summary: macklin comes home late from practice and all he wants is his best friend-- his best friend who he treats like a lot more than that.
warnings: none, maybe slightly suggestive, but mostly fluff.
word count: 1.8k
It was a normal late-day practice for San Jose. Practice started at 5:00 PM and was supposed to wrap up at around 7:30. Much to Macklin's dismay, practice didn't really end until 8:00, which meant he didn't leave Shark's Ice until 8:30, so he didn't get back home to you until close to 9:00.
He pulled his Audi into the garage, exhaustion stretching through his long body. He's the hardest working person you know, and he doesn't slack off at practice. It wasn't just the length of the practice that killed him, it was the drills. They were pure torture; tough skating drills that would win anybody, no matter how fit they are, in less than a minute. Not to mention, they spent a long time in the weight room too. He was spent.
You barely even heard him get home. You were playing music softly while you pranced around the kitchen. You were quite the night owl, and with Macklin getting home so late all the time, it worked out that you were awake and willing to fix him a plate at almost 9:30 at night. Your back was to the room as you faced the counter top beside the stove. His chicken was warm and freshly-seared, cut into pieces on his plate. Beside it were some sweet potatoes and vegetables you had reheated. He always appreciated how you helped keep him on his diet, made sure he always felt his best and performed like felt that way.
You hummed gently along to the music, when you heard his things plop into the bowl. Quite suddenly, you felt two arms snake around your waist and a strong chin fall the space between your neck and your shoulder. He sighed against your skin, eyes likely closed, as he basked in the first moment of peace he's had for hours. Your his oversized T-shirt, that you drowned in, tightened against your abdomen as he held you in his arms. It rode up your thighs, but the way too tiny shorts you wore didn't even make an appearance.
"Hey, Mackie," you greeted gently, putting the spatula you were using to scoop the potatoes down and turning to face the big boy in front of you. When you saw the fatigue on his face (he didn't try to hide anything with you, because there was no point), there was only one logical question to ask. "Tired?"
He kept one hand on your waist and the other rested on the counter beside you, caging you in front of him, not like you'd try to move anyway. He didn't answer, he just stared into your eyes. The two of you were so close, you knew he wanted to say without him opening his mouth. As the degree to which he was exhausted became more apparent, the more you felt the need to make it better.
Your hands came up to wrap around his neck and his arms found their way around your waist, enclosing you against him, enveloping you entirely. He just breathed into your neck for a few moments. He took in your scent: the smell of your hair, the body wash he could smell from your shower and the layer of lotion over that. He smelled himself on the shirt you were wearing, but that scent was starting to fade with how much you wore the damn thing.
Your arms unhooked from his neck and your tiny hand found his meaty neck, thumbs pressing into the hinge of his jaw. You craned your neck, looking up at him through your lashes. Your eyes flitted between his and you saw something flicker behind them. His expression faltered as you looked up at him, his hands squeezing you ever so slightly and then releasing. He recomposed himself (barely) but it didn't go unnoticed by you.
"You need to eat, Mack," you commanded gently, trying to move out of his grip and finish his plate. He didn't let you get far-- the second your back was to him, he was pulling you flush against his chest and holding you tight against him. "Mack," you giggled, tipping your head back against his chest and looking at his face upside down. He was so much taller than you that you could see his entire head and neck from his angle, albeit not the right side up.
His expression faltered for a moment again and you felt his body surge against you, but he quelled that quickly. His face was the one thing you wouldn't let him hide. He was your boy-- you knew him. He was thinking something at that moment, and it wasn't going to get by you.
"I will, I just-," he hummed, and then leaned down to kiss your forehead. Your eyes fluttered closed as his lips made contact-- a contact that lingered-- and then opened when he finally released. He looked into your eyes, licking his lips before he finished. "I just need you for a second."
"You have me, I'm right here," you protested, taking his moment of weakness to slide away from him and get his plate. He reached out for you the moment you got away, knowing he'd out-muscle you, but you were already too far for him to reach without taking a few steps.
You grabbed his plate and tip-toed quickly away from him, setting it down in front of a bar stool in the kitchen. You pulled the chair out for him and stared at him, unwavering until he obliged. He brushed by you, his hand grazing your elbow as he sat.
When he sat and began eating, you pranced away and grabbed him a bottle of water from the refrigerator, cracking it open and sliding it over to him. You stood on the opposite side of the counter from him, leaning on your elbows and bending over on the counter. Macklin ate with haste, he was hungrier than he realized. You just watched as he ate, suddenly overwhelmed by the manliness your best friend possessed. You weren't entirely sure how it made you feel, but it definitely made you feel something.
He pushed his plate away from himself when he was done, chugged what was left in the water bottle, before curling to fingered in your direction, "C'mere." He quirked his head back and motioned for you to come to the other side of the table. You tilted your head in defiance for a moment, but Mack had his ways with you. He tilted his head right back at you, telling you not to test his patience, and you obeyed.
He spun the bar stool towards you as you materialized in front of him, his manspread legs already open and inviting you to stand between them. You hesitated at first, and Macklin sensed it, so he leaned forward, grabbed your tiny wrist in his large hand, and gently pulled you into him. Your hands rested on his thighs while his hands held your wrists. He just wanted you close, wanted to feel you, while he stared at you. Looking into your eyes always cleared his head, made him feel better.
"Mack-,"
"I love you."
"I love you too," you replied, momentarily stunned at his interruption, but not at the sentiment. He shook his head and hooked a hand around your waist, fingers meeting your spine, and pulled you further into his body. One of your hands fell to his abdomen to brace yourself, landing somewhere under his chest but above his navel.
"No, I really love you," he began, his free hand brushing your hair out of your face so he could see it better. "I was with you all morning, but once I left, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to get back to you." His eyes danced around your face again, surveying the glowing skin and fluttering eye lashes. He never made you blush, but he knew what the eye lashes meant. You were flustered-- and he was going to take advantage of that.
He stood up abruptly, hands curling around your waist and effortlessly lifting you onto the counter he was just eating at. Even like this, he was much taller than you. His hands closed around your knees, pushed them apart, and he stepped between them, pulling you to the edge of the counter and closer to his body. He flattened his hands on either side of your thighs, leaning down closer to your face.
"Macklin," you sighed, eye lashes fluttering again as you peered up into his stunning green ones. He hummed in response, tongue darting out as his eyes dipped to your mouth. "It's late."
You gave him an out, an excuse to not do something he might regret tomorrow. But you both just continued to look at the carvings of each other's faces, his eyes focused on your plump lips, yours focused on his eyes that were tracing the shape of your mouth.
"I know," he finally sighed, eyes not leaving your mouth. He settled for a kiss, or five, to your forehead, before cradling you into his chest with a hand on the back of your head. He rested his chin on top of your skull and held you close for a moment before pulling you back. You expected him to step back and let you jump down, but he made you squeal when he scooped you up in his strong, bulging arms.
A smile broke out across his pretty face at the noise, and he carried you with ease into the bedroom. When you guys got there, he tossed you onto the bed, which bribed another adorable noise out of you that he had to turn around to hide his pleasure at.
"Go shower," you threw a pillow at his back before settling onto your elbow, body curled on the bed. His eyes traced your figure which was slightly hidden in his huge T-shirt on your smaller body. His tongue came out and darted across his lips again and a strained noise escaped his mouth. He just threw the pillow back at you, which you caught and leaned forward on.
"Yeah, yeah," he replied, turning toward the en-suite. He pulled his shirt off as he went, exposing his muscular back to your hungry eyes. "I'm going."
You heard the shower come on and the soft thud of his sweatpants hitting the floor beneath him. "Don't take forever," you called into the bathroom, knowing he could hear you, as the door was still open.
"Why?" he asked from the glass casing of the steaming shower. "You gonna miss me?"
At the question he asked and the tone he asked it in, you had new expectations for how this night might go.
as per the results of the poll, let's dive into our next willmack lore topic! oh, where to begin...
Who is Logan Cooley?
logan cooley was drafted 3rd overall by the arizona coyotes in 2022 but had a pretty lacklustre rookie year, especially in comparison to mack's breakout performance. he had periods of high-level playmaking followed by stretches where he struggled to produce.
early in the season, he played nearly 20 minutes a game, but his ice time dipped as the season progressed, with some games seeing him play fourth-line minutes, suggesting coaches were trying to manage his development or accountability.
with the suspenstion of the yotes in 2024, all team assests, including cooley, were transferred to the utah expansion team that would later become the utah mammoth where cooley plays as of 2025/26.
he also recently signed an 8 year extension with utah, marking his commitment to the team and consolidating his status as a franchise player.
he's from pittsburgh and actually got his start in hockey playing with sidney crosby's 'little penguins program'! he went on to play triple a with the junior pens. despite this, he says he grew up an ovi and caps fan.
cooley then went on to play for the usntdp, where in 2021/22 he played alongside our very own will smith! (plus all the usual suspects: leno, gabe, zeev, lane too).
he later made his senior national team debut for the usa at worlds 2025 alongside will, where he recorded four goals and eight assists in ten games, tied lead for the team in points, and helped team usa win their first gold medal since 1933!
let's not forget that at this same tournament, mack was playing for team canada, who lost unexpectantly to denmark in the QFs, whilst cooley went on to win gold alongside mack’s boybestfriend...
Beginnings of a rivalry
the first instance (and probably origin) of mack's beef with logan cooley comes from a moment in the third period of a sharks-utah game in december 2024 where the game was tied 3-3. the game had been particularly physical, with mack getting boarded pretty hard by stendlund earlier on in the game. so when zetterlund got hit by simashev and eky got tied up with cooley, it led to lots of other sharks and utah players getting involved.
alternate crowd pov here! as we can see, mack ends up tied up with sergachev but cooley completely dips on the main scrum to go at it with mack lol. eventually they end up in their own tussle and mack ultimately ends up on top (both literally and figuratively) by the boards.
this was a big deal at the time because it was the first time mack had really gone for it with anyone! and both mack and cooley seemed pretty heated throughout their scrum... i think this photo perfectly encapsulates their feelings about one another lol
when interviewed after the game, mack said:
'I just kinda... I don't know what set it off. If any of my teammates are in a scrum, I'll go help. You can't leave them out to dry.'
'I just saw Eky kind of get jumped, so I stepped in.'
evidently mack didn't like the way cooley went in on eky which is why they probably ended up fighting each other away from the scrum.
Sharks v Utah saga continues
so, the 25/26 season rolls around and the sharks play utah in october. many of us were wondering if mack and logan would be beefing again and, well, lo and behold!
full gif set here! not only does mack drive cooley into the boards, he then also continues to hold him down against the ice (amazing), at which point cooley just starts grappling him down to the ice too and gets mack in a headlock (??) just like, this was truly insane.
the sharks and utah then meet again in december and everyone was much less surprised this time around when mack and logan started beefing at the net. logan gave mack one too many shoves and mack took exception to it, but their teammates and the refs get involved before it could develop into anything more (booo). full clip here! full gif set!
Playoff race
the rivalry between the sharks and utah has become much more scrappy as of late, espeically in the 2025/26 season, because both teams are competing for a western conference wildcard spot!! they're both in very similar places in terms of a rebuild too.
in this interview with army, mack actually names utah as the sharks’ biggest rivals. historically this would be the la kings, of course, but with the wildcard race and the added cooley beef for mack, ofc he said utah 🙃
this post also does a fabulous job explaining the similarities between these two and the lingering bitterness this might instil. essentially, boiling down to both mack and logan being two high draft picks with expectation bearing down on them, the two faces of their franchises, yet only mack seems to get any recognition for what he's doing from hockey fans and the league...
when discussing the rivalry, the sharks broadcast summed it up pretty perfectly here:
'I think both players play at such a high level. I think Macklin is the standard for all young NHL players.'
'I'm sorry, Logan Cooley is not Macklin Celebrini, and I think he knows that.'
... yeOUCH. yeah. if i'm logan cooley, i'd be pretty pissed off and riled up too.
Surveys
quite hilariously, in a survey by the athletic, active nhl players were asked which player they thought was the 'most punchable'. of course the usual names appeared, cousins, tkachuk, marchand, and oh- who's that with one singular vote, you say? mr. logan cooley? hmmm...
of course we immediately assumed this was mack's vote lol, but it would fit! no other player has had such continuous beef with cooley👀
logan cooley also more recently received one vote for 'worst chirper'! haha
In conclusion...
that brings us up to date with mack's beef with logan cooley for now!! i'm sure we will continue to see this rivalry flare up, especially as the sharks and utah continue to battle it out for a playoff spot!
You knew it was petty, you knew it was wrong but Macklin had pissed you off for the last time. You and Mack had a huge argument two hours before he left for his game about the lack of time you spent together.
Most of his time was spent with Will and it was really starting to frustrate you. When you bought it up to him he couldn't understand, shouting about how if anything you spent too much time together. Just as he was about to leave for the arena, Mack's anger took over as he shouted, "Maybe you shouldn't come tonight, might be too hard to see me with Will. Pathetic."
The plosive word rang in your ears as you got ready, pulling the jersey over your head. The bold words in red across your back read: Bedard. The one person Mack was always compared to, the one player he was secretly jealous of, the one player he knew you used to have a thing for. It was mean but so was Mack and if he wanted pathetic, who were you to deprive him?
The SAP Centre was loud as the players took their positions on the ice, Mack's eyes darting around the crowd for you. He was still angry about earlier but guilt was eating him alive and he needed to know you were there, that he hadn't completely ruined it. As he saw you he couldn't help the grin that made his way onto his lips but as the lights shone on you he noticed the black and red jersey. The same jersey, as the man stood on the other side of the centre circle was wearing.
The word Bedard glistened on your back as you turned around, and it instilled a new anger in Mack. A state of pure rage he hadn't met before. Mack knew that you and Connor had had a brief fling two summers ago and the thought of you supporting him when you should be here for Mack, was maddening.
Sharks won the game with a three goal lead, Mack scoring a hat trick and assisting each goal. He had never played so well but he had also never spent so much time in the penalty box. You left the stadium early, waiting for him at home, no longer wearing the jersey.
You heard the door slam from the bedroom and Mack was soon standing in the doorway, his hair wet from his post game shower. "Are you joking?" He gruffed.
"I don't know what you're talking about?" You sighed, closing your book and sitting up slightly.
"Don't." He growled, taking in the sight of you in your red underwear. The night was hot, too hot to wear pyjamas, plus you knew what state Mack would be in. "Want me to show you who you belong to?" He stalked closer.
"Mack-"
He dropped onto his knees in front of you, his thick hands pulling your knees apart before pulling at the waist band of your underwear, pulling them down. His head immediately sat in-between your thighs, his lips plush with need. "I'm going to make you come until all you can say is my name." His tongue darted to your centre, taking in all of you before his thumb began rubbing circles around your clit.
Your head rolled back in pleasure as he began sucking on your clit, groaning against you. Your hands pulled at his hair as he gripped your thighs leaving crescent moons on them. A soft moan escaped your lips, encouraging him as he continued his relentless pace. The orgasm crashed through you as you came on his tongue.
You watched eagerly as he licked his lips, and slowly undressed before you. He sunk down to hover above you, his arms either side of your head, supporting him. Your legs wrapped around his waist as his tip began to stroke your folds slowly, drowning in your wetness. "Good girl." He grinned, before pushing into you in one quick motion.
You gasped loudly at the feeling of him filling you, he hoisted your legs higher forcing you to take to him deeper. He groaned as he moved faster, ploughing into you with desperation. Just as you reached the edge for a second time he pulled out quickly, "Would he fuck you like this?" He gruffed, his chest heaving, "Like he owns you?"
You shook your head frantically, "No." You whined, desperate to feel him inside you again. "Who owns you?" He asked, as he slowly pushed back into you. "Mack!" You moaned loudly at the familiar full feeling.
"Good girl." He resumed his pace, pushing you to the edge again, as he filled you. The warm liquid spilled out of you as he pushed you onto your stomach, pulling your hips up to his.
"Gonna fill you up." He panted, pushing into you again. Your mouth parted as your head fell to the sheets in pleasure. The feeling was both overstimulating and amazing as he forced you to take him as deep as you could. His hand reached down for your stomach, pushing down to overstimulate you as much as he could. "Feel that?" He pushed deeper, "Taking me so good baby." He huffed, his hands slamming your hips back into him.
The third orgasm crashed through you as you fell into the pillows, in a sweaty mess. As you finally caught your breath, Mack pulled your knees up parting them slowly to admire the mess he had made.
His cum was spilling out of you, dripping down your thighs, glistening in the light.
The sight of His cum was spilling out of you, dripping down your thighs, glistening in the light. The sight was incredible, he grinned as he watched it sit, slick on your folds. "So beautiful." He planted a soft kiss to your inner thigh. One of his thick fingers slid along your centre, picking up some of his cum along with it. He pulled the finger up to your mouth, "Open." He demanded.
You eagerly obliged, sucking gently on his fingers, tasting the two of you. His eyes widened as he watched you, "Such a good fucking girl baby." He grinned.
Once again he looked down at his come still spilling out of you,"Mack." You whimpered as he pushed it back into you with his thick hand.
"Keep it baby." He grinned, "Keep me inside you." He took what was left from around your thighs and brought his fingers up to his mouth, sucking them clean. "Mmm." He groaned, laying next to you, pulling your head into his chest.
"I'm sorry, I was dick." He stroked your cheek delicately. "I want to spend more time with you and I love that you want to. I love you." He sighed, pulling you impossibly closer.
"I love you too Mack." You grinned, tracing lazy circles on his chest. The argument had been a big one but you would do it all over again for that kind of make up.
