#dad logan is : mat barzal

[starry-hughes]

star’s ficmas event

welcome to star’s christmas (ficmas!) event. every day, starting december 1, a christmas/winter-related fic will be posted. down below is the list of all the fics that will be posted and who they will be about.

you can choose who the fics are about by sending an ask with a player and what day/fic you would like to see! it's a first come, first serve basis (aka i will be choosing the name given to me first). once the fic has a name next to it, it is off the table. all players i write for can be found here, if you don't see a player you'd like on the list, feel free to ask! please send an ask with your picks! i won't post all the asks, but i will update the list as it goes

merry christmas and happy holidays!

star's navigation

day 1: ice skating → luca fantilli

day 2: mistletoe → anthony beauvillier

day 3: gingerbread house → mat barzal and teacher!gf

day 4: ugly christmas sweaters → dakota and mark (au)

day 5: picking out a tree → mat barzal

day 6: playing in the snow → single dad!jack (au)

day 7: hot chocolate→ jamie drysdale

day 8: present exchange → single dad!jack (au)

day 9: christmas traditions → caroline and kent (au)

day 10: playing santa → single dad!jack (au)

day 11: bah humbug → andrei svechnikov

day 12: wrapping presents → jack hughes

day 13: decorating → mat barzal

day 14: meeting the family → logan and nico (au)

day 15: fireplace snuggling → kasey and mackie (au)

day 16: fake holiday date → luke hughes

day 17: secret santa → jack hughes

day 18: baking → daisy's au (quinn hughes au)

day 19: christmas music → aspen and cole (au)

day 20: baby’s first christmas → sawyer & quinn (au)

day 21: christmas shopping → nico hischier

day 22: holiday disaster → luke hughes

day 23: family heirloom → mat barzal

day 24: christmas dinner → trevor zegras

day 25: christmas wrapping → quinn hughes

[playspuck]

@shadowbrn LIKED for a starter : blake logan

        there was something humbling about the fact that his daughter was growing up.. something terrifying about the possibility of her being on her own, of her not NEEDING HIM anymore that he despised. she was meant to stay his little girl forever, the one who thought guys were gross and only wanted her dad. he hated it. hated it more than the possibility of not playing hockey right out of college. so when she brought up the idea of visiting colleges and wanting to visit briar, john was all for it.. no matter how hard it killed him. grace simply brushed him off, stating that it was simply just normal teenage behavior.. but her leaving : IT WAS EATING HIM ALIVE.

         〝 why briar? 〞 he questions, turning his head to look at her as they roll to a stoplight, ready to embark on their first ever college visit.

[bitchinbarzal]

Last Christmas | M.Barzal

this is my entry for @antoineroussel christmas fic exchange!

this is for you, @lhugh! happy holidays annie 🎄🤍

this fic does use they/them pronouns as they are annie’s pronouns! 🫶🏼

word count: 2,461 words

-

Last Christmas, you walked into December planning every festive activity possible; the Rockefeller Christmas tree, Nutcracker at New York City ballet, Radio City Rockettes even letting Mat show you up at skating.

That was until Mat dropped the break up bomb on you. You couldn’t really comprehend it all, too confused and hurt at once.

You were supposed to spend Christmas with Mat and the team at the Martin’s. You never answered Sydney’s texts after the breakup.

You spent Christmas alone.

You were thankful the islanders tanked their 21/22 season. It meant that they all left to go home as soon as possible.

That meant no islanders, no jerseys, no chants on the train home from work.

No Mat.

He went home to Coquitlam two days after the islanders lost to Tampa.

Mat spent his first summer in seven years bouncing around from place to place. He was out on the lake with Tyson for a few weeks and he visited Anthony and Emma when they bought their new home in Quebec.

He wasn’t home long with his family until he got a call, from Brock. His dad had died.

He asked if you and Mat could attend the funeral, his father really adored you both in the time he’d met you and he knew Mat well. Mathew agreed to attend, claiming you were busy but sent your well wishes.

He flew into Minnesota the day prior, dropping off flowers to Brock’s mom and she welcomed him into her home giving him a drink and thanking him for coming.

“He always liked watching you play, unless you played against Vancouver of course” she laughed, Mat gave her a smile “It’s a shame y/n couldn’t come”

“Yeah, it’s a shame” he mumbled.

Next he saw her was at the funeral, listening while she stood talking about her husband, the love she had for him, how much she missed him already.

All Mat could think about when he heard her words were you.

You were his best friend.

You were the person who knew him best.

You were supposed to be around forever.

When Mat got home after that trip he didn’t do much, he was no longer in the mood to go out partying, celebrating with friends.

Mat returned to Long Island in the end of August.

He frequented the coffee shop you guys often did and he even walked the route in the morning you did. He didn’t see you.

It wasn’t until week 3 of attending the same coffee shop that the barista, Logan said to him

“Mat, they don’t come in here anymore I’m sorry. Said they needed a fresh start after the breakup”

He silently nodded to the girl, hoping she hadn’t caught his face falling. He simply took his flat white from the counter and exited to building.

Contract talks started in mid-september.

The organization called in May to the office to discuss; throwing around money and perks.

He took the time to digest the information. He called him mom and dad to see what their opinions were on the whole thing, called his financial advisor and even called Anders but the number he kept hovering over belonged to you.

Everyone’s advice was along the lines of “you need to see yourself settling down in Long Island with a contract term like that” and he did, with you.

The deal was signed on October 4th.

@ny_islanders: “I love It here” says Mathew Barzal, after signing his 8 year extension to stay here in Long Island 💙🤍🧡

You read the tweet, saw the posts and the stories from your mutual friends. You wanted to text him — tell him congratulations, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

So instead, you simply put an orange heart emoji under the islanders post about his extension and scrolled on.

Mat saw it. His heart soared at the simplicity of it but yet the fact he knew you were still thinking of him, that you in some way still cared.

Late October, the leaves were starting to fall and hockey was beginning again. Mat wasn’t playing his best — missing goals, easy passes and a lot of falling over.

People started doubting him; calling him a fake, a money grabber and claiming they wished Lou hadn’t even drafted his extension papers.

Mat started to doubt himself too.

was he good enough?

should he have signed the papers?

was he worth the money?

was Long Island better off without him? were you?

There is was! The real problem.

Ever since that last December his mind had been stuck on you and really it shouldn’t have because it was his fault, he broke up with you.

If anyone asked Mat why you broke up he would say “We just wanted different things”

If Mat was honest with himself he would say “I was scared I wasn’t enough for them”

The first few months of hockey came and passed with not a single goal from Mat.

Lambert pulled him aside one morning at practice to tell him “You better get your head out of your ass son because one more game the way you’ve been going and you’ll be benched for the rest of this year”

The last game in November, against Philadelphia Mat was a healthy scratch.

His punishment was over by the next game but Lane told him in no specific terms he had to step up. Mat just groaned and mumbled a “Yeah, I’m fucking trying” before leaving the office.

It was harder now that it was December.

In summer he could just pretend things weren’t different.

You weren’t at his families house? You had to be with your mom.

He was alone at the casino event? You had work.

But Christmas, that was different. Christmas wasn’t something he could sweep under the rug and pretend you were busy.

You’d spent every Christmas together since Mat was eighteen years old. Your first Christmas in New York was an overwhelming experience and Mat thought it adorable at how excited you were about everything.

He bought you a necklace that year. It had his number on it, the gold chain necklace held the number thirteen on your chest and you never took it off.

It was a staple piece in your collection, whenever someone at one of your fancy work dinners or meetings would ask

“Hey why does your necklace have the thirteen on it?”

You would smile so bright, in such adoration and reply “My boyfriend, mat. He plays hockey for the New York Islanders and he’s number thirteen! but always number one to me” and everyone would laugh and call you cute.

You’d left that necklace behind the night you’d packed your stuff up to leave. Mat found it when he returned home from Boston on an away game to find you’d obviously been in and cleared out your belongings too while he was gone.

He took the necklace and posted it to your mom’s house, the only address connected to you he knew. He never knew if you’d gotten it back, not that it mattered much anyway because why would you want to wear it after you’d broken up?

Mat’s no goal streak continued up to the last game before Christmas, December 23rd and he was goal-less.

He was so frustrated at everything he couldn’t think straight about getting this goal. He was spending Christmas alone for the second year in a row — alone, without you.

He couldn’t stop thinking about you no matter how hard he tried. How you’d been here tonight wearing a silly Christmas jumper and cheering about the last game before Christmas.

They tanked the first period, Tkachuk got away with the puck leaving them up one by the end of the first. There were so many penalties, stupid penalties. It was a mess.

Second period, they equalised in the first few minutes with a goal from Beau before Brock got them up another which was matched not long after by Florida.

When the third period hit it was like something went off in Mat, that he had a surge of energy.

He got a goal, his first season goal! Then another and another with only a few seconds left on the clock.

Hat-trick. He got a hatty.

He’d done it. He finally scored a goal this season, they won the game and he got a hat-trick!

So why didn’t he feel like it was enough?

When he got back to the locker room, Mat pulled his phone out of his bag and looked at his notifications; texts from friends and family congratulating him on the goals, random emails but it was as though he was searching for something.

He clicked through the phone until he landed on what he wanted and pressed it before holding the phone up to his ear.

It rang twice before it connected

“Hello?”

“Um, hey! This is weird and I’m not sure why I’m doing this but I felt like I had to because, well because I scored my first goal of the season tonight. I scored my first season goal and I got a hatty too which I mean is a lot but I don’t feel like it’s enough”

Mat sighed, completely blocking out his team-mates listening to this conversation and looking on with sympathy

“It’s not enough because I know you’re not here-“

“-Mat-“

“No, please let me finish it’s taken me long enough to get the courage to call you. I was stupid for what I did last Christmas and I will wholeheartedly tell you that this year has been the worst year of my life and maybe you call that karma, I call it a wake up call that you… you’re the love of my life and that I want to be with you, I was scared and stupid but I’m better I will be better for you! I’m ready to be the man you need”

After his spiel, Mat took a deep breath awaiting your answer but instead was met with a dead line.

You hung up on him.

Mat looked dejectedly at him phone in hand before he got up to get dressed as he was very spitefully aware of the media and press awaiting him outside the door.

He breezed through media by giving them one word answers and a bored look, they usually let him away early when he did that.

Collecting his bag from the now empty locker room and sulking down the hallway towards the car park.

He wasn’t even looking up, instead opted for the wonderful view of his scuffed shoes. Paying so little attention he didn’t even see you standing at the end of the hallway.

“Nice shot!” His head whipped up, locking eyes with you almost immediately.

You watched his face go through a multitude of emotions before it softened and he muttered “What-“

“I was here Mat” is what you said, gesturing to the stairs you’d descended from your seat “I was sat up there and I watched it, I was cheering you on”

Mat was speechless, fumbling over his words and his eyes flickered across your body, trying to drink you in while you were stood in front of him before his eyes landed on your neck.

Lay on your black shirt was a necklace, the necklace.

The number thirteen lay to elegantly on your chest “You got it”

You looked down and smiled “Oh yeah, my mom sent it to my apartment” playing with it between your thumb and pointer finger.

A soft silence settled between you both, it wasn’t weird or awkward — it could never be awkward between you and Mat.

Until Mat broke the silence by asking

“Why are you here?”

You smiled gently “The islanders last game before Christmas has always been my tradition since I moved to New York you know that and so I never changed it this year, despite the circumstances” the last bit was a little snappy and he knew that.

“I meant what i said on that call by the way” you nodded curtly as a reply before holding out your hand for him to take

“How about you drive us around that neighbourhood with the good Christmas lights and we can talk, in the car eh?”

The Christmas lights, another tradition between you both.

Mat reached out, clasping his hand in yours and nodding “Yeah, let’s do that”

The lights on peoples home’s had somehow gotten better this year and you admired them all in a childlike fashion from the passenger seat of Mathew’s Range Rover.

“This is one of my favourite traditions we started” you say, still looking out the window. Your hand rested now on the console in the middle of the car.

Mat slipped his hand into yours, taking a leap of faith which paid off when you clasped it in yours and squeezed it.

“Yeah, i love it” he muttered, pulling the car into the side of the road now you’d reached the end of the street.

You turned to him now, waiting for him to say something.

“Listen, this is all really weird and I wish I was better with words because I would like to be able to tell you the million and one ways in which I absolutely adore you and regret what I did last Christmas every single day. However, what I can do is promise you, I promise you that I will work everyday to prove to you how much I love you and how sorry I am — I ruined Christmas and I think that’s what hurts the most is that I tainted something you love so much-“

You cut him off then, your hands resting on his cheeks; forcing him to look at you and you said “Christmas is not ruined, Christmas has brought me back to the boy I love with my whole heart and being. Don’t you ever think that you ruined Christmas because sure it wasn’t fun last year but we will have a million more Christmas’ to make up for it”

He nodded, head moving slightly so he could press a kiss onto your palm “I’ll make every Christmas the most special just for you”

“As long as I’ve got you, baby any Christmas is special”

On Christmas, when Mat arrived late to the Lee’s for Christmas with the team he walked in smiling

“Sorry, sorry I’m late I had to pick something up!”

“Dude it’s Christmas Day where could you possibly have gone to pick-“ Anthony cut himself off when he saw you enter the house, gifts stacked up in your arms that you placed on the table next to the door before grabbing Mat’s outreached hand.

“Oh my god, it’s a Christmas miracle!”

[starry-hughes]

meeting the family (nico hischier)

day 14 of star’s ficmas

logan barzal x nico hischier (au)

Logan Barzal was scared. The last boy who met her parents was the same boy who completely shattered her heart. When she swore off hockey players, her parents were on her side, not ever wanting to find their daughter wailing on the bathroom floor.

Nico wasn’t going to see his family for the short break. His Christmas was typically spent with the other single members of the Devils but this year he was spending it with Logan. The two had met in Logan’s coffee shop and bookstore she owned, she didn’t know he was a hockey player until later. She hated him for .5 seconds before he promised he wouldn’t break her heart.

Logan rushed around the apartment with her hair perfectly straightened with a red bow pinned in the back. A cute Christmas outfit. “Can you like calm down?” Mat groaned. Their parents were in the kitchen and their sister was watching Logan with amusement. “Nico will be here soon and I want everything perfect.”

Mike and Nadia Barzal hadn’t seen Logan like this since before her prom. Mat had been living with Logan for years and since she started seeing Nico, he noticed a happier sister. Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils dating the sister of Mat Barzal of the New York Islanders, who would have thought?

Nico fixed his red sweater, Logan liked when he wore red. Knocking on the door with a bag of presents in his hand, he hadn’t know what to get her parents but Logan helped pick something out. He heard his girlfriend scrambling on the other side of the door, shouting at Mat to put down the cookies. “You’re here!” Logan breathed as she opened the door. “Hi,” he kissed her head as she hugged him. “Merry Christmas,” she greeted him before dragging him into the apartment. “Come meet my parents and sister!”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Mat questioned as he gave Nico a bro hug. “You already know Nico.” When the two weren’t on the ice, they were pretty good friends.

“Mom, Dad, this is Nico. Nico, there are my parents, Mike and Nadia. And Liana, my sister.”

“It’s so nice to meet you guys, Logan always talks about her family, thank you for letting me join you guys today,” he smiled. “Sweetheart,” her dad started, “why don’t you and your mom and sister go get Nico’s gifts put under the tree.”

Logan narrowed her eyes at her father and Mat, knowing the big brother and dad talk Nico was about to receive. “Be nice,” Logan elbowed her brother as she walked by. “Nico, I assume you know about the ex,” her dad started. “Yes sir, and I know how much Logan means to me,” Nico looked at Logan who was placing gifts under the tree, smiling at her mom, “and I know how much I love her.”

Logan and Nico sat next to one another at dinner, passing around the dishes and Nico kept his hand on her knee. “How often can you make it to Long Island?” Nadia asked. “As often as I can. Maybe twice or three times a week? Depending on morning skates or travel, I bring the guys to her store sometimes,” Nico explained. “I stayed with Nico when he was injured,” Logan smiled.

Logan and Liana cleaned up the table, Mat lingered but got a look from his parents and went to help with dishes. Before Nico went to help, Nadia started talking. “We were nervous, when Logan told us she was dating a hockey player,” Nadia started, “her last relationship, we thought it was going to destroy her, but you seem good for her.”

Nico smiled pridefully, “I’m glad, I really care about her.”

After dinner, everyone sat on the couch, Logan laid into Nico as Mat opened his present from Logan. Nico had received some stuff from the Barzal Family, just basic sweaters and small gifts. Mat thought he was funny, getting Nico a framed picture of a Baby Logan.

“They didn’t bother you too much while talking to you, right?” she mumbled. “Worried about me?” Nico hummed. Her hand glided over his stomach as her arm wrapped around him, “Always am.” Nico chuckled softly as Liana was thrown another present. “They are just worried about you, I told them I won’t ever hurt you.”

“Hey, Lo, stop cuddling with your boyfriend and open this present. It’s from Nico and me,” Mat tossed a small box over. “Nico and you?” her eyebrows furrowed together. Nico sat up a little bit as Logan sat up. “Thought you could use a small location for your place in Jersey,” Nico smiled, as she unveiled a key. “You guys got me a new store?!”

“Down the street from my apartment,” Nico sang. “I still get her here at least four times a week! She’s my sister!” Mat exclaimed.