summary: just when you thought your biggest concern was what to get your boyfriend for his birthday…
warnings: angst maybe? (idk this is how im coping) not edited in the slightest sorry
word count: 1k
“would you accompany me to the edge of the sea
let me know if you're really a dream
i love you so, so would you go with me?”
as someone who prided themself on always getting the perfect gift, you weren’t exactly sure how you’d managed to wait until the last day to get your boyfriend, will, a birthday present this year. his birthday was tomorrow, and while you hadn’t forgotten the upcoming date, you had left shopping to the last minute which you never did.
you and will had been together for almost 3 years now, and you were always trying to get a better gift than the year before.
you had gotten the cake and ingredients to cook his favourite dinner, but would have to sneak to the mall while he was at practice today.
“hey,” he smiled as he came downstairs from the room you shared. after a year of dating you had moved in with will and his teammate matty, who had very quickly become one of your best friends.
“hey baby,” you smiled as he kissed your cheek. “off to practice?”
“yeah,” he confirmed, purring his shoes on and yelling for matty to hurry up. the sound of the younger kraken clambering down the stairs made you and will laugh, and you waved goodbye as the boys headed out the door.
once they pulled out of the driveway, you ran upstairs to get ready to head to the mall.
let the shopping begin.
•
it was only about an hour later when you had found a few thing for will for his birthday; a couple nice new hoodies, some snacks he liked, and a few little things that just caught your eye or reminded you of him, when your phone rang.
you pulled it out of your pocket and saw a picture of you and will across the screen, meaning he was calling.
“hey honey, what’s up?” you asked; there was no way practice was over that fast, and you hoped nothing bad had happened.
“uh, it’s kinda of a-“ he sighed, stumbling over his words like he didn’t know how to tell you whatever it was that made him call you.
“are you okay?” you asked, worried he got injured in practice or something like that; your mind often drifting to the worst case scenario.
“yeah - it’s,” he sighed. “i’d rather tell you in person actually. can you come to the iceplex?”
this only tripled your worrying, but you agreed, deciding that the shopping would have to wait as this was definitely more important.
“of course, i’ll be there in 20, okay?”
“okay, love you.”
“i love you too,” you smiled. “see you soon.”
•
after carefully hiding the bags of gifts in the safety of the trunk, you walked from your car into the kraken practice arena, and you were suprised to find will not dressed to skate. instead, he was waiting in the lobby, standing as he saw you approaching.
his expression was hard to read, but he greeted you with a hug as he always did; though he held you a little tighter than normal.
“hey, is everything okay?” you asked as you pulled away, his hand remaining on your hips as you looked up at him, trying to read his face for any hint as to what was going on.
“uhm,” he scratched the back of his head, his brown hair that had begun to grow long again peeking out from under his beanie as he did so.
“i mean i guess so-“ he shrugged but his voice sounded unsure, and you smiled sadly. will was one of the most easy going people you had ever met. he hardly ever got over emotional (except sometimes on the ice).
“whatever it is, you can tell me.”
“ron wanted to see me when i got here -“ he sighed, his eyes leaving yours as his gaze flickered down to the floor. your heart skipped a beat; usually a meeting with the GM only meant one of a few things, and in this case it was the one you feared the most.
“he wanted to let me know that i’ve been traded,” will finally said, lifting his gaze to meet yours again, waiting for your reaction.
you processed for a minute, nodding as you took his hands in yours.
“okay,” you took a deep breath. as much as it was not the news you expected when you woke up this morning, you knew it was apart of the business. things were always moving in the nhl, and sometimes it felt like the players were seen as just pieces in the game rather than people.
but they knew what they were signing up for, and so did you when you got involved with will. there was always the possibility of being traded, and having to uproot your whole life overnight.
you and will had talked about it in passing once or twice, about whether or not you would go with him if he left seattle, and while you hadn’t expected the day to come - nevermind so soon - you had made up your mind a long time ago.
your life was wherever will was.
“so where are we going?” you smiled up at him.
“you want to come with me and you don’t even know where i’m going?” he asked with a half smile.
“well yeah,” you said like it was obvious. “i love seattle, but it’s not my home; you are.”
will smiled and kissed your lips softly.
“i love you,” he smiled, pulling you into another hug.
“i love you too,” you squeezed him tightly, your arms around his torso as he cradled the back of your head. “so …. where are we going?” you asked again, and you both giggled.
“new york - the rangers.”
“i guess we should go pack?”
“probably,” he nodded. “i’ll just give matty my keys and i can get a ride back home with you.”
“yeah, of course,” you smiled, and watched him walk back towards the locker room to leave his keys for your housemate.
soon to be former housemate your brain corrected, and you felt a sadness weighing heavy in your heart.
you had lived in seattle most of your life, and would definitely miss it, and the friends you had made on the kraken team.
but home wasn’t a place, you realized. it was a person, and he smiled at you as he reappeared in the lobby.
“ready to go?” he asked, reaching for your hand. you linked your fingers with his, looking around the building for maybe the last time.
“yeah, i’m ready.”
disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned
summary: when visiting your brother for the holidays, you realize just how attractive his roommate is
warnings: ~ 6 year age gap, mention of past injury, a few uses of y/n, if you prefer you can read this as matty being like a brother rather than a biological sibling; just ignore a few words
word count: 3.6k words (i got carried away)
you shivered from the cold december wind as you knocked on the front door, smiling when a familiar face appeared as it opened.
“hey, you made it!” matty smiled as he stepped aside to let you inside his home. “it’s so good to see you,” he said, pulling you into a hug. it had been a few months since you had last seen him, and you were excited to be spending a few days at his place in seattle over the winter break.
“your hair is getting long,” you commented, looking at his dark hair that peeked out from under his baseball cap; so grown out that is had begun to look wavy. “and i think you’re taller than the last time i saw you,” you pouted. despite the fact that you were the same age, he had always been a few inches taller than you as kids. now, he stood a solid 6 inches over you, even without skates.
“mom always did say i was still growing,” he laughed.
“speaking of mom,” you laughed, reaching into your bag and pulling out a tupperware container of baking. “she sent some cookies for me to give you,” you presented the box to him, and he took it from your hands.
“thank you! i’ll make sure to text her and tell her you didn’t keep them for yourself,” he teased, and you slapped his shoulder.
“just for that i should have.” you rolled your eyes. the two of you were walking into the kitchen, when a tall brunette man with cinnamon coloured hair peeking out from underneath a beanie came down the stairs. you recognized him as one of matty’s teammates, and you were pretty sure his name was -
“will,” matty smiled at his housemate.
“did i hear someone say cookies?” he asked, his eyes bright as he noticed you standing there. “oh, hey. matty told me you’d be staying here for a few days,” he held his hand out for you to shake. “i’m will.”
“i think we met once at a practice, but hi, it’s nice to formally meet you,” you introduced yourself, trying to ignore the funny feeling in your stomach when your hands touched; the way his eyes quickly looked you up and down going unnoticed by both beniers siblings.
“and the cookies are for me, by the way,” matty teased, and will grabbed him playfully in a headlock, and the two kraken players tumbled to the living room. you sat down on the soft grey sofa facing the tv, and matty grabbed a nintendo switch controller.
“do you still think you can beat me at mariokart?” matty asked you, and you scoffed.
“i know i can,” you corrected, as he held up the game. you hadn’t played the most recent one that much, but you were sure you had enough practice with the previous ones to beat him; you always were better at the video game, but you hadn’t played in a while.
“you’re on. loser buys dinner?”
“deal,” you agreed. “are you in?” you asked will, who sat in the arm chair next to the couch.
“no, i’ll just watch,” he shook his head, and you shrugged it off with a smile.
“suit yourself.”
•
it was currently a very close game, you and matty fighting back and forth for the top spot on the leaderboard. it was down to this last race, and you were starting your final lap around the track.
“maybe you should spend more time practicing driving in real life, i think you’re better virtually,” you teased, and will laughed.
“damn,” he smiled, and matty shook his head.
“you’re just mad that i’m winning,” he smirked as his kart passed you.
“shut up,” you pouted, once again not noticing that will was watching you, rather than the tv.
you were about to lose, both of you nearing the finish line, when you felt the couch dip next to you, and you looked to your right in surprise. wills hands were over yours, his arm reaching around you to hold the controller as he got an item from the box and fired the green shell straight at matty, knocking him off the kart and driving your kart across the finish line.
“that’s cheating, you said you weren’t playing,” matty protested, and will chuckled, his breath hitting your ear from how close he was sitting, and you noticed he smelled faintly of vanilla and mint.
“i’m helping,” he challenged. the points were tallied up, confirming that you had won, and you cheered as matty tossed his controller down on defeat.
“i feel betrayed,” he held a hand on his heart jokingly. “i still think that outsider interference should be a disqualification, but a deal is a deal. there’s a great restaurant not far from here, but they only do takeout. i’ll go grab it if you guys don’t mind hanging out here without me?” he offered, and you nodded.
“we’ll live,” you teased. “thanks matty.”
“thanks man,” will patted him on the back as he walked by, before matty grabbed his things and slipped his shoes on, heading out the door with a wave.
“thanks, i owe you one,” you smiled at will as he set the controller down, leaning back against the couch cushions with his arm over the back of it.
“no problem. i didn’t want to listen to him brag if he won,” he joked, a cute smile on his face.
“i can’t even imagine,” you shook your head. “i don’t know how you live with him. i mean i had to but not by choice,” you laughed, and will could tell you weren’t serious. matty had been great to grow up with, all in all a very sweet older brother, and despite what you said, you did miss having him at home.
“he’s not that bad. plus, we’re on the road a lot of the time,” he took off his beanie to run a hand through his light brown hair, before returning the hat to its proper position. you cursed yourself for thinking that his hair looked really soft, and that part of you wished you could trace your fingers through it. “did he show you where the guest bedroom is?”
“no, i had just gotten here when you came downstairs,” you explained. will stood up from the couch, stretching his arms above his head with a slight groan. you tried not to stare as his fawn coloured hoodie rode up slightly, exposing the waistband of his boxers and a sliver of his skin, before he lowered his arms.
“come on, i’ll give you the house tour. hopefully he won’t be too mad that he doesn’t get to show you around himself,” you both laughed, and you grabbed your small suitcase from by the front door. you followed after him as he showed you the kitchen, which you had seen, followed by where matty’s room was, the hallway bathroom, and finally the guest room, which was -
“it’s right next to my room. so if you need anything, just knock,” he offered, and your heart skipped a beat.
“thanks, i appreciate it.” he just nodded in response. there was a comfortable silence for a moment as will leaned against the doorframe, his eyes trained on you as you wheeled your suitcase into the guest room, throwing your phone on the nightstand, before turning back towards him. as your eyes met his, he snapped out of it, clearing his throat softly and looking at the floor, and will hoped he wasn’t blushing.
“matty should be back soon, we can go wait in the kitchen,” he nodded his head in the direction of the staircase.
“okay,” you smiled, and he stepped aside to let you through the doorway.
“do you want something to drink?” he offered once you were back downstairs, opening the fridge to reveal not much inside. if you can imagine the fridge of a couple of college students (mostly soda, a few takeout leftovers; not a vegetable in sight), that is what you were looking at, but you supposed they ate out or ordered food most of the time.
“sure, thanks,” you nodded, looking at the options. “a grape soda if that’s okay.” he passed you the purple beverage, and you felt that same funny feeling in your stomach as his fingertips briefly brushed yours. i should not be feeling this way about your brothers teammate, you thought. you watched him as he reached in to the cupboard and got out plates for the three of you, and you noticed a large scar across his neck.
“can i ask a question?”
“how did i get the scar?” he smiled, turning his attention back to you, and you instantly felt bad.
“sorry - i’m shouldn’t have asked,” you apologized, but he just laughed softly.
“it’s okay, most people do. or sometimes they just stare at it and don’t say anything, which i think might be worse,” he said. “i got cut with a skate blade at hockey camp when i was 17,” he explained.
“wow - that’s a little…”
“terrifying?” he laughed. “yeah, it was.”
“how do you get back on the ice after something like that?” you asked, bewildered at how someone could want to keep playing after something so scary happening, but he just shrugged.
“i don’t know - i missed the game i guess. i’ve always loved hockey so the thought of not playing it again never really crossed my mind. it’s been almost 10 years since it happened, i kinda don’t think about it too much anymore,” he admitted, leaning on his elbows on the countertop. you did the math, deciding he was probably around 6 years older than you, and that shouldn’t have made your heart beat faster, but it did.
“well i don’t know what it’s worth, but i’m glad you’re okay.” you offered, still feeling bad for asking about it, even though he didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
“thank you. and besides, i’ve heard some girls dig scars, so maybe it’s not a total loss,” he laughed, that cute goofy smile spreading across his face again.
“i’m sure you do alright on your own,” you said, definitely having meant to think it, rather than speak it aloud. his eyes rows raised slightly before furrowing together in confusion, not sure that he’d heard you correctly. because if he had, that meant you found him attractive, and that idea only made the butterflies in his stomach worse every time he looked at you.
“what does-“
he was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, and you shifted your position on the barstool you sat on, not realizing how close towards eachother you had been leaning. will glanced at you one more time before walking over to help matty bring in the food, leaving you cringing at yourself in the kitchen.
“whatever that is, it smells amazing,” you commented, shaking off the embarrassment as matty and will carried the food into the kitchen, placing it on the island in front of you.
“i hope you guys weren’t too bored without me,” he joked, and you and will both looked at eachother, the shared glance going unnoticed by your brother.
“not at all,” will smiled.
•
you had successfully made it through the rest of the evening without sticking your foot in your mouth again. will thankfully hadn’t brought up what you’d said, especially not in front of matty, but that didn’t stop the two of you from stealing glances at eachother for the rest of the night. you had caught him only once, as you looked up and found his pale green eyes already looking your way. matty had thrown on a movie, but admittedly, you weren’t paying too much attention; instead the only thing on your mind was the kraken defenseman sitting in the chair next to you. you took note of the way his knee bounced occasionally, and wondered if he was nervous for some reason - though you doubted it.
the guys were playing call of duty downstairs, and you could hear their voices faintly as you got ready for bed, changing into some pyjama shorts and a tank top. you were sitting in bed scrolling through your phone, when you heard footsteps up the stairs, followed by a knock at the door.
“come in,” you answered, and matty peeked his head in.
“i’m heading to bed, you all good in here?” he asked, and you smiled.
“yeah, thanks matty,” you said, and you wished eachother good night, before he left to his room down the hall.
about fifteen minutes later, you heard will come upstairs, followed by the sound of his door shutting. you stuck your head out into the hall, checking to make sure matty’s light was off. it was, meaning he was likely asleep as you snuck downstairs before you could talk yourself out of it. you grabbed a small plate from the cupboard and opened the tupperware container you had brought. after placing two of the cookies on the plate, you shut it again before tiptoeing back up the stairs, pausing in front of wills bedroom.
taking a deep breath, and despite knowing it was probably a bad idea, you raised your hand to softly knock on the door. seconds ticked by, feeling like hours as you panicked, rethinking your decision to bother him.
“hey, everything okay?” he asked, a concerned look on his face as he opened the door. he had changed out of his hoodie into a t-shirt and some flannel pyjama pants, his beanie gone and his hair slightly messy as he ran his fingers through it. yeah, this was definitely a bad idea, you thought, wondering how he looked so good doing such a simple action.
“yeah- i uh - everything’s fine,” you stuttered, tripping over your words as you felt his eyes trail up your bare legs, and you realized how little you were wearing. “i owe you one for mariokart, so if matty asks you can blame me for these going missing,” you managed to say without stammering, holding the plate of cookies out to him. he smiled, taking the plate from you, and this time you swore he intentionally let his hand brush yours.
“thank you,” he walked over to the dresser and set them down, leaving you standing awkwardly in the doorway. “matty went to bed already?”
“yeah, his light is off,” you answered, shifting your weight back and forth between your feet as you crossed your arms over your chest.
“..do you want to come in?” he asked hesitantly, but not in a way that gave you the impression that he didn’t want you to.
“i think that would be a bad idea,” you answered honestly.
“sorry - yeah you’re right,” he replied, his face scrunching as if he was kicking himself for asking. you took a deep breath, looking down the hallway one more time, telling yourself that matty was for sure asleep.
“i didn’t say i didn’t want to,” you clarified, and you found it impossible to lift your gaze off the floor in front of you. your heart pounded against your ribcage as you waited for him to say anything, and finally you looked up at him, to find him for the thousandth time today, already looking at you.
“jeez, i’m a terrible friend,” he mumbled to himself. “i shouldn’t have invited you in, that’s not fair of me.”
“even if i wanted you to?” you challenged, taking a daring step into his room, and he sighed.
“your brother is my best friend, he would never forgive me if he knew what i was thinking right now,” he said softly, and you knew he was right. you definitely shouldn’t be sneaking into his room while your brother slept down the hall, but that didn’t stop you from quietly shutting the door behind you anyway.
“what are you thinking right now?” you asked, walking closer to him, only stopping when he stood up straight, facing his body towards you; you hadn’t realized how tall he was.
“about how much i want to kiss you right now,” he whispered, looking down at you as your eyes locked.
“will…”
“no one can know,” he shook his head. “i’m sorry, i don’t want to hurt you.”
“please,” you reached for him, his hands wrapping around your wrists to stop your hands from grasping at the material of his shirt.
“if we do this - we have to be so careful,” he spoke softly, his forehead resting on yours.
“i know. we’re both risking a lot. but i just really, really want you to kiss me right now and-“
his lips were on yours before you could finish your sentence, and you melted into him, his hands releasing their grip on your wrists and allowing you to snake your arms around his neck. his hands went to your waist, fingertips digging into your skin softly as his mouth moved against yours, his lips softer than you’d imagined. you separated to catch your breath, as he walked you backwards until your legs hit the end of the bed.
“do you want to stay?” he asked, and you smiled.
“another bad idea,” you both giggled, his cheeks a light shade of pink from the kiss. “but yes, i would like that.”
“matty usually sleeps in a bit on our days off, so i’ll set an alarm so you can sneak back to your room,” he offered, and then shook his head with a dry laugh, as if realizing what he had said. “i am so not getting the friend of the year award.”
“i’m sorry,” you looked down, but he tilted your face up to kiss you again, softer this time.
“don’t apologize,” he pleaded. “let’s go to bed.”
you slid your legs under the covers as will walked around and go into the other side of the bed. he laid down, and opened his arms for you to crawl into. “come here,” he mumbled sweetly, his voice sleepy as you wrapped your arms around him. you allowed your legs to tangle with his under the blanket as you kissed him on the cheek, a smile blooming on his face in response.
“goodnight will,” you hummed, and he rubbed your back, a million thought running through his mind as he started to drift off to sleep.
“goodnight.”
•
there is a first time for everything, and today had to be the first time that matty was awake early. luckily, will had woken up to the alarm he had set, a little disoriented to be waking up with you in his bed. he smiled down at you in his arms, and shut off the alarm, deciding to let you sleep.
he heard matty’s door and panicked slightly, but breathed a sigh of relief as his footsteps passed his own room and thumped down the stairs. will combed through his hair quickly before heading downstairs after him.
“morning,” he mumbled, rubbing his tired eyes as he wondered why his housemate was awake so early.
“morning,” matty smiled. “i didn’t think you’d be up yet. i wanted to go for a run early today; that way i’m not really ditching you and y/n,” he explained. “i feel kinda bad for leaving them stuck with you last night.”
“ouch,” will faked offence, but judging by the fact that you were currently asleep in his bed, he figured you didn’t mind being left alone with him after all. he smiled to himself as he poured himself a cup of coffee from the kettle, thinking of the stolen kisses from last night, but his smile faltered slightly as he remembered that is was his best friends little sibling he had been kissing.
“i’ll be back in a little while, try not to be a good host if y/n wakes up.”
“alright buddy,” he laughed at the irony, as matty put in his earbuds and hurried out the house. as the door shut, will exhaled deeply, running his hands over his face, feeling incredibly guilty for betraying his friend. he set the coffee mug down on the counter, padding back upstairs to his room, the guilt being replaced with butterflies in his stomach as he looked at you, tangled up in the sheets of his bed. the sun peeked through the cracks in the curtains, illuminating the parts of your skin that it fell upon, and he sighed happily.
will walked over to the side of the bed and sat down next to you, unable to stop himself from gently running his knuckles along your bare arm. you mumbled incoherently, still half asleep as you rolled over towards him.
“hey, sleepyhead. matty went out, but you should probably get up before he gets back,” he explained, and you nodded sleepily, reaching out towards him and grasping at his shirt.
“lay with me,” you murmured, and he couldn’t stop himself, sliding under the covers with you as you curled into him, waking up slightly as he leaned down to kiss you. you returned it, reaching up to cradle the side of his face in your hand as his hands slid up your back, holding you tight. he leaned against the headboard as he maneuvered you into his lap, and you pulled back slightly.
“i guess this means you don’t regret.. this?” you laughed nervously, and he smiled.
“i don’t regret it,” he pecked your lips. “i did feel guilty facing your brother though.”
“i’m sorry,” you mumbled, looking down at your lap, but he tilted you face up gently with a finger under your chin.
“you don’t have to be sorry,” he shook his head. “come on, let’s get out of bed before matty comes back and then we really have to apologize,” he joked, kissing you one more time before helping you crawl out of his lap.
“how many days are you staying with us again?” he asked, as you walked towards the door to head back to your guest room.
“why? you like having me around?” you teased.
“something like that,” he blushed, and you smiled at how cute he was.
“at least three or four,” you replied. “but i think i could be persuaded to stay longer.”
disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned
summary: after will and a few of the kraken help you get away from your ex at a bar, they invite you to celebrate their winter classic win with them
warnings: shitty non descriptive ex bf, drinking, language
word count: around 1.7k i think
“please, just leave me alone,” you sighed for the thousandth time, you ex continuing to pull on your arm, not getting the hint.
“come on, baby. i know you miss me,” he slurred, drunk off his ass; and you had the unfortunate pleasure of running into him when you were just trying to have a good night.
“as if,” you rolled your eyes, pulling your arm from his grip finally.
“i’m gonna get you another drink, maybe you’ll cool down,” he mumbled, and you shook your head.
“don’t waste your money,” you sighed, but he was already off to the bar, not listening to you once again. you looked around the bar, which was pretty crowded; although it was new year’s day, it was a monday, so you hadn’t thought it would be this busy. you knew that a lot of people here were probably celebrating the seattle kraken winning the winter classic earlier, and as your eyes scanned the patrons in the crowd, you noticed a few of the players were actually here. the group of them seemed to be mostly keeping to themselves, although the corner of the room that they occupied grew louder and louder as the night went on, seemingly joining in celebrating with the fans.
hoping to blend in to the crowd and lose your ex, you slowly migrated over to their side of the room, laughing as one of them, a brunette with curly hair stood on a table with the help of some of his friends. not paying attention to where you were going, you felt your body run into something; rather someone, and looked up at the person.
“sorry,” you both muttered, but the tall man smiled down at you, light brown hair peeking out from under a seattle kraken beanie.
“it’s my fault, i should watch where i’m walking,” you admitted while checking over your shoulder to see if your ex had spotted you.
“hey, i also wasn’t looking, so we’ll call it even,” he laughed, his light eyes slightly glossy from drinking. “are you looking for someone?” he asked, and you shook your head.
“more like someone is looking for me-“
“and you don’t want to be found.” he said, putting the pieces together.
“that obvious?” you laughed, and he smiled.
“you can stay over here with us; we won’t let anything happen to you,” he said with a cute smile, gesturing to the table of other kraken players.
“are you sure? i don’t want to intrude; i assume you’re celebrating winning the game earlier?”
“mhm, and it’s not intruding because i invited you,” he smiled, obviously in a good mood still from the game. “did you watch it?” he asked. you felt his hand softly touch your back, respectfully just below your shoulder blades as he steered you back towards his table.
“i saw parts of it - you scored right?”
“i did,” he smiled wide, and you couldn’t stop one from spreading across your face as well.
“congratulations,” you said genuinely as the two of you approached the table, and he pulled a chair out for you sit before taking one next to you.
“i’m will, by the way,” he said, offering his hand for you to shake.
“y/n,” you accepted it, his large hands dwarfing yours as you realized just how tall he was, even sitting down.
“this is gourde-o, tye, matty, yamo, and that’s dunner,” he introduced the others at the table, pointing at the one stood on the table next theirs. “there’s a few more of us around here somewhere.” they all said their hellos, but your smile dropped as your ex finally found you, setting your drink on the table in front of you.
“so this is where you ran off to,” he said. “i was looking everywhere for you baby.”
“i told you not to get me this,” you said, pushing the drink away from yourself. “and don’t call me that, we broke up months ago.”
“you still love me though, i know you do.”
“please just leave. don’t ruin my night because you can’t get over me,” you were getting frustrated, tired of being polite.
“do you even know these guys? are you some kind of groupie now?” he spat, and will tenses next to you.
“i’m just sitting with them, now please just get a cab and go home-“ you lied.
“which one of them are you sleeping with?”
“leave her alone, man,” wills voice came from next to you, and while you appreciated it, you knew your ex was just gonna target him now. while your ex could be a bit of an asshole when he drank, will seemed to be a happy drunk, and that only pissed your ex off more.
“so it’s you then?” he pointed at will, and you shook your head. standing up from your seat, you put your hands on your exes chest, pushing him away from the table.
“get out of here and sleep it off. before you do something you’ll regret,” you pleaded, and he grabbed at your wrist again, but you managed to get your hand away before he could get a hold of tou.
“why, so you can go get passed around by the hockey team? yeah right.”
“dude, let her go,” will appeared next to you, his hand resting on your hip.
“will-“
“get your hands off her,” your ex slurred.
“just leave her alone,” will spoke calmly, seemingly having sobered up a little bit in the last few minutes. he was a head taller than your ex, and despite his cute demeanour, was ten times as intimidating, helped partially by the large scar across his neck. “come on man.” you looked to the side to see a few people watching, while thankfully most people were ignoring the situation; or they were too drunk to notice over the sound of the blaring music. either way, you really hadn’t wanted to cause a scene, especially now with will and the other guys involved. tye and matty were standing behind will as well now, making sure you were okay, and you appreciated it greatly.
your ex took a step back, and will relaxed a bit as well, pulling you behind his body as your ex stared him down, but decided after a quick look at the three hockey players guarding you to give it up. he cursed at you before storming out of the club, and you breathed a sigh of relief.
“thank you,” you said, wrapping your arms around will in a hug, his arms circling around you. “i’m sorry about him.”
“you don’t have to apologize. we’re just glad you’re okay. do you want to come sit with us?” he asked, and you felt relaxed to see him smiling again. you nodded, following him hand in hand back to the table, and quickly shots were placed in both your hands by will’s teammates. will took off his hat, running a hand through his messy hair, clinking his glass against yours before you each downed the liquor.
•
a few hours and a few more drinks later, you found yourself sitting in wills lap as the others had returned to the table and you had quickly run out of seats. his arms held you tight around your waist so you wouldn’t fall. his skin was warm and his face flushed pink from the alcohol, the blush spreading to the tips of his ears. you were sure that you were in a similar state; having lost count of how many drinks you’d had. one look at all of the empty glasses and bottles on the table told you it was a lot. at one point, the guys all had celebratory beers in huge boot shaped glasses, on the house to celebrate the teams win, and you had snapped a photo of will drinking from his earlier.
you found yourself admiring how pretty he was, his light green eyes heavy from the alcohol, but still remained bright and full of excitement as he looked back and forth between his friends throughout conversation. your eyes looked down at the scar across his neck, and you wondered what it was from but didn’t ask, instead using your thumb to wipe away some eyeblack makeup that had been on his cheeks to help with the sun during the outdoor game. once the pigment was gone, you hummed sleepily as you pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“what’s that for?” he giggled happily.
“just another thank you,” you smiled. “and because you’re kinda really cute.”
“kinda really?” he repeated, and you laughed as you stared at eachother, the alcohol making both of you giddy, oblivious to anyone else in the bar as you looked at his green eyes. the room felt like it was spinning slightly, or like you were on a boat out on the ocean, rocking back and forth with the crashing waves. it was kind of fitting, as the guys had shown you pictures of their arrival outfits, having shown up to the game in bright fisherman’s overalls.
“mhm,” you agreed, holding his chin gently in your hand, your noses almost touching from how close you were. his eyes scanned your face, looking at your eyes, then your lips, and back to your eyes again, and your heart skipped a few beats.
“you’re kinda really cute too,” he mumbled, his words jumbling together slightly from intoxication, and he bumped his forehead against yours as you giggled; your stomach beginning to ache slightly from how much you had been laughing tonight.
“get a room, you two,” matty laughed, but neither of you cared, ignoring him as you returned to the present and out of your own little world.
“more shots?” vince suggested, and you and a few others all shook your heads.
“schwartzy said he’s done setting up the after party, if we want to head over to his place,” yamo said, reading a text off his phone. you checked the time on your phone, seeing that it was only 9pm. you didn’t want the night to end, but also didn’t want to overstay your welcome. hanging out at the bar was one thing, but a house party, presumably full of the teams wives and girlfriends seemed like a bit too much; especially when you were far too drunk to make a good first impression.
“do you want to come to a friends place?” will asked you.
“are you sure? isn’t it like a team thing?” you asked.
“kind of,” he admitted, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
“you coming with us?” tye asked you.
“i don’t think i can this time, sorry guys,” you decided, a little nervous about the idea of being at a party with that many strangers, no matter how nice they all had been so far. “but thank you! maybe another time.”
“it’s okay,” will smiled. “can i give you my number so you can’t text me let me when you’ve made it home safe?” he asked, and you nodded with a smile. you exchanged numbers, and called a cab, will and the guys waiting until you got in the car before they left.
you sat in the back of the car, thinking over everything that had happened, from the encounter with your ex to almost kissing will; and wishing you had. you hoped you would see him again, but knowing that he was very busy travelling and also a famous hockey player, you weren’t sure it would happen.
as you stepped inside your apartment, you typed out a quick text to will.
the alcohol was starting to wear off slightly, and you had just enough energy to wash your face and peel your clothes off, throwing on some pyjamas before hopping into bed.
as you scrolled through instagram in bed, your mind drifted to a certain tall brunette. you easily found his instagram from the teams page, thinking he wouldn’t mind if you followed him. you looked through the teams page at all of the pictures from the game, even videos of the goals being scored, including will’s. you’d had a lot of fun with the guys, and found yourself really hoping that the kraken won again soon.
dt: @krakenkrunch
disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned
summary: building a gingerbread house with will on a snowy night but you get…. sidetracked
warnings: slight nsfw/implied smut but mostly fluff
words count: 2.4k
you watched the snow falling outside, the trees bending and blowing in the wind as it began to get dark outside. you were waiting (rather impatiently) for your boyfriend will to get home, picking at your fingernails anxiously as more and more time went by. realistically, he had only been gone for about an hour, and the stores were sure to be busy this time of year; and the weather probably made things even slower. what made matters worse is that he hadn’t told you where or why he was going out, just that he ‘shouldn’t be gone too long’.
as it began to approach your definition of ‘too long’, you breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of headlights illuminating the street, and wills car pulling into the driveway. you wrapped the blanket that had been over your lap around your shoulders and walked over to the door, the cold draft nipping at your toes even through your fuzzy socks; a gift from will last christmas. you opened the door as he got to the porch, letting him inside and quickly shutting to door to keep out the snow. he had a brown paper bag in his hand from the grocery store, and you wondered what he could have needed this late in the evening.
“hey, sorry it took longer than i thought it would,” he apologized, shaking off the snow that had gathered on his shoulders and atop his beanie covered head. “the traffic was bad and i was trying to drive carefully.”
“that’s okay. i’m just glad you’re home,” you smiled, taking the bag from his hand and placing it on the chair near the door. you helped him out of his snowy jacket, sliding the sleeves off his arms as he shivered slightly. his cheeks and the tip of his nose were a light shade of pink, and a few snowflakes had collected in his eyelashes. he hung up his jacket in the closet and stepped out of his boots, and you squeaked in surprise as his arms wrapped around you, his body freezing cold against yours.
“will-“
“you’re really warm,” he laughed, not letting go of you as you tired to squirm out of his icy grip.
“come sit by the fire with me.”
“don’t you want to see what i bought?” he asked, but waddled with you towards the sofa anyway. the two of you tumbled onto the couch, and you curled up with your legs over wills, leaning against the armrest as you pulled the blanket from around your shoulders.
“here,” you smiled, placing it around his shoulders and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “snuggle with me for 5 minutes and then you can show me what you bought.”
“deal,” he smiled back, pressing a soft kiss to your lips, his nose still cold against yours. you let your hands reach up and slide your fingers beneath the cuff of his damp beanie, sliding it off his head and allowing yourself access to his brown hair. you brushed your fingers through it, restoring it to its usual fluffy state after the hat had matted it down. will was usually wearing a hats of some kind, so you took advantage of any opportunity you got to play with his hair.
“do you feel warmer yet?” you asked softly, leaving gentle kisses down the side of his neck, being extra gentle around the scar across his throat.
“mhm,” he hummed happily, holding you close to him as his body temperature returned to normal. “come on, i want to show you what i got at the store,” he gently pushed your legs off of his, kissing your lips one more time before you both got off the couch. he grabbed the bag and you followed him into the kitchen, where he placed it on the counter.
“a gingerbread house?” you asked as he presented the contents of the bag to you; a build your own gingerbread house kit. “you went out in the storm for this?” you asked playfully, and he nodded, his eyes sparkling brightly as he opened the box.
“we can build it together,” he explained, taking little bags of candies and other decorations out of the box, as well as the pieces for the house itself. you shook your head, but agreed, clearing off the kitchen island to make room to work. will connected his phone to the bluetooth speaker on the counter, choosing a winter playlist before he grabbed a tray to build the house on, and you both washed your hands. you trimmed the end off of the icing bags, laying down a thin layer on the tray to stick the floor down.
“can you hold the walls in place while i glue them to the floor?” you asked, and will nodded. he stood behind you, his arms under yours as he held the pieces in place so you could stick them there with the icing, and you giggled as he gently kissed your shoulder.
“don’t mess it up,” he teased playfully, but continued to distract you with kisses on the side of your neck.
“will-“
“what?” he asked innocently, but you could hear the smile in his voice as you finally got the sides of the house to stay in place. there was a bit of icing on your finger, and you managed to turn around in the small space will had left between his body and the island. you caught him off guard, wiping the icing off your finger onto the end of his nose, and he looked surprised for a second before laughing.
“we’re not gonna have enough icing if you start that,” he scolded, taking the icing off his face with his finger and putting it in his mouth. a tiny bit of icing remained on the corner of his lips, and you could taste it as you kissed him softly, his hands landing on your hips as he pulled you against his body. you moaned softly as his tongue slid past your lips, the sugary taste of the kiss making your head spin as he kissed you harder. your hands gripped at the hem of his brown hoodie, sliding beneath the fabric to loop your fingers through his belt loops and pull his hips against yours.
“baby…” he groaned, looking down at you through heavily lidded eyes.
“yes?” your eyes met his as you smiled.
“please,” he breathed, and you kissed him softly one more time before turning your attention back to the gingerbread house. “you’re such a tease,” he laughed, shaking his head with a smile, his cheeks flushed pink again, but this time with warmth instead of cold.
“you’re the one who wanted to build the gingerbread house,” you reminded him, and he rolled his eyes, but the smile remained on his face as you grabbed the icing again. “hold the roof in place?”
“sure,” he agreed, standing behind you again and holding the pieces in place; his presence behind you far more noticeable this time.
with some patience and teamwork, you managed to get the house built and standing on its own, which just left decorating it. you set down the near empty icing bag and will moved his arm to let you out from between himself and the counter, going to grab the candies from the box. when you turned around, will had the icing bag in his hands and was putting some on his finger.
“don’t eat all of it-“
“i’m not!” he protested, setting down the bag. “here,” he held out his hand towards you, and with a smirk, watched as you put your lips around his finger, licking the frosting off it.
his eyes darkened as he stared at you, before you felt his hands take the bag of red and green candies from you, his large hands enveloping yours almost completely as he tossed the sweets onto the counter and his fingers wrapped around your wrist.
“will-“ you exclaimed as he tugged you towards him roughly, but not hard enough to hurt you, and you caught yourself against his chest. his lips pressed to yours, teeth nibbling at your bottom lip as his hand held the back of your neck. your hands laced through his hair, messing up the brown locks as he walked forwards, your back hitting the edge of the counter with a soft thud as he trapped you between him and the granite surface again. his kisses trailed down your jaw, his teeth leaving indentations on the skin of your neck as a soft whimper escaped your lips. “the gingerbread-“
“we can finish it later,” he interrupted, and your hips bucked towards his instinctively as he left a trail of lovebites across your skin.
“will,” you repeated, they say you hummed his name like music to his ears. his lips trailed up to yours again, kissing you passionately. you both breathed heavily as he rested his forehead against yours, each taking a moment to catch your breath. you couldn’t help but smile, and you both became a mess of giggles as he bumped his nose against yours, arms wrapping around you in a bear hug.
“i love you,” you mumbled, nuzzling your face in the crook of his neck, and he laughed softly at the way your breath tickled his skin.
“i love you too,” he kissed the side of your head, breathing in the scent of your body spray that always lingered on his sweaters when you stole them. you looked up at him and reached up to fix his hair that your fingers had made a mess of.
“what is it with you and my hair today?” he smiled, laughing softly as you shrugged.
“you always have a hat on, i never get to touch your hair.”
“come on, then. we’ll watch a movie and you can play with my hair all you want,” he laughed warmly, dragging you back towards the living room. will grabbed the remote as you sat down on the couch, before he sat next to you, laying his head in your lap as he looked for something to watch. as promised, your fingers immediately traced through his soft brunette locks, and he hummed softly in content.
“what do you want to watch?” he asked, and you yawned, leaned down to kiss his forehead.
“you can pick something, i’m probably going to fall asleep,” you admitted.
“i might fall asleep with you playing with my hair,” he argued, but you could tell he didn’t want you to stop. will flipped to a channel playing a random hallmark christmas movie, something neither of you would care to pay too much attention to.
you sat in silence for a little while, and you almost thought will had fallen asleep, but his eyes opened at the feeling of your hands no longer in his hair.
“do you want to finish the gingerbread house?” you offered, and he laughed, looking up at you with sleepy eyes.
“i don’t know - it seemed a little distracting for you-“ he teased.
“for me?” you scoffed in disbelief as he laughed, and started to poke him in the ribs playfully. will burst out laughing as you tickled him, his nose scrunching cutely before he sat up to get away from your assault.
“okay, maybe it was distracting for both of us,“ he surrendered
“maybe,” you smiled, shaking your head as he pushed his hair back and out of his face.
“what if we just eat the rest of the decorations and leave the house plain?”
“why? don’t think you can keep your hands to yourself?” you challenged, and his eyebrow twitched, the corner of his mouth turning upwards in smirk.
“you think i can’t?” he replied, looking at you expectantly.
“no,” you pressed.
“do you want to bet?” he taunted.
“bet that we can not touch or kiss eachother for the time it takes to finish decorating the gingerbread house? deal,” you smiled, getting up and dragging him back towards the kitchen.
“what happens if one of us loses?” you asked, and he shrugged, not having thought that far ahead.
“okay,” you laughed. “i guess we’ll figure it out later.” you grabbed the icing bag again and began attaching alternating coloured candies to the roof like lights. will watched, snatching a few candies and eating them, and you almost slapped his hand away when you realized that technically, that would lose you the bet. he seemed to realize this as well, and began picking off the candies you had already stuck to the house.
“will, stop it!”
“make me,” he dared you, and you frustratedly were too stubborn to lose the bet, and watched as he continued to undo all your hard work. his hands reached for the bag of gumdrops, and at this rate there wasn’t going to be anything left to decorate the house with. you hadn’t planned on stopping to his level, but decided it might be fun to make it a bit more difficult for him, if that’s how he wanted to be.
“i thought you wanted there to be decorations on the house, not just eat them all,” you scolded.
“i do, i only ate a few of-“ he paused, exhaling deeply, and you could swear he cursed under his breath as you maintained eye contact with him, licking frosting off of your finger painfully slowly.
“what’s wrong?” you asked innocently, and he shook his head, his hands on your waist immediately as his lips captured yours.
he kissed you deeply, his fingertips digging into your skin roughly as his tongue explored your mouth. you smiled into the kiss, knowing that you had won the bet, but also just happy to have his lips on yours.
“you lost,” you teased, and his hand wrapped gently around your throat.
“mhmm,” he hummed. “i’ll get over it,” he laughed. you kissed him again, teeth tugging at his bottom lip as your hands slid down his chest to his belt buckle.
“what do i get for winning?” you asked, batting your eyelashes at him as he stared down at you, his eyes darker than usual.
“god, whatever you want,” he muttered, his breath hitching in his throat as your hand slipped into his jeans.
“kiss me again,” you requested, and he didn’t need to be told twice. even though he had lost the bet, he was still pretty happy as you stumbled to the couch, hands wandering across bodies, gripping at any inch of each other you could reach.
“was it worth the trip to the store?” you asked, as he hovered over you on the sofa, a smile spreading across his face.
“definitely.”
disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned
summary: you join will and a few of the guys on vacation
warnings: drinking, language, one use of y/n
word count: 1.3k
you nearly tripped out of your flip flops as you ran after will towards the dock, as the guys threatened to leave without you. you and will, along with a few other guys from the team were staying at a lake house for a week during the summer break, and you had almost forgotten about the scheduled boat ride, having lost track of time.
“wait for us!” will yelled as vince laughed, asking the driver to wait for the two of you.
“you could have told us you were leaving,” you laughed, and tye helped you onto the boat before the driver pulled away from the dock.
“where’s the fun it that?” brandon teased, and you and will sat down on the bench seat at the back of the boat together.
“drink?” matty offered, holding open the lid of a cooler full of ice and canned beverages. will grabbed a beer and passed you a drink, always remembering your favourite.
“thanks,” you smiled as he passed it to you, some of the ice water from the outside of the can dripping on your bare leg. will wiped it off your skin with him warm hand, and you shivered from the cold feeling, pulling your towel tighter around your shoulders. you were dressed in just your swimsuit, the summer sun beating down on you as the boat cruised through the water.
“i haven’t been swimming in forever,” tye stated, looking out at the water over the edge of the boat.
“me neither,” you agreed, unable to remember the last time you had been.
“you wanna go now?” matty joked, pretending to push you off the boat, but wills arm circled around you instantly; even if you’d actually been pushed, you wouldn’t have fallen with how fast he caught you.
“thanks,” you laughed. “oh - i forgot to put sunscreen on my back- can you help?” you asked, and will nodded. you grabbed it from your bag and turned away from him so he could apply the lotion to your skin. you shivered as he pressed his palm against your shoulder, and he laughed at you. “it’s cold!” you defended.
“i’ll anchor the boat just up ahead of you guys want to swim around for a bit,” the driver informed you all, and will removed his white button up shirt, leaving him in just his swim trunks.
“here, you can put these in my bag so you don’t lose them,” you offered, taking his sunglasses and hat off of his head. he ran a hand through his hair to fix its matted down state from the hat, and smiled.
“thanks,” he smiled, both of you oblivious to the other guys watching you. it was a long running contest amongst most of the other kraken players to see how long it would take for you and will to get together; with the rare few who actually took your word for it when you assured them you were ‘just friends’. you and will had known eachother for years, inseparable from the very beginning; nothing romantic ever crossed your mind because you were already a matching set in your mind; you couldn’t have one without the other.
“what are we all waiting for? last one in does dishes!” brandon yelled before jumping into the water, disappearing beneath the surface.
“does he know we’re ordering takeout?” vince laughed, but jumped in, tye following after him. you, will, and kailer were the only three left on the boat, and kailer was still dressed, giving will time to grab your hand and pull you with him as he jumped into the water.
“will!” you splashed him after resurfacing, everyone laughing as kailer realized he was the last one in the water, matty having jumped in after you and will.
“oh, by the way, we’re using paper plates, dumbass,” vince laughed, and that seemed to cheer him up.
•
when you got back from the boat ride, you were all pretty hungry so you ordered food from the local restaurant, kailer indeed relieved that he didn’t have to do any dishes. after a bonfire and many drinks later, you stumbled to your room with the assistance of will, the two of you a mess of giggles as he walked you to the bed. you began rummaging through your suitcase, when you realized you had forgotten to pack you pyjamas.
“wait - will,” you called as he began to leave the room to go back outside. he turned back to you, his eyebrows raised expectantly. “i forgot to bring pyjamas; can i borrow one of your t-shirts?” you asked, and he nodded.
“yeah, of course. i’ll grab you one, hang on.” he disappeared up the stairs to the room he was sharing with tye, returning a few minutes later with a grey t-shirt in his hand.
“thank you,” you said, turning around and removing your top, before sliding the shirt over your head. wills breath caught in his throat at you undressing in front of him, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“no problem,” he smiled. “do you need anything else?”
“no i’m okay. are you going back outside?” you asked, and he nodded, so distracted by how cute you looked in his clothes that he almost changed his mind and stayed.
“yeah for a bit. i’ll see you in the morning,” he smiled, and you returned it before he walked out, closing the door behind him. you brushed your teeth and washed your face, knowing that you would regret it in the morning if you didn’t. you looked down at wills shirt on your body; the soft fabric smelled faintly of his cologne, and you hummed as you crawled under the duvet, quickly falling asleep.
it was around an hour later when you heard the door creak open, though it didn’t alert you enough to fully wake you up. you mumbled softly as you felt the bed dip behind you and arms encircled your waist.
“sorry, go back to sleep.”
“will?” you whined sleepily, his arms pulling your back against his chest, holding you tightly. you could fell alcohol faintly on his breath from how close he was, his face resting against your shoulder. he had drank the right amount of alcohol to reach the clingy stage of drunkenness, a side of him that you loved.
“i didn’t mean to wake you up,” he mumbled, already falling asleep. you smiled, finding yourself quite comfortable in his arms as you also felt sleep taking over your body again.
“that’s okay,” you whispered, still feeling the effects of the alcohol you’d consumed throughout the day. safe to say you had all enjoyed yourself quite a bit. “goodnight will.”
“goodnight,” he replied softly, squeezing you tight.
•
tye walked down into the kitchen rubbing his eyes as he looked around for his missing roommate. his eyes only found vince, head down on the counter, and tye assumed he was nursing a similar hangover to the one he had right now.
“hey, have you seen borgs?”
“no, he’s your roommate,” vince groaned, his head pounding as he looked up at the younger man.
“he never came to bed last night.”
“bullshit, he went in before any of us.”
“besides y/n,” tye pointed out, a lightbulb going off in his head. “10 bucks he’s in her room.”
“15 says they’re naked.”
“deal,” tye agreed. “but i hope we don’t have to see that.” the two of them crept down the hall to your room and peeked inside. sure enough, the two of you were together, tangled under the covers in each others arms; thankfully fully clothed.
“told you,” vince laughed quietly as not to wake you up, and pulled out his phone, snapping a picture of the two of you.
“what’s that for, blackmail?” tye joked as they shut the door and walked back to the living room area.
“no,” vince explained, shaking his head with a chuckle.
“it’s going in a folder of pictures to show at their wedding one day.”
disclaimer: all events and interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned
summary: you bring you favourite player a birthday gift at a kraken practice
warnings: this is pure delusion lol enjoy, fluff 🧸 please pretend the game on dec.20th was at home not in california
word count: 1.3k (this is part 2 )
❥ click here for part one
9:46am - you
you came back downstairs dressed and feeling refreshed after your shower, grabbing your phone off the counter getting your shoes on. you had a few errands to run, and if you wanted to be home in time to watch the game tonight, you wanted to get a move on.
since it was close to christmas, you hated how busy it was downtown, but you always loved how they decorated the trees, snapping a quick picture and posting it to your story. you admired the passing buildings from the backseat of the uber you were in, when your phone buzzed in your lap. your eyes almost fell out of your skull as you saw what the notification was. once again, you had to check a few times to convince yourself that it truly was the real will borgen messaging you, and you pinched yourself as you typed out each reply.
he didn’t reply as fast this time, and you tried not to look insane to your driver as you checked your phone every 10 seconds. finally, a reply came through, but it only left you more bewildered.
he had sent you a ticket to the game? you couldn’t fathom why, but you weren’t going to say no when your favourite player was saying he wanted you there; that he wanted to see you. the game wasn’t until later that evening, giving you plenty of time to both get ready, and overthink everything about the situation.
•
6:21pm - you
you still felt like this was all a dream, even as you arrived at the arena and got to your seat, in the lower 100s section near the net that the kraken would shoot on twice during the game. you felt bad, wondering how much the ticket had cost, but you were pretty sure the players got a few tickets for free, so you hoped that was the case.
the kraken won in the end, leaving you feeling even more on cloud 9 as you walked up to the concession area of the arena. you were getting ready to leave, when you felt your phone buzz in your pocket.
you felt like you were going crazy, wondering what made you so special to deserve all of this happening to you. nervousness grew in the pit of your stomach - you had never hung out with a professional hockey player before. what would you talk about? what if you made a fool of yourself? he must have sensed your hesitance somehow, because after a minute of you not replying, another message came through.
if someone had told you 24 hours ago that you would be texting with, never mind getting coffee with will borgen, you would have laughed in their face. but somehow, you wondered if he had also felt that little spark between the two of you at the iceplex, and that’s why this was all happening. it sounded a little too fantastical for you, but you would believe anything at this point.
you got to the starbucks, the restaurant part being mostly empty, just a few people in line for takeout. you sat at a table in the corner, waiting anxiously.
as promised, 20 minutes later, you saw will sneak past the two people still in line, and over to your table.
“hey, thanks for waiting,” he smiled shyly, and you smiled back at him. how could he be nervous right now? you wondered.
“no problem. you’re really you,” you laughed softly, and he chuckled.
“yea, did you think i wasn’t?”
“a tiny part of me did. the ticket kinda convinced me but this is …. a little insane.”
“in a good way?” he asked nervously.
“will, of course i mean in a good way. i just … why me?” you fiddled with your hands in your lap, picking at your fingernails.
“why not you?”
“i mean i’m just me and you’re.. you.”
“you realize that makes no sense right?” he laughed, and you couldn’t help but giggle. despite how nervous you were, you felt more and more comfortable in his presence.
“you know what i mean.”
“you know, matty actually had to convince me to work up the nerve to message you.” you looked up at him, surprised.
“really?” you asked in disbelief. “do the other guys know-“
“no just him. he doesn’t know we’re together right now but he convinced me to invite you to the game.”
“well thank him for me then,” you laughed. “should we get drinks?” will nodded, and the two of you went to the counter to order. will insisted on paying for the drinks despite your protests, and he asked if you wanted to walk around the arena.
“you’re not worried about people seeing you?”
“no, most people are gone anyway even if i did.” as he took a sip of his drink, you smiled, noticing a familiar string of blue beads around /,” you smiled, holding his wrist softly to admire it on him.
“yeah, this really pretty girl gave it to me for my birthday,” he said, sliding his hand into yours and licking your fingers together. you blushed slightly as you walked hand in hand around the arena, will showing you around and explaining different things about the game. it had only been about half an hour, but you felt like you had known eachother for years.
•
matty beniers was walking out of the arena, having stayed a little later than usual after the game. as he looked down the hall, he noticed you and will walking the other way, smiling to himself as he walked to his car.
“he actually did it,” he thought to himself, proud of his friend for taking his advice. he ran into yamamoto who was also just leaving.
“hey, borgy’s not with you?” he asked, and matty shook his head.
“he had a few things to do tonight,” matty lied, not wanting to be the one to tell the guys about will and his potential new girl.
“i guess we’re celebrating his birthday without him then,” kailer laughed, and patty pushed him gently towards the door.
“more cake for us.”
•
10:51pm - you
“so did you enjoy your birthday?” you asked, laughing as will swung your joined hands back and forth between you slightly.
“yes, but i think i might have enjoyed today more,” he smiled. “it is getting late though and i don’t want to keep you here forever. do you have a ride home?”
“yeah, it is. i can take an uber-“
“i could drive you if you want?” he offered, and you smiled.
“if it’s not a bother- thank you.”
after a short drive, will pulled up outside your apartment, and you felt sad to be saying goodbye. what if he didn’t want to see you again?
“i would invite you up, but i really wasn’t prepared to have guests so the place is a mess. and it’s pretty late so you probably want to get home and-“
“it’s okay,” he laughed at your rambling. “next time. we fly to anaheim for a few days but i’d like to see you when i get back- if you want to i mean,” it was his turn to ramble, the fact that he was also a little nervous made you feel more at ease somehow.
“yeah, i would really like that,” you smiled. “i’ll be cheering you guys on from home.”
“thanks,” he replied, but looked like he wanted to say something else. “…can i kiss you goodnight?” he asked, and your face got warm, but you nodded. he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours softly. the taste of coffee on his tongue was sweet, and you found yourself wanting to kiss him again as he pulled away, but you didn’t.
“i’ll text you tomorrow?” he offered, and you nodded, getting out of the car and wishing him goodnight. he waited in his car to make sure you got in the building safely, and you sighed happily, a huge smile on your face as you rose the elevator up to your floor.
you just hoped the next few days went by fast.
disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned
warnings: none i think but i’m not super happy with how this one turned out tbh
word count: 1.8k part one is here
your head wasn’t pounding nearly as much as you thought it would be when you woke up, and you smiled at the fact that the drunken haze hadn’t wiped the cute brunette from your memories. after having a shower and some breakfast, you got out your phone and texted will, as you promised matty you would.
you smiled at your phone as you texted will your address, and he replied saying he would pick you up at five that evening. it was 11 am now, giving you plenty of time to get ready.
you were excited to see will again, and thankful that you hadn’t been so drunk that you’d made a fool of yourself last night. at least if you did, it wasn’t enough to scare him away.
will texted you at exactly five o clock to say that he was waiting outside your place, and after one quick look in the mirror, you were out the door. you were wearing a simple outfit, just a warm sweater, your jacket, and some jeans, along with your winter boots and some gloves to combat the chill in the seattle winter air.
will was standing next to his car when you got outside and you greeted him with a smile as he opened the passenger door for you.
“thanks,” you smiled. “it’s really nice to see you again.”
“yeah, i had a lot of fun last night,” he agreed as he began to drive down the road. “i am looking forward to not being a drunken idiot in front of you today though,” he said with a laugh.
“you weren’t an idiot,” you laughed with him. “i was worried i was, so i guess we were both worried for no reason.”
“i guess so,” he smiled. at a red light, he took off his grey beanie to run his hands through his hair, before placing it back on his head.
“did you and the guys have fun celebrating last night?”
“yeah, we had a good time. matty was still barely awake when i left to pick you up.”
“you guys live together?” you asked, and he nodded.
“yeah, we have a house together next to yanni and his family’s. it’s nice being so close together.”
“that does sound nice,” you agreed.
you spent the short drive to the market getting to know eachother; mostly small stuff like where you were from originally, what kind of music you liked, what you did over the holidays.
the car pulled up outside the market, strings of thousands of lights decorating the trees, lampposts, and stalls for different shops.
“wow, it’s gorgeous.”
“yeah,” will smiled, thinking that as you looked at all the lights, you were still the prettiest thing there.
will held your hand as you walked through the thin layer of snow that coated the ground.
“i love the snow,” you smiled, watching as tiny snowflakes twirled through the air, falling from the sky and covered the roofs of each market stall. there were vendors selling baked goods, crafts, hot chocolate, and so much stuff that you couldn’t even see everything at once. there was even a small skating rink set up, not big enough for hockey, but large enough that people could comfortably skate around.
“what do you want to see first?” will asked.
•
your toes had gone quite cold after about two hours of walking around the market, and even the hot chocolate you’d bought only marginally helping fight off the chill of january.
you had bought a couple craft items, such as a handknit potholder from a sweet old lady, as well as some cookies that you and will shared while watching people skate around.
“do you know how to skate?” will asked, and you shook your head.
“no,” you said with a laugh. “i think i would hurt myself if i tried.”
“you said you trust me?” he asked, extending a hand to you as he stood up.
“yes, but we don’t have skates.”
“even easier then,” he smiled, leading you out into the ice. it thankfully wasn’t too slippery where you felt like you were going to fall down, but enough that you could easily shuffle around. will ‘skated’ backwards as he held onto both of your hands, making sure you didn’t slip. somehow, you knew if you fell he would catch you, and it took away any fear you had in that moment.
“i don’t know how you do this, never mind while trying to shoot the puck and not get hit.”
“practice,” he smiled. “it’s kind of like second nature to me at this point.”
after a few more minutes you felt a little more steady on your feet. still , you didn’t travel too far from the edge of the rink, and never let go of will. you couldn’t imagine the added difficulty of trying to balance on skates.
“you should come to a game sometime. the guys want to see you again almost as much as i did.”
“really?” you asked, and he nodded.
“yeah. just let me know and i can get you tickets,” will smiled. “and yeah, the guys think you’re great.”
“thanks! they seem really cool too.”
“they kept asking me when i was going to see you again,” he said, and the pink blush on his cheeks from the cold hid the slight embarrassment in his face.
“well you can tell them that we went out today. and i don’t know about you but i’m having a really good time,” you smiled, hoping he felt the same.
“me too,” he smiled, and you breathed a sigh of relief. “it is getting cold though, so it might be time for me to take you home.”
“okay,” you agreed, and he helped you off the ice. you walked hand in hand back to his car, rubbing you hands together once you got inside as you waited for him to start the engine.
“what is it?” you asked, his eyes lingering on your face with a smile as he waited for the windows to defrost.
“you have a snowflake on your cheek,” he said, and reached over to wipe it off your cheekbone with his thumb. his hand lingered on your face, and your heart sped up.
“you know all i could think about in the cab ride home last night was how much i wish i had kissed you,” you whispered, and his eyebrows raised raised.
“really?” he hummed. “that’s good to know,” he smiled. “do you want me to kiss you now?”
you nodded, and will leaned closer, gently pressing his lips to yours, the taste of hot chocolate on his tongue. you smiled as he pulled away, the kiss definitely worth the wait.
“i really wanted to kiss you last night too, just for the record.”
“good to know,” you repeated what he’d said, and he smiled before putting the car in gear and starting the drive back to your place.
it was only around 8:30 when you pulled up outside your place, and you didn’t want to say goodbye just yet.
“do you want to come in for a bit?” you asked, hoping it wasn’t too forward.
“sure,” he agreed thankfully, turning off the car and following after you up to your apartment.
his phone beeped in his pocket and he glanced at it with a laugh.
“matty’s asking where i am,” he smiled, and you laughed as you turned the kettle on in case either of you decided to make coffee or tea.
“you didnt tell him where you were going?” you asked, and he shook his head.
“no,” he said with a laugh. “i was worried he might try to tag along.” you laughed as you walked over to the couch and sat down.
“while i did like hanging out with your friends, it was nice to hang out just the two of us,” you admitted, and will walked over and sat down on the couch next to you.
“yeah, it was.” he watched as you shivered slightly. “are you still cold?”
“a little,” you grabbed a blanket from the basket next to you couch, but will pulled you gently into his side, wrapping his arms around you as you pulled the blanket over your laps.
“better?” he asked.
“yes, thank you,” you hummed as you snuggled into him.
“maybe i just wanted to steal the blanket from you,” he teased, as it now rested over his lap as well.
“well if that was the case you could’ve just asked,” you laughed, looking up at him.
will leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to your lips, and then another on the tip of your nose.
“i’m kidding,” he smiled. “that’s just a bonus.” you hummed softly as you grabbed the remote and passed it to will, deciding on something to watch together.
about an hour into the movie, will looked down and noticed that you were asleep, and smiled to himself.
he sent matty a quick text saying that he wouldn’t be home, and not to wait up for him, before kissing the top of your head.
he ignored matty’s response, and took of his beanie, running a hand through his hair to smooth it out, before he reached over and shut off the lamp. the movement caused you to stir, and he smiled at you.
“hey,” he whispered. “uh, i told matty i was staying out because i don’t want to wake you, but if you want me to go that’s okay.”
“no, that’s okay. i want you to stay,” you stood up, grabbing wills hand and leading him in the direction of your room. “but this couch is terrible for sleeping.”
“bedroom on the first date?” he teased. and you pushed his chest lightly as you grabbed pyjamas from your dresser, finding and old grey t-shirt that would probably fit will as well and handing it to him.
“you’re lucky you’re cute, or i’d make you sleep on the couch for that.”
“sorry,” he raised his hands with a smile, and you went to the bathroom to get changed.
you came back out to see will sitting on the end of the bed, having changed into the shirt you gave him. you walked over and stopped in front of him, and will placed his hands on your hips, his fingertips gently brushing against your skin under them hem of your top. you leaned down to kiss him softly, and he smiled as you yawned slightly after pulling back.
“tired?” he asked, and you nodded, crawling into bed and pulling him down to lay next to you.
“come here,” you giggled as you pulled him into your arms, his legs tangling with yours beneath the blanket as he kissed you again.
“goodnight will,” you mumbled as you snuggled into him, your face resting on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around your waist. he hummed softly as you placed a kiss on his neck.
“goodnight,” he smiled.
disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned
