should try something else tomorrow since she’s not thrilled about this,” Tess said and Anthony nodded.

“Can’t blame her, carrots aren’t exactly my favourite either,” he replied, using the cloth to wipe her face. He might have liked them as a baby, but now he’d pick just about anything over carrots.

“Really her father’s daughter,” Tess shook her head with a laugh and Anthony looked over at her with a lopsided smile. One step at a time, one spoonful at a time, they’d try something new, and hopefully Sorel liked the new foods more than she hated them.

They tried pear puree the next day, which went much better than the carrots. She truly was her father’s daughter. But, of course, that only made Tess love her more.

Leaving Quebec sucked, but it was late August and training camp was starting next month and they wanted to be settled back into the apartment before that started. And Anthony wanted to get Tess back to her family and give her some time with them before training camp started.

It was unusually hard for Tess to pack.

Sure, she missed her family, and Cass and Darcy, and she missed New York and the apartment she now thought of as home, but she really enjoyed her time in Quebec more than she thought she would and she was sad to see it come to an end.

Anthony also had a hard time packing, but that wasn’t exactly a surprise.

He loved hockey, loved the team, and loved the city; but, this was his home and his family and it was hard to say goodbye to them knowing that the next time he’d get to see them was when the Islanders played in Montreal, or Christmas, whatever came first.

They had an early dinner their last night in Quebec, wanting to get to bed early so they could get on the road early the next morning. Anthony told his mom that pizza was fine, but she insisted on his last dinner at home being a real home cooked meal so she made a nice chicken stir fry with a salad and some bread she warmed in the oven. As always, it was amazing, and while Tess thought of herself as a pretty good cook herself, she was really going to miss Dominique and her cooking.

After dinner, Tess helped Dominique with the dishes while Anthony loaded the car and Sylvain watched Sorel. After everything was done, Tess went up to her room to give Anthony some alone time with his family.

Dominique was in tears when they were getting ready to leave the next morning. Anthony did his best to keep his emotions in control, but Tess could tell he was struggling. No matter how many times he had to leave his family, it was still hard.

Tess hung back, letting them have their time while watching Sorel through the car window. Eventually Anthony pulled back, discretely wiping his eyes, but Tess still noticed. She stepped forwards to thank the Beauvilliers for having her, but Dominique pulled her into a hug.

“You’re welcome here anytime,” Dominique told her, making Tess chuckle as a warmth settled in her chest. Dominique pulled back and patted her shoulder with a smile, “I hope you come back next year.”

Her words took Tess off guard and her smile faltered for a moment, but she nodded. “Yeah, maybe,” she said, glancing over to Anthony before thanking Dominique again for her hospitality and everything she’d done.

Anthony gave both his parents another hug before they got into the car. Tess’s chest was tight as they pulled out of the driveway and she couldn’t imagine how Anthony felt. It was still dark out when they got onto the road, and Anthony stopped at Tim’s for some Timbits. He also got himself a coffee and a tea for Tess, which was nice, but it still didn’t keep Tess awake.

She didn’t mean to fall asleep, it was just so early and dark out and the car was quiet as to not disturb Sorel, so she curled up in her seat and was out like a light.

Anthony woke her up when they got to the border, which, thankfully, didn’t take too long. There weren’t many cars and most of their questions were directed to Anthony, who knew how to answer them and had all the correct paper work ready.

“You can go back to sleep,” he told her once they were through, but the sun was up, and while she was still tired, she shook her head.

“I’m okay. I’ll keep you company,” she replied. Anthony gave her a quick glance, a smile playing on his lips before nodding and looking back at the road.

All things considered, the drive was pretty good. The weather was nice, no rain but some cloud cover so the sun wasn’t in their eyes, and there wasn’t much traffic until they got closer to the city. “You know, I really did not miss the traffic,” Anthony said, rubbing his forehead as they were stuck in stop and go New York traffic.

Tess laughed and rested her head back, “yeah, no kidding.” It didn’t matter how long you lived there, the traffic never got easier.

It took them another two hours to get back to the apartment, by which time they were both tired and annoyed and Sorel was fussing in the back seat, done with the car ride and the constant honking.

They were like zombies as they pulled into the parking garage and Anthony parked the car. Tess grabbed the cooler and Anthony took Sorel before they headed up to the apartment. Anthony unlocked the door and let Tess in before following her and closing the door behind him. He put Sorel’s carrier down before flopping down on the couch and stretching out.

Tess laughed and put the cooler down before taking Sorel out of her carrier, not that she really had somewhere to put Sorel down. The apartment had a lot of dust from the two and a half months they were away, including Sorel’s playmate that was pushed to the side of the living room.

“Hey, Beau?” Tess called, walking towards Sorel’s room to change her. Anthony hummed, so she continued, “I’m going to change her and give her some lunch, can you wipe her mat down, please?”

“Yeah, right, of course,” he called back, stretching one more time before getting up and grabbing the wipes.

After changing and feeding Sorel, Anthony put her down for a nap while Tess pulled the uneaten sandwiches out of the cooler. It wasn’t great, the bread was cold and a little soggy, but it wasn’t like they had other options. Even the KD in the pantry required milk and butter, which they didn’t have.

After lunch, both Tess and Anthony took a well needed nap, having decided that they could unload the car and unpack later.

Tess didn’t bother changing into PJs, she just took her leggings and bra off and slipped under the covers. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

Unsurprisingly, Tess woke up before Anthony. It was a long drive, and he had done all of it, so Tess wanted to let him sleep as much as he could, and she managed to get most of the apartment wiped down before Anthony woke up. They ordered pizza for dinner, and Anthony carried their things from the car up to the apartment while they waited for it to be delivered. They ate their pizza on the couch, and while it was nothing compared to Dominique’s cooking, it was nice to have a little slice of home, just the two of them, in their own space, in their own city.

It was great being back in New York.

It only took them a couple days to unpack and settle in, go grocery shopping, the like. And, as great as Quebec was, Tess was glad to be home and actually understand what was being said around her.

Once they had settled in and rested, Tess went back home to see her family.

Tess hadn’t even parked her car when her mom burst out the front door. Tess smiled and put her car into park before getting out as quickly as she could and walking into her mom’s embrace. “God, I missed you,” her mom whispered as she held Tess tightly. It wasn’t the first time Tess went on a trip with friends, but it was by far the longest, and she was still just getting used to her eldest moving out.

“I missed you, too,” Tess smiled, breathing in the familiar scent of her mom. The texts and calls all summer were great, but it was nothing compares to the real thing.

Slowly, her mom pulled back, letting her hand linger on her shoulder as she looked her daughter over, drastically more tan than when she left. “Come on,” her mom smiled. “Let’s go inside, your sister wants to see the pictures you took.” Tess laughed and grabbed her bag filled with souvenirs for her siblings and followed her mom inside.

Her welcome home was, as expected, mixed.

Emma was happy to see her, Maya was too, but to a lesser extent. But her brothers were clear in not missing her or her “summer sadness” as they called it since, apparently, she got sad every time Anthony went home for the summer. And they pretended to not care about the souvenirs she brought them, even if they did think the real maple syrup in a glass maple leaf bottle was pretty cool.

She pulled her phone out to show her mom and sisters the pictures she took in Quebec, the architecture of old Montreal, how downtown kind of looked like New York City, the weird French signs she saw, the like. But as she flipped through the images, it became increasingly clear that she took more pictures of Sorel than anything else. Sorel in the kiddie pool in the backyard, on a picnic blanket in the park, on Anthony’s lap at the Spike for Alzheimer’s, and, of course, in their matching sundresses.

She knew she was taking a lot of pictures of Sorel, but she didn’t realize it was that many.

“Your daughter is cute,” Emma said, her eyes shining. Like anyone who saw the pictures would have said.

“She’s not…” Tess started but didn’t have the heart to finish the sentence. She shook her head and locked her phone, putting it face down on the table so she wouldn’t be tempted to open it and look at the pictures. “What about you guys? Tell me about your summers.”

Thankfully, no one pushed it. Emma told her how excited she was for her final year of her undergrad before Lucas went on a spew about the latest action movie. Tess smiled as James disagreed with his twin, arguing that a different action movie was better while Maya told both of them to shut up.

They were loud and hectic, but they were her family and she loved them.

Her mom made a nice stir fry for dinner, Tess’s favourite, which she greatly appreciated, and after dinner they played a few hands of Rummy where Tess was able to reclaim her title of family champion from her mom.

It was refreshing to be back with her family, and the longer the night dragged on, the more she didn’t want to leave. So, she ended up staying the night, and when she woke up the next morning, her mom was making chocolate chip pancakes.

Tess loved Sorel, loved Anthony, and she loved living with them in the city, but she missed her family, missed the bickering and shouting and her mom’s cooking, and she was more than happy to sit back and just soak it all in before going back home to Anthony.

“Promise you’ll come back soon,” her mom said, pulling her in for a tight hug when she was getting ready to leave.

Tess laughed and hugged her mom back just as tight, “I promise.”

“Good,” her mom smiled, rubbing her back before pulling back and letting Tess get into her car.

When she got back to the apartment, Anthony was on the couch watching Sorel on her play mat, both of them looking up at her as she closed the door behind her.

“Have a good night?” Anthony asked and Tess smiled, kicking her shoes off and dropping her bag by the door before coming around the couch. Sorel held her hands out, making Tess pick her up before sitting down on the couch with her on her lap.

“I did,” she replied. “It was really nice to see them.” Tess laughed as Sorel touched her face before fisting her hair.

“I’m glad,” he told her. “But I’m also glad you’re back. Sorel missed you.” And she wasn’t the only one. Anthony hated how cold and empty the apartment was without her and it might have only been one night, but he missed her.

“I can see that,” Tess laughed and kissed Sorel’s cheek. “I missed her, too.”

Anthony, Tess and Sorel fell back into the routine they had before they left for Quebec. Anthony made Tess coffee in the mornings and Tess made them dinner. On the days the weather was nice, Tess took Sorel out for a walk, and almost every evening was spent on the couch watching some random TV show or movie. It was really nice and Tess didn’t want to take a single moment with Sorel for granted, especially those one-on-one moments.

But, there was a downside to being back in New York: there were less eyes to watch Sorel.

In Quebec, Sorel was watched by herself, Anthony, Dominique, Sylvain, and when he was there, Francis. But now that training camp was coming up fast, Anthony was spending more and more time at the gym or on the ice, leaving Tess to watch her, right when she was at the age of thinking everything belonged in her mouth.

“Fuck, no baby,” Tess said, putting her glass of water down to take the coaster out of Sorel’s mouth.

She really thought they did a good job baby proofing with a play pen and clasps on cabinets, but every day it seemed like Sorel found something new to put in her mouth, and, naturally, she preferred the random objects she found over the countless teething toys they got her.

Tess took the coasters and put them on the shelf out of Sorel’s reach and handed her a teething ring, not that she was a fan of it.

Tess rubbed her forehead as she glanced around the living room for anything else Sorel could grab. A few months ago she wouldn’t have given a second thought to coasters or the corners of the coffee table or how none of Anthony’s cabinets were slow close, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It was terrifying to realize how dangerous the world around her really was. She did her best to keep Sorel safe, but that didn’t mean she didn’t stay up at night terrified of what could happen, especially since her crawling had gotten so much better and she was learning the layout of the apartment.

She loved Sorel more than any other living being, but she didn’t understand how parents could handle it. The world was too big and dangerous for those chubby cheeks and innocent blue eyes.

Tess loved being back in New York, but she missed the extra eyes to watch Sorel to make sure she was safe.

Training camp started on September 10th.

The first day of training camp was always hard, Trotz pushing them harder than any other time of the year while he tried to get them back to game form. It didn’t matter how many hours of off- and on-ice training they did in the summer, they weren’t in game form and they needed to find their legs.

Anthony was more than feeling it after day one, having spent less time on the ice than the previous summers to spend time with Sorel, so he declined Mat’s offer of a beer in favour of going home and flopping on the couch.

“Rough day?” Tess asked with a laugh after he did precisely that.

“I can’t feel my legs,” he replied.

“Well, I can assure you that they’re there,” she laughed, giving his shoulder a pat before walking back to the kitchen to take the chicken out of the oven.

Trotz was unrelenting for the rest of training camp. For back to back years they had gone to the Conference Finals and Trotz was determined to give them that extra push they needed so they could go all the way. And, at the pace they were going, if Anthony had put on any “dad weight” during the off season, he was going to work it off before the pre-season even started.

Their first pre-season game was scheduled for September 14th, the day after training camp ended, and they were, unsurprisingly, playing the Rangers, who were, to no surprise, still mad about how their second round meeting ended.

It would be an understatement to say that it was no one’s best game.

They won. But they allowed five goals, took ten penalties, and scored no power play goals. None of their passes were connecting and they had the general sloppiness and tiredness that came with playing their first game in over three months.

They had a lot of work to do ahead of the season opener, but they were all anxious to get back to the form that brought them within one game of the Stanley Cup Final.

They had almost a month of practice and the pre-season to find their game and get back to their signature Islanders Hockey, and by the time their season opener was around the corner, they were pretty happy with where they were and they were ready to start the fight for the playoffs once again.

The Friday before the start of the regular season, Marty held the season opening party.

Anthony tried to convince Tess to go with him, but Tess insisted on staying home to watch Sorel. “I really don’t need to be surrounded by thirty drunk hockey players. You and your brother were enough,” she told him with a laugh. “And I can have Cass and Darcy over while you go ‘live it up’ with your teammates.”

He laughed but didn’t push it. She hadn’t been able to see her friends much since they came home from Quebec, so he knew it would be good for her to see them and have a girls’ night. Especially, as she pointed out, after spending so much time with him and his brother.

Her friends came over before he left, so he did his best to stay out of their hair and watch Sorel until it was time for him to head out. Still, every time he came out of his room, their conversations would stop, which he thought was weird, but he did his best to ignore it.

He changed into a nice shirt and jeans and a light jacket before putting Sorel down for bed. He let Tess know he was leaving before turning to her friends, “have a nice night, ladies. And feel free to have a bottle or two of the nice wine.”

Tess shook her head with a laugh, “thanks, Beau. Have fun yourself, and tell Barzy hi and that I miss him.” Anthony laughed but agreed, hating only a little that Mat was the man on her mind as he headed down to catch his Uber.

He wasn’t the first to arrive at Marty’s, Zeeker and Leesy were already there. But he also wasn’t the last, plenty of teammates and their better halves were yet to arrive. Anthony took the beer that Casey offered him and settled into the conversation, smiling at how nice it was to be with them again.

Most of the team and their better halves showed up within a half hour, but, as always, Barzy was fashionably late.

Anthony had already been there for an hour and he was catching up with JG and his wife when Mat walked in. He said his hellos to a few guys, mostly those he had already seen since returning to Long Island, and laughed at something Zeeker said.

Anthony would know that laugh anywhere and looked over to see Mat talking to Casey with an unfamiliar girl beside him. She was brunette, shorter, clearly athletic, and definitely cute. Mat looked over and caught his eye, making his smile widen as he excused himself and walked over to Anthony hand in hand with the girl.

He let go of her hand to pull Anthony in for a bro hug. “I missed you, man. Good to see you,” he said when he pulled back.

Anthony laughed, “it’s good to see you, too, Barzy. Had a good summer?”

Mat nodded and looked over at the girl with a soft, fond smile, “yeah, yeah you could say that.”

Anthony’s smile softened as he watched them. He was surprised to say the least, a little hurt that Mat didn’t tell him he was seeing someone, but mostly happy. Mat was a great guy and he deserved someone that made him happy. “So, are you going to introduce me, or?” Anthony asked with a laugh.

“Right, yeah,” Mat snapped out of his trance and brought his hand to the girl’s lower back. “This is my girlfriend, Connor. Connor, this is my best friend and teammate, Anthony, but you can call him Beau.”

Anthony froze, the noise around him fading away as his eyes went between Mat and the girl who politely held her hand out to him, “it’s nice to finally meet you, Mathew has told me a lot about you.”

“Connor?”Anthony asked after a few moments, and she and Mat nodded. “You’re Connor?” He repeated.

She sighed, letting her hand fall to her side. “Yeah… What can I say, my parents were expecting a boy and got me instead and just kept the name,” she explained with a laugh, but Anthony still struggled to wrap his head around the fact that she was the Connor Mat had been talking about all summer.

“Ebs?” Anthony called, looking over his shoulder until Jordan pulled himself away from Anders to walk over.

“Yeah?” He asked, looking between Anthony, Mat and Connor.

“Did you know Connor was Mat’s girlfriend?” He asked, looking over at her.

Jordan straightened as he looked over at her. “You’re Connor?” He asked in disbelief.

“The one and only, I hope,” she laughed, making Mat laugh too.

“Only one, baby, I promise,” he reassured her, and Anthony would have smiled if he wasn’t busy still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Connor wasn’t some random gym dudebro but Mat’s girlfriend.

Jordan called the others over who were just as dumbstruck as they were, but she wasn’t uncomfortable with the attention on her. It was easy to be overwhelmed in a group, especially a group you didn’t know, but Connor’s confidence never wavered. She drew everyone in with her jokes and laugh and she wasn’t afraid to chirp Barzy with the other guys, even when he playfully shoved her or tried to cover her mouth. It was easy to see how whipped for her Barzy was, his brown eyes filled with the same soft fondness he saw in the eyes of the married guys.

The same softness Anthony would see in his own eyes if he ever bothered to look in the mirror.

Not that Anthony could blame Mat for it, Connor was almost as great as Tess.

Really, it was great to see how happy Mat was with her, and the whole night people struggled to pull Mat’s attention away from her, not that she was ever out of arm’s reach as Mat followed her around the party like a love sick puppy, like his whole world started and ended with her.

It made a soft ache settle in Anthony’s chest that he tried to push down with every beer he grabbed.

He hadn’t been with anyone since Nikki, and that hadn’t exactly gone well, even if it had given him Sorel. And still, that had ended over a year ago.

Sorel was great, the life he had with Tess was great, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world, but he watched the way Connor leaned into Mat’s touch and the delicate way Mat held her, unlike how he’d ever handle any of his equipment, and Anthony wanted that.

He wanted more.

And it was that want and emptiness that led him to drinking more beers than he said he would as the night dragged on until he was finally in an Uber headed home, the cold, empty back seat feeling too real as he watched the city lights until they pulled up to his apartment building.

Darcy and Cass had already left when Anthony got home from the party. With the dishes done and Sorel asleep, Tess was curled up on the couch with a glass of wine.

That empty, missing part of Anthony faded away when he saw her, the feeling of home settling in his chest instead.

But maybe it just all the beers he had.

“You are not going to believe what happened,” Anthony said after he closed the door and kicked his shoes off, walking over and flopping down on the couch, making Tess raise an eyebrow at him. “Connor is a girl.”

Tess’s eyes widened, “shut up. You’re joking.”

“I’m not! You should have seen my face when he introduced me to his girlfriend, Connor,” he continued, unconsciously leaning into her.

“Wow,” Tess breathed, putting her glass down. “Barzy got a girlfriend… Named Connor. I mean… Good for him.”

“Crazy though, right?” Anthony said, shaking his head.

“Yeah,” Tess agreed, before laughing at how crazy it really was. “You were jealous of his girlfriend.”

“Oh, shut up,” he scoffed, giving her shoulder a playful shove, making her laugh harder.

“No,” she laughed. “I’m never letting you forget that and I’m definitely telling Barzy next time I see him.”

“No way,” he said with a smile, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I’m not letting you do that.

Had she always fit in my arms this perfectly?

“You think you can stop me? That’s cute,” Tess laughed, but she still leaned into his touch. Anthony rolled his eyes, but he didn’t have a good response, so he let it go, and Tess was happy to soak in Anthony’s touch.

“So, how was the party?” She asked after a few moments, reaching for her glass of wine before settling back into his arms.

“Good,” he replied. “Would have been better if you were there though.”

Tess hummed and gave his thigh a squeeze, “you’re just saying that because you didn’t have Barzy’s full and undivided attention this time.”

“Oh my god, shush,” he rolled his eyes. “Maybe it’s because I genuinely enjoy your presence and miss you when you aren’t there.”

Tess swallowed her feelings back with the rest of her wine before putting the empty glass back down on the table. “I’ll come next year, okay?” She said, and if her voice was a little shaky, Anthony didn’t notice.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he smiled, gently rubbing her shoulders, and Tess nodded. “But how was your night?” He asked.

Tess smiled and looked up at him, “less eventful than yours, but it was nice to see the girls again.”

Anthony nodded, “I’m glad you had fun.” Tess hummed and leaned her head on his shoulder, breathing in the comforting scent of his cologne that still clung to him. Anthony couldn’t help himself and leaned down to brush his lips over her temple. If she said anything, he’d blame it on the beers. But she didn’t, she just smiled and soaked in any and all attention she could get from him.

Neither of them knew how long they sat like that in the quiet living room, neither of them wanting to be the one that pulled away. The TV wasn’t even on but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was each other. Anthony was warm and soft and familiar and everything she could every want and she let her eyes close and pretend for just a moment before taking a deep breath and pulling herself away. “It’s getting late, I think I’m going to bed,” she told him.

“Right, yeah,” he whispered, straightening himself up as she pulled him from his trance, the empty ache from earlier returning as soon as she stood up and he had to restrain himself from reaching out to pull her back.

She grabbed her glass off the table and put it in the sink before turning back to him and whispering, “have a good night, Beau.”

“You too, Tessa,” he smiled, his eyes following her as she moved through the kitchen to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

He sighed, running a hand over his face as he tried to shake that emptiness that clung to his bones. Leesy, Ebs, Nelly, Bails, Zeeker, hell, even his partner in crime, Mat, they all had someone to come home too. He had Tess but it wasn’t…

He shook his head, his gaze moving back to the bathroom door as it opened and she walked across the hall into her room and the door closed behind her.

He didn’t let himself finish the thought as he got up and went to his room, closing the door softly behind him before slipping into his ensuite. When he stepped back into his room, he stripped down to his underwear and got under the covers, but he couldn’t help but realize just how big and empty his bed was.

Anthony had been on his own a long time, he knew how to be on his own and he liked having his own space and life, and the last couple of months he hadn’t let himself think about anything other than Sorel. Everything started and ended with Sorel. But seeing Mat and Connor at the party really unlocked something in him that he hadn’t realize he was suppressing. That he didn’t realize he was missing.

For the first time in a long time, he struggled to fall asleep, and when he did, he had a pillow clutched to his chest while the scent of Tess’s perfume wiggled its way into his dreams.

The Islanders opened their season at home on October 8th against the New Jersey Devils.

Anthony wanted both of his girls there so he could start the season off on the right foot with his biggest fans and closest family at the game, and Tess was more than happy to make that a reality. The last game she attended was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final that they lost, and before that it was when the Islanders had played the Rangers back in November, so it had been a while since she got to go to a game and she missed it.

The first game day of the season started like any other.

Anthony was up early for the optional skate that he wasn’t going to pass up since he was still trying to get into the rhythm of the regular season. When he got home, he and Tess had a light lunch before he had his pre-game nap. Tess had his favourite pre-game dinner ready when he woke up and he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek as he got the plates down.

After finishing their dinner, Anthony fed Sorel her dinner and Tess glanced over at them with a soft smile while she put the leftovers away and loaded the dishwasher. She watched Sorel while Anthony changed into his new navy game day suit and he took his time making sure his tie and hair were perfect before stepping out of his room. Tess gave him a playful whistle that had him blushing as he turned to look at her. “You look nice. It’s a good colour on you, brings out your eyes,” she told him.

“Thanks,” he laughed, walking over to her and Sorel to give his daughter a kiss on the cheek. He paused, debating on whether he should kiss her cheek too before deciding against it. “So, I’ll see you at the game?”

Tess nodded, “wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Anthony’s smile softened and he nodded, “I’m really happy you’re going to be there.”

“Like I said, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she repeated. Anthony nodded again, holding her gaze for another moment before grabbing his keys and phone and stepping towards the door.

“Bye I guess,” he said as he gripped the doorknob.

“Have good game, Beau,” Tess replied with a smile.

“I’ll try,” he replied before opening the door and slipping out.

It wasn’t even five o’clock yet, so Tess and Sorel had plenty of time to get ready for the game, including putting Sorel down to see if she would get a little nap in before they left since they were going to be at the arena long after her bedtime.

Tess took her time getting ready for the game, picking out her favourite pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a nice looking sweater to keep her warm in the arena. She did her make up next. She didn’t put a lot on, wanting to keep it natural, before figuring out what to do with her hair.

Usually she left her hair down, but her curls were definitely messier than she would have like them to be and Sorel like to play with them, which, as cute as it was, wasn’t exactly pleasant and often left her hair frizzy. So, she grabbed a blue scrunchie off the bathroom counter and pulled her hair up in a perfectly messy bun.

It wouldn’t take long to get Sorel ready and she wanted Sorel to get as much sleep as possible, so she started cleaning up the apartment, gathering Sorel’s toys and putting them away. She put everything in the living room away before looking around with a furrowed brow. Despite all the toys she had put away, she hadn’t seen Duckie, and she was sure she hadn’t seen Duckie in Sorel’s room when she put her down.

She gave the room another look over before going over the rest of the apartment. She glanced around the kitchen and the dining room before sticking her head in her room, but nothing. She looked in the living room again before sticking her head into Anthony’s room. She hated going into his room without his permission, but Sorel really liked Duckie and she wanted to bring it to the game in case she got fussy. So, she turned the light on and wandered in.

Unsurprisingly, his bed was made and everything was tidy. She walked around his bed and looked under it before standing with a sigh. She was just about to give up when she spotted his worn yellow fabric behind the open door of Anthony’s closet. Tess did an arm pump of victory as she walked over to grab Duckie and asked him what he was doing way over there.

She was about to leave when a familiar blue sleeve caught her eye in his closet.

No, she told herself. It was his stuff in his closet in his room and she did not need to go through it. What would he even say if he found out she went into his closet? It was a total violation of privacy.

But she couldn’t pull herself away.

It was just a jersey, right? And he had said that he wanted her to wear his jersey back during the playoffs, and it would only be a one time thing, right? So it wouldn’t be a big deal, right?Tess reasoned with herself before taking a deep breath and pushing his shirts to the side to look at the jersey, the Islanders logo making her smile. She ran her fingers over the fabric, grazing over the white and orange 72 on the sleeve. It was soft to touch, worn from its many games of use.

She smiled to herself as she took the hanger off the rod. It was massive, definitely a few sizes bigger than her Martin jersey that she hadn’t worn to a game in years, but that didn’t stop her from holding it against herself as she stepped to the side and looked in his mirror.

She took a deep breath as she ran her hand over the crest before folding the jersey over her arm, closing his closet and walking out of his room, gently closing the door behind her.

She brought the jersey to her room and laid it down on her bed, hoping that he wouldn’t be upset that she took it from his closet. She smiled down at it before walking back out to the living room and putting Duckie down on the couch. She glanced at the time and realized she spent more time than she realized looking for Duckie and slipped into Sorel’s room to pack her diaper bag and pick an outfit out before waking her up from her nap.

She dressed Sorel up in layers so she wouldn’t be cold and put on a cute hat to keep her head warm before sliding the tiny jersey onto her, the headphones (and Duckie) packed in the diaper bag.

Tess brought Sorel to her room and gently put her down on the bed before taking his jersey off the hanger. She slid the jersey over her outfit, the material dwarfing her, nearly going to her knees and the sleeves past her hands. Still, she smiled as she saw herself in the mirror. She did her best to tuck the jersey in and make it look presentable before turning to look at the Beauvillier 72on her back with a smile.

She’d never tell anyone, but she had thought about what it would be like to wear his jersey to a game more than a few times. She never did it, too afraid it would be weird. But now, there she was, wearing his real jersey to the game. It made her feel warm and she hoped it he wouldn’t be upset with her.

She looked down at Sorel wearing her own little jersey and she loved that they could cheer Anthony on together.

She picked Sorel back up and put her in her carrier before putting her shoes on. She put her phone into the diaper bags and her keys in her pocket before picking both the carrier and the diaper bag up and slipped out the front door to head to the arena, hoping traffic wouldn’t be atrocious.

Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been and it only took them a little longer than expected to get to the arena. She remembered what Meg had told her last time she came to a game and it was easy to find her way up to the suite.

Tess knew the girls pretty good from the last couple of years. Hell, she even considered herself friends with at least some of them, like Sydney and Meg. But when she stepped into the suit with Sorel, her eyes immediately landed on the woman she didn’t recognize.

She was about the same height as her, maybe a little taller, with beautiful dark hair that that seemed to have a mind of its own and went just past her shoulders. Tess could figure out who she was by the 13 on the back of her jacket and laughed as she walked towards the group.

Kristy noticed her first and drew the rest of the group’s attention to her and Sorel, but mostly Sorel, all of them wanting to coo over her and how big she was getting. “Yeah, she’s almost nine months now,” Tess explained with a smile. It was crazy how big she was getting. It felt like just yesterday Anthony had called her saying he had a daughter and how she was crawling and eating solid foods and even knew her name. People always said that babies grow like weeds and that time flies, but it was crazy how true it really was.

“Wow,” Sydney shook her head. “I remember meeting her when she wasn’t even a month old and now look at her.”

“I know,” Tess whispered. “I wish I could press pause sometimes, you know?” Those who were mothers agreed and Sydney and Kristy shared a look when Tess looked down at Sorel.

“Excuse me? Hi, we haven’t met yet, I’m Connor,” Connor said after a moment, pulling Tess’s attention away from Sorel.

Tess laughed, still finding the whole Connor situation with Anthony hilarious, and extended her hand to shake Connor’s hand. “No, we haven’t met, but I have heard a lot about you. I’m Tessa,” she introduced.

“Good things I hope,” Connor laughed.

Tess nodded before pausing, “well, to be honest, mostly it’s just been how jealous Anthony was until he realized you were Mat’s girlfriend and not some guy trying to steal him.” Her comment made everyone laugh and Connor let her eyes drift down to Sorel.

“Mathew didn’t tell me Anthony was married or had kids,” she said, giving Sorel a smile.

Tess choked on air and shook her head, “what? He’s not? No, we’re— we’re not,” she stuttered, making Connor look up at her. Tess took a breath before trying again. “This is his daughter, Sorel. I’m not her mom. Her mom isn’t in the picture. I’m just his friend and her aunt,” she explained, her words carefully picked.

“Right…” Connor breathed, not buying it at all. And it didn’t help that Sydney and Kristy rolled their eyes at Tess’s explanation. But Connor nodded, “sorry.”

“It’s okay, I, uh, I get the confusion,” Tess managed to get out, but she was completely shaken.

Sydney cleared her throat and smiled when Tess looked over at her. “I was going to bring Winnie down to the ice for warm ups. Do you want to bring Sorel?” She asked.

Tess nodded almost immediately, welcoming the distraction, and smiled at the thought of Anthony seeing Sorel before the game, “that sounds like fun actually, yeah, thanks.”

Sydney nodded, “okay, come on then, let’s go.”

Tess nodded and took the headphones out of the diaper bag to put them on Sorel before taking Sorel out of her carrier. It was easy getting down to the ice and Sydney suggested not standing together so they wouldn’t gather attention, which was smart. But that didn’t mean Tess didn’t find it just a little scary being against the glass with a baby and surrounded by fans who started yelling when the players started taking the ice.

Anthony didn’t notice them at first, not expecting them to be at the glass, and he did a few laps around the ice before glancing around to see the fans and signs, something he always did, and his eyes easily found Tess and Sorel. He smiled to himself as he skated over to them, even if he was taken back that they were there at all.

Tess’s smile widened as he made his way over and she held Sorel up on the ledge to he could see her better and Anthony stopped in front of them, his nose scrunching and his smile widening as he looked down at his daughter in her tiny Islanders jersey and headphones. He waved to her before putting his gloved hand on the glass and Sorel put her tiny hand against it as she looked up at her dad. Tess smiled as she looked at how happy Sorel was to see her dad.

Anthony lifted his eyes from Sorel to look at Tess and the air was knocked right out of his lungs as his eyes settled on the white 72 on her sleeve.

His 72.

She was wearing his jersey.

But not just his jersey, his actual jersey. The material dwarfed her despite her attempts to make it work and there were a few stray threads on the numbers and bands on her arms, and a few places the material had been caught or worn thin from game use.

She was in his jersey.

Anthony struggled to remember how to breathe, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly, too many things going through his head to know how to feel.

Tess met his eyes and gave him a smile and a shrug. A stray puck hit Anthony in the skate, making him jump and pulling him out of his trance as he looked over to see who hit him, Barzy innocently stick handling not too far from him. Anthony shook his head and looked back to Tess before pulling his glove off and reaching down to pick the puck up.

He gestured he was going to throw it and Tess held her breath as it came over the glass. She let it hit the ground and pulled Sorel to her chest before picking it up, the rubber cold in her hand. She shook her head as Anthony gave her a small smile. She glanced around and saw a young girl not too far away so she walked over to her and gave her the puck, her face instantly lighting up. The parents thanked her, but Tess shook her head, “no problem, really. I hope you all have a fun night.”

Anthony watched them, a fond smile playing on his lips before he pulled himself away from the glass to warm up, not that he could stop himself from glancing over to them the entire time he was on the ice.

Barzy tapped his shin with his stick as they made they made their way off the ice, a big smile on his face when Anthony looked up at him, making him roll his eyes, not that he could stop himself from blushing.

Tess sighed as the last players made their way off the ice and shifted how she was holding Sorel so she was resting forwards against her chest, one hand under her butt, the other resting against the 18 on her back. She made her way over to Sydney whose eyes were shinning while she tried to suppress her smile, but Tess didn’t ask.

They took their time getting back to the suite and they were all settled in way before the game started. Sydney pulled her phone out to show Kristy something on her phone, probably pictures of Winnie and Marty, Tess reasoned, looking back at the ice as she waited for the game to start.

The game itself was okay.

They had played worse games, much worse, but they had also played a lot better. But that was to be expected since it was the first game of the season and the first time they were playing meaningful hockey since May.

They made some sloppy passes, made too many mistakes in their own zone. But they won, got the two points, and that’s what mattered. And Anthony and Nelly had a two on one where Anthony was able to get the pass across for Brock for a beauty of a goal, which was all that mattered to Tess.

After the game, Tess followed the rest of the girls down to the locker room. Unlike last time, Anthony was one of the first ones out of the locker room. He was smiling, his hair still damp from the shower, but his smile widened when he saw Tess and Sorel. He walked towards them, saying hello to Sorel who lit up when she saw her dad, before letting his fingers run over the 72 on Tess’s sleeve, his smile softening. “I hope it’s okay I wore it,” she whispered and Anthony lifted his eyes to meet hers.

“It’s perfect,” he whispered.

He thought about Tess in his jersey more times than he probably should have since last playoffs, but seeing her in his jersey, a jersey he physical wore during a game, it was better than he could have ever imagined and his heart ached.

“I wanted to support you and match Sorel and I was looking for Duckie and your clos—" She started but he shook his head.

“It’s perfect,” he repeated.

She was perfect.

Tess closed her mouth and nodded. “You had a good game. It was really nice to watch you play again,” she told him.

He chuckled softly, “It was alright. But I think I played better knowing my girls were here supporting me.”

Tess’s heart fluttered in her chest at his words, “maybe we’ll have to make a habit of this then.”

“Maybe,” he agreed. “We should get home, yeah? Get Sorel to bed,” Anthony said after a moment and Tess nodded.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” she agreed and turned to walk down the hall.

Anthony hesitated, letting his eyes run down her back and across his name and number. His breath caught in his throat and he swallowed, afraid of whatever was setting in his chest. He lifted his gaze and met Mat’s eye and Mat raised an eyebrow at him. Anthony rolled his eyes but couldn’t shake the feeling from his chest. He walked after Tess, letting his hand rest on her lower back before taking Sorel from her and he did his best to ignore the way his teammates looked at them.

“They’re really not together?” Connor whispered, leaning into Mat.

“Not yet,” he sighed, shaking his head as he watched his best friend walk away with Tess.

The ride home was quiet, but a familiar, comforting quiet, and Anthony kept glancing over at Tess who was content to just look out the window until they got home.

It was well past Sorel’s bed time when they got home and Anthony put her down before changing out of his suit and into a loose t-shirt and a pair of sleep pants. When he came out, Tess had also changed into some PJs and she had his jersey hung up on a hanger. “Here,” she said, holding it out to him.

His eyes ran down to the jersey and he shook his head. “Keep it,” he whispered with a smile.

Tess frowned and held it out a little more, “no, seriously, take it back.”

Anthony shook his head, a smile playing on his lips, “seriously. Keep it. Looks better on you than it did on me.”

“Anth—" She started but he shook his head and walked over to the couch.

“It’s yours now, Tessa,” he said as he leaned back against the couch with a smile.

She looked down at the jersey, feeling guilty for ever putting it on, but when she lifted her eyes, Anthony gave her a reassuring smile. She sighed, “are you sure?”

He nodded, “take the jersey, Tess.”

She sighed again and nodded. “Thank you,” she told him before walking back into her room to hang it up. She came back out a moment later and got a glass of water before joining him on the couch.

“Connor thought we were married,” she said after a moment.

Anthony burst out in laughter before looking over at her, “are you serious?”

Tess hummed, “apparently dear Barzy decided to omit some key information.”

“No kidding, jeez,” Anthony said, shaking his head, not that he was surprised. Of course he did. Of course Mat didn’t tell her.

“I handled it of course,” Tess laughed. “Pretty sure the give away should have been the lack of a large rock on my finger though, but oh well,” she continued, looking down at her left hand.

Anthony followed her gaze before forcing his eyes away with a strained laugh.

“Anyways,” she said after a moment. “I’m exhausted and you definitely should be, so I’m going to get ready for bed.”

“Yeah…” He breathed. “Bed sounds like a great idea.”

Tess hummed and gave his thigh a pat before getting up. “Sleep well,” she told him.

“You too,” he smiled, watching as she slipped into the bathroom before getting up and heading to his own room.

Tess took her make up off before going through her nightly routine and when she came out of the bathroom, all the lights were off and Anthony’s door was closed. If she stared at his door for a few seconds, no one had to know.

Tess had just gotten under the covers when her phone vibrated on her nightstand. She half expected it to be Anthony sending her a meme or something, but when she grabbed her phone, she saw it was Sydney sending her three attachments along with the text ‘I thought you might like these 😘.’ Tess furrowed her brows and opened the message, her breath instantly catching in her throat at the attachments.

The attachments were three pictures of her and Sorel by the glass with Anthony during warm ups. She didn’t know that anyone was watching them let alone taking pictures of them, but looking at the first picture, Anthony smiling at Sorel, his glove against the glass and her little hand against the other side while she looked down at Sorel, Tess was glad someone had photographed it so they could have it forever.

The second picture wasn’t much different from picture one, just this time she was looking at Anthony rather than Sorel. But picture three…

Tess was looking down at Sorel in picture three with a closed lip smile. At the time she was so happy to see Sorel at her first real hockey game that she completely missed the moment Sydney photographed.

Anthony wasn’t looking at Sorel in the picture, he was looking at her. His smile had softened and the look in his eyes knocked the air right out of her.

She couldn’t look away from the picture and it was only the dimming of her screen from the lack of activity that pulled her from her trance. She closed the picture and saved all of them to her camera roll before shaking her head and hitting the message bar.

‘Thank you,’ she sent back, pausing for a moment before adding. ‘They’re nice pictures.’

It was only a few seconds before Sydney sent back, ‘😘’

Tess rolled her eyes and closed the app. She moved to plug her phone in on the nightstand but she sighed and hovered her thumb over the photos app before clicking it and pulling the third picture up again, this time zooming in on Anthony.

She felt warm and empty and hopeful all at the same time.

Tess looked at the picture until her heart couldn’t take it anymore and she closed the app and turned her phone onto do not disturb before plugging it in and putting it face down on her nightstand. She rolled onto her other side and pulled the blankets over her shoulder, but every time she closed her eyes she saw that picture.

It was ridiculous, probably taken the second he lifted his gaze from Sorel so that’s why he had that look in his eyes. It wasn’t her, it was the moment. Just the right picture at the right time.

Still, she couldn’t stop herself from wondering, from pretending that it was real.

And that’s what she was thinking about when she finally fell asleep, having no idea that on the other side of the apartment Anthony was struggling to figure out what exactly was going through his mind the moment that picture was taken.

#baby bear story #anthony beauvillier #anthony beauvillier imagine #anthony beauvillier x oc #anthony beauvillier story #tito beauvillier imagine #tito beauvillier #tito beauvillier story #tito beauvillier x oc #life as we know it #ny islanders #new york islanders imagine #new york islanders #islanders imagine #hockey #hockey rpf #hockey imagine #nhl #nhl imagine

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heysimps · 4 years

Text

Hockey fic recs🤍

Mat Barzal

Pretend by @matbaerzal

More then a Vancouver sunset by @zuucc

Not a perfect proposal by @myhockeyworld87

4 times Mat was caught simping by his friends and 1 time you caught him. by @puckbuddies

Velvet Elvis by @honeybearbarzal

Ours by @puckinghell

Opportunities by @generallybarzy

Temptation by @iamtheblondestblonde

Kissing my bestfriend challenge by @hocktent

My love By @tkachukslut

Mortel @jkeeso

Good morning by @barzypatty

How not to fall in love by @pucksnsticksnhockeyboys

Wedding season by @ohpuckit

Series

Between halls and thin walls by @barzzal

One night stand by @matbaerzal

Me or my company by @tkachukme

Matthew Tkachuk

Does he know? by @hockey-fics

Bad behavior by @troubatrain

Fireworks by @blueskrugs

Take by @tkafuckit

It’s not that bad by @sorryjustafangirl

Since when? by @nhlandotherimagines

Tolerate it by @brockadoodles

If everything could ever feel this real forever by @konecny-s

Present tense by @broadstbroskis

Sunflowers by @hockeyboysiguess

4 times he almost proposed + 1 time he really did by @hockeywhy

Series

10 things i hate about you by @bqstqnbruin

Nolan Patrick

Miscommunications by @jamiedrysdales

Mine by @museinmind

Red Roses by @heybarzy

Bad day by @twinklelilstarkey

Everything has changed by @texanstarslove

Take me higher by @danglesnipecelly

Three times to fall by @captain-mcdavid

Tis the damn season by @numba99

Fool for you by @davidpastrsnack

Take a chance or three on me by @shelbsatans

Secrets / part 2 by @comphersjost

Anthony Beauvillier

Private Reservations by @hookingminor

Mine by @softbarzal

She’s not you by @denis-scorianov

White lace by @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tyler Seguinn

Shot your shot by @baevillier

Engraved by @pucking-insane

Single man by @holy-pucks

Friends don’t by @dunndunner

Home gym by @mathewbarzxl

Series

Little do you know by @raysofcrosby

#nhl #hockey fics #fic recs

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ivyglow · 3 years

Note

cuddling with Mat, you being the big spoon, his head in your chest as he's hugging you so tight, your hand going through his hair, I need this

hear me on this!!!! mat has the best cuddles ever and you can’t change my mind!! first, he has the! body! can you imagine feeling his strong body laying between your thighs, his head tucked between your neck and shoulder, and his hands drawing random letters every once in a while. there’s just so much love in the moment, there’s no need to say or do anything else, this is just the two of you enjoying each other company’s and being able to talk through the silence, you’re literally there to hold him and he loves the idea of being vulnerable around you, just being mat, your boyfriend and friend, not mathew barzal the face of the isles franchise, the player who’s constantly pushed to do more as if he wasn’t already doing his best. mat just loves you in general and he feels like during those cuddle sessions his heart just expands and his love for you grows even bigger.

#mat barzal #mathew barzal #thots #mels mutuals #barzypatty #i- 😩🥺🥺🥺

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mondieumat · 3 years

Note

💗 Send this to the 12 nicest people you know or who seem to have a good heart and if you get 5 back you must be pretty awesome 🌿✨ 💓💝💖💓💝💗💝💓💖💖💓💗

u made my morning againnnnn thanks for sending me this🥺

#i answered #barzypatty

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sorryjustafangirl · 4 years

Text

mascot mysteries

a/n: me posting something that isn’t at like midnight? wow. anyway i thought this was a super cute idea so i hope you all enjoy it :) this is also a gender neutral reader! and this is a covid-free AU

Pairing: Nolan Patrick x reader

Word Count: 1.8k

warnings: a few couple words, a little bit of anxious movements, Gritty (if that needs to be a warning)

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and real person fiction if you don’t like that, please don’t read! also the gif isn’t mine! all credit to the incredible gif-maker!

tagging: @barzypatty

You walked into the Wells Fargo Center, admiring the arena. This was your dream job ever since college. Honestly you couldn’t believe you got it. You pull out your phone with the emailed instructions of where to go. You look for the “hallway next to the washroom” only to discover there are three different hallways that have signs directing to the washrooms.

Well fuck.

“Are you good there?” You look to your left to see two guys, likely players based on their attire. One was taller, with longer hair and a small smile. The other one was shorter but looked more rambunctious. It looked like there were in a little bit of a rush, but you were really lost.

“I’m actually kind of lost. I’m looking for conference room B8? But the instructions I have are really vague, so I have, like, no idea where I’m going,” you admitted, folding into yourself a little bit.

“That’s on our way! Come with us, we’ll show you where it is,” the shorter one said, motioning you over to where the two of them had stopped. “So, you’ve never been here?”

“It’s actually my first day on the job, so, um no. I haven’t been here before either, I, uh, grew up in Canada,” You cursed yourself. This was your first impression with the organization and you couldn’t even make a conversation without the stammering.

“Cool! Me and Patty are from Canada too! Shit, sorry, I’m TK and that’s Patty,” He said, motioning to the taller guy beside him. “And don’t worry about getting lost, Pats here got lost on his first day too,”

“Good to know I’m not the only one whose bad with directions,” you directed your comment to Patty, making brief eye contact with him. A rosy blush brushed his cheeks and you caught a mumbled “yeah”

“What do you do….?” Patty prompted, his voice quiet, but somehow you still heard it. He couldn’t deny you were pretty.

“Oh, sorry, I’m Y/N. And I’m in media? I don’t know my exact title, but working for one of the best marketed media teams was too good for me to, uh, turn down so…” You said, slightly talking in front of TK so you could answer Patty’s question.

“Oh cool! Maybe you’ll get to meet Gritty, he’s the fun residence troublemaker,” Travis popped in.

“I thought that was your job Teeks,” which earned a jab from TK into Patty, who just snickered.

“Travis, bud!” The three of you stopped to see someone else motioning for TK, who jogged over to the other man.

“C’mon, the conference room isn’t too much further, I’ll walk you there,” Patty said, already making some steps forward. After a small comfortable silence, he stopped in front of two double doors. “So, uh, this is it. Good luck on your first day,”

“Oh! Thanks. And, um, thanks for showing me where it was,” You tugged down on your jacket. “I guess I’ll just….” you motioned behind you to the doors.

“Oh right, yeah, I’ll, uh, let you go,” You gave a small wave and turned towards the conference doors and he turned back to go where he came from, only to turn around after a few steps. “Hey Y/N?”

“Yeah?” You took a few steps back towards him.

“You’re in media, yeah? So you might be at games or maybe even practices?” He scratched the back of his neck, slightly mumbling towards the end.

“Uh, yeah maybe. I’m not too sure where they’ll put me just yet but I like being in the action. I know that might seem weird ‘cause I’m sorta shy and quiet but..” You wrung your hands together.

“No, no, I get it. It’s like being a different person, when you’re behind the camera or something. You get to be someone else and it’s nice. I get like that on the ice sometimes. I can make the big hits and stuff and no one treats it like it’s different from being quiet outside the game,”

“Yeah, like a different person. That’s exactly it,” You met his eyes again. Holy shit, why is he so gorgeous?

“Y/N Y/L/N?” A head popped out from behind the conference room doors. “We’re ready for you,”

“Great, thank you,” You turned back to Patty. “That’s, uh, that’s me, but I’ll hopefully see you around, Patty?”

“I’d like that a lot. And uh, you can call me Nolan,” The blush came back to his cheeks but you could barely notice over the heat in your own cheeks.

“Bye Nolan.” You gave him one last smile before entering the conference room and closing the door, slowing entering the room. Once you came into sight, the people around the table jumped up.

“Ah! There they are! Our new Gritty!”

***

After that first encounter, you seemed to bump into Nolan more. Before work, sometimes after work. You would make casual conversation, both mumbling, but you just got each other. And it didn’t take too long for him to muster up the courage to ask you on a date. While you were slightly hesitant, he was quick to assure you that “I may have asked G to ask management if it’d be okay with our jobs and, uh, everything’s fine, so…?” which earned him a kiss on the cheek and a yes.

The problem was your job. You loved being a mascot. Seriously, you did. You were hooked after that first varsity game you went to in college. The energy of the crowd, interacting with the players and fans, the anonymity. The anonymity was the issue. Behind the costume, no one knew it was shy ol’ you. You could do anything and no one would tell you that you were being too rowdy or obnoxious. No one expected anything out of you except fun. It was perfect. And being Philadelphia’s beloved mascot/political figure was the dream. Telling Nolan risked the anonymity of the job. But to not tell Nolan was becoming an issue. He understood you had to work during game days, but it was becoming increasingly difficult not to see you with the other better halves in the stands, especially since you worked here. There was no reason for you not to be there. Every other teammate of his got to see someone they loved in their jersey but he didn’t.

When he brings this up, all timid, you are so quick to make a compromise. Before every home game, you’d meet in the tunnel for a good luck handshake. It might seem ridiculous but he got to physically see you before each game and it was a fun, quirky ritual.

“It’s like a different person right? You get in your zone and I’ll get in mine,” You told him. He responded with a kiss.

But you were running out of excuses why you were late either before your handshake or after his game, where you would also meet him in the tunnel. You had used the “I caught up with work” at least four times, “I saw a coworker who wanted to talk” a few times, and even resorted to “I got lost” once. You could see it was throwing him off a little. He was still playing perfectly fine, but it didn’t have that same “umph” he sometimes brought to the ice.

It was the home game against the Penguins when he finally snapped. That’s how you knew it was bad. Gritty was asked to do the fun pre-show, and you hadn’t had time to change to see Nolan before the game. He threw more hits, had more aggression, and more than the normal Pennsylvania rivalry. You couldn’t help but think that part of it was because you didn’t show up before the game. He’d even gotten in a fight with Tanev early in the second period.

So, during the intermission between the second and third, you asked your team to lead you down to the tunnel and grab Nolan out of the dressing room. The Flyers were up 3-0 so you didn’t think it’s be a huge issue with Coach.

He quietly exited the room, confused on why he got pulled out. A member of your team just gestured to you in your costume, which did little to clear up his confusion. You held your hand up in a fist for a fist bump, the first move in your handshake. When he still gave that bewildered look, you softly grabbed his gloved hand and pushed it against yours. When you lifted your hand up for a high five, he still needed some prompting. But when the down low high five came, you started to see the gears in his head turning. He gave a small chuckle and slowly worked through your handshake, ending with a pinky promise and a kiss to your respective thumbs. When you’ve finished, he just gives you that small side smile and shakes his head, with a chuckle.

You can hear the boys getting hyped up in the dressing room, and then the buzzer goes, so you break away from Nolan, but stay in the tunnel. As the boys single-file pass you, you give them each a boop on the head, with some extra love given to Nolan.

That third period, Nolan seems to have his “umph” back. An assist and a goal, and he celebrated both by glancing up to you, celebrating as per usual with the fans, especially after his goal.

After the game, you go and have your own shower, all sweaty after the 5-0 Pennsylvania battle. You took your time, knowing you’d have to have a semi-serious conversation with Nolan. But when you join him in the tunnel, he’s all smiles. He wraps you in a hug, spinning you around, before setting you on the ground and nuzzling into your neck. You run your fingers through his own freshly washed hair. The two of you stand there for a bit before he mumbles into your neck, barely audible.

“Like another person, eh?” You smiled and tucked your head into his chest.

“Oh shut up, I don’t even know if you’re allowed to know.” A hearty laugh escaped him.

“Secret’s safe with me, babe,” He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and kissed the top of your head as you started to make your way out of the arena. “Fuckin’ Gritty, I can’t believe it. I thought you were ignoring me,”

“I’m sorry, Nols. It’s just a lot to take in. Didn’t want to scare you off,”

“Well, I’m sticking around if that’s alright with you.” You looked up at him, and his cheeks started to redden, and not just from the game.

“Yeah. That’s alright with me,” You leaned into the crook of his shoulder, glad you didn’t have to hide any part of yourself from Nolan anymore.

Bonus: “Did you ever actually punch a kid?”

“Oh my gosh, I’m not answering that,”

“It’s a valid question babe! I’m not going to stop you, I just wanna know,”

feel free to let me know what you think! thanks for reading

#nolan patrick #nolan patrick imagine #nolan patrick fic #philadephia flyers fic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl x reader #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nolpatty #abby writes

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josthours · 3 years

Text

npatrickz → simplyjosty

tagging some friends/mutuals

@samsteel @barzzal @hoeglander @dmonchld @heybarzy @dembenchboys @honeybearbarzal @bqstqnbruin @generallybarzy @softboybarzal @softbarzal @tkafuckit @senditcolton @chicagoblackhawkslover96 @barzypatty @sortagaysortahigh @glassdanse @ollywahlygator @butgilinsky @laurenairay @tkachukme @broadstbroskis @denis-scorianov @hookingminor @bricksatlandyswindow @charliethehoneyedangel @babytkachuks @matbaerzal @toplinetommy @troubatrain + i probably have forgotten some people

#jem changes urls

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islesnucks · 3 years

Text

barzypatty → islesnucks

so by only 4 votes islesnucks wins over meetmeinthepuckdrop, islespovs and hockeyhimboland (the rest weren’t eve close)

but hey new name same old clara don’t really expect any more changes than that

also please be patient as I fix all the link

tagging a few people to avoid confusions: @2manytabsopen @barbienoturbby @softbarzal @iwantahockeyhimbo @nilspettersson @latinahockeylady @itoldmycatsaboutyou @mondieumat @sebs-aston @simplyjosty @fallinallincurls @honeybearbarzal @sidscrosbyy @phillyjoel @hockstuff

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idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 · 3 years

Text

Life As We Know It | Part 9

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove @matbarzyy @hockeywocs @ggggmoneyyyy @great-puck-work @calgarycanuck @toplinetommy @fiveholegoal @itrocksmysocks @joelsfarabee @barzysreputation @iangiemae @stlbluesbrat @c-tangerine @yzas-stuff @canadianheaters @jeylia-haj @roopehintz @dreamsndior @beauvibaby @2manytabsopen @nazdaddy @sorryjustafangirl @sidscrosbyy @fallinallincurls @pastelpapermoons @miranda0102 @hockeybabe87 @teenagekook @svechnikolan @kayt-marie @heatherawoowoo @barzypatty @whoeverineedtobe @lovethepreds @ohpuckyeah @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch @mf-mightyducks @day-dreamerr @ficsilove10 @notaccurateornice @dylancozzys @gravyoverall @newlibrary @lena306 @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @honestreputation [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: Alcohol.

Comments: 54,000 words!!! I can’t believe we’re already to this point!!! Hope you all stick around for the second half!!! As always, please let me know what you think!

Tess was used to watching Sorel while Anthony went to see his friends. She had done it a few times since they got to Quebec, and she was more than happy to do it. She loved any and all time she got with Sorel, and it wasn’t like she was going to be so small forever. Before they knew it, she was going to be all grown up, so Tess valued every moment she got with Sorel.

And she liked watching Dominique interact with Sorel. Dominique loved her granddaughter so much and she had already begun spoiling her. Sorel might be staying in Anthony’s room, but it felt like he was staying in her room since it was filled with new clothes and countless stuffed animals, way more than a five month old could need. Not to mention, the living room was also filled with toys, some of which she wasn’t old enough to really play with.

Like those other days, Anthony had plans with his friends. Sylvain and Dominique were at work, leaving Tess and Sorel alone in the house. It was nice spending time together just the two of them, they hadn’t really been alone like that since they came to Quebec. Tess wasn’t complaining, the Beauvilliers were super nice and welcoming, and Sorel wasn’t her baby, but it was nice to have some time together, just the two of them.

The sun was out, so they spent some time outside, a tiny bucket hat and some sunscreen keeping the sun off Sorel as they enjoyed the weather in a way they couldn’t in New York.

The longer she sat out there with Sorel, the more she thought about how nice it would be to come back every summer, to have this time with his family, to see Sorel grow up and learn French with her family while enjoying the summer outside the big city.

But, as she reminded herself, it wasn’t like it was her family too, so that wasn’t going to happen. She just had to enjoy it while it lasted because it wasn’t like she was going to be invited back next year when both Anthony and Sorel were ready to do this on their own.

Eventually Sorel got tired and Tess had to bring her in for her afternoon nap. She never stayed long when she put Sorel down, not wanting to snoop through Anthony’s things. It was so weird being in his room in Quebec. It was so different from his room in New York, jerseys, hockey sticks and medals decorating the walls, and his high school graduation picture on his dresser.

Everything was so Anthony, but a different Anthony than she knew in New York.

She smiled as she let her eyes run over all the hockey memorabilia and pictures one more time before slipping out and closing the door behind her.

She settled in the living room with the baby monitor before checking the time. It was only mid afternoon and before he left, Anthony said he wouldn’t be gone long, that it was just going to be a quick meet up, but she didn’t expect him home so soon. He hadn’t seen a lot of the guys all year and he deserved the time with them, and she was more than capable of holding down the fort.

She didn’t do a whole lot, mostly scrolled through Instagram and Twitter until Sorel woke up and they were in the living room when Anthony came home. “Hey,” Tess smiled as he closed the door behind him and he kicked off his shoes before sitting down next to her.

“How are you? How was she?” He asked with a smile, leaning back against the couch, something shiny sticking out from the collar of his shirt catching the sun at his movement.

“Both good,” she said with a smile, trying to figure out what was catching the light. It wasn’t his necklace because she could see he wasn’t wearing it, which was weird because she had never seen him without it. “How were your friends?” She asked.

Anthony laughed softly and brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck, the movement reflecting more light. “I actually didn’t see them,” he told her, making her raise an eyebrow at him. He gave her a lopsided smile before pulling the collar of his shirt down to expose black ink that definitely wasn’t there this morning. It was the protective saniderm bandage that was reflecting the sun.

Tess pushed herself up and replace his hand, pulling his collar down more to see the full thing. It was simple, a single line of black Roman numerals over his heart.

I • XIX • MMXXI

“Sorel’s birthday,” he explained, making Tess smile as she restrained herself from touching it.

“I love it,” she told him honestly, letting go of his collar before sitting back down. She looked down at Sorel looking back at him, but he had turned to watch Sorel on the play mat, a soft smile on his lips.

“That way she’ll always be with me,” he said. Tess’s smile softened as she looked at him. Sorel was lucky to have a dad that loved her as much as Anthony did.

“You know, you could have told me you were getting a tattoo,” she said after a few minutes, making Anthony laugh.

“Yeah…” he whispered, looking over at her with a shrug. “I wanted to get it done before Francis got in. And my mom wasn’t exactly thrilled when I got my first one, so I guess I just thought it would be better to keep it a secret until I got it.”

Tess hummed in understanding and gave his thigh a pat before getting up and grabbing Sorel, making Anthony’s smile widen as he held his arms out to take her. “Hey, Ellie,” he laughed, kissing her cheek before sitting her down on his lap. Tess’s chest filled with warmth as she watched them and he whispered something in French before carrying her over to the kitchen so he could make himself a snack.

Francis, his brother, ended up getting in later that week.

Despite his season in Belfast ending before the Islanders, Francis came back to Quebec a few weeks after Anthony and Tess since he wasn’t exactly anxious to get back and stay with his parents, brother, and his brother’s kid and friend after living abroad on his own. But he did want to spend at least a few weeks with his family and be there for the annual Spike for Alzheimer’s tournament Anthony hosted in memory of their grandparents.

Francis’s plane got in just after noon and Sylvain and Dominique went to the airport to pick him up while Anthony stayed home with Sorel and Tess. It was clear that Anthony was excited that his brother was coming back home since he kept fidgeting and pacing, not that Tess was surprised. She knew how close they were and how much Francis meant to him.

Anthony was on his feet as soon as the car pulled into the driveway while Tess bounced Sorel on her lap. She was dressed in a cream short sleeve onesie with floral shorts and a matching head bow, which Tess thought was a pretty cute outfit.

He let Francis walk in and put his bags down before pulling him into a hug. They said somethings in French that Tess didn’t understand and Anthony laughed before pulling back and taking Sorel from Tess to introduce her to his brother.

“So this is my niece, huh?” Francis asked as Anthony walked towards him with Sorel in his arms.

Anthony nodded with a smile, “yeah, this is Sorel.”

Francis’s smile widened and he took her from his brother. Even he had to admit that she was a pretty cute baby. “Couldn’t be more creative with her name?”

“Oh, shut up,” Anthony laughed and shook his head. Francis laughed with him and looked at Sorel, who didn’t seem too sure about him. Before coming to Quebec, she was used to it just being Anthony and Tess, so she was unsure about the new people she was meeting, even if they were family.

“And you must be Tessa,” Francis smiled, stepping towards her, shifting how he was holding Sorel to extend his hand. “Anthony doesn’t shut up about you.”

Tess laughed, a small blush dusting her cheeks as she stood up to shake his hand. “All good things I hope,” she replied.

He laughed and nodded. “All good things, I promise,” he said before stepping around her. He turned to look at Anthony before mouthing ‘she’s hot.’ Anthony shook his head at his brother, but he could feel a blush creeping up his neck that he hoped Tess didn’t notice.

Sorel fussed in Francis’s arms, not thrilled about him and wanting her dad back, and Francis looked down at her before shifting how he was holding her. “I really failed at being a big brother, eh? Never showed you how to put on a condom,” he said, shaking his head as he looked over at Anthony. “Do you want that demonstration now?”

Tess burst out in laughter before clamping her hand over her mouth while Anthony blushed harder. “Fuck off. And give me my baby back,” Anthony replied, dodging the smack that came from his mother at his language to take Sorel back, but he couldn’t meet Tess’s eyes.

The blush stayed on his cheeks longer than he wanted, probably because Tess kept snickering. They let Francis get settled in his room and they spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the living room before having an early dinner because the jet lag was starting to hit Francis and he was looking forwards to getting to bed. They ordered pizza at Francis’s request because, apparently, the pizza in Belfast just wasn’t the same.

It was weird for Tess to watch Anthony interact with his brother. They had such a different relationship than she had with her sisters, but it was clear that they were both so happy to see each other. Tess swore Anthony hadn’t stopped smiling since Francis got home.

And when she got up the next morning, Anthony and Francis were already up. They were chatting about something in French she couldn’t follow, but Anthony kept smiling and laughing, which made Tess smile before she slipped back up the stairs, not wanting to ruin their moment.

Anthony’s twenty fourth birthday came only a few days after the Hurricanes had eliminated them from the playoffs, so he wasn’t exactly in the mood to celebrate. But now that he was back home in Quebec with his family, he wasn’t about to turn down a night dedicated to himself with a special dinner and, more importantly, cake. Even if it was a month after his actual birthday.

The day started like any other, a morning coffee with Tess and Sorel, and then he and Francis hit the gym together, which was nice. He spent the afternoon outside with his family and sipped a few beers, which were refreshing in the July heat.

Dominique made his favourite meal, salmon, and they opened a nice bottle of Merlot, his favourite. It was a really nice dinner, nicer since Tess was there, too. And after dinner, after telling everyone they didn’t need to get him anything, Anthony chose to open gifts before cake.

He opened his parents’ gift first, which ended up being a couple of dress shirts. He thanked them, never having enough dress shirts. And before he could even put the shirts back into the box, Francis slid a little gift bag with no tissue paper over to him.

Anthony eyed the bag nervously after catching his brothers’ eyes shining with mischief. Slowly, he reached into the bag and pulled out a white mug. He gave his brother a confused look before turning the mug around to read DILF in big bold black letters, making him burst out in laughter, even as a blush crawled up his neck.

“Thank you,” he said sarcastically. “I really need this.”

“You totally do,” Francis smiled, making Anthony shake his head. Tess laughed too, shaking her head at the two of them before handing Anthony her gift, a small, expertly wrapped box with a little bow. She bought while the Islanders were still in the playoffs, but never got the chance to give it to him.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” he repeated, but she only rolled her eyes.

“Just shut up and open it,” she told him, making Francis snicker.

Anthony shook his head, a smile playing on his lips as he undid the bow and took his time undoing the wrapping paper to reveal a small box. He glanced over at Tess before opening the box. His smile softened as he looked at the simple necklace, a gold chain with a small gold letter ’S’ for a pendant.

“I got it before you got the tattoo so you could keep her with you when you play,” she explained with a small shrug.

He looked up from the necklace with a smile, “I love it. Thank you.” Tess returned the smile and nodded before glancing at the rest of the table, her gaze dropping to the table when she met Francis’s eye.

Anthony didn’t hesitate to slide his necklace off and put the new one on, running his finger over the ’S’ with a smile before looking over to Tess, and Francis had to restrain an eyeroll at the look on his brother’s face.

“So… cake?” Francis asked after clearing his throat, needing to snap Anthony out of whatever trance he was in.

Anthony pulled away from Tess and looked over to Francis with a nod, “yeah, I’ll—"

“I’ll get it. Birthday boy stays put,” Dominique said, cutting him off before getting up to get the cake and a knife. Sylvain followed her to get plates and forks for everyone.

It was a simple chocolate cake with white icing that read ‘Bonne Fête, Anthony!’ in blue icing. His mom lit the candles and he had to sit through them singing bonne fête to him while Tess smiled, not knowing the words in French. Finally, he blew out the candles and thanked them for singing, even if he could have done without it, and his mom handed him the knife to cut the cake.

“Big piece for me, please,” Francis said, making Anthony roll his eyes, but he cut Francis a large piece which he immediately dug into before Anthony turned to ask Tess how big a piece she wanted.

“Average sized I guess? Please,” she replied and Anthony put the knife on the icing to show her.

“Like this?” He asked.

“A little smaller, please,” she replied and he moved the knife over. Tess nodded and he cut the piece and put it on a plate. “Thank you,” she smiled when he passed it over and he nodded before turning to his parents and cutting their pieces before his own.

The cake was pretty good, but, in Anthony’s mind, the company was better. It wasn’t often that he got to spend this kind of time with his family, and now he had Sorel and Tess too. Just being with them was all he could ever ask for.

Francis helped clean up, leaving Anthony to pick out a movie while Tess checked on Sorel, who was asleep upstairs.

Anthony settled on some action movie, and he had already made himself comfortable on the couch when everyone came back to the living room. His parents took the love seat while Francis flopped down on the chair, leaving Tess to curl up with Anthony on the couch, not that she was complaining.

When the movie started, she was resting against the opposite couch arm, but as the movie played, she slowly moved herself over to Anthony and put her head on his lap, smiling when he moved his hand to her shoulder. They watched the rest of the movie like that, Anthony gently rubbing her shoulder until she nearly fell asleep. And their actions weren’t missed by the rest of his family, Dominique having to cover her mouth with her hand to hide her smile.

When the credits started to roll, Tess pushed herself up and moved back over to her spot. “I’m going to bed,” she said, giving Anthony’s thigh a pat before getting up. “I’m glad you had a good day. You deserve it.” He returned her smile and murmured a ‘thank you’ before watching her make her way upstairs.

His parents followed her lead, heading to bed themselves and leaving Anthony and Francis in the living room. Francis looked at him for a long while, making Anthony ask, “what?”

But Francis shook his head with a shrug, “nothing at all.”

They watched another movie, just the two of them, and Francis broke out the beer. It was always nice to hang out just the two of them, and they spent more time talking than watching the movie. It felt like Anthony never stopped smiling, but when the movie came to an end, they both knew it was time for them to head to bed.

Anthony took his time getting ready for bed and did his best to slip into the room as quietly as possible so he wouldn’t disturb Sorel. When he got under the covers, he brought his hand up to play with the pendant on his necklace, smiling to himself in the dark room.

The warmth he felt wasn’t from the summer night, but from something else.

He let the pendant fall back against his chest before rolling over so he faced the door, silently wondering if Tess was having good dreams before letting his eyes close and it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

The Spike ball for Alzheimer’s tournament held in mid July came way sooner than expected. Between trying to get everything planned and Sorel, the days went by quickly and before they knew it, event was right around the corner.

There had been days of practicing between Francis, Anthony, and their friends, and they had dragged Tess into it more than a few times. She did her best, she really did, but spike ball definitely wasn’t her calling. It was fun and she got to hear Anthony laugh, his skin golden in the sun, and after the game his hand had wrapped around her waist as he pulled her against him. So it wasn’t a whole loss, even if she was terrible at the game.

Still, the night before the event, Tess could tell that Anthony was nervous. His fingers drummed on the kitchen table as he sipped a beer and Tess came up behind him, letting her hand run over his shoulder before sitting down next to him. “You okay?” She asked and Anthony relaxed when he realized it was her.

“Yeah,” he smiled. “Just nervous. It seems to get bigger every year and I just want it to go smoothly.”

Tess let her hand run down his arm and gave his hand a squeeze. “It will,” she told him. “I promise.”

The corner of his lip twitched up and he squeezed her hand back, “thank you.”

Tess’s smile softened and she nodded. “Plus, you’re going to have your own cheer squad this year,” she pointed out. Anthony laughed, but his heart fluttered at the thought of both Tess and Sorel being there.

“I’m a lucky guy,” he whispered.

“Something like that,” Tess laughed, but she stayed with him until it was time for bed, everyone trying to get to bed early since in preparation for tomorrow.

Everyone was up early the next morning and Tress got dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a Spike of Alzheimer’s shirt over a bikini top. She fluffed her curls and slipped a scrunchie onto her wrist before heading downstairs where Anthony had already made her a cup of coffee.

They had to be at Lower Canada College pretty early, so they didn’t get to sit around and talk like they normally did, but they still had enough time to have their coffee together, which was nice, even if Tess was disappointed that Anthony, much like herself, had already gotten dressed for the day.

Tess dressed Sorel up in cute summer outfit, a green tank top onesie and matching shorts and a green and yellow patterned bucket hat to keep the sun off her, not that she was going to be spending much time in direct sunlight, Tess was sure of that. She put sunscreen on her and Sorel as Anthony and Francis loaded up the car and then they were off to Lower Canada College. But not before a stop at Tim Horton’s for some Timbits and ice capps.

Of course, they were the first ones there and Francis helped Anthony set everything up while Tess set up a pop up canopy and a blanket for Sorel and a chair for herself where they could watch, but still be in the shade, and a safe distance away from any stray balls. The cooler full of water and Gatorade also found its way next to her, but she was fine with guarding their drinks.

After everything was set up, Anthony and Francis sat down with her and Sorel under the canopy while they waited for everyone to show up. Tess couldn’t help herself and she pulled out her phone to snap a few pictures as Anthony kissed Sorel’s cheek and whispered, “je t’aime.”

Anthony looked up at Tess as Sorel sat in his lap. A slight breeze moved Tess’s hair and the string tie from her bikini stuck out from the collar of her shirt. She smiled when he caught her eye and it knocked the air right out of him.

“People are arriving,” she told him after a moment and he cleared his throat before looking over his shoulder. She was right, a few groups of people were making their way onto the field, including some of his friends.

Anthony took a deep breath and kissed Sorel on the cheek one more time before standing and passing her to Tess. He hesitated for before kissing Tess’s cheek too and walking over to greet the arrivals with Francis, leaving Tess under the canopy with Sorel and her blush.

The first part of the day, Tess just sat under her canopy and watched Sorel and the different games of spike ball going on around her. It was nice to enjoy the weather, and to shamelessly eye Anthony up when he got too hot and took his shirt off, her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses.

It was no secret that Anthony was Hot. Capital H kind of hot. And she was reminded of that daily when his shirt sleeves were tight around his biceps or he forwent a shirt all together, which he usually did in the morning when his hair was still fluffy with sleep. But she never got the chance to really look at him without risking getting caught, and she really didn’t need to be caught ogling her best friend.

But, she could look at him now.

His skin was golden in the sun, though she was sure he’d be sunburnt by the end of the day. He was close enough that when he reached up to hit the ball, she could see the outline of his abs, making Tess struggle to remember how to breathe. No matter how much she wanted or didn’t want to, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Especially when their game came to an end and he was smiling and laughing, making Tess smile too. His smile really was contagious.

He looked over at her and Tess hoped he couldn’t tell she had been watching him.

Anthony took his snapback off and ran his hand through his hair before putting it back on and walking over to her. Tess smiled as he got closer to the canopy. “You look happy,” she told him as he grabbed a water out of the cooler.

He drank half the bottle, Tess’s eyes dipping to his throat as he swallowed before replying, “I’d be happier if you joined us.”

Tess shook her head with a laugh, “I thought we went over this. I’m not good at spike ball.”

Anthony laughed, “come on. One game? Please?” Tess was glad he had his sunglasses on too so he couldn’t give her his puppy dog eyes since there was no way she could turn those down.

“Beau—" She started, but he pouted, making her roll her eyes behind her sunglasses. “One game,” she sighed after a moment.

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek, “I’ll grab my mom to watch Ellie.”

Tess smiled and nodded, watching Anthony walk away before pulling her hair back. She hesitated, glancing over at the guys before pulling her shirt over her head and fixing her bikini top. If they didn’t need to wear a shirt, then neither did she.

It was only a few moments later that Anthony and Dominique came over, Anthony hesitating half a step when he realized Tess was just in a bikini top and tiny jean shorts.

“Let’s get this over with,” Tess said, rolling her neck to stretch out and Anthony quickly cleared his throat and nodded, leading Tess over to the pitch.

Tess’s calling was definitely not spike ball. Really, she stood a better chance with volleyball since that had a bigger ball and field, but even then, she wasn’t very good. She tried her best, she really did, but the only reason her and Anthony didn’t lose horrifically was because of Anthony. But it still wasn’t a close game.

She missed the ball a few times, missed the net trying to spike the ball down, and didn’t get enough on the ball so Anthony couldn’t get it when it came his way. And, okay, maybe Anthony missed a few balls because he was too busy watching Tess jump to hit the ball, but no one had to know. It just… Despite her hair being pulled back, it still had so much bounce, and he had never seen so much of her skin before.

He knew she was beautiful, but, damn, she was also kinda hot.

Eventually, to Tess’s great relief, the game came to an end. She laughed as she gave his friends a high five before turning back to him. “Am I free to go now?” She asked with a laugh, picking the ball up and tossing it to him.

Anthony caught the ball and rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yeah, you’re free to go, thank you,” he told her.

“Thank you,” she smiled, stepping closer to him to pat his shoulder, loving how it felt under her hand. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to play and spend time with Anthony, she loved when she got to. It’s just that she preferred to be with Sorel where she could shamelessly watch Anthony and look at all his exposed skin.

He hummed, hanging onto her touch before watching her walk away and turning to look back at his friends. “What?” He asked when they raised an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing. Nothing at all,” Pierre said, raising his hands in surrender. Anthony didn’t buy it, but he let it slide.

Tess didn’t bother pulling her shirt back on when she returned to the canopy, happy to hold Sorel in her lap against the bare skin of her stomach while she watched Anthony continue to play in the sun. He was definitely going to be sunburnt by the end of the day.

As the event came to an end, Dominique drove Tess and Sorel home. Anthony didn’t need the extra hands to clean up, and despite a nap in the carrier and in Tess’s arms, the long day outside was starting to wear on Sorel and Tess and Dominique agreed that going home to the air conditioning would be good for her.

Francis and Anthony’s friends helped Anthony clean up after everything was done and people were starting to head home. Between them and a few volunteers, it didn’t take long to get everything cleaned up and the equipment loaded up into the cars.

They sat down in the grass and Francis ran off to the car before coming back with a small collar that he hid some beers in that had them laughing. Anthony had only taken a sip of his beer when Pierre asked, “so, what’s the story with you and Tessa?”

Anthony rolled his eyes, but Francis jumped in before he could answer, “I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Tess,” Anthony replied, getting a few eye rolls from his friends. “God, first Barzy, then the team, then mom, now you guys, too? There’s nothing going on. She’s my roommate and my friend. That’s it.” He said defensively.

“You brought her home, but you’re sure there’s nothing going on between you two?” Francis asked. He wasn’t dumb. He could see the way his brother looked at Tess, and he knew what it meant to bring someone home.

“Confident,” Anthony replied firmly before taking another drink of his beer.

The group was quiet as they continued to drink their beers before Francis glanced at his brother and said, “so, if there’s nothing going on between you two… Would it be cool for me to make a move on Tessa? She is pretty smoking, dude.”

Francis laughed at the glare Anthony gave him. “Not a chance,” Anthony told him. He didn’t know what it was, but the thought of Francis with Tess… Making her laugh… Kissing her… More… It made his stomach turn and an unfamiliar heat settle in his chest.

“But there’s nothing going on between you two, so why not?” Francis smirked, spinning his brother’s words back at him.

“No,” Anthony said firmly. “She’s…” He trailed off. She’s too good for you. She isn’t yours. She’s Tessa. He shook his head, “she deserves better.”

Francis’s smile faltered as he held Anthony’s eye before Anthony let his gaze fall to the grass as he tried to shake the tightness in his chest. Francis could sense that there was something more to his words, but he knew his brother well and he knew that whatever it was, he wasn’t ready to talk about it, so he let it go.

The conversation drifted, but Anthony couldn’t really focus on it. Every laugh was forced as he couldn’t stop thinking about Tess and Francis and just how much he didn’t like it.

Anthony was quiet the whole drive home, but he smiled as soon as he stepped into the house and saw Tess. She was curled up on the couch with her hair pulled back in a messy bun, and she had changed into something more comfortable, but she was perfect.

He moved her legs to the side to sit down before pulling them over his lap, whatever he was feeling at the campus and in the car leaving him at her presence. “Sorel’s asleep,” she told him and he nodded while Francis met their mom in the kitchen, the two of them sharing a knowing look before he followed her and her drinks outside onto the patio.

When Tess pushed herself up and looked over at Anthony, she could see red skin peeking out from the collar of his shirt. She was right, he was sunburnt, which is exactly what she told him with a sigh.

“Huh?” Anthony replied, looking down and he pulled at the collar of his shirt to see his shoulder which was definitely redder than it should be. “Maybe just a little.”

Tess rolled her eyes but stood up, “stay put, I’m getting aloe.” She was usually very good at putting on sunscreen, but she still packed her bottle of aloe vera just in case, and thank god she did because Anthony’s skin was going to thank her for it.

She came back down with the bottle of aloe and gave him an expectant look. “Yes?” He asked slowly, not sure what she was after.

“Take your shirt off and let me rub aloe on your shoulders since you’re a dumbass,” she responded, making Anthony scoff, a slight blush creeping up his neck and cheeks, but he hoped the sunburn covered it up. Still, he listened to her and pulled his shirt off, tossing it over the arm of the couch and moving to sit on the floor so she could sit on the couch with her legs on either side of him, giving her better access to his shoulders.

She pumped some aloe into her hand and put the bottle down beside her before starting on his shoulders. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad since he was wearing a shirt for at least part of the day. Still, the red creeped over his shoulders and down his chest and his skin was hot to touch. She’d have to remind him to put sunscreen on next time.

The aloe was cool and soothed his burnt skin and he made a soft noise of approval as she worked it along his shoulders. Tess pulled back to put some more aloe into her hands before going down his arms and chest, careful to get all of the sunburnt area. She did her best to ignore how beefy his arms were and what his chest felt like under her hands, but it was hard.

“Better?” She asked, after she was satisfied that his sunburn was treated with aloe.

He hummed and looked over his shoulder at her with a small smile, “thank you.”

“Uh huh,” she said, shaking her head. She pushed herself up and moved down the couch so Anthony could sit back down, not that he bothered to put his shirt back on, making it hard for Tess to not let her eyes wander down his chest.

Anthony yawned and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m exhausted,” he told her.

“I bet,” she said with a small laugh. “You were literally running around in the sun all day.” He laughed with her and nodded. She wasn’t wrong.

“I think I’m going to have a quick nap before dinner,” he said after a moment, looking over at her before grabbing his shirt. “Come get me when dinner is ready or if you need anything.” Tess hummed and he patted her thigh before standing up, “thanks again for the aloe.”

Tess’s smile softened and she nodded, “anytime, Beau. Now go nap, I don’t need two Beauvilliers who are cranky from not getting enough sleep and too much sun.” He laughed and nodded, giving her shoulder one last squeeze before heading up stairs, leaving Tess alone in the living room to try to shake how firm his chest and shoulders were under her touch.

Neither Anthony nor Tess were ready for Sorel to start crawling. Sure, she had been doing better on the play mat and she had been doing some back and forth rocking and planking and she could pull herself to the toys just out of her reach, but neither of them were ready for her to start crawling.

It was a warm afternoon in late July and Anthony and Tess were outside enjoying some sun with Sorel on the play mat they brought outside with the patio umbrella over it to keep some of the sun off her.

Naturally, they were arguing about dinner since Anthony wanted steaks while Tess wanted BBQ chicken kabobs.

Sorel’s toys were scattered a ross the mat and the one she wanted was sitting in the far corner. Tess watched out of the corner of her eye as she pushed herself up to her hands and knees. She had done that a few times and she was getting better and better at it. But this time she wasn’t done there.

One movement at a time, she made her way across the fair sized mat to get the colourful octopus, and Tess reached over to Anthony, excitedly smacking his arm as she smiled. “She’s crawling! Oh my God, she’s crawling!” Tess whisper shouted, their argument about dinner long forgotten.

“I can see that,” Anthony said back, playfully smacking her back before taking her hand and interlacing their fingers, his other hand coming up to cover his mouth as he watched his daughter.

They waited to see if she would crawl around some more, maybe crawl to another toy, but she was content in the corner with the octopus Dominique had gotten her.

“I can’t believe she’s crawling,” Tess whispered looking over to Anthony who definitely had tears in his eyes.

“She’s growing up so fast,” he said, his voice tight as he wiped his eyes.

Tess gave his hand a squeeze. “You can’t cry because if you cry, I’ll cry and then we’ll be a complete mess,” she said, already feeling the tears gathering in her eyes.

“I can’t help it!” Anthony replied. “My little girl is getting so big.” He wiped his eyes again and Tess pulled her hand back to wipe her own before Anthony got out of his chair and picked Sorel up. Tess told him to leave her to encourage the crawling, but he brushed her off, “soon she’ll be too big to want her dad.” Tess shook her head but had to keep wiping her eyes because the happy tears kept coming.

They ended up having steak for dinner because everyone felt bad about how emotional he was, but even that didn’t make him feel better about how fast his little girl was growing up.

Sorel only got better at crawling over the next couple of weeks, forcing them to buy baby gates to keep her from getting into things she shouldn’t, and reminding Tess of all the baby proofing they were going to have to do to the apartment when they got back to New York.

And, because the world was funny like that, baby proofing wasn’t the only problem they were going to face when they got back to New York.

It was lunch time and Tess had made herself a sandwich while Dominique watched Sorel. Anthony’s brows were furrowed as he looked at something on his phone that made him walk over to the kitchen.

“I think Barzy made a new friend,” Anthony said, looking up from his phone.

“Oh?” Tess asked, leaning back against the kitchen counter as she took a bite of the sandwich.

“Yeah,” he breathed, stepping closer to her. “The last couple weeks he’s been mentioning this Connor guy in the group chat. Seems like they’ve been hanging out a lot recently, golf and dinner, the likes.”

“That’s nice,” Tess hummed. “He needs more friends outside of hockey.” It wasn’t exactly a secret that Mat was a bit socially awkward and all his friends were hockey players. It would be good for him to hang out with some people outside of the sport.

“Yeah,” Anthony sighed and looked down at his phone. It still had his stomach turning knowing that Mat was out there having fun with someone else. Mat was his partner in crime, not this Connor guy’s.

Tess paused, taking another bite of her sandwich as she looked at him. “Are you…” She trailed off after swallowing. “Are you jealous?”

He scoffed, “no.”

Tess stifled a laugh as she put the rest of her sandwich down. “Oh my God, you’re jealous Barzy made a new friend.”

“I’m not jealous,” he said forcefully and Tess bit her lip to contain her laugh before closing the distance between them to pat his arm.

“Don’t worry, Beau. I’m sure Barzy won’t replace you,” she told him.

Anthony scoffed again but put his phone down on the counter and pulled her closer, loving how she felt against him. “As long as you don’t replace me, I’ll be alright,” he told her.

Tess forced a laugh as she leaned into him, ignoring the warmth spreading through her chest. “I’d never replace you, don’t worry,” she told him.

“Good,” he smiled, giving her arm a pat before letting her go so she could finish her sandwich, not that he could pull his eyes away from her, the jealously of Barzy having a new friend secondary to the thought of Tess replacing him.

“Do you want one? I’ll make you one,” Tess said when she caught him looking at her, assuming that he was eyeing the sandwich in her hands and not her.

He shook his head, “I’m good thanks.” His voice was soft and he struggled to pull his eyes away. Tess nodded and slowly finished her sandwich before getting a glass of water before walking back over to Sorel.

Yeah, as long as he had Tess, he’d be okay.

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