#dad!erik | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ilyasorokinn · 2 months ago

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a change would do you good , erik johnson

note, ej signing with a different team is old news atp but I didn't finish this fast enough last year. this was at first supposed to go up after the trade, then I didn't make it so I decided, more recently, what better time than his 1000 game milestone, and that didn't work... so now it's here! and it's so late! but what else is new right? another note, i was inspired to add one scene after seeing this video of sharkie with erik karlsson's kid. check it out if you want, it's cute. last note, this fic is part of the "life with the johnsons" series, so check out this masterlist for more. pair, erik johnson x reader summary, after 13 years, all good things must come to an end. warnings, kids/children, pain and sadness (it's sad in the beginning but it gets happier towards the end) word count, 1908 words

(gif not mine)

January 2023, 7 months till UFA

You knew your husband well enough to know something was wrong. You could sense it. So, after you had tag-teamed bedtime, you found him sitting alone in your room.

"What's your deal?" You asked, making your way into the closet to change.

"What do you mean?" He asked, slipping a bookmark into the book he was reading so he could give you his full attention.

"I mean you've been acting weird all day, so spill." You plopped down next to him, looking up at him and waiting for him to answer your question. He opened his mouth, ready to give an answer but stopped, "What?" You pushed.

"What would you think about a move?"

"Like houses? I mean, I like this one. It's big enough for us and the backyard is-"

"No, not houses. States. Countries."

"Like, during off-season?" You were now even more confused than before.

"No, during the season." Your eyes widened as you finally understood what he was saying, "I'm a Free Agent after this season."

"They're not gonna sign you?"

"No, they do. I don't want to." He shook his head.

"You want to leave Colorado?" You were shocked at the words coming out of your mouth.

"13 seasons is a lot." He told you simply.

"You love Colorado." You didn't even know if the words you were saying were English.

"I do." He nodded, "It's time." Was all he said then turning off his light, a non-verbal way of telling you he didn't want to keep talking, so you respected it and turned off your lamp.

The next night, you were in the same position. You were getting ready for bed, the same topic from the night before had been floating around your head the entire time.

"Erik..." You called out. He turned to look at you from his sink through the mirror, "Can we at least talk about it? Do I get a say?"

"Of course." He nodded.

"What if I want to stay? My life is here, our friends are here!" You reminded him, slamming the tube of toothpaste on the counter.

"Okay, hey." He reached over, putting his hand on top of yours, "I know everyone we know is here, but don't you feel it? It's time." He nodded.

You looked up at him and could see the sincerity in his eyes, the longing behind them, "I need time." You told him, turning away from him and continuing to get ready for bed, unsure if you would even get sleep that night because your mind would be reeling with the fact that Erik was unhappy where he was.

A few days later, you and Erik finally sat down to finally talk things out. There were tears (from both parties), and after much arguing and weighing the pros and cons, you finally agreed.

It wasn't an easy decision. You were more worried about how Lila, Zach, and Ivy would take it. They had been born and had spent their whole lives in Colorado, so you were worried.

You wrangled the three of them into the living room and sat them down. Lila, ever so smart for her age, knew something was wrong. She had woken up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and heard you talking at night once.

She didn't quite understand what you were talking about, but the tone of the conversation was enough for her to realize that something was wrong.

"We wanted to talk to you three about something." You started, subconsciously spinning your ring on your finger, a nervous habit of yours.

"It's something big." Erik continued, taking a breath as he tried to gather his thoughts, "So, you know how we live here because I play sticks here?"

"Yeah." The three of them nodded.

"Well, after this season, I'm going to sign with another team." You watched with bated breath, each of their reactions. Ivy seemed to get it the quickest.

"We're moving away?" She asked, tears filling her eyes.

"After this season, yes." Erik nodded, his shoulders sagging at their reactions.

"I don't wanna move." Ivy was the first to start crying, and it set off a domino effect.

It took you and Erik almost an hour and a half to get the three of them to stop crying. Luckily, they had tired themselves out and ended up falling asleep.

You and Erik found yourselves on the couch, sharing a bottle of wine as you thought about how much change would be happening in the coming months.

"Do you think I'm making the right decision?" He asked, looking over at you.

"I can't answer that for you." You smiled sadly, shaking your head, "All I'll say is before you declare anything, make sure you're really sure about this."

June 2023, 1 month till UFA

Since your first conversation in January, you had talked about Free Agency briefly, and from those conversations, you gathered that Erik was sure about the move.

You talked to everyone. Coaches, Joe Sakic, Jared Bednar, the other members of the Avs organizations, teammates, and everyone else. Erik made sure the first person he told was Gabe because they were brothers.

You invited Melissa and Gabe over for dinner and were almost scared to tell them. In all the time you'd lived in Colorado, you had known the Landeskogs. They were family.

"So, what's with this special dinner?" Gabe asked, raising a brow at both of you as the meal came to a close.

"Well, we have some news." Erik looked over at you, and you gave him a reassuring nod and smile.

"You're pregnant?" Gabe guessed.

"No." You rolled your eyes.

"You know how my contract is up?" Erik began. While Mel still looked a little confused, a look of understanding fell on Gabe's face, and he nodded.

"You're not serious." He shook his head, covering his mouth in shock.

"I'm serious." He nodded.

"EJ..." He breathed out, standing up and pulling his friend into a long hug.

Mel stood up and did the same, coming over and wrapping you in a big hug, "I'm gonna miss my partner in crime." She joked, laughing tearfully.

"Me too." You smiled, squeezing her tighter.

When you gave them each a hug goodbye and shut the door, you turned to Erik, "You doing okay?"

"I don't know." You reached up and wrapped your arms around him, rubbing his back as he broke down in tears.

"It's okay." You whispered, kissing his head as he fell apart.

August 2023, 1 Month Post Free Agency

Before July 1st, you managed to tell everyone the news. Family, friends, teammates, colleagues, everyone. And they all shared pretty much the same reaction as Gabe and Mel.

For the kids, it took a while for them to really understand what was happening, but they quickly adapted and were excited to move to a new city.

The one thing they were upset about was not being able to see their best friend, Colorado Avalanche mascot, Bernie.

At every home game you could make it to, it was a tradition that you would find Bernie, and the kids would take a picture with him. Fans knew how much the kids loved him, and the team knew how much they loved him.

So, before you were planning to move, you, Erik, and the team put something together. Bernie would come over to your house and give them one last goodbye, and the media team would get some cute content.

The doorbell rang, and you looked up and could see through the window who was outside, "Who's at the door, guys?" You pulled out your phone and started recording, wanting to get their reactions.

"You wanna go see who's at the door?" Erik asked, "I think it's for you." He added. They knew not to answer the door by themselves unless you knew who it was, or you gave them the okay.

The kids looked confused, but the three of them made their way over to the door. They got a peek from through the glass beside the door of who it was and began jumping around, "Bernie!"

Bernie and Trixie were barking and jumping around. Erik quickly caught Ivy before she was toppled over by the dogs. He reached for the door handle, and both dogs rushed out, greeting the much larger dog.

"Bernie!" Lila and Zach ran towards him, giving him a big hug. He hugged them both and held out the presents in his arms for them. He handed each of them a giant rose, which they both clutched to their chest.

"Oh, my gosh!" You gasped, "What do you guys say?"

"Thank you, Bernie!" They both hugged him again. He patted them on the back before standing up and handing Ivy her own giant flower which was practically the same size as her.

"Thank you, Bernie." She giggled, wrapping her arms around the giant dog's neck.

You invited Bernie in, and together, all three kids showed him their playroom, letting him pretend to play with Barbies before they made their way outside to the giant playset.

He went between all three kids and pushed them on the swings, getting winded after going through the three of them in a row. By the end of the day, they were upset to see their favorite mascot go.

"Bye, Bernie." They each gave him one last hug, and Ivy even blew him a kiss like she did to Erik whenever she was up by the glass.

Arriving in Buffalo was no easy feat. Getting all three kids situated, and then getting yourselves situationed was a challenge, but you got it. When you got to Buffalo, you were greeted by Sabretooth, the Sabres' mascot, in the airport. He was holding a sign with all three kids' names on it.

They noticed, and immediately pointed it out when they saw it, "Do you guys remember who that is?" You asked, looking down at Ivy who was resting her head on your shoulder.

"Sabretooth." She answered, nervous as she looked at the mascot. It took some warming up to get used to Bernie, so you knew it would take some time before she got used to the new mascot.

"That's right." Sabretooth flipped the sign over, and it read 'Welcome to Buffalo, Johnsons!'.

"Thank you, Sabretooth." Erik was the first to hug the tiger, which would ease all the kids' nerves. Sabretooth gave him a big hug, before looking to Lila and Zach, who now looked more comfortable.

The twins looked at each other, communicating silently with their twin language, before looking back at the mascot and accepting his hug. Ivy, who now was more comfortable with the giant tiger, wiggled, signaling to you that she wanted to be let down.

You set her down, and she followed after her older siblings and joined in on the hug. Eventually, the three of them were all talking to Sabretooth and telling him all about their plane ride.

You and Erik watched a few steps behind them, and your heart warmed. You looked over at Erik, and wrapped an arm around his waist, "So, how do you feel now?"

"It's gonna take some getting used to." He said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

"But, we're gonna make it work. We always do." You reminded him.

"Like we always do." He repeated with a nod.

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