#travis dermott imagine

[annieqattheperipheral]

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When Travis Dermott takes the ice in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, he plans to do so without the strip of Pride tape that thrust the Arizona Coyotes defenseman into the middle of one of the NHL’s most controversial topics over the weekend.

“I think the one game probably ruffled enough feathers and got enough attention,” Dermott told The Athletic on Monday night.

This is not a case of the 26-year-old being silenced or deterred, though.

Not exactly.

Some 48 hours after he skated in defiance of a new NHL rule that prohibits players from displaying “cause messaging” on their equipment by wrapping Pride tape around the shaft of his Warrior stick on Saturday afternoon, Dermott had yet to even be contacted directly by any league officials.

However, given the chance to gauge the immense amount of coverage and attention his act of LGBTQ+ allyship received and with some time to reflect on how it may have put members of the Coyotes organization in an awkward position, he figures his point had effectively been made.

And that there still exist other avenues for him to continue to make it.

“The war’s not over. Definitely not, by any means,” Dermott said. “You don’t want to fully back off and zip your mouth up when something like this happens, but you’ve got to find the right game plan to attack it with.

“Where you’re supporting your organization and not making them look bad, and you don’t want to step on the league’s toes and really start a fight with them, but still tell them that I think this stuff’s important.”

Dermott didn’t consult with management, the coaching staff or any of his peers before wrapping the rainbow-colored tape around the shaft of his stick shortly before a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks at Mullett Arena.

It’s a practice he’s regularly followed dating to his days in the AHL, and the only reason it took until the fifth game of Arizona’s season for him to use the tape again was that he was awaiting a new shipment after misplacing his previous batch during an offseason move from Vancouver.

Dermott was aware of the new NHL regulations, but he felt it was important to continue showing support for a cause and a community that are near and dear to his heart.

“None of the players really saw me put it on my stick,” Dermott said. “It was kind of just an: ‘All right, I’m doing this, and we’re going to deal with the consequences and move forward, and hopefully I’ll have a positive impact on some people that needed that positive impact.’”

While it’s not surprising that Dermott would put himself out there in the name of supporting the LGBTQ+ community given his long history of doing so — “I had someone close to me who is in that community and wasn’t completely comfortable coming out, and still hasn’t, actually,” he said — it makes it all the more notable that he did so at a time when he’s fighting to re-establish himself in the league.

Dermott was limited to just 11 games with the Canucks last season because of lingering concussion issues and is playing on a two-way contract now that would see him paid at a reduced rate if the Coyotes elect to send him to AHL Tucson.

In his skates, it would have been far easier to do nothing given the current climate at the NHL’s head office.

So why did he instead become the first player to defy a rule that’s generated considerable consternation in dressing rooms across the continent?

“It’s easy to forget that it’s a battle if it’s not in front of you,” Dermott said. “If you don’t see it every day, if it’s swept under the rug, if it’s just hidden from the naked eye, it’s easy to forget that there’s a group of people that don’t feel like they belong because the majority of people do feel like they belong.

“Once we stop thinking about that, I think that’s when it gets dangerous.”

Dermott openly acknowledges that he experienced some anxiety in the wake of Saturday’s game. He never imagined the reaction would be as significant and widespread as it was. That started to dissipate when it became clear the Coyotes were willing to stand alongside him.

“The reaction that I’ve gotten is complete support from my team,” Dermott said.

He did note that he apologized to the equipment staff for using the Pride tape without telling them.

“They’re the ones that are supposed to make sure that all of our gear is up to spec and legal and all that stuff,” he said. “I did feel a little bit like I betrayed those guys. … But I think at the same time they’re so good at understanding and they know that I wasn’t being malicious toward them.”

The challenge now is finding ways to keep supporting Pride initiatives against the backdrop of the new NHL rules.

The Coyotes are scheduled to host their Pride night on Friday — the first team to do so since the league clarified its regulations in an Oct. 9 memo distributed to teams — and Dermott is still working through his own plans to mark that occasion.

“My Instagram will probably be more active from here on out,” he said. “I’m going to be actively finding ways now that I don’t completely shut up and … don’t piss off the league and (comply) with their rules.

“But, yeah, I’m still here. The fight’s not over. We’re going to continue to talk about this. And if the league doesn’t want it to be on league time then we’ll find other ways.”

Like many of his peers, Dermott was emotional when he found out the NHL was prohibiting cause messaging this season. That decision came out of June’s board of governors meeting after a handful of players created headlines last season by refusing to join their teammates and wear Pride sweaters during warmups.

“You can see it as the league’s taking away our voice,” said Dermott. “We can’t speak. We don’t have any of this expression anymore. I feel like that’s a valid way to think, and it’s easy to kind of see it that way. A lot of people do, and I’m sure will continue to.

“It’s such a fine line where the league wants to look good and the league wants to support all of these things, but you also don’t want all of the negativity that can come from someone not supporting it and you don’t want to force people who don’t support something to support something, and I completely understand that point of view.

“I can take a step back and see that, hands down, no problem. But at the same time, you’d love for players to still be able to express themselves if they would like. You’d love to still have that.”

Dermott speaks passionately about the people he’s met in the LGBTQ+ community since first publicly supporting the cause. Through heart-to-heart conversations, he’s learned that it’s sometimes the most outgoing personalities in a room who privately benefit from seeing an NHL player “with a strip of tape on their stick.”

“I don’t hear of many people really spending time with the LGBTQ community and feeling pushed away from them,” said Dermott. “You only get more comfortable with stuff like that and you learn that they’re people, too — completely normal people that have the majority of the exact same life as you, so why would we treat them differently just because of who they’re interested in or not interested in?

“It just seems insane to me.”

And to many others, it seems. Dermott was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support that followed his decision Saturday. He estimates that the tone of those messages was “99.99 percent positive.”

“As athletes, we have such a great platform to spread love, and I think if we’re not spreading that love then what the hell are we doing?”

[sergeifyodorov]

the ripple effects from am34's premature birth go all the way down several rounds, there is so much lore to discover: mikko goes to the panthers and gains a finnish older brother in barky BUT roope goes to the Wild in the second round (assuming that the entire draft got moved by one place) eliminating the finnish mafia as we know it. Not only that but kirill the thrill goes to the flames. proud ally travis dermott goes to homophobic hell and is drafted by the canes, a fate deserved by none jake debrusk...still ends up a bruin lmfao

No no don't u worry dermy has mitch and jeff skinner with him!!! he'll be alright!!! The Thrill on the Flames is a FASCINATING concept -- imagining the Tkachuk-Gaudreau-Lindholm killer line of '22 with Kaprizov instead. AND MIKKOBARKOV.... they'd yaoify probably. let's talk abt that. let's consider.

[ilyasorokinn]

🌽 - Either Travis Dermott or Quinton Byfield (I'll let you decide because I'm not picky)!! But I would like it to be about Valentine's Day. My birthday is February 15th so if you could somehow incorporate that too, I'd love you forever. And, if it isn't too much to ask, could Y/N be referred to with he/him pronouns? It's fine if you use feminine pictures. I'd just like masculine pronouns because I just feel more masculine today.

Thank you in advance and congrats on 1,500!! You deserve them all!! 🥰🥳

okay, i really hope it's okay if i use feminine pictures, but masculine pronouns were used :)

yourusername

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yourusername happy valentine's day to max's dad.

tagged: @/travisdermott

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travisdermott happy v day ❤️

leafswags cute!!!

travisdermott

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travisdermott happy valentine's day and birthday to the best partner and parent in the world. this has been one of the most magical experiences ever, and i'm so glad i got to experience them with him.

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yourusername love you ❤️

leafsfan i love them so much 😭

(photos not mine. photos found on pinterest.)

[nylwnder]

glittery | travis dermott

a/n: enjoy day 2 of my 10 days of christmas series! i finally wrote about my boy trav and i love how it turned out!!

warnings: fluff fluff fluff

word count: 1.3k

taglist: @bb-nhlqueen7 , @sebbyaho , @swedishprince88 , @nilspettersson , @boqvistsbabe , @oliviapangburn118 , @hy-lander , @brandtsclarke , @stars-canucks

inspired by: glittery by kacey musgraves and troye sivan

series masterpost: 10 days of christmas

during university, i’ve had only a few boyfriends but nothing that lasted more than like 4 months. there was never a connection there, so what was the point to try if my main focus should be my education anyways. that was until i graduated university, which is when i met such a great guy. his name? travis dermott! also known as a maple leafs defenseman wearing number 23 on the ice.

it was so hard to believe someone like me could have had any attraction to a professional hockey player, but travis makes sure to remind me of all the reasons why he loves me. and i’m so grateful for him. its been a little under one year with him, enjoying the whole spring, summer and autumn. and now that the cold air is rushing in, it only means that christmas is coming!

why am i excited? well it’s going to be my first time having someone with me for the holidays. travis had it all planned out. after the team dinner on wednesday, we’ll be spending christmas eve eve with my family (who absolutely adore him), and then spend christmas eve with his family so we have christmas day all to ourselves and niylah!

so here we were, eating dinner with my family, my parents sharing goofy stories of younger me during dinner, travis indulging in it all.

“so clearly she's been a cutie since day one, eh?” he says, smiling as he looks in my direction. i smiled back, hugging him from behind quickly before heading into the direction of the kitchen “of course!”.

my mom even pulled out the photo album after dessert, but it was fun because travis never made me feel embarrassed. i just felt more and more of his love pouring out of him. he stopped at a close up from a set of pictures. i was wearing a pink and orange beanie, and a felt coat of the same pattern.

“just look at her!” my mother cooed.

travis laughed and pointed at my face, “look at those chubby cheeks, oh my god” he cooed as well, rubbing a finger across my cheek when i came around to sit beside him.

my heart fluttered, not only because of his gentle gesture but just the way he connected so well with my mother. he fit perfectly in and it made me so happy. at the end of the night, my father was talking about hockey with travis in the living room, though he offered to help my mother with the dishes.

i was drying the plates and cups as she handed them to me one by one. “honey, i’m so happy for you” she said and i looked at her softly. “travis is wonderful. i can see the way he treats you so well. i knew you’d finally find someone like him”

i smiled looking down and continued drying. “i’m really really happy. he’s-“ i look through the window in the kitchen and stare lovingly at my boyfriend who was laughing with my dad “-he has such a warm presence. and his love- it’s so pure, i've never felt anything like it mom. he just makes me feel so glittery all the time” i said, not containing my huge smile that beamed on my face.

“that’s what you deserve, sweetheart” she says, drying her hands with the towel and hugging me.

i also indulged in the silly stories his parents told me about baby derms. things like the first time he went on skates, stumbling and tripping himself but never giving up, or the clumsy things he did all due to his curiosity and other rambunctious actions the small freckled boy did on a daily basis. he sounded about the same, his mom - paula - always saying he was outgoing and smiley and always wanted the best for others. i couldn’t help but build up even more love for him, more than i already have.

the next morning, i woke up to a kiss on the forehead. travis’ soft hands rubbing shapes along my arm. i fluttered my eyes open to see his soft blue ones.

“it’s christmas” he said, almost childlike. i smiled once again, siting up like him as i rested my head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

“i’ve got a surprise for you,” he whispered in my ear. my eyes glowed at his words and i felt my sleepiness wash away. “follow me” he says taking my hand as he led me to the living room.

a fairly large red box stood in the middle of the living room close to the 6ft tall tree we decorated right after halloween. niylah wagged her tail as she was happy with my presence but her curiosity was on what was in the box, and it was the same for me. travis indicated to open it. i feel to my knees in front of it as niylah sat right beside me.

i quickly untied the loose plaid bow. the box moved a bit, right before i took the lid off. when i did, a caramel brown and white puppy popped out. i couldn’t help but let out an excited yelp. i quickly picked him up and held him in my arms. he was so fluffy and soft and his hazel eyes looked up at me and he kissed my chin. his tail wagged uncontrollably as niylah intensely smelled every part of him, he didn’t seem to mind.

“TRAVIS OH MY GOD HE'S ADORABLE!!!!!” i said, my eyes sparkling just like a little kid’s on christmas day.

he was laughing as he kneeled down and scratched behind both niylah and the puppy’s ears. “i knew you wanted another puppy and i saw him and i couldn’t resist it.” he said.

i put the puppy down to let him explore as i pounced on travis, pushing him back to lay on the floor as i peppered him in kisses. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!” i said repeatedly as his hands travelled down to my waist.

“i knew you’d love it” he said. of course i would i mean it’s by far the best gift i’ve ever received, well other than travis himself!

“you’re the best person ever like-” all i could do was give him a hard, passionate kiss and travis savoured every minute of it.

“thank you for that!” he says, choking out a laugh. i blushed, pulling him up with me.

“travis dermott, what did i do to deserve you?” i asked, melting into his embrace. “it’s more like i don’t deserve you.” he says, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

our new puppy then jumped onto travis, wanting the same attention. “so what are you gonna name our new baby?” he asks, picking him up and placing him in his lap. i focused on the way he lovingly looked up at his new dad’s eyes.

“how about huxley!”

[ join my taglist if you enjoyed reading! : click here <3 ]

[idontgiveaflyinggrayson69]

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69​

Tagging: @mcmo-anon​ @jasondickinsons​ @matbaerzal​ @thirteenisles​ @leeqianxiao​ @zuucc​ @letmeplaytheblues​ @great-puck-work​ @nolypats​ @timootimee​ @thunderbirdbabeyy​ @broadstbroskis​ @roopehintz​ @hockeybabestars​ @reavenedges-lies-ficdump​ @jacquelinechajton​ @lena306 @xelagirlxo​ @canadianheaters​ @heyo--its--mo​ @laurenairay​ @ohpuckyeah​ @meeshmorrell​ @jamiedrysdales​ @starrygirl2014 @kaitieskidmore1​ @thelionkingpw​ @extratragic​ @storiesbymads​ @thinking-a-lot-in-my-head​

Word Count: 9.6k

Warnings: Alcohol

Comments: I really want to take the time to thank McMo for inspiring this, being patient with me, and always being there. You’re the real MVP. To Kylie and KO, thank you for supporting me and being there to listen and relate to my writing struggles. To Amalie, thank you for hyping it up while barely knowing anything about it. And of course, to Criss, thank you for always helping me and giving me ideas despite having no clue who this man is. I love all of you. xx

Link to Playlist

(c) nat g. 2020 // do not repost, do not claim as your own

Travis always dreamt of playing in the NHL. He never thought he’d get there, but he dreamt of it. You, on the other hand… You always knew that Travis would make it to the big league. He was too good no to. You grew up watching him play Timbits hockey on Saturday mornings which turned into primetime games as he crushed it in major junior for the Erie Otters, playing on a team with “The Next One” no less. By no means did you dedicated your life to Travis’s hockey career, but you spent too much of it watching him on and off the ice and you knew he was destined for the NHL.

And you were proven correct when the final draft rankings for the 2015 NHL entry draft were in and Travis was in the top 50. You were there the day he was drafted by the Leafs. You held him tightly in your arms as you told him how proud of him you were and how you always knew he’d make it.

You just didn’t know that Travis making it to the NHL would come at the cost of losing you.

But that’s not where the story starts.

The story starts in the second grade when the teacher rearranged the desks in October, seating you next to a boy named Travis. With the hockey season right around the corner, you learned quickly that Travis, much like yourself, was an avid hockey fan, an avid Leafs fan. It felt like overnight the two of you became inseparable.

The days Travis didn’t have practice, he was with you. You spent recesses together talking about the game the previous night. You spent countless hours in the summer playing road hockey and playing out the fantasy of winning the Stanley Cup. As you got older, the two of you didn’t grow apart. But instead of road hockey, you were watching movies. Instead of Leafs stats, it was OHL stats. Instead of colouring the formidable Nunavut together, you were helping him study since he didn’t have much time outside of his soon to be professional hockey career.

The times changed and the two of you grew up, but you didn’t grow apart.

And as the two of you got older, you both learned to appreciate the cabin your family owned on the side of Lake Jasper. You used to call it your little slice of happiness, but Travis nicknamed it “The Retreat” because you would go away for weeks at a time and there was no cell service and he couldn’t talk to you and he hated it.

Travis stopped hating it the moment he got to tag along for a week trip to The Retreat. It was calming there, trees as far as the eye could see and a beautiful lake. There was no cell service so there was no worry of the outside world. That was something you both learned to appreciate as you got older. You didn’t have to worry about your grades or the next bad thing happening in the world. And Travis didn’t have to worry about hockey or how his stats were or what was in his future. Both of you could just be you for a few interrupted days.

Both of you had so many good memories out there, and you always thought the two of you would make more memories...

Your first year of university was the year after Travis was drafted. He didn’t make the Leafs’ opening night roster and he was sent back to Erie while you went away for university. You worked your ass off at university. During the school year you hunched over your books, and you worked two jobs in the summer to make enough money to make your own dream a reality like your best friend’s. And just like you, Travis was working harder than he had ever worked. He needed to be better to make the next jump in his hockey career, to show the Leafs he was worth it.

Both you tried feverishly to keep in touch through all of this. There were countless texts, phone calls, and FaceTimes. But your schedules no longer lined up and you both had so much work to do…

You spoke to each other less that year than you ever had.

And then you didn’t come home for the summer like he was expecting you to. You got a job in your university town that paid better than anything in Newmarket, so you stayed. It was the first summer you didn’t spend with Travis.

The next year, Travis made the jump from the OHL to the AHL.

Neither of you meant to drift apart, but the AHL took up so much more of Travis’s time and you got busier with university. So, the phone calls stopped. The texts between the two of you slowed until you didn’t even notice that you hadn’t spoken to him in months.

The two of you just grew apart.

It hurt both of you deeply to watch your friendship fall apart despite being attached at the hip for the better part of your lives. But neither of you had the time or energy to fight for it the way it deserved, the way it needed, and the halfway point the two of you were sitting at was hurting the two of you more than it was helping.

But the thing about losing a friend like Travis is that no one tells you that it hurts more than any break up ever could. You were friends since second grade, you knew him longer than you didn’t, and you couldn’t even remember life before you met him. To you, he had always been there. And then he just wasn’t.

When you lost him, you lost a piece of yourself.

But even as you lost him, you didn’t stop watching him. You could blame it on nostalgia or force of habit, but you watched him in the AHL. You watched him make him NHL debut and score his first NHL goal. You watched as he won the Calder Cup with the Marlies, making you laugh despite the pain in your chest as you listened to his post-game interview.

Listening to the people around you and the buzz on the web, you knew a lot of people were surprised with how well the ��young Leafs defenceman’ was doing, the progress he made in his development as he grew into a gritty top-four defenceman for the blue and white. But you weren’t surprised in the slightest. It was the Travis you knew and loved.

And now, after a strenuous academic career, you were finally graduating university. Graduating with honours and high in your class. And you scored an interview for a good job in your field in Toronto. You got the job, which started in October. It was a wonderful start to the next chapter of your life.

And since you had worked two jobs in the summers of your university career and you were getting a big girl job in October, you thought you would treat yourself to a one summer off where you would be able to be free for one final time before the ‘real world’ began. And, naturally, you thought the best place for that would be to spend some time at your family cabin that you hadn’t been to since high school. The Retreat would be the perfect place to relax.

Your parents were a little unsure about giving you the keys with no timeline on when you’d be back, but you were a big girl, so they caved eventually and handed the keys over to you. On the first Thursday of July you packed your car up and made the drive north to Lake Jasper. Every kilometer you got out of the city, you felt the weight lift from your shoulders. This was where you belonged.

You couldn’t stop smiling to yourself as you drove down the dirt road knowing that you were so close the place you had longed to be for so long. And it wasn’t long until you reached the gate at the end of the driveway. You got out of your car to unlock and open it before driving through and pulling up beside your cabin.

You turned your car off and looked out the window for a moment as you took it in. Slowly, you opened the door and got out, the tall grass was brushing your ankles so you made a mental note to cut the grass. You closed your door behind you and you couldn’t help but close your eyes and take a deep breath in. You couldn’t get crisp air like this in the city. The birds chirped in the background and you made your way down to the dock, wanting to look at the lake and feel the cool water between your fingers before you started to unpack.

The dock creaked under you as you walked on it, taking more deep breaths as you looked across it. It was trees and water as far as you could see. You would stay out here looking at it forever if you could. It was that beautiful.

You stood there for several minutes taking it in, breathing, listening to the loon calling across the water and the feeling the warmth of the sun on your face. It would have been perfect if not for the voices you heard coming from a property to your left. You had no idea who owned the property, your mother told you a couple years back that it had been sold but they weren’t sure who bought it, but based off the voices you guessed it was a frat or a college guy or a family of a college guy because it sounded like a group of rowdy boys.

You shook your head with a sigh before making your way back to the cabin. You fished the keys from your pocket and unlocked the door.

It was musty inside so the first thing you did was open the blinds and windows to let the place air out and to bring some light in. When you opened the last window of the main area, you turned around, taking the place in. Nothing had changed from the last time you were here five years ago. It was the same furniture in the same place. The pictures on the wall didn’t change either. The only difference was the inch of dust on everything.

You were walking towards the door to go grab your stuff out of the car when one of the pictures on the wall caught your attention. It was of you and Travis playing in the water with big smiles on your face. You were both eleven in that photo and if you closed your eyes you could still hear your laughter.

You ran your finger over the photo as your chest tightened at the memory. When you finally pulled your eyes away from the photo, you realized that all the pictures on that wall were of you and Travis. They varied in ages from ten to eighteen. Pictures of you in the water and around the fire and even catching grasshoppers. There was even a picture of you asleep in each other’s arms from a summer in high school.

All around you was reminders of Travis and you could remember every second of it.

The next picture your eyes fell on was of you and Travis on the dock. It was from the same summer as the previous picture. Travis held you bridal style in his arms with a wicked smirk on his lips as you clung desperately to him with fear in your eyes. You couldn’t help but laugh at the picture, remembering exactly what transpired just moments after it was taken.

“One for the money!” He said while swinging you, your screams doing nothing to prevent him from continuing. “Two for the show!”

“Please, Travis, don’t do this! Please!” But your begs fell on deaf ears.

“Three to get ready and four to go!” He said before he threw you into the lake.

When you closed your eyes, you could still hear him laughing.

He laughed so hard as you screamed that he had to bend over to try to catch his breath, even when you resurfaced and yelled and cursed at him. He just thought it was hilarious to see you soaking wet and screaming like a banshee. You, on the other hand, did not think it was funny. But, luckily for you, Travis was so preoccupied with pissing himself laughing that he didn’t process the malicious look in your eyes as you got out of the lake until you were standing on the dock with him.

“Oh shit!” Travis shouted, the laughter draining from his voice as he tried to move around you, but it didn’t work and your mom helped you block him on the dock so you could push him off of it and into the water. It was your turn to laugh, and did you ever.

It was a great memory and you couldn’t help but smile, even as your heart panged in your chest. You couldn’t lie and say it didn’t hurt you to think about what you used to have with Travis and how much you missed him. But even with the heartache that was eating at your chest, you couldn’t pull your attention away from the wall of photos.

Your gaze moved from the photo of the two of you on the dock to a picture of the two of you on a tube. You were still kids in the picture, both of you wore big smiles on your faces as you tried desperately to hold onto the tube as your dad drove his boat as fast as he could, pulling screams of terror and excitement from both of you. Those screams were embedded in your memory and you could still recall them now.

You had had a lot of fun in your life, but you couldn’t describe the pure joy that you felt when tubing, even if it did end with you thrown off the tube and landing harshly in the cold water of the lake. You had even lost your bikini bottoms a few times and had to urgently hunt them down in the surrounding water without revealing yourself to anyone. But still, there was nothing like tubing. Especially when you were with your best friend.

You laughed softly to yourself as you remembered the summer when you were older and you and Travis used to shove each other off the tube, competing to see who could hold on the longest. He won basically every time, his years of hockey and working out giving him an unfair advantage over you as he could hold on a lot stronger than you could and he could shove a lot harder than you could. But still, it was a great time.

You sighed and moved your eyes to another photo. You and Travis both wore rubber boots and flannels far too big for either of you. Adult shirts no doubt, probably your dad’s. Both of you had big smiles on your face as each of you held up your own fish. Yours was bigger than Travis’s and the grin on your face showed how proud of yourself you were.

You couldn’t help but run your fingers over the photo, over your smiles. The picture was taken the first summer Travis came out to the lake. Your dad had taken both of you fishing in the evening because you both begged him to. If you were behind honest, you enjoyed the boat ride more than the fishing, but Travis had lit up like a Christmas tree when your dad finally agreed. You and Travis only caught one fish each that night before your dad shut things down for the night, but it was enough to make both of you happy and you could still remember how excited you were to show your mom that you had caught the bigger fish.

Both of you were so young and happy and neither of you had any idea what was going to happen in the future. All that mattered in that moment to either of you was that your fish was bigger than Travis’s.

Oh, how times had changed.

You took a deep breath as you shook your head, trying your best to shake free of those memories, and you forced yourself to walk back out the door to your car to unload and unpack everything.

It took you about an hour to unload and get everything put where it was supposed to be, turn on the gas and check the solar batteries and all that. It took you another hour to give the place a good dusting and wipe down all the surfaces. By the time you were done, the place looked like people had actually been living there rather than some summer cabin your family only visited a couple times a year, and that made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

You spent the rest of Thursday and the entirety of Friday just relaxing. You had your morning coffee on the deck as you watched the water. You listened to the loons and the ducks and the other birds call to each other. You did absolutely nothing productive and you hadn’t felt so free in years.

In high school you worked hard to get into a good program in a good school. In university you worked hard to get a good job. At work, you worked hard to make money to live. But all the hard work finally paid off and now you were getting that time off. You were free to just be, and you couldn’t enjoy the nothing to do more. And you couldn’t put into words just how happy and liberated you felt.

Even with the rowdy group of boys who were there for the weekend.

The thing about the rowdy group of guys you didn’t know, was that you actually did know them. And you knew one of them intimately well.

Travis had so many fond memories at the lake. He cherished every single one of them, the happy, the nostalgia, the pain. He cherished every memory he had of the two of you together at the lake and the fun the two of you used to have there. He loved how he could escape the city and pressure of Toronto. He loved that he could keep you close despite the two of you no longer being close. He loved it there, even if it hurt him to think about what could have been with the two of you and the future you both lost.

So, when a cabin two doors down from yours went on the market, there was no hesitation. He snatched it up in an instant.

Travis spent weeks up there in the two summers that he had the cabin for. He felt more himself there than he felt anywhere else. He was able to breathe and leave Toronto and the media and all the nasty Twitter users in his rear view mirror when he came out here. It was just him, Niylah, the lake, and happiness. And sometimes his annoying teammates that he loved deeply, even if he questioned what exactly was going on inside their heads.

And when he was up there alone, he would go out onto the dock every day and let his eyes fall on your cabin rather than the water as he searched for you. He always searched for you, hoped for you, but he always came up empty. The blinds on your cabin remained closed and the place empty as you were hundreds of kilometers away.

He tried to break the habit when he had guests overs, but the it was so ingrained in him. So, of course Mitch caught him staring at your cabin lost in his thoughts rather than paying attention to whatever shit the guys were talking about as they kicked back on the dock with beers in their hands.

“Are you going to tell us why you’re more interested in a vacant property than your friends?” Mitch had asked. Travis tried to shake him off, tried to steer the conversation back towards whatever bullshit they were talking about, but none of them let that happen. Mitch, Kappy, Hollsy, they had all picked up on how different Travis was out here compared to in Toronto, how he quieted himself down rather than got louder, how he withdrew from the group on more than one occasion, how he looked longingly at one singular cabin on the water. And they were all curious to know why.

So, they forced Travis to spill.

And Travis, with the help of another two beers, told them everything. “I met her in the second grade,” he started and they knew where this story was going long before Travis did. Travis told them how close the two of you used to be, how much you meant to him, how you had always been there, and how he had let you slip through his fingers. Every word that fell from his lips felt like another nail in his coffin that was going into the grave he dug himself. But he still told them.

He told them every ounce of his regret of not fighting harder for you and how stupid he was for thinking that hockey was more important than you.

“And this has to do with the cabin how?” Mitch had asked after Travis was done telling his story. Unlike the rest of the group, Mitch didn’t catch on to where the story was going.  

“Because it’s her cabin.” Travis said, his eyes once again going to the cabin. If the guys caught on to how the words stuck to Travis’s throat, they didn’t say anything. So, Travis explained how he bought his cabin because of you and how he hoped every day that he would see you there on the dock or in the window and how he hoped that one day you would be there and the two of you would be able to fix things between the two of you.

But that just never happened.

The boys never again questioned Travis about the way he looked longingly at your cabin. Occasionally they told him to text you to see how you were doing, but Travis shook them off. In his mind, it wasn’t fair to ask for more of your time like that when he was the one who walked out of your life. He knew deep in his heart that you were out doing amazing things and that, he told himself, was enough. But that was a lie. It was never enough.

But that was then.

Now, two years later, a similar group of Leafs enjoyed their time at Travis’s cabin. This time around, they overlooked Travis’s constant longing. They had become so used to it that they barely even noticed it. And Travis had become so used to you not being there that he only glanced at your cabin once that week, his focus almost entirely on his friends as they partied all night and regretted it all morning before doing it all over again that night.

But, had Travis spared more than a glance towards your cabin, he would have noticed that the usually drawn blinds were wide open and that a car was pulled up next to the cabin. He would have noticed that you were there.

But instead he threw beer back like candy and laughed with his friends, playing music way too loud as they all enjoyed the summer heat. A couple of them (like Mitch) had cabins of their own, but they were mostly in Muskoka and weren’t half as secluded as Travis’s, so they all liked to flock over to Travis’s for at least a week every summer. It let all of them get a break from the vultures that were the Toronto media, something the superstars and the media’s favourite punching bags desperately needed.

Sunday was the last day they were all spending out there, so, naturally, they wanted to spend it down by the water. There were a couple of chairs with a table on the dock along with a case of beer and their towels, and they floated on various floaties in the water, beers in their hands. Unlike his friends, however, Travis stayed on the dock. He was in his swim trunks (which the guys had forced him to change into when he came out of his room in his speedo), his shirt was thrown over a chair and a pair of sunglasses rested on his face as he lounged back in the chair to “get some colour in,” which made the guys laugh.

Sunday was also the hottest day since you had been up at the cabin. Even with the windows open, you couldn’t cool off. But, luckily, you had a beautiful lake in front of you. The water was calm and with the sun out, you knew that the water wouldn’t be too cold, just cool enough to refresh you and cool you off. So, you pulled a deflated innertube out of storage and blew it up before changing into your swimsuit, grabbing your towel and making your way down to the water.

You thought nothing of the group of guys relaxing in and around the water a couple doors down from you as you set your towel and shoes on the dock before making your way into the water. The water was cool and it felt heavenly against your skin. You stood there for a moment, your eyes closing as you enjoyed it before you got onto your innertube.

Mitch caught sight of you first.

He was the only one completely facing that part of the lake and he watched you set your towel and shoes on the dock before making your way down to the beach with your innertube in hand. Mitch sat up straighter in his blown up dragon with rainbow scales as he realized what was going on.

Lounging on the dock, Travis had his back to you so he didn’t know that you got onto your floatie and let yourself drift with the wind, enjoying the cool water on your arms and legs while the sun warmed the rest of you. Travis had no idea just how close he was to you for the first time in years as he busied himself with arguing with Justin over what the best dipping sauce is.

“Hey,” Mitch said, his voice weak as he kept his eyes on you, so he tried again. “Hey!” This time he grabbed everyone’s attention. “Isn’t that,” he swallowed, pulling his eyes off you to look at Travis before pointing over Travis’s shoulder. “Is that who I think it is?”

Travis furrowed his brows but looked over his shoulder, following Mitch’s finger until his eyes landed on you.

The world stood still for Travis.

He knew the guys were talking to him, but he couldn’t register what they were saying. His beer slipped from his fingers as he stood, turning to look at you. His mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. For the first time in years, you were really there.

You had only been in the water a few moments when the rowdy boys fell quiet. You opened your eyes to look over at them, wanting to know what had quieted the group that seemed to party all day long since you had gotten out there. You were ready to tell them off if they had a problem with you using the lake at the same time as them.

But instead you made eye contact with someone you hadn’t seen in years: Travis.

You often wondered if you’d ever seen him again. You figured if you did, it would be in Newmarket or if you were ever brave enough to go to a Leafs open practice after you moved to Toronto. Never in a million years did you think that you’d run into him here.

It never crossed your mind that Travis could have been the one to purchase the cabin, that he would want to purchase a cabin of his own on the lake that you had shown him, that he would share The Retreat you and he shared with friends of his own.

It knocked the wind out of you and you slipped from your innertube into the cool water. It was a welcomed awakening as it pulled you from your thoughts. Your fight or flight instincts kicked in as soon as you resurfaced and you grabbed your floatie and made your way to shore as quickly as you could, abandoning your towel and shoes on the dock in favour of getting to your cabin as quickly as possible.

You locked the door as soon as it closed behind you and you forced yourself to breathe, trying to calm yourself down despite the panic that was coursing through your veins. You didn’t even know why you were panicking, but your heart was going a mile a minute and all the pain, heartbreak and regret hit you like a ton of bricks and it left you gasping for breath. Everything you left unsaid and every thought, hope and dream you had pushed down over the years came rushing back and you didn’t know what to do.

You didn’t know whether you should go over there and say hello, or if you should stay in your cabin behind locked doors where he couldn’t hurt you again. You knew it wasn’t fair to say he hurt you when it was your combined lack of effort that led to the loss of your friendship. But, regardless, Travis did hurt you when he walked out of your life, even if you were partially to blame for it.

In the end, despite the voice in the back of your head screaming at you to go over there and see him, see if you could mend what happened between the two of you, you stayed in your cabin, the door locked as your final barrier between you and him. You got yourself a towel and dried off before changing and busing yourself with making dinner to quiet your thoughts. You even opened a bottle of wine to see if that would help silence your heart.

Sure, you wanted to see him, let him know that you were proud of him and how well he was doing in the NHL, see how much he had grown and changed over the years like you had. But, you also wanted to protect your heart. When you lost Travis, you lost a part of yourself, a big part of yourself. Just seeing him felt like a thousand papercuts on your heart. You couldn’t imagine what it would feel like if he rejected you, not wanting to even talk to you after all the years the two of you spent together. And what if he had become someone you didn’t recognize? What if Toronto had hardened all his soft edges and turned him into someone else? You didn’t—couldn’t—ruin all the good memories you had with him and replace them with what could happen ifthat were true.

So, you stayed home where you and your memories were safe.

And you realized you made a good choice when you heard a car drive off from somewhere to your left just before dinner. You assumed it was Travis and his friends heading back into town, him being unable to even be in the same area as you even if he didn’t speak to you. Part of you felt relieved that you didn’t have to worry about him or see him or talk to him. You could now do your best to pretend that you didn’t see him and no one had to know.

But, the other, bigger, part of you felt sick. You let your best friend walk out of your life without a fight not once but twice.

But there was nothing you could do about it now and you were beginning to think you might need something stronger than wine to soothe your aching heart.

What you didn’t know, however, was that Travis didn’t go into town with his friends. He and Niylah stayed out with his Jeep because he couldn’t leave you, not again. When he saw you run towards your cabin, Travis tried to run after you, but Justin anticipated that and was able to get out of the water before Travis made a run for you, so he was able to stop him, Justin’s hand wrapping tightly around Travis’s bicep, stopping Travis in his tracks.

“I—I have to!” Travis told Justin, but his eyes were scattered and his heart was beating out of control. “I can’t let her slip through my fingers again,” Travis told him, but Justin kept his grip on Travis.

“You need to calm down,” Justin told him before his voice softened. “Figure out how you’re going to play this, what you’re going to say to her because she literally ran away from you, dude.”

Justin kept his gaze on Travis until some of the fight died out of him, and when he was sure Travis wasn’t going to go racing after you, he let go of him. The two of them walked back to the dock and everyone in the water knew that their fun was over. They knew Travis and they knew what happened between the two of you and how much you meant to him. And they could see it in Travis’s eyes and shoulders that the only thing he cared about and would care about was you. Going to see you and talking to you.

So, the boys finished their beers in silence before they made their way back inside to pack. They gathered their things while Travis took a seat at the dining table, trying to sort his thoughts. Justin saw just how lost Travis was, barely acknowledging Niylah nosing for attention, so he took a seat across from Travis. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” Travis replied, pulling his gaze from the window to look at Justin. Justin sighed and gave Travis a leveled look making Travis sigh. “I just don’t know what to say. To you or to her. I bought this place because of her and every time I come out here I hope to see her but I never do. But now she’s here and I want—need—to see her, but what am I supposed to even say to her? ‘Sorry I’m an asswipe who couldn’t be bothered to text?’” Travis quieted and looked down at the table. “She probably doesn’t even want to see me,” his next part was almost unintelligible, “I certainly wouldn’t.”

You had run away when you saw him. He had spent the last several years regretting what happened between you, playing everything back in his head and thinking about what he could have done differently. He wondered if you had done the same, but your reaction made him think differently and that hurt him in indescribable ways.

“I think she was just surprised, you know? Taken off guard.” Justin tried to reason with him. They were both quiet for a moment before Justin spoke again. “You are going to talk to her, right?” When Travis nodded, he kept talking. “Do you want to talk about what you could say?”

Travis was quiet for a moment. “I have to tell her I’m sorry.” He paused. “After that, I don’t know.”

“Do you want to talk it through?” Justin repeated, but Travis shook his head.

“No, I have to figure this out on my own.” Justin nodded. He waited a couple moments and when Travis didn’t say anything else, he got up to go pack himself.

Eventually everything was gathered and the car was loaded. Justin clarified that Travis was okay and sure he wanted to stay out alone, and Travis assured that he was. Whether he was mentally and emotionally ready to see you or talk to you or not, he had to at least try to make things right with you.

Justin nodded and pulled Travis into a hug. When he pulled back, he got into the driver’s seat and started the car. It was always planned that Justin was going to be one of the group’s DD, so, unlike Mitch, Kappy and Willy, he hadn’t had anything to drink that day. Travis watched Justin drive slowly to the gate, Mitch running out to open it and close it behind them, and then, just like that, they were gone, leaving Travis alone with his thoughts. With you.

Travis made his way back inside and poured himself a glass of scotch to help his thoughts. Since he was supposed to be going into town that evening as well, the only thing he had had to drink was that one beer, that one beer that he dropped when he saw you, so only like half a beer. And Travis definitely needed more than half a beer to process everything. He took his scotch to the couch where he called Niylah onto his lap, petting her as he tried to figure out what to say to you. After what felt like forever but was really only an hour, Travis didn’t really come up with anything, and he had finished his scotch, so he decided it was now or never to go talk to you.

He changed into more appropriate attire, throwing on a pair of jeans and one of his many Leafs hoodies, running a hand through his hair before deeming himself good to go. He made his way down to his dock to look over at your cabin to make sure you were still there. He hadn’t heard any cars leaves besides Justin’s, but he had to check. Sure enough, your car was still there and the blinds were still open. He hadn’t lost you again, at least not yet anyways.

After taking a deep breath, Travis made his way over to your property, crossing along the water. When he got to your property, he noticed that your shoes and towel from when you ‘went swimming’ aka, wanted to go swimming but he scared you away, were still on the dock. So, he grabbed them and made his way up to the cabin that he knew so well.

So many fond memories from his childhood were made here. When he thought of this place, he felt nothing but happiness. Now, staring at the cabin from the outside having not been there in years, he felt unsure. In the years since he owned his own cabin just two doors down from you, he never came over to check it out. It hurt him too much and he was afraid. So, it was intimidating to be face to face with your cabin from the first time in years, especially since he knew you were inside.

Travis looped around the cabin to the backdoor, both because that was how you used to enter when he stayed in the summer, and because it wasted more time, giving him precious extra moments before he had to face you. In doing so, Travis noticed that there was only one car pulled around the side, one that he didn’t recognize and could only assume was yours. By walking around the cabin he also got the best look into the various windows and he only saw one person: you.

There were two doors to your back door, the main exterior door with the deadbolt that kept the cabin locked at night and when you weren’t around, and the screen door. The main exterior door was open, leaving just the screen door as a barrier between you and him. His hand shook as he brought it up to the door frame and knocked three times.  

You were cleaning up dinner, your half finished bottle of wine still sitting on the table when there was a knock at your door. ��Fuck!” You shouted with a jump, your heart beating frantically in your chest. You were alone. In a cabin in the woods. With no cell service. And you didn’t know anyone out there. And it wasn’t like you could pretend that no one was home with your windows open, your car right there and your main exterior door wide open. Not to mention they probably heard you shout. You took a shaky breath and looked out the kitchen window to see who was knocking at your door.

You took a deep breath, putting your palms on the kitchen counter to brace yourself as you calmed down. There was no axe murderer or serial rapist at your backdoor. Perhaps even more shockingly, it was Travis. And in his arms he held both your towel and your shoes that you had left down on the dock earlier. While you were more than glad that the person knocking on your door wasn’t an axe murderer or rapist, your anxiety certainly did not go away when you realized it was Travis.

But it wasn’t like you could pretend to not be there, so despite all your desires to go hide in your bedroom, you walked towards the door, your heart going a mile a minute against your chest as you did.

Travis’s own heart picked up when he saw you walk down the entry towards the door. His jaw fell slack as you approached the door, but you didn’t make a move to open it. Instead, you crossed your arms over your chest. “Can I help you?” You asked and you hated how much your voice shook.

Travis swallowed as he took you in. He knew he had changed a lot since high school so realistically you would have too, but he wasn’t prepared for just how different you looked. You were still you obviously, but your features had hardened. Matured. You looked like an adult ready to find her place in the world. That is, he realized, if you hadn’t already. It’s not like he knew what you were up to or what you had accomplished.

“I, uh,” Travis lifted your things. “I thought you might not want to leave these outside overnight.”

“Oh,” you whispered. “Right, thanks.” Travis nodded, but you made no motion to open the door, so Travis took a deep breath.

“And I was hoping we could maybe talk?”

You sucked in a sharp breath not really knowing if it was a good idea or not. And Travis was looking at you with his soft, loving blue eyes you knew so well and you had to look away. Your eyes landed on the wall of photos of the two of you over the years. From ten to eighteen, pictures of the two of you smiling and laughed looked back at you. You wanted to protect your heart from further pain, but looking at how happy the two of you used to be, you couldn’t turn him away. So, you nodded and opened the door to let him in.

Travis took a shaky breath and stepped into the cabin, closing the door behind him and handing you your things. You took them with a murmured “thank you” and walked further into the cabin. Travis followed you and you put your shoes on the shoe rack and placed your towel on the back of a chair before making your way through the dining room to the sunroom where there was a table and chairs overlooking the water. You and Travis had played countless games, made countless puzzles, on that table. But there were no games this time around as both of you settled at the table.

“You, uh, you look good. Really good.” He said after sitting down, breaking the heavy silence.

“Thanks? So do you. But then again that’s kinda expected for a professional athlete…” You replied, forcing a laugh as you trailed off. “You also look good on the ice by the way.” You didn’t know why you said it, but you did. You wanted to blame it on the pliable tension between you or your nerves, but the words slipped from your mouth. And it was true. Travis did look good on the ice. You knew because you watched him. You never stopped watching him.

Travis’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Yeah?” He asked. You nodded and looked down, not sure what to say. “I didn’t know you watched,” he whispered.

You laughed again and looked up at him with a shrug. “Old habits die hard,” you told him before your voice softened. “And it’s nice hearing your name again, see you accomplish your dreams.” Travis took a shaky breath, not knowing what to say to that. You shook your head and stoop up. Travis instantly reached out for you, but you pulled your hand away before he could touch you. “I need a drink. Can I get you anything? Beer? Wine? Whiskey?”

Travis let his hand fall on the table. He swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you’re having would be great, thanks.” You nodded and walked back into the main space of the cabin. Despite the half finished bottle of wine on the table, you reached for the liquor cabinet, grabbing the bottle of whiskey. You walked into the kitchen to grab two glasses before returning to the sunroom. Travis was looking out the window but he looked back at you when he heard you walk in. You put everything down on the table before sitting down and pouring two drinks, taking a big sip of yours before Travis could even grab his glass.

Travis had taken the first step earlier, so after you put your glass back down on the table, you took a step. “What happened to your group of friends you were with earlier?”

“They went back into town,” he said before explaining. “Today was their last day out here. They were here all week.” You nodded your head, taking another sip of your drink, not knowing what to say, so he continued. “They’re uh, they’re my teammates. From Toronto,” he tacked on as if you didn’t know where he was playing.

You perked up at that. “Like the London Knights’ Mitch Marner?” You couldn’t help but tease. Travis had been an Otter at the same time Mitch was a Knight and that was a rivalry for the ages. A rivalry you so vividly remember, particularly between Davo and Stromer and Mitch.

Travis laughed and nodded. “Yeah, yeah Mitchy was here. You have to meet him some time, I think you’d get along great.”

You shook your head, “I don’t know. He seems like quite the energizer bunny.” You paused. “You had a much better temperament,” you told him, referencing how chill he was, or used to be anyways. You didn’t know if he was still like that.

Travis agreed with you. “You’re not wrong. But you get used to him. Eventually.”

You laughed again. “So, you’re happy? In Toronto with the Leafs I mean?” You asked, your question falling on the serious side.

Travis took a drink of his whiskey and nodded. “I am. It’s a good group of guys. Young, talented. It’s always fun to hang out with them. I mean,” he snickered. “Last season we debated what would be a better weapon, a knife or a hockey stick, for like three months.”

“A knife, obviously,” you said. “Who in their right mind picks a hockey stick?”

“Hey!” Travis said, faking offence. “A hockey stick would be an excellent weapon! It’s like a staff, a baton and a spear all at once. AND it can keep your enemies at a distance.” You burst out laughing at his answer. You wished you could be surprised that Travis would pick a hockey stick over a knife, but you weren’t.

It hurt realizing just how much the man in front of you was very much still your childhood best friend.

“Uh huh,” you said and forced a smile. “So how come you didn’t go back in with them?” You asked, steering the conversation back to where it was supposed to be.

Travis froze for a second before answering with a lie, not that you noticed. “I was always planning to stay out longer than them. Get some peace and quiet after dealing with the rowdy bunch, you know?”

You nodded, “makes sense.” You paused. “What doesn’t make sense is why you’re out here at all.”

It had been a long time since you saw Travis Dermott blush, but he turned bright red at your words and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. In all his thinking about what to say to you, explaining why he had a cabin here didn’t even cross his mind, which, he now realized, was very stupid. Of course you would ask him that question.

“I, uh…” He gave you a lopsided smile. “You know, I’m not even going to try to give you some random answer. The truth is, is that I love it up here, thanks to you I mean, and I always hoped that maybe we would reconnect out here, so when that place went on the market, I snatched it up. It needed a few repairs, an update here or there, but it’s really come together.”

You didn’t know what to say, so you settled on, “it is gorgeous here.”

Travis’s smile faulted and he moved his gaze to the window. “Yeah,” he said, but it almost seemed like the hope had died out of his voice. “It is.”

Despite your heart beating rapidly against your chest, you took a leap, just like he did. “I, uh, I’m planning to be out here all summer.”

If he bought a whole cabin to maybe talk to you, reconnect with you, you could extend an olive branch to him. And it wasn’t like you didn’t want to fix things with him. Of course you wanted Travis back in your life, and he was still Travis, your Travis, so you had to give him another chance and not spend the rest of your life wondering ‘what if’ like you had been the last couple of years.

Travis raised an eyebrow at you, giving you a smile, “yeah?”

You smiled and nodded, telling him that you finally graduated university (he congratulated you) and that you were taking the whole summer off before the ‘real world’ began. He asked you if you found a job and you told him that you did, explaining the whole deal, but you left out the job location. You didn’t know what you compelled to hide the fact that you were moving to Toronto, but you did. And it wasn’t like he asked where the job was, so it wasn’t like you were lying.

“What about you?” You asked him. “What are you summer plans? Spend all of it working out?”

Travis shook his head, lying to you once again, “I was actually planning to spend most of it out here.” He looked back out the window. “It’s nice to escape from the vultures, you know?” You nodded in understanding, not that you really knew what it was like to be in the spotlight and picked apart the way the Leafs were. “And Niylah loves it out here.”

The truth was, he was supposed to be spending the summer in Toronto and spend some time with his parents, but all of that went out the window the moment he saw you. He’d do anything to spend time with you. But you didn’t need to know that.

“Niylah is your dog, right?” You asked. You were pretty sure due to some content posted by the Leafs, but you wanted to be sure. He lit up instantly and nodded, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. He tapped the screen quickly before sliding it across the table to you. “Awww!” You said, picking his phone up to get a better look. It was a picture of Niylah wearing a doggy Leafs jersey. “Absolutely precious,” you told him and he nodded.

“Isn’t she?”

“And she’s out here?” You asked.

Travis nodded and took his phone back when you slid it back across the table to him. “Yeah, she is. You should come over and meet her. And I can give you a tour of my cabin at the same time.”

You took a shaky breath and glanced out the window. It was getting dark. “Another time,” you told him. “It’s getting late, you know?”

You pretended to not notice how his shoulders fell at your words. “Is there going to be another time?” He asked after a moment, sounding more vulnerable than he would have liked, but it was a valid question. You had both given up on this friendship before and he felt like he only had one foot in the door with you and he was terrified that you were going to push him out and leave him.

He didn’t think he could survive losing you again.

You gave him a reassuring smile, “I told you, I’m here all summer. I’m not going anywhere.” Your words soothed him a little, but you could see that he was still a little unsure, so you reached across no man’s land that was the table top and gave his hand a squeeze, which seemed to calm him down more and he squeeze your hand back, giving you a small smile. “How about I give you my new number?” You asked him and his smile widened.

He unlocked his phone and pulled up contacts, your contact, and slid it across the table to you. Your breath caught in your throat at how he kept you in his phone all the years later. It was a new phone which meant he added you to his new contacts, and it knocked you back a bit, guilt and pain crawling through your chest. You deleted your old number and put in your new one before giving it back to him. “There. You have me.”

Travis looked at the number on the screen and nodded. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I have you.” He looked back up at you. “So, how about you come over tomorrow?”

You honestly hated how there was no hesitation in you agreeing. “Tomorrow sounds perfect. Any particular time?”

He shook his head, “whenever. I have no particular plans.”

“Okay,” you smiled. “Then I’ll come over tomorrow and meet that beautiful girl.”

Travis laughed with a big smile, “she’s going to love you.”

“I hope she does,” you told him.

“She will.”

And just like that, the two of you fell quiet, but the silence wasn’t tense or awkward like it was before. It felt familiar. You both finished your drinks and then your second drinks and before you knew it, it was very dark out. Travis sighed and stood. “I should get back. I don’t want to leave Niylah alone too long while it’s dark.”

You nodded, “yeah, right, of course.” You stood and gestured towards the door in the sunroom that led to the front deck. He crossed the space and put his hand on the doorknob before turning back to look at you.

“What does this mean for us?” His question hung in the air and you struggled to find the right answer. Were you acquaintances? Friends? The voice in the back of your head wondered if there was a possibility for something more, but you pushed that thought out of your head as quickly as it came.

“Friends?” You offered.

Travis nodded with a small smile. “Friends.”

It was far from what the two of you used to be, but it was a step closer, something neither of you had yesterday or any day of the last three years. So, he welcomed it. You both did.

Travis hesitated another moment, wondering if he should or could give you a hug. He wanted to. He hadn’t felt you in his arms in so long and he could still remember how perfect you felt against him, like you were supposed to be there. He wanted to feel that against. But he also realized that now wasn’t the time, so he bid you farewell till tomorrow and slipped out the door.

You watched him walk down to the waterfront before disappearing next door. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding once he was out of your sight. You didn’t know if it was in relief or disappointment. Slowly, you pulled yourself from the window, grabbing the used glasses and putting them in the sink to wash before putting the whiskey away. Your eyes scanned the room and fell on the half finished bottle of wine, so you sat down at the dining table and poured yourself another glass as you processed what just happened and the plans you had made. Whether you were prepared or not, Travis Dermott was back in your life. And you were going to see him again tomorrow.

[hockeywhhores]

"i'm going to be a father!"- t. dermott

Travis Dermott x f!Reader

warnings~ pregnancy, very very fluffy

summary~ You find out your pregnant, and choose to surprise Travis!

genre~ fluff

word count~ 923

masterlist

After three years of being married, you and Travis decided to start trying for children. Problem was you were having a hard time conceiving. Everytime you thought you had a high chance of being pregnant, the tests came back negative. Both of you were upset when Travis had to go on a road trip to Vancouver, because that meant that you would have to delay the process even more. You talked with anyone who could help, but nothing unveiled.

You were helping Travis pack when you felt an overwhelming feeling of sickness wash over you. Not wanting to make Travis nervous, you just kept helping him. After he left to go meet up with his team, you decided to just take the rest of the night easy. After all it could have just been something you had eaten.

But when you kept feeling sick for almost three days, you decided to go and take a pregnancy test. Travis was going to be home in a day, and you wanted to get the test done before he got home. No need to get his hopes up. The two minutes the test required was nerve racking no matter how many times you have taken it. You sat on the floor with your head on your knees just waiting for your phone timer to go off. everything was silent.

The ringing that came for your phone, was like a siren that rang around in your ears. You quickly grabbed the test that was sitting on the counter and flipped it over. It was positive! This is what you had been trying for months for. All you could do was let the happy tears come. Doing a little victory dance, before going to text Travis. Before you sent the text you started thinking about surprising him when he got home. He was coming home so soon anyway… So you got down to planning. You looked up Pinterest posts, and got your plan of action set and stone. You were going to buy a unisex onesie and little shoes, and best of all you were going to have a sign with the positive test next to it. You found your things fairly easy at the store, and set everything up for when he was going to return in less than twenty-four hours. You placed everything where you knew he was going to see it right when he walked through the door. Now all you could do was wait, and that was proving harder than you thought. You tried watching some Hulu but nothing kept your attention for more than ten minutes. That hardest thing was that Travis was texting you before his game, and all you wanted to do was tell him. Finally you decided to start watching the pregame show, but your mind always drifted back to how Travis was going to react. You knew he wasn’t going to react in a negative way; this was your dream. This is what you both wanted. But you still couldn’t take your mind off of it. The game was over in two hours, and thankfully the Leafs had won. You didn’t want Travis coming home after a loss, because you knew he wouldn’t be as happy. But someone has on your side and thanks to that Travis would already be in a happy mood when he came home. You fell asleep, not without telling Travis, and woke up at a not so ideal hour. More specifically four am. You ran to the bathroom, and threw up what you had for dinner the previous night. It wasn't much, and you were back in bed in less than twenty minutes, even counting you rebrushing your teeth. You tried to fall asleep but the bed felt too empty. So you put on some TV, and watched it until you woke up at seven am not even knowing when you had fallen asleep. You stayed in bed, until you absolutely had to go to the bathroom. As you were washing your face you heard the front door open. As fast as you could you ran to find Travis opening the door. You pulled him in the biggest hug you have ever given him, and kissed him deeply. “What’s this about? Not that I’m complaining.” Travis smiled at you before kissing you again. “Why don’t you see for yourself.” you stepped out of his way, and you saw his face light up when his eyes found the surprise. When he didn’t say anything you started to get nervous.

“I’m pregnant!” you cheered hoping to pull him out of his trance.

“I’m going to be a father?” he still had the trace in his eyes. He couldn’t look away from everything you had set out. “Wow!” When he came to he spun around and picked you up and back into the deep hug. “I’m going to be a father!” he was smiling so brightly and you could see tears in his eyes. you most definitely looked just like him.

“You're going to be a father, Travis!” you repeated back to him.

“Oh how much I love the both of you.” Travis said as he sat you down back in your feet and placed his hands on your stomach. “i’m never leaving your side now.” He declared

“I would never want you to leave my side, silly” you kissed him, it was only a short kiss, but it was still just as loving. This was going to be the start of something new, something incredible.

finished.

[hockeylvr59]

smut prompt 45 / kiss prompt 31 with Travis Dermott

This is like the ultimate soft smut. Probably softer than anything I’ve ever written before. 

“Can you feel what you’re doing to me?”

Pulling away from a kiss, whispering words of love against each other’s lips. (942 words)

~~~~~~~~~

You’d met Travis after babysitting for some of the Leafs wags. It was a meeting that you hadn’t thought much of at first but then suddenly you couldn’t get him out of your head. You weren’t really the type to put yourself out there though so it wasn’t until you were dragged to a game and you ran into him again that you’d become a thing. Turns out he’d been thinking about you as well and after seeing you again he insisted on getting your number. 

There was something about being with Travis that just felt so natural. So easy. Never had you been around someone where you felt so much like you could just be yourself. Travis’s smile and silly nature were the ultimate pick me up and he was so soft tempered that he always knew just what you needed him to say when you were struggling with daily life. 

You’d been together four months before you’d told him that you loved him and immediately he had returned the sentiment like he had just been waiting for you to be ready so that he didn’t scare you away with the words that were often overused and under meant. 

With Travis off for the summer, he surprised you with a vacation to Ireland. After days spent playing tourist, tonight you were just hanging out in a pub, drinking beer and listening to a local band play. As you stumbled back to the little bed and breakfast you were staying in, you tripped over your feet a little, having had a little more alcohol than your body was used to. Catching you gently, Travis wrapped his arm around your waist until you reached the front door of the inn. It was then that he swung you into a kiss, his lips gently caressing over yours. 

“I love you so much.” He whispered as he pulled away just slightly breathless. 

“Love you too.” You whispered in reply. “Thank you for this trip. It’s been wonderful.” 

“You deserve it.” He insisted. “You’re incredible and deserve more than I could ever give you but god am I going to give you everything I can.” Kissing him once more, you then stumbled into the inn and up to your room, falling back onto the bed for a moment once inside. You could feel Travis’s warm gaze on you as he gathered his things up and got ready to change for bed. When he returned, his sweats were slung low on his hips, his chest was bare, and his glasses were perched on his nose making him look even softer than he had before. “Bathroom is yours.” He murmured, causing you to sigh and nod before prying yourself off the bed to clean up and change as well. 

By the time you had slipped into a tank top and pair of shorts and had brushed your teeth, Travis was settled in bed an arm behind his head as he scrolled through his phone. Walking over to join him, you slipped under the sheets as well, smiling as his arm shifted from behind his head to drape around you. With his attention still on his phone you kissed his chest gently in an attempt to return his focus on you without explicitly asking for it. Travis’s fingers started tracing over your arm, but he didn’t put his phone away. 

“Trav…” You whined softly, causing your gorgeous boyfriend to look down at you. 

“Yeah, babe. I was just double-checking our reservations for tomorrow. I know you’re so excited to go…” You interrupted his statement by removing his phone from his hand, placing it on the nightstand before dragging his free hand down to slip under the edges of your shorts and underwear. 

“Trav…” You whimpered this time. “Can you feel what you’re doing to me?” You asked as his fingers glided through your wetness. 

“Hmmm…does my love need me?” Travis inquired, his fingers greedily stroking, drawing your clit from its hood and making you shiver with the growing pleasure. 

“I always need you.” You admitted, tone soft and full of desire. Shifting to rest over you, Travis slid your clothing off your hips before drawing your left leg up over his shoulder. After inquiring as to whether you needed foreplay or not, to which you responded that you just needed him, Travis pushed his sweats and briefs down just far enough that they were out of the way before gently pressing into you. 

Sex with Travis always felt like coming home and the way he kissed you so gently as he rocked his hips against you made you feel so wanted and loved. The pace was slow, but that didn’t make it any less pleasurable. At this pace, you could feel every ridge and bump of Travis’s shaft and he was able to angle your hips to hit the deepest spots inside you. You’d had rougher, more frantic sex with him before, but this, this was probably your favorite way to be connected to him. It was an intimacy like no other and it was that in combination with the friction that had you crying out his name against his lips as you spasmed around him. 

Like always, Travis worked you through one orgasm and the buildup of a second, allowing you to cum with him as he spilled inside of you. After gently cleaning you up, Travis settled back into bed, once again wrapping his arms around you as you cuddled into his chest to sleep. This vacation was everything you could ask for. And that was because this man was everything you could ask for. 

[matbaerzal]

Bruh I’m so sun burnt so can Tito/TK/Travis Dermott/Mitchy (Literallt whoever) come rub aloe on me and tell me I’m pretty while I complain to them

The absolute dream 😩 (not the sunburn part, that sucks 😅)

Let’s say Travis Dermott because you know why 😅

He’s just done rubbing aloe on your back, and you’re about to take the bottle away from him as you turn around to face him, but he doesn’t let you.

Rubbing some on your chest and your arms before he puts a little on his fingers and then he gently puts aloe on your cheeks and then your nose, bopping it with a soft smile on his face when he’s finished, “all done, beautiful”

[ohpuckthat]

Falling... (Travis Dermott)

Requested by Anon. I hope you enjoy it! I actually really enjoyed writing this and would love to write more for Travis :)

Prompt in bold (“Get back in bed, you’re not healed yet!”)

As I sat in bed, I could feel yet another itch coming from under my cast. I had been bedridden for almost two weeks because of a stupid injury. Coming home from a game with Travis, on the short walk from the car to the door, a rogue patch of ice was my literal downfall. Travis turned quickly, trying to catch me from falling, but was just a second too late. I fell on my ass and messed up my ankle pretty bad. Travis had blamed himself everyday since then and refused to leave my side while he was home. I’ve even had to call some of his teammates to come and drag him out of the house, assuring him that I would be more than okay taking care of myself. 

Travis had been on the road for a few days and my mom had been here with me, helping me around the house. Travis had been extra clingy before leaving, trying to explain to my mom where everything was and what she would need to do for me. 

“Travis, I took care of her for 18 years, I think I can handle it.” My mom sassed, placing her hands on his shoulders and kicking him out of the house. I could hear the front door open but not close again. I could hear footsteps coming from the hall and Travis bust through the door. 

“What are you doing? Get.” I said, shooing him away. He carefully climed on the bed and smiled. 

“You really think I was going to leave without a goodbye kiss?” He leaned down and pecked my lips before making his way out the door again. 

The next few days, as much as I hate to say it, were lovely without Travis. Yeah my mom helped me out but she wasn’t as overbearing as Travis. If I wanted to make myself some food, she would let me. If I wanted to walk to the living room by myself, she would let me. If I wanted to do something as small as do my hair, she would let me. It was so refreshing but I was excited to see Travis again. 

When he eventually walked through the door, I was slumped on the couch watching some movies while my mom packed up some of her stuff. I sat up slightly, hearing the front door and saw Travis setting his bags down. I went to get up but as soon as he saw me, he ran over and sat me back down. 

“What are you doing? We have to get you back in bed, you’re not healed yet!” He cried, going to pick me up. 

“What are you doing? I’m fine. I don’t have to be in bed all day.” I turned to grab my crutches and made my way to our guest room where my mom was. “God he’s so aggravating sometimes.” I turned and sat on the bed, falling back into the bed and covering my face with my hands. 

“You know, I used to say the same thing about your dad.” She whispered, sitting next to me. She grabbed my hands and moved them down to my sides. “He’s just trying to not only help you but also himself. You know he blames himself for this.” 

“I hate it when you’re right.” She helped me up and passed me my crutches. I made my way back out to the living room to see Travis slouched on the couch. I slowly made my way over and sat down next to him. I put my hand on his back and rubbed it. “Hey.” 

“Hey.” He said, turning his head towards me. We both went to talk and quickly stopped, noticing the other wanting to say something. Before I could do anything, he held his hand out to me, giving me the floor. 

“I love you. I really do and I can’t thank you enough for everything that you do and have done for me, especially after this.” I said, gesturing to my foot. “But I can still do stuff, even with this stupid cast. Maybe not as quick or in the same way but I’m still me.” 

“I know, and I’m sorry about that. I just- I feel like it’s my fault. If I- if I was just a little quicker, you wouldn’t have that stupid cast and I blame myself everyday for not being able to catch you.” 

“But you caught me when I needed you to.” I said, taking his face in my hands, rubbing his cheek softly. 

“Oh yeah? And when was that?” He asked moving his hands to my waist. 

“When I was falling in love with you.” Just as we were about to kiss, I heard my mom start making a fake vomit noise. I dropped my hands and turned to her, shaking my head. 

“That was disgustingly cheesy.” She walked over to the back of the couch and placed her hands on both of our shoulders. “I have to go but I’ll see you guys later. Rest up.” 

“Thank mom.” She made her way to the door and slipped out. I turned my attention back to Travis. “Where were we?” 

[willykappymarnsmatts]

Mine (T. Dermott)

Another request from the adorable @eikoxx 🥰💙

“Y/N, come with us!”

“Yeah, come on! Please!”

I roll my eyes and laugh quietly from my bedroom at my friends. One of my biggest regrets in life was giving them each keys to my dorm. They know I have work to catch up on, and I told them earlier that I wouldn’t be able to go out tonight, despite the fact that I said I could the day before.

“Y/N!” Travis bursts into the room, almost falling over from the momentum of him running basically through my door. “Y/N, come on!! You can work later. Please. We all have so much more fun when we’re with you,” he pleads.

I start to shake my head, but Kasperi, and then Auston and Mitch, followed by Willy, wander into the room behind Travis. “I literally cannot stand you guys. I don’t know why I’m friends with you. I should’ve taken the fucking job in Ottawa or something.” All four of them laugh at me, knowing that my mocking means they’ve convinced me to come. “No, I’m not joking. I literally hate you guys,” I continue as Kap sits at my desk which I’ve just deserted. Travis plops his ass down and sits cross-legged on the floor, Auston sits on my bed, allowing Mitch to crawl into his lap, and Willy leans casually against my door frame.

“Give me 10 minutes and I’ll be ready to go,” I mutter under my breath, and Travis jumps up to hug me and spin me around.

“We love you, Y/N!” He cries. I push him away laughing and gather together clothes, picking out an outfit with the guys’ help.

•••

Twenty minutes later, we’re in the car on the way to a bar called BarChef. It’s Willy’s pick, being his turn since the last time we went out he was the DD.

“Where do I go now, babe?” Kappy asks for the fifteenth time this drive as we come to a red light.

“Left,” Willy responds, squeezing their hands together, which are interlocked between them.

I try to fix my hair, using my phone as a mirror, when Mitch steals it from me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “You look beautiful, don’t worry.” I rest my head against his shoulder and look out the windshield. Auston, Mitch, me, and Travis are squished in the back of Kappy’s car, but it’s nothing new. None of our cars legally fit more than five people, but we make it work.

I look over at Travis and catch him almost glaring at Mitch, but when he looks at me his face changes. I look at him questioningly, but he pretends not to notice. “How’s school going?” He asks instead.

“Good,” I say carefully, still very confused. “Good, I’m enjoying all my classes. I still have no idea what I want to specialize in.” I’m in my last year of university at U of T, and I’m really enjoying it, although it’s quite challenging.

“It’s okay,” he tells me. “You still have med school, then your residency, right?” I nod. He actually listens when I talk to him, unlike my girlfriends. “So you still have a really long time to decide. Residency will help you decide, I think.”

I smile at him. The way he’s looking at me, like I’m the only other person around, my chest constricts and my temples throb. I look away suddenly, staring at his shoes. I’ve never felt this way with Travis before, and I’m kinda freaking out. ‘It’s just Derms,’ I tell myself. ‘He’s one of your best friends. Just Travis.’

We pull into a parking lot of what looks to be a very busy bar. “Nicely done, Willy. You guys are gonna get noticed and I’ll just be left in the corner doing my own thing.

“Trust me, you idiot, nobody here likes hockey. It’s way too nice a place for sports fans.”

I laugh at him as the five of us climb out of the car. Travis takes my hand in his as Auston takes Mitch’s and Kap takes Willy’s. It’s a running joke that Travis and I will forever be single, and that the two couples shove their cute relationships in our faces.

When we walk into the bar, I immediately understand what Will was saying. It’s a modern, mature bar. Nothing that a Toronto sports fan would ever be caught dead at. A few girls sitting at a table near the entrance turn and stare at the guys, then glare at me. Travis notices and protectively puts his arm around my shoulders. “Jealous, much?”

“Of what, me hanging out with you guys? Please, I could do so much better.”

He laughs loudly and attempts to mess up my hair as I sit at a barstool, but I catch his hands and shove him into his seat. We’re both laughing like idiots and the guys are watching amusedly. Auston sits on the other side of me and leans into me slightly. “I don’t know how you two haven’t gotten together yet,” he chirps.

“Oh shush,” I respond as the bartender comes up to us to take out orders. We get our drinks and continue chatting and laughing. As I suspected, the guys get noticed by a group of good-looking girls. Their collective attention is away from me for about 15 minutes as they talk with the girls. I play with my straw and stare at my phone, pretending there’s something very enticing on the screen, when a tall, handsome guy comes and sits next to me in Travis’ seat.

“Hey,” he says, his voice low and gravely.

“Hi,” I smile politely at him, hoping to make my disinterest obvious.

“Can I buy you another?” He asks, gesturing at my half full drink.

“No, I’m okay with this.” I turn away from him, when suddenly his chest is against my back and I can feel him breathing down my neck.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t want to say no to me,” he says into my ear. I flinch away, disgusted. I turn back around on the stool to face him.

“Excuse me?” I demand, sitting straight up. He moves close to me again, sliding between my legs. I glance over to where Travis and the guys are, still facing away from me. I take a deep breath and think about what to do. If I move away, he’ll get even angrier with me. He’s not as big as my friends, I could probably defend myself against him if I needed to, but I don’t really want to have to. I look over again at the guys, and Travis turns to look at me, a smile on his face. As soon as he looks at me and sees the guy, though, his face falls.

Travis ignores the girls and comes over to me quickly and shoves the man off of me. “What the fuck do you think your doing?” He demands.

“And who are you to ask?”

Anytime I’m put in this situation, the guys easily slip into the same lie. “Her boyfriend, fucker. Not that it’s any of your business.”

The man refuses to move, instead rolling up his sleeves. “Derms, stop,” I whisper. I know he hears me, but he chooses to ignore me.

“I wouldn’t try to fight me if I were you, bud,” Travis chirps, and I shake my head.

“Travis-“

The man's fist hits Travis square in the jaw, and his eyes flash. It’s his hockey face. “Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, leaning my elbow against the bar counter and leaning my head into my palm. It’s so easy for him to get pissed off when it comes to protecting me or any of his other friends or teammates.

Travis uppercuts him in the jaw, hard. Auston and Kap are at his side, with Mitch and Willy close behind. The amount of men facing off the man seems to intimidate him. He shakes his head and looks at me once more. “You’re going to wish you didn’t say no one day,” he tells me, turning to leave the bar. His words disgust me, sending a chill down my spine.

Travis wraps his arms around me, his eyes soft again.

“You okay, Y/N?” Kappy asks, rubbing my arm supportively. I smile at him.

“Let’s go,” Auston suggests. I start to shake my head. This is all the guys wanted to do tonight. Forget the stress of hockey, just chill and probably get wasted.

“He’s right, Y/N. It’s okay. We’ll go back to Travis’ and just play chel or something,” Mitch chimes.

The guys nod and grin at me. “I love you guys, you know?”

“Love you too,” they coo.

•••

Back at Travis’ place, we’ve all changed into more comfortable clothing. The guys have small pieces of their clothing at basically every team members’ houses, so they’re wearing their own clothing. I’m wearing a pair of Travis’s sweatpants, which I have knotted tight at the waist, and his team sweatshirt. We’re lounging on the couch, playing chel and cod while stuffing our faces with pizza and pop.

We laugh and yell at and throw pieces of popcorn at each other. I’m sitting next to Auston, my legs resting across his with my back against the armrest of the couch. Travis is sitting on the floor in front of me, his hair brushing my leg when he moves. Mitch is sitting next to Travis, in between Auston’s legs. Kappy and Willy are squished together on the armchair against the other wall, all of us focusing on the chel game between Will and Aus.

I continue kicking Auston’s arms slightly, trying to get him to press the wrong buttons. “Babes, will you please fucking stop,” he says for the fifteenth time. I giggle and stop momentarily, resting my legs to continue shortly.

“I thought I was babes,” Mitch whines, craning his head back to look up at him.

When the play stops, Auston leans down and kisses him. “You’re my babe.”

Mitch smiles, satisfied. Willy’s biting his bottom lip as he skates the puck up to Auston’s net and skates back and forth in front of it. He shoots and the puck ends up in the back of the net. The living room erupts in cheers and Auston slumps back into the couch, defeated once again.

Mitch crawls so he’s on his knees and stretches to kiss him. “I love you anyways,” he says, and Willy makes a face like he might vomit. Kappy pulls him into his chest before he can chirp them and kisses his hair. I look at Travis and catch him staring at me.

“What?” I whisper, smiling gently.

“Nothing,” he whispers back, shaking his head slightly. I mess his hair as I stand up to go to the washroom, trying my best not to kick Mitch in the back of the head. I feel eyes on the back of my head as I leave the room, but when I turn Travis is staring pretty much through the television.

After many more rounds of chel, the guys start getting their stuff together to head home. We decide to leave our dress clothes at Travis’, knowing we don’t go out places with any other groups, the losers that we are. I’m slipping on my boots while the guys are decide who gets to drive and who to drop off first.

“Kap, you drive,” Auston suggests. “You can drop Mitch first, and I’ll just stay the night. Then bring Willy to his place then go home.”

Will is staring at me, the only one to remember how far out my student residency is from everyone else’s houses. “Uh, it’s okay. I’ll… take an Uber?”

“Are you sure?” Mitch asks, a worried look on his face. “It’s really late.”

“Yeah, I’ll, um, I’ll be okay,” I say, glancing out the window at the pitch black.

“No, no, Y/N, stay the night.” Travis says from further inside the entrance hall.

“Hm? Are you sure, Derms? You have practice tomorrow morning and I don’t have any classes.”

“Yeah, of course. You can come to practice with us, or just chill here. Whatever. Just stay, please.”

I’m still not sure. It’s not like I haven’t stayed over at each guys’ place at least once, but I feel bad because he has to wake up early. But he’s giving me his stupid puppy dog eyes, and nobody can say no to Travis when he does that. “Fine, okay, I’ll stay,” I mutter, toeing off my boots.

“Okay, we’ll get going,” Auston says, and we give hugs and say goodnight. Once they all leave, Travis shuts and locks the door behind them.

“Do you want other clothes to sleep in?” He asks, not really looking at me.

“No, I think I’m okay.” We try to tidy up the living room a little bit, picking up empty pizza boxes and half-full bowls of popcorn and chips in comfortable silence. “Hey, thanks for sticking up for me at the bar.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me. What are best friends for?” He smiles at me wide.

I smile back, and we look at each other. His eyes are so blue, so bright. “Yeah, best friends,” I whisper, picking up a can from the ground and glancing up at him again. He hasn’t moved, still looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face. The same clenched chest, throbbing temples, falling feeling from the car comes back. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, but it doesn’t help. My heart beats faster, if anything.

Travis drops the two pizza boxes he picked up on the coffee table and moves toward me. He takes one step, two steps, and he’s right in front of me. It would be so easy to close the small space between us. I feel his breath against my lips, and it would be so easy-

Suddenly, it’s not an idea anymore. One of his hands is on my waist, the other under my chin. And his lips are on mine, his body is flush against mine. He pulls away suddenly and looks at me. “Okay?” He asks breathlessly, his blue eyes flicking between each of mine, searching.

“Okay,” I whisper back. He leans in and kisses me again, sending my stomach into flips. My chest clenches again and my temples throb with yearning. But I don’t try to will the feeling away now. Instead I pull him closer to me. I want all of him, and I don’t try to deny it anymore. Because this is Travis, my best friend in the world. And this is Travis, my favourite person in the world. The only person that matters in this moment. My person. And I tell him by kissing him with every emotion and word I’ve been keeping back. His arms are strong against me and his hand is in my hair. I clench his shirt in my hands and pull him closer. “You’re mine,” I manage to whisper when he pulls away slightly for air. “I’ve been waiting for this for so fucking long, Travis,” I tell him.

He laughs gently against my lips. “You are very mistaken, love. I have been waiting for this moment from the moment I met you. You, Y/N, are mine. And I’m gonna let the world know.”

[going-full-shmoo]

Last night Travis Dermott took a late hit and I just want to give him a massage and hold an ice pack to his back/shoulders and just talk softly to him

@idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 i saw the hit and it definitely wasn’t pretty. i’m with you on this one

I’m sure he would greatly appreciate a little loving after that hit

You could already tell he would be needing a little extra care after that hit

you prepared an ice pack as well as a heat pad to soothe his back and made sure everything was ready for when he returned

as soon as he got home you made sure he just went straight to the bedroom to decompress

you had him lay down on his stomach so you could place the ice pack on the places he was most sore, having the heat pad ready for when he wanted it

once the ice pack was placed you just laid down next to him on your side, running your fingers through his hair

you two just stayed there for a couple hours, switching back and forth from ice to a heat pack on his bare back, you making sure he was comfortable

his eyes were closed, but you could tell he was a lot more relaxed than he was when he came home

you heard him murmur a soft “thank you” against the pillows, his voice sounding sleepy

you just kissed his temple and continued running your hands through his hair softly, starting to hum your favorite songs to relax him

eventually he fell asleep to the sound of your humming and the soft sensation of you loving on him

even though he was still a bit sore the next morning, he felt much better than he had in a while, all thanks to you

[antoineroussel-archive]

"Im Going to Take Care Of You , Ok ? Travis Dermott

It’s icy outside. Which isn’t uncommon given that it’s the end of December. And given that you’ve lived in Ontario your entire life, there’s no reason that you should be caught unaware.

Until you are, of course, when you’re rushing around buying last minute presents for your family, and manage to find the one square foot of space in the entire city that’s iced over. That has to be the truth because nobody else is falling over.

A kind lady helps you stand up and asks multiple times if you’re okay to make sure that you are telling the truth before she hands you back your shopping bags and lets you on your way.

You absolutely lie to her, though, because your ass hurts and you tweaked your wrist bad enough that you have to transfer all your bags to one hand once you’ve turned a corner.

Travis is home form practice when you return and notices almost immediately that something is off. It’s probably because of the small steps your taking and the way you’re holding your wrist to your stomach.

“What did you do?”

“Slipped,” you say quietly.

A knowing smile crosses his face, but he steps forward to take the bags from you and help you out of your coat gently.

“Anything broken?”

“Don’t think so.”

“I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

You nod and let him guide you to the couch, where he stopsyou from laying down until he can arrange the cushions to his satisfaction.

Travis asks you a million questions once you’re settled—if you want coffee or hot chocolate, if you want cookies or a slice of leftover cake,if you want a hot water bottle or an icepack—and you answer them all and wait for him to come back and sit down on the couch with you.

He’s so cautious of you, though, that he goes to sit down on the other couch.

“Trav, I want cuddles.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I bruised my ass,” you say petulantly, “I didn’t break my head.”

He acquiesces, but when you move roll onto your side and move forward on the couch, he is slow and moves with more care and precisionthan you’ve ever seen when he climbs onto the couch behind you.

You immediately scoot back into him and reach backwards for his arm, to wrap it around your waist.

The two of you cuddle up on the couch for therest of the night, whispering I love yous to each other.

winter prompts, from your summer friend

[ronaldhainsey-blog]

i’m coming home to you: travis dermott

Request: can you do 6 with Travis Dermott? Warnings: Subject of Miscarriage, Depression, Sadness

Note: i love travis this makes me so sad:(

MASTERLIST

You felt lost. You were frozen in absolute devastation. You had had a hard time getting pregnant in the first place, so when you found out you can conceived, you were beyond careful.

Your heart broke once again when you knew you would have to call Travis and tell him. He would be broken.

When you found out you were pregnant, you were both so excited. travis cried when you had told him the news. He was so excited he ran to call his parents right away. 

After going to grab Travis’ dry cleaning you felt blood rush down your thighs. You knew right away sometihng was wrong. A man on the street had been the one who call an ambulance for you. Travis was on the road in Flordia and wasn’t suppose to be home until Friday, but you needed him.

Reaching for your phone, you felt a sob excape your throat. You dialed his number, fear eating you alive as it rung. You almost didn’t want him to pick up.

When the ringing stopped and there was a slight pause, you exhaled deepply. “Babe, what’s going on?” He asked her. “I’m in practice right now.”

Simply hearing his voice was enough to bring another sob up from her throat. the tone in his voice changed right away.

“Sweet, what happened?” Worry evident in his tone.

“Trav I-” You tried to get out. “I need you to come home.”

“Babe I can’t help you if i don’t know what’s wrong.” You could tell Travis was trying to calm himsel down, though failing.

“I lost the baby” You managed to get the words out before breaking down once again. Travis felt his throat close, tears forming in his eyes right away,  he knew he needed to be strong, for you.

“I’m on my way sweet. Don’t worry, I’m coming home to you.” His voice was strained, holding back his own wave of tears. “You won’t be alone, I’m coming.”

[ilyasorokinn]

Request :

"We're having a baby!" With Travis Dermott

3+1

tw: pregnancy announcement

you and travis had been married for about 2 years, and you couldn’t be happier. kids weren’t something either of you really ever talked about, but if you got pregnant the next day, you would be fine with it, and would accept it and raise the kid. you weren’t actively trying for kids, but you weren’t exactly preventing it either.

when you started feeling sick, you didn’t think much of it. you just thought it was a bug, i mean, it was flu season. travis was off on an away game, and every away game, your best friend, hannah, would stay over.

she was making breakfast for herself while you threw your’s up, “you okay, honey?” she asked and in response, you groaned, “is that a no?”

“no.” you groaned. she quickly turned off the stove, and made her way into the bathroom, and bent down next to you.

“when did you start feeling like this?” she asked, holding your hair back.

“i don’t know. a few weeks ago.” your answer came out strained as you gagged.

“honey, when was your last period?” she asked.

you thought about it, and caught onto what she was saying, “do you think-?”

“maybe. I mean, your sick, can’t keep anything down, you love coffee, but now can’t stand the smell of it. put the pieces together.” you dropped your head against the toilet, and started to cry, “oh, no. don’t cry.” 

“it’s not that. i'm really happy.” you laughed, sipping your eyes.

“how are you gonna tell him?”

“i think we might need to go to the doctor’s.” 

a few days later, it was confirmed that you were pregnant. hannah had gone home a few hours prior since travis would be home that day. you were leaning against the kitchen island, sipping your tea.

the doors clicked, and niylah immediately rushed to greet him, “hi, sweet girl.” you leaned in the doorway of the entryway, and smiled, “hi, baby.” he greeted.

“hi.” you gave him a tired smile.

“you okay?” 

you nodded, “yeah, just a bit tired. but, i do have some good news.” you grabbed his hand, and led him to the living room, “sit down, and stay here. i'll go get the gift.” 

“a gift? did i miss an anniversary or something?” he joked.

you ignored his joke, and took a deep breath as you looked at the bag, you walked back into the living room and sat down on the coffee table in front of him. 

he gave you a confused look, but opened the bag and removed the tissue paper. he pulled out the onesie, and his eyes went wide, “read it.” you pushed.

“and then there were four. baby dermott coming soon.” he read and looked up at you, his mouth open in shock, and tears in his eyes, “you’re pregnant?”

“yeah.” you nodded.

“we’re having a baby!” he exclaimed, jumping off the couch, and pulling you into his arms, hugging you tightly. he pulled you back, and kissed you hard, he bent down to niylah’s level, “did you hear that, niylah? you’re gonna have a baby brother or sister.” niylah sensed the excitement, and licked travis’ face.

“oh, i love you so much.”

“i love you, too, baby.” you smiled back brightly, pulling him into another hug.

please send in more requests! also, this is the photo of the onesie i used as reference. 

[nylwnder]

welcome besties!!! i got inspired to create 10 fics for the christmas season! it will consist of 10 of my fav boys accompanied with 10 of my fav christmas songs and hopefully they’ll bring you some jolly! be on the lookout for these!

🎄 — day 1 : jack campbell dec 15th, 2021

‘white christmas’ by frank sinatra | kissing under the mistletoe.

🎁 — day 2 : travis dermott dec 16th, 2021

‘glittery’ by kacey musgraves & troye sivan | your first christmas with a SO.

✨ — day 3 : frederik andersen dec 17th, 2021

‘feliz navidad’ by josé feliciano | taking him to your latino childhood home.

🎄 — day 4 : kasperi kapanen dec 18th, 2021

‘please come home for christmas’ by eagles | yearning for each other after a breakup.

🎁 — day 5 : mitch marner dec 19th, 2021

‘all i want for christmas is you’ by mariah carey | finally sharing the bottled up feelings for each other.

✨ — day 6 : john tavares dec 20th, 2021

‘have yourself a merry little christmas’ by judy garland | doing all the christmas necessities with the kids.

🎄 — day 7 : alex kerfoot dec 21st, 2021

‘i need you christmas’ by jonas brothers | your best friend helps you cheer up for christmas.

🎁 — day 8 : rasmus sandin dec 22nd, 2021

‘cold december night’ by michael bublé | a snowball fight that ends in a more warming activity.

✨ — day 9 : morgan rielly dec 23rd, 2021

‘santa baby’ by kylie minogue | after he dresses up as santa claus for the family’s kids, you’ve got a little surprise for mr. claus.

🎄 — day 10 : william nylander dec 24th, 2021

‘the christmas song’ by nat king cole | after a snowstorm forces everyone inside, you two make the most out of it.

tagging some moots : @oliviapangburn118 @brocklovespetey @hy-lander @holidaywishes @broadstbroskis @shoot-the-puck @dembenchboys @joeljuice @ayohockeycheck @bb-nhlqueen7 @silver-eye @heatabovejakey @kleafs221 @nhlandotherimagines @2manytabsopen @prettyboyjackhughes

join my taglist so you don’t miss them!

[bqstqnbruin]

Bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble

Ok, every single time I see Nick Robertson in a notification on my phone, I think of the anon who keeps requesting I write about him and hope that you’re excited (I have no idea if it’s the same person each time so how ever many people it is I hope you’re all happy). 

This one is a little shorter, but I wanted to get it out since it was relevant to what’s going on now (also sorry the leafs went home but you know I’m a Bruins fan y i k e s)

I hope you like this! _____________

“Kasperi Kapanen, Robertson wants the puck, and he scores! Nick Robertson with his first National Hockey League goal! And it is three, nothing, Toronto.” 

You started screaming, jumping up and down without a care in the world that you might be waking up your roommate, your neighbors, the people below you, anyone else might hear you ecstatic that your boyfriend just scored his first NHL goal. You can think of nothing else but immediately blowing up his phone with texts about how proud you are of him, recording the replay of his goal and posting in on your snap and insta stories. This was everything he had been working for his entire life, even if you hadn’t known him the entire time. Hopefully, this was the first of many goals, whether it was with Toronto or another team that wanted him. 

After the game, the texts on his phone made him smile, especially after losing in overtime, putting them on the brink of going home. One on hand, it would mean going home to see you, but on the other, there was no way he wanted to stop playing in the NHL so soon after he had started. The guys around him weren’t too happy about the loss, either.

“Perk up, bud,” Travis tells him, “It’s one loss. We still have a chance.”

“It’s not the loss,” Nick admits, staring down at his phone. His lock screen, and yours, was a picture the two of you had taken together before the season had started. Over the summer, you went out to his family’s beach house, spending the entire week enjoying the world around you. You were on his back, kissing his cheek while he’s beaming at the camera, even though you couldn’t tell because of his sunglasses. Seeing that picture normally made him happy when he couldn’t see you, but something about tonight, it just wasn’t the same.

“Is it my sister?” Nick nods, staring at the picture. What he would give to see you in person right now. “I get it. I miss my girl and my dog, too. Everyone misses someone.”

Nick looks up at Travis, immediately looking back down at this phone. The two of you looked so much alike, just looking at your brother made him crazy. “I just never imagined my first playoffs would be in a bubble like this. I never thought my first NHL games would be like this.” 

Travis nods, looking at the kid’s face. He understood what it was like to be away from family, hell he even missed you. Nick definitely had it harder than any of the other guys; he was the youngest in the playoffs, he just scored his first goal and couldn’t celebrate with the people he cared about, and he didn’t know if he was going to end his NHL debut in the next game or not. 

Nick was one of the first ones out of the locker room that night. None of the guys were in the mood to celebrate, even if he did just score his first professional goal, and all he wanted to do was go back to his room and Facetime you.

“Alright boys, we have a rookie to cheer up,” Travis says to the remaining guys in the locker room.

-----------

“Babe, I am so proud of you!” you practically screech at the sight of his face on your phone. 

You had been facetime each other nightly, trying to keep up with each other as much as possible. With him in the bubble and you on summer break, not much really happened other than you two just sitting on the phone while you watched the same thing on Netflix. Not that either of you cared; it was the closest thing to being with each other that you could have for who knows how long? 

“Thanks,” he says, halfheartedly. He was right in Toronto, in the same city as you, and yet he still felt so far away from you. He knows that if the two of you were able to be together, then you would be going out right now to celebrate. You would have been at the game, not watching it from the TV, on what was probably some sort of broadcast delay. 

“Nick, what’s wrong?” you could tell her was upset, he wasn’t the best at hiding his emotions. He just scored his first goal, he should be so happy.

“I just miss you,” he says, not looking at you. 

The pain in his voice was heartbreaking. You miss him, too, of course, but him hearing that would just make it hurt even more, wouldn’t it? “I miss you, too. Hell, I even miss Travis. But look at it this way: the longer you’re there, that means the more you’re playing, and the closer you guys are getting to that cup. Next year when you’re on the roster, you’re going to be traveling all the time. Look at this as practice for when you do that.” 

As you’re giving him your mini-lecture, Travis and some of the other guys start blowing up a group chat you didn’t know you were in with them. “Give me one sec?” He nods, going back to watching whatever episode of Supernatural you were on. The boys had a plan, and somehow you think it was going to work.

“Everything alright?” you hear him ask as your phone continues to ding with instructions from Travis and Mitch. Somehow, they were the ones in charge. 

You switch back to Nick, the stream of texts still flowing. “Yeah, everything is perfect.” 

Seeing the smile on your face, he couldn’t help but smile back. “I wish I were with you.”

“Yeah, but that would mean you weren’t doing what you love. I would rather you be playing. And scoring the first of what will be many goals.”

----------

The next night, the boys were playing again. Losing this game meant that they would be going home the next morning, their bid for the cup on hold until the next season, whenever that start date may be. Win this game, play do or die on Sunday. Lose, and go home.

Lose, and go home. That sounded so good to Nick, if he had to be honest. He loved to play, but being in the bubble for this long was way harder than he imagined it would be. He wasn’t focusing at all during the game. The only time he wasn’t thinking about you was when he was actually on the ice. 

Lost this game, and he gets to see you tomorrow. 

But win this game, and he has to wait. And that means he gets to play more hockey, bringing him closer to the cup. 

Auston ends up scoring the game winning goal in overtime, sending the series to game 5. The Leafs had a history of pushing a first round series to the very last game. They just hoped that this time they actually moved past this round instead of exiting early. 

The boys in the locker room were screaming, celebrating that they survived another day in the bubble. Travis tried everything to get Nick to celebrate with them; all of their teammates did. He knew that once he got back to his room, everything would be alright.

“Come on! Live a little! We’re here until Sunday at least. And you can still facetime my sister, you have all day Saturday to text her and call her when we aren’t practicing, and I’m pretty sure you have at least seven thousand photos of her on your phone. Plus, I can get my mom to send me some baby pictures if you really want those,” Travis tells Nick, wrapping his arm around the young player as he sulks back to his room. 

“I should be happy. I just miss Y/N.”

“Yeah, I know. I told you I know. But I think that once you get back in your room, everything will be alright.” 

The look on his face slightly worried Nick. You had been acting weird after you had paused him that first time last night, switching back and forth between his face and something else on your phone, but you wouldn’t tell him what. And you had been nearly radio silent today. What if you were cheating on him while he was in the bubble? Is that something you would do? 

He opens his door, Travis not leaving as Auston and Mitch for some reason join up with them. This was weird, right? Nick could have sworn that he had turned off the lights and the TV in his room when they left for the game, yet both were on. “Oh my god!” he yells when he sees you sitting on the bed.

You practically jump off the bed and into his arms, him hugging you like he was never going to let you go again. 

“How are you here?” he asks. He can feel himself starting to cry, but not in front of the guys. He was just so happy you were actually here.

“I kind of have a great brother,” you say once he puts you down. The three boys are beaming behind you, even though Mitch and Travis were the ones who did everything, Auston was more just in the chat just to be included. 

“We convinced some people to let her in,” Travis admits. “Now let me hug my sister, you get her all night.”

He pries you away from Nick, even though the last thing he wanted to do was let you ago. But he had to let you hug Travis. Hell, he wanted to hug Travis. They somehow managed to get you into the hotel just so you could spend a night with him. 

“Ok, now. Get out,” you say to Travis, wriggling free from Travis and walking back over to Nick. He wraps his arms around you, planting a kiss on your forehead as he forgets that the other guys are even there. “I want to spend the night with my boyfriend, not my brother.” 

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he says once his three teammates leave. He owed them big time, but that was a problem for a later date.

“Well, I missed you, and they said they could get me into the hotel, following other rules which I didn’t question, but hey, we’re going to go with it,” you say.

He pulls you in for a kiss, never wanting it to end. If only you could stay in the bubble with him forever.