#fic: mattdrai

[cheddaryouthanme]

Hockey RPF writers being known across fandoms as literary masters

When I first started reading MattDrai fics on AO3 I remember thinking “wait what the HELL is going on why is this the most consistently well-written fanfiction I’ve read in any fandom? Is this a thing? Do people know??” And apparently it is and they do.

[jamingbenn]

year in review - hockey rpf on ao3

hello!! the annual ao3 year in review had some friends and i thinking - wouldn't it be cool if we had a hockey rpf specific version of that. so i went ahead and collated the data below!!

i start with a broad overview, then dive deeper into the 3 most popular ships this year (with one bonus!)

if any images appear blurry, click on them to expand and they should become clear!

₊˚⊹♡ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁𐙚 ‧₊˚ ⋅. ݁

before we jump in, some key things to highlight: - CREDIT TO: the webscraping part of my code heavily utilized the ao3 wrapped google colab code, as lovingly created by @kyucultures on twitter, as the main skeleton. i tweaked a couple of things but having it as a reference saved me a LOT of time and effort as a first time web scraper!!! thank you stranger <3 - please do NOT, under ANY circumstances, share any part of this collation on any other website. please do not screenshot or repost to twitter, tiktok, or any other public social platform. thank u!!! T_T - but do feel free to send requests to my inbox! if you want more info on a specific ship, tag, or you have a cool idea or wanna see a correlation between two variables, reach out and i should be able to take a look. if you want to take a deeper dive into a specific trope not mentioned here/chapter count/word counts/fic tags/ship tags/ratings/etc, shoot me an ask!

˚　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

with that all said and done... let's dive into hockey_rpf_2024_wrapped_insanity.ipynb

BIG PICTURE OVERVIEW

i scraped a total of 4266 fanfics that dated themselves as published or finished in the year 2024. of these 4000 odd fanfics, the most popular ships were:

Note: "Minor or Background Relationship(s)" clocked in at #9 with 91 fics, but I removed it as it was always a secondary tag and added no information to the chart. I did not discern between primary ship and secondary ship(s) either!

breaking down the 5 most popular ships over the course of the year, we see:

super interesting to see that HUGE jump for mattdrai in june/july for the stanley cup final. the general lull in the offseason is cool to see as well.

as for the most popular tags in all 2024 hockey rpf fic...

weee like our fluff. and our established relationships. and a little H/C never hurt no one.

i got curious here about which AUs were the most popular, so i filtered down for that. note that i only regex'd for tags that specifically start with "Alternate Universe - ", so A/B/O and some other stuff won't appear here!

idk it was cool to me.

also, here's a quick breakdown of the ratings % for works this year:

and as for the word counts, i pulled up a box plot of the top 20 most popular ships to see how the fic length distribution differed amongst ships:

mattdrai-ers you have some DEDICATION omg. respect

now for the ship by ship break down!!

₊ . ݁ ݁ . ⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡★ ⊹ .

#1 MATTDRAI

most popular ship this year. peaked in june/july with the scf. so what do u people like to write about?

fun fun fun. i love that the scf is tagged there like yes actually she is also a main character

₊ . ݁ ݁ . ⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡★ ⊹ .

#2 SIDGENO

(my babies) top tags for this ship are:

folks, we are a/b/o fiends and we cannot lie. thank you to all the selfless authors for feeding us good a/b/o fic this year. i hope to join your ranks soon.

(also: MPREG. omega sidney crosby. alpha geno. listen, the people have spoken, and like, i am listening.)

₊ . ݁ ݁ . ⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡★ ⊹ .

#3 NICOJACK

top tags!!

it seems nice and cozy over there... room for one more?

₊ . ݁ ݁ . ⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡★ ⊹ .

BONUS: JDTZ.

i wasnt gonna plot this but @marcandreyuri asked me if i could take a look and the results are so compelling i must include it. are yall ok. do u need a hug

top tags being h/c, angst, angst, TRADES, pining, open endings... T_T katie said its a "torture vortex" and i must concurr

₊ . ݁ ݁ . ⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡★ ⊹ .

BONUS BONUS: ALPHA/BETA/OMEGA

as an a/b/o enthusiast myself i got curious as to what the most popular ships were within that tag. if you want me to take a look about this for any other tag lmk, but for a/b/o, as expected, SID GENO ON TOP BABY!:

thats all for now!!! if you have anything else you are interested in seeing the data for, send me an ask and i'll see if i can get it to ya!

[saywhatyouwillbut]

i do not personally watch the panthers, the flames, or the oilers, but the one thing i have learned from approximately one week of reading mattdrai fic is that leon is the palace knight on a quest to trace down this rare artifact who gets set up by a guy he has a one night stand with who manages to follow him covertly and steal the artifact out from right under his nose, leaving him to certain death at the hands of booby traps various, only for leon to survive and have to chase him down, catching up to and running into him in many silly and perilous scenarios where matthew (the thief, obviously) keeps accidentally falling into his arms and saying, “we have got to stop running into each other like this”

[fleurywiththesave]

Starting feeling things about the game tonight, so

Matthew’s been trying so hard to pretend that nothing is wrong. To ignore that they've been talking less and less often in recent weeks, that it's stilted and uncomfortable when they do. That their conversation on his birthday barely lasted five minutes. That he can’t seem to say anything about hockey without pissing Leon off.

That he hasn’t heard from Leon at all in three days.

He tried to call him the night before they left for Edmonton, and he tried to call him right before getting on the plane, and he’s texted more times than he can count. He knows that Leon didn’t disappear off the face of the earth — he’s seen proof of life from the Oilers media. He just doesn’t want to talk to Matthew.

“He’s breaking up with me,” Matthew says glumly at the poker table.

“Or he’s just trying to keep his head in the game,” Benny suggests.

“He could keep his head in the game and still talk to me,” Matthew insists. “He’s breaking up with me and he’s being a wuss about it.”

“Then go talk to him yourself,” Benny says. “You know they’ll have morning skate tomorrow. Go to the rink.”

“That’s…not a terrible idea,” Matthew says slowly.

“I know. I’m brilliant.” And then he wins a hundred of Matthew’s hard-earned dollars. Jackass.

But he’s a jackass who’s right at least some of the time, so Matthew slips out of the hotel the next morning while the rest of the guys are still eating breakfast and calls an Uber to the arena.

It doesn’t occur to him until he gets there that they’re not just going to let him stroll right in, which means he has to swallow his pride and call Connor.

“Uh, hello?”

“I’m outside, come tell the security guard to let me in.”

“You’re outside,” Connor repeats disbelievingly.

“Leon won’t answer any of my messages and if he wants to dump me before this game then he needs to do it to my face, so come let me in.”

There’s a pause before Connor sighs.

“Give me ten minutes.”

He doesn't look too pleased when he shows up, but at least he tells security that Matthew is allowed in.

"I told him you're here," Connor says. "He's waiting for you in one of the trainer rooms." They don't talk at all while he walks Matthew over, which means there's ample opportunity for his anger to turn to fear. This is it. Holy shit, this is it and then he's going to be miserable for the rest of his life. Maybe he should just let Leon ghost him instead of having to look him in the eye and burst into tears while begging him to reconsider.

"Here," Connor says, stopping outside a room. "Don't be idiots, okay?"

Leon is sitting, but he stands up as soon as Matthew opens the door. They both hover where they are, a good six feet apart.

"Hi."

"Hi."

It's a long, painful moment of silence before they both start to speak at the same time.

"I'm sorry I—" "Please don't break up with me!"

"Wait, what?" Leon says.

"Don't break up with me," Matthew repeats, wincing at how pitiful his voice sounds. "Whatever it is I did, just let me fix it. Don't do this."

"I'm not—" Leon scrubs at his face and groans. "I'm not breaking up with you, Matty, good god."

"......You're not?"

"No. I—can we sit?"

Matthew thumps into the chair next to him. He suddenly feels very, very tired.

"I know I've been kind of an ass," Leon says. "There's just been so much attention on this game and I've been stressing about it and...I don't know."

"And you didn't want to talk to me about it," Matthew says.

Leon sighs. "No, I didn't. You're the enemy on the ice right now, Matthew. You told me yourself how pissed off you were the first time you played Vegas after losing to them. Don't you think I feel the same way? I just needed to focus on my play and my team."

Oh.

"I guess I didn't think about it like that," Matthew admits.

"Shocking," Leon says flatly, though there's a brightness in his eyes. "Look, I know I haven't handled it that well — believe me, Connor keeps telling me. I didn't mean to shut you out completely. I just didn't want to get into it. I'm sorry I was an idiot."

"I was an idiot too," Matthew says. "So I'm sorry too. And you—you're not breaking up with me?"

"Of course I am, Matthew. I could handle you winning the Cup against me, I could go to your Cup Day, but this regular game when we're not even halfway through the season is just a bridge too far. I'll send you a box of your stuff."

"Shut the fuck up." Matthew feels about a thousand pounds lighter than he did half an hour ago. Leon grins and leans in, stopping just before kissing him.

"But I'm going to kick your ass up and down the ice tonight."

Matthew smirks and closes the distance.

[puckthisshift]

I was done, the deal was signed (1/1)

Read it on AO3

Summary: A marriage pact made between rivals was never meant to come to fruition. But in 2032, Leon Draisaitl is playing one last season, hoping to finally win a cup. He didn't expect Matthew Tkachuk to even remember the pact, let alone to hold him to it. And he definitely didn't expect happily ever after.

AN: So... this is 40k of old men MattDrai being down bad for each other. Enjoy

“Everyone’s getting married,” Leon sighs. “And having babies.” 

The lights make this random St. Louis bar feel a little blurry. Leon’s sure it’s the lights - they don’t serve good enough beer for him to get drunk. 

“Not everyone,” Tkachuk protests. “I’m not.” 

Wow, he’s actually participating in the conversation. That’s more than Leon expected after... everything.  

“Do you want to get married?” 

“Are you proposing to me right now?” 

Tkachuk’s voice cracks a little, and Leon can be the bigger man and not laugh in his face about it. It would be kind of funny to mess with him a little, act like he’s really proposing, and tough it out for a bit until Tkachuk loses it. But the idiot is good enough at playing the game that Leon worries he might end up engaged after this. 

There’s no way he’s gonna marry Tkachuk. 

Read all 40k on AO3

[pemguims]

hrpf fic recs!!!!!

hello hello! i have been meaning to do this for so long but i am finally here with my list! i've tried to keep some of the more 'obvious' choices off here (for example top kudos pieces like king and lionheart) but some will slip through bc. i like them <3

i will mention main trope / trigger warnings on each fic but read tags before u read etc etc etc

also i love ABO and generally prefer long fics so srry if that doesnt align w ur interests! i also will read any and every pairing under the sun, so a lot of these are just random pairings :3 also i haven't tagged th writers tumblr accounts bc that ? felt odd to do for some reason ? but if u would like to be tagged lmk !!!!!! <3

sidgeno:

the biblical sense by sevenfists - word count: 57,896 ✷Sid, I’m so—I’m sorry,” Geno said. “My stupid—I’m ruin everything, I—” “Shut up, Geno,” Sidney said, already intensely weary of listening to Geno’s self-recrimination. “You’ve barely even done anything.” Geno’s voice dropped what sounded like an entire octave. “But I want to.”✷ (ABO, canon setting)

th first hrpf fic i read which got me into hockey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

leave the lights on by coricomile - word count: 17,692 ✷"Okay?" Geno asked groggily. Sid snapped out of it. Cold sweat broke out across the back of his neck. He inched away, tucking his hands under his thighs. He wouldn't have- Geno didn't deserve to be hurt. Sid would never- "Your head?" "Yeah," Sid choked out. Geno leaned forward and soothed a big hand over Sid's hair, his lips twisting at the corners. His eyes were painkiller bright, glazed over enough that they looked like marbles. He left his hand on Sid's head as his eyes slid shut. Sid sat still as Geno dozed and counted his breaths.✷ (TW: OCD, mental health issues. canon setting)

anything that touches by saysthemagpie - word count: 48,578 ✷Sid knew how to smile. He knew how to make the muscles work, how to soften his face into something less rigid. Geno liked him happy. If he wanted Sid easy and pleasant, here at the end, Sid could give him that. Geno asked so little of him.✷ (TW: Sexual assault, prostitution, abuse, trauma. canonish-AU)

probably one of my top 10 favourite fics ever ngl. so so good so beautiful so sad i have such a vivid memory of reading this for the first time at like 11pm hunched in bed trying to cry rlly quietly so i didnt wake my bf KSBDBKJ. one of th most harrowing pieces of literature i think i have ever read <3

blood from the stone by saysthemagpie - word count 80,903 ✷It wasn’t the prospect of pain that frightened him. Zhenya was a hockey player: he was used to pain, even to violence. But this wasn’t like a fight on the ice—tempers boiling over, hot rage spilling out everywhere—cathartic, necessary, even if it got him sent down the tunnel. This was different. There was nothing here to push back against, no way to assert his own will. In a little while Crosby would come to him, and Zhenya would open the door and let him in. Crosby would feed from him, taking what he wanted from Zhenya’s body. And then they would be bound.✷ (Vampires, forced bonding. canonish-AU)

another banger another harrowing tale!!!!!!!! sidney crosby u will suffer!!!!!

morning to wake you by oflights - word count: 54,104 ✷I've been calling this The Sexual Misadventures of Sidney Crosby forever, and that gives you an idea, but just in case: in which Sidney wins a gold medal, has sex (a lot), falls in love (twice), and breaks a bunch of rules.✷(canon setting)

swallow the fire by cascara_soda - word count: 6367 ✷“It’ll be okay. It’s my choice,” Sid said, and it was only sort of a lie. Or, the 1989 Super Series Winner’s Room AU.✷ (canon AU setting)

life is wine by coricomile - word count: 9414 ✷"I see you watch him," Geno says, leaned in so he's talking directly into Jamie's ear. Jamie tenses, but Geno doesn't move away. He drops his arm over Jamie's shoulders and it shouldn't feel like a trap, but it does, even if Geno doesn't do anything other than hold on. "Is hard not look, I know." Sometime after Jamie got distracted by Sidney's ass, Hags had left the booth and subsequently left Jaime alone with Geno, abandoned except for the clutter of empties.✷ (canon setting)

ache by pheobus - word count: 4079 ✷Sid wasn’t an omega, but just once he wanted to be selfish. Maybe Geno would realize that this wasn’t how things were meant to be, or that there was simply no way Sid could be anything other than who he was. His thoughts were all twisted up, stuck in overwhelming cycles of what-if. Sid liked who he was, what he was. He didn’t want to be an omega. But dear God, he wanted Geno to mount him like one.✷ (ABO)

more than anything by getoffmyhead - word count: 17,011 ✷Sid and Zhenya had been together—officially together—for three years when it happened. Three years of normal, committed relationship sex. They hooked up plenty before that, too, without ever veering into anything weird. They didn't have a sex dungeon. They didn't own nipple clamps. There was nothing in their history that could have prepared Zhenya for the thing that came out of his mouth the first time he and Sid slept together in Miami.✷(canon setting)

i think abt this fic all the time

mattdrai:

so is the longing by dog juice - word count: 44,669 ✷After being forced to take suppressants for a year, Matthew's body is a mess. He has an excruciatingly painful heat every two weeks, and there's no medication to help him.To make matters worse, he's been traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Now, not only does he have to deal with his collapsing body, he also has to contend with Draisaitl, who has made it pretty clear he hates Matthew's scent. If the universe could give him a fucking break, that'd be great.✷ (ABO)

mattdrai fic of all time. in my opinion.

sea change by andthreequarts - word count 33,596 ✷“Wait, is that what’s happening here?” Matthew pushes forward, gets close. “Is that why you were being weird?” “Shut up,” Draisaitl growls, backing up. “Oh no,” Matthew laughs. “This is the funniest thing I’ve heard all week. Leon Draisaitl, an alpha’s alpha. Who would have guessed it, you’re into an omega with barely any scent?”✷ (ABO)

misc:

vince dunn / adam larsson (seattle kraken) serenity in those deep waters by angry_geno_is_score - word count: 114,312 ✷In his second season playing for the Seattle Kraken, Vince Dunn becomes sick with drop withdrawal. When it comes out that he's lied on his paperwork and hasn't had a Dom for over a year, he has no choice but to accept being assigned to a Dom on the team or risk giving up hockey.✷ (TW: past abuse. BDSM AU)

love!!! i love bdsm au's so much!!! ive reread this fic multiple times :3

nicklas backstom / alexander ovechkin (washington capitals) you and me, drenched in green by xihale - word count: 17,710 ✷Nicky’s an omega with a heat problem. Ovi volunteers as tribute.✷ (ABO)

jamie drysdale / trevor zegras (anahiem ducks) caught up now by canary -word count: 20,261 ✷“I do want you to bite me,” Trevor corrected. “And I also want you to hit it raw.”✷ (ABO)

morgan barrson/josh morrissey (winnipeg jets) win some and lose some, baby by symphony7inAmajor - word count: 11,223 ✷“Morgan,” Josh says, his voice sharp and firm. There’s a glint in his eyes that Morgan doesn’t recognize. “Sit.” If Morgan thought his face was hot before, that’s nothing compared to the fire that scorches his cheeks now. Sit. Like—Like he’s a—✷ (canon setting)

this author has sm rlly good other fics as well!!

travis konecny/nolan patrick (flyers...i guess!) Someone Else's Solid Ground - Linsky - word count: 21,757 ✷Nolan’s body has never been his friend.✷ (canon setting)

matthew tkachuk / leon draisaitl / connor mcdavid i'll tell you when to stop - dog juice - word count: 39,640 ✷Matthew is too reckless to be responsible for his own heart. Fucking and falling for Leon? Stupid. Fucking and falling for Connor? Idiotic. Doing that one after the other without either Oiler knowing? Yeah. Matthew's fucked.✷ (canon setting)

rewired my brain a little ngl

gen - san jose sharks & washington capitals catch and release by McSpot - word count: 23,805 ✷If a player gets forced onto the opposing team's bench during play, that player officially becomes a member of their team. There's a whole system to catching players, with strategies determining who the prime targets are and the best way to catch them. Nobody expected Mario to be caught.✷ (canon AU setting)

how this fic doesnt have 100000 kudos and 1000000000 spin off fics i have no idea

sidney crosby / claude giroux unless you wanna come along by anonymous - word count: 8677 ✷"We beat you," Sid says, high on the sheer triumph of it. "Yeah, and how much of the game did you spend begging the refs for it?" Claude jeers, quiet and vicious. "Hardly a fucking win, when you've fucking acted like that, whining and bitching and moa—" Sid kisses him, cutting off the stream of venom.✷ (canon setting)

leon draisaitl / Artūrs ��ilovs go ahead and try a little crazy on me by lagerlout - word count: 4062 ✷Leon huffs out a laugh before he can help himself. Goddamn, this fucking goalie is cute. He doesn’t know if he’s trying to be cute but he is.✷ (canon setting, winners room)

fic that makes me go YEEAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also now has a sequel which slaps

jonathan drouin / nathan mackinnon (colorado avalanche) but this is how it is by bruinss - word count: 103,314 ✷The universe gives, and the universe takes, and Jo is left at the end of ten years with a lot less than when he’d started them.✷ (BDSM AU, canon setting)

this author has a lot of really very very very good jo / nate fics i recommend every single one of them !!

sidney crosby / jaromir jagr (pittsburgh penguins) summer to your heart by deastar - word count: 200,575 ✷When it seals, Jaromír feels the old, familiar tug of a soulbond for the first time in years. It feels like having a dislocated joint reduced: a relief, and a sense that something missing has been replaced. But terribly painful at the same time. Sidney is curled up into Jaromír’s side, sinking fast toward sleep. Some impulse Jaromír can’t explain makes him ask his new bondmate, “You feel the bond?” “Mm-hmm.” Sidney’s eyes are closed – his eyelashes look very dark and soft. “How does it feel?” “Good,” Sidney exhales, and just before he drops off, Jaromír catches a psychic whisper of It feels like not being lonely. “Oh, kick me in the balls, why don’t you,” Jaromír says under his breath.✷ (soul / psychic bond, canon AU )

hrpf of all time. i think. in my opinion. there is also a sidgeno fic set in the same kind of AU by this author which is very good but this one...........oaugh....

okay thats it bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sportspuckball]

WIP List 11/24

Aight, pals, I've started getting some questions about non-Dadthew fics. I have probably three fics to go in that universe, but I do have other irons in fires.

Omegaverse: Omega Matthew and alpha Leon in a world where omegas are actual property -- including when they have children and with whom. The Flames are on the conservative side of that, and when Leon finds out, he has some feelings about it.

Rule 63 Matthew: Mattia Tkachuk is the best athletic trainer in the country, which is why the Oilers poached her from the Flames. She's also a fucking pain in Leon's ass, and he cannot understand how anyone likes her. Then he sees her tattoo, gets the story, and things start to change.

(POSTED as 'chase all the ghosts from your head')

Law Firm AU: Leon is a senior partner, Matthew is a first year associate and how they snipe at each other has led the whole firm to have a betting pool.

Florida!!!!! Inspired: Basically, it's the line "locked in the bathroom with a bottle of wine, me and my ghosts we had a helluva time" until one of Matthew's ghosts comes through the front door

Vegas Wedding: Trope fest! They get accidentally married, and then end up in urgent care with dehydration. Connor is Leon's emergency contact and that's how everyone finds out that.

____

Any you're looking forward to? One you'd vote for me to work on quicker than others?

[three-headed-monster]

who cares if the oilers or the panthers win, this is a win first and foremost for the hockey rpf writers out there

[thefangirlingdead]

Soooo I rarely post on here anymore, but I felt it was as good of a place as ever to share that I wrote a MattDrai fic because I'm trash or whatever.

Anyway, please enjoy Matthew and Leon being friends with benefits who are madly in love with each other but too stupid and stubborn to do anything about it until it's too late:

"...it certainly wouldn’t be appropriate to tell your fuck buddy that you think you might be falling for him in a handshake line, right?"

Two years into casually hooking up with Matthew Tkachuk, Leon is struggling with how to tell him that he actually has real feelings for him. When Matthew is traded to the Panthers without so much as a heads up, it only goes to complicate things further. Over the course of the next year, both men slowly figure out how to use their words and find their way back to each other (with plenty of help from family and friends, of course).

Also working on a lil sequel/prequel here:

[hiding-from-reality-56]

I need someone to write MattDrai animal transformation where Matthew (he's a panther alr here) is stuck as a rat and it's never happened before but it happens when he's in Edmonton with Drai in the offseason for a little (the plan was not to stay in Edmonton, but shit happens) Rats are Not allowed in Alberta. Like. At all. So there's Leon trying to protect this illegal rat and worrying about how to get him home without the risk of his [bf? What is their status? Are there labels? Who's to say?] Bc Leon certainly isn't about to try and smuggle rat-Matthew past airport security, etc etc

There's just something that's SOOOO about Leon breaking rat laws for the man he loves is sleeping with

"Connor you know there are now rats in Alberta” he says while sweating profusely “If this is some stupid joke about your situationship with Chucky, I swear to god” Oh he has No idea how accurate that statement is

[sincerelymarner]

insp. / photo credit: gerry thomas

[kairos44]

Three Times To Go words: 3 k Pairing: Matthew Tkachuk/Leon Draisaitl Rating: T Tags: established relationship, iditos in love, banter, 3+1 things, feelings Summary:

Three times Leon is mad at (not) being mentioned in Matthew’s interviews and one time he isn’t.

“What the fuck?” Matthew asked himself over the ringing of his phone, his voice slightly slurred with sleep. He wasn’t even sure what time it was, just that it was in the middle of the night. He also knew that he’d put his phone on do not disturb before he’d gone to sleep. And yet here it was, ringing annoyingly loud. One of his contacts saved as a favorite then, Matthew mused, grabbing his phone and trying to push the right button to make the noise stop.

“What the fuck?” he said again, this time into his phone. Read more on A03

[claraxbarton]

Gold Rush

(yeah I decided fuck it, just post it)

It is DONE. POSTED. COMPLETE!

Thanks everyone for all the support and comments and messages and notes over the last EIGHT MONTHS???? Cannot believe you or I had the patience for that.

I'm setting that verse aside for now - there are obvs opportunities for future epilogues and things - but I've got a few other WIPs to focus on.

(That said, I DO have requests open and will totally write things requested)

Thank you again everyoneeeeeeeeeeeeee

[gaybroons]

Soft promt, 30. and Mattdrai?

30. ‘this is my husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner etc.’

Prompts!!

Freudian slip

——

“What’s up with you?” Matthew’s been quiet all dinner, glancing at him and smiling like a schoolgirl. It’s endearing, the way his face contorts to fit it, makes him look rounder, softer.

Except Leon’s never seen him act like this before, and frankly, he’s scared.

“Nothing.” Matthew sing-songs biting at his fork. Leon narrows his eyes.

He doesn’t know why Matthew insists on going to these places, fancy and dark, you’d think with the cost of the menu items they’d afford to keep the lights on.

It’s romantic, Matthew tells him. Leon would argue it’s more romantic if he can see his fucking date.

Besides, since when is Matthew the romantic type? He doesn’t know when the switch happened, it seems as if Matthew stopped being content with takeout and fast dirty fucks out of nowhere. He wants to do this dating thing right, apparently. Leon thought they’ve been dating for months. But somehow it seems that calling Matthew his boyfriend for the first time made Matthew realize it.

He’s a little offended, frankly. Did Matthew think he didn’t want to date him?

“So,” Matthew says around in his mouth, looking at him from under his lashes, uncharacteristically coy. “You want to marry me?”

Leon chokes.

“What?” He pounds his fist at his chest as he tries dislodging the pasta in his throat, and when the threat of death has finally passed he glances up at Matthew.

He knows what that face is. He knows when Matthew is concealing his hurt. Fuck.

“Where is this coming from?” He tries, but it seems that Matthew had already guarded himself against being vulnerable. He’s not looking at Leon anymore. “Matty.”

He shrugs, making a noncommittal noise, suddenly really interested in the food. Surely a truffle risotto isn’t that interesting.

“Mathew.”

“Well I just thought—“ he’s talking fast, caught between embarrassment and irritation. “When you introduced me as your husband—“ when he what.

“I- did I-“ Leon is thankful he didn’t eat another bite because that would’ve killed him for sure. He tries quickly rewinding in his head and realizes that he did say that. Oh my god. Matthew is looking around and—

He can’t have that. He grabs Matthew’s hand and pulls it between them. Now that gets his attention.

“Matthew.” He starts, runs his thumb over his pulse point for courage. “I was planning to propose in the summer.”

It’s so easy to please him, he realizes. And somehow spoiling the surprise doesn’t feel as bad as he thought it would. Matthew’s smile is so wide and bright that he almost lights up the whole restaurant by himself.

“Really?” He says, like he can’t believe it. He grips Leon’s hand back, entangles their fingers together.

“Yeah. I must’ve—“

“Aw, you couldn’t keep it to yourself, you just love me so—“ interrupting Matthew with a kiss is really proving to be Leon’s favorite way to shut him up.

[natesmack]

I hate it when people put any sort of rpf content on public twitter anyways but taking a screenshot of fic and posting it on on your public account is like fucking heinous

[sportspuckball]

New Fic: Commitment to the Bit

The chiron read, “Matthew Tkachuk Texts Into the Show”.

“You fucking rat bastard,” Leon muttered to himself. God, his husband was such a showboat. He heard the voices discussing what was happening, but he was transfixed by the text on the screen.

MTkachuk: Drai was totally in the wrong with the hit on Miller. Deserved 2min for roughing AT LEAST

Leon laughed so loudly that he startled Bowie. “He’s supposed to be in bed!”

____

Under 5k, everyone please clap. Read HERE on Ao3