#hockey and tswift prompts

[broadstbroskis]

dress | mat barzal

this was a request that just took me forever to write! hope you enjoy!

-----

“Hey, YN!” Your heart flutters as you recognize the voice calling after you as you walk out of the gym and you resist the urge to groan as you turn in search of it. Of course, Mat would find you after a hard class at the gym, where the trainer had kicked your ass. Of course, it’d be the day you’d dressed in baggy sweats and a t-shirt instead of cute leggings and a fitted tank top. When your hair was piled into a messy bun on top of your head instead of a nice ponytail.

Life was so much easier back when he was just the guy who lived in your neighbor’s basement. But nooo. You had to go and become best friends and fall in unrequited love with the guy.

“Hey Mat,” He’s grinning as he jogs to catch up to you and you can’t help but laugh at the exasperated look on Tito’s face behind him. 

“She knows we’re here!” Tito calls, making no effort to speed up and meet you across the parking lot. “It’s not like she’ll just leave.”

Mat stops in front of you and his grin is contagious, so you smile up at him. “Good workout?”

You nod, trying not to blush as he looks at you. “I thought you guys were travelling today?”

“Nah, tomorrow.” Mat grins.

“Ah.” You grin. “So this was a post-practice smoothie run?”

“Just what are you accusing us of?” Tito sniffs, finally catching up.

“I would never!” You laugh.

“Not if you want this strawberry banana blast we brought you, you wouldn’t.” Mat offers the cup in his hands out to you, and it’s only then that you realize it’s a full smoothie.

Your eyes light up and you reach for it. “How’d you even know I was here?”

Tito coughs abruptly and you look at him strangely before looking back at Mat, who’s rubbing his neck and shrugging. “Saw your car. Figured we might catch you coming out.”

You grin. “Well thank you very much!”

Mat rubs his neck again. “We were already there; it was no trouble.” Tito coughs again.

You frown over at him. “Are you okay?”

“He’s fine.” Mat says hastily. “Right?”

“Right.” Tito clears his throat. “So, YN, we’re going to see you on Saturday, right?”

Saturday. Right. You’d forgotten that you’d agreed to be both of their dates to the Islanders WAGS for Wags dinner to benefit local dog shelters. But really, there hadn’t been much to say no to- as soon as they’d mentioned that there would be puppies, you were in. 

“Of course!” You grin, nodding. “There’ll be dogs there!”

“Is that all it takes to get you to go places? Dogs?” Mat asks.

You nod enthusiastically. “Speaking of, I’ve actually got to get back to my parents’ and let mine out. But I’ll catch you guys Saturday?” And then, without waiting for an answer, you turn to start making your way to your car, just barely catching a glimpse of Tito patting Mat’s shoulder.

But you don’t have time to ponder the strange gesture. You’ve got pups to get home to and then homework to do. And a dress to buy for an event you forgot about.

-----

“Hello!” Lauren Eberle waggles her eyebrows at you as you try to sneak past her at the entrance.

“Hi.” You huff, resigning yourself to stopping. She’s been a confidant to you, a friend, someone you’ve been to for advice for a while now and as you approach her, she’s got the biggest grin on her face. “What?”

“What do you mean, what?” She huffs right back. “I want to see which of the fifty dresses you asked me about you finally decided on!”

“It wasn’t that many.” You grumble, but you hand your coat off to coat check beside the two of you.

When the grin on Lauren’s face looks too good to be true, you bite your lip. “Is it too much?”

“I think it’s perfect!” She responds, reaching out for the navy blue velvet and rubbing her fingers along the smooth fabric. “You look beautiful!” You blush, looking down at the dress. It’d been the last one you’d tried, unsure about almost everything about it- the thin straps, the deep v neckline, the low back, the slit coming up the leg that made the knee length dress feel even sexier. “Mat’s not going to know what hit him.”

Well, you hope.

Whatever the look on your face is, Lauren grins and grabs your hand. “So come on; let’s go show him.”

Once inside, you can see the event is bustling, with both humans and dogs, but your eyes are instantly drawn to Mat. His back is to you, talking with Tito, Jordan, and Jean-Gabriel, and you just...you can’t look away. He’s not even looking at you and you can’t bring yourself to look away from how his stupid shoulders are filling out his stupid suit. 

At least, you can’t until you hear Lauren snickering next to you. “Wow.”

“Stop!” You whine, clutching at her arm. “He’s not even going to notice.”

“No?” Lauren takes the opportunity of you grabbing her arm to start pulling you towards the boys, a commotion that catches the attention of Tito. His eyes flicker to you immediately, sparkling as they meet yours for a moment, and then he starts repeatedly poking Mat. You watch as Mat swats him away, for interrupting whatever conversation he’s having with Jordan and J-G, before finally turning his attention over, and then, subsequently, around toward you.

And then, he beams. 

His whole face lights up like a fucking beacon; it’s warm and inviting, the smile you love to see more than anything else, really. You can feel yourself drawn to it, starting to walk over there, pulling Lauren even, before she even starts tugging you along.

Mat’s tugging you away from Lauren the second you’re within arm’s length and you tumble into him, relishing the feeling of his hug. “Finally!”

This is not the reaction you were expecting! “What?” You laugh. “What do you mean?”

“Just been waiting here all night for you.” He teases. “No big deal.”

“I’m like twenty minutes late.” Barely.

“That was twenty minutes you weren’t here to talk to!” Mat grins, nudging your side, and Tito coughs, that same cough from the other day.

You frown, ignoring Mat for a second. “You should really get that cough checked out, Tito.”

“You know what?” He says flatly, starting Mat down. “I think I will, YN. Thanks for looking out.” Tito turns abruptly, practically storming away from you all, and you watch him leave, dumfounded.

“What...what is his problem?”

“Who knows?” Mat dismisses, but Lauren and Jordan are fighting back laughter that has you second guessing him until he quickly changes the subject. “Hey, look.”

Your eyes light up as you spy a boxer puppy and Mat laughs as you let out a soft squeal. “Look how cute!”

“There’s like a zero percent chance you don’t go home with one of these tonight, isn’t there?” Mat grins down at you, smiling so softly and looking so much like what you want that you have to look away.

“It’s getting lower and lower.” You admit, looking at all the adorable dogs around you.

“Maybe you could take her home tonight to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.” Jordan suggests to Mat and goddamn Lauren, you weren’t supposed to say anything!

Jordan and Lauren both have huge grins on their faces, those bitches, and J-G is looking between the four of you and you can see the comprehension draw over his face, so if you can see him start to put the pieces together, you don’t even want to look over at Mat. Instead you paste a grin on your face. “I think Tito’s got the right idea over there at the bar. I’ll go risk catching whatever he’s got over there.”

“Good idea.” Mat says and as he gently wraps his arm around your waist, you catch him shooting daggers toward Jordan. 

At the bar, Tito seems to be over whatever weird beef he’s got with Mat right now (you can’t be certain but you’ve got theories that it involves a dinner and a restaurant recommendation from the last roadie) and is instead choosing to act as weird as fucking possible the entire time you’re standing at the bar? Constantly looking over at Mat, making weird “mmhmm,” noises at things either of you say. 

You're honestly grateful for dinner to be served, for someone to come and usher the three of you to the table. Because even though you’re still stuck in between the two of them, there’ll be other people to make Tito stop doing whatever the fuck he’s doing. 

It’s not so much the people that make him stop as it is the food. Tito’s a sucker for a good meal, snapping pics to post on his secret foodie insta account. You make an impassioned argument for the bacon-wrapped scallops, that has everyone laughing, and Tito reluctantly agreeing that they’re worthy of posting. 

On your other side, Mat’s making a well-planned argument for why his whiskey sour should be included on Tito’s account. The basis of the argument revolves around the fact that lemon juice comes from lemons-a food-and should thus be considered. Tito’s vehemently denying him. And you’re cracking up as Mat gets more and more passionate about it.

Tito finally gets so annoyed at Mat that he just up and leaves, grumbling something about trying to get the inside scoop on dessert and you’re still laughing as you turn more towards Mat. “You should laugh more often.”

“I laugh all the time!” It’s said through the laugh. Jesus, you laugh at anything. Literally. If you laughed more often, you’d never stop!

Mat lets out this odd little laugh and next to him, Jordan seems to have caught the cough that Tito’s got, which reminds you to make a mental note to take some Emergen-C when you get home tonight. “I mean, she does!” He says, shrugging.

“Some best friend you are!” You tease. “Not even noticing!”

Mat laughs, but it doesn’t sound like his usual one, and then he stands. “I’m going to hit the bar for a bit. Anyone want anything?” And then he’s gone before any of you can even call answers back to him.

You frown. “Okay, what is going on here?”

“Can we just-” Jordan starts.

“Nope.” Lauren shakes her head. “We can’t.”

“You guys!” You protest. “What?”

“I can’t deal with this for much longer.” Jordan shakes his head. “I’m going to fucking lose it.”

Lauren laughs and looks over at you. “Do you really think you’ll have to?”

You pout, looking over at the two of them. “Well fine, if you two won’t tell me, then I’ll just go somewhere else.”

They both grin cheekily at you. “Sad.” Jordan says.

“So tragic.” Lauren grins.

“Rude.” You tell the two of them, standing up and walking off, trying to feign as much anger as you can manage. From their laughter behind you, it’s not much.

After a short stop to pet the fluffiest dog you’ve ever seen, you realize you left your drink behind at the table with Lauren and Jordan and, well, you’re not totally in the mood to deal with their cryptic shit right now, so you head over to the bar instead.

In hindsight, their weirdness would have been better. Mat’s standing by the bar, looking as incredible as he has all night, but right next to him is the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen. Her blonde hair falls in perfect curls over her slim shoulders, falling just to the top of her strapless red dress that fits like it was designed for her-it hits every curve perfectly, draws attention to every asset she’s got in the best way, and there were plenty of them. She’s laughing at whatever Mat’s just said and he’s smiling back and...and...

And suddenly, you can’t breathe.

What the hell were you thinking you could walk in here dressed up and Mat would finally take notice of you? What would make tonight any different than the hundred other nights he’s seen you- dressed up or down or in whatever.

An arm comes up around your shoulders and Tito’s familiar smell overcomes you. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” You sniffle, trying to fight back the unexpected wave of tears that’s pushing up. “Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?’

Tito gives you a look that tells you everything you need to know, but he doesn’t push. Just squeezes your shoulders and then asks if you want him to go grab you a drink.

“No thanks,” You pull out a smile, even as it hurts just to do so. “I think I’m going to head out.”

Tito purses his lips, but nods, leaning over to press a kiss to your cheek. “Alright. Will you text me when you get home then please?” After promising that you would, you started pushing your way through the crowd, a little more forcefully as you get closer and closer to the door.

By the time you make it to coat check, the tears are welling in your eyes and it’s almost impossible to keep them back. It’s a fairly short wait for your uber and you tip for your coat as you confirm your ride, willing to wait outside in the cold just to avoid anyone seeing you cry.

Which, of course, is too much to ask for. “Where are you going?” Mat’s voice sounds confused, as he calls out from somewhere behind you.

It’s honestly un-fucking-believable how this guy always manages to find you when you’re looking your worst. But at this point? Whatever! 

You whirl around, finding him much closer than you’d expected, but you try not to let that throw you off, even as just the sight of him threatens to bring a fresh wave of tears. “I’m going home, Mat!”

“But-” He looks utterly lost, staring down at you, eyes wide. “But why?”

The noise that escapes you following that is some weird combination of a laugh and a sob and it merely serves to deepen the frown on Mat’s face as he steps closer to you. “Why, Mat? I don’t know. Because I had this crazy idea that maybe tonight might finally be the night you notice that I’m fucking in love with you.” Mat looks like he’s just been punched, which, yep, that’s just the icing on the cake you needed for this night, but might was well keep going at this point.

“And I bought this stupid dress, thinking that might actually help! As if you’ve ever noticed before, like this-”

“I notice you all the time.” Mat cuts you off, voice so quiet you almost don’t hear him.

“-is the-” You stop abruptly, as his words sink in. “You-you what?”

“Jesus, YN, I don’t notice anything but you!” You freeze at Mat’s words, jaw dropped, tears stopped, literally unable to move. “I can’t look away! Anytime you walk into a room, I look over. When I walk in? You’re the first person I look for. Tito? Does not have a cough! He’s just tired of me talking about you and looking for you and wanting to be around you all the fucking time but being too scared to lose you to do anything about it!” You’re surprised to realize Mat’s right next to you, eyes darkening as he looks at you, breathing heavily as he speaks. It’s hard to breath with him this close. “And this dress?” He pauses, reaching out for you. Jacket still open, his hand slides easily over the velvet fabric of your dress to rest on your hip, where...it just stays.

The long moment you two just stand there is charged. The heat of his palm feels like it’s burning and yet it’s still not nearly enough touch. He’s still breathing pretty heavily, but then, you’re pretty sure you are too. And then, just when you think he’s going to continue-

Your uber arrives.

It’s gut-wrenching to step away from him. But Mat follows you immediately. “Mat.” You plead, looking over your shoulder. The last thing you want to do is walk away from him, but your driver is looking impatient, like he’s going to leave any second and hit you with some fees.

“This dress.” He repeats. “Has been driving me crazy all night. You have been driving me crazy all night. And I’ll let you leave if you want to, but I’m really tired of pretending to just be friends with you too when I’ve been falling in love with you since the minute we met.”

How you find the breath to even speak after that is a miracle, but somehow it comes. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“And go?” Mat hesitates, like he’s somehow unsure of the answer after everything he’s just said.

“I don’t care.” You say honestly. “As long as it’s somewhere with you.”

[1-800-iluvhockey]

closure - (b.brisson’s version)

summary - brendan signs for the nhl, and leaves his love behind, but he tries to give her some closure…..

type - blurb?? based on closure by tswift (lyrics italicized & bold) & (lower case intended)

warnings - none? a little sad but not much…. </3

she’s not just a

wrinkle in your new life

he knew that it was going to come, and he didn’t want it to happen. y/n was the best thing that happened to him during his time playing for the university of michigan. he wasn’t looking for anyone, but that is the best type of love…. the ones that you don’t look for. walking into his life during the middle of the first semester of his freshman year (after the covid restrictions started to loosen up), she changed his life for the better. It took him a while to pursue her, as he wanted to party and not be tied down, but bords talked some sense into him since brendan wouldn’t shut up about her.

“go talk to her! I’m sick and tired of you saying all of these things about her, and then you won’t even try to ask her out!” bords told him as they walked into a shared class that they had with her.

“bords, she is too good for me, and when we sign to the nhl…. I don’t want to be tied down or crush a girl's heart before I leave.” brendan told his best friend seriously. but man, she was perfect, and all that he wanted.

thom just gave him a short look before the professor started class, he took out a pen & piece of paper and wrote: “you’ve got time, brisson. go for it”

brendan gave him a look and wrote: “fine, but if I get rejected….. I am blaming you!”

—

during his next class of the day, brendan sat next to the beautiful girl, he had shown up early and she took the seat next to him, smiling as she did. she was eating lucky charms cereal as a snack (and it was so cute) as she studied for the quiz. to make conversation, he quickly scanned her things, and then he saw her computer case, which prompted him to start talking to her.

“so uh— hockey and taylor swift? great combo.” brendan told her as they waited for class to start. he was terrified as he said that, hoping it would prompt a conversation rather than just being weird.

y/n looked up from her notes and started blushing. “yeah— they are my favorites. wait! you are brendan brisson, right?”

“yeah! nice to finally meet you, y/n.” he tells her, shaking her hand.

“CAN’T believe that you are complimenting my choices when you're the hockey star himself.” she tells him jokingly.

he smiles and replies “I am just an average guy with a big ego.”

“I don’t think you have a big ego, you’re a good player, I— uh- I watched team usa when you were on the team.” she told him, sheepishly, facing his direction and moving her computer.

he does the same, facing his body in front of hers in his chair, his knees touching hers. “oh realllyyyy.” he tells her singy song like as she blushed more.

“never said I was a fan of yours, brisson.” she told him snarkily back, hitting her knees against his.

“but you should be, we have a home game on friday and saturday. you should come!” he told her enthusiastically, and she blushes a little.

“oh-- I don't know briss, I don’t have any friends who like hockey and I don’t have any umich hockey merch. I’d look so out of place!” y/n nervously said, not making eye contact with brendan. the professor was about to start class, meaning he had limited time to try and convince her to go.

“I can let you borrow some of my merch, l/n, and my friends have some girlfriends that I think you know, like audrey?” he asked her softly since the professor started to quiet everyone down for the quiz.

y/n’s eyes lit up at that, and that’s when he knew that she’d say yes. she pulled out a bright yellow sticky note and wrote something quickly, since they couldn’t talk out loud at the moment because the quiz was about to start.

the note said in curly handwriting: “you win brisson. here is my number and I’ll see you at the game. or maybe after?”

xx - y/n

—

that started the friendship turned relationship of brendan & y/n. a year n a half later & y/n was the one thing in his life that made him feel love. feel the true love of someone who isn’t interested in him for his looks, or hockey. y/n was compassionate in her words and actions, supportive & loving of him and his passions. she was everything and more, but he knew that she couldn’t stay with him. she deserved better, so he decided to write a letter. vegas contacted him while they played minnesota before the games in allentown. he knew what he needed to do, as much as he wanted to live in his bubble at umich. so, when y/n came to pa, and watched him play….. he knew that he had to break it to her soon. she was just so happy for him, he could see her eyes brighten every time he scored, or when they won. she was ecstatic, she was the best he’d ever have. but he knew it wouldn’t last (but also knew that he would get her back soon, hopefully) so in boston, he had to let her know. he could have planned it out better, he could have fought for her, he could have made it work. but he knew, and even all the guys, especially owen told him…. she’d come back when the time was right. so, that night before the quarterfinal of the frozen four, he wrote her a letter.

a letter to give her closure.

the way it all went down

y/n/n,

if you’re reading this, that means umich’s time in the frozen four is over, win or lose… it was the best season; because I had you. I want to start this off by saying that I fucking love you to the ends of the universe and I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted to willingly leave you behind. I never planned on falling so hard for you, or falling in love with you. you mean everything and more to me, and that’s why I can’t have you anymore. vegas called me, and I’m signing as you read this. I hope you understand and don’t resent me for it, because I wanted my last full memories with you at umich, and not you pushing me to go to vegas, or yelling at me to stay (as much as I wanted to) but I wanted the memory to be the core thing to keep me going until I see you again. I’m doing this not only for myself, but for us, baby. this isn’t a break up letter, this is closure so we can start the next chapter of our lives, together, soon. I’m signing with the henderson ahl squad, but you know me, I’ll be in the nhl in a blink. I want you there by my side, you have such an impact on my life, y/n l/n. I love you and call me when you land if you don’t resent me too much, I’ll be on the other line, waiting for your call. whether it's right when you land, or weeks after. I want your answer to my closure, I want you with me in vegas.

xx - yours, brendan <3

—

yes I got your letter

yes I’m doing better

it hurt deep to know you

right to the bone

her heart broke in half on that plane. she wanted to be there for him, and couldn’t. she didn’t need his closure, but she was glad that he did. she was happy for him, and all she wanted was the semester to be over so she could go to vegas. but she knew that even though he didn’t act like it, he needed time, time to be alone without her for a while. now what does a while mean? could be days, could be weeks, could be months. she called him back a week later, and decided to tell him that they were more than just friends, but she wasn’t his girlfriend anymore until she could come to vegas. that was the deal she made with herself, and that was the deal he agreed to even though it hurt him right to the bone.

—

staying friends

would it iron out so nice

his ahl career was short lived, and he signed to the nhl on the last week before the playoffs, which vegas did not make. meaning brendan would go home, and y/n would fly back to nova scotia to visit her parents. it was a cruel summer, being spent apart from one another, but it was good, good as one could get without spending that time with the love of their life. cliche, but true.

—

guilty, guilty reaching across the sea

that you put between you and me

summer came and went, little to no contact because of their schedules, but the new season of life was coming up. brendan’s debut was coming soon, and y/n’s junior year. middle of september came, and the umich season started, as well as the talks for the new rookie on the golden knights to debut. brendan convinced his head coach to let him wait until they played a closer team to debut, but the closest he could get was boston. the fateful place of where he last played as a ncaa player, the last time he played in front of her. when y/n heard the news of his debut coming to boston, she told her professors to help get her caught up, and she left as fast as she could. luckily it was on a friday, and she made it in time; wearing the same outfit as the last time she was in that arena for the frozen four. he had no clue she was coming, and she didn’t tell anyone until she called bords (in bold)

“il est là, juste devant moi. je suis gelé thom.” (he is here, right in front of me, I am frozen thom.)

“hé, hé, ça va aller. laissez-le vous voir. allez à votre siège, ou au verre. s'il te plaît?” (hey, hey, it’s going to be okay. go to your seat, or to the glass, okay?)

“d'accord d'accord! je suis tellement nerveux thom. et s'il ne veut pas de moi ici ? ça fait tellement longtemps.” (alright alright! im so nervous thom. what if he doesn’t want me here? it’s been so long.)

“il te veut là-bas, il est perdu sans toi, ma chérie. fais-toi connaître, je te promets que tout ira bien.” (he wants you there, he is lost without you, darling. make yourself known to him, I promise it will be okay.)

“merci thom, au revoir.” (thank you thom, goodbye.)

“j’taime!” ( love you!)

—

she walked down to the ice slowly, standing by the corner of the glass like she always did during his games, waiting for him to circle near her and touch his glove to the glass. it was a little pre warm up ritual that they did once they started dating, but really since the first game that she went to. so she waited, and then the lights dimmed, and she got her phone out to secretly record the rookie lap. he was graceful, and just like she remembered him. he was perfect, the lap was perfect. she put the phone down as the lights turned back on, and warm ups started. now, she waited to see if he saw her in the corner, the corner that haunted her memory.

he didn’t notice her at first, his mind was so consumed with not tripping and falling on the ice that he didn’t even look up to see the corner that she’d normally stand in, at every rink that she’d travel to for him. he wanted her there so bad, and was secretly hoping that she would be in that corner, and not back in michigan where she probably was. after his rookie lap, he went to the bench to tie his skates, check his tape…. and write y/n on the top of his handle tape. like he had done before every game, since he invited her. he always did it on the bench during it, so he could take that time to scan for her in the crowd, and that’s when she started to be in the corner. his eyes scanned the arena, and when he hit the corner she would stand in at every game (home or away), the arena went quiet, and his heart stopped.

standing there in the corner, holding up a “brendan brisson’s lucky charm” sign, with little hearts, his new number #24, and the lucky charm box cut out attached to the cute handwritten sign; was the love of his life, his y/n. she was wearing the same outfit as he last saw her in, in the same arena. she was stunning, and he fell in love with her all over again…….

she didn’t see him skate up to her at first, because she was scanning the room to see where he had gone. but her heart stopped when she locked eyes with him. the boy she fell in love with, the boy who would take her on ice cream dates and distract her from her homework, the party animal and best dancer around, the one that hurt her heart when he wanted closure…… was skating straight towards her.

the pair smiled at each other, and he touched his hand on the glass. she showed him the sign, and then made a “wait” motion with her free hand, and turned the sign around.

yes I got your letter

yes I’m doing better

but I don’t need your closure

when all I want is right in front of me

happy debut babe, j’taime <3

#vegaswithyou?

his heart soared, and he felt all of the emotions he could ever want to feel all at the same time. he drew a heart on the glass and skated away, with the biggest grin on his face.

that night he got his first nhl game, his first nhl goal / point, and the love of his life back. and he was so thankful that he could get closure, and now start a new chapter of his life, with the same girl on his side.

—

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[broadstbroskis]

idk if you’re still doing t-swift prompts but if you are could I request brock boeser and mary’s song!! btw loved your matty tkachuk + wearing his name story💕

ahhh thank you 💜💜

here is brock and mary’s song (with some accidental paper rings vibes thrown in, oops sorry not sorry🤷‍♀️)

-----

The evening of your fifth birthday, after all of your friends had gone home with their party bags and the only people left were your family and your next door neighbors, your sister comes running inside to drag you away from your brand new paint set to bring you outside where she was playing with her best friend.

As older siblings of their families, Lauren and Jessica were sure they knew best and it’d was only the start of what was sure to be a summer of being pulled into their games and forced into whatever role they didn’t want to play. The ugly stepsister from Cinderella. The student in class. The worst Cabbage Patch doll.

Luckily, you had a partner in crime of your own. Jessica’s brother, Brock, was almost two years older than you but that still made him younger than the two of them, and in Lauren and Jess’ minds, that may as well have made you both babies, dolls for the two of them to play around with. 

Brock’s sitting on the ground, picking at the grass, looking grumpy, so whatever Jess and Lauren have planned, must be something he’s already been waiting for them to organize for a while. But your face lights up at the sight of your best friend and you happily go sit down next to him, content to just be near him as he continues to pick at blades of grass and see which ones are good for whistling with, while continuing to wait for your sisters.

Really, you’re always just happy to be near him. Brock hung the moon. He’s the best hockey player. He’s always so nice, including you in games with his friends or wandering over to your house after school or practice just to see if you wanted to do something. 

“Okay.” Jess claps her hands together. “I think we’re ready.”

Lauren shoves a handful of dandelions in your hand and pulls you up to stand in front of her and Jess. “Stop!” She shrieks, when you go to make a wish on your bouquet. “Not yet!”

Jess is in the process of man-handling Brock to stand across from you and he’s still grumbling, trying to pull his arm away from his sister, but once he’s standing in front of you, he smiles at you, like the two of you are sharing a secret or teaming up against your older sisters- the way things have always been really.

You and Brock against the world.

“Brock.” Jess signs long-sufferingly. “Do you want to marry YN so that Lauren and I can be sisters forever?”

He gives his sister a look. “Uhh, I guess?”

She huffs at him, annoyed. “You’re supposed to say I do!”

“I do!”

“YN.” Lauren addresses you. “Will you marry Brock so that we can all be related and stay friends forever and ever?”

Is that what this meant? Weddings made you related to someone forever? As if you’d ever say no to that! Lauren and Jess are glaring but it’s Brock’s hopeful look that makes you grin. “I do,” You say solemnly.

“Great!” Jess cheers. “It’s time for rings.” She hands you each a round piece of construction paper. “Put this on each other’s fingers!”

“Yours is purple and Brock’s is blue, because those are your favorite colors.” Lauren adds, matter-of-factly.

Brock is smiling as you slip the blue circle on his finger and then you giggle as he tries to find one of yours that the purple ring will fit on. He finally slips it on your thumb, and it stays, mostly, and the two of you look back at your sisters.

“What’s that thing…” Lauren trails off.

“What thing?”

“That thing!”

“Oh!” Jess cries. “Um. I now pron-prin-ce you man and wife! Kiss the bride!”

Brock gives you a skeptical look and you eye him right back, but he obliges and gives you a small kiss, both of you immediately wiping your lips afterwards. “What next?” He asks skeptically.

“We blow out the flowers!” Lauren says, excitedly. “And make a wish!”

It’s easy to distribute your bouquet between the four of you and then make your own wish. You can’t ever imagine a more perfect day than today, so you just wish for more of them.

-----

The day of your sixteenth birthday is the day that Brock is drafted by the Vancouver Canucks and instead of the Sweet Sixteen party that your friends have been dying for, you spend it sitting in front of a television, anxiously waiting for his name to be called.

When it finally is, you can’t stop grinning, and announce that cake can now be served. Your dad makes a joke that there are two things to celebrate now, but you had no doubts in your heart that there wouldn’t have been. Brock was going to be drafted; you’d always known it. It was just a matter of where he went. 

And well, blue had always been his favorite color. 

The Boeser’s don’t return until mid-week, at which point summer break has begun, which means you’re pulling yourself out of bed at midday right around when they’re pulling into their driveway.

Your dad opens the front door, without looking up from the paper he’s reading on his way back to his home office, and you know instantly what that means, running outside to go meet Brock, still in the short shorts and oversized tee (that originally had belonged to him) you’d slept in last night. 

Brock’s unloading the trunk of the car but he drops the bag he’s holding onto the driveway just in time, to catch you as you leap into his arms and spin you around. 

“I’m so happy for you.” You mutter into his chest, when he returns you safely to the ground. 

“I’m sorry I missed your birthday.” He says, into your hair.

“Best present ever.” You declare, ignoring that familiar fluttering feeling in your stomach that’s been popping up more and more often whenever he says incredibly sweet things like that.

“Yeah?” Brock laughs, squeezing you once. “Wait until you see what I brought you from Florida!”

“You brought me a present from Florida?” You gasp, teasing him. “You knew my birthday has been coming up and you waited until the day of to buy me a gift?”

He grins. “It’ll be worth it. Clear your schedule tonight, okay?”

You’d already agreed to go to a party with some of your friends, deep in the woods behind someone’s lake house, but you’re sure they’ll understand. “Okay.”

Brock returns the smile you send him with a grin. “Good.”

A few hours later, he’s leading you to your favorite ice cream shop and then laughing as he purposefully brushes some along your nose within minutes of sitting down. “Brock!” You laugh, twisting away.

“You missed a spot.” He teases. You pull a face at him, brushing at the side of your nose. “No.” He huffs. “Here.” He licks his thumb and then gently wipes the opposite side. 

Your breath catches in your throat. He’s so close, so close, so freaking close. “Thanks.”

Brock smiles back. “Anytime.” But this smile seems different than his usual smile, definitely softer and with this hint of something you can’t quite put your finger on, which starts to drive you crazy when that smile stays on his face for the rest of the night.

It’s late when Brock finally pulls your gift up onto the table, still sitting out on the patio of the ice cream shop and overlooking Main Street in your town on the extremely mild June evening that has plenty of people still walking around. “Big bag,” You joke, and then attempt to fall back on an old stand-by to try and ease the fluttering in your stomach that’s been in overdrive because of the smile on his face. “You sure there’s not a car in there?”

Brock gives you a look. “I got drafted, I didn’t sign shit yet.” You laugh. “But go on, open it!”

You grin at him and then reach into the bag, pulling out a flat object, immediately grinning at the driftwood “greetings from Florida” sign that will fit perfectly in with the aesthetic of your room. “Hey, sweet!”

“There’s more,” Brock encourages.

You reach in, fingers touching fabric, and hoping beyond hope for a kitschy Florida t-shirt, you’re shocked when you pull out a Canucks jersey. “Brock.” You breathe, looking up to see his expression, but he’s closer than you’d expected, and suddenly he’s so close…

You close your eyes, reach up for his cheek, and kiss him back. 

-----

It’s the first day of real spring in Vancouver and Brock convinces you that it’ll be a good idea to go and grab dinner and a drink at your favorite rooftop bar.

“It’s going to be crowded.” You whine at him. It’d been your least favorite thing about the city since moving in with him after you graduated college last spring. Everywhere was always packed the second the weather turned beautiful. 

“Come on,” Brock whines back, mocking you, easily pulling a grin to your face. “It’s so nice; it’ll be worth it.”

Brock’s never lied to you before and you have to admit that he’s right about tonight as well as soon as the two of you start walking over. The bar’s not even super crowded, surprisingly, and you two grab a table in the corner easily, starting to make light chatter as you browse the menu, like you’re not just going to get the same flatbread that you always end up getting.

Brock laughs as you place your order and then makes his own choice, before turning back to you. “So what’s new?”

You groan. “Lauren is driving me crazy.” There’s a sound from behind you and you turn to look, but Brock grabs both your hand and your attention back.

“How?” He asks, with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

“These stupid wedding favors and this stupid bachelorette party!” Jesus, did he need you to go on? Your sister was a certified Bridezilla and everyone, including Lauren, admitted it!

“Well,” Brock says mildly. “I guess you never know what you’ll be like until you actually have to start planning a wedding.” Another noise behind you has you nosily turning to look until Brock follows his first statement with, “Are you ready to see what we’ll be like?”

You’re not even halfway turned to looking at the table behind you and you think you get whiplash turning back toward him. He did-what the-what did he say?

But sure enough, Brock is slipping out of his chair and onto one knee, holding open a small box to show off the most beautiful diamond ring you could imagine.

“You’re going to have to ask me better than that.”You somehow manage to get out.

He grins. “Will you let me replace the construction paper with a real one, YN?”

There’s definitely tears running down your face as you nod, you can’t even remember if you actually ever say the word “yes”, but there’s a ring on your finger and you’re kissing him through the tears and he’s running his thumb against your cheeks when he pulls back. 

Which is when you realize that everyone on the roof are your family and friends. Jess and Lauren sweep you into a hug, alternating comments about how “you’ll see” once you actually start planning and at the same time, squealing about their happiness. Quinn, Petey, and Jake, three of Brock’s teammates, start a ping-pong game with you, bouncing you back and forth between the three of them for a minute, sharing their excitement.

Over their shoulders, you see Brock is grinning at you as he’s wrapped up with your parents. And suddenly, you can’t stand not being next to him; it’s the hardest thing to wrap up with everyone congratulating you and push your way over to Brock.

“I love you.”

He grins back, somehow wider, even though the grin hasn’t left his face since he slid the ring on your finger. “I love you too.”

“No.” You try not to groan in frustration because how is he not getting this? He planned this whole thing for you. He is the world’s most amazing human, your rock, your idol. The person you’ve looked up to most for as long as you could remember. “I just- never mind.” You loop your arms around his waist, sure he won’t understand. “I really love you.”

“I’d hope so.” Brock teases. “Because I’m really serious this time. We might have just been fucking around with the paper, but this one’s for life.”

[broadstbroskis]

Song Mine with Tyler Seguin? Thank you!!!! I love your blog🥰

ahhh thank youuu! you are so sweet! 💓

second, this took me so much longer than i anticipated! thanks for requesting!

warning: mentions of divorce and family fighting

—–

It’s a Saturday night (although if you really wanted to get technical, it’s actually more like 2am on Sunday morning) when you climb out of bed, leaving behind the man who owns it, in search of the shirt you’d been wearing earlier that night. About half your clothes have been found when he stirs, sitting up more abruptly than you’d expect for this hour. “Wait.”

You pause, only momentarily, and then continue the search for your shirt. You’re sure it’s somewhere in this room. There’s no way you lost it before you came in here. “What?”

“Just-” He stops, frustrated, and you look over to see him running his fingers through his hair, messing it up even further. “Come back to bed. Stay. Please.” He adds the last part, hastily, like a lack of politeness has been the thing that’s stopped you from staying before.

You sigh, momentarily giving up on your search. “Tyler.”

“I’d really like it if you stayed.” He says plaintively.

Meeting his eyes is your big mistake. You could have said no to his bare torso, moved past the strong arms and the memories of them pressing you into the mattress earlier, ignored the ruffled hair and how soft it makes him look, but it’s the pleading in his eyes that gets you. That has you abandoning your search for your shirt and slipping back into bed.

Tyler pulls you close immediately, his pension for cuddling something he’d made known very shortly after it’d become clear that hooking up wasn’t just a once or twice thing, and smiles into your hair. You try not to stiffen, knowing what’s coming next, and sure enough, he presses a gentle kiss there next, and settles into the mattress comfortably.

It’s another few minutes before his breath evens out into sleep but even longer before you do as you try to mull over what’s worse- that you know what his breath sounds like when he’s sleeping, that you knew when the kiss was coming, or that you couldn’t bring yourself to leave tonight. 

You knew you were falling for him, but shit, you hadn’t realized it’d gone this far.

—–

A few months later, it’s that moment you’ll look back on as being the one that changed everything. That moment of choosing whether to stay or to go. If you’d left, who knows what would have happened?

But you’d stayed that night, and then the next, and then so many more until if felt like you were at his house more often than your own apartment. 

The grin never seems to fall from Tyler’s face each time he comes home to find you there and slowly, you start to settle into the relationship…even as you wait for the other shoe to drop. 

But somehow, it never seems to come. It’s not perfect- because nothing is- but there’s also none of the screaming, none of the drama, no fighting, no pettiness that you grew up knowing and have come to expect based on your parents’ divorce. 

Instead, it’s just day after day of Tyler sharing more of his quirks with you. That he likes lunch as a meal better than dinner. That he prefers strawberry jelly to grape. That his favorite vegetable is asparagus of all things. He presses kisses to your forehead before bed, greets your after road trips with passionate ones against the wall. When you snap at him about a bad day, he more often than not just grins back at you, shrugging it off and leaving you alone to go play video games by himself for a few hours, kissing your apologies off your lips when the two of you regroup later. 

And it’s so foreign to you, to be loved so unconditionally like this, that you start pulling back, stepping away from him. Tyler lets you, for a bit, frowning when you tell him you’re going to spend a night at your apartment, and then looking actually hurt when it happens again, but he still says nothing. 

He gives you a full week away before he comes to you, knocking on the door to your apartment with a bag of your favorite Italian takeout and a determined look on his face. “Look.” He says, once you’re both settled with food, drinks, and silverware. “I’ve gone over this, well, a lot.” He lets out a self-deprecating chuckle, which makes you frown. You hadn’t intended for him to feel bad about himself; he was-he is amazing! “I can’t quite figure out what happened here. But I’m sure whatever it is we can talk it out.”

Your heart aches for him, seeing the look in his eyes. He wasn’t supposed to get hurt by this! It was supposed to stop you both from being hurt! But well, it’d been a pretty miserable week shutting yourself away from him and Tyler doesn’t look too hot either. “It all felt too good. I don’t-” You hesitate. “Nothing’s ever that good.”

“It could be.” Tyler offers and then pauses, looking at you hopefully, “It was then, and it could be again.”

It’s the look in his eyes that catches you. There’s more than just hope in it. There’s adoration and respect, affection and warmth. Everything you’ve seen in his eyes since day one and just never really been able to put a label to it, whether from lack or trying or just plain not wanting to. 

It’s love. So when you nod, he beams and it just spreads across his whole face, as he shoves his dinner aside to press close across the table and kiss you, muttering nonsense the entire time. It’s possibly the worst kiss the two of you have ever shared, but it’s hard to even be mad about it as Tyler’s muttering sweet “I love you”’s and “I was so worried you’d never be mine.”

“Don’t worry.” You pull back, for just a minute, studying his face (still beaming, probably also not helping the terrible kiss thing). “I’m here to stay.”

Somehow, he beams even wider and pulls you back in.

[broadstbroskis]

Gorgeous with Travis Konecny for the Taylor Swift prompt list? Thanks!

#43 from this list; requests are open

---------

“So, where’s your boyfriend tonight?” Nolan steps forward and wraps you in a hug in lieu of an official hello.

You give your old neighbor a look. Sure, he’d moved out of the building and in with one of his teammates, but the two of you hadn’t stopped being friends. Which means he should know exactly where your boyfriend was tonight. “Where do you think?” You say dryly.

The answer’s got Nolan pursing his lips. He’s never been a big fan of this most recent boyfriend of yours; citing first, his concerns about how much older he was than you (which you’d ignored); second, his career as a professional DJ (which you’d laughed off, as coming from a professional hockey player seemed mildly hypocritical); and finally, how he treated you.

It was mostly that last one that you were starting to think he might be right about. Even if it did go hand in hand with the second one. 

Nolan, for sure, has an opinion on this matter, if the look on his face is any indication, but you don’t give him the chance to offer it. “I thought we were going into the bar, not just standing outside of it! It’s cold out here; let’s go!”

Nolan sighs, but brings you right past the bouncer and over to the corner he, his teammates, and a few of their wives and girlfriends are occupying. “YN!” A shout rings out and Nolan frowns.

“Wow.” He mutters. “Nobody ever greets me that excitedly.”

“We see you too often.” Kevin Hayes responds, pulling you into a hug, and you can’t help but grin as you get passed around between everyone.

There are smiles all around, small chats until you get pulled to the next person, promises to catch up over coffee with some of the girls, and then suddenly you’re at the person you’re both dying and dreading to see.

“Hey.” Travis grins, pulling you in for the hug.

“Hey-lo.” Fuck, how does he do this to you every time. It’s like whenever you see his face you forget what words even are. 

He laughs and teases. “Hey-lo? Let me throw that one in the vocab. That’s a sure winner, eh?” He puts the extra emphasis on the “eh,” really stressing it as he jokingly mocks your speech fuck up, and it’s so well deserved, since the first time the two of you had ever met, you’d been drunk and just gone off about how stupidly Canadian he sounded…

But god, does he have to pull you in as much as he does? It’s unfair for someone to be this magnetic, to have such a gravitational pull. To be...well, to be this gorgeous.

“Don’t you know?” You shrug, aiming for nonchalance, as you look at a spot over his shoulder. If you actually look at his face, you’re absolutely not going to be able to speak to him. “That’s how all the cool kids are greeting people right now. Hey-lo.”

Travis laughs; it’s loud and sends something up your spine but somehow, no one else around seems to even hear. 

And they certainly don’t notice as he brushes his fingers against your wrist as he steps past you for another drink. “Sure, babe. That’s what you tell yourself.”

                                                   --------------

It’s another late night and another dark bar the next time you see Travis, but this time you’re already drunk. Inhibitions almost gone, mouth running with all kinds of shit.

And yet, you still can’t look him in the eye. 

Instead, you find yourself sneaking glances from across the room as Nolan happily talks shit about your now ex-boyfriend, as Kevin and Carter ply you with shots to bring your mood up, as Ryanne is excited to celebrate a night out with no baby. 

It’s even harder to deny the attraction to Travis now that there’s nothing holding you back. You want him so badly. You want him even as girls seem to flock to him, flipping their hair over their shoulder and batting their eyelashes up at him. 

And suddenly it’s just infuriating that you still want him like this. What the fuck even is his facial hair right now? Why does he keep doing that thing with his hair? Why won’t he stop licking his lips?

You need another shot.

The boys are happy to do another one with you, toasting...something...that you mumble along with as you toss yours back, too focused on looking at Travis across the room. “Look at his fucking face!” You cry, annoyed at the perfection, and definitely too drunk to care about who knows about it.

“Who’s?” Carter frowns, confusedly.

“Ok,” Nolan cuts off your arm as you reach for another shot. “You’re cut off.”

“No!” You whine.

He looks pleadingly at Ryanne, who’s laughing, but takes pity on him. “Cut off.” She agrees, and pulls you to the bathroom with her. 

But you shake her on the way out, when she gets stopped by a girl from her yoga class, and cut straight for the main bar, the one none of your people are going for to avoid being recognized, ordering a vodka soda and bumping into a familiar chest as soon as you turn to go back.

With a sip of vodka soda in you, you’re feeling less apt to cry about Travis’ face. Or maybe it’s the lighting over here by this bar? His proximity? The hand that’s slipping around your waist?

It finally feels easy to look up into his eyes and god his fucking face. 

Travis is smiling down at you, easy and perfect, and yeah, that face. That face is pretty fucking gorgeous. “Think I’m going to head home.” His thumb brushes against a sliver of skin between your top and jeans softly and you fight a shiver. Pretty poorly, judging from the way his grin grows.

“Alone?” You ask, aiming for casual, taking another sip of vodka soda for courage.

Travis nods. “Well. Unless you want to come along?”

Just drunk enough to think this is a great idea, you abandon your drink on the bar, slip your hand into his, and stay close to push through the crowd. Consequences be damned; that’s a problem for tomorrow.

[broadstbroskis]

new year’s day | william nylander

not from the prompt list but the actual inspiration for the prompt list. and seasonally fitting!

requests are open from this list- send me a song from it and i’ll write a fic about it!

-------------

There’s drum pounding behind your right temple that will not diminish. In fact, it only seems to be getting worse. But honestly, as you look around your boyfriend’s living room, surveying the mess from the New Year’s Eve party he’d hosted last night, it’s really not surprising.

There are beer and champagne bottles littering the floor. Empty (and half-filled) cups on every surface. Glitter from the party poppers is everywhere. You knew they were a bad idea. Sure they had been cool last night. But they were going to be a bitch to clean this morning.

Evidence of Will’s teammates, their wives and girlfriends, and a few other of your friends having a great time are everywhere. It’s in the groupchats that are blowing up your phone. The polaroids from Steph’s camera left on the ground. The pounding headache that brought you out of bed in the first place, in search of some Advil. There are going to be fond memories of this night forever, inside jokes to laugh about through the next year, hazy memories for some that they’re likely to be roasted for by the boys. 

And you wouldn’t trade any of it, even if it meant you didn’t have this drum pounding away at your temple. 

An arm slips around your waist and then your boyfriend is kissing your cheek tenderly. “Brought you a present.” Will mutters, sliding his other arm around, and it’s then you see that he’s clutching the bottle of Advil like the lifeline that it is.

“I love you.” You turn in his arms to kiss the words into him as well, so he really understands how much this gesture means. 

“You told me that last night.” He teases laughingly, fondly remembering the circumstances you’d said it then. Shortly after the midnight champagne toasts and kissing the taste off his lips to get every last drop of your favorite drink, he’d pulled one last glass that he’d hidden away just for you. You’re pretty sure you can still see the flash of Steph’s polaroid camera in the corner of your eyes, capturing the moment. 

“I know.” You smile, pressing up on your toes to kiss him again. He tastes like stale booze now, and it’s a little gross, but you can’t even bring yourself to care. “I love you now too though.”

Will beams down at you. “I love you too.” He says simply, wrapping his arms around you completely.

It’s far from the first time either of you have said the words but it somehow feels different on this side of the new year. It feels settling, more permanent, almost...forever like. 

Because sure there’s something to be said for midnight kisses on New Year’s Eve. But the guy who brings you Advil in the morning on New Year’s Day? The one who laughs as you throw leftover glitter at each other, erasing all of your cleaning progress? The one who won’t back down from your dare to drink one of the half-filled cups on the coffee table and immediately regrets it when he learns it’s filled with warm tequila? That’s something different there. 

That guy is forever.

[broadstbroskis]

tswift prompt list

send me a hockey player and a song from this list and i’ll write a fic about it!

Picture to Burn

Cold As You

Stay Beautiful

Should’ve Said No

Jump Then Fall

Superstar

The Other Side of the Door

Fearless

You’re Not Sorry

Forever and Always

Sparks Fly

Back to December

Speak Now

The Story of Us

Enchanted

Last Kiss

Ours

State of Grace

Red

Treacherous

I Knew You Were Trouble

All Too Well

I Almost Do

We Are Never Getting Back Together

The Last Time

Holy Ground

The Lucky One

Everything has Changed

Out of the Woods

All You Had to Do Was Stay

I Wish You Would

Wildest Dreams

How You Get the Girl

This Love

Clean

Wonderland

End Game

Dont Blame Me

Delicate

So It Goes…

Gorgeous

Getaway Car

King of My Heart

Dancing with our Hands Tied

I Forgot that You Existed

Cruel Summer

Lover

The Archer

I Think He Knows

Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince

Paper Rings

Cornelia Street

Death by a Thousand Cuts

False God

It’s Nice to Have a Friend