#cbj hockey imagines

[lukesvangelista]

𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞ˡᵈᵇᵇ⁶⁵

in which you surprise luca at his game.

warnings; none that i can think of

You hadn’t told Luca you were coming to his game—partly because you wanted to surprise him and partly because you wanted to see his genuine reaction. The second you bought your ticket, you started planning everything, down to the smallest detail.

The most important part? The sign.

You wanted it to be perfect—something that would stand out, something he wouldn’t be able to miss, and most importantly, something that would make him smile the second he saw it.

You made a trip to the store specifically for supplies, carefully picking out the biggest, brightest poster board you could find. At first, you debated between a bold red or a classic white, but ultimately, you went with white so the lettering would pop even more.

Next came the markers. You tested a few on a scrap sheet of paper before settling on black for the main message—thick, bold, impossible to miss—and red for little accents.

You spent way too long mapping out the letters in pencil before carefully tracing over them in marker, making sure everything was perfectly aligned. You even debated adding glitter or something flashy, but ultimately decided the message itself was enough.

Finally, after what felt like forever, you took a step back and admired your work.

“#65 IS MY BOYFRIEND”

You smirked to yourself, already imagining Luca’s reaction.

On game day, you showed up to the arena early, your heart pounding with excitement. You kept the sign rolled up under your arm as you made your way through the crowd, scanning the sections until you found a perfect spot right against the glass.

You could hardly contain your excitement as you waited for warmups to start. The second the Zamboni finished its last lap and the doors opened to let the players onto the ice, you unrolled the sign and held it up to the glass proudly.

At first, Luca didn’t notice you. He was locked into his pregame routine — gliding effortlessly across the ice, stretching, tapping pucks toward the net. He was completely unaware of your presence.

Not for long.

You waited, anticipation building up inside you, until he finally skated past your section. His eyes flickered toward the boards for just a second, and then he saw you. Or so he thought.

He did a complete double take.

Luca’s skates came to a sudden stop, ice spraying up slightly as he whipped his head around. His eyes landed on you, then on the sign, and his entire face lit up.

For a second, he just stared, his mouth slightly open in disbelief. Then, his grin broke through — wide, boyish, completely stunned but beyond happy. He tapped his stick against the glass, shaking his head with a laugh, “What the hell! You didn’t tell me you were coming!”

You beamed at him from the other side of the glass, holding the sign up even higher, “Surprise!”

Luca laughed, running a hand through his hair beneath his helmet before skating off for a second.

Then, suddenly, he was back — this time flipping a warmup puck over the glass toward you.

“Catch.”

You caught it easily, looking down at it for a second before shaking your head with a knowing smile, “I swear, you’re such a showoff.”

He just winked, “You love it.”

Warmups continued, but every single time Luca skated past, he sent you little looks — quick smirks, playful winks, slight head shakes like he still couldn’t believe you were actually there. Then, just when you thought the moment couldn’t get any better, Luca skated toward you again near the end of warmups.

But this time, he wasn’t empty-handed.

Instead of just tapping the glass, he lifted his stick and motioned for you to take it.

Your eyes widened, “Luca, what are you...?”

“Take it,” he said, his grin growing, “You made a whole sign about me. It's the least I can do.”

You hesitated for a second, looking between him and the stick, "Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” his voice was muffled through the glass, but you could still hear the amusement in it. Still in slight disbelief, you reached up and carefully took the stick from him. It was still warm from his gloves, the tape perfectly molded to his grip.

“You’re actually insane,” you muttered, shaking your head.

Luca just laughed, “Yeah, yeah. You love it.”

Before you could even respond, he was skating backward with a wink, heading toward the tunnel as warmups officially ended.

You could still hear the guys chirping him as they left the ice.

“Ohhh, Luca’s in loooove!"

“Did you actually just give her your stick, man?”

“I swear, this dude is whipped.”

Luca, completely unfazed, just shrugged, “What can I say? My girl deserves the best.”

And with that, he disappeared into the tunnel — leaving you standing there, holding his stick, grinning like an idiot.

a/n; for my lovely friend rey (@fantillisgirl)! sorry it's kinda short :( also i'm aware that luca is currently with the monsters, but it was easier to act like he was called up at this point, so here we are

[turcott3]

come home

adam fantilli x fem! reader

warnings?: angst, light cursing, fluff on fluff, kissing, crying, did i mention fluff

masterlist

-

“hello?” you hear your boyfriend groan through the phone.

“oh, i just realized what time it was. did i wake you?” you ask biting your lip, fighting back your threatening tears.

“yeah.”

“i’m sorry.”

“no no it’s okay baby, is everything okay?” he asks sweetly, in sleepy tone.

“not really,,, just miss you.” you say, letting a tear slip.

“i know, i miss you too.” he replies.

“come home, please adam.” you say softly, voice cracking lightly.

“my flight is in the morning, i promise ill be at your doorstep as soon as i can okay?”

“okay.” you pause, leading to a few long moments of silence.

“baby i can’t sleep.” you finally admit.

“do you want me to stay on the phone with you?” he asks and you quickly reply with a yes.

“just go to sleep my love, i promise i’ll be home soon.” he says lowly, as soothingly as he can.

“okay goodnight adam.”

“g’night. i love you.”

“i love you too.” you reply, heart warming at finally hearing the sound of his voice. you hadn’t called him his entire trip, trying to give him his alone time with his family uninterrupted. even though he said you could call every evening. after a while of tossing and turning, just knowing adam was a word away was enough to send you off into slumber, before you know it, waking up to see adam still on the line.

“hello?” you grumble opening your eyes.

“morning y/n, our flight takes off soon, im glad you woke up because i was gonna have to hang up and i didn’t want you to wake up and i wasn’t there.”

“it’s okay babe, you could’ve hung up.” you say, eyes welling up.

“i just wanted to make sure you were okay.” he replies.

“i know.” you smile to yourself.

“okay i gotta turn my phone off, ill text you when we land.”

“okay, be safe adam.”

“always.” he replies before hanging up the line, texting you a simple red heart on imessage.

truth be told you just wanted adam home because you were struggling, just barely getting by. not making enough money, struggling in your summer class, and not being able to afford gas and groceries. you were overwhelmed. you hated that your parents were paying majority of your rent. you couldn’t believe this is what it’s come to. your roommates have no issue making money but when it came to you, you didn’t have a clue. you just wanted adam there so that all of those problems could disappear for a few hours. burying your stress temporarily so you could love on the one guy that has ever made you feel like you mattered.

you practically watched the hours tick by waiting for the text saying he’d landed. you knew tomorrow morning, or maybe tonight he’d be on the front step of your apartment and that held a little peace in your heart.

“i’ve entered this problem three different ways, what the fuck do you mean it’s not right still?” you yell angrily at your computer as you worked on your summer math class. every few minutes you flipped over your phone, waiting for “adam🤍” to be displayed on your lockscreen.

“fine you win.” you groan, slamming your laptop shut, a tear slipping from your eye. ever since you moved in, you felt insignificant. you weren’t a wimp, so you didn’t understand how people were still able to disrespect you. it almost felt purposeful, yet you didn’t know what you did to deserve it. tears pricked your eyes before streaming down your cheeks at a quick pace. you flipped your phone over and you finally saw the notification you had been waiting, a sigh of relief washing over your stressed body. you felt at ease for a moment knowing adam was a short drive away.

-

“hello.” you said quietly through the phone, sniffling your tears away.

“i’m on my way home, do you want me to come over tonight or tomorrow?”

“now. please.” you reply as your lip quivered.

“is everything okay hun? i’m worried about you.” he asks.

“no, but i don’t wanna talk about it over the phone.” you respond.

“i’ll be there as soon as i can, i promise.” he replies confidently.

“okay.” you sigh lightly.

“an hour tops.” he adds.

“i’ll see you soon adam.”

“very soon my love,” he replies, hanging up the phone. you sat on your couch staring into space an anxious and crying mess, waiting for his familiar knocks on your front door. you’d eventually stopped crying, the light taps coming just less than an hour after he promised.

“he-“ he starts and is cut off by you latching onto him.

“hi y/n.” he finishes, wrapping his arms snuggly around you, dropping his head into the crook of your neck. soon enough your cries returned, this time tears of relief mixed with your overwhelming sea of emotions.

“what’s wrong baby? what’s going on in that little mind of yours?” he asks gently, pulling away, keeping his hands on your waist.

“it’s everything. not our relationship of course but literally everything else.” you preface.

“okay,” he replies, urging you to continue.

“adam, i am struggling right now. with everything. i can barely afford to pay a portion of my rent because i don’t get paid enough and i don’t work enough hours. my parents are all but paying the entire thing. i can’t afford to get gas and groceries, i have to pick one or the other and even still the budget is so slim. my math class is kicking my ass. everything is just so stressful. and when you were gone i was all alone and didn’t know what to do.” you sob to him before he pulled you in for another hug.

“how long has this been going on angel? how long have you been letting your struggles build up?” he asks.

“at least a month.” you reply.

“why didn’t you tell me?” he coos, pulling away from you slightly.

“i didn’t wanna burden you. i didn’t think it would end up digging me a hole like this. i feel so stuck. i can’t even raise any kind of savings.”

“baby, nothing you could ever do would burden me. i’m here to help you, i’m here to catch you if you fall, i’m here to love you. i love you so much. i don’t ever wanna see you this torn up over anything.” he says softly, taking your face into his hands sweetly.

“i know, im sorry.”

“no don’t apologize, you’re struggling. i’m always here for you my love, i’ll take care of everything okay?” he says, looking deeper into your eyes than ever before.

“what do you mean?” you reply.

“the rent, the gas, the groceries. everything y/n. i’ll take care of it, i’ll take care of you. i’ll do whatever it takes to help you get on your feet. i don’t wanna see my girl struggling.” he finishes, running a gentle thumb over your cheek bone.

“i promise ill make it up to you.” you reply.

“no, you don’t need to do that. i’m doing this because i want to and because i love you, okay? it will make me feel better knowing that you’re completely taken care of and comfortable.”

“i love you.” you smile, adam kissing away the last few tears on your cheeks before finally pressing his lips to yours. the feeling of warmth spreading through your whole body. you missed his kisses and the way they made you feel like floating, butterflies flying through your stomach.

“since you’re paying can you at least….. move in with me?” you ask hesitantly after pulling away.

“if that’s what you want.” he replies.

“more than anything.” you smile back.

“there’s that gorgeous smile. god, i missed you so much.” he states, picking you up. your legs wrapped around him quickly, a giggle exiting your mouth.

“you can never leave again.” you stated as he sat down on the edge of your bed, your hips plopping in his lap.

“you’re coming with me next time baby, i wanna show you italy. i wanna show you the whole world if i can.”

“sounds like a dream.” you reply as he kisses you sweetly, bringing you the comfort you’d been longing for, for over a month.

you knew your struggles were long from over, but you knew you were protected and that he would never let you sink.

he truly loved you and that is one thing you would never change. never in a million years.

[wyattjohnston]

need a little company - nick blankenburg

summary: morgan hasn't seen nick in years, and her strongest memories of him are the crush he had on her in college. when he gets signed to columbus after years apart, morgan realises that maybe she should have given him a chance.

total word count: 17k

Chapters

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Epilogue

warnings: sports injuries (Nick’s broken ankle, Mo’s knee) & related medical stuff

note: so much credit for this goes to @blueskrugs for helping with the plot, letting me drop plot points in her DMs that i wouldn't flesh out for months and giving me the motivation to actually finish this because i first had this idea in march. and then much, much more credit goes to her for editing all 42 pages of my google doc despite how incredibly busy and stressed she's been with school. i love her, and you should, too.

@matthewtkachuk gets credit for reading this when she wasn’t even on board the blanks train and then admitting to me that i may have changed her mind

[goldfades]

ooooh i had another cute lil cece thought. i feel like cece would know how to crochet. and she would absolutely crochet paloma a giant blanket shaped like a pancake complete with little strawberries and blueberries on top (with butter and maple syrup ofc)

OH MY GOSH, yes. i can totally see that being her love language and like, crocheting paloma a little blanket and it being like her FAVORITE thing of all time

omg and IMAGINEEEEEEE her crocheting her a little dove that she keeps forever and ever, like when paloma is older she 100% would grow out of all her stuffies EXCEPT the dove, like she would have it in her dorm room in college FOR SURE

also she crochets adam cute little things and one of them being a little dragon cus he loves game of thrones (she knows nothing about it but it's the thought that counts LMAO)

and of course that little dragon becomes his favorite thing ever, he takes it EVERYWHERE. he takes it with him on roadies and is convinced it's magical because everytime he rubs it on his hockey stick, they win a game 😭😭😭

jump then fall au!!

[lucifersgirl]

Hey, y’all.

I know this is kinda out of the blue, but I am a HUGE Blue Jackets fan. I just heard a few minutes ago that one of their best players, Johnny Gaudreau, passed away in a car crash, as did his brother. His sister was going to get married tomorrow and they were both going to be groomsmen. If we could send some prayers to Heaven for them, that would be great. Thank you.

[annieqattheperipheral]

wooosh. That's me sighing and breathing it out. Couldn't watch the gaudreaus memorial service live while working, just watched it in full on cbj youtube. first off, I'm ever so grateful the family granted us a livestream of this very difficult experience, that they are willing to open their arms to all of us to grieve together. their generosity and love.. wow. I'm in awe of this family. Thank you thank you. It is helping and healing so many of us to be part of this circle of support. thank you.

The priest interwove such beautiful personal memories with the gaudreaus in his sermon, and brought hope and a sense of guidance to steer mourners after such a heartwrenching and sudden tragedy. He welcomed ppl of all different faiths and connected the family to those grieving both there with them and far away. It was a beautiful way to begin the service.

I paused quite a few times during Madeline's and then Meredith's speeches to wipe tears. Meredith's was long but i get it. As she was nearing the end i had this feeling of no don't stop talking because when you end this speech is when we say our last goodbyes to johnny and matty and that's it we all carry on without them. No more Johnny Hockey in the NHL and that cannot be right.

The stories of how Johnny wore meredith's comfy clothing to pregame cracked me up. How he came bounding down the stairs one day in her maternity sweatshirt and she's like noooo take that off and he's like what it fits so well 😂 i cannot!! I can just imagine him preening so proudly lolll. He was so proud of his baby's spit up on his clothes, wore em to the rink. Incredible father and husband. Cannot believe he won't be around to help her through her 3rd pregnancy.

That both of Johnny and Matty's wives are going to go through pregnancy and labour without them. This tragedy is insane. How. How???!!!

I liked hearing about Johnny and Matty's deep deep connection. That Johnny lived an nhl life all season but all he wanted in the offseason was to go sleep in his tiny twin bed next to his brother in his own tiny twin bed in their childhood bedroom. Meredith said she knows so much of the focus has been on Johnny but even in life Matty knew that's how it was and loved his brother for it, was so proud of him.

Sean Monahan... wow wow wow I'm hurting hard for him. Johnny was really excited to play in cbj with him. Omg.

And Kevin Hayes. Goodness. So much heartbreak. Lost yet another brother. The hayeses really took care of Johnny in the nhl.

Guy Gaudreau, their father. The very last shot of the family at the end as they exited the church, following the two caskets out, Meredith followed Johnny's. Madeline and the gaudreaus (parents and 2 sisters) then following Matty's.. Guy was an absolute mess being held up by his wife and daughter. My heart broke all over again.

Spotted a lot of familiar hockey faces in the pews. I hope being there was healing. I know for me, everything felt unreal and confusing until i physically got to see my cousin's casket and then see with my own eyes as she was placed to rest. That connection to reality helped the loneliness and confusion i felt. I wanted to be with her but then my brain could finally give me an answer, she's sleeping in that place where i can go visit.

Ok. well in the pans over the attendees saw cbj, flames, team usa, Matthew Tkachuk, Seth Jones, Cole Caufield, Nikita Zadorov and others.

Well. This coming season is gonna get off to a real sad start and I'm glad we have each other in the lb🫂💕 those home opener tributes are gonna be tough.

[waspabi]

More Like War Ch. 2

(C.K. Dexter Haven voice) Hello friends and enemies. It’s been a while!

Since this has been a pretty Sema-centric chapter:

Alexander Semin knowing exactly what he is doing to Nicklas Bäckström

Mike Green, service dog in the Alexander Semin cheetah enclosure

Alexander Semin dealing with complex pyschosexual feelings about Alex Ovechkin

Boudreau

Listen. I actually really like Boudreau and think he's a good coach but man has writing this chapter reminded me of my Many Grudges Against Him. Every media quote was an actual quote, with only one having been padded a little. 

Boudreau’s wildly Canadian Hockey Man quote about Nicke’s “toughness”: 

“There’s something that’s ingrained in him,” Boudreau said. “You don’t think of it with Nick because he’s a blond, blue-eyed, Swedish, good-looking young man. But he’s got a toughness that belies all that, a toughness that coaches just love. He’s not going to fight, but he’s tough. I saw him last year where he could barely walk, but he was playing.”

The Red Wings game with the five penalties where only Sema was lambasted? 100% accurate!

Perhaps the best example came in a 3-2 loss to New Jersey at Verizon Center on Nov. 4, when Semin took three offensive-zone penalties, including one for hooking that led to a Devils goal. Afterward, Coach Bruce Boudreau was blunt in saying, "Alexander Semin has been in the league for five years and it’s just dumb penalties.”

Several days later, this reveal:

It’s believed that Semin has been playing through a litany of injuries, which might have something to do with his recent decline in production. He has not recorded a point in three straight games and has not scored a goal in six.

No points in three straight games! Can you imagine. I mean in 08-09 he did very much score at a 1.27 PPG pace (79 points in 62 games) so fair enough!

That CBJ Game

Earlier this week, Coach Bruce Boudreau said he believed the Blue Jackets planned to target Ovechkin by hitting the all-star every time he touched the puck. Columbus Coach Ken Hitchcock confirmed Tuesday that it was indeed his team’s strategy. “Run, chase, hunt down, hit, whatever word you want to use, that would be correct,” Hitchcock told reporters in Columbus. “He’s a very unique player because he gives it and he takes it. He doesn’t whine or cry about getting hit. He has fun in that role because the more you give it to him, the more he gives it back.”

Brooks Laich

Brooks Laich just absolutely could NOT stop hitting it out of the park with horny quotes about Alexander Semin:

It’s almost like God touched him on the shoulder and said, ‘You are wonderfully gifted’.” 

The other part of that quote was taken from Olaf Kolzig. 

“When you see a kid who has more talent than the reigning MVP, you want to see more,” Kolzig says of the 13th player taken in the 2002 draft. “He’s teasing you. The frustrating thing is he hasn’t gotten everything out of his talent. He doesn’t have the intangibles Ovie has. With Ovie there’s accountability. He’s had a bad groin and played through it. Ovie realizes what he has to live up to. So far [Semin] just puts up points.”

Misc.

Sema's weight and body composition played a big role in his injuries. He was hilariously infamous for never doing anything but cardio in the weight room. His weight in the press around this time was something like 209 lbs, but bless him he punctured that illusion real quick in this Russian interview from 2009:

Pretty sure he was, in fact, threatened to gain weight but you ever try to get a cat to do anything?

Cameos in this chapter from...

Nicklas Lidström, the quote unquote "Perfect Human"

Nicke has said he's the toughest defenseman he's ever played against.

Slava Kozlov, an all time pain in the ass (affectionate) whose Red Wings nickname was Grump

(bottom left, with Sergei Fedorov (center) and several of my all time faves)

Dainius Zubrus, who does indeed Look Like That:

He's actually Lithuanian but he did speak Russian and translated for Ovi and Sema in the early years.

And finally, Sema's mouth thing he simply loved to do on the bench, uhhh NSFW!!

[sergeifyodorov]

speaking of live hockey bucket lists, my first ever game was the leafs cbj game on 12/29 last year (unfortunately NAWT the comeback that wasn't, this was the OTHER time we lost 6-5 in OT to them) and I was SHOCKED how many things I wanted to see got checked off my list. Goals by all of the core four (and Nicky Bobby!) Auston's goal was assisted on by only Mitch! Benny fought! We had a two goal lead but lost in OT! It was the leafiest game I could have possibly imagined and we were in fucking Ohio... (tons of TOR fans tho for whenever you check nationwide off your list!)

JEALOUS that seems like such a fun game to go to !!! i've seen like 2 nicky bobby goals irl (he scored in both leafs games i went to) and he's just got an absolute rocket of a shot. ofc wish the leafs had won but it *is* the leafs after all so what are you gonna do lol

[sidsthekid]

imagine how tough it is already to deal with the pressure that comes with meeting expectations quickly as a newer, younger player— some of which have followed you since childhood.

you don’t want to be called a bust. you don’t want to be called “soft.” you don’t want to be the odd “bro” out in the locker room.

and then on top of that… to have your privacy invaded by your own damn coach so he can make a judgement of your character based on photos on your personal phone??? yeah. real fuckin icky abuse of power all around and if i’m a cbj fan or even just a hockey fan in general, i’m taking a good hard look at the guys who helped make this hiring happen. none of them should have jobs right now.

[cobrakaisb]

birds are taking over

summary: inside the shenanigans of y/n, kent, and owen’s friendship (because i miss 1322)

based off this youtube video

“it’s not unknown, but like birds. it’s not unknown that they’re here but it’s unknown that they’re a threat,” y/n started, jumping off the countertop that she was previously sitting on. “oh god,” owen mumbled from his seat at the kitchen table where he was elbow deep in physics notes. “here we go,” kent whispered as he grabbed a gatorade from the fridge.    

“wanna know why?” she yelled, when kent and owen’s faces showed nothing but annoyance and disbelief. “if all the birds in the world were to go into a cave and be like we need to max out our population,” she continued, gesturing wildly with her hands. “what are you saying?” kent interrupted her. “i’m so lost,” he continued. “if they repopulated enough birds. would. take. over,” she replied, punctuating each word. “oh my god,” owen groaned, throwing his head back in frustration. 

“y/n you could say the same thing about fucking--” kent started but y/n interrupted him. “kent they can fly! one strong bird, comes down, grabs you, goes in the air. what are you doing when the bird lets go?” she shouted, nothing but seriousness on her face. “y/n,” owen started, causing her attention to focus on him. “what are you doing? you gonna fly too? are you gonna fly to safety? are you gonna land on a soft mat? you’re smacking on the fucking concrete! you’re dead!” she shouted, pointing at both owen and kent who were full on laughing now. 

“enough big birds repopulate we are toast!” she finished, throwing her hands up in the air to get her point across. there was a moment of silence. “okay moving on” owen started, clearly about to ask a question and change the topic. “wait a minute. get ten of any bird: eagle, vulture, pigeon, house-finch fuck it. i could take any of them with a fucking broom. y/n you pick any of them and thy’re gone with a fucking broom,” kent said, getting her all riled up again. 

“no! the only thing that could technically beat the birds is if you had military gear. like a gun,” y/n defended causing kent to roll his eyes. “no you’re wrong.” “no i’m not. right now, if we were to walk outside and a swarm of birds came at us, how are you defending yourself?” she asked, hands on her hips. “we’ll i don’t have my broom but when i do--” kent started but she cut him off. “they aren’t gonna come when it’s expected. what you think they’re gonna be like ‘hey let’s attack this person on wednesday?’ no!” she said.

“okay enough!” owen shouted, causing the two of them to stop talking. “listen i get the whole bird thing,” he said. “okay but you don’t. you’re just saying that too appease me,” she replied, crossing her arms and frowning. “yeah because birds aren’t fucking taking over,” kent sassed. and the whole cycle started up again.

[lukesvangelista]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑ᵏʲ⁹¹

in which y/n and kent hide a big secret from his teammates.

warnings; pregnancy, mention of kids, alcohol, vacation

Kent was the kind of guy who always seemed at ease, the life of the party but with a quiet confidence that drew everyone to him. You had fallen for him long ago, when the two of you were young teenagers, and now, you were his everything. This vacation with his teammates was supposed to be fun, a chance to unwind, but you had a secret - one that had been growing for months.

You were pregnant. 

Kent was ecstatic when you told him. He’d hugged you so tightly that night, whispering about the future, about how perfect everything was going to be. But now, here you both were, on this vacation with Sean Kuraly, Cole, Gavin, and Adam, and neither of you had told them. The timing wasn’t right - in fact, you guys hadn’t even told your families. Maybe they’d get suspicious, or worse, maybe they’d feel like you were holding out on them. Kent was sure they’d freak out once they knew.

But here you were, at Sean’s beach house in Cape Cod. While the rest of the boys had flown, you and Kent had decided to make the 16 hour drive from Columbus, simply to spend more time with each other before having to share a living space with the others for two weeks. Once you had arrived, though, everyone was exhausted and just wanted to spend the first night in. In fact, Adam had suggested a few card games.

There was only one problem. On top of that, Cole had suggested alcohol. You looked at Kent nervously, but he gave you a reassuring smile as Sean turned to you, “Y/N, come up with a challenge for us. Whoever loses has to buy drinks.”

This was perfect. You nodded, picking up your phone and opening a random wheel spinner. You had each of the boys pick an NBA team, but when it came to entering them onto the wheel, you entered Kent’s all four times. So, when the wheel stopped spinning, you announced the team out loud, “The Minnesota Timberwolves.”

Sean, Adam, and Cole all cheered as Kent pretended to roll his eyes, but he sneakily shot you a knowing smile before picking up his keys from the counter. The boys slapped him on the back a few times but he shook them off, gently grabbing your arm, “Since your challenge is the reason I lost, you’re coming with me.”

You playfully rolled your eyes, but immediately gave in. Adam snickered behind you as Sean and Cole let out a few cheers. Kent wrapped an arm around you and opened the door for you, gently leading you to his car. As soon as you were out of earshot, Kent spoke up softly, “You feeling okay?”

You couldn’t lie. The exhaustion was creeping in. The pregnancy was still early, and you weren’t showing much, but the morning sickness, the fatigue – it was all becoming harder to hide. Kent had noticed the change in you almost immediately, but knew that it had grown harder for you in the past couple of weeks. He was worried. He was so excited to have a little him or little you around the house soon enough, but also hated seeing how hard it was on you. On top of that, he knew that you wanted to keep it a secret for as long as you could, and he knew you’d be even more stressed if people were to find out, so he didn’t want to spill anything. 

In fact, he questioned even coming on this trip, but you had explained that you’d needed it. Whether he believed you or not, was only up for him to decide. 

He opened the car door for you and you waited to reply until he was buckled in on the other side, “Just tired,” you answered, offering him a small smile. 

He rubbed the pad of his thumb across your cheek, “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

You nodded, offering him another small smile. The drive to the liquor store was rather quiet. Kent had put on some Frank Ocean, which you both had softly hummed along to until you pulled into the parking lot. 

Kent turned off the car and exited his side, only to appear on your side of the car a few seconds later to open the door for you. You grabbed his hand and as soon as he knew you were safely out of the car, he placed his arm on the small of your back protectively. The cool night breeze rolled in off of the ocean as you made your way through the parking lot. The distant sound of the waves crashing against the shore helped ease some of the nerves that had been building up inside of you.

“I feel like I’m gonna slip up at some point,” you admitted, resting your head against your boyfriend’s shoulder, “Cole’s just gonna keep offering me drinks and it’s gonna be suspicious if I keep saying no.”

Kent rubbed your back with the pad of his thumb, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of your head reassuringly, “You’re doing great, pretty girl. But I’ll tell you what. We’ll buy an extra pack of drinks, dump them out, and then go to the grocery store to buy some non-alcoholic alternatives that we can put in there instead. I would say we’d just buy some non-alcoholic beer here and have you drink that, but Adam’s overly observant.” he chuckled.

You nodded, shooting your boyfriend a relieved smile. You always appreciated how calm and steady he was. Even though you were both navigating this secret together, Kent always managed to make you feel like everything was under control.

When you stepped inside, the cool air-conditioning hit you immediately as the door jingled behind you. Kent headed straight for the fridge, grabbing a couple cases of beer and a bottle of whiskey that he knew Sean would like. You followed suit, selecting a case of High Noon out of the fridge. 

“Ready?” Kent asked, shooting you a smile when you replied with a yes.

As you reached the counter to pay, the cashier raised an eyebrow at you and Kent, his eyes flicking to your stomach before looking back at Kent. You shifted uncomfortably, aware that people might notice your changing body sooner rather than later. Kent caught the look too but didn’t say anything, keeping the conversation casual with the cashier as he handed over the money.

When you stepped back outside, you breathed a little easier. “Think he noticed?” you asked, half-joking.

“What an asshole,” Kent muttered, rolling his eyes playfully. 

The trip to the grocery store was pretty uneventful. Kent had gone in and picked out a sparkling water brand that you liked, along with some flavored sodas that looked fancy enough to pass as mixed drinks. On top of that, he grabbed a few more things, making sure you’d have enough variety to keep up appearances for the next few days. Once the cart was full, he checked out, the cashier giving him a friendly nod as he paid for the items.

When Kent reached the car, he opened your passenger side door. “Now comes the tricky part,” he said with a grin, opening up the package of High Noon and dumping out the drinks. He grabbed a few water bottles from his trunk before flushing out the alcohol from the cans - and thoroughly.

“I think that’s good, KJ,” you chuckled, flashing him a smile. He looked up at you and flashed you one in return.

“Gotta keep my girls safe,” he explained, ruffling your hair before opening up the bottles of sparkling water and pouring them into the clean cans with the same care, resealing them to make sure they looked untouched. Everything looked perfect - no one would suspect a thing. Kent stood back and took a moment to admire his work, placing the resealed package at your feet before ruffling your hair again. 

You rolled your eyes, shaking him off, before he quickly made his way back to his side of the car and hopped in. You looked at him incredulously, “We don’t even know what we’re having yet!” you exclaimed, but you knew there was no point in arguing. Ever since you told him that he was going to be a dad, he was adamant that the two of you were having a baby girl. Of course, he’d be happy as long as the baby’s safe and healthy, but that didn’t change his fatherly instinct, as he liked to call it. You rolled your eyes again, chuckling softly, and were on your way back to the beach house.

When the two of you arrived back there, Sean, Cole, and Adam’s rowdy laughter could be heard through the walls as you and Kent slipped through the side door into the kitchen. When he looked over towards you, he noticed how you self-consciously had placed your arms over your growing bump. Sensing your discomfort, he softly placed the alcohol down and gifted you the hoodie off of his back.

You smiled gratefully at him, grabbing the “seltzers” from him as he carried the whiskey and beer. The two of you carried the drinks out to the main room, where Sean, Cole, and Adam were engrossed in a game of Black Jack.

“Finally!” Cole exclaimed, dropping his cards as he noticed the two of you walk in, “We were wondering what took you so long!”

You chuckled, placing the drinks down on the table alongside Kent, “It’s Friday night in a vacation town,” Kent explained, shrugging his shoulders to keep it casual. Adam nodded along, seemingly saying fair enough.

As the guys reached for the beer and whiskey, Kent grabbed one of the “seltzer” cans and handed it to you with a wink. You accepted it gratefully, taking a sip and letting the cool, refreshing taste calm your nerves. He then wrapped an arm around you as you cuddled into his side.

The night continued on, with no one suspicious about what you and Kent had just pulled off. The boys were yelling about the game of euchre they were playing, earning a soft but playful eye roll from you. Kent kept a watchful eye on you, making sure you were comfortable, all while seamlessly blending in with his teammates.

As the night wore on, the laughter in the living room began to slow, and you could feel the weight of exhaustion settling over you. Between traveling all day and the energy it took to keep up appearances, your body was calling for rest. You smiled at the guys, pretending to stifle a yawn as you pushed your chair back from the table.

“I think I’m gonna call it a night,” you said, glancing around the room, “I’m pretty wiped from today.”

Sean, Cole, and Adam all gave you understanding looks, still focused on their cards and drinks. “You’ve earned it,” Sean said with a grin, “We’ll try not to be too loud and keep you up.”

“Good luck with that,” Adam teased, “Cole’s not exactly the quietest person you’ll ever meet.” 

You laughed lightly as Cole smacked Adam upside the head. Standing up and giving Kent a quick look, your eyes communicated more than words could in that moment. He caught your glance immediately, knowing exactly what you meant. You needed him with you, but at the same time, you didn’t want to raise suspicion by him leaving too soon after you.

“I’ll be up in a bit,” he said, giving you a small, reassuring smile, “I’ll keep an eye on Cole and make sure he’s not too loud.”

You nodded, giving him a quick hug and offering the guys a wave before slipping away from the table. As you climbed the stairs, you could hear them still talking and laughing, their voices a soft hum in the background. Once you were upstairs, you exhaled a long breath of relief, the tension of the day finally easing as you made your way to your room. 

You changed into your pajamas, feeling the weight of the day lifting as you settled onto the bed. It didn’t take long for Kent to join you. About 30 minutes later, you heard his familiar footsteps on the stairs, and the door quietly creaked open.

“Hey,” he said softly, closing the door behind him as he moved toward the bed, “You okay?”

You smiled, nodding as he sat down beside you, “Yeah, just tired. It was a lot today.”

Kent slid into bed next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his chest. “I know. You did so good today, pretty girl. No one suspects a thing.”

You chuckled softly, resting your head against his chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calming you, “Thanks for helping me pull it off. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Kent kissed the top of your head, his voice low and comforting, “Of course, my love. We’re a team.”

The two of you stayed like that for awhile, the soft sounds of the ocean outside your window mixing with the distant murmur of voices from downstairs. It felt peaceful, the weight of the day finally lifting now that you were alone together.

“I can’t wait until they're here,” you whispered after a few moments of silence, your hand resting gently over your stomach.

Kent smiled against your hair, his arm tightening around you, “Me too. But until then, we’ll keep playing it cool for as long as we can. You get some rest, though, alright? You’ve had a long day.”

You nodded, feeling sleep begin to pull at you as Kent’s warmth and presence comforted you, “Goodnight, KJ.”

“Goodnight, Y/N/N,” he whispered, pressing another soft kiss to your forehead.

With Kent beside you, you felt safe and content, knowing that no matter what challenges the next days would bring, you had him by your side. As your eyes fluttered shut, the last thing you felt was Kent’s hand gently resting on your stomach, a quiet reminder that the two of you were in this together. Always.

a/n; would kj be a girl dad or a boy dad

[astars-things]

Hi I was wondering if you could do reader taking care of Nick blankenburg when he’s sick if not that is fine just wondering.

of course i can write this

One late night facetime call told you everything about the health of your boyfriend who was in Columbus while you were in Michigan with your family

nick looked so miserable and you knew he needed you, so you took the earliest flight out to Columbus to take care of your baby

on the way to the apartment you stopped by the store to get some meds, Gatorade , snacks and other essentials he needs

you walked into the apartment as quietly as possible making your way to the bedroom, you opened the door to find you teddy bear held tightly under his arm and a very shirtless nick lying on the bed

you placed the things on his bedside table and slowly got into bed next to him, you felt him awaken slowly

"Hey bub its just me go back to sleep" you whispered as you ran your fingers through his hair he hummed in comfort and soon fell back asleep

[wyattjohnston]

need a little company - nick blankenburg

summary: morgan hasn't seen nick in years and her strongest memories of him are the crush he had on her in college. when he gets signed to columbus after years apart, morgan realises that maybe she should have given him a chance.

chapter word count: 3.8k

last < table of contents > next

Morgan made her way to the arena directly from work. She was definitely going to be overdressed but couldn’t imagine she’d be the only one showing up to the game directly from the office. She collected her tickets at will call and was horrified when it came accompanied with a neatly folded jersey. She knew what the number on the back would be without needing to turn it over. Instead of putting it on, she cradled the jersey to her chest as she made her way to her seat.

The person checking her ticket to make sure she was heading to the right seat looked her up and down before pointing her in the right direction, and Morgan only realised why when she walked down the stairs towards a group of impossibly attractive women and some very cute kids.

Nobody seemed to be expecting her, but there were plenty of greetings and waves as she found her seat and sat down with the jersey in her lap still folded.

The woman she was sitting next to shifted to face Morgan, a genuine smile across her face.

“I’m Maggie, Boone’s fiancée.”

Morgan inhaled, trying not to make it obvious that she was intimidated. She hadn’t been prepared to be sitting next to anybody with a connection to the team, much less to have the first introduction be arguably the most important person in the immediate area.

“I’m Morgan; Nick invited me.”

There was a brief pause, a slight head tilt, and then Maggie said, “Oh, I didn’t know Nick had a girlfriend.”

Morgan’s heart kicked against her ribcage, and her grip on the jersey tightened. She said, trying to remain steady, “He doesn’t. That I know of, anyway.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Maggie said, shaking her head and smiling again. “Welcome.”

She turned away from Morgan, who was still gripping the jersey tightly. She looked at Maggie’s profile and touched her arm to get her attention again.

“Please tell me what that ‘oh’ was for, or I’m never going to stop thinking about it.”

“The guys aren’t really supposed to invite their…” Maggie’s hesitation was noticeable and yet, when she kept speaking it wasn’t anything that showed she’d thought about her choice of words, “fuck buddies to this section.”

“Well. Nick didn’t. So. He hasn’t done anything wrong.” She knew she sounded petulant and annoyed; she just didn’t want to get Nick in trouble for something that wasn’t true. “We’re just friends.”

Maggie conceded silently with a brief nod and stood before Morgan could speak again—not that she had any intention of continuing the conversation.

She did manage to put the jersey on before the game started, acting normal as she slid it over her head even though her heart rate had definitely skyrocketed as she was doing so. Her heart was largely unimpacted by the game, though, a gruelling 4 goal loss to Carolina for Nick’s return which didn’t leave much room for excitement.

During the intermissions, the section cleared out, leaving Morgan sitting alone. It wasn’t until after the game that one of the other WAGs caught up to her and asked her if she needed help finding the Wives Room—the family room, she clarified when Morgan’s face unintentionally screwed up. She only considered the idea for a few seconds before declining. She had assumed that she would catch up with Nick after the game, but heading to the Wives Room felt very presumptuous. There weren’t even many people left in the section by the end of the game, which would only make her stand out more.

And yet, when she posed the question to Aleksandra—the woman who had stopped her, the wife of Elvis the Goalie—about where she should head to meet Nick, the only answer was the Wives Room.

As they made their way down, the last two stragglers amongst what had been the media and families rushing towards elevators, Aleksandra said quietly and discretely, “Don’t worry about Maggie, okay? And Nick won’t be in any trouble, I’ll make sure of it.”

Still wearing the 77 jersey and not intent on taking it off, Morgan waited to the side of the room and buried her head in her phone. The battery wouldn’t last much longer, and she had no idea how long it would take for Nick to emerge, but her phone dying was a better prospect than trying to have a conversation with a group of people who hadn’t given her the time of day.

Players came and went, though it was nobody Morgan knew, gathering their overtired kids and their equally exhausted wives. Nobody who had wandered over to Nick’s house since their reunion had any reason to collect anybody else.

Morgan wasn’t even sure she should be collected, but Nick told her to wait for him. He had managed to send her a text confirming that the family room was the best place for her to wait, which she was grateful for because she was already there when she’d sought the clarification.

She felt like she was going to be one of the last people remaining with how long Nick was taking, her phone on a very precarious six-percent battery, when he rushed into the room. Flustered, he walked straight towards her, not sparing a glance at anyone else.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, breathing heavily. “I tried to get out quick and then the trainers wanted to make sure I was feeling alright.”

Morgan stood, dropping her phone into her bag, and let Nick’s hand move to her lower back as he guided her out of the room. She knew Maggie was still somewhere and didn’t want to know what her expression was at the sight.

“Are you?” Morgan asked as they walked through the concrete depths of the arena. “Feeling alright?”

He smiled, big and broad, “I feel great. Wish your first game was a better result, though.”

Morgan couldn’t help but agree out loud—the long-suffering fan in her wasn’t surprised by the loss, but that hadn’t stopped the small well of hope she’d had all day.

Nick’s hand didn’t leave her back until they were nearing his car in the parking garage. She missed it immediately.

Morgan had taken some time to consider what she would say when she spoke to Nick. The tweets had popped up on her timeline unexpectedly because she didn’t get a huge amount of Blue Jackets content, just the occasional post about Nick—it just so happened that the tweets she got that day about Nick were not as happy as they usually were.

She was feeling pretty level-headed when she called him after confirming he was free to talk, having reconciled that she was calling him as a concerned friend and nothing more.

“How was PT?” Nick asked instead of greeting Morgan when he answered. It was expected.

Her words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them, abandoning her attempts at being cool. “Should I be asking you that?”

“It’s nothing, Mo.” His bristling was easily conjured in her mind.

“So, the cast is a fashion statement?”

“Do you have a Google alert for me? How do you even know about that?”

“It was on Twitter,” she snapped defensively. “I know I don’t, like, have any right to know or whatever, but would you have told me? Before you got home?”

“I was going to tell you tonight. Say that we’re injury buddies again.”

“But I’m trying to get better. You’re apparently actively falling apart.”

“It’s just a sprain. It doesn’t look like I’ll play tomorrow, but maybe against Washington on Tuesday. Definitely after the break.”

After the break was two weeks away, Morgan knew that much. Enough time to make sure he didn’t aggravate whatever he’d done to it, at least, even if it made it sound a lot worse than he was making out.

Morgan stretched out on her couch, her phone on speaker beside her head, and answered questions Nick had about her PT appointment. There weren’t a lot of answers, not so soon, but she answered what she could and tried not to resent the PT for the digging he’d done around her knee. He’d tried to be gentle, but that didn’t stop it from aching.

“You can know whatever you want to know.”

Morgan’s brow pulled together as she tried to link Nick’s words together.

“What?”

“You said you don’t have the right but—I really was going to tell you. You can always ask. I know all about your knee.”

“Your family’s paying for that.”

“You wouldn’t tell me about it if they weren’t?”

And she would, was the thing. Her chest lightened, still, at Nick’s assurance.

Despite having just taken time off to rehab a broken ankle, the ten-day All-Star Break seemed to be impossible for Nick to manage.

He had, somehow, called Morgan even more often than normal, including one memorable day where he was grocery shopping and wanted to discuss the merits of broccoli versus broccolini. When Morgan told him she didn’t have any strong opinions on either, he invited her for dinner for the express purpose of a taste test.

The scattering of his teammates was the obvious reason he was losing his mind—even during the ankle rehab he’d been in and out of the arena to see the medical staff. All Star break meant no training, no practice and a very lonely Nick.

“You could have gone somewhere,” Morgan reminded him when he lamented about all the fun, warm weather activities he was seeing on Instagram and in the group chat.

He knew that, though, and had expressed regret that he hadn’t. Morgan ignored the half-teasing comments that followed–he wasn’t so sad about not leaving Ohio because it meant he got to spend even more time with her.

It was those sorts of things that had her heart beating wildly, thundering against her chest in an otherwise quiet room.

“I have an idea,” he said, unprompted, towards the end of the break.

“Okay?”

“In a couple weeks the team has a charity thing—the CannonBall—and I think you should come with me.”

Morgan froze where she was sitting on the couch, her body half turned.

“That’s, like, a gala?”

“Yeah. I mean, there’s a lot of denim being talked about, so it’s not black tie or anything but yeah.”

“And you want me to go?” she clarified. “With you?”

In the month since Morgan went to Nationwide to watch Nick play, no word had been uttered about her conversation with Maggie. Morgan hadn’t brought it up for fear that Nick would realise their relationship had verged out of platonic just enough for other people to ask questions. Nick didn’t mention it, presumably because Aleksandra had made sure he’d not find out.

“I can’t guarantee it’ll be fun, but you can hang out with the guys, maybe meet some of their girls. Taylah’s all the way out in Washington, and you don’t seem to do a lot that’ll help you make friends.”

Morgan’s eyebrow twitched at the accusation that she had no friends. At least not outside of Nick. And Kent. She would count Kent. It may have been true; she just didn’t need it laid out so plainly.

“Do I have to dress up?”

Nick perked up after having sunk a little at her eyebrow twitch. He pulled out his phone, saying he would find the email with the dress code. He’d been telling the truth when he said it wasn’t black tie, but she’d still have to find a dress and probably something denim to go with it if she couldn’t just find a navy-blue dress to wear.

Sadly, as a thought crossed her mind, Morgan said, “I won’t be able to wear my favourite heels.”

“You can be taller than me,” Nick said without pause. “I don’t mind. Think it’s kind of hot, to be honest.”

Morgan froze again, not a single breath leaving or entering her body as she met Nick’s eyes. He wasn’t embarrassed—he never was—and he didn’t appear to be second guessing what he’d said, just held eye contact without flinching.

“I—” Morgan inhaled. “I meant because of my knee but, um, that’s good to know.”

Nick broke their eye contact, just to look a little to the left of her head. His cheeks turned an impossible shade of red and, flustered, he cleared his throat.

“Right, yeah. No. Course.”

The Uber dropped them off at Morgan’s door, Nick adamant that he could walk back to his place, so only the one was necessary. Just like when he’d walked to hers so they could arrive together. The whole evening to that point had already felt like it was meant to be a date, Morgan hesitated at her front door while Nick waited at the bottom of the small staircase for her to get inside safely. He was watching her curiously, clearly moments away from asking if she was alright, probably to ask if she’d locked herself out, and Morgan let an intrusive thought win the battle in her head.

“Is there a reason you haven’t kissed me yet?”

Nick froze, Morgan was sure she could see the exact moment his brain short-circuited. She held back from saying anything, even if the slight shake in her hands would have been fixed by some nervous talking.

“What?” he asked, his voice thick, when his brain came back online. Partially, anyway.

“I don’t know… Sometimes it really feels like you will, but you never do, and I want to know if there’s a reason you haven’t.”

“Last time I told you I liked you didn’t go so well for me.”

“A lot has changed since then.” Morgan inhaled, shaky and nervous. “It’ll go better this time.”

Neither of them moved for a moment and Morgan was sure that was the end, that Nick wasn’t going to do anything with what she’d told him, and he would leave her on her doorstep, rejected and worried for the future of their friendship.

She was bringing herself to turn around, to walk inside and leave him standing on her doorstep when everything changed.

Nick cleared her small, three step staircase in one step, and Morgan held her breath as the space between them disappeared. The hand on her jaw was devastating enough; his mouth against hers was everything she’d wished it would be.

Her back was pressed up against the front door, her hands fisted tightly in the lapels of his coat as if he’d pull away the second she let go, and there were breathy moans coming from one of them. Both of them.

Her moans became a gasp when Nick managed to push his knee between her thighs—her dress was too long and in the way for it to feel as good as she wanted, and yet it was so close that she pulled him closer in a desperate attempt for more friction.

“Nick,” she gasped, reaching behind her with one hand so she could open her front door. The other hand didn’t leave his coat as she tried to pull him inside.

He didn’t move. His feet were firmly planted on the ground, and only his fingertips were brushing her jaw Morgan had moved so far away. She stepped back towards him, trying to pull him in for another kiss only to be stopped with a gentle hand on the side of her neck.

“Mo, I—Fuck. I have to go. I want to do this right and—”

“Don’t leave,” Morgan practically begged, her fist tightening even more, and she took another step closer. “You don’t have to.”

“Morgan, please,” Nick begged back, listing forward ever so slightly with his eyes drawn to her lips.

There was no mistaking that he would stay if she closed the gap. If she asked him again his resolve would crumble. She couldn’t bring herself to.

She relaxed her hand, flattening the new wrinkles and creases as best she could before she took a step back and inhaled a few steadying breaths.

“Call me in the morning? So, we can do this right?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry—I—”

“You’re making it a lot harder to let you leave. Go.”

Nick followed Morgan’s order swiftly, one nod, another small lilt forward before he was spinning around and slamming the door shut behind him.

Cold air had filled the doorway, and Morgan rushed to get inside to the proper warmth of her house. She kicked her flats off just inside the door as she simultaneously removed and hung up her coat. The skirt of her dress was still getting in the way, even without Nick around, and she knew she had to be rid of it as soon as possible.

Before she’d even reached her bedroom, the zipper was undone, and the straps were falling down her shoulders. She was already thinking about the comfiest t-shirt she owned, and any underwear that wasn’t the thong she was wearing.

It was why her entire body deflated when the doorbell rang. Entirely uncaring about her state, she trudged back to the front door to peek through the window with no intention of opening it for anyone.

Only.

Nick was standing on the other side, visibly bouncing and vibrating. Morgan had only just opened the door when he was inside, pressing her up against the wall and finishing what he’d started.

Whilst Morgan hadn’t woken up smiling, she certainly hadn’t stopped since Nick kissed the back of her shoulder and rolled out of bed, promising he wouldn’t be long. Morgan couldn’t contain her smile, and all she could think to do was bury her head under the covers and shake her head to release some of her excited energy.

“Hiding from me?” Nick asked, only a split second before he raised the covers. He was also smiling, and it got impossibly bigger when he saw her smiling up at him.

He was back in bed beside her, facing each other just as they had done many times before except there was nothing stopping her from brushing her fingertips across his cheekbones and feeling the shudder through his body that was pressed against hers.

“I’m so happy,” she admitted, breathless and carefree. “Maybe we should talk about it first, but I’m—you make me so happy.”

“I really wanted to do this right,” he told her dejectedly. “I don’t—I didn’t want it to be sex first.”

“Was it, though? I—it kind of feels like we’ve been dating since the first time I showed up at your house. Doesn’t it?”

His eyes moved rapidly, three months of memories seemingly flashing through his mind immediately. Morgan was thinking about them, too.

Nick’s hand gently reached out to touch hers, linking their fingers and resting them on his chest directly above his rapidly beating heart.

“This is what my chest feels like every time I think about you.”

She moved their hands over her own heart to show him that hers did, too.

Upon hearing that Nick’s family would fly out to California for the Blue Jacket’s road trip, Morgan had briefly toyed with the idea of joining them. Nick had asked if she wanted to join them, and then offered to pay for her costs, but Morgan couldn’t justify asking for the time off work. Nor could she justify crashing a family event so soon after she and Nick got together.

She ignored Nick’s comments about how she had been fine crashing Christmas.

Despite speaking with Nick every day, Morgan had yet to speak to him when he was with his family. It wasn’t intentional, just time zones making things incredibly difficult.

Which is why it took her by surprise when Nick FaceTimed her and asked if she wanted to meet Thomas Bordeleau before she was able to say anything at all.

“It’s nice to finally meet Nick’s stalker,” Thom said with the cockiest grin Morgan had ever seen on a human being. “Didn’t think he’d be the first one to get one. Thought for sure it’d be OP.”

“I didn’t realise that what I was doing was weird,” Morgan said defensively, inadvertently looking around the phone to see if she could get Nick’s attention. “I know now, but it’s way past the point of being relevant.”

Nick was the only one she felt the need to justify herself to; she hoped he hadn’t let Thom run away with the phone.

“Some fangirl out there is real fucking jealous of you for stalking your way into a relationship.”

“Yeah, alright,” Nick cut in before the line of conversation continued. “I asked if you wanted to meet her, not harass her.”

“Nice to meet you,” Thom continued, still with his cocky grin. “Heard a lot about you at UMich. Too much probably given you were long gone when I started. He’s been in love with you for years. Maybe he was the stalker all along.”

“You think you’re revealing secrets,” Morgan laughed, “but I know all about it.”

The ensuing conversation about Nick at college was enough for Morgan to drop her guard. Nick remained in the shot instead of letting Thom take up the entire frame, so Morgan felt comfortable enough to get swept up in it.

When it was clear the conversation was running out, Nick left Thom’s side and asked for a minute alone with Morgan. She waited patiently for him to be far enough away from Thom to say what he couldn’t in front of his friend, curious the entire time.

“Can I tell my family that we’re together?”

“You told Thom before you told your family?” Morgan asked, amused.

“We were talking about you, and it just kind of came out,” he told her, embarrassed. “I can’t believe I haven’t spilled it to my mom, yet. All she wants to talk about is you.”

Morgan’s heart swelled. “Nick, you can tell whoever you want. I’d love for your family to know.”

“Whole world?”

“If you want to tell the whole world, then I do, too.”

Nick called her later that night to tell her that he hadn’t told the whole world but had told his family. He had quoted his mom’s comments, and Morgan was in absolute disbelief.

“Your mom did not tell you that I can do better than you. There’s no way.”

“She told me that you could have any man you wanted, and they’d be lucky to have you and that I should be very happy you chose me.”

“Don’t tell your mom I said this,” Morgan whispered conspiratorially, “but she’s delusional.”

Nick’s laughter filled her ears, and his smile filled her screen.

It was unbearably cheesy to think, let alone say, but she truly did not believe it was Nick who was the lucky one.

[thatinwardhell]

can i request a smutty/fluffy cole sillinger fic pls!!!

dude i literally had no idea who cole sillinger was before this ask but im grateful to you anon for introducing him to me bc. lord. <333 fluffy/smutty childhood best friends to lovers sort of thing. sorry if it's a bit short!!! i have a harder time writing for players i dont know, hope you enjoy tho <333

Cole always wondered how your body felt so warm next to him as you laid, curled up in the thin top sheet and basking in the warm, summer air Regina had to offer, drifting through his open bedroom window.

He always wondered why he liked it so much that, after so many years of friendship, after spending diapers and terrible twos and tormented middle school years together, you slept next to him in his bed when you slept over. The clock read 1-something as Cole gazed at you, soundly asleep, sprawled out in his sheets, glowing tender in the sharp moonlight.

The night seemed to feed contemplation for him - dredging up memories he'd blocked out of his head throughout the season, since he'd been drafted, even. Cole couldn't remember how long he'd had romantic feelings for you - liked you, loved you, how long he'd felt a fuzzy feeling in his tummy when your hand brushed against his or when you'd lean over on his shoulder as you laughed too hard at a stupid joke he'd made.

You were comfortable. Sweet. Affectionate. Sometimes affectionate enough that Cole could sink his teeth into the daydream of you as his girlfriend, your kisses on his cheeks were something more than a friendly formality.

He felt you stir, then, humming in your sleep and rolling over, snuggling deeper into your pillow. The sheets rustled again as he sunk back down from where he'd been sleeping against the headboard, coming to lay face-to-face with you. Your breath fanned out across the pillow, eyes closed and without a care in the world. Cole thought you looked like a fucking angel, then. Maybe just a human, maybe just the only perfect person on earth, maybe he was just head-over-heels in love with you and couldn't get the words out.

Impulsively, stupidly, Cole's hand came up to cup your cheek, brushing a stray strand of sleep-tousled hair out of your face and rubbing his thumb at your cheek, as if to let you sink into the pad of his thumb, then through his skin, and into his veins. Maybe then he'd be able to take you back to Columbus with him, tucked away somewhere where you'd always be like this, asleep next to him and wrapped up in too-thin sheets and sweet dreams.

"Hey," You whispered, groggy and voice muddled with sleep, bringing your smaller hand to wrap around his wrist and left it there (the feeling of your skin on his always made Cole shiver, though he'd never say it out loud. At least not to you.)

"Hey," He whispered back, thick eyebrows furrowed and eyes shining somewhere distant in the moonlight, "Did I wake you up?"

"Don't worry about it," You whispered back, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips as you tried, as subtly as you could, to snuggle closer to him. Cole felt your hand move against his in the darkness of his room, skin sliding against skin as you brought your palm to his, your fingers between his. "What'cha thinkin' about?"

"Nothing." Cole muttered, eyes flitting own to where your hand met his, thinly covered by the top sheet, squeezing softly and hoping you wouldn't notice. "Go back to sleep."

"I can't now, C," Cole hated that nickname. Not because it was a bad nickname - it was short, sweet, nothing overly sappy. Through the years he'd started to detest the way it'd make his stomach churn more and more, bringing a blush to his tan cheeks more than he'd admit. "I gotta know what your secret is."

"It's nothing, I told you," He tried to sound annoyed, putting on a fake pout and rolling over, letting your hand slip from his in the tussle of sheets against skin.

The thin air in the room seemed to wait for a response to this, and for a moment, Cole wondered if you'd really gonna back to sleep. Your breaths were guarded, bated in the standstill moment as you laid flat on your back in the softness of the sheets beneath you.

"How do you-" Cole mumbled, drawing his breath in and pausing, holding it like birds in his lungs, eyes staring at the hardwood floor before him. He shifted, slightly, turning his head over his shoulder as if to spy on you, only finding the dark tunnels of your eyes looking back.

"How do I what, C?" You smiled, shifting closer to him, eyes so slightly tired and gaze set on him. "You're freaking me out a little."

"How do you feel about me?" The words were short, blurted out as if they couldn't wait to leave his lungs, falling from such great heights to achieve their greater purpose.

You paused, Cole heard it in the air, a breath drawn in and kept there, hands laced together and a pressure behind your ribs that you couldn't quite place.

"What do you mean, Cole?" He rolled over at this, eyes flitting to your face and searching for something, anything behind the ever-so-slight quirk in your lips, the furrow of your brows, the dull glow behind your pupils. "You know I love you, I just don't-"

"Not in that way, Y/N," His voice sounded strained, thrown somewhere distant and exasperated as he turned on his back, arm over his eyes, as if to block some unwanted reality he was afraid to face. "I don't, I just,"

Cole seemed to search for a moment, lost in the skin-colored darkness his arm provided and fingers in a fist as he tried to find his words. He thought back, back to the years-long friendship that he could, that he was surely ruining as his words drifted from him, of nights just like that one that would be lost to the tides if he really fucking told you.

"I think I'm in love with you," It came out a whisper, something barely there and tiny told to the darkness. "I think I've been in love with you for a long time, and I fucking know, I fucking know this ruins everything, but I just need to know how you feel, because I can't keep-"

Your hand was on Cole's cheek then, ushering him to turn back to his side and prying his arm away from his eyes and your lips were on his before he could process anything.

Years of wondering, waiting, imagining what your kiss felt like came to an unceremonious head - tangled in sheets at what would usually be a normal sleepover for the two of you, putting a star alight in Cole's stomach as he laid and took the feeling of you kissing for himself.

Your mouth was soft, tasting so faintly of your minty toothpaste, warm and comforting when he rolled over on top of you, caging you in with strong arms and grown-out hair whispering over your forehead.

"Cole," You whispered between kisses, hands tangled in his soft, sweet-smelling hair, something tugging at the edges of your lips as Cole continues to kiss the corners of your mouth, your lips, nipping every so often, as if to ask for entry.

He hummed, contentedly, happily, when you opened your mouth for him, allowing his tongue in, taking the immediate opportunity to run his tongue over the inside of your mouth, reverently, as if to memorize the roof of your mouth, the edges of your teeth, the feeling of flesh on flesh.

You gasped as Cole moved lower, pressing a peck to your chin before nudging it up, reveling in his newfound access to your neck. A murmur of his name floated into thin air again, hands still stitched into his hair and legs halfway wrapped around his waist.

"God," The sound was quiet, whispered, as if this was some blissful secret between the two of you, basking between wandering hands and open-mouthed kisses. "Been waiting to do this for so long."

You said nothing in return, too lost in the feeling of his lips, his teeth, his tongue on your neck, offering only breathy gasps and half-moans as your hips canted upward, earning you a satisfied groan against your neck.

Cole's mouth was everywhere, soft brown hair tracing its own path down your body as he moved lower and lower on your body, drifting to suck on your clavicle, a toothy smile erupting against your skin when he felt you arch your back and the vibration of a moan against his cheek.

"Cole," You whispered again, a tug prickling against Cole's scalp as you pulled him back to your lips, teeth bumping as you kissed, desperately, wantonly, in the darkness. "Mh, Cole, need you."

He shushed you, softly, dragging his lips against your cheek and nipping at your earlobe softly, playfully, laughing fully, sweet and hearty when you smacked him lightly on his shoulder for biting you.

Cole's hands were desperate, everywhere all at once, drifting down your tummy and caressing the line where your sleep pants met your skin beneath the shirt you'd stolen from him God knows how many years before, eyes meeting yours briefly before they made their burning path upwards, lifting your (his) shirt with them.

He wasted no time in cupping your tits in his hands, skin soft against skin as he seemed to memorize every part of your haphazardly half-naked body. Cole's lips never left yours - never parted except for needy gasps of air and to lick his way back into your mouth.

You were gasping, desperate, shameless in the darkness, back arching and laying flat as Cole's fingers danced experimentally across your breasts, pinching and squeezing and caressing carefully, listening closely for a particularly loud gasp or a choked-out moan.

Cole was fucking everywhere - every kiss planting itself in your ribcage, sinking deeper than skin as he brought his mouth to your nipple. You gasped, arching deeper into his mouth as he hummed, delightedly, only sending you further at the feeling of the vibration.

His hands remained busy at your other breast, pinching and squeezing your nipple in time with his mouth as he laved over the other, eyes shut and lashes fluttering something beautiful.

Your mewls got lost in the silence of Cole's dark room, gasps and broken moans swallowed up by the hungry night as he switched to the other breast, attaching his mouth to the underside of it, sucking bruises into the sensitive skin there.

"Cole, I-" You whispered, broken by small, pathetic pants as your best friend, boyfriend, one-night-stand made no attempts to stop, lavishing your tits with kisses as you tried desperately to get out what he wanted to say. "I love you. Mph, so much."

The room paused for a moment, Cole's mouth stopped moving against your skin, briefly, and you wondered for a second if you'd gone too far. But nonetheless, his mouth moved like magic against your skin once more, kissing down your sternum and you felt him, deep in your bones, mutter something that sounded too similar to 'I love you too.'

You swore, you swore up and down in your head that his mouth felt otherworldly, like nothing you'd ever felt before, that time had stopped on the old, familiar digital clock that rested just where it always did on his bedside table. Mouthing openly at the dark roof above, eyes screwed shut in anticipation, in fear, in whatever emotion pooled in your belly as Cole kissed his way down it, you felt fingers dip below the thick fabric of your sweats.

The weight, the feeling of Cole's body left for a moment and you gazed up at him as he rose from your body, his altar, flouting back on his haunches and sitting there, taking you in like worship.

His large hands came from his thighs, hesitating, almost, above your skin, before taking your hips between his large hands, running them up you body, slowly, tracing the edges of your body into his brain, where he would always remember the way you felt, naked, vulnerable, beneath him.

"You're so," Cole muttered, choking on the words in his throat, mouth hanging open as he took it all in - how the moonlight fell on your skin, how your arched and keened for him, how you stared up at him with the most beautiful eyes he thought he'd ever seen. "I just never thought..."

He trailed off, pupils blown wide as you sat up, slowly, as if any sudden movement would scare him away in those fleeting moments, basking in the midnight moon. Cole's hair was soft as you tangled your hand once more in it, bringing him back for a kiss.

It was futile, really. To think that the two of you could make up for years upon years of silent words dying in mouths, fleeting touches remembered as Cole moved to Columbus, lingering, residual longing as you both stole glances of each other at family barbecues with sex. But as Cole haphazardly laid you back down, shoving his thin, flannel sleep pants down his thighs and tugging at your own waistband, you felt fucking complete.

He was pleading, almost, groaning against you as you pulled down your sweats and panties, cloth landing carelessly on the floor with a muffled thump, waiting to be picked up the next day.

"Cole, baby," Cole felt his insides warm with an unfamiliar feeling at the pet name that slipped from your lips as you spread your legs, revealing the very delta of Venus. Your eyes were shy, head tilted down as he stared as your sex, drawing his hands forward and pressing your legs as flat as they could be before bringing his weepy cock between your thighs.

Cole's eyes were pleading, pleading to fit inside you with the fervor, the desperation both you and he knew had been burning in the both of you for years.

You nodded, silently, timidly, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and bringing him as close to you as he could be, without drawing him into your own skin. Still clinging to him, arms wrapped rightly around Cole's shoulders, you gasped as he finally pushed inside your needy cunt, reveling in the stretch, the embers between your legs as he split you open on him, groaning at the feeling.

You didn't need words, as Cole held himself above you, seated inside you as if you had been made to take his cock, just gasps and groans and small utterances of fuck and baby drifting between the two of you aimlessly, as if a gull on the seaside wind.

Everything felt full and warm and complete.

Cole's body laid against yours, him inside of you, he began to move, drawing in and out experimentally, as if to test the waters of the fragile balance that hung between your bodies.

The draw of his cock in and out, the veins and ridge of his head made you gasp, drawing him ever closer as you wrapped tour legs around his waist, now clinging to him completely as he took you apart, bit by bit, until there was nothing left but the wanton bodies that laid there in that bed.

Words failed you as you tried to describe the feeling you fucking felt as he fucked you, not earnestly, not yet. You felt his love. It wasn't the blissful feeling of him dragging against your walls, it was the warmth you felt inside as you as Cole pressed pisses against your skin, over and over, the feeling of your nails against his back, hissing and beginning to snap his hips faster at the feeling.

"I love you," You sobbed, as Cole fucked into you steadily, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room as tears fell from your eyes.

You didn't know if it was how good he felt, or how fucking good it felt to finally get this after years of waiting, pining, loving him from a distance, or just the feeling of knowing he wanted you too, that your affection wasn't one-sided.

He said nothing at this, kissing away the salty tears that fell from your eyes and murmuring iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou like a fucking mantra, words slurred together as his hips picked up their pace, split only by grunts and panting, desperate breaths.

Both of you had known since his tongue had delved into your both that neither of you would last long.

Cole felt his orgasm approach rapidly, something overwhelmed in him about the feeling of having his dream girl beneath him, wrapped around him so desperately, mewling his name and crying, fucking crying and moaning out your love for him.

So he pulled back for a moment. Cole's hips kept their pace against yours, but your arms fell from his and he snatched one up, lacing your fingers together and admiring you beneath him.

And maybe that was enough to make him lean back, the sight of you. teary-eyed and moaning uncontrollably as he fucked you, holding hands with him all the while, fumbling through your own orgasm. It was enough, more than enough, for his hips to cant toward your desperately and shoot inside of you, groaning to the heavens and dropping back down against you, still bucking his hips.

You felt so full. So full and so happy and so fucking safe as Cole filled you with his seed, squealing and feeling something between your hips tighten, pulse desperately as you arched against Cole's spent body, leaving him to wade through your orgasm with you, fucking you in little, small strokes through it, reveling in the sound of you coming, just for him, only for him.

The both of you stayed like that awhile, sticky and sweaty but fucking content. Bodies sated against one another, no desire to move crossing your minds as he rolled you back over, so that you were both laying on your side, his long limbs wrapped around yours and you hummed, happy and well-fucked.

There'd surely be things to talk about the next day. How things would work between you two, how much you fucking loved him, since you were a little girl, how you wanted so desperately to be his.

And you could tell Cole wanted to talk too - his eyes were still wide open as he buried his face in your hair, sighing at the sweet smell of it and tightening his grip on you.

For however long the two of you had until the sun rose, you didn't need words. All you needed was to be wrapped in each other, cheeky, sweet kisses pressed against sticky skin, Cole still buried inside you, and the memory of I love you's whispered against skin played over and over until you drifted to sleep.

[eyes-above--the-waves]

All this recent talk about Connor Bedard has me thinking about just how hilarious the concept of the NHL Draft is. Like, you get these unreal kids who come along once every handful of years (Crosby, McDavid, Bedard, etc.) who get everyone talking and you just KNOW they’re going to be household names in hockey. And, as recognition of that, the NHL is like, “Congratulations! The payoff for all of your hard work is that you get to play for the worst team in the League! Have fun!”

[kolsmikaelson]

kent and late night drives> I feel like it’d be a vibe

a/n - sorry this is late, i kinda hate the ending but i hope you enjoy !!

follow @roryslibrary to see all my writing.

“c’mon kent, we should head back.” you murmur, no real urgency in your voice. “ ‘s late and you have a game tomorrow.” you continue. “ i’ll be fine love, i know you like these drives.” he whispers out, squeezing your hand, bringing it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against the backside of your fingers.

“okay, just a little bit longer though.”

he nods silently, eyes focused on the road ahead of him. late night drives quickly became somewhat of a tradition for the two of you, it was something that normally only occurred when one of you were unable to sleep or needed to unplug for a while and you both enjoyed it too much to stop. you smile thinking back to the first night you went on a longer drive with the boy beside you.

“thank you babe.” you mutter. “what for?” he asks, glancing your way. “these drives,” you shrug “everything really.”

“anything for you bug.”