#nate mackinnon fic

[bqstqnbruin]

Ghost of You

Hello hello I'm here with a fic that might make you upset oops

This was inspired by some of @laurenairay's 1.5k follower celebration fics and Ghost of You by Five Seconds of Summer

Shoutout to @kat-hearts and @wyattjohnston for reading through this and editing/giving suggestions for this because they're amazing and then I'm tagging @matthewtkachuk and @raysofcrosby just to annoy them

Word Count: 6701

Warnings: Alcohol, Swearing, Mean

Flashbacks are in italics

_________________________________________

You told yourself it would never get serious. It was just supposed to be fun.

Yet, there you were, sitting on the floor of your bedroom feeling like you had your heart ripped out. Your friends told you not to date him, not to get close to him, that there was nothing good that could come from being with him. He wasn’t at the point of wanting to commit to anyone. You thought you wanted the same. 

He was just supposed to be a hookup. 

There was no reason why a fucking social media post should be bothering you the way it did. 

Fuck it. You had time off work banked, you had a car with a tank at least half full of gas from what you remembered, and your mom had just complained that she had hotel points she was going to lose and practically begged you to take off her hands, and you had always wanted to go to Vail, your friends telling you how much fun they had the last time they went without you. 

What better way to get over someone than by just running away from everyone else? 

Your phone was lighting up every few minutes with texts in the group chat, the one that didn’t have him in it, calls from your friends, his teammates, all of them worried about where you were and why you weren’t answering. You were glad someone was worried about you, but you couldn’t pull yourself together long enough to answer their calls or look at their texts without breaking down into that horrible, gut-wrenching sob, the kind that drove you to the point of dry heaving. 

Cale told you he liked you. He told you that he felt a way about you that he didn’t know how to put into words. He looked at you and said he could see himself with you for a while when he hadn’t thought that about anyone, at least not in a long time. 

He didn’t have to tell you he was seeing other girls and that he needed space. He didn’t  need to send the text telling you that he thought it would be better for both of you if you didn’t want to talk anymore because he didn’t want to lead you on. He didn’t have to let you believe that everything he had told you was true, letting you fall for him the way you thought he was falling for you. 

You turned your phone on Do Not Disturb, your lack of ability to know where you’re going and which way you’re heading barring you from turning off your phone completely. All you could do was grab the bag you packed for the weekend, fill up your car with gas, and hit the road for the hour and a half road trip to the hotel in Vail. 

You take one last look through your apartment, the normal “what if I left this plugged in/on and it caught on fire?” panic setting through you in the minutes before you want to leave when you notice the coffee cup sitting there on your kitchen table. 

Cale spent his first night at your place not long after you started seeing each other. You weren’t even really sure if what you were doing was considered dating by the day’s standards, just knowing you were somewhat ‘together.’ You two were out late at a bar with his teammates and some of your friends the night before, Cale insisting on walking you back to your place to make sure you were home safe, not worried about practice the next morning for once in his life. 

The two of you spent the night talking, your laptop perched at the edge of your bed, Cale with his arm pulling you close while your head rested on his chest, his heart beat making you tired with the steady rhythm. You didn’t even realize you had fallen asleep until his alarm was going off that following morning, the two of you entangled in each other and neither of you wanting to move from where you were. 

“You have to get ready for practice,” you whispered, feeling his arms pull you closer when you didn’t think that was possible. 

“I have time,” he murmured against your forehead, a light kiss placed there that made you melt in ways you didn’t know you could. 

“I’m not going to be responsible for you being late,” you tell him, trying to pull away. You had to start getting ready for your day, too, his alarm only making you do it much earlier than you had planned. “Plus, I need coffee.”

Cale mumbled something again, you managing to get yourself free of him, turning around to see his arms still reaching out for you to come back. “No, stay here,” he whined.

“Cale.”

“Please?” 

“I’m making coffee.” 

You laugh to yourself as you hear him calling for you, the coffee pot coming to life and the smell of the drink filling your nose, when you feel Cale’s arms snake around your waist, planting soft kisses along your neck and working his way up to your jaw. You turned your head slightly towards him, his grip tightening as his lips find yours. You turn your body completely to face him, your back arching against the counter as he kisses you harder, a smile on his lips as they make their way back down your neck, your hands making their way to his hair as a small groan leaves his lips when you give it a slight tug. 

“I don’t want to leave,” he tells you, another kiss planted on your lips. 

“You have to, though,” you lament, the coffee behind you finally ready. You turn around with his arms still around you, reaching for the cabinet where you keep an unnecessary amount of mugs that are almost never used. “Which one do you want?”

You held in front of him the two most ridiculous mugs that you had, knowing that the laugh about to come out of him would easily be your new favorite sound. One mug was made in the shape of a bulldog’s head, something your dad claimed he got when he was visiting a friend at Georgetown, but there’s no way a university with that much intelligence would sell something like that, the other one something that had to be given at a retirement party or a memorial service or something, an old man named ‘Randall’ plastered on it in various states of adulthood with the dates 1960-2020 written on it. 

“You know, Serina told me about these,” he starts, holding back more laughter and referring to your best friend. “But, she really didn’t do them justice.” 

“Whichever one you pick is yours , the unofficial ‘Cale’ mug of my apartment.” 

He laughed, kissing you again in a way that made you want him to keep doing it forever. “I guess I’ll take Randall?” 

You meant to throw out the mug, donate back to the thrift store that you got it from a few years ago since Cale was the only one in your apartment who was allowed to use it. Every time he was over, it was out on the table. Every time he left, it was in your dishwasher to be cleaned for the next time he was coming. You didn’t even remember putting it on the table. 

You swallow hard, putting the mug in the corner of your kitchen where a pile of his stuff that you didn’t want to look at already sat. 

Your phone lights up, one of your friends using the ‘notify anyway,’ feature that made your blood boil. You didn’t want to talk to anyone. They all had your location, they could see where you were.

Driving was your least favorite thing to do, avoiding it at all costs, so the fact that you even thought you were going to take a road trip by yourself on the premise of ignoring everyone you could talk to, was baffling. Just you and your thoughts with only the road to distract you.

The little tv screen on the gas station started talking to you, one of those stupid commercials that probably didn’t pay their actors enough making more noise than any car on the street. The commercial couldn’t bother you as much as what you forgot was in the back seat of your car, the Stanley Cup playoffs sweatshirt Cale gave to you sitting there, slightly faded and probably incredibly dirty having rarely been washed, staring back at you like it was taunting you. 

The night before the game, Cale was a wreck. He was in his hotel room in Boston, he called you panicking, pacing back and forth on the hotel carpet. “What happens if we lose?”

“Then you come back and win game seven at home,” you tried to reassure him. 

“What if we lose because of me?”

“Has that happened before?”

“No specific examples that I can think of come to mind, but what if I blocked them out because of the trauma?”

You bit your lip, finding it weirdly endearing that he was this nervous about the game. You knew how much was riding on this, the Avs down 3-2 in the series, meaning this was win that game and force the even more nerve wracking game seven, or lose and hope for next year. “While that is totally valid,” you started, “In the time that I have known you, you have not been the reason the team lost a game.” 

“What if-”

“Cale,” you cut him off, “I get that you’re nervous, but you know the best way to go to sleep before a game is to be calm.”

“Easier said than done,” he huffed.

“I know. What can I do to help?”

He stays silent for a minute, the pacing finally stopping. “Honestly?”

“Yes, honestly.”

“I wish you could be here for the game tomorrow.” 

You felt your heart break, knowing that the one thing he apparently wanted was the one thing you couldn’t give him. “Cale,” you breathe out. 

“There’s a flight from Denver to Boston tomorrow morning that would get you here before we’re done with practice.” 

“You’re looking at flights for me?” 

“If you want to. I’d pay,” he offered.

“Cale, I can’t let you do that,” you started. You weren’t together. You were just supposed to be hooking up, and the fact that he was about to pay how much money for you to get on a flight to see him halfway across the country was something you didn’t do for someone you were just hooking up with. You hadn’t even been to one of his games yet. Only some of his teammates knew you two even knew each other. “I can’t get the time off work with this short of notice unless I have a doctor’s note.” He had to know it was a lie, you feeling a pinch in your chest when the silence on the other end of the line went longer than you had wanted it to. “I’m sorry.”

He cleared his throat, finally, your heart breaking with the sound. You knew he was disappointed. You wanted to make him feel better, but this was too much right now. You still hadn’t even had the conversation about what you were to each other. “No, no, I forgot, sorry. It’s fine.”

“Cale-”

“Hey, I gotta get going,” he tells you, hanging up on you before you can say anything else.

You weren’t wrong, were you? It would have been amazing to fly out on short notice to see a game where your favorite team won the cup. To be there with a player you were dating? Even better. But you weren’t dating him. You liked him, sure. What’s not to like about this perfect guy, an incredibly sweet person who you feel lucky enough to know, your heart skipping a beat whenever his name shows up on your phone screen, when you hear your friends or coworkers mention his name in conversation, only a few of them knowing that you were seeing him in any capacity. 

You had the sudden urge to call him back, tell him that you weren’t going to say fuck it to work and that you would be there waiting for him when he was done with practice. Your finger hovered over his name in your call log, the outgoing call could show up on your screen in a matter of seconds if you just pressed the button. 

You couldn’t do it. 

That would be something you did if you were his girlfriend and you wanted to go see him in one of the biggest games of his career. You would do it if what you had with him was serious, or you at least knew for sure how you felt about each other, you knew where this was going. You had no answers and now was not the time to find them out when the guy you needed the answers from was busy pacing back and forth in a hotel room and probably on his way to vomiting. 

The next night, you were with your friends in a shitty bar watching them, the black and gold logo at center ice mocking you as the score was 4-0. The camera panned over Cale, the bar too loud to hear what the announcers were saying, but you knew it wasn’t good. They were saying the exact things Cale was worried about the night before, that he wasn’t playing his best and that it was his fault they weren’t winning the game. There was minimal chance of recovery for them at this point, and while it wasn’t impossible, Boston had done it before, the Avs hadn’t to your knowledge. The game looked like it was about to end, a shutout loss for the team in the game that could have kept their hopes alive. 

The camera flashed back over to Cale, his mouth covered by his glove as he fought back tears. This was supposed to be their year. It was supposed to be them winning the cup.

You left the bar before the game was fully over, the image of Cale in tears enough to make you do the same. You shouldn’t be this broken up over a boy you weren’t seeing. There was no need to be this broken up over him. 

You started walking home, the air cooling down as it got later in the night. You felt your phone vibrating, expecting it to be one of your friends asking you where you went. 

Cale’s name flashed on your phone, your heart racing. You were afraid to answer it. What were you going to do if he was crying on the other end of the call, if you could hear the guys in the background also upset. You weren’t sure you could take it. 

You reluctantly answer, letting out a weak hello in anticipation of him being upset. 

“You should have been here,” he said, an angry tone in voice that you weren’t expecting. 

“What?”

“You should have been here,” he repeated, his voice breaking ever so slightly. “I spent the entire game wishing you were here, that I could look up to the box and know you were there even if I couldn’t see you, and it fucked me up. We lost because of me. We lost because you weren’t there.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” you spit, “I told you I couldn’t come. How is it my fault I can’t just leave my job?”

“You should have been here,” he tells you a third time, his voice raised this time, “Up in the box with all the wives and girlfriends.”

“I guess I would have to be a wife or a girlfriend to be there, then, huh?” You hung up before he could say anything else, a sob escaping your body that you didn’t even know you had in you. 

Cale spent the rest of the night trying to reach you, texting, calling, dming on social media, any form of communication you ever had between each other was being used by him while you ignored him. 

How dare he blame you for the team losing the game. He wasn’t the only person on the team, and he wasn’t even on the ice for three of the goals. It wasn’t his fault they lost, and it definitely wasn’t yours, either. 

You fell asleep angry, your phone never ceasing to be lit up by Cale’s constant attempts to reach you. He had family he could call, someone else he could contact. Anyone besides you, the person he was hooking up with in a way that wasn’t supposed to be serious. 

You woke up the next morning, unsure if the pounding was from the brutal hangover made worse by your bad mood, or if someone was trying to break down your door. You get out of bed, sure to mention a few expletives while you make your way to your door to find Cale standing on the other side, eyes bloodshot and his face looking pale. 

“I’m sorry.”

You stood there, staring at him, trying to process him being there in the first place. You clench your jaw, trying to stay with the same attitude you had the night before. “You should be.” 

You invite him in, Cale finding his way to your couch. You sit on the opposite side, trying to position yourself as far away as possible. “That was unfair of me,” he started. You sit there, waiting for him to continue. “I shouldn’t expect stuff like that from you when we aren’t, you know,” his voice trailed off.

He should just say it to you, tell you that you weren’t actually his girlfriend. You wanted to hear it from him, even if it was going to rip your heart out in the process. 

“I like you, Cale. A lot,” you told him.

“I like you, a lot, too,” he said, shifting himself so he was sitting right next to you. He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you close to kiss the side of your head. You wanted more from him, more than just the confirmation that you liked each other. You had been playing this game for more than a month now, that stupid hook up turning serious when you weren’t supposed to get this close. 

“I brought you something,” he broke the silence that had fallen between the two of you. He pulls the sweatshirt off his body, the one that he had been wearing for the last month and a half or so, the one that was for the playoffs that each player got. “You keep stealing my sweatshirts when you stay over, I figured I would give you one, instead.” 

That fucking sweatshirt. You jump when the pump clicks off, momentarily forgetting that you were outside a gas station at that very moment. You could just throw the sweatshirt out, the trash right there between the pumps. You take the sweatshirt out of your backseat, standing there in front of the trash can longer than you probably should. You couldn’t throw it out. You pop your trunk, throwing it behind your bag that was sitting there waiting to be in a hotel room with you, relaxing and far away from everyone. 

What else did you have to do besides drive to the hotel at this point? You check your phone one last time before you hit the road, the notifications not stopping as your friends start to panic when they watched you leave the house, your ‘Find My Friends’ feature showing them you were at the gas station. 

‘I’m fine, just need to get away,’ you send them, not wanting to give them anymore. 

You scroll through the rest of the notifications, your mom the only person who really knew where you were going. You see a notification from Nate, one of Cale’s teammates and one of Serina’s best friends, a missed call for the first time in who knows how long. 

You try to ignore the notification, that one sticking out to you more than the rest. Plugging in the directions to the hotel, you finally start driving towards Vail. 

Everyone around you was beyond shit faced. The Avs were about to start training camp, the last party someone thought to throw at one of their houses before they had to get back to work after the previous season. They were out for blood, but first they were out of alcohol. 

It was a surreal experience to be the most sober person in a room. You weren’t able to operate machinery or make big decisions in any capacity, but you at least were sure you were going to remember the rest of the night. 

You were sitting on the couch by yourself, scrolling through your Instagram feed, trying to ignore the fact that Cale was on the other side of the room, flirting with some girl one of the other guys brought. 

He had the right to. You still weren’t exclusive, still not calling each other anything more than the person you were hooking up with. You weren’t seeing anyone else, but you hadn’t told him that. You didn’t even want to ask if he was seeing anyone else. That was only going to lead to you being upset. And while you’re drunk, you shouldn’t be upset. Because when you’re upset and drunk, you were bound to make a stupid decision.

No matter what was on the screen in front of your face, you couldn’t help but look up at Cale. You knew he saw you. You knew you were right in his line of sight. You had caught him looking over at you a few times already, a stupid smirk on his face that made your blood boil. He knew what he was doing. 

Motherfucker.

“You called?” Nate said, plopping down next to you with such force your phone falls out of your hands and onto the floor. When you look at him confused, he continued, “You said, ‘motherfucker,’ so I made a bad joke.”

“I didn’t know I said that out loud,” you admit. 

Nate laughed, loudly, or at least, loud enough to make the heat rush to your cheeks, and enough for Cale’s attention to finally turn to you for more than a second. The smirk on his face immediately turned to a scowl when he saw Nate, probably sitting too close to you for his own comfort. 

“So what’s up with you and Cale?” Nate asked. You shrug, hating that you had to have this conversation yet again after having to have it with your friends who knows how many times. “He’s not your boyfriend, though, is he?”

You shook your head. “Nope. Not at all.” 

A sickening smile grew on Nate’s face, his arm snaking away around your waist. “Is this ok, then?” he whispered. 

You could see Cale’s face getting red from here, watching Nate flirt with you like he was. Nate knew what he was doing. The entire team knew what you and Cale were up to, there’s no way he didn’t know. “Yes,” you said. 

Nate got as close to you as he could, pulling you so you were practically sitting in his lap. “What about this?” he asked, his hot breath tickling your neck.

“Yes,” you told him again, turning your head to face him, his lips tantalizingly close to you. You glance to the side, Cale’s entire body now turned towards you and Nate. You didn’t want to kiss his teammate, which was where it looked like this was going, but if it made Cale feel anything about you, you were sure it was worth it. 

Before you could process what was going on, Nate’s lips were on yours, moving fast in the way that Cale’s always did at first, that urgency and hunger that he had for you showing with how he couldn’t wait to have your entire body touching his. 

He wasn’t Cale, though. He was Nate, not Cale. 

The only thing going through your mind was that he wasn’t Cale. 

You pull away just as fast as Nate had pulled you in, managing to get out of his grip and got off the couch as fast as you could. You ran to the nearest door you could get into upstairs, your heart racing as you searched to see if you were the only one in the room. You couldn’t have someone in there watch you break down over a guy. 

You waited in the room for what felt like forever, the stupid drunk part of you thinking that Cale would come through the door to see you. Or at least Nate would check to make sure you were ok. 

Neither of them came. 

You felt like you were already driving for hours, when it really was just twenty minutes alone with your own thoughts. How were you supposed to get away from everything when it seemed like everything you saw reminded you of a fucking guy? 

Your music wasn’t enough to keep your thoughts away from Cale, every one with lyrics about being in love or about feeling like you weren’t good enough. Why were those the only two moods you felt? 

Your stomach starts to make noises, suddenly remembering that you hadn’t eaten anything since the afternoon before at work, wondering how well you could navigate the roads of whatever small town you were driving through at that moment to find food. You reprogram your GPS quickly, a diner about five minutes off the exit of the highway. You weren’t even sure what you wanted, you just knew you had to have something. 

A waitress comes over to where you sat down, ordering a burger and fries since it was the only thing you could comprehend as something you’d eat while you tried to figure out why the place seemed vaguely familiar. 

Diners had a weird place in your mind. They were the place where you went at 2 in the morning with your friends after a drunk night, where you went for cheap food and lots of it for breakfast at noon or later after a drunk night, or where you got something quick to eat before getting drunk that night. You could probably count on one hand the number of times you had been to a diner where alcohol wasn’t involved at some point around going. 

Cale had texted you that night that he wanted you to come over. You did, because of course you did. You wanted to see him, and apparently he wanted to see you. You spent the night together, waking up with his arms wrapped around you, his bare chest pressed against your back and his breath tickling the back of your neck. Every time you woke up like this, you couldn’t help but feel like you could fall for him harder than you already did, like you could be with him more than you already were. 

Cale stirred awake, mumbling something against your neck after pressing a sweet kiss against your skin. You turn over, stretching and yawning as he finally released you from his grasp. 

“Wow,” he said, his raspy voice making your heart skip a beat. He stared at you for a second before continuing, “You are beautiful.”

You didn’t know what to say to him, leaning over to him to kiss him as the only response you could think of. You wanted this to be more with him. 

“Hey, can we,” you started, not entirely sure where you were going to end up. 

“Let’s get breakfast,” he said before you could finish, jumping out of bed and throwing a shirt on. He handed you one of his sweatshirts, it hanging on you and hugging you with his smell. You still had the sweatshirt he had given you up in your apartment, sitting on your bed and afraid to wash it because you didn’t want to lose that scent. 

He drove you outside the city, a small diner that you had never heard of. Everything was shockingly blue, the seats, the tables, the walls, you were sure the lighting also was as well. 

“How do you know about this place?” you asked him as you slid across from each other in the booth, confused as to why he would bring you here, of all places, when there were plenty of breakfast places within walking distance of his apartment, 

He shrugged, reaching across the table to take your hand in his, his thumb aimlessly tracing the back of your hand. “I found this place my first year here. I come here when I want to get away from the city but can’t really get away for any meaningful amount of time. It’s kinda special to me.” 

Your heart skipped a beat. Him taking you to a place that was special? That had to mean something, right? “I’m honored, then,” you blushed. He had never really taken you anywhere in public, not without your friends or his teammates. Was this a date? 

“I’ve taken some of the guys here, too,” he told you, releasing your hand to look through the menu. “Nate’s favorite thing, surprisingly, is the banana walnut french toast.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of his teammate known for having an incredibly strict and almost grossly healthy diet, having something that sounded so sickeningly sweet with a cinnamon maple syrup and whipped cream on it as the menu description told you. 

Your mind jumps back to that night with Nate, wondering in that moment what he was doing, who he had woken up next to, where he was spending the morning of his off day. 

Would you have gone further with Nate if Cale weren’t right there? Would you have had anything with Nate at all if Cale weren’t there?

That’s why the diner was familiar to you: Cale had brought you here plenty of times since that day. It was your breakfast ‘date’ place, even though he never actually had an answer for you when you tried to ask him if they were dates. He avoided the question at every chance, never wanting to commit to anything more than that. 

A couple sitting at the other end of the diner, sitting on the same side of the booth, sharing a plate of fries and looked at each other as if no one else existed around them. 

You hated them.

You and Serina somehow ended up at a restaurant downtown that you had never been before, and from the looks of the menu, it made sense why you weren’t there ever. It was way more expensive than any other place you had ever been, even a simple salad being more than what you were really willing to spend on a bowl of lettuce. 

“Why are we here?” you whispered to your friend, slightly mad that she would bring you here without telling you where you were going first. She had to know you would never have agreed to a place like this if she told you ahead of time. 

Serina gives you a look that told you she’s up to something, something that you were sure you were going to hate. “You’ll see.”

“What does that mean?”

“Can you relax? This is supposed to be a nice treat for you.”

“Oh, so you’re paying?”

Serina scoffed, your anxiety spiking instantly. “No.”

“Well I can’t afford this and I don’t think this is a great treat if I’m expected to pay.”

“No, you’re not paying.” 

“Well the only other option is something illegal, and neither of us would survive in prison if we commit a felony.” 

“I don’t think skipping out on our bill would land us in prison.” The entire time, Serina didn’t look up from her menu, your heart racing and the prospect of what she had planned. Her phone lit up on the table, a call from someone you couldn’t make out showing on her screen. “Oh, hey, I’ll be right back.”

Before you could argue, Serina was gone, the phone to her ear and you left alone in a place you didn’t want to be. You start looking around; you could just get up and walk out the door. Serina took her bag with her, so it was just you at the table and your waiter or waitress hadn’t even come over to you yet. It wasn’t illegal to sit at a table for a little bit. They willingly lead you there. 

“Hey,” you heard from behind you, a hand placed gently on your shoulder that still made you jump. 

You turned to see who it was, expecting it to be Serina rejoining you at the table. “Nate?” 

The burger came, no one on the other side of you like there was that night, the couple across the diner still mocking you without them realizing it. You hadn’t expected Nate to show up, for him and Serina to be planning that little swap between the two of them since that night at the party. You especially hadn’t expected him to apologize for not chasing after you that night like he thought he should have. He saw Cale, instead, who asked him why he was talking to you that night, if you had talked before. 

Apparently Cale had dropped the conversation as quickly as it started, the girl he was talking to while you were on the couch with Nate taking his hand and dragging him off somewhere else. 

The food was still sitting in front of you, completely untouched. You check your notifications, your friends still trying to figure out why you up and left the way you did. 

If you were being honest, you weren’t a hundred percent sure. Something inside of you broke when you were scrolling social media, his post shattering your heart in ways you didn’t know was possible. You didn’t know why you were feeling this way, this was just supposed to be a hookup. 

“Why were you with him?” Cale had texted you that he was on his way over, not giving you anything else when you asked him why. As soon as you opened the door to your apartment, he pushed past you, his face red and his voice loud. 

“What are you talking about?”

“Why were you with Nate the other night?” 

“Serina planned a date for us.”

“How could you cheat on me?”

You stood there, shocked, feeling all the anger that Cale was feeling and more. “What the fuck are you talking about? We aren’t together. You’ve made that very clear to me.” 

“We are together. We’re seeing each other,” he tried to defend himself. 

“Really?” you scoffed. “Because last time we even talked about what we are to each other, all we could say was that we liked each other. That was months ago Cale, and all we’ve done is had random hook ups here and there, getting together when you want to, talking to each other when you have the time. If you wanted to be with me, you would have taken me on a date like Nate did fucking ages ago.” 

“That’s not fair.”

“Not fair? No, Cale, what’s not fair is you leading me on all this time.” 

It was apparently Cale’s turn to scoff, turning his head so he wasn’t even looking at you as he rolled his eyes. “Leading you on?”

“Yeah,” you practically screamed back at him. “You tell me you like me, and then you do nothing to show it. You take me to that random fucking diner and refuse to call it a date, you never take me anywhere, and what about the time when you told me I should fly to Boston to be there for the game on a moments notice? You act like you care about me when it seems convenient for you.” 

“What about you?” he spit back, “We both agreed that this would never be serious, so sorry if I kept my promise.” 

“Get out,” you yelled. You felt tears coming on, and the last thing you were going to do was cry in front of him. 

“I,” he started, taking a step towards you. 

You jerk back, startling Cale in the process. “Get out of my fucking apartment,” you yell again, Cale storming off before you can process what even really happened. You plop yourself on the couch, the shock of whatever that fight was hitting you like a tsunami, letting out a violent sob that your neighbors could probably hear. 

That couple looked so happy. God, it made you sick. 

You pay your tab without eating the food, your appetite leaving you just as fast as you got out of the building. You couldn’t believe you hadn’t recognized all the blue in that building. Cale had taken you on that route who knows how many times before. 

The rest of your drive passes without you actually paying attention. You felt like you were on autopilot even though you were driving somewhere you had never been before. 

The resort your mom had told you about was beautiful, the king bed once you got into your room calling your name. You flopped down on the soft mattress, finally letting out a breath as you felt all your worries melting away. You throw your phone in your bag, hoping that was enough for you to not think about it as you just laid there and relaxed.

Cale had just texted you that he didn’t think what you had could go any further, especially after the fight the two of you had. The worst part? You didn’t care. 

What you did care about was that he had told you by telling you that you weren’t the only person he was seeing. He told you maliciously, as if that was an out for him. You two weren’t serious, it was never meant to be serious after all, just like your friends had said it wouldn’t be. 

You hated yourself for thinking they were all wrong. 

“What are you thinking about?” Serina asked you, pulling you away from the texts that you were rereading for what had to be the hundredth time from Cale. 

“Men fucking suck.” 

“Hey, you found a good one, though.”

You didn’t realize you fell asleep, your sadness from earlier in the day draining your energy more than you thought it would. You only woke up because you heard knocking at your door. 

You groggily shuffle to the door, opening it without checking through the peephole even though you probably should have. 

“Nate?” 

Before saying anything, he pulls you in for a hug, a sigh of relief coming out as he planted a kiss on the top of your head. “I’m fine with you needing to get away for any reason, but next time can you tell me you’re going instead of me having to find out from your mom?” 

“Sorry,” you mumble against his chest, his smell instantly calming you. 

He pulls you into your room, a bag you didn’t notice before dragging behind him. “I’ll leave if you want me to, if you really need to be alone.”

“No,” you say, plopping down on the bed, Nate following suit, “I’m fine with you being here. I like that you’re here.” 

He pulls you close again, his arm around your waist. “Do you want to talk about what happened?” You stay silent. Nate knew you better than anyone, so he had to know what happened. “You saw Cale’s post.” 

You hated that a stupid Instagram post from Cale still had this much power over you. There was no reason why him getting engaged should crush you when you had been dating Nate for almost two years. 

Nate sits silent after you nod, trying to figure out what to say. “He really did a number on you, huh?” You nod, not sure where to even begin with your words. “What does that mean for us?”

“I don’t know.” 

#cale makar #cale makar fic #nate mackinnon #nathan mackinnon #nate mackinnon fic #nathan mackinnon fic #colorado avalanche #colorado avalanche fic #avalanche #avalanche fic #avs

[fallinallincurls]

Under The Mistletoe (With You)

sooo @tonyspep and i have created this whole verse that you’ve only gotten a taste of so far through my fic without a doubt, my heart will lead me to you (two) and gina’s if home is where the heart is, then i’m homesick for you! this fun little fic is part of the same verse! we don’t get to see the mini macs aka noah, kat or miles here, but this the softest moment of nate and the reading falling in love and i had fun writing this. happy holidays!

there’s PLENTY of background built for this verse already so my asks are open for any and every question in relation to this eek!

hope you enjoy!! feedback is always appreciated! xx

word count: 1.6k

~~~~~

Denver received the season’s first dusting of snow yesterday, signaling winter’s anticipated arrival. It meant the holidays were right around the corner and your favorite day of the year was finally here.

You couldn’t mark the specific date on the calendar, but no matter when the first snowfall happened, it meant you’d be spending the next day decorating the bakery. Stringing up colorful lights, putting gifts under a small tree, hanging ornaments and cutting paper snowflakes. Everything from the display case to the front windows and anything in between got some kind of holiday decoration.

Today was that day. And unlike the last few years where you’ve done it all by yourself, you get to share the tradition with someone else now. Someone you love more than anything. 

“Nate, can you grab the strand of little snowflakes please?” You ask from atop the little step stool you’re currently standing on, a finger pointed at one of the many boxes on the floor. He nods, a soft smile on display across his lips as he finds said snowflakes in the box.

“Where do these go?” The question is gentle like he’s memorizing where every single one of the decorations go so he remembers in the future. That thought alone makes your heart swell. You might have only been dating for a year now, but something about Nate feels like forever. And you’ve never shared decorating the bakery with anyone else, not even your best friend, so the fact he’s here right now with you putting up lights and tiny Christmas trees and making snowflakes is proof he’s special.

“Across the top of all the windows. So it looks like it's snowing.” You reply with a giggle, leaning down to kiss him. “If you want to get started on the other side, we could meet in the middle so that way these are done quicker?”

“Sounds like a plan, babe.” Nate smiles, kissing you one more time before getting to work on the opposite end of the front windows with his own string of snowflakes. The cutest look of concentration crosses over his face as he carefully hangs the decoration and your heart swells at the sight. 

The soft notes of Christmas music fill the bakery and the golden glow of fairy lights make the scene feel even more magical than it usually does. Except you think that has more to do with the man who is taking part in your yearly tradition than anything else. You keep sneaking peeks at Nate, hoping he doesn’t catch you, and it’s another reminder of just how lucky you are.  

He’s humming “Holly Jolly Christmas” to himself as he focuses on decorating, his sweater riding up just enough to expose a sliver of his toned stomach. A long, gold strand of tinsel hangs around his neck and his cheeks are tinted the cutest color pink either from blush or how warm it is in the bakery. There’s that familiar glint of pure joy evident in his blue eyes that not many get to see, but you do and you’re forever grateful for that. 

You almost can’t believe that a year or so ago, Nate was a stranger. Someone who walked into Colorado Cookie Company, shy as anything, to compliment the batch of cookies you made for the Avs charity event. Never in a million years did you think he would become this important, take up this much room in your heart.

And yet, here you are.

“Done!” Nate exclaims, putting his hands up in a mini celebration as he steps off the stool to admire his work. “Not so bad if I do say so myself.”

“Nathan MacKinnon. One of the NHL’s biggest stars and secretly amazing at decorating for the holidays. Quite the tiny snowflake expert.” 

“Hey,” Nate pouts dramatically, picking up on your teasing tone and playing along. You can’t help but giggle at the look on his face but join him to look up at the snowflakes now hanging about the big front windows. 

Before he gets the chance to say anything else in response or think of a comeback, you pull him in for a soft, gentle kiss that speaks volumes without a single word being uttered.

“I love you. Thank you for doing this.” 

Nate is floored. He might still be getting used to the idea of really, truly being in love (although he knows he is) and the kiss might have caught him by surprise, but it just occurs how much this means to you.

Decorating the bakery, a place that’s another home to you, isn’t something to take lightly. This is another step in your relationship, a big one. Nate knew it was important when you invited him to join in on the tradition, but it’s just occurring to him that this is something he could be doing every year for the rest of his life. 

And my god, he wants that so bad.

“I love you too. I’m happy to be here. Nowhere else I’d rather be.” And he means it because every word is true.

The sweetest smile appears on his lips before the two of you share a few more kisses. But you playfully push him away a minute later, your beautiful laugh making Nate undeniably happy.

“Save those for later. We’ve gotta get this done.”

“Okay, okay. What’s next?” Nate questions, following you to another box of decorations where you hand him the small Christmas tree that will be full of holiday wishes soon and a little menorah for the counter.

It only takes a couple more hours of dancing together to whatever Christmas song was playing, sharing kisses and making sure every inch of the bakery was covered in holiday spirit to finish decorating. Even if you do this every year, the final product always takes your breath away. 

“It’s beautiful,” Nate murmurs, kissing the top of your head and wrapping his arms around you from behind. A comfortable moment of silence settles as you both take in the scene together. 

“There’s just one thing missing.” 

Nate’s brows furrow in confusion as you leave his tight embrace. What else could possibly be missing? He’s never seen a place as decked out as your little bakery is right now. But before he can say anything in response, you’re holding up a small bundle of mistletoe. 

“Oh,” is all Nate says, the cutest blush spreading across his cheeks. You can’t help but giggle at how bashful he suddenly is.

“Wanna help me hang it up?” You ask in a soft tone. Nate nods, stepping closer and carefully taking hold of the plant. “Right in the doorway.”

Without any other direction, Nate somehow puts the mistletoe in the perfect spot. He flashes a beaming smile towards you, proud of his work, and a feeling of comfort like no other courses through your veins. You rush into him so fast that he lets out a little “oof” at the impact before pulling you in closer as you hug him as tightly as possible.

It isn’t until you look up at him a few moments later, heart full of indescribable love, that you realize where you’re both standing. Under the mistletoe in the doorway. 

“I think,” Nate starts, cheeks becoming pink again as the cutest smile appears on his face, “this is the part where we kiss. Mistletoe and all, you know.” 

“Well then, handsome, what are you waiting for?”

Nate doesn’t waste any time leaning in and closing the space between you. He feels you smiling against his lips as he deepens the kiss, pulling you impossibly closer. It’s a kiss like no other and you can’t place why, but you try to commit every detail to memory. The warmth of Nate’s hands on your hips, how you can feel his emotions through the kiss and how at home you feel right now; it’s something you didn’t think you’d ever get to experience. 

When you pull away, you find Nate’s blue eyes full of a kind of fondness you haven’t seen before. He kisses you a few more times underneath the mistletoe, earning warm laughs from you in return.

“I can’t wait to do this with our kids one day.” He says suddenly as you’re carding through his hair. The words shock you for a second before the thought enters your mind. Little feet running around the bakery, helping decorate the small tree and Nate lifting them up to string lights around the windows. Handprint Christmas tree art hanging on the wall next to the family pictures and the sound of happy baby laughs mixed with holiday music. 

You can see it all. And standing here, in Nate’s arms under the mistletoe after sharing one of your dearest traditions with him, makes it feel a little more real.

“Our kids?” You tease him, giggling at the expression on his face.

“Yeah, our kids. Can’t you see it?” The look of love and hope are hard to miss and it’s enough to make those recurring thoughts of spending the rest of your life with him reappear. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, bubs. We’ve got a while to go until we get there.” 

“But we’ll get there?”

“We’ll get there. For now, I’m gonna steal as many mistletoe kisses as I can and decorate the bakery with you until a little one comes along.” You giggle, kissing him again to which Nate sweeps you off your feet and twirls you around to the music still playing. The holidays might be the most wonderful time of the year, but you know with Nate here, it’ll be extra special like never before.

taglist: @tonyspep @miracleonice87 @starshine-hockey-girl @kailyn-writes @happer08 @stroopwaffle8 @nateslehky @rosesvioletshardy @sorryjustafangirl @laurenairay @hockeyunits @musiclove-12 @ilyasorokinn @jostystyles @comphyjost @ya-pucking-nerd @beauvibaby @sourjoonie @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 @itrocksmysocks @typical-simplelove @boqvistsbabe @eightmakar @antoineroussel @suitandtys @equallyshaw​ @andreburakozy​ 

#nathan mackinnon #nate mackinnon #nathan mackinnon fic #nate mackinnon fic #nathan mackinnon imagine #nate mackinnon imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic #colorado avalanche #nathan mackinnon x reader #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nathan mackinnon fluff #hwncloud #mackinnon #fluff

[spine-buster]

That Which We Are, We Are | Nathan MacKinnon | Chapter 4

gif credit @/happer08

A/N: so excited for this one...hope you guys enjoy!

CW: this chapter contains three instances of bullying of an overweight person

Sorcha was busy at work when she felt her phone buzz on her desk beside her. After finishing up the email she had to write to her boss, she looked over.

lunch @ lot six?

She couldn’t help but smile at the screen. She swiped on the notification and began typing.

I’m in a meeting until 1. Can you meet that late?

She didn’t even have to wait to see the three-dot bubble pop up.

yeah np. i meet w sid at 3 anyway.

God, she was going to kill him. Not only had she and Nate exchanged numbers after walking along the Halifax harbourfront after their dinner, but they’d been texting non-stop. Even worse, they’d send each other pictures of Juno and Cox looking cute or doing stupid stuff. Even worse, they’d been going for lunches together almost every day since. Sorcha could count only twice in two weeks that Nate couldn’t do lunch because he was working out with Sidney Crosby or had some other prior commitment to do with hockey. Otherwise, Sorcha was out with him at a new restaurant every day. One day, it was even another dinner. Sorcha couldn’t believe what was happening, but she wasn’t exactly doing anything to push him away. Instead, she was smiling down at her phone. Fuck.

“Whose got you smiling?” Sorcha’s boss, Janet, asked as she saw Sorcha’s smile.

“No-one.”

“Oh come on, Sorcha.”

“It’s Victoria,” Sorcha covered, because she mentioned Victoria a lot and Janet knew who Victoria was and there was no way that anybody, let alone Janet, was going to learn that it was Nathan MacKinnon texting her and making her smile. The only person who knew was Victoria. Not even her parents knew, because they didn’t have to. Nobody had to. “She sent me a funny meme.”

“Can I see the funny meme?”

Sorcha tried not to roll her eyes as she swiped quickly to get to hers and Victoria’s Instagram messages, the last of which was Victoria sending her a reel of a shiba sitting at a bar yelping at a bartender for “cutting him off” from the empty pint glass in front of him. Janet cracked a smile as she watched the video before Sorcha pulled her phone back. “Hilarious and cute, right?” Sorcha offered.

“I know you’re lying.”

Sorcha saw another text coming in from Nate.

what would u do if sid came to lunch?

I’d kill you in your sleep, Nathan.

***

“What do you think of the headband?” Sorcha asked as she FaceTimed with Victoria, modeling her new purchase for her best friend. “Do you think it’s too much?”

“Of course not!” Victoria said. “It’s really pretty. The sheer volume of your hair tones it down a bit, anyway. And besides, it’s black velvet and pearls. It’s very classic. It’s not like it’s super loud.”

“I want to wear it with that black dress that has the pencil skirt,” Sorcha mentioned. “You know, the classic all black outfit with pearls.”

“It’ll look good. But what about with a high, tight ballerina bun? I think that would look really chic, don’t you think?”

Sorcha wasn’t thinking. She only really heard Victoria speak, but she wasn’t listening. A text had come through from Nate and it covered the top part of Victoria’s face.

this reminds me of u

Sorcha had always maintained that someone sending “This reminded me of you” was one of the nicest, most sentimental, sincere, earnest, and heartfelt things to send to another person. It had just happened to her, now, with Nathan MacKinnon. “Uh, w—what was that? You broke up a bit,” she tried to cover, tapping on the notification and being led to their text history. He’d sent her a picture of a meme.

Sorcha snorted. She typed quickly, hoping it wouldn’t be noticeable.

how did you even find that lmfao

“What’s funny?” Victoria asked.

“N-Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Sorcha tried to cover.

Victoria eyed her suspiciously. She saw the look on Sorcha’s face and slowly, yet somehow all at once, it hit her. “Oh my God, did Nate text you?”

“No.”

“Buuuuuullshiiiiiit!” she screamed, her voice even cracking slightly. “You can’t fool me, bitch.”

Sorcha couldn’t get anything past Victoria. She should have known better. “He sent me a meme he said reminded him of me,” she revealed. “It was about art curating.”

“Oh my Goooddd,” Victoria practically gagged. “He’s really turning on the charm for you, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know if he’s turned it on or if he just, like, has it naturally,” Sorcha admitted – she hated to.

She watched as Victoria’s eyebrows furrowed through the screen. “Are we…are we talking about the same Nathan MacKinnon? Like, we are talking about the same Nathan MacKinnon that never said a fucking word to all of his friends that bullied you, right?”

“Right. That’s the one. That’s the Nathan MacKinnon,” Sorcha sounded like she had her tail between her legs.

“I don’t quite know what’s going on between you two, but God would I love to see,” Victoria commented.

“You two interacting together would be just an absolute delight,” Sorcha said sarcastically. Victoria wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut about what Nate did (or didn’t?) do to her in high school. If Victoria saw Shane, Sorcha was sure she’d buy a crossbow and shoot him between the eyes. “Too bad he’ll probably be back in Denver by the time you visit.”

***

“Good girl, Juno! Good fetch!” Sorcha cooed as she scratched behind Juno’s ears. Juno was eager for the ball to be thrown again, even barking at Sorcha for taking too long. Sorcha had a decent arm, so she threw it as far as she could across the park, watching Juno bolt towards it before grabbing it in her mouth and bringing it back. “What a good girl you are Juno!”

BARK!

Sorcha felt her phone buzz in her pocket as she threw the ball again. She got it out to read the text. She already knew who it was from.

she’s adorable can’t believe u trained her to twirl cox can’t even do that

Sorcha couldn’t help but smile as she began typing.

It was a lot of work. Probably overfed her on the treats trying to do it, but now she does it easily.

BARK!

i’m trying to train cox on how to get me beer from the fridge

Of course you are.

BARK! BARK!

Are you gonna teach him how to make you lunch too?

german shepherds are supposed to be smart dogs! i bet he could

BARKBARKBARKBARKBARK!!!!!

“Okay okay okay!” Sorcha felt guilty not paying attention to Juno, seeing the bright green ball had been dropped by her feet. Juno was looking up at her in absolute disgust. “I know, okay? I’m a bad owner, you impatient little gremlin,” she grumbled.

***

Sidney Crosby liked a good workout just like any other athlete, but Nate loved them more. With how seriously he took his diet, nutrition, and fitness, Sidney was never surprised when Nate was completely zoned in. He was especially not surprised when the ultra-competitive side of Nate came out and he got angry at losing a race or something else when they made their workouts a competition. That’s why, now, it was quite perplexing to see him pay more attention to his phone than he was the pylons for his lateral movement training. “Who’s keeping you on your phone?” Sid asked suddenly.

Sid clearly caught Nate off guard. He looked up quickly, pretending that he hadn’t just spent the last few seconds staring at his phone screen and smiling. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“I don’t think it’s nothing,” Sid pressed.

“It’s nothing. Just drop it.”

“Stop pretending it’s nothing.”

“Not pretending.”

“Then why were you smiling?”

“God, what are you, a private investigator?”

“Detective Crosby at your service. Come on, man. Is it a girl?”

“No.”

“Is it a guy?”

“No.”

“Is it—”

“—Sid, I’m asking you nicely. Please drop it.”

Sid dropped it. But he’d take that ‘Detective Crosby’ to heart and figure out what the hell was going on.

***

“I’m going to have to Google who all these people are,” Sorcha smiled, feeling slightly overwhelmed with all the teammates Nate was naming and telling her stories about from the Colorado Avalanche. “How do you spell—what was the first guy’s name? Your captain?”

“Gabe Landeskog,” Nate repeated. “His nickname is Gabe the Babe. That tells you all you need to know.”

“And the other one?”

“Andre Burakovsky.”

“And the —”

“—Mikko Rantanen, the Finnish one,” he already knew.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to visit Finland,” she joked. “Happiest country in the world and all that.”

“Mikko shows us pictures all the time. It looks incredible, but Nova Scotia’s prettier,” Nate said.

Sorcha couldn’t help but smile. For a guy who travelled all around North America for hockey, and even sometimes Europe, she loved how Nate still loved Nova Scotia best. At its core, Nova Scotia was home, and nothing could beat home. The oldest city in Europe or the prettiest buildings in Scandinavia still couldn’t warm Nate like Nova Scotia could. Sorcha appreciated that in him. It showed a true love – nothing artificial about it. And as they walked along the old streets of downtown after yet another one of their lunches, Sorcha completely understood where he was coming from and agreed with him. “Yeah. Nothing beats a Nova Scotia sunset.”

Nate nodded but stayed silent, making sure to look over at Sorcha as they continued to walk towards the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. When they jaywalked across the street towards the now-all-too-familiar steps and Nate knew his time left with her was short, he cleared his throat and got ready. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah of course,” she looked up at him, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.

He took a deep breath. “You—I don’t know what you’re doing this weekend, but I’m having a couple friends up at my place on Grand Lake. You wanna come? I’m driving up tomorrow – Friday night.”

They had been having such a great time together the past couple of weeks. There had been lots of catching up, stories, laughter, and more. Surely she’d want to come to his house? Surely she’d want to spend more time with him outside of the city, on the lake? Surely she’d—

“No.”

Nate was taken aback by her quick, blunt response. There was a moment of shock where he just looked at her, almost as if he thought she was joking, or maybe he wasn’t hearing straight – but no. She was completely serious. Harsh and quick. “No?”

“No,” she repeated, even shaking her head this time.

Nate furrowed his brows. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

“Why don’t you want to?”

“Because I don’t,” Sorcha stressed. “Because I can’t leave Juno for the night.”

“Do you honestly think I’m gonna invite you to my place and not allow you to bring your dog?” Nathan asked. “It’s not a big deal if you bring Juno.”

“I’m not coming,” Sorcha said again. “I’m not coming and I don’t have to give you a reason. No is a complete sentence.”

Nate couldn’t help but feel the anger boil up inside of him. He was getting more frustrated by the minute at her rejection. “What the hell, Sorcha?”

“What the hell Sorcha? What the hell Nathan,” she retorted. “Why are you even inviting me? What are you—what’s the game here?”

“Game? Sorcha, what the hell is wrong with you? What do you mean what game? There is no game,” Nate shot back.

“Don’t ask what the hell is wrong with me,” she replied sternly. “I don’t need that asked of me anymore, especially after you and your friends made so much wrong with me for more than half my life.”

The words would have stung, but Nate’s stubbornness acted like an armour. He barely registered what she’d said. “I’m inviting you because you’re my friend. We’re friends, Sorcha. Friends invite their friends to their house. It’s a normal thing to do.”

“Oh, we’re friends now?”

“What the hell have we been doing the past couple of weeks?!” Nate’s voice was getting louder. “What have we been doing every lunch, every dinner, every walk we’ve gone on? What are we if we’re not friends? Why won’t you come, Sorcha?”

“Because I don’t want to!”

“But why?!”

“Because I don’t want to!!! Now will you please just go?”

“Not until you—”

“—God Nathan, will you please just accept that I’m not going to your fucking house on the fucking lake?!” Sorcha was practically screaming now. “I know you’re not used to anybody saying no to you, let alone a woman, but you’ve gotta get it through your thick skull. The answer is no.”

Okay, Nate was angry. She was being defensive and distrustful when all he’d been was trustful and open with her the entire time they’d been meeting up. He’d given her absolutely zero reason to have any reservations or to act this way. He was confused more than anything, and his confusion manifested itself in anger. He thought everything was okay. He thought they’d gotten over the metaphorical hump. “Fuck this. Now you’re just offending me.”

“Maybe I’m just an offensive person,” she played along.

“You know what, whatever Sorcha,” Nate gave up, throwing his hands up in defeat before taking a step back. “I thought we were friends.”

“Guess not.”

“Bet you’re happy about that. One less uncultured hockey player you’ve gotta explain an Arthur Lismer painting to,” he said before turning his back to her and walking away, not bothering to glance back.

Nate could feel how red his cheeks were with anger. He could feel every electric volt in his body explode as he marched up the street, huffing and shaking his head. He could hear Sorcha’s voice echo in his mind as he approached his car. He slammed the door shut, turned it on, and gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. He stayed that way the entire drive, speeding through the streets of downtown, wanting to leave the city and everything he associated with Sorcha as quickly as possible.

***

The same Friday that Nathan had invited her to his house, Sorcha cuddled up on her couch with Juno watching Netflix and eating extra buttery popcorn. There was no way and no possibility that she even gave one single thought to Nathan MacKinnon or his house or the lake or anything else to do with him. Nope. Not one. Nothing. Zip. Nada.

Nope. Not her.

Concentration for whatever was playing on Netflix was proving hard since she kept glancing at her phone every other minute. Usually, it would be lit up or buzzing thanks to hers and Nate’s near constant texts back and forth, but for the first time in weeks, it was silent.

Okay, so maybe it was slightly her fault. Maybe she reacted too harshly upon his invitation to spend some time at his house. Maybe her comments and overly confident attitude that he was trying to pull a fast one on her wrecked the entire situation. That was entirely plausible. But she wasn’t completely in the wrong, and she refused to have all of the blame put on her. What was Nathan thinking inviting her to his house in the first place? While his buddies were there, too! She couldn’t think of a more unappealing Friday night. Spend a night at an isolated house on the lake with people that bullied her and made her life a living hell? She probably would have drowned herself.

That’s where Nathan should have known better. He should have known that she wouldn’t want to go, especially when his friends would be there. Why would she want to spend time with those people? Just because she was friends with him now, and had forgiven him, and had put everything concerning them in the past as opposed to keeping it in the present – none of that meant she forgave everyone else. Nate kept saying that she wasn’t the same girl that she was back in elementary and high school – and she wasn’t. She had the confidence now to say no, to not put herself in those situations. Moreover, she had the confidence to know she deserved better and to not be around those people. In no way, shape, or form was she going to expose herself to them if she didn’t need to. It wasn’t about her thinking she shouldn’t be there, or didn’t deserve to be there – it was about having the confidence in making the decision that was healthy for her.

Sorcha wished Nate saw it that way, and wished he knew better. She wished they hadn’t responded to each other in such anger.

***

Nate couldn’t remember how many beers deep he was, or how long the rap music had been playing, but he knew one thing: he wished Sorcha was here.

After their fight, Nate had gotten into his car and headed straight for his house. He was angry the entire time up, angry the entire rest of the day, and was still angry now. Getting angry at each other was one thing, but blowing up on each other was something different – and they definitely blew up at each other. He didn’t know why she wouldn’t want to come. He thought they had made such progress in the two or so weeks that they’d been hanging out. He thought they had become genuine friends and had put their past behind them, which is what he wanted. Apparently not. Apparently, Sorcha thought and felt differently. He wished he knew why, because he wanted to spend more time with her. And because…because, well…

“Dude!” Shane’s voice rung out in the room to no-one in particular. Nate looked up to see him wearing his stupid bucket hat and holding a red solo cup. “Where’s the Grey Goose? I need some more fuckin’ Grey Goose!”

Nate scowled from the couch. Shane wasn’t even supposed to be here. He was such a fucking idiot. He tagged along with his cousin again, and Nate was too nice to say that he wasn’t allowed in. But fuck was he annoying. Nate wished he had a level less of the infamous east coast hospitality so he didn’t have to deal with Shane’s shit.

“Remember when you used to pour this stuff directly down my throat?” Shane asked Noah.

“Yeah, and remember when your head would be in the toilet seat an hour later?” Noah clapped back.

Nate thought back to the high school parties he attended. He never did much, because he took hockey way too seriously, but he watched others, and he heard stories when he was debriefed the following Monday at school. Who said what. Who hooked up with who. Who wanted to hook up with who. It was all a game that he played into only sometimes, because he had better things to play into. Shane drank like a fiend. Alex was definitely the biggest Casanova in the grade. Nathan would sit back and watch. He’d listen, mostly.

Loud rap music was playing in Holly’s basement – something from Ja Rule, which Nate didn’t particularly like because it was so dated. He wished someone would commandeer the iPod and play some better music. He had half the mind to do it himself with the new iPod he got for Christmas. There were already over 2000 songs uploaded on it. Wearing one of his Mooseheads sweaters and jeans, he sipped on his water bottle.

“Holy shit, feels like every girl in the grade is down here,” Alex commented as he looked around the basement. It definitely felt true, Nate thought.

“Yeah, all except for one,” Shane huffed. “But if The Orca showed up nobody else would fit in the house.”

Everybody around Nate laughed – loud and boisterous and in agreement. Even Nate.

*

Nate had gotten into English class early, and sat down in his seat before all his friends surrounded him like they were in a teen movie from the early noughties. If Nate was the sun, his friends, teammates, and classmates were the planets, constantly revolving around him. Lucas was trying to scarf down his lunch sandwich even though it was only second period. Noah wasn’t doing much of anything – typical – and Alex was waiting for Nate to say something, anything, that he could respond to.

“Did you ask Jessalyn to the dance yet?” Lucas asked, mouth full of bread and baloney.

“Nah,” Nate shook his head. Every girl in the grade wanted him to ask them to the dance.

“Dude, she’s, like, waiting.”

“Yeah, well…” Nate rolled his eyes. At that moment, a figure walking into the classroom caught his eye. Sorcha Saint-Coeur. She sat at the front, making it hard for Nate to see the board through all her curly hair unless he sat up in his seat. It was annoying. Her best friend Victoria was in this class too, and sat beside her at the front, but she was away judging by her absence in first period math.

Shane caught Nate’s eye wandering and spoke up, loud enough for Sorcha to hear at the front, though the boys were congregated near the back. “What do you guys think enters a room first? Sorcha’s fat or her hair?”

Everybody snickered. Even Nate did. Sorcha didn’t even look back; she was used to it, and she knew exactly who it was coming from. She stayed still for a moment, internalizing the words before digging into her bag to get out her binder and the novel she was reading for their independent study unit – One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. While she was reading a novel most of her classmates would be exposed to for the first time in university as a girl in grade eleven, she was sure Shane Johnson couldn’t even read a book unless it had pop-up pictures in it. But that didn’t matter to him. He was in with the hockey boys, because of his cousin, and that made him cool. He didn’t need to worry about anything because he was in. So it was easy to understand why he was such a dick: he was enabled by everyone around him.

“I say fat,” Lucas chirped. “That gut sticks out, dude.”

“I say hair,” Shane said. “She could shave it bald but then she’d have a fat head too, just like the rest of her.”

*

“You do it!”

“No you do it!”

“No you do it!!”

“You!”

“You!”

Snickers. Hands covering mouths. All seventh-grade Sorcha was doing was sketching in her sketchbook. “Psst,” Noah hissed. When she didn’t answer, he just hissed louder. “Pssssttt!” She looked up, bracing herself for whatever he was going to say. “So are the rumours true? You tried to get lipo but there was so much fat the doctor couldn’t suck all of it out?”

“I heard there was so much at the hospital the nurses had trouble carrying the buckets of fat out,” Shane added.

“I heard your step-dad even tried paying the doctor to suck more fat out but there was just way too much,” Noah continued.

“Are your mom and step-dad gonna get divorced now? Didn’t they get married because Doctor D promised your mom he’d suck the fat out of you and now he can’t? So you’re gonna be the reason they get divorced?” Shane egged it on.

“Why won’t you just leave me alone!!!” Sorcha hissed loudly as she slammed her book shut and ran away from them.

Nate sat in between Noah and Shane and watched the whole thing.

They were monsters, Nate thought. All of them.

Even himself.

How could they not be disgusted with themselves? How could they go on living their lives knowing they had treated someone so brutally? How could any of them be living a normal life knowing the pain they caused another person? Nate felt like there were spiders crawling under his skin. He was so skeeved from the memories that he had to put his beer down and get up from his seat to take a walk. If he sat listening to Shane any longer, he would explode – and he didn’t want to. Well, not half-drunk, anyway. Sober was a different story. But it was still awful hearing him, and Nate wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

While everyone else at his house wasn’t paying attention, Nate disappeared into his room and locked the door behind him. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he took his phone out of his pocket, swiping through his contacts and clicking on the only person he wanted to speak to at the moment.

He didn’t know if she’d even pick up. They’d been so mean to each other. But he hoped for the best.

The phone rang for a while. For a brief second, he remembered that he hadn’t even checked the time before he called. It could have been three o’clock in the morning for all he knew. Fucking hell. He didn’t think this through thanks to all the beer and now—

“Hello?”

He was shocked to hear her voice on the other end. She picked up. She had actually picked up. Unprepared, and sobering up really fucking quickly all of the sudden, Nate was silent for a few moments.

“Nate?”

“We were fucking monsters to you,” he said, his voice low, and deep, but raw, and honest. “Fucking monsters.”

Sorcha stayed silents for a few moments too. “Yeah. You were,” she agreed.

“That’s why you didn’t want to come.”

Sorcha couldn’t believe it was two in the morning, that she was still up, and that she was having this conversation with Nate. She couldn’t believe he realized the reason behind her choice, either. “Exactly,” she said.

Nate felt like complete shit. He’d treated her so horribly and practically yelled at her in front of her place of employment and he was just shit, shit, shit all around. He was shit all those years ago for not speaking up and defending her against bullying and harassment and he was shit now for not realizing she didn’t want to expose herself to that again and only thinking about himself. He was being selfish in a situation that needed selflessness. “God Sorcha, I’m so fucking sorry. I’m so—I’m fucking—God,” he was exasperated, unable to find the words.

“I told you that I forgave you a long time ago, Nate,” Sorcha said. It was easy enough to hear the pain in his voice. “You don’t need to keep apologizing to me.”

“But I think I do,” he admitted. “I just—I remembered the lipo rumours from grade seven—”

“—Nate—”

“—Shane and his—the orca comments—”

“Nate, please stop,” Sorcha’s voice was the perfect mixture of soft yet firm. “If I can leave those in the past, so can you.”

“This whole time that we’ve been talking, Sorsh, and reconnecting, I just—I sat there tonight surrounded by all these people and I should have been happy because they’re all my friends and my buddies I’ve known for years but all I could think about is you,” he admitted. “I miss you, Sorcha.”

The hairs at the back of her neck stood on end. She bit her bottom lip so hard she could have almost drawn blood. “You’re treading on very dangerous territory when you say something like that, Nate.”

“So what if I am?”

“You’ve gotta understand the magnitude of those words.”

“Because I mean it,” he affirmed. “I miss you. I want to spend time with you.”

Sorcha couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Here she was on a phone call with Nathan MacKinnon at two in the morning where he was confessing missing her, wanting to spend time with her. The entire universe could have been sucked into a supermassive black hole and collapsed, all molecular life gone with it, and Sorcha still would have bet on that having a greater chance of happening than Nate saying those words to her, admitting what he was admitting to her. She was shocked, but at the same time…

…it was so easy for her to give in.

And it shouldn’t have been that easy. There should have been more resistance from her. More walls that Nate would have to tear down. But he already did in the last couple of weeks, one by one, dinner by dinner, lunch by lunch, and that’s why this decision was so easy. That’s why she allowed herself to feel good about this. She deserved it – the kind words, the lovely sentiments, the attention, the texts, the memes, the late night phone calls, the ‘I miss you’s and ‘I want to spend time with you’s. She deserved it all. And she was going to take it.

“Hey Nate?” she asked.

“Sorsh?” he was scared she was going to follow up with an emphatic go fuck yourself.

“How’d you know who Arthur Lismer was?” she asked.

“You talked about him that one time during dinner. How he painted a bunch of stuff of the Halifax Harbour and the warships. Seascape 1919 is your favourite painting,” he said. As the sentence progressed along every word, he could practically feel Sorcha smiling through the phone. It put his mind and body at ease, so much ease. “I listen to you when you talk, you know.”

Well that was apparent now. Sorcha was smiling from ear to ear in her bed in Halifax. “Nate?”

“Sorsh?” his voice was so hopeful.

“You wanna grab a coffee on Monday?”

“Please.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know where to meet me.”

“We can talk things over. Face to face,” he offered.

“Yeah. We will. Have a good night,” she said.

“Sweet dreams, Sorcha,” were Nate’s last words to her before they ended the call. Nate sat on his bed looking down at the screen, willing Sorcha to appear somewhere in the room.

Sorcha put her phone back on her nightstand, taking a deep breath in before laying down in her bed again and staring straight up at the ceiling.

Oh boy. She was in some serious, serious trouble.

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[miracleonice87]

Can you please write a blurb about a domestic and romantic scenario with husband!Nathan MacKinnon, I love your writing! 🥰😘❤

first of all, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much that means to me! ❤️

OUCH y’all i hurt myself w this one in the best way! 10000% everything i wanna say to Nate right now. congrats to the Dogg – cannot even wait to watch him in the big dance.

combining this one with a request from my lovely @fallinallincurls who asked me to write a blurb about Nate coming home from Edmonton. I hope you both enjoy 😘

_____

Feelings and the Final with Nathan MacKinnon

After watching Nate practically bounce down the Rogers Place hallway with an enormous grin on his face after sweeping the Oilers, you expected him to be just that bubbly and ecstatic when he got home. Instead, a handful of hours later, he came through the door to find you in the kitchen, grabbing another glass of wine as you waited up for him… and his demeanor wasn’t at all what you had anticipated.

Instead, you barely greeted him with a soft, “hi, bub!” before he easily, wordlessly lifted you up onto the kitchen counter and wrapped his arms around your waist, tucking his face into your neck.

You smiled to yourself – the adrenaline from the win and the celebration seemed to have worn off, and you assumed he was now just tired.

And he was – there was no doubt about that. But there was something else brewing within him, too, and after standing in your arms for a few long moments, still not speaking, you felt a wetness on your shoulder and heard soft sniffles escaping him.

You tightened your grasp on him, arms tightly wound around his shoulders.

Since he was a kid, Nate had felt every emotion more deeply and intensely than most people – when he was happy, he was elated; when he was mad, he was incensed; and when he was feeling sentimental, as you sensed that he was right now, that emotion, too, was to the highest power.

“Let it out, baby,” you whispered, hoping to ground him. “You’re okay.”

Hearing your voice vibrate in your chest brought him more comfort than he could ever explain, more than you would ever know – he couldn’t express his emotions like this around anyone but you. You were his safe place – his haven. Which is why he knew he was bound to break down the moment he saw you, no matter how triumphant he had been in his postgame interviews and on the flight home. You were the only person with whom he could express every emotion that this long-awaited win had brought.

He only needed a couple of minutes, then he was drying his eyes with the back of his hand and sighing deeply, a sign that he was ready to let the feeling go. He stood up and kissed your forehead.

“Thank you,” he said simply. “I’d be lost without you.”

You beamed, smoothing a hand over his lapel. “You’re welcome, baby,” you responded, cupping his cheek as he kissed at your hand. “I’m so proud of you, Nathan – you’re going to the Final!” You squealed, making him giggle and then shake his head in disbelief.

“I know… man, that’s crazy, huh?” he asked rhetorically. Then, he turned serious again. “But, I mean, it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t pull it off.”

You knew that was coming. You slid your hands up his shoulders and around the back of his neck, bringing him closer to you, then pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“I know you believe that. And that’s fine,” you said when you parted, your fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. “But I don’t believe it. I think this was a huge step for you – for all of you. You have worked your fucking ass off for so many years, and look where you are now. Center stage. All the eyes in the world are on you. That is where you thrive, baby,” you reminded him, giving him a gentle shake. He offered a small smile. “And I, for one, cannot fucking wait to watch you live your dream. You’re playing for the Stanley Cup, Nate. I want you to remember that. I want you to enjoy it.”

He nodded, eyes fixed on you, knowing you were right – as always. He smoothed his hand over your hair and leaned in to kiss you.

“I love you,” he whispered against your lips, earning a wide grin from you.

“I love you, you whispered back. You snaked your feet around the backs of his knees, now completely trapping him in your grasp. “Listen, I know it’s late, but whattya say we-”

“If you’re about to say ‘go upstairs and celebrate,’ then you don’t even have to ask,” Nate filled in, his lips never moving more than a millimeter from yours.

“Okay, just checking,” you said before he lifted you off the counter, deepening your kiss.

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[sc0tters]

Home | Nathan Mackinnon

summary: a lot has happened in your life but your favourite moments are with nate, so why did things go so badly?

request: yes/no

warnings: angst, swearing, mentions of drinking.

word count: 4.12k

authors note: this was some purely self indulgent angst icl because after the all star break I'm obsessed with this man so that is why it is my first time writing for him. This took me two days though so I feel like we can justify the addiction of this fic to the completed works!

Life as Sidney Crosby’s younger sister was indescribable.

Nathan had been in your life for as long as you could remember. He came in and out of it given that his friendship had always been with your older brother Sidney. The boys went from role model and fan to best friends and you grew so used to seeing Nate that you couldn’t remember what life was like before him even if it was only a few years ago. 

Sid was a great older brother, probably the best your could have asked for. But as he would send these unnecessary glares in any guys direction the moment the dared to look at you. It was clear that if it wasn’t your last name stopping you from getting a date, it would be your brother instead. 

Cole Harbour was a place you fell in love with. It was always connected with the warmth that came with summer. Those days that left you tanning on the porch or laughing on the boat as the ten year age gap between you and Sid turned to nothing. Every memory that was connected to the lake house only ever had joy with it. You even found yourself attaching to the moments you had with Nate. 

He was the only man, the only person who treated you like you. To Nate you were only ever y/n, never Sidney’s younger sister. So it was no surprise that during your time getting to know Nate you did end up falling for him. 

It was what you thought your best kept secret was. Your love for him was something that you couldn’t explain. He had you feeling dizzy from the mere way he looked at you. If Nate knew how crazy you were about him as your heart would skip a beat whenever you’d hear him talk about another girl. He never seemed to show that he took note about how you acted when Sidney was nowhere to be seen. 

All of that seemed to change one night when it was only the three of you at the house “where did Sid go?” Nate asked as he popped the cap of his beer bottle before he sat in the camp chair next to her. 

You let your bottle clink against his “up to bed.”  Your words were met with a laugh “that old man.” The hockey player rolled his eyes as he shook his head “you think you can survive without your boyfriend?” You teased biting your lip in amusement as he scoffed. 

Nate didn’t hesitate to throw his beer cap at you “hey!” It was your turn to laugh as it hit you square in the face “have to say your brother is not my type.” Nate’s tone was serious as he pressed his lips into a fine line. 

Your fingers ran through your hair as you turned to him “the male party not get you going?” You joked as you turned your chair to face his letting the crackle of the burning wood echo in your ears “believe it or not they don’t.” Nate smiled as he placed his hand on your knee “y’know I’m actually really happy you’re coming to Denver.” You had gotten a job in the city and you took it. Now you were going to be living under his roof until you found your own place. 

It made you match his facial expressions “you are?” Your cheeks grew warm as you tucked your hair behind your ear “yeah I do tinker.” The nickname was something he began calling you after he came over one day to see you struggling to turn on your electric drill. As you struggled to put the screw into it Nate was able to figure out that you were using a star drill bit for a straight screw. When he laughed about it seeing your cheeks turn red your nickname was set, you were his tinker from that moment forth. 

Nate squeezed your knee as the gesture filled you with warmth as it made you feel weak “as Sids friend-” your words were cut off as he raised his hand to stop you in your sentence “I’m your friend too.” Nate pointed out as he had grown to build relationships with all of the Crosby siblings “you know you don’t have to act like you like him when he’s gone.” You had grown so used to the fact that people befriended you because of who you knew that it wouldn’t have surprised you if Nate turned out to be the same. 

In fact you had prepared yourself for the possibility of that reality “is it so hard to believe that I do indeed like you?” Nate scoffed as he watched you get up “if you’re gonna leave then the least you could do is answer me.” The hockey player grumbled as he wrapped his hand around your wrist. 

You hadn’t been this close to him before. Your lips pressed together as you got the chance look at him “look it really isn’t going to change anything.” You pointed out trying to keep your mouth shut “try me tinker cause I’ve got all damn night.” Nate stepped closer to you as he forced your head to look up at him with how close you two now were. 

There was a back and forth in your mind as you groaned “I can’t believe it because I’m in love with you okay!” The words left your mouth quicker than you could process just how dangerous of a game that you were playing “you better mean that tinker.” His voice dropped to barely a whisper as you nodded watching his facial expression soften. 

It took him seconds to bring his hand to the nape of your neck as he dropped his head to now be millimetres from yours. His lips were painfully close as he watched you lick your lips “if you’re not gonna kiss me then let go of me.” Your warning was enough for Nate to throw caution to the wind. His chapped lips were rough against your soft ones. 

Nate wasn’t interested in trying to fight you for power. No, instead he wanted to show you just how much he desired to have you and was finally in a position to have you. His other hand gripped at your waist whilst you let your hands trail up his chest under his shirt “wait tink.” Nate groaned as you let your teeth tug at his lower lip when he pulled away. 

Your lips were tingling as you swore you could still feel his “I need to stop myself cause if I don’t then I am really going to get us both in trouble.” His warning made you grin as you watched him look to where Sids bedroom was “who said I wanted you to stop?” You swore you had never seen Nate snap his head back so fast. 

Because he scanned your face to see for any chance of you lying to him, he came up with nothing “you’re playing with fire tinker.” The hockey player mumbled running his fingers over your lips “and I’m ready to burn.” You mumbled kissing his neck making the boy grunt. 

The hockey player didn’t hesitate to use his strength as he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder “Nathan!” You squealed quickly being shushed off as you laughed “your short little legs wouldn’t move nearly as fast as I would need them to.” It was like clockwork, his legs carried you both into his house before he shut the door. 

As your body hit his bed you quickly realised that he was your new comfort and it was only going to grow stronger as the summer continued on. 

The relationship you had with Nate only seemed to grow stronger as you settled into life in Denver. For the first month you guys agreed to just let things stay casual. The main rule was that you were both allowed to have fun but if you both just so happened to land up in the same bed, it was okay. 

By December as the cold trapped the city, you guys equally found comfort in each other’s arms. So right before the Christmas break Nate gathered the confidence to ask you out. Now it wasn’t some big ceremonial type of thing like most would have expected someone to do coming from the NHL. 

Snow fell on the ground as it made you remember the soft parts of winter that you adored so much were left as evidenced by your long walk with Coco that morning. 

Your hair and coat had sprinkles of white coating your skin. The chocolate Labrador matched your amused expression as you made it back into the apartment “good morning.” Nate smirked as he sipped the coffee that he had freshly made. 

Silence caught you both as you stared at his shirtless body “good morning indeed.” You nodded sending him a wink “go get some water baby.” You mumbled disconnecting the leash as you stroked the dog’s fur before she excitedly ran off. 

Nate opened his arms as he embraced your scent “love how good you are with her.”  He spoke into your hair as he kissed your temple “she’s a good dog.” You smiled as you melted at his touch. 

His hand rubbed your back as you both stood there for a few more moments “when are you meant to go home?” The word now felt so foreign to you, sure your parents were there but you swore the man in front of you was where your home was. 

You grew up being taught that home was a place, walls holding up a roof that a family, your family could live in. But as Nate smiled as he scanned your face “what’s going on behind those eyes tinker?” Nate asked as he tucked your hair behind your ear “I know we agreed to keep things casual.” As your voice was hesitant the boy tensed. 

He was quick to begin preparing himself for the inevitable rejection that part of him knew would have made life easier. This way the hiding and inevitable lies that would be told to Sidney could have been avoided “but?” Nate trailed off waiting to see where you were going with it.

You pursed your lips together “I want more.” Time felt like it froze as the hockey player stared at you before his mouth broke out into a smile and a laugh blew past his lips “that’s not funny!” You complaint furrowing your eyebrows. 

Nate squeezed your body against his as he kissed your head once more “you love me don’t ya tinker?” He teased as he began to pepper kisses along your jaw “Nathan I will kill you.” You’d only ever use his full name to get him thinking that you were mad at him.

A gasp echoed in his ears as it finally made him stop “fucking love you t.” Nate confessed as he pinched his fingers on your chin as he tilted your jaw up to see him as he took the chance to kiss your lips. That was a day that he loved, because that was the day that he asked you to be his girlfriend, even if you would always swear that you asked him first. 

You had always been fond of rollercoasters. There was something about the adrenaline that you found yourself obsessed with. Constantly chasing that height of pure bliss. Yet the last three years were forced to teach you something, what goes up must always come down. 

For you, this was the worst part of your relationship with Nate. And that was all down to the fact that you swore it was the end. 

It surprised you and Nate both that your fighting had gone on this long now. Three whole weeks without a conversation going by positively. It seemed that everything you did pissed him off and vice versa. He drowned himself in his hockey as he avoided the house at all costs. 

He found it easier to ignore the hurt and pain you clearly felt as you were practically forgotten. Because he too was hurt. Nate hated the fact that you couldn’t seem to tell Sid about your relationship. Each time you would sit your brother down citing that you had something important to tell him, you’d end up forgetting how to speak as you would panic and chicken out of it. 

Nate wanted to be able to show you off to the world as he shouted from the rooftops that you were his. Yet you denied him of that right because until you told Sid the most he was getting from you beyond the privacy of his home was a lingering glance of a muffled whisper in his ear. Everyone thought you were together but he had to deny it every single time because it was what you had asked of him. 

Before he was able to bite his tongue about it but now you seemed to bear the brunt of his frustrations. As the team went seven games without a win it left Nate questioning everything, mostly why he was still with you if you weren’t ready to tell Sid. And he hated himself for that, you were his world so it killed him to doubt you. 

What was going to make it all worse was that you had been waiting for two and a half hours for Nate. Sure you guys hadn’t been at your best but this reservation had been set since July. Yes you knew you were stupid but it was your three year anniversary with Nate and you guys had a table at the best restaurant in Colorado. 

Or at least you did until an hour ago when the reservation came and went and there was still no sign of Nate as you cracked open your bottle of red wine “tinker!” Nate called out dropping his gym bag to the ground. 

The soft sounds of your sniffling made him furrow his eyebrows “tink?” He reached the remote for the speaker before he turned it off. Even if the hockey player used to joke about your height, he hated how easily you hid “hey baby.” Nate sighed as he walked into the bedroom that you two began to share two years ago. 

You were in the closet making a mess as you pulled things from your shelves shoving things into your suitcase. But that’s not what caught his attention, no it was empty bottle of wine that sat on its side pointing at your laptop. The screen had a one way flight to Canada “what is this?” Nate felt his head throb as he turned back to see you zipping up your suitcase. 

Pieces of the puzzle finally began to start clicking in his head “you know what day it was today?” You began bringing your hands to wipe your tear stained cheeks “it’s the nineteenth.” A penny could have dropped that moment as his eyes went wide “I’m so sorry.” The hockey player reached out for your hand but you raised it to stop him. 

You had gotten dressed up for the night, Nate’s favourite red dress that always ended up on the floor at the end of the night. Your hair was curled and your makeup was beautiful even if your mascara ran down your cheeks “where were you?” You chewed at the inside of your cheek assuming the worse “prac-” Nate couldn’t even get his words out as you slammed your hand against the wall. 

Those words made you wonder if he truly ever did tel you the truth “Cale fucking told me he left three hours ago!” You yelled lashing your hands around as you swore you were seeing red “I was at the rink okay?” Nate was telling the truth, he had been sat in his car staring out the front window as he wondered how much longer he could do this for. 

You wanted to believe him, truly you did. But as you stared into his eyes you couldn’t find it “I have a flight to catch.” You announced as you heard your alarm go off as you needed to get your Uber “what about our anniversary?” Nate’s words had you laughing “tell me you love me.” Your hand gripped the handle of your suitcase as you stared up at him. 

Nate sighed as his facial expressions softened “you know I do.” He nodded as it only made you frown “need to hear you say it.” It was unclear if you were asking or telling him but as you were met with silence you knew you weren’t going to beg. 

Colorado was a place you began to love but now it had all seemed to turn so awful so quickly that you were left in this toxic environment. The love you felt for Nate could only keep you there for so long but it seemed that tonight was your final straw. No it didn’t leave your love to dissipate but you began to lose yourself in his city. Your head grew heavy but you knew you needed to leave “when will you be back?” His voice was barely a whisper as he stepped to the side to let you go “I don’t know.” All you knew was that you needed to get out of there. 

That’s how you landed back up in Cole Harbour. You knew it would be quiet as it wasn’t peak season. The most interaction you had with people was when you went out to the grocery store or to get more logs for your evening fire as the sun came down over the frozen lake. 

Even as you felt all of this hurt in you, you still couldn’t bring yourself to hate that town. You could see where you and Nate once were like you had the front row seat to rewatch. Part of you contemplated reaching out to Nate but he was now playing the best hockey of his life and you began to wonder if that was because you were no longer there.

That was why you thought you were dreaming when you hit a month of being there when you heard the front door open “I have a weapon!” You called out with wide eyes as you stuck your head down the stairs “with your aim I’m not worried!” Sidney shot back making you instantly grow calm as you dropped his old hockey stick letting it hit the oak flooring. Your brother smiled as he locked eyes with you “Sid.” You gasped opening your arms to him as you were in need of a hug. 

Seeing him there made you realise that you had been lying to yourself, you weren’t okay. You missed Nate, you missed everyone. Parts of you even missed the irritating interactions that you held with your brother as he’d pester you 24/7. No matter how much booze or food that you surround yourself in, it was never going to change the back that you grew to need those people in your life. 

It killed Sid to see the hurt that was painted on your face “how’d you find me?” You had slowly started pulling away as your messages grew infrequent “Nate told me you left and I knew you were here.” Your brother kissed your head as he wrapped his arms around you. 

Everything seemed to stop in that moment as you tensed under his touch “did something happen between you two?” Sid ran his hands over your cheeks as he could sense that something was off. 

After all this time trying you still couldn’t lie to him, sure you could avoid telling him things, but you could never outright lie. On top of that you wanted to tell someone that you loved Nate, maybe that way you could keep your love for him alive in more than just your heart.

You frowned as you looked at your brother “I know I shouldn’t have.” Tears pooled in your eyes as you shook your head “Nate finally made a move huh?” Sidney smiled as he brought his hand to your cheek.

It made you freeze “finally?” You did your best to control your tears “he was in love with you.” The hockey player nodded as he laughed “god that boy thought I didn’t notice the way he looked at you either.” Sidney was so caught up in recounting how obvious Nate was about how he felt about you that Sidney didn’t notice how you smiled. 

That afternoon you told him everything, well everything Sid would want to hear - your sex life wasn’t a topic worth sharing - but part of you just felt guilty seeing how supportive Sidney seemed to be “why don’t you call him?” The offer seemed so easy, in fact it was too easy. 

And that’s why you laughed as you shook your head “I think we’re done.” Your lips pushed together as you raked your fingers through your hair “think he’s still in love with you.” The penguins player didn’t think that this was going to be how he spent his few days that he convinced the team to let him take. 

You let out a sigh as you leaned against him “really?” Sid did this thing where he would twirl your hair through his finger and as you’d fall asleep it seemed to always calm your mind “he called me thinking you were with me.” As he told you that he couldn’t help but notice how you had fallen asleep finally looking at peace for the first time in the entire trip. 

Sidney swore his days of meddling in your life were done until he decided that on his final day in Cole Harbour that you simply deserved better. He knew you weren’t perfect but you couldn’t spend your life hiding out in the lake house. Which is why Nate got the call after a Tuesday night game and he was only meant to be back on the ice on Thursday, it was perfect. 

Your brother had left that morning as he told you to think about going home, not to your parents but to Nate. Whilst you hadn’t made the jump to booking your flight you knew you wanted to go back. So as you grew ready to turn in for the night you enjoyed watching the rain pelt against the windows. Amidst all of the chaos you found within your life it always seemed that rain reacted the same way as when you were happy to when you were at your lowest. 

That was why you were so surprised when you heard a knock at the side door. You hadn’t seen a car pull in and you certainly hadn’t heard anyone walk up. The nerves you felt were low as only people you guys knew seemed to come through the side when they knew you guys were home.

Thunder clapped over the dark skies when you finally opened the door “Nathan.” You gasped seeing his clothing stick to his body as it was all soaked with rainwater “tinker.” Nate didn’t hesitate to pull you into a hug as he swore you were some figment of a dream in his distorted reality. 

To say you were surprised when he kissed your head it was an understatement “I came to bring you home.” You didn’t need to go to Denver to be home “you’re my home.” You mumbled kissing his lips as that was all you ever needed.

You guys were able to look at that moment and say it was the worst moment within your relationship. Being able to bounce off of Nate you guys learned that it was a 50/50 partnership, nothing more and nothing less would end up working out for you. Everyday you grew more in love with him even in those times you thought it wasn’t going to be possible. 

So years on as you looked at your three boys playing with their uncle you couldn’t help but smile as you thought about how far you both came “what?” You asked feeling Nate stare at you whilst your eyes stayed on Sidney who was teaching them to drive the boat “just thinking about how much I love you.” Nate shrugged hooking his fingers under your chin so he could kiss you. 

The moment was sweet until you heard the scoff “lovebirds if I’m free child care then whatever this is, is off the menu tonight!” Sid’s complaint made you both laugh as you rested your head on Nate’s shoulder, you were home.

#nate mackinnon imagines #nathan mackinnon imagines #imagines #oneshots #hockey imagines #nhl oneshot #nhl imagine #hockey oneshots #amber writes fics

[holy-puckslibrary]

━ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐑𝐒. 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄

˗ˏˋ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ˎˊ˗

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 — nathan mackinnon x claus!reader 𝐰𝐜 — 2k 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 — when she took the reins as the world's chief claus, her father forgot to disclose one very pressing hidden clause in the job contract... 

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 — my mom and i watched this trilogy on a loop when i was growing up, so it only felt right to take some inspo!! <3

Most children would give anything to have Santa Claus as their father.

They wouldn’t if they knew what you did now.

Your father withheld a crucial detail throughout your many years of training. Perhaps the most important stipulation of them all—you cannot be Santa alone.

“Whoever wears the coat takes on the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus. In accepting the contract, the cardholder acknowledges that they must marry the partner of their choosing before their first Christmas in service to retain the titles, privileges, and residence of Santa Claus. Failure to do so will result in immediate de-Santification.”

You needed a partner. Someone to act as caretaker to the elves and the reindeer, and to watch over the Workshop and general operations on Christmas night while you fly all around the globe, the embodiment of the season's spirit.

Santa Claus wouldn’t—and couldn't—be Santa Claus, if not for their other half.

You suppose you should’ve known, should’ve worked it out sooner. So much of what made Christmas special was because of your mother, the previous Mrs. Claus. In his many years as Santa, your father made a point to remind everyone of that. She is the steward of the season.

While Santa Claus tinkers with toys and checks the lists, charts travel routes and weather patterns, and develops contingency plans to accommodate the ever-evolving technology, their spouse keeps spirits bright. Without help, the effort was pointless. 

So, you should have realized. But you hadn’t, and now it might be too late.

“I have to find a husband in 28 days. If I don’t get married before Christmas Eve, I don’t get to wear the coat. I’ll lose the title, and the reins my family has held for thousands of years will pass to someone else,” you rant, tone carefully hushed to not rouse the temperamental husky one backyard over.

Your breath plumes away from you, rising before dissolving into the chilly Denver air. It reminds you of a snow globe, a bittersweet one.

“Who?” asks Nate.

Nate, like most of the world, is a Mundane, a non-magical person. He isn’t the descendant of Cupid or Mother Nature. Or a Santa Claus like yourself. He’s just Nate. Nathan MacKinnon from Halifax. Nathan MacKinnon, who now resides in Denver, Colorado, for work. 

It's well past midnight, and you’re sitting on his back porch with your head hung low and one of your reindeer, Comet, is nibbling on his icy grass.

“I don’t know,” you answer with a glum shrug. “Normally, it would go to the next child in line. Since I don't have any siblings, I guess the Council of Legendary Figures will convene and select my replacement.”

Nate nods.

In his eyes, you can see him listing off the members in his head. Mother Nature, Father Time, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Cupid, Jack Frost. To him, they’re mythical beings. Bedtime stories and folktales he was told as a child by the adults in his life. For you, they’re the closest thing you have to extended relatives.

And they butt heads like ones too.

“What will happen then? I mean, where will you go? Could you stay where you are now, just not as a Claus?” he asks.

“The North Pole is the only home I’ve ever known. All my family’s ever known. When the duty passes from one generation to the next, the predecessors remain in the village, but who knows if they’d get to stay if I fail to comply? It’s all in jeopardy now because of me.”

Nate lowers himself down onto the step beside you. He does his best to disregard the unpleasant feeling of his pajamas soaking in the snow, but you hear the wince.

With the snap of your fingers, the snow is gone, and his pants are completely dry. You’ve even warmed the concrete beneath him.

“Thanks,” he murmurs softly.

He doesn’t have to thank you; you’ve told him a million times. But he wants to. He can’t let you give without acknowledgment. Nate refuses to appear ungrateful, even for the little things that seem insignificant to you. Like vanishing snow or drying his pajama pants. 

Funnily, “Santa Claus” can feel like a thankless job. No one ever thanks you. They thank the persona, the relic. Nate wants you to know he’s grateful for your care and friendship, regardless of your occupation or magic.

Gently, he bumps his shoulder against yours. “You know there’s more than one person in a marriage, right?”

“Yes, but I haven’t exactly made an effort to find the other half of the equation,” you reply, deflecting. 

You always overtake blame. Nate thinks it might be your singular flaw. 

“I mean, it's hard because it's not like I can date like a normal person; my pool is small. And shallow. They either want me to give up the power entirely or give it to them instead. You remember what happened with Jackson Frost. All he wanted was the power his father failed to usurp. That should have been clear from the start. I guess I could see if Orpheus is still seeing the nymph Mother Nature fixed him up with. The whole narcolepsy thing, though not his fault, isn’t ideal, but the only other option is Val. And I’d rather not spend the rest of my life worried about flying arrows and jilted lovers.”

As the daughter of a Legendary Figure and soon-to-be one yourself, you haven’t had much time to date. Or even think about it, for that matter.

There was always a new wrapping paper to test for durability and shine or a machine on the assembly line that needed to be fixed before it broke any more dolls. Or a reindeer with a stomach ache refusing to fly. Or a fire in the kitchen that sets back cookie production by three weeks. Or a maniacal being with frigokinesis (the ability to manipulate snow) attempting to overthrow Santa Claus and assume control over the North Pole.

Crisis after crisis, all with very little personal time. That's why you opted for people who understood: the children of other Legendary Figures with dominion over their own holidays and cultural traditions. However, fraternizing with other magical beings comes with its own set of problems. For example, an ex-boyfriend and his father plotting to ruin your home, ancestral legacy, and a beloved holiday out of pure spite. 

“You’re forgetting someone.” Nate’s quiet voice yanks you out of the downward spiral.

“Who? Easter Bunny is our eternal bachelor who would sooner give up candy than have kids of his own, and Tooth Fairy’s kids are still, well, kids. Jack Smith recently took over as Pumpkin King after his father retired, but he’s not the nicest company. Especially when he’s drunk, which is, truthfully, most days. I guess I could look outside the Council, but —”

“Me. I’m talking about me. You forgot me,” Nate interjects with an impatient huff.

“What?” you blink in disbelief, assuming you misheard him.

There was no way he was throwing his hat into the ring. 

“I could be Mr. Claus. If you’d have me.”

Your face melts. If you'd have him? It wasn't even a question. 

“Nate, I could never ask that of you. You would have to leave everything—everyone, behind. You would have to give up a career you love and have worked so hard for. Not to mention abandoning all the friends you’ve made along the way. You would have to lie about where you live and who you married to—and what she does for a living for the rest of your life. Nothing would ever be normal again. I’m tethered to the North Pole, but I won’t lock you up there with me.”

“I’ve been dreaming about the North Pole since I was a kid. Long before you nearly knocked over my family’s Christmas tree and had to make it up to me with a ride around the block on Comet,” he says with a chuckle.

You snort, recalling the fire you almost started the first time your father ever brought you along for deliveries. You weren’t allowed down a chimney for a few years after that, but the friend you gained was worth the punishment. 

You take Comet to visit as often as you can and have been for years. He leaves out your favorite cookies on Christmas Eve, and you always save his house for last so you can spend the last hour of the season with your favorite person. 

But you always imagined a day would come when he finally grew up and stopped needing Santa Claus. For as long as you’ve known him, you’ve been planning for a broken heart.

You sniffle. Nate takes your hand in his.

“Knowing you—loving you has put that dream within grasp. You wouldn’t be locking me away because I’d go willingly. Happily. All I’ve ever wanted for Christmas is to go to the North Pole with you. To see where you grew up and meet all the people who made you as wonderful as you are.”

“Why have you never said anything?”

“Because I knew you wouldn’t be able to. “Only elves, reindeer, and Clauses,” remember?” Nate smiles, mimicking your father’s response to a ten-year-old Nate’s innocent request. He even does the jolly belly laugh, which warms your heart. “Bernard wouldn’t even let me past the hanger if the sleigh didn’t toss me into the Atlantic first.

But in all seriousness, I didn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position with your father again. Or with yourself. I know how much the sanctity of Christmas means to you. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to show me something that would feel like intruding on the magic to you.”

All Nate has ever wanted for Christmas is for you to show him your home. All you’ve ever wanted is Nate. The only gift your father couldn’t make and the elves couldn’t build. In all her festive glory, even your mother couldn’t put what you truly wanted under the tree, though not for lack of trying.

Nate was the only person who could give the present of his presence, but you’d always been too fearful to ask, too worried he didn’t feel the same.

But here he is, crouched on a step in the middle of the night watching a reindeer chase a moth like a cat, telling you he’d give up everything to stand by your side. 

For you to be Santa Claus.

“Are you sure?” you ask apprehensively as if he were an animal you didn’t want to spook. “Sometimes we say things in the moment that we don’t really mean. Especially when someone flew 3,000 miles on a reindeer to throw a pity party in your backyard. You can take it back, and I promise nothing will change. No hard feelings whatsoever. I’ll still come and bring Comet to visit as often as possible. And you’ll stay on the Nice List, don’t worry. I wouldn’t even dream of —”

Nate cuts you off with a kiss. Sweet and perfect, and full of promise. The kind of kiss you dream about as a little girl, wondering what your Prince Charming might be like when he finally arrives. And tonight, yours did.

Albeit, the cape was missing (you preferred flannel pajamas anyway), and he hadn’t ridden in on the back of a mighty steed (you crash-landed on a reindeer-back, if that counts), but it was magical all the same.

“Wait!” you burst, abruptly pulling away. “What are you going to tell your parents? ‘Hey, Mom and Dad. Yeah, no, everything’s great. I just quit my job, sold my house, and moved to an undisclosed location—all without warning. No reason to worry!’ Somehow, I don’t see that going over all that well.”

“We can tell them we’re in Alaska and that you’re a toy maker," Nate casually supplies. He sounds like he's talking about the weather or what he had for lunch, not a life-altering cover story. "You couldn’t leave because your workshop is there, so I decided to move to be with you. People move all the time, especially to be with their fiancés.”

Though your heart flutters at the title, worry still hangs low over your head. You know how much he loves his family; you can’t bear to be the reason they’re separated indefinitely. 

“But when I find a way for them to visit, how would we swing that? The sleigh is big, but it's not airplane-big. Curtis is a master of disguise, but even he couldn’t make the sleigh look less like a sleigh.”

“Doesn’t Sandman owe your dad a favor?” Nate winks.

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#the santa clause #the santa clauses #claus!reader #nathan mackinnon #nathan mackinnon x reader #nathan mackinnon x you #nathan mackinnon x y/n #nate mack #nate mackinnon #nate mackinnon x reader #nate mackinnon x you #nate mackinnon x y/n #colorado avalanche #hockey rpf #hockey fic #hockey romance #hockey fandom #hockey boys #hockey x reader #hockey x you #hockey x y/n #professional sports #athlete x reader #nhl x you #nhl rpf #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fluff #hockey fluff

[starshine-hockey-girl]

Here is my late entry for the Valentine's fic exchange. It is my first attempt at player/player HRPF. @deformed-globule, I hope you like it.

I also apologize that it got long. Actually, i should he sorry, but I am not.

Summary- My best guess to answer the question that has been haunting hockeylbr since the All-Star game. How and why was Sidney Crosby wearing Nate Mackinnon's hoodie during his post-game interview?

@pattiemac1 @penstxgal1968 @angry-geno-is-score @newlibrary @cellythefloshie @hockeyficexchange

Wednesday- January 31st- Nate MacKinnon’s hotel room

Nate watched as Cale Makar stood at the door and looked out into the hall. Cale looked back and forth several times to ensure that the hallway was clear before turning back to Nate. “So…. uhhhh…. I guess I will see you at breakfast? Maybe we can have round two before the Skills Competition,” the soft spoken defenseman said.

“I’m not sure,” Nate yawned as he wrapped the towel around his nude body. He had just started the shower and was anxious to get his latest conquest out of his room as quickly as possible. He was fully anticipating a video call from Sid, especially once the photo Nate had sent to him was opened.

“Oh, okay,” Cale replied, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Don’t worry Kid,” Nate grimaced slightly, “I won’t leave you hanging.”

With that, Cale smiled and rushed down the hall towards his room. He had a naive fear of being caught doing the “walk of shame” down the hall. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost ran into Leon Draisaitl walking towards his room. Smiling at the near collision, it dawned on him that Leon was walking from the direction of Matthew Tkachuk’s room. The term “walk of shame” took on an entirely different tone during the ASG and Cale pondered just how many of his fellow All Stars would be taking the same walk during the next three days.

Inside Nate’s room, Nate stared at his phone. The message containing his nude selfie with Cale’s bare ass in the background had been seen by Sidney, but there was no response. After another fifteen minutes, Nate contemplated sending another message to provoke a response. It was a move that made him feel needy, but dammit, he NEEDED to know Sid’s response to the picture. Finally, the young buck couldn’t take the suspense any longer. He FaceTimed Sid who picked up while reclining on his hotel bed wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

Nate: Hey Sid

Sidney: Nate

Nate bit his lip before speaking: So, did you see the draft?

Sidney: No, I was busy. I saw the line-up though. Not bad.

Nate felt the flame of anger light in his gut. Not only had Sid not told him that he wouldn’t be at the draft, but he didn’t even have time to watch it. Nate had been selected as a team captain, after all, and he made sure to draft Sid as his first pick.

Nate spit out: Not bad? So not bad but not good? Well, maybe if I hadn’t been thrown off by you being represented by a damn toddler, I would have been more focused

Sidney yawned: Don’t overthink it Nate. It doesn’t really matter what team you end up on during the All Star game. Everything is usually pretty equal talent-wise. Although we might be hosed during a penalty kill.

Nate snarked: Well, then try not to take any dumbass penalties, Sid.

Sid leveled his gaze at Nate: Need anything else?

Nate responded without thinking: Did you get my pic?

Sid answered tersely: Yes, I did. Makar has a nice ass by the way.

Nate inwardly seethed. Sid was completely nonchalant by the knowledge that he fucked Cale. In the seven years since they had become “friends with benefits”, it had been generally accepted by both that what happened when they were apart in different cities went unquestioned.

It was that fact that made Sidney question why exactly Nate had sent such an obvious thirst trap picture. Then it dawned on Sidney that Nate was pissed about the draft. Sure he should have communicated better he thought, but it wasn’t like Nate was his girlfriend. “No, boyfriend,” Sidney corrected himself. Either way, Nate wasn’t entitled to an explanation and it irritated him that he reacted this way.

Nate finally came up with a response: Yeah, it was a nice ass to tap.

Immediately, Nate felt a pang of regret. It was a shitty thing to say about The Kid. It was a shitty thing to use him as a means to make Sid jealous. Nate paused. “Jealous?” Nate questioned himself, “Why would I want to make Sid jealous?”

Sidney responded with disinterest: “Was it good?”

Nate had repeated in disbelief: “Was it good?” “You don’t give a fuck?”

Sidney yawned and examined his feelings with a coldness that further infuriated his younger….. He paused to think of the correct term. What exactly was Nate to him? They definitely fell into the more than friends camp, but were they in a relationship? Definitely not. However in his gut, a tiny seed of something grew. It felt like a weird combination of jealousy, anger and outright annoyance.

Sidney and Nate’s physical relationship began at Sidney’s 2017 Stanley Cup party. A very drunk Nate followed Sidney up to his bedroom at the end of the night. When an equally drunk Sidney suggested that he walk home, Nate made his move with a sloppily drunken kiss. He moaned into Sidney's mouth, “Don't want to go home. I want to be fucked.”

It was an unexpected offer to Sidney, but not an unwelcome one. He had often imagined what it would be like to take the younger man. Solo jerk off sessions after their intense and competitive workouts had become routine. He wondered how his extremely fit body would feel in his hands. Sidney paused to contemplate the ethics involved. “How drunk are you?” Sidney asked before he returned Nate's kiss.

“Sober enough to consent,” Nate slid his hands under Sidney’s shirt, “I am also a grown ass man and I know what I want.” It was as if Nate had read his mind. It was just enough to release Sidney's tenuous hold on his last inhibition. He pulled Nate into the room and slammed the door shut. Nate grinned as he raced to strip. Sidney was slower and more deliberate in his actions. Nate gasped when Sidney’s semi-erect cock sprung out of his boxers.

“Is this your first time?” Sidney asked as he stroked his cock, getting it fully erect. Nate shook his head no. “Get ready for me,” Sidney drawled with seduction. Nate scampered onto the bed. Nate felt Sidney's large thighs behind his as his hands gripped Nate's hips. Sidney leaned forward and nipped at Nate's neck, “How do you want it?”

The blonde looked back at his hockey hero. “Any way you want to take it,” he answered. His eyes half closed in a state of extreme arousal and disbelief. He had dreamed of this moment for years. “Hard and fast it is,” Sidney smiled as he thrusted.

Sidney shook his head and pushed the memory out of his mind. Nate had fumed on the other end of the line. Sidney paused, unsure what to say. He wasn’t sure what emotion he was feeling, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit anything to Nate. “You’re free to do whatever you want, with whomever you want,” Sidney finally replied as coolly as possible.

On the other end of the line, Nate’s face reddened.

Nate: Fine, I will.

Nate ended the call abruptly and turned off his phone. He was sure that Sid would call back immediately. Sidney did not.

Thursday- February 1st- Scotiabank Arena

Sidney glanced at his phone once again as stepped out of the SUV at the All Star Game red carpet. Nate had continued his radio silence after the drunken phone call the night before. When Sidney walked into the assigned locker room, his eyes searched for Nate. He saw him huddled his fellow Avs - Cale and Georgie.

An awe-inspired silence fell over the room when Sidney walked into the locker room. It happened frequently these days when the younger players from other teams came into close proximity to their childhood hockey hero. All eyes turned to Sidney in various levels of adoration. All eyes except for Nate who felt the weight of Sid's eyes on him. He stubbornly looked at the floor and refused to acknowledge him. Sidney blinked then proceeded to his locker to dress, exchanging head nods with everyone else. Cale looked between the two friends and pondered the obvious tension.

Nate kept his focus on Cale, openly bantering with him. Sidney watched for a moment. In all of the years he had known Nate, the younger man had never failed to acknowledge him. The strange, unnamed feeling from the night before returned. The one that he had been trying to stuff down most of the morning and during flight to Toronto. Like most men when confronted by a difficult emotion, he turned it into anger. “Who in the fuck did he think was? Like I am going to be jealous of Salad boy,” Sidney thought to himself. “Any one of these guys would die to have my attention and you want to ignore me, Nate? Go ahead play with your new conquest. I will find my own.”

With that, Sidney turned his attention to Tom Wilson with a smile. “Are you here to give moral support to our boys or did you just want to spend time with me?” Sidney said flirtatiously. Nate’s ears perked up but he willed himself not to look.

“It can’t be both?” Wilson smiled back, “I won’t be on the ice today. I guess I will have to admire you from afar.”

“Just like always,” Sidney shot back, “I see you sneaking glances my way during games.” Nate’s head swiveled around and his eyes widened. Sid was openly flirting with Wilson. He was openly flirting with Wilson IN FRONT OF HIM.

Wilson inwardly laughed. He had been in the league long enough and was smart enough to realize that Sidney’s sudden flirtatiousness was not for his benefit, but MacKinnon’s. Despite that knowledge, he decided to play along because frankly he didn’t have anything better to do. The fact that it irritated the other golden boy from Nova Scotia? That was just an added bonus.

“You know I can’t help myself, Sid,” Wilson flirted, “That ass cannot be ignored.”

“Who says I want you to ignore it?” Crosby shot back.

Nate couldn’t take it anymore and stomped off towards the ice. Makar followed after him. Wilson laughed out loud, “Poor NateDogg - no longer Sid’s golden boy.”

“Shut up, Willie,” Sidney snapped.

“Or maybe he is,” Wilson answered coolly.

“It’s complicated,” Sidney said before he got up to walk to the rink. He turned to Wilson and smiled, “Thanks for the assist though. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime, anytime,” Wilson smiled, “I’ll be glad to keep it up. Get him worked into a lather for you.” Sidney winked at Wilson and kept walking.

The Skills Competition essentially became a battle of two peacocks. Nate and Sidney both vying for the attention of the other by any means necessary. Nate hung tight with Cale, flirting shamelessly. Sidney flitted from young admirer to young admirer, mesmerizing them with his presence before leaving them with titillating hope of more. On the surface, the two appeared calm and collected. They joked superficially and appeared to be the same long-time friends that they had successfully projected into the world through the years. Beneath the surface, they battled to remain in control of the seething jealousy.

In the locker room after the skills competition, talk turned to evening celebrations. Nate made the first move and loudly pronounced his intent to go to a club with his fellow Avs. Sidney casually threw out that he had been invited to History, Drake’s nightclub. That announcement led to almost everyone else in the locker room to ask for an invite as well. Sidney was more than happy to text his new minions to the guest list. He threw out a half-hearted invitation to Nate which was soundly declined.

Friday - February 2nd- Scotiabank arena - Team MacKinnon locker room

Sidney threw his stick against the wall in disgust. Anger pulsating through his veins. Nate followed behind with proverbial steam coming out of his ears. The rest of Team MacKinnon followed in confused silence. “Yes, losing sucked” Oliver Bjorkstrand pondered, “but it’s just the All Star game. It’s not like the points counted.’

“What the fuck was that, Sid,” Nate screamed.

Sidney swiveled around, “What was what?”

“You missed your shoot out shot. You cost us the game,” Nate yelled.

“First, watch your tone with me. Second, you missed your shot right after me,” Sidney yelled back.

“Are you saying that I cost us the game,” the blonde huffed. The remaining players in the locker room looked back and forth as the two friends volleyed accusations at each other.

“I am saying that maybe you should have considered a penalty kill in your draft strategy,” Sidney said through clenched teeth.

“Maybe you should have been there if you were so concerned about draft strategy instead of sightseeing god damn bears and wolves!” Nate responded.

Sidney took a breath and looked around the room. Expressions ranged from the total amusement of Tom Wilson to the shock and awe of Makar. Sidney grabbed onto the bench to keep himself from walking over to the defenseman to slap the expression off his face. “Fuck this,” Sidney muttered, “I refuse to be a spectacle because you are behaving like a spoiled child.” He gathered his things and walked out of the back door into the hallway.

Nate watched in disbelief. “Where in the fuck do you think that you are going?” he thought to himself. His mind raced back to Wednesday and the blythe way Sid had dismissed his veiled cries for attention. He got up and followed him down the hall. Sid checked doors until he found an empty physical therapy room unlocked. He went and threw his stuff down. He was almost undressed when Nate entered the room. The rest of players looked at each other for a moment and scampered down the hall to listen.

“Don’t walk away from me, Sid,” Nate hissed.

“I am not going to indulge your temper tantrum, Nate,” Sidney shot back.

Nate crossed to him in a fury.

“What did you say to me?” Nate questioned.

“I said that I am not going to indulge your temper tantrum,” Sidney responded coolly. The detached tone fueled MacKinnon’s repressed anger.

“Like I am a god damn baby?” Nate laughed.

“Like a damn baby in need of a pacifier,” Sidney spit out.

The duo stared at each other, nostrils flared and chests heaving. In a split second, the anger turned to unbridled passion.

“I don’t need a pacifier but I want to suck on something,” Nate whispered. Sid smiled and tore off his remaining clothes. Nate pushed him until his ample ass bounced off the padded table. Sid pushed himself up onto the table and spread his legs. Silently he offered Nate the object of his desire- his thick and throbbing cock.

Nate began to suck like it was the first time they had explored each other’s bodies. The anger had fully subsided into pure passion. It was aggressive and rough. Sid’s large fingers grabbed onto Nate’s hair and guided him up and down. Nate, however, required no guidance. A silent look was exchanged and Nate stood up. Sid hopped down and Nate bent over the table.

“Is this what you want?” Sid hissed.

“Shut up and fucking give it me,” Nate hissed back.

Sid poured the unspoken anger of the last two days into his fucking. His jealousy of Nate fucking Cale, his anger at Nate’s passive aggressiveness over the past two days, the disappointment of losing to fucking Connor McDavid fueled his relentless thrusts.

Nate felt his anger fading away, replaced with the subtle confidence that Sid did, indeed, still want him. The jealousy faded as Sid fucked him like his life depended on it. The grunt and groans filled the room. Their usual banter replaced animalistic noises as they expressed their emotions in the only way they knew how. Sid collapsed in a heap on top of Nate momentarily before wrapping his arm around Nate’s waist. His hand stroked feverishly, bringing Nate to a quick orgasm. Nate’s back rose up and down as he collected this thoughts and let his breathing slow down.

Sid gently kissed Nate’s back and Nate froze. He allowed Sid to feather kisses across his shoulder blades. Sid seemed to be conveying something, but Nate wasn’t clear on the message. He was torn on wanting to let it continue and the need to know what the message was. He pushed up and turned around to face Crosby.

“What? All of the sudden you give a shit about me?” Nate quizzed.

“Of course, I give a shit about you Nate,” Sidney answered quietly.

“Right, you really gave a shit about me when you skipped the draft,” Nate accused, “I needed you and you bailed on me.”

“You needed me? Why?” Sidney answered, truly perplexed. “All of this is because I missed the draft? Seriously?” Nate reached for his sweatpants and shook his head. “Look at me, Nate,” Sidney commanded. Nate continued to look down. “Look at me please?” Sidney asked instead of ordered.

Nate looked up, the pain evident in his eyes. Sidney continued, “I didn’t know that you really wanted me there and I didn’t certainly didn’t know that you needed me there.” He ran his fingers through his silver and gray hair. “I thought I was doing the right thing, Nate,” Sidney explained, “I thought me not being there would allow the spotlight to be on you. I thought it would give you a chance to shine.”

“You wanted me to shine?” Nate asked softly, “That’s why you stayed away?”

Sidney pulled up his sweatpants, “You were selected to be a captain. It’s a big deal. I didn't want to take attention from you.”

“Really? You expect me to believe that? What did you say the other night Sid? You’re free to do whatever you want, with whomever you want,” Nate accused.

“You are,” Sidney replied as neutrally as possible. “You are free to fuck anyone you want. That doesn't change that I want the best for you.” Inwardly Sidney's heart raced. This conversation was getting close to dangerous emotional territory.

Nate stared at Sidney for a moment. The unspoken emotion simmered beneath the surface. Finally, Nate spoke, unable to stop himself, “You-you're what's good for me.”

“What?” Sidney gasped, “What did you say?”

Nate took a step toward Sidney, “I don't want anyone else but you.” He began to say before Sidney kissed him mid-sentence. The kiss was soft and gentle, completely different than any other of their shared kisses.

“Me too. I only want you- no one else,” Sidney moaned as his tongue languidly explored Nate's mouth.

Nate pulled back, “Seriously?“

“I only want you,” Sidney reiterated as Nate grabbed him and pulled into his body. They were both absorbed in the kiss when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Uhhhh, guys?” Oliver Bjorkstrand said, “They're looking for you. Neither of you did your post game media before you uhhhh.” He paused to think of a polite way to say retreated into an empty therapy room to fuck like animals.

Sidney called out, “Tell them you found me. I'll be right there.” In the hall, the members of Team MacKinnon scrambled back to the locker room. In the room, Sidney grinned at Nate, “I'll go first and let my captain have the last word” He grabbed a hoodie, threw it on, and kissed Nate quickly before rushing out the door.

Nate stared at the door for a brief moment before reaching for his hoodie. He grabbed the remaining hoodie and saw the 87 on the right side. It took a moment for the meaning to sink in. “If I have Sid's hoodie,” he thought to himself, “Where is my hoodie? Shit, Sid has my hoodie.”

He raced to open the door. He called out to Sid, “Wait, you have the wrong hoodie,” Sid turned, looked the number on the hoodie and shrugged. Then he flashed a grin, pointed to the number and then to his heart. Nate stared for a moment before a sly grin spread across his face.

Later that night - Vince Dunn’s condo - Bellevue, Washington

Dunn looked up at the TV screen from his position between Larsson’s massive thighs. He did a double take when he saw the number 29 on Sidney Crosby’s chest. He turned to Larsson who looked down in mild annoyance to the interruption of the blow job he had been receiving. “Is Sid wearing MacKinnon’s hoodie?” Dunn asked in disbelief.

“Gubben,” the ginger spoke, “Focus.”

Dunn pouted slightly, “At least he isn't wearing some rookie's jersey like SOMEONE I know.”

Larsson gently grabbed Dunn’s face and turned it to him. “Gubben…. How long are you going to pout about that? I was simply trying to boost Garth's confidence. You know he means nothing to me. You are my special one.” Dunn grinned, basking in the reassurance of his beloved partner. “Now back to work,” the Swede playfully demanded, “Back to work.”

#sidney crosby imagine #hockey rpf #sidney crosby x nate mackinnon #nhl fic #nhl fiction

[ohbo-ohno]

i made the horrendous mistake of watching the start of an old rdr2 playthrough while taking a break from writing and it was possibly the worst decision i've ever made

#my mind is torn between western au and hockey au bc i can't stop thinking about sid crosby and nate mackinnon at the asg #(neither are what im writing for my exchange) #there are so many fics i want to read... but if i let myself pick them up before finishing this fic i will be proving my lack of selfcontro #ceil's ko-fi fic AND new chapter of the price fic????? i want them so BAD but i like actually just cannot let myself #i have good asks in my inbox but i canNOT let myself answer them #it took me soooo long to figure out what to do with this fic AND i have two abandoned drafts from when i first got my exchange person #so i've been stuck here for like. ever. with no progress made!!!! #((that's not true i've actually made a good amount of progress on this final draft but let me complain)) #i am Not going to have time to edit as much as i usually like to btw so like. if it's a little rough around the edges NOBODY say smth #not that anyone would?? i've never gotten a bitchy “constructive criticism” comment but im terrified of them lmfao #welcome back to: venting in the tags #y'all im distractible and stressed

[toasttt11]

knew

September 5, 2006

Tom was kneeled down in front of his youngest daughter and just finished tying her skates, Connie has been very interested in the ice lately and is always pointing to the ice so Tom and Melanie thought it would be good idea to see if she wants to actually skate, since she can walk pretty good now and turned one almost two months ago.

“Ready Connie Bear?” Tom asked his daughter, as his wife and Madi were already on the ice.

Connie looked at him and nodded quickly, Tom helped her up and she waddled with her skates towards the ice. Tom stood behind her holding both of her hands as she stepped onto the ice.

Tom was prepared for her to slip when she stepped onto the ice but she just glided forwards as she was giggling.

Connie was trying to tug her hands away from her dad and Tom let go of one of her hands skating to her side and she just skated forward with no hesitation.

Connie’s face was in the brightest smile that Tom or Melanie has ever seen on her face and they shared a look knowing this would not be the last time she went on the ice.

#conniebedardau #cb98 #connor bedard #chicago blackhawks #nhl blackhawks #chicago #alex vlasic x oc #alex vlasic #kevin korchinski #lukas reichel #frank nazar #nick foligno #seth jones #kent johnson #fraser minten x oc #fraser minten #mason mctavish #sidney crosby #leon draisaitl #nate mackinnon #nhl x oc #nhl au #nhl draft #nhl blurbs #nhl blurb #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl players #nhl hockey

[fallinallincurls]

Takin’ My Time, Let The World Turn

this is my fic for emmie’s 2.6k writing challenge! thank you for putting this whole thing together @jostystyles​ ! and as always, shout out to @tonyspep​ for brainstorming this one with me. i had such a fun time writing this and can’t wait to share it with all of you! it might be one of my all time favorites.

selected song lyrics: “you know the bar down the street don't close for an hour, we should take a walk and look at all the flowers” from slow burn by kacey musgraves

gif credit to @goaliekisses​

hope you enjoy!! feedback is always appreciated! xx

word count: 4k

~~~~~

Nate doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Not Cale, who is being nothing but kind as he offered 

encouraging words. Not the media, who will undoubtedly ask cliche questions about why the team is in a slump and what’s happened to his play. And definitely not any of the staff members, who are mingling around the hallways doing their jobs.

He almost escapes the pitying looks and near interactions until the athletic trainer he’s almost certainly falling for stops him right before he gets into the locker room.

“Nate,” You murmur, hand catching his wrist in an effort to get him to look at you. He doesn’t. “I need to make sure your shoulder is okay and if not-”

“Y/N, no. The last thing I’m thinking about is how fucked up my shoulder is when we can’t seem to win a game and it’s my fault.”

“Woah, okay.” Your visible recoil practically breaks his heart, shatters it into a million pieces. He doesn’t want you to be scared of him. Not one bit. Yet, here he is, snapping at you and letting the anger control his immediate reactions. Nate braces himself for your departure, the inevitable moment that you give up on him despite the months and months you’ve spent flirting and getting to know each other within the trainer’s room.

Except you stand firmly in front of him, not wavering an inch.

“Come here,” You say, tugging him into the room he’s gotten more familiar with this season than he has in his entire career. He leans against one of the beds, blue eyes moving around the trainer’s room in an effort to not meet your gaze. He’s already ashamed he snapped at a person he cares about, but he doesn’t want to see how much hurt he caused.

“I have to go-” Nate starts, unsure of where his train of thought is going. But he has to get out of here. Out of the arena. Out of the place where he’s reminded he isn’t enough. He just wants to win again, get the team back on track.

Somehow, miraculously, you read his thoughts as if he said every one of them out loud.

“You know, the bar down the street doesn’t close for,” You pause to glance at the time on your watch, “an hour. We could take a walk and look at all the flowers if you want. Clear your head and just breathe.”

Nate’s breath is stolen away for a moment. It’s the first invitation either of you have made to spend time with each other outside of the arena. And even if he’s nervous, Nate knows two things. He likes you, a lot, and both a walk and a drink together sounds like exactly what he needs right now.

“Okay.” He almost whispers, eyes finally meeting yours. A gentle smile tugs at the corners of your lips and his heart rate speeds up without warning. “I’d like that a lot. Let’s do it.” 

“Okay. Now, let me check your stupid shoulder and then you can shower so we can go. Yeah?” 

Not even fifteen minutes later, Nate is back at the training room except now he’s void of all his bulky gear and is dressed in his gameday outfit again. The pressed slacks hug his thighs perfectly and paired with the signature black turtleneck it’s a little much to process all at once, but you can’t deny that he looks good. 

And not that you know, but Nate’s thinking the same about you even if you’re still wearing jeans and the team designated polo.

“No moping, got it?” You tease with a slightly serious tone in your voice as you lead the way out of the arena. Nate rolls his eyes, but agrees. He doesn’t want to ruin this moment with his bad mood that isn’t at all connected to you.

“Got it.” He chuckles in response, already feeling lighter than he did when the game ended earlier. Without hesitation, you intertwine your fingers with his and start walking in the direction of the bar. Nate tries to hide his surprise as you work to disguise the nervousness that’s suddenly present, but the overwhelming sense of comfort envelops both of you more than anything. You realize then that you’re lucky enough to see the soft, shy side of one of hockey’s toughest and best players and that you never want that to change.

Like you mentioned, the sidewalk is lined with the most gorgeous flowers you could imagine. Nate’s never noticed the stunning colors on display, but now he looks at every single one he can as the two of you slowly get closer and closer to the bar. He’s convinced that you have helped him see the simple beauty in the world, even in little ways like these flowers. It is only one reason he knows he’s fallen for you.

When you turn towards him to ask how he’s feeling, if the fresh air has helped calm the frustration that was brewing inside him before, Nate catches you off guard by placing a delicate white flower behind your ear. The softest smile stretches across his face as he takes in how gorgeous you look.

“What?”

“Nothing. You’re just so pretty.” Nate admits like it’s the most obvious thing in the world which makes you blush. You never imagined being more than just colleagues with him, but you can tell something is going to change tonight.

“This is it,” You say, nodding towards the building that already feels like a safe haven for both of you. The moment you and Nate cross over the threshold, the rest of the real world will cease to exist and it’ll just be the two of you full of emotions that have to be discussed.

The cozy atmosphere of Brooklyn’s is much different than the arena and Nate is once again grateful for your suggestion to come here. You slide onto a bar stool, waving him on to do the same. He claims the one to your right and remains as close as he can to you, thigh pressed up against yours and brushing past each other at different moments. For the first time all day, every worry of his slips away.

“What can I get you two?” The bartender asks, completely ignoring the fact that it’s Nathan MacKinnon sitting at the bar. Nate couldn’t be more grateful.

“A Shirley Temple for me please and a beer for him. Thank you!” You reply before he turns away to make your requested drinks. You lean into Nate and you hear a gentle sigh of relief escape past his lips.

“I’m so happy to be here.” Nate confesses, the words so quiet you almost don’t hear them. But you do and you squeeze his hand in response while offering the sweetest, most genuine smile.

“Me too.”

Nate’s never been in love. At least, not really. He loves his family, his teammates, and his dog. But he’s never been in love. There have been a few times where he thought he knew what love felt like, where he thought he had fallen in love, only to realize how catastrophically wrong he was.

Except right now, Nate is pretty sure this is what it feels like to be in love.

~~~~

Holy shit.

That’s pretty much the only thought going through Nate’s mind as the team filters back into the locker room, hoots and hollers from his teammates filling the hallway. Tonight was a big game. Rivalry matchup, but more importantly, the win would mean they secure their spot in the postseason while also claiming the top spot in their division. 

And even though the sixty minutes of play weren’t easy, the Avs came away with that much needed win. They were headed back to the playoffs for yet another year, keeping the postseason streak alive and getting another chance at winning the Cup again.

Except this time, it’s a little different for Nate. More so than it had been in the past. And that’s because of you.

It’s been a few years since that night at Brooklyn’s where you both finally came clean about the mutual feelings for each other. Since then, Nate hasn’t only become a better person, teammate and partner, but he’s been so inexplicably in love. He never thought he’d get to experience this kind of feeling, mostly because he’s not the easiest to love, but he wouldn’t trade what you have together for anything.

That is also the same thought that’s responsible for his recent interest in ring shopping. Not that anyone knows besides his mom.

Yet.

You walk into the locker room with the brightest smile on your face. The boys erupt into another round of cheers at the sight of who entered the room, but your gaze is locked on Nate. Everyone can sense the love between the two of you and despite the noisy celebration happening around him, everything becomes quiet when you reach him.

“Nate, baby! You did!” You exclaim, throwing your arms around his middle for a tight hug. Nate chuckles softly, feeling that overwhelming sense of adoration and pride swell in his chest. He’s quick to embrace you before leaving a kiss to the top of your head.

“I didn’t, we did.” He replies in a soft voice, earning an eye roll from you. 

“Okay, yeah, the team did it. But without you out there, it wouldn’t have happened this exact way.” You lean up to peck his lips one, two, three times which only makes his grin grow. “I’m so proud of you and can’t wait to see what you do in the playoffs.” 

“Couldn’t have done it without you, baby.” Nate murmurs against your lips, nothing but happiness and love rushing through his veins. Despite the fact that his teammates and other members of the staff are also in the room, you kiss him deeply in a way that pours all your emotions into the simple action. Nate’s hands rest of your hips, pulling you in closer and the victory seems even sweeter now.

After both of you agreed to go public with the relationship a few years ago, you slowly got used to showing affection in front of the team and everyone else who works for the Avs. It’s still subdued around them, you can’t imagine the embarrassment at being caught doing something too risky by anyone, but at this very moment neither you nor Nate care.

“Hey, Dogg! Get a room or something! The trainer’s room is available.” EJ’s voice cuts through the moment which makes the two of you pull away from each other. Your cheeks heat up with a wild blush knowing everyone caught a glimpse of the PDA and upon hearing EJ’s hearty chuckle, you drop your head to Nate’s chest. 

“Shut up, EJ. Kissing my girl isn’t a crime.” Nate fires back, one hand rubbing up and down your back in a soothing motion. 

“No, but it is when we have to see it and you’re practically giving us a show.” EJ adds while waving his hand around the locker room in a gesture to remind you just how many people are watching.

“Erik, be nice. They’re just in love and Nate deserves to get some after those two goals tonight.” Gabe chimes in, a mischievous smile on his lips as he nudges his American friend.

“Ohmygod.” You laugh ashamedly, shaking your head back and forth before finally looking up at the two men. The chirps are nothing new, but you still haven’t gotten used to Nate’s teammates being ready to tease him, and sometimes you, over anything they possibly can.

“Are you coming out with us tonight at least? To celebrate with the team?” Gabe asks, looking at the both of you as EJ moves on to bother someone else. Nate nods with a kind smile just as you respond.

“We are! Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

“Good. We’ve gotta get moving though so shower and get dressed, Nate. I would say keep the PDA to a minimum, but I don't give a damn honestly.” The captain laughs before clapping Nate on the shoulder and returning back to his routine. 

Nate’s focus returns to you and the sight of your pink cheeks, eyes sparkling with adoration and the soft smile that can bring him to his knees, makes his heart stop. He kisses your forehead and squeezes you tight for one more hug. 

“Do you wanna walk to the bar? The flowers are always really pretty this time of year and I know how much you love looking at them.” The question escapes past Nate’s lips, an odd sense of nerves making themselves known all of the sudden. You light up at the question and that familiar thought of wanting to spend his life with you enters his mind again.

“That would be perfect. Do what you need to and I’ll see you in a little bit.” 

Nate rushes through his postgame routine just to be with you again. Call him dramatic or whatever you want, but he’s in love and tonight nothing is going to stop him from reveling in that. He finds you not too long after, still as happy and excited as you were when he left you earlier.

“Let’s go for that walk, yeah?” And with that, Nate reaches for your hand and the two of you start down the well known path towards Brooklyn’s. The bar has become your place over the years and as you’re pointing out all the different flowers in bloom along the edges of the sidewalk, Nate couldn’t be happier about creating another night of memories there. 

But that thought still hasn’t left his mind. Without really thinking, he decides to bring up the subject without giving anything away and the perfect chance to do so is now. Just as you pick one of the colorful flowers, the words come tumbling out of Nate’s mouth.

“What kind of flowers do you want at your wedding?”

Your brows furrow in brief confusion at the random question and Nate thinks he blew it. His cheeks become rosy with blush and his stunning blue eyes almost drop away from yours until he catches the look of awe crossing over your facial features. 

“You mean our wedding?”

“Our wedding?” Nate repeats, heart racing a million miles a minute. He tries to not think too much into what changing one word means, but it’s impossible when you’re looking at him like nothing else in the world matters.

“If you think I’m getting married to anyone else, you’re crazy. Thought you had a brain in there, MacKinnon.” You giggle, tangling a hand in his hair. “Sunflowers and dahlias by the way because I’d love a summer wedding in your hometown.”

“You’ve thought about this, huh?” 

“More than you know, bubs. Just waiting on a ring so I can start planning a real wedding instead of an imaginary one.” Nate catches the teasing tone as you wiggle your left hand for emphasis and laughs along with you.

“Trust me, it’s happening sooner than you think.” He reveals, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. “You’re it for me, baby.”

“You are for me too, Nate.” 

Nate knows then, as his fingers intertwine with yours again and you continue walking to the bar, that he’s going to propose. He doesn’t want to go through life with anyone else but you. There will be a ring on your finger soon and that thought alone makes him unbelievably happy.

~~~~

“Introducing for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. MacKinnon!” Deafening screams and cheers erupt from the crowd as you and Nate enter the reception hand in hand. You both have genuine beaming smiles on display, nothing but love dancing in your gazes. He spins you around, letting the beautiful white dress flare out for everyone to awe at, before pulling you in close again for the first dance.

It has been a long time coming, but you are finally married to the man of your dreams and share his last name. And Nate still can’t believe that he gets to spend the rest of his life with the woman he loves more than anything in the whole world.

Nate asked the fateful question towards the end of that summer where he said your ring was coming sooner than you thought. He was right. On a chilly August night in Cole Harbour when you were both cuddled up together by a fire looking out at the lake, he got down on one knee and asked if you would give him the honor of being his wife. The answer was a teary eyed “yes, of course” as if you even had to think about it.

The following offseason, you officially tied the knot during a small ceremony in his hometown just like you both dreamed of. Besides yours and Nate’s families, Sidney and your best friend Rose were there. Cox, Nate’s beloved German Shepherd, even got to be part of the ceremony. It couldn’t have been more perfect. 

Now surrounded by a much larger group of your family and friends in Denver at the gorgeous outdoor venue purposely selected to enjoy the last fleeting moments of warm summer weather in the city, the long awaited reception is in full swing. 

As the selected love song plays and the two of you dance together with everyone watching, Nate acknowledges the fact that he didn’t know he could be this happy. Winning the Cup doesn’t even come close to the pure elation he feels at this very moment. Even though the matching rings have found their home on both of your left hands for two months already, getting to celebrate with everyone important to him is nothing short of amazing.

In fact, it’s everything Nate has dreamed of for so long without realizing it. 

When the closing notes of the song come to an end, you share a deep kiss that earns a loud collective cheer from the audience before making the rounds to greet everyone. The sun warms your skin and Nate notices the glow of pure happiness on you. It’s a look he wants to see you wear everyday, all the time. And he may not know it, but those emotions are only present because of him.

After the cake is cut and both the bouquet and garter toss are done (Rose caught the bouquet with the deepest blush on her cheeks and EJ couldn’t have been more proud that the garter ended up in his hands based on the smug look on his face), the focus shifts more to dancing the night away while having the best time possible.

You and Nate seem to dissolve into the background for the first time since the reception started and it’s a little relieving. 

When you turn towards your husband, you find him already looking at you with soft eyes and the smile you adore more than anything. For the millionth time, the thought strikes you that he looks incredibly handsome, but going forward, this man is yours for life. He’ll be there through it all no matter what and you couldn’t ask for anyone better.

“Hey, babe,” Nate grins, pressing a kiss to your temple as he leans in to whisper. “Everyone seems to be having a really good time, I don’t think they’d notice if we slipped away.” 

“Nathan! Save it for later, we’ll have plenty of time.” You exclaim, lightly hitting his shoulder and Nate can’t help but chuckle.

“Trust me, we’ll get to that. But that’s actually not what I meant.”

“Oh?”

“Wanna take a walk? Look at all the flowers? You know, the usual.” Nate asks with a teasing tone, blue eyes glistening with a sense of playfulness and love. “The bar’s open for a couple more hours, we can slip away for a little bit. Promise no one will notice.”

The idea is tempting and it’s sweet to think about spending a moment at Brooklyn’s, the place it all began, just the two of you. With one glance around, you find that everyone is preoccupied with things that don’t involve you or Nate. Gabe is dancing with Linnea, her tiny feet on top of his as they laugh together. Sidney is talking with your family, undoubtedly charming them as he always does despite the fact he met them for the first time years ago. EJ in the seat right next to Rose at the bridesmaid table, their faces close together in a conversation and matching grins on their faces.

“Okay,” You start, reaching for Nate’s hand. The glimmer of the gold band on his ring finger makes your heart do somersaults all over again. “Let’s take a walk and look at the flowers, bubs.”

Somehow, you both slip away without being noticed thanks to Nate timing the escape perfectly. Nate pulls you in for a breathtaking kiss the moment you’re out of everyone’s sight before starting on the familiar path to the bar. The walk to Brooklyn’s feels different this time. Maybe it’s because you’re wearing a wedding dress and Nate is in his tux. Or maybe it’s because it’s the first time you are taking the well known route to the bar that’s become a special place for you as a married couple. Whatever it is, you can feel it.

During this time of year, the wildflowers and greenery are gorgeous so it’s Nate pointing out the prettiest ones throughout the walk. The smile on your lips never falters and you find yourself admiring both the flowers and your husband the whole time. Your husband. It still feels like a dream.

“Here we are!” Nate says in excitement, holding the door open for you and the comforting sounds of the bar welcome you. Over the years, almost nothing about the place has changed except for the two of you. Since the first time you both came here, you’ve grown and got a little bit older and fell deeply in love. But through it all, every celebration, anniversary and special occasion that was held at Brooklyn’s felt like home.

Nate leads the way to the bar, sliding onto one of the stools effortlessly and making sure your dress doesn’t get ruined as you sit next to him. You lean up to kiss his cheek and keep your shoulder pressed against his in an effort to be as close to him as possible. A few seconds later, the bartender comes over and offers a bright grin to the two of you.

“Our favorite regulars! Congratulations! We’re all so happy for you two.” He exclaims, making Nate blush and you giggle in response. A flurry of thank you’s slip from yours and Nate’s lips, but you acknowledge the man’s kindness. “What can I get you tonight? On the house, of course.”

Nate answers without a moment of hesitation. “A Shirley Temple for her and a beer for me, please.” He smiles, glancing at you and you wish more than ever that you could freeze time. You would stay right here with the love of your life in the place that means more than words in your relationship. 

It doesn’t matter that the reception is still happening without the bride or groom there. All Nate cares about is being here with you, away from the production of a big wedding. And all you care about is cherishing this special moment with him on the (second) first day of forever together.

“I’m so happy to be here.” You whisper, repeating his words from that first night you spent in this very bar all those years ago as you lean into him. Nate squeezes your hand in a silent response before placing a tender kiss to the top of your head.

“Me too, Y/N. Me too.” 

Nate hadn’t ever been in love until he met you. Through the years, you taught him what it felt like to be unapologetically loved and how beautiful life could be with that special person by his side. But right now, spending a rare moment alone on your wedding night, Nate knows he couldn’t be more in love. 

He waited his turn for this kind of love and still has a lot to learn, but the slow burn was worth everything. Because at the end, he got you.

taglist: @tonyspep @miracleonice87 @starshine-hockey-girl @kailyn-writes @happer08 @stroopwaffle8 @rosesvioletshardy @sorryjustafangirl @laurenairay @hockeyunits @musiclove-12 @ilyasorokinn @jostystyles​ @breezymichelle99​ @comphyjost​ @ya-pucking-nerd​ @beauvibaby​ @sourjoonie​ @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69​ @itrocksmysocks​ @typical-simplelove​ @boqvistsbabe​ @antoineroussel​ @spookysvech​ @equallyshaw​ @eightmakar​

#nathan mackinnon #nate mackinnon #nathan mackinnon fic #nate mackinnon fic #nathan mackinnon imagine #nate mackinnon imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic #colorado avalanche #nathan mackinnon x reader #hockey fic #hockey imagine #fluff #nathan mackinnon fluff #hwncloud #mackinnon

[spine-buster]

That Which We Are, We Are | Nathan MacKinnon | Chapter 2

gif credit @/divisionrival

A/N: We learn soooooo much about Sorcha in this chapter, and I honestly hope you all love her as much as I do!

Nate had showered that morning, and took his time picking out an outfit and getting dressed. He made sure to style his hair, spray on his good cologne, and put on one of his nicer watches. He even double-checked himself on his way out the door.

He didn’t know why he was nervous to have lunch with her when he was the one who had initiated it in the first place, but alas, he had butterflies in his stomach as he got into his car and plugged in his phone. Before leaving, he reviewed the email chain from last night – the one where she’d finally agreed to lunch. She was short and curt with her responses, much like she was when Shane was in the café. He hoped she was more forthcoming with her words over lunch, now that they were alone, without the influence of anyone else around.

He seemingly got to The Press Gang first, letting the hostess know his reservation and being seated at a table that was up against the giant old brick fireplace. Before Sorcha got there, the owner of the restaurant came out and spoke to him, shaking his hand with a firm handshake and asking for a photo. Nate politely obliged, thinking to himself that it was better this was done now rather than when Sorcha was there. He was sure – judging by what she’d written to him in her emails – that she would have shuddered at the whole thing. After the interaction, the waiter took his drink order and brought some water to the table.

Then Nate waited.

And waited.

And waited.

There was no way in hell he was getting stood up by Sorcha Saint-Coeur. No way in hell. Not because he was Nathan MacKinnon and who was she to stand him up, but because he knew she wasn’t capable of it. Sorcha was too nice a girl to stand someone up a restaurant.

At least, he thought so.

At almost the exact moment when his brain was going to turn on that thought, he saw Sorcha walk through the door, he curls bouncing and her dress swaying. She seemed breathless as she spoke to the hostess, but was soon walking behind her to where Nate was sitting. “Mr. MacKinnon, your guest has arrived,” the hostess smiled.

“Hi,” Sorcha said, her voice strong but, yes, completely breathless as she took her seat opposite of Nate.

“Hey,” he couldn’t help but smile. He knew he’d only seen her twice since moving to Colorado, but he’d never seen her so frazzled. For someone who kept strong and kept her cool in the face of seeing one of her high school bullies again, it was really, really cute.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. I—”

“Can I start you off with something to drink?” the hostess interrupted.

Sorcha looked as if it took a few seconds to process what the hostess was even asking. She saw the water on the table and looked at her. “Just lemons for the water.”

The hostess nodded before leaving their table, and Sorcha focused her attention back on Nate. “I am really sorry I’m late. A meeting I was in about the new exhibit was running late, and I basically had to namedrop you as the only way to get out of it,” she explained.

Nate’s eyes lit up. “You namedropped me, huh?” he asked cheekily.

She immediately saw the look in his eyes and smiled too, albeit lips closed and trying her best to hide it. “Don’t push it. I hate being late to things, however much I was coerced into going to them by someone Googling me and finding my work email.”

It was Nate’s turn to bite his cheek. “Regardless of how much you were coerced, thanks for coming,” he said. “I uh, I really appreciate you taking your time out of your busy day. I can only imagine how much work curating an exhibit is.”

“How do you know I’m the one curating it?”

“Uh, I – the first time we saw each other at the café and I couldn’t remember you, I heard you talking about it with that waitress…”

“Oh, so now not only are you stalking me at my work, you’re eavesdropping on my conversations?” she retorted.

“No! No no no no no! I—” he tried to cover, shaking his head and repeating the words in rapid succession, attempting to stutter out a believable ‘I swear I’m not a creep’ speech when he stopped, noticing the smirk that overtook her face after she saw what a stumbling mess he’d turned into. His cheeks flushed red. He sighed, biting his tongue. “You got me.”

“It was easier than I thought.”

Nate noticed a stark contrast between the Sorcha from elementary and high school and the Sorcha that was sitting across from him. She was, well, beaming with confidence. It was oozing out of her in every word she said, in every movement she made, in every outfit she wore and colour of lipstick she chose. Instead of looking away when anyone addressed her, she would stare intensely into your eyes. Instead of barely speaking, most of her words cut like a dagger. Instead of retreating into herself when addressed by someone, she bright, vivacious, and effervescent. Every part of him was drawn to every part of her, from the first curl atop her head to periwinkle-coloured pedicured toes.

The waiter approached the table enthusiastically, placing a small plate of slight lemon wedges on the table. “I see your guest is here,” he smiled. “Should I bring menus?”

Before Nate could even nod his head, Sorcha took control of the situation. “You guys have Sober Island oysters, right?”

“We do! Just got some in fresh this morning.”

“Just shuck twelve at a time and bring them over for us,” she smiled at the waiter.

The waiter nodded at them both once more before leaving. Nate focused his attention back on Sorcha. “Who said I liked oysters?”

Sorcha shot him a look. “You’re from the East Coast, Nate. You like oysters and lobsters. I don’t care how long you’ve lived in Colorado. It’s in your blood.”

He couldn’t help but smile again. Her humour – her humour was another big thing that showed her confidence and how much she’d changed. “You need to tell me what you’ve been up to for eight years. You seem like a completely different person from what I remember.”

“I am a completely different person from what you remember. Even from what I remember,” she said, pouring herself a glass of water. “Elementary school, high school…I’m not the same person now as I was back then.”

“But that’s a good thing. I mean we all change,” Nate said. “I think if you or I hadn’t changed from high school that would be a problem. The fact that we have changed is completely normal.”

Sorcha stayed silent for a moment. It was as if she was fighting with herself on what to say next. “Why’d you invite me to lunch, Nate?”

“I told you. I haven’t seen you in almost a decade and it would be nice to know what you’re getting up to. We grew up on the same street, Sorcha.”

“You keep saying that but you always fail to mention how we lived completely different lives,” she said. “Like, is there an ulterior motive here? Some James Bond style spy mission to report back to people like Noah or Shane?”

“God no. Why would I tell anything about you to them?”

“Because they wouldn’t fucking leave me alone in high school,” her tone was harsh. “I know a lot but I don’t understand them and their choices and why they decided to bully me for years.”

“I’m not…” Nate shook his head, looking her straight in the eyes. “Sorcha, I’d never do that to you. I know I was a dick, but I’d never gossip about you to people you hate.”

Sorcha looked him in the eye, too, trying to find even a hint of lie; trying to find any little thing that would make her second-guess her decision to come and have lunch with Nate. But there was nothing. She could find nothing in him that made her not believe him, or make her second-guess herself. So she took a deep breath, calmed down, and made sure to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe becoming a hockey player changed him. She had no clue how it would, but maybe it did. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” he said softly, accepting her apology. The waiter brought over their tray of oysters, setting it in the middle of the table, but neither of them grabbed at one yet. “You mentioned you got into the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design,” he mentioned, hoping she’d elaborate.

Sorcha hesitated once more before nodding, reaching out to grab an oyster. “It was really good for me, going to an art school. I was surrounded by people who had the same interests, same frame of mind, appreciated the same things…you know, all that stuff. But beyond that, nobody judged me. The friends I made there and that I still keep in touch with are some of the least judgemental people I’ve ever met. And it’s funny I say that, because art is all about interpretation but an important and vital part of it is also critique. So you would have thought they’d be judgemental, but they weren’t. They were so unlike everybody we went to high school with. And that’s why I loved it.”

“That’s—that’s good,” Nate said, sucking back an oyster. “I’m happy you found like-minded people.”

“I focused a lot on fine arts in my two years there – my painting, my sketching. I threw a couple of art shows with my friends and even sold some pieces at local markets through our little art collective—”

“You sold your art?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see it sometime?”

“Maybe,” she said. “Anyway, even though the fine art aspect of it was fun, I knew I wanted to pivot to art history. A professor at NSCAD put me in touch with their colleague who lectured at the University of Toronto. That professor took one look at my portfolio and put me up for a one-year exchange at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts in Italy.”

“Wait – you lived in Italy?”

Sorcha nodded. Judging by her smile, she was clearly still very proud of herself, and rightly so. It was a huge deal for a girl from Cole Harbour to go and live in Florence. “Yeah, I did. Studied art history there.”

“How was that?”

“The best year of my life,” she deadpanned, giggling slightly. “Italy’s a dream. Have you ever been?”

“Yeah, I’ve been with my buddies when we were over in Europe for a hockey tournament. Not to Florence, though. I hear it’s beautiful.”

“It’s stunning,” Sorcha confirmed. “It’s just the most beautiful city. And the people are so nice, and so…I don’t know, Italian. It was such a breath of fresh air, being there, living in a different country with a different culture. It made me realize there was a life outside of Nova Scotia that I could have, so I took full advantage of it.”

“Good for you.”

“Florence was such a dream. I could have stayed there for another year if I was allowed, but I wasn’t. I had to start the rest of the credits for art history, so I moved to Toronto and ended up living there for three years. I graduated in 2018, worked for a year, then moved back home, and I’ve been working at the art gallery ever since.”

It was an amazing story, one that Nate was genuinely happy to see Sorcha experience. She had gone through so much shit in school, it was nice to hear that she had found her people and succeeded outside the confines of high school. Not just succeeded – soared. She’d done better than anyone else he knew or heard about. Sure, his friends were successful, but nobody had sold art or lived in Italy. “That’s incredible,” Nate said. “You’ve been busy.”

“I like to think so,” Sorcha said before taking a sip of her water. “You’ve been busy too, I hear.”

Nate smiled. “I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about my being a hockey player.”

“I said if you boasted about being an NHL player I’d leave, but you haven’t done that,” she clarified. “Besides, I’m asking you. Despite hearing about you on the news every night, I’d like to hear about it directly from the source.”

So Nate told her. He told her all about living in Colorado; how at the beginning his parents and sister would visit a lot, and he lived with a teammate who Sid once played with who essentially watched over him and made sure he didn’t get into trouble – not that Nate would. He told her about the highs and lows of hockey, his gradual improvement, his almost constant training, and his hunger for more – how he was never satisfied. He told her about finding his own place, moving out on his own in a penthouse downtown and enjoying Denver as a city. The whole time, they slurped oysters and refilled each other’s water. Nate was surprised Sorcha was listening so intently. Sorcha was, too.

“Oh, and my dog, of course,” Nate added, not believing he forget to mention him.

“You mean your parents’ goldens? If I’m over my parents’ house I see them walking them sometimes.”

“No no, I got my own dog. He comes back and forth with me,” Nate explained. “Cox. He’s seven. He’s a German shepherd.”

Sorcha had been bringing an oyster towards her mouth but stopped when he told her. She laid down her arm and almost laughed. “You’re kidding.”

“No. Why?”

She tried to hide her smile. Like, really tried to hold her smile. “I have a German shepherd too.”

Nate’s mouth dropped open before he smiled. “No way.”

“Mhm,” she nodded her head. “Juno. She’s three.”

They spent the rest of lunch sharing pictures of their dogs and talking about all the weird and hilarious stuff they did. Another platter of oysters was ordered as Sorcha told Nate about how she had to hire a dog walker for the day while she was at work, even though she took Juno on walks at night, too. The waiter brought another pitcher of water as Nate told her how he had to put Cox in a special, high-end boarding kennel when he was on the road because Cox was a protection-trained shepherd who only knew German commands (Sorcha couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of Nate speaking German for his dog). Nate, for his part, couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe they both had German shepherds. What a coincidence.

When they were full from oysters, Nate handled the cheque. Sorcha thanked him, obviously offering to pay half, but Nate wasn’t having it. When they stood up and made their way out, Nate made the executive decision to walk her back to work, knowing it wasn’t that far. Even if it only took ninety seconds, Nate wanted to take the time. He wanted to spend the extra time with Sorcha.

But…why?

Why did he want to spend that extra time? Was an hour not enough? He was finding himself drawn to her much more than he was willing to admit to himself; much more than he thought.

When they approached the doors to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Sorcha turned towards him slowly, smiling. “Thanks for lunch, Nate,” she said softly. “I had a lot of fun, surprisingly.”

“Yeah, no problem. Any time,” he nodded. “Thanks for joining me.”

Sorcha hesitated again, biting her bottom lip before speaking again. “If I don’t hear from you again, I—it was nice to see you, and I hope you know you make Cole Harbour proud. Everyone’s rooting for you.”

Nate appreciated the sentiment, but he was taken aback by the first half of the sentence more than anything. “What makes you think I don’t want to see you again?” he asked.

Sorcha stared at him. It took everything within her not to scoff at him. “Come on, Nate.”

“What? Come on, Sorcha,” he mimicked her. “Can I see you again? Maybe on the weekend or something?”

Sorcha kept staring at him. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I’ll think about it,” she said, stepping up.

“Sorcha.”

“Have a great rest of the day, Nate,” were her last words to him before escaping inside the art gallery.

Nate stood outside the door waiting, as if she would come back, as if she’d run back and say yes and they’d make plans for the weekend. But it was Sorcha, and of course she didn’t. So instead, Nate sighed, but his hands in his pockets, and walked back to where he parked his car.

***

“Sit,” Sorcha commanded, cupping her hand as a visual like her dog trainer taught her many moons ago. Juno sat obediently, staring up at her owner with her big eyes. “Wait,” Sorcha put two fingers up, watching Juno as she set her food bowl down in its holder. Sorcha waited five seconds, her fingers still up. Juno waited patiently for her released word. “Okay!” Sorcha said, watching Juno get up and walk over to her food. “What a good girl you are, Juno,” Sorcha cooed, scratching behind her ears as Juno began to eat her kibble, one by one – an oddity she mentioned to Nate earlier that day at lunch.

As Sorcha heard the crunch of the kibble, she rinsed the dishes in her sink and put them in the dishwasher. Tonight she’d have to choose what she wanted to watch while she cuddled with Juno on the couch – it would either be Normal People (for the billionth time), or perhaps Selling Sunset for some mindless entertainment. Just as she closed her dishwasher, the notification of a work email coming through filled her apartment.

If it was her boss Janet, she was going to go insane.

When she picked up her phone to see the notification, it was most definitely not Janet.

From: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] To: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] Subject: Lunch

i had a really great time at lunch. thanks for coming out. let’s do it again except make it dinner. friday or saturday?

Sorcha couldn’t believe what she was reading. The man really was relentless. Not in a creepy or overbearing way, of course, but relentless nonetheless.

From: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] To: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] Subject: RE: Lunch

Nate, I had a really great time today at lunch too. I appreciate you taking me out. I don’t think having dinner together is a great idea.

Have fun being back home.

Short, sweet, and to the point. That would settle it, surely?

From: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] To: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: Lunch

i don’t understand why you’re saying no. i thought we had a great conversation and good time. we can talk and catch up some more.

From: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] To: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: RE: Lunch

I’m not exactly the type of person to be seen out to dinner with Nathan MacKinnon.

From: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] To: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lunch

what’s that supposed to mean? if you’re worried about anything, i promise nobody will bother us. PROMISE.

From: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] To: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lunch

In Halifax? Fat chance.

From: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] To: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lunch

i promise you. if it happens you never have to speak to me again.

what do u mean you’re not the type of person to be seen out with me? i don’t think that’s true at all. and i don’t know if you’re calling me out on that or calling out yourself. either way, don’t. i’m not the same guy i was in high school. i think u saw that today and lunch. neither are u. all that line of thinking does it make it seem like i’m too good for people when that’s the last thing in the world i want. outside of hockey i’m just Nate. i think u would appreciate that more than anyone.

Sorcha was biting on her lip so hard she swore she was going to draw blood.

From: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] To: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lunch

Where are we going?

From: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] To: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lunch

:)

i’ll let u know. but let’s say friday @ 7

oh and btw, if u get one ur artsy friends to pretend to recognize me so u never have to speak to me again, i’ll know the difference.

From: Sorcha Saint-Coeur [[email protected]] To: Nathan MacKinnon [[email protected]] Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Lunch

You’ve foiled my plan already, Nathan MacKinnon.

Sorcha couldn’t believe what she had just agreed to. Never in a million years did she think she’d run into Nathan MacKinnon and end up going to lunch and dinner with him. If someone told her teenage self this fact, she would have laughed in their face. Yet here she was.

Juno came around the corner, the sound of her paws on the hardwood floor the indicator. She walked over to Sorcha and stood by her side, looking up at her. Sorcha looked down. “What am I doing, Juno?” she asked.

Now more than ever, she wished Juno could talk.

#nathan mackinnon #nathan mackinnon imagine #nathan mackinnon fic #nathan mackinnon fan fic #colorado avalanche #colorado avalanche imagine #colorado avalanche fic #colorado avalanche fan fic #nathan mackinnon blurb #nate mackinnon #nate mackinnon imagine #nate mackinnon fic #nate mackinnon fan fic #nate mackinnon blurb #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fan fic #nhl blurb #hockey #hockey imagine #hockey fic #hockey fan fic #hockey blurb #that which we are we are series

[miracleonice87]

Turn The Lights Off, Carry Me Home with Nathan MacKinnon (feat. Erik Johnson) - part two of Feelings and the Final

a/n: I mean, was there really another gif I could use? 😂 congrats to the Colorado Avalanche! hope you guys enjoy this one. the part about Gabe is completely true and comes from the most recent episode of Spittin Chiclets where they interview EJ lol. obviously for legal reasons the part about Nate and EJ is fiction lmao!

warnings: swearing, alcohol, nudity, allusions to / jokes about smut but nothing graphic

word count: ~1,200

_____

Nate was crying again. Tears of joy again, for which you were grateful. You couldn’t imagine the alternative… except, after last season, you supposed that you nearly could.

But this year, he had done it. The man who had disgustedly announced that he “hadn’t won shit” after last season’s crushing end, had now, indeed, won shit.

Your husband had won the damn Stanley Cup.

And here the two of you stood at center ice at Amalie, his frame towering over yours in his skates as he held you with every ounce of strength he had, sniffling as tears tracked down his face. His cheek rested against the top of your head, and you couldn’t even muster up a joke about his sweaty beard mussing your hair because of the desperation you felt radiating from him.

In the moments where he felt his world was crumbling around him, when he felt himself buckling under the weight of infinite expectations, none heavier than his own – Nate needed you in those moments. He needed you to be his anchor, to hold him together when he knew he could fall apart at any second.

And in the moments where he felt so light and buoyant and joyful that he was afraid he may just float away – he needed you in those moments, too. Like this one, right here. He needed you to ground him even in victory, even in his relief. Having you in his arms was his only clue that this was, indeed, real life.

He eventually drew a deep breath and stood up straight, settling his eyes on you. He shook his head in silence, still trying to find a grip on this reality.

As you pressed your hands to his cheeks, you only wanted to know one thing.

“Was it worth it?”

As a smile slowly turned up the corners of Nate’s mouth, you knew he knew exactly what you meant.

Was it worth it? Waking up at 4 a.m. as a kid to travel two, three, or more towns over to practice on free ice. Moving away from home at 15. Not attending university like the rest of the guys he’d grown up with and feeling like he was missing out. Was it worth it? Rarely getting to travel home to see his family during the season for more than 24 hours, if that. Birthdays and anniversaries and weddings that absolutely broke his heart to miss. Having to leave you at home for long road trips. The injuries and heartbreak and doubts and sweat and blood and tears. Was it worth it?

Nate nodded, then kissed your forehead.

“It was,” he assured, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “Thank you for believing in me.”

You wrapped your arms around his sturdy waist and leaned against his chest.

“Until the world stops, baby.”

_____

You’d stumbled into your room, a handsy Nate pressed against your back, no earlier than 7:30 the next morning after a good 10 or so hours of partying with the team and their families. He’d barely let you tap your key card to open the door, in favor of mouthing hungrily at your neck and jawline as you fumbled with the door handle, giggling all the while. Eventually, somehow, the lock had clicked open, and before you knew it, Nate had ushered you inside and pushed you against the closet door, his lips on yours as he pushed the beer-and-champagne-soaked denim “29” jacket from your shoulders and tore the maroon silk camisole from your skin.

No, he literally tore the seam.

You scoffed and playfully smacked his shoulder. “Nathan!” you gaped accusingly, but he could see the mischievous glimmer in your eyes.

“I’ll buy you a new one,” he muttered before hoisting you upward, your legs automatically wrapping around his hips. He took a few long stride with you koala’d around him, dropped you onto the mattress, and took his fill of you until neither one could keep your eyes open for another second, drifting into a glorious, blissful haze.

You’d assumed you’d been asleep for hours when you heard a knock at the door. You blinked bleary eyes to peer at the alarm clock on the bedside table: 9:16.

You groaned and flopped back onto your pillows, knowing you’d put the privacy card outside your door for the entire stay. Whoever it was would have to wait. You burrowed back under the covers and pressed yourself into a still-sleeping Nate’s chest. For a few more seconds. Until the knock came again. Louder this time. You let out a growl, which finally stirred Nate.

“What’s happening?” he moaned, voice hoarse.

“Nate,” came the voice from the other side of the door.

“EJ, I swear to god, I’m gonna murder you,” Nate called back, pulling an extra pillow over his face. “Go away. Go to bed.”

“Why? Are you guys having sexual intercourse?”

“Erik!” “EJ!” You and Nate both sat up in bed as you shouted your warnings.

“I won’t look, just open the door,” Erik promised. “Trust me.”

Nate rolled his eyes, pulled the covers up to shield your bare chest, threw on a robe from the closet, and opened the door… to find Erik Johnson butt-ass naked with the Cup in his hands, covering his… manhood. An enormous, toothless grin on his face as he peered into the room over Nathan’s shoulder.

“First of all, you said you weren’t gonna look,” Nate pointed out, rubbing his forehead. “Second… what the fuck are you doing?”

EJ pushed his way past Nate and let himself into the room, placing the Cup on the TV stand.

“First of all,” EJ mocked, gesturing to where you lay in bed, “she’s all covered. Unfortunately.” That last addition earned him a backhanded smack to the chest from your husband. “Oww! Jesus. And second, this is how Gabe delivered the Cup to me this morning, so I wanted to keep the tradition going,” he shrugged. “She’s all yours!” he exclaimed, squeezing Nate’s shoulder as he headed for the door, pausing at the closet. He turned to you.

“Can I borrow your robe?” he asked, glancing at the garment.

You sighed then made a sweeping gesture with your arm.

“Have at it,” you said dryly.

EJ nodded enthusiastically, taking the robe from the hanger and wrapping it around himself.

“Thanks,” he said simply. “Okay, I’ll leave you three alone. See you later. Love you.”

With a loud kiss to Nate’s cheek and one last grin your way, he was off, the door shutting itself behind him. Nate simply looked at you and shook his head, laughing quietly.

“What a fucking nut job,” he giggled, then glanced at the Cup. “But this is pretty sweet though, right?”

You nodded, then gestured for him to bring the trophy closer. “Might as well make the most of it,” you said. “C’mon, let’s take some naked, messy bed selfies to embarrass our kids with someday.”

Nate beamed, shedding the robe. “I thought you’d never ask.”

#nathan mackinnon fanfiction #nathan mackinnon fanfic #nathan mackinnon fic #nathan mackinnon blurb #nate mackinnon fanfiction #nate mackinnon fanfic #nate mackinnon fic #nate mackinnon blurb #colorado avalanche #colorado avalanche blurb #colorado avalanche fanfiction #colorado avalanche fanfic #colorado avalanche fic #nathan mackinnon #nate mackinnon #erik johnson #my writing

[equallyshaw]

something borrowed - nathan mackinnon (feat. erik johnson and ryan graves)

- based off the movie of the same name + my own plot changes

- Warnings: swearing. angst. ej is annoying in this, i apologize. just a character. also lili is a bimbo blonde in this, kinda like in the movie. no hate against any blondes, just mirroring the movie. there is a not so friendly joke, so please be advised. itll be in bold so you can skip over. ALSO, this movie is so chaotic and all over the place...this is all over the place and chaotic lol

- shoutout to @pucksalotguys for supporting this and giving me feedback :)

Word Count: 5.7k+ this is a long one, so much to upack.

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tessa burns grew up around some of the greats in nova scotia, canada. aka, sid the kid, brad marchand, andrew cogliano and ryan graves to name a few. her older brothers played hockey ofcourse and so she was always around the rink at all hours. always had a chirp or two to throw out as she left the arena with them. despite growing up in nova scotia, she never met nathan mackinnon until they both went to shattuck st marys for highschool and hockey. they instantly connected, over hockey, nova scotia, bad breakups and the undying need to be the best. though, he was more hard core than she ever was; in her defense.

tessa was never alone growing up, despite have four brothers before her. she had her best friend ryan graves, grew up right down the block. always had a bad joke, always had a smart and witty comment to make. one that would rock you to your core. she also had her best friend liliana who was a blonde goddess. a 5'8 blonde, taller goddess. one that all the guys went after. one that swore she gave up toronto university just so they could both go to univeristy of british columbia. one that guilt tripped her left and right, but she was liliana. ofcourse, she couldn't 'drop' her. that was her girl, and there was no way she could do that to her closest confidant besides ryan. ryan saw how shitty liliana treated her, how liliana made sure she was the center of the attention. always. ryan always knew about tessa having the huge crush and ever lasting love for nathan, though he was lilianas. she had been for the past three years. so ryan watched as tessa looked on from the bench, what else could she do? so she wallowed in her own guilt, pity and anger of not saying anything before to nate. though it was too late, they were to bed wed in the middle of august before they would flee to california for a week then back to denver.

°• ♔ •°

tessa walked into the restaurant and her eyes went wide, taking in the 'surprise' 28th birthday part; liliana had thrown for her. it was june 24th right after the seaosn had ended, but on without a cup. not this year. tessa smiled fakely as lili cheered and wrapped her arms around her best friend, sister even. "honeybug happy birthday!" she screamed, using an old childhood nickname that should have never see the light of day; even when she was 6. "thanks lili." she responded cooly, hugging her friend back. some of her closest friends were here, well lili's too. wherever tessa went, lili did too and vice versa. she smiled at her brothers who came up, wrapping her in a family hug. "hi guys.." she smiled, one that didn't reach her eyes. "hey tess, mom and dad say sorry for not being here." the oldest, billy explained and she nodded. british columbia was more importnant it seemed.

"AYYYYY KIDDO!!" she heard the ever popular and familiar voice of brad marchand. she turned and grinned at the brother like man and hugged him. then she hugged his wife charlotte, "thankyou guys for coming!" she beamed, holding onto her left arm. "ofcourse! we wouldn't miss it for the world hun." his wife smiled and tessa nodded. "hey bobby orr!" she heard the captains voice from behind her, and tessa turned. she smiled widely for sidney, and hugged him. "hi sid." she mused, pulling away. "got you your fav." he mused, and handed her a cherry vodka. she smiled, thanking him. "where the hell is nate?" she heard him mutter under his breathe. she felt her heart rate pick up, covering it up with a small smile. "do you know where ryan is?" she questioned and speak of the devil, he walked up behind sid. he clasped a hand on sid's shoulder and they did a bro hug before sid sauntered off to find his best friend.

"nice surprise face." he smirked leaning in and she rolled her eyes. "dont tell her please!" she begged her best friend, brother even. he nodded smiling, "ofcourse not. that would ruin her, i think." he trailed off as they caught her making a scene. she saw nate behind her, smiling up at her as she said a joke and laughed loudly. oh, the ever enigma stealing the spotlight once again. "i don't think she's capable of NOT having the attention on her..even if it's your birthday. by the way, happy birthday sis." he smirked and she gave him a wink. "oh thankyou, thought you wouldn't say it for a sec." she grinned and he stuck out his tongue. "uh huh." he sighed, sipping his whiskey and looking back at lili. she rubbed her temple, before looking around. "love how its mainly her frineds." she muttered, feeling angry at herself. again, another birthday and she had no new friends. and everyyear, lili had more and more.

"hey, stop. dont feel bad for yourself. she's a lot to deal with." he mused, almost as if it was an insult. but tessa, knew exactly what he meant. "honeybug!" she heard the very immature nickname and rolled her eyes which ryan caught; as she turned around with a fake smile. "what?" she asked, with a fake giggle as lili rushed up to her with a tall guy. "i want you to meet somebody!" she grinned, pulling her towards the guy. "ej this is tessa. tessa this is erik johnson or ej as we call him." she smiled, as if she was cupid herself. "birthday gal!" he said loudly, causing lili to laugh loudly once again as he pulled tessa in for a bear hug. "ah hi." she said, unsure of what to do. she stood there, frozen. felt like she had been violted in a way, but it wasn't that deep she reminded herself. "you guys are so cute together!" was all lili said before waltzing off to give nate a kiss.

tessa sighed, looking around, trying to not ficate on ej himself. the very tall, and muscular man in front her of. with 3 front teeth missing, like a little kid. "how'd you lose your teeth?" she asked randomly and he laughed a hearty laugh. he explained in a unnceccesary 10 minute story before they were interrupted by nathan. she gave him a thankful smile that he could decode, and nodded. "i think cale is in the back over there." nate said through gritted teeth. ej nodded, giving the birthday gal a kiss on her cheek to which she instantly wiped off. ej left, and left a chuckling nate in his path. "you have a great poker face burnsy." he mused, sipping his beer. she looked at him, acting as if she didn't. he met her eye, before she could spit out words. he gave her a charming smile and laughed. "i would never tell lili." he joked, and tessa sighed looking down at her almost empty drink. "tess-" nate said but she cut him off. "its all good. im gonna go find ryan." she said without looking at him as she walked past him, and away.

minutes later, lili yelled over on the microphone to get her cute butt up there. "honeybug, baby, get your cute butt up here!" she joked, causing everybody to laugh. nate searched for her, and she appeared after ryan pushed her to the front. "dont keep cruelle waiting." he muttered for only her to hear. she sighed as lili smiled at her, dotingly. "honeybug. happy birthday. so thankful for you every day." she smiled, an erupture of 'aws' filled the room. tessa blushed, "tessa gosh, where do i begin?" she said, almost acting. she looked up at the ceiling, pretending to wipe away any tears. "phew, my botox is really holding up.." she trailed off joking causing some uncomfortable and comfortable laughter to erupt. ryan from next to her, hit her shoulder and she laughed.

"tessa, tess, burnsy honeybug, my platonic soulmate..gosh we've been through it all! from kindergarton when i pushed ryan down the slide for cutting us off on the playground.." she began as the photos began on the slideshow, showing the two and then the trio of chaos. "god, we were the trio of chaos. tessa, ryan and i. i don't know how ryan put up with us, to be honest. or how he still does." she joked. "she was with me through my first breakup in 6th grade..i was a mess! let me tell you. we watched the holiday and the he's just not that into you SO many times with lots of popcorn, oreos and icecream." she explained, showing some photos of their teenage years. "heres us at prom. ryan said 'fuck it' im taking you to prom honeybug. awe SO cute!" she said doing a little hop. "then miss burnsy went off to shattuck, fucking shattuck oh my god. if i have to hear about one more hockey player that to shattucks im gonna pull my hair out. o.m.g." she said laughing along with everybody else. "then fucking gravy went off to shattucks and so i was left alone." she began, something she never got over. something she held over them, and still guilt tripped them about. "i was not a hockey player, thankgod! i was all about makeup and clothes and cheerleading. and they weren't there to witness me win state but i witnessed them play for team canada. what assholes." lili had the audience in the palm of her hands. they were eating this up. though ryan, sid, her brothers and nate all cringed throughout.

"but anywho, after i notably declined ivy league university of toronto to go to university of BC with my honeybug..ryan went to some place called denver." she added the last part with everybody hollering now. though it wasn't a joke really, she was purely an idiot. “then we graduated, and then it was really real that we were gonna be seperated for real this time. miss barnsy got into john marshall law school in chicago, and i was incredibly sad when i started working in toronto. but only 512 miles away from one another." she paused, waving a small wave. "and after a year into living into chicago, you introduced me to the absolute love of my life." she pasued, blowing a kiss to nate. he smiled shyly, and looked down embarrassed a tad bit. "thanks for hiding him for so long hun." she dazzled the crowd. "and now were getting married, thanks to you!" she smiled widely. "bubba as much as i love you, tessa girl has been my one constant my whole life."

she turned towards tessa now, ""you're the the sister i've never had, you're sometimes the mother i often need, the reason why i can stumble so fearlessly into adventure is because she's always there. she's always there. i love you tessa. my forever honeybug." she beamed, and the crowd clapped. "bubba!" she said, out of the microphone and made her way towards nate. she wrapped his arms around the girl and kissed her head. tessa watched from afar, and ryan nudged her to look away. "lets get you another drink..after that." sid mused, pulling her towards the bar.

later on in the evening, it was now ryan, nate, lili and tessa left. ryan was holding lili as they all waited outside the restaurant now on the almost desolate street. "oh fuck- i forgot my bag!" lili said slurrely. nate and tessas head perked up and both went to say something, "take her to the hotel. we will be there soon." nate said before tessa could say for him to go back with her. the duo nodded and the other two made there way back inside. "was it the vintage chanel?" nate questioned and tessa laughed, a true and real hearty laugh. "nathan...aren't you the one who got it for her?" she said cocking an eyebrow as she held it up. nate sighed a relief, snatchingit from her. they looked at one another, and nate saw something twinkle. "lets get one more drink." he mused, pulling her down the street to the bar next door.

one drink turned into four more, and somehow someway; though they knew how it happened. they ended up in her small apartment there in toronto. for the first time in their entire relationships, they had acted on that part of their feelings. though, they thought it was more the alcohol than anything.

°• ♔ •°

ryan, sid, ej, their other friend maria, liliana and tessa found themselves in st john on the coast of newfoundland. the five of them walked into the lake house, that they were staying at for the next week. nate and lili walked hand in hand, lili doting on him that made ryan want to vomit. "bubba...please?" she asked with puppy eyes, begging him to take her shopping on the mainland. he sighed, instantly giving into her. lili clapped her hands together, and ej high fived her for some odd reason. "you go girl!" he hummed, sitting down in the living room sofa and propping his feet on the table. tessa stopped unable to move anymore, because of ej's hockey bag and suitcase that was in the way. she gave him a scowl, nobody noticing but ryan ofcourse. "ej..bags please." ryan spoke up and ej hopped up, muttering an apology. "its ok." she smiled, and simply stated. tessa made her way up the stairs, as ryan went towards the first floor room. she got to the second floor, and nate instantly grabbed her bags. "oh thanks." she hummed, following him to the bedroom next to theirs. "thanks." she smiled, and he nodded. very unsure of what to do. things were kinda awkward after they slept together, but she made him forget about it. made him, and he promised her. "yeah. no prob." he responded, as she sat down on the bed. his eyes flicked to her's from the doorway before lili came up and smiled.

"shopping?" she grinned, and then motioned towards nate with her eyes. tessa shook her head no, "im gonna take a nap." she said cooly and the two nodded. lili pulled nate away before he could say bye. tessa sighed, laying down on her back. "hey barnsy, wanna come swimming?" she heard the voice of ej and she perched herself onto her elbows. he took in her stance, and angle she saw him check her out. she shivered and sat up all the way. "im okay. thanks though." she responded and he nodded, giving her a toothy smile before he ran off. she shut her door, silently cursing herself. this was going to be a long trip.

°• ♔ •°

the following day, the group decided they were going to play volleyball. just unsure when. before they made there way to the beach, ryan pulled tessa into her bedroom. "spill." he demanded crossing his arms as she sat on the bed. she shrugged, "tell you what?" she asked. he gave her a blank stare, "i know what youre hiding honeybug." he stated and she gritted her teeth. "nothing im hiding nothing." she spat, standing up and walked over towards the double window french doors to the balcony. she instantly found nate's broad shoulders, strong back and dirty blonde hair of his. she stared at him, as lili spoke to him from the pool with ej. ej and her were splashing one another now, and she could tell that nate wanted to be anywhere but there. "that. you are hiding that, tessa." ryan said from behind her, freaking her out. she must of timed out, watching him. she shook her head, looking out towards the beach now. "no its true. i could tell at breakfast. im not an idiot." he said, checking his hip with hers. "well i could say the same about you and maria..." she mused coyly, before giggling as she walked out of the room. "oh god no, if i ever have to be at the same table especially at their wedding, im killing them before they leave for cali." ryan mused making tessa laugh even more. "you two totally slept together!" he whispered yelled and she whipped around to face him. "oh thats gold." he said chuckling. she shook her head as he nodded hers.

"im not an idiot, i know you did. now it makes sense." he said as a wave of realization washed over him. as he placed his hands behind his head, laying down on her bed he asked, "you totally did..more than once?" he asked like a child, he couldn't contain his excitement. she combed back her hair, trying to calm herself down. "oh my god, twice?" he asked, getting excited more. she looked at him through the bedroom mirror and he started to laugh. "oh my god." he said abruptly stopping, "lili, oh my god, she's gonna flip." he said seriously before laughing. "its not funny!" she said pulling a pillow towards her from the bed and hitting him. "this is rich barnsy!!!! you have to say something to nate, i see it eating you two up." he exclaimed and she shook her head, a wave of guilt and sadness washed over her pale face. "no, its already been decided that we aren't to speak of it ever again." she stated before walking out.

breakfast.

tessa sat down next to nate by accident, as she sat their reading the newspaper. he met her eyes, over the newspaper, when she looked at him. she whisked her eyesight away and focused on transporting the fruit to her plate. "listen..tess. we need to talk-" she cut him off with a glare. "no, we do not. we already have. we can't hurt lili more than we already have." she hurriedly said. he swallowed back what he was going to say, and nodded. "never. again." she said through gritted teeth before meeting his eyes. god, those blue eyes that transported her back to shattucks. god, how she loved them.. ej bolted outside with coffee, and threw down a iced coffee for the brunette. a black coffee for nate. "oh yay coffee's here!" lili said walking out with pancakes. ej sat across next to lili who sat across from tessa. tessa swallowed, as she could feel the intense stare ej was giving her. nate coughed, breaking ej's concentration and ej looked away. maria sat down next to ej and he smiled at her. "morning." he smirked and maria gave him a polite smile, before noticebly scooting her chair a few inches away. ryan finally walked out and sat down next to tessa. "gravy finally arrives, nice. we can begin." lili said in her fake polite voice, clearly annoyed with ryan. per usual. "sorry princess, forgot the world and time revolved around you. what a keeper nate." raya huffed, and lili squinted at him while nate rubbed his eyes.

“okay gravy, atleast i have some sort of schedule going. arent you a hockey player? it looks like you haven't done anything to combat your croissants and poutine eating." she spat, (trigger warning) softly grabbing her stomach. he flipped her off, causing ej to laugh loudly. nate looked at him with a intense stare, one tessa hadn't seen for a few years. it was almost, like his old self had flared for a hot second. before it cooled. "atleast i dont spend somebody else's hard earned money." ryan muttered, and lili picked that up. "well, atleast he has somebody to spend it on. dont ya honey?" she smiled a dazziling smile, placing a arm over nate's shoulder and kissing him. ryan pointed a finger in his mouth and faked gagged causing tessa to stifle a laugh. "besides, i always tell nate to help out tessa but she always says no." lili added, sipping her coffee. tessa set down her fork, "how many times do i have to tell you that i dont want or need his money." she explained once again. "i am comfortable, i dont need a lot. besides-" lili cut her off, "youre due for a promotion anyways!" she clasped her hands together and tessa shook her head.

"no, not what i was gonna say but thats true. i like the life i live, and i love the work i do lili. i dont need anybody's money, especially not his." she defended and they all sat up with the 'not his' part. ryan took in the quick look nate and tessa shared, one without words but words. "what i mean is that, he's my friend, that just feels weird." she added and they nodded. "besides, more for me!" lili hummed, kissing nate again. tessa picked up her fork and took a strong bite of her strawberry.

After.

the group were outside on the beach, hitting the volleyball to warm up. it was ej and tessa, lili and nate. while ryan and maria sat out. "ouuu! we should play a game!" lili beamed with mimosa in her hand. "yes!" ej said loudly, pointing at her. "how about everytime we get a point, one of us on the winning point tells a secret!" lili said with a grin, causing ej to grin wickledly and laugh. "no i dont-" "lets not -" nate and tessa said at the same time. "oh come on! itll be fun!" lili said pouting. "yeah, itll be fun!" ryan added, and tessa glared at him. "ej im in, youre out." ryan said and ej nodded, as they switched positions. "ryan!" she whispered yelled at him, and he smirked. "it has to come out eventually babe." he smiled and placed a quick kiss on her head. nate looked over, and saw what was going on. he knew ryan knew, even without ryan confirming.

“ry!" she said before lili hit the ball to him, him to nate and back to ryan. that happend over and over. ryan won the never ending sequence and chuckled, "oh dont i have a secret!!" he huffed, "tell it tell it!" ej said like a 5 year old. "dont i have a secret." he laughed, and tessa begged him with a pleading look. "no its fine, we don't need to play." nate said trying to get him to not say anyhting. "no this has to be said." ryan exclaimed and lili looked on with excitment, "yes please tell!" she beamed sipping more of her mimosa. "tessa- tessa and-" but he was cut off, as she made he way towards ej - as a distraction - and kissed him. she kissd him hard, pulling him in by his thin shirt. nate and ryan looked on with confusion while lili shrieked with excitemnt. "AHHHH! im cupid!!" she cheered as tessa pulled apart, and walked off. ryan and nate looked at tessa as she stomped away.

tessa continued walking down the beach for 20 minutes more, trying desperately to stop crying. nothing was working. she sniffled, as she sat down and wrapped her arms around her knees. what the fuck did she just do, she thought. ryan made his way over, after the rest of the group went back to the house. "youre an ass." she said boldly, standing up and walking past him. without allowing him to get a word in. "tes-" she cut him off. "how dare you jeoporadize my whole relationship with them? huh?! how you made me kiss ej!" she screamed at him. "i made you kiss him? that was all your doing hun. not mine. youre too scared to admit your true feelings for nate, im not an idiot. you love him. everything makes fucking sense. ever since i first met him when i visited you in minnesota, i saw the way you looked at him and how he looked at you. you fucking fool. you let her snatch him away. you let her win." he screamed.

"she wins everything! she has won everything that has come her way! she gets the guy she gets the house, the unending bank account, her fucking parents are god sends, she got into utoronto with a lower gpa then me!!!! liliana wins everything, that is just how it goes. she wins everything." she whispered the last part, as she fell apart. ryan walked up to her, but she pushed him away. "no." she sniffled as she paused, "dont. just dont. youve done enough." she sighed and walked back up to the house. already packed and ready to go.

°• ♔ •°

the following evening the group was down at a local pub, taking in the drinks and food. tessa sipped her cocktail as maria came up. "ryan will never like me, right?" she stated and tessa did a double take at her. maria already knew, "im sorry maria. he doesn't like you that way and probably wont ever." she said softly. maria nodded, " its fine." maria responded before walking off. that was how it will be with nate, tessa thought. she looked in the distance and saw nate and lili bickering about something, before she walked off to dance with ej. nate rolled his eyes and turned around to the bar and met tessa's stare. she swallowed, grabbing her bag and walking out. she walked outside to the rain, and she felt her arm being grabbed. "tessa dont go!" nate pleaded. she shook her head, as she was being drenched.

“then leave her. leave her, and be-" he cut her off. "be with you? i cant, tess. i just cant." he stated and she nodded. "becasue it wouldnt look good, huh? im not exactly a trophy wife and im fine with that. but....but atleast ill be happy. at some point." she mused, and turned around. "im sorry tess. i really am." he stated and she stopped middway. she turned around and hurried towards him. "i should of gone back for you." she began, "i should if let you walk me home that night in denver. i should have let you done a lot of things but i was scared. i was nervous. i was scared into thinking that you could possibly like me." she exclaimed. "i should have never told you to stay with her, then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation now." she stated, finishing her tangent. he shook his head, "you were always enough tess. always, there wasn't a moment where i thought otherwise." he began and she felt a beacon of hope flicker through her. "but im with her now." he stated and she felt her heart break even more. she sighed, he took in all her tears. she shook her head, "youre a coward, nathan. a coward." she stated promptly. "but ill be happy, ill be incredibly happy without you." she stated, before walking off. nate watched as she did, the rain coming down even harder which coincided with her mood. nate really watched as the love of his life walked away for him, for good.

°• ♔ •°

there was a knock at her apartment door around 2pm. she closed her book and walked towards it, opening it to nathan. she tried to close it, but he quickly stopped it. "what nate?" she demanded, placing a hand on her hip. she shook her head when he said nothing, "we broke up. i - i thought about what you said and it's true. i won't be happy with her, how i'd be happy with you." he began and she shook her head sniffiling. "no." she said very warily, her voice cracking. she saw the pleading on her face, and opened her door further to let him in. "i should have never let you walk home that night you introduced us tess. i know that, ive known that but i was too scared to break it off and see what people that follow me would say. you were right, i am a coward. ok? and im sorry that it took me over 10 years to figure it out. im sorry tess, there isn't anybody i'd ever want to be with but you. and then we, and then we slept together and i knew i was doomed. i knew her's and i's relationship was doomed." he finished and she looked at the ground. she wiped her tears, looking back up at him. "i want you, always and forever." he stated, with much emotion. "i - im sorry." she started, "i just dont know. she's my bestfriend." she exclaimed. "i see the way she treats you t." he stated, using a barely used nickname from him. one that dated back to a drunken state moment in highschool.

“i want to, trust me." she sighed and was about to say something else but somebody knocked at her door. "tessa honeybug!!!" they both heard from her door, and she pushed him to go hide. "go go!" she whispered and he disapeared. she opened the door and lili instantly walked in. "i broke up with him!" she stated, and tessa acted surprise. "really?" she questioned and lili nodded sitting down. "i uh, i knew he wasn't the one. after.." she trailed off, unsure how to tell her best friend that she'd been sneaking off with somebody.

"what changed?" tessa asked, nervously. "i met somebody!" she squeled, not bothering to contain her excitement. "i mean, more then met." she added, "well i knew this person, for awhile." she stated. "who?" tessa whispered. "ej." she mouthed. "ej!" she said excitedly. the fuck? "the toothless big foot?" tessa quipped. lili rolled her eyes, "yes him. and i know!" she said. "thats nathan's teammate! lil!" tessa said getting defensive of him. "i know i know but nothing happened until we went to st johns. thats it. nothing before." lili defended. tessa began to pace, "and im in love with him, and i want to be with him." lili stated standing up and beginning to walk out. "i know it'll take you a bit to come around, but please don't tell nate yet. we want to do it together."she said before pausing at the door. tessa's mouth was still open in shock, "oh and dont feel guilty about the kiss. it was humerous." she smirked before walking out. as soon as she did, tessa went to look for nate. somebody knocked on the door again and she opened it to lili. "is that nate's jacket?" she asked, smirking. "wait what? oh- he left it in my car when we got back into toronto." she lied but lili didn't buy it. "no, no. thats not true." she stated, before pushing the door open. "nate! i know youre in here, nate!" she yelled, as tessa shut the door. nate walked out into the living room.

"you asshole!" "my teammate?!" they yelled at one another, "my best friend!!!!" lili threw back at him. "my. teammate." he slithered back. "how could you?" lili, turned towards tessa. "no- no dont go after tess. go after me. she didn't initiate it." lili held her hand up, "stop, dont speak for her." lili spat. lili shook her head at nate, "you know, i hope youre both happy together. i really do." was all lili said before walking out.

"nate-" tessa said but nate shook his head, grabbed his coat and walked out.

°• ♔ •°

tessa mouthed "im sorry" to ryan and he flipped over his card that had her name on it, "me too." and she hugged him. tessa had just flown from toronto to newark to visit ryan. she hadn't seen or talked to him since june and it was now middle of october, hockey season. they drove back to his condo, and the two put her stuff in the guest room. a little while later she walked out into the kitchen and sat down at the counter, as he cooked dinner. "whats for dinner?" she questioned in french. he smiled a toothy smile, "fettuince alfredo." he mused back in french. tessa nodded, grabbing the water bottle he set down on the counter. "what are you doing here?" he asked leaning against it, trying to read her expression. she sighed, "well you know about lili and ej. well nathan was there and lili heard and then he heard her and then when i tried to talk to him, he walked out." she said placing her face in her hands. he saw the stress, anxiety and never faultering love with nate. "have you talked since then?" he asked and she shook her head, "nor lili?" and she shook her head. "im alone." she said before sobbing. he instantly came over and pulled her in for a hug. "shh." he whispered over and over again, trying to comfort her. "youve got me." he said kissing her head. she sniffled, and pulled away. "youve always had me, no matter what." he explained some more, trying to get her to understand.

she looked at him, "always will. and-" he paused laughing nervously. "this is shitty timing but i dont care. ive always been there watching you from the bench, watching lili have something that you didn't. and that hurt me, because i was there the whole time but-" she cut him off, "i never noticed because i wanted him." she finished and he nodded. "im in love with you, and i have been since we were kids." he added and she felt a whiplash of memories hit her. she went through the big and little moments with him, putting the pieces together. he always chose her over lili, and that's why he got so upset with her in st john. "ry-" he cut her off, putting his hands up in innocence. "i know, i know." he said biting the inside of his cheek. "i know ill never be nate. ill never be nate the great. even before, i knew i was never good enough." was all he said before moving back to the stove. tessa sat there and shut her eyes, feeling her emotions consumer her. but they didn't. ryan's phone started to blast, and he looked a the id and saw nate. he rolled his eyes, picking it up.

“hey nate." he stated, and tessa perked up. ryan looked at tessa, "yeah she's actually here. she came to visit." ryan stated with not emotion on his face. "for you, tessa girl." he said locking his phone. "look's like it's time for you to fly to denver...in two hours."

1 year skip.

tessa walked with nate's dry cleaning in her hand as she walked through downtown denver. it was now october, one of the last warm days, and tessa was spending it in the city; working. after everything went down, lili and ej got together as well as nate and tessa. tessa moved in as lili moved out and in with ej. tessa was walking down the street going towards where nate said he'd be for them to drive home together, after she spent the day in the city. she walked down mainstreet and saw a familiar blonde walk past. the both of them paused instantly, turning around to face one another. lili sized tessa up and tessa just smiled. "you look good." tessa said, ever the people pleaser. ever the lili pleaser. lili pushed some hair behind her shoulder and smiled. despite them being in denver, and having their boyfriends be teammates, they stayed away from one another. they didnt talk, and tessa honestly had more friends outside of the wags group. she was only friends with tracy, cales gf and andrew coglianos wife. she was fine with that. nate and ej moved on, but still kept a distance. lili smiled, tilting her head just a bit. "oh." was all she said, before realizing that tessa saw it. "i hope you two are happy." was all lili stated, nodding towards tessa's engagment ring. the two got engaged over the summer right before they came out to denver. tessa smiled with a somewhat of a glow radiating from her, "we are. i am." was all she said. lili nodded, "are you two?" tessa questioned. lili nodded, "yes. we uh, we eloped this summer." she smiled referencing her small and simple ring. so unlike lili, tessa thought. "i know what youre thinking. but i love it. ej seems like a lot and he is in a way, but he's truly simple. i wish; i hope that someday you and nate can see that and hopefully come around. or atleast nate." lili responded and tessa nodded. "me too." tessa smiled, before turning around and continued to walk down main street to the square, where nate was waiting.

nate saw tessa's midlength wavy hair before he saw the rest of her. she was in her usual workday outfit, he pixie black pants clinging to her curves and her white boyfriend shirt untucked. she beamed as soon as she saw him, and he mirrored her. "hi." he mused, wrapping an arm around her back and pecking her. "hi." she said back, as he took the dry cleaning from her along with her work bag, and took her hand in the other. "ready for dinner?" he questioned and she nodded, heels clipping the sidewalk as they went to meet sid who was in the city for a game. where they'd also be asking him if he wanted to be Nate’s best man.

tessa saw her life with nate, she always had despite lili. despite the years spent on the bench, she'd never change it because now she had him. and he had her. she regularly thinks about their first meeting as they plan their wedding, both remembering clearly the outfit she had on. a blue dress. something borrowed from the very beginning.

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wasnt sure how to end but i hope you guys like it!!! despite it's being hella long, i hope you liked the drama :)

@fallinallincurls @erikjohnsons @hockeylvr59 @hockeyboysarehot @cale8makar @makarhughes @starshine-hockey-girl @slafgoalskybaby

#Nathan mackinnon #Nathan mackinnon x oc #nate mackinnon #colorado avalanche #sidney crosby #erik johnson #hockey #nhl #hockey imagine #nhl imagine #hockey oneshot #nhl oneshot #Nathan mackinnon fic #Nathan mackinnon imagine #Nathan mackinnon oneshot #Ryan graves #New Jersey devils

[moregraceful]

okay not to be too earnest in your asks about 2929, but now that I have slept on it, a dynamic you mentioned that I think is very interesting with Nate/Leon is that Connor McDavid is always gonna be the love of Leon's life. & I'm very into the general concept of a platonic relationship being The Relationship of someone's life and the thing they build their life (and free agency) decisions on. because so often people assume you're gonna pick the romantic/sexual partner, and there's so much potential for messiness. like would Nate just assume leon would work some cap limit miracle (we're really in the stretching fictional believability now) to sign with Colorado so they can inflict the horrors of ASW on the entire team full time? would leon have never considered it because Connor is in Edmonton and unfortunately they are going down with that ship? would this be the greatest act of self-preservation Leon has ever committed? alas ej is not there to explain to nate that even people who go dick first into the world to make decisions have their limits. what is the opposite of make-up sex because that is what would happen the next time they saw each other, and there are now things cale and people three counties over cannot unknown. -patrichornkissed

I was thinking abt this ask all day going increasingly apeshit...I live very strongly in the belief that you can love someone and show up for someone in all the ways that matter and effectively be their soulmate without having any kind of romantic or sexual element to the relationship...you can be the love of someone's life and never once kiss. You can be deeply in love and totally committed to each other in life and there's zero sex or romance.

Anyway that's Leon and Connor and Leon will always put Connor first over every other relationship (Connor would do the same but this isn't about him.) Nate, whose romantic experiences are like Jo Drouin in high school, a series of ill-advised short relationships with local girls back home as an adult, and a very badly hidden crush on Ryan O'Reilly, probably thinks of the way him and Leon circle each other and clash and fight and bite and fuck as some kind of love -- to be consumed and to consume are a version of commitment, he thinks, and when Leon and Connor's contracts are up, he pitches Colorado to Leon, like you and me, what if we made it. Leon laughs in disbelief. He's not going anywhere without Connor and Colorado cannot afford both of them. It didn't even occur to him that Nate was an option, because, at the end of the day, he isn't. There's no one Leon would make a free agency decision for except Connor.

Nate has to learn the hard hard truth in the worst possible way that there's variations of commitment beyond marriage and sex, beyond consumption and heat. Their first meeting post-Leon and Connor signing in Anaheim is at Biosteel Camp. (No hate but I think Anaheim were below the cap floor this season so I'm pretty sure they are one of the few teams who could afford both of them. Also it's incredibly funny to think abt Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras existing in the same space as Leon and Connor. Oh the hijinks.) It is intense and it is heated and it is hurtful in ways that harm themselves more than the other. It culminates in quite frankly unhinged sex in the apartment that Connor and Leon are short term renting that causes Connor to leave the premises and sleep in Travis Dermott's guest room even though Travis isn't even at Camp...like it's Bad-bad if he's going to his Erie teammates for help. Leon has ringing in his ears for several hours after and Nate feels like he's just played an SCF Game 7 that went into triple overtime. The worst part is Leon doesn't even kick him out immediately after. He's kind. He puts antiseptic on the scratches on Nate's arms, wipes a warm wash cloth over Nate's wet face. Nate leaves when he can't handle it anymore. Goes back to the house he is splitting with Cale and Ryan Graves and Sidney Crosby, all of whom are playing a deeply involved boardgame at the dining room table. It's 2am. Ryan and Sid register that something intense went down but not that his tender heart has been torn. Cale watches him carefully; he knows. Nate makes some excuse for himself and goes to bed alone.

#basically if any of you try to sell me on natecale i WILL block you. HOWEVER. very interesting to consider cale as the leader who has to #learn to reign nate in. and that comes with anger management. and that comes with love. and heartbreak #and healing. and growth. #in my heart nate ends up w a du mfa who used to play d1 baseball so he gets the athlete lifestyle but approaches it with clarity of a poet #me: refuses to acknowledge nate in almost every avs fic i write. also me: he needs be taught A LESSON. AND POETRY #society if i dated nathan mackinnon and [fire alarm goes off] #cage replies #patrichornkissed

[happer08]

The panic had fully set in by the time Nate got to you. His touch was gentle enough to startle you; your shaking hands grabbed for his shirt, taking in fistfuls, pulling him close, doing your best to block out the world and use his body like a shield. "You're okay; I'm here now," Nate reassured, his hands rubbing the expanse of your back slowly; it gave you something to focus on that wasn't the crushing pressure on your lungs. "You need to breathe for me" He grabbed your face pulling your tear-blurred eyes to his, the usual icy gaze you got was warmer, filled with worry and fear. Your breath shook like a leaf in a bad storm, but you managed to get it in your lungs and then out again, his eyes trained on you. "That's it, now do it again, okay" he hummed, his tongue darting out of his mouth, wetting his pale pink lips. You shivered. Your skin felt hot and tight; the heat from Nate's body battled with your own, though it felt like your body couldn't choose a temperature. You hoped having his skin pressed to yours could help you regulate it; you prayed your body would regulate. "No, no, you can't hold your breath like that; hey, keep breathing," Nate reminded. You swallowed; your throat was thick and tight, you felt like you were suffocating. "C'mon, do it for me, okay" Nate tried again, knowing you needed a reason more than yourself. Nate held your face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away the tears that spilled from your eyes, rolling down your cheeks; his eyes traced your face searching for a relief that wasn't there. You breathed again, this one easier; the third was like coming up for air after seeing how long you could stay underwater. Your tight muscles released all at once, and you fell into Nate's chest, unsure of when you ended up in his lap. "I've gotcha," he hummed his lips, pressing gently, finding the soft spot under your ear. He rocked back and forth on the floor, one hand rubbing your back, the other cradling the back of your head. "M' sorry," your voice broke. "What are you sorry for?" Nate asked, his whisper laced with genuine confusion. "That I'm so hard to love." Nate paused; your ear was pressed to his neck, you heard him swallow then breathe. "Loving you is the easiest thing to do, like I was made to do it. The real challenge is convincing you you're worth loving."

#nathan mackinnon imagine #colorado avalanche #nathan mackinnon #i love him #im in my bag #man this really came out of no where #um sorry #im like in my feels about life #imagine #enjoy i hope #natemac #my saving grace #honestly #i could use a hug #nate mackinnon #nhl imagine #hockey writing #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nhl fanfiction #nhl fic

[crow-the-unknown]

i've been under the weather the past couple days so everything has been off for me so when i heard that nate was getting an x-ray for that blocked shot last night my brain came up with a dream that he'd be out for four weeks or something and my sick self believed it all the way until i checked my phone this morning and could breathe a sigh of relief that my mind did in fact make that shit up

#colorado avalanche #avs lb #nathan mackinnon #i love being sick this is so fun #also i then literally started thinking about natecale fics i could write because of said fake injury news so... #yknow it's fine #im normal #cale saying he felt like nate last night didn't help my delusions withers lmao