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icehockeyimagines-blog · 7 years ago

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Tom Wilson - I’d Never Hurt You

summary: Tom meets your parents for the first time and your mom says something that really gets to him.

word count: 2.4k

warnings: mentions of fighting and blood

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You sat in the Verizon center, nervous as always, but this time it wasn’t in anticipation of the game. Instead, it was the two people sitting beside you causing your nerves. You wondered how Tom would react to your parents being here. He had expressed nervousness around meeting them before, and you didn't know how happy he'd be without advanced notice. You would have let him know, had it not been a surprise to you too; you tried to call and text, but Tom always turned his phone off hours before every game to eliminate distractions.

The game was against the Penguins, a big rival of ours and you knew it was going to be a good one. You prayed for a win not wanting Tom to be in a bad mood when he met your parents for the first time.

Your parents decided to go and buy their beers and snacks during warmups. You cheered as the caps took the ice, and your eyes immediately found Tom and stayed glued to him. You loved seeing him warm up and mess around with Oshie and Burakovsky- you just loved to see him having fun before he got into game-mode. He skated by and his eyes caught yours. He sent a wave and a big, cheesy smile your way, giving you butterflies. He still had the same effect on you that he did the day you two met.

The game started and right away you could tell it was going to be intense and physical.

It was the end of the third, the game was tied 2-2. Tom was out on the edge of the face off dot closest to you, and he and Jamie Oleksiak were going back and forth. They roughly elbowed each other, causing the ref to give them a warning. The warning didn't help. The puck was dropped and so were Tom's and Ian’s gloves. Oh no.

The crowd was on their feet as the two went at it. It was one of the toughest fights you had seen Tom in since you two had started dating. The helmets were knocked off and punches were flying. Had you not been sitting next to my parents, you would have been standing along with all the other fans. You looked over at your mom to see her jaw clenched. This was not going to go over well, you knew that much. Your mom hated fighting. In fact, she didn't really like hockey in general, and you could tell she was not pleased and judging everything.

Tom ended up winning the fight, though you didn't know how much of a win it was, seeing as he was left with blood trickling down his face. You watched as he skated off the ice, licking some blood that had dripped down to his top lip. Somehow he still managed to look attractive, You would have been able to appreciate that more if you were sitting with your parents. There were three minutes left in the game so Tom wouldn't be coming back.

The game ended with a caps win, which you feared would be the only good thing to come of this night. You lead your parents down to where you always waited for Tom after his games. In the elevator you could feel your mom’s eyes boring into you but you kept your eyes on the screen which showed the changing floors.

“Kid’s a helluva fighter,” your dad broke the silence. You couldn’t help but grin to yourself at his comment, but your mom was not so pleased.

“Jim,” she warned.

The elevator finally dinged and you were the first out of the doors. You introduced your parents to Brandi Holtby and Lauren Oshie.

“I hope everything is okay with Tom,” Lauren pulled you aside. You had been so caught up in your parents to even wonder or worry about Tom.

“Thanks Laur,” You smiled.

The locker room doors opened and a couple players emerged, Andre Burakovsky among them.

“Hey Caroline,” he smiled, walking over to you. Because he was Tom’s best friend on the team, you had become pretty close with him.

“Hey Andre, good game. These are my parents, Jim and Rose,” You turned to your parents, “guys, this is Andre,” you introduced.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” Andre said in his strong swedish accent, extending his hand. Your parents exchanged pleasantries with him as you watched the door anxiously. You saw that Lauren, who had been joined by TJ, was waving you over. Your parents were busy talking to Andre so you walked over.

“Tom’s okay, had to get a couple stitches on his forehead and now he’s just getting showered and dressed,” TJ explained. You let out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks TJ, nice goal by the way,” You said

“Thanks,” he smiled.

You walked back over to find your mom fawning over Andre.

“Well, I should get going,” Andre said

“It was wonderful meeting you Andre,” your mom said

“You too! Have a good night,” Andre said. You gave him a quick hug goodbye.

Finally, Tom came out of the locker room. He looked handsome; freshly showered in his perfectly tailored suit with a couple small bandaged just above his eyebrow. He smiled when he saw you and quickly walked over, pulling you into a hug.

“Great game,” You said into his shoulder. You pulled apart and he noticed your parents before sending a confused look your way.

“Tom,” You cleared my throat, “these are my parents, Jim and Rose,”

You almost winced as you saw his eyes widen in shock.

“Oh my gosh, hi! It's so nice to meet you,” he said, shaking their hands.

“Nice to meet you too,” your parents said in unison.

“This is such a nice surprise,” Tom said. Either he really thought so, or he needed to consider a career in acting.

“Well, I’m sure you all would like to get to know one another so why don't we head to dinner,” You suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” your dad nodded.

“Did you have anywhere specific in mind?” Tom asked you. You shook your head.

“How about Morton’s, we haven't been there in a while.” He suggested

“Perfect,” You smiled before turning to your parents, “I'll ride over with Tom, you two can follow us,” You said. You would have driven them under any other circumstance but you figured you should talk to Tom.

As soon as you got in the car Tom looked at you with a bewildered look.

“Why didn't you tell me they were coming! I had no time to prepare!” He said.

“Tom, I swear I didn't know, they surprised me today! I tried to text and call but your phone was off,” You said. Tom nodded, accepting your explanations.

“I'm just so nervous,” he sighed.

“They'll love you,” you said, placing your hand on his hand which was clutching the gear shift.

“I hope so,” he said.

“By the way, are you okay?” You asked, pointing to his eyebrow.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” he chuckled.

“That was a pretty rough one, huh?” You said.

“Yeah, nothing I couldn’t handle though,” he said, winking at you.

“My hero,” You said sarcastically, earning a laugh. For a moment, you forgot about your parents, but that didn’t last long.

You arrived at the restaurant in Georgetown and your parents arrived moments later.

You sat down next to Tom, across from your mom and dad. His leg was bouncing up and down rapidly so you put your hand on it to settle him down. He immediately wrapped his larger hand around yours and shot you a quick nervous smile.

“How long are you both in town for? I'd love to give you a small tour of the city if you have time, (y/n) mentioned you’ve never been to dc. We could see the monuments, anything you'd like to do really,” You beamed at Tom’s gracious offer.

“That's sounds great Tom, we’d love to see your favorite parts of the city,” your dad said.

“That would be nice,” your mom nodded. You smiled and thought that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

Oh, how wrong you were.

After the waiter came by to take everyone’s orders, you could see the same distaste in your mom's eyes that had been there in the arena during Tom’s face.

“So Tom, it was quite the surprise to see you get in a fight today,” she commented. Tom almost choked on the water he was drinking but composed himself.

“Yes, I'm-”

“Was that your first fight?” Your mom asked.

“Well… no,” Tom said shyly.

Your mom made a ‘tsk’ sound, filling you with annoyance.

“Fighting is part of the game, mom,” You reminded her, trying to sound light.

“It's terrible and has no place in the already violent sport,” she said. You rolled your eyes.

“If players didn't fight, there would be much dirtier hits and way more injuries,” You said, looking at your dad for help.

“Yes, I think I heard that too,” he said.

“If a man is going to punch someone over a rubber puck, who’s to say he wouldn't punch someone in real life?” My mom said.

Now you were angry. Scratch that, you were absolutely furious at what she was insinuating.

“Mrs. Rider, I would never hurt (y/n),” Tom said worriedly.

“Well how can you be sure that your temper won't get the best of you?” your mother shrugged.

“Mom,” you said, anger in your voice.

“What? I’m just voicing an opinion,” she shrugged, “can you blame me for being apprehensive about my daughter dating someone so clearly comfortable with fighting?”

You hated the way she was speaking, she was acting as if she were talking about something as casual as the weather when in reality she was verbally attacking your boyfriend.

You could sense Tom growing more and more uncomfortable as he shifted in his seat.

“Who the hell do you think you-” you started but Tom cut you off.

“(y/n), it's okay,” he said nervously.

“No Tom, it's not,” you said

“Please, let's just drop this,” your dad chimed in.

Not wanting to worry Tom any more than you were sure he already was, you agreed to move on although you were practically steaming.

The rest of the dinner was tense and Tom made an effort to keep a conversation going with your parents but you had shut off completely.

Your goodbyes were short and cold while Tom kindly told your parents it was nice to meet them.

“I’m so sorry Tom,” you said once you were in the car.

“It’s okay,” He said quietly.

The rest of the car ride home was silent.

Tom was clearly having trouble sleeping. He had been tossing and turning all night. At one point, you rolled over to ask what was wrong only to find that his side of the bed was empty. Eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness, you sat up and looked around the room. You spotted his figure out on the balcony attached to your room, sitting on a chair. You frowned at the sight as you slid out of bed. A cool breeze sent a chill down your spine as you opened the sliding door.

“Tom?” You said softly. His elbows were on his knees, hands clasped together as he looked out at the city and he didn’t move from this position at the sound of your voice. You sat down in the empty chair next to him. The two of you spent most of your weekend mornings in those same chairs, drinking coffee, listening to the busy morning sounds of D.C.. Those moments were some of your fondest, though sitting out there with Tom at 2 in the morning didn’t have the same light, relaxed feeling to it.

“What’s wrong?” You spoke again.

Tom looked down at his hands.

“Talk to me,” You said. You could see the tension in his shoulders.

You waited for a response but it seemed like you weren’t going to get one. You were only getting colder as you sat outside in the night air.

“Ok,” you sighed defeatedly, standing up from the chair and turning towards the door, “don’t stay out too long, you need some slee-”

“You know I’d never hurt you, right?” Tom cut you off. His voice was raw and raspy. You furrowed your eyebrows in shock as you turned around to see him looking up at you, pain in his face and tears in his eyes.

“Of course I know that Tom, of course,” you said worriedly, sitting back down.

“I mean you see me fight in games all the time, but you know I’d never hurt you, o-or anyone in real life, right? Because I don’t know what I’d do if you were… s-scared of me.” He said, barely audible as his voice broke with the last part. His tears started to fall and he buried his face in his hands. Your heart broke to see him so upset over this, especially because you knew it was your mom who had but such a terrible thought in his head. Desperate to convince him that you weren’t afraid, you knelt in front of him, wrapping your hands around his wrists and gently pulling his hands away from his face. His eyes were red and puffy and avoided yours.

“Tom, look at me” you whispered. He looked at you and you took his face in your hands,

“You have never done anything to make me feel afraid. I know that you would never in a million years hurt me or anybody. When I’m with you, I feel safe.” You said.

He sniffled, nodding lightly as you wiped tears from his cheeks.

“Do you promise?” He asked, voice broken.

“I promise.” You nodded.

He sighed what seemed like a sigh of relief before reaching down to grab one of your hands, pulling it to his mouth and placing a kiss on your knuckles.

“I love you (y/n),” he said

“I love you too,” you said.

“Come on,” you stood, your hand still in his, “let’s go to bed.”

He stood up and before you could turn to go inside, he pulled you into his chest, wrapping his strong arms around you. You breathed in his familiar scent, instantly warmed by his hold. You knew he needed this, and you could stay in this position all night. Before pulling away, Tom placed a sweet kiss on your forehead.

You went to bed in Tom’s arms and the two of you had no trouble falling asleep after that.

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