#mathew barzal x gn!reader

[heartmix]

Sickness - Mat Barzal

Pairing: Mathew Barzal x gn!reader

Word Count: 1k+

A/N: I am still in mourning over the haircut, but at the same time it is so funny. Also not really proofread

*Christmas Prompt - Sick*

Masterlist / Hockey Masterlist

This was not how you planned your December going. December was supposed to be filled with Christmas activities and playing in the snow. Your body however had different plans for you. That involved you stuck to your bed all day, maybe a week. The only upside was that you could watch as many Christmas movies as you wanted, it's not like you had a choice anyways.

Being sick was miserable. The runny nose, itchy throat that you had to cough every second to feel some sort of relief, the headaches being unbearable. Your current best friends were a bottle of Advil and Vicks. It got to a point where you had to wear a mask to sleep because the cold air was bothering your nose.

When Matt noticed you haven't texted him in a few days or even gone to a game during the week he knew something was up. You would text him constantly and he should have noticed on the second day when you didn't text back, but he was so wrapped up with the games he didn't bother to check.

So when he saw the Uber eats notification on his phone, from sharing accounts, of course, he knew right away you weren't feeling the best. You would never order medicine online and you'd never buy soup, your mother had a fantastic soup recipe that you perfected.

He was determined to make you feel better. He felt guilty for not noticing something sooner. He rushed out of practice faster than normal just so he can meet the Uber eats guy before he could reach your front door. His teammates gave him all weird looks, but they let it go knowing they can get something out of Anthony in a few hours.

While Matt was rushing hoping time will go slower so he can surprise you, you sat in bed hoping time would speed. You would like your medicine and soup asap to hopefully make you less miserable. After thinking it would never come you heard a knock at your door. You groaned at the thought of getting out of bed, but moaned at the thought of the best soup and medicine money could buy. Opening the door you did not expect a 6-foot hockey player to be delivering your order.

"Mat..." you gave a small smile followed by a coughing fit. You quickly shut the door to avoid coughing on him.

"It's a bit rude to shut the door on the person who has your soup." He said through the door with a playful tone making you chuckle.

"It would be rude to cough on the hockey player who is currently in season." You defended opening back up the door to a goofy smile on Mat's face.

"How kind of you. Too bad you can't get rid of me that easily." He said pushing through you to get inside your apartment.

"Mat leave. I'm sick and I will literally kill myself if you get sick and miss a game." You groaned taking a step back each time he tried to take on to you.

"You're so dramatic. You should have called me earlier. I would have brought you whatever you needed." He grumbled.

"I will lock myself in my bedroom if you don't leave." You threatened with your voice cracking. This conversation was the most you spoke all week.

"No, you won't. I got your medicine and soup." He said holding up the bag filled with your saving graces.

He was just as stubborn as you and you knew that he wouldn't leave on his own. You slowly grabbed the bag from his hands with a reassuring smile. Before he could make any move toward you, you made a beeline for your bedroom door and locked it as fast as you can.

"You're being childish!" He yelled from the door although he didn't need to. You could hear him just fine.

"You're being stupid Barzy! You have a game tomorrow. You can't afford to get sick." You tried to yell as loud as you can, which sounded like your normal talking voice.

"Two can play that game. I'm gonna sit outside your door till you open up." He said and you heard him sink down to the floor. 

He somehow became more stubborn and stupid. You thought he would up and leave in half an hour tops, but you were so wrong. It's been almost two hours and he was still here. He's been here so long that you've gotten texts from mostly everyone from the islander's locker room. Anthony probably opened his big mouth. Your soup was long gone and your medicine was working, you could barely keep your eyes open. The only thing stopping you was his voice talking about yesterday's win over the Blackhawks.

"Barzy." Your voice was soft and hoarse but he could still hear it clear as day.

"What's the matter?" His voice matches your soft tone compared to the normal voice he was just using a minute ago.

"I need water."

"Well, you need to open the door for that." He pointed out making me groan.

"If I give you a hug can you get me water and leave." You asked hopefully the offer would work.

"That's a hard bargain." He sounded like he was really contemplating the offer.

"I'm going to fall asleep on you. I'll watch your game tomorrow and even change into your jersey even though my shirt is more comfortable. Please." You begged. He could tell you were tired and was surprised you were still awake after taking your medicine.

"Okay. I got you water already. Open up."

Opening up the door he was met with your tired body and also you in a sweater and mask. It was a sight to see and he couldn't help but chuckle. He handed you the water which you threw on your bed. You turned back to him to see he had his arms open waiting for you. A promise is a promise. As much as you didn't want to embrace him, this is the best you'd felt in days.

"I'll come over after tomorrow's game. We have the next day off. You'll let me stay right." He asked which you nodded at.

"You're sleeping on the couch." You mumbled into his chest making him chuckle.

[fredweasleysrightear]

𝘈𝘴 𝘐𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘴

Mathew Barzal x GN!Reader 

TW: Talks of depression. Talk of break up. Angst.

Word Count: 2.3k

The reader and Mat break up. Y/N starts going through a depression and hits a couple of rough patches, they start to withdraw from friends and family. Their friends start to notice, and try to talk to them but get no response. They decide to get Mat to try.

    Dealing with depression is different for everyone. For some people, it may be just a wave of sadness that comes and goes, but for others it may be a dark cloud that constantly follows them around, hanging over their heads with every little move, and if you’re lucky enough you may not even know what depression is. For you, on the other hand, you were pretty well acquainted with depression, from the age of 13 you had been dealing with it, or as some people would say, battling it. At first, it was just a wave of sadness, you would have no motivation to do anything except lay in bed and sleep. You would go multiple days without showering, and maybe even eating. Then it turned into more, instead of just feeling that wave of sadness every so often, it turned into feeling that sadness every day. It would never leave you alone. At the time you didn’t know it was depression, I mean you were only 15, you just thought you were going through a phase, you thought maybe it was just hormones. 

    As time went on, and you got older, you decided to go to a therapist to see if they could help, that’s when you were diagnosed with depression. They gave you pills, telling you to take them every day and they’ll help you, they promised they’d help you. Instead, they made you feel worse, you practically turned into the walking dead. Some days you stayed in bed and were forced to call out of work, sick, other days you pulled yourself out and went to work anyway, these bills weren’t going to pay themselves. No matter what doctor you saw, or therapist you went to there would always be that pit in the bottom of your stomach, or a thought in the back of your mind that made you rethink every decision you made. You learned to live with it, time went on and it became a familiar feeling, that would never leave you. 

    That led you to where you were now. Sitting on the floor in your kitchen, tears running down your cheeks and your phone in your hand. Mental breakdowns were a frequent thing you had when dealing with your depression. You had highs and you had lows, and sometimes your lows ended up with you breaking down. Your depression had gotten worse this week, with the upcoming finals and the pressure of having to choose your special, you were going through a tough time. Not to mention you had also just gone through a breakup with your two-year partner, Mathew Barzal. 

    Your breakup was bad. You had forced yourself to push him away, to end things before they had gotten any worse, but in all honesty, you just wanted what was best for him, he needed better than you. No matter how many times he had tried to tell you he didn’t want anyone other than you, or he always wanted to marry you, it was a lie. In the end, he would leave you for somebody else, somebody who wasn’t depressed and didn’t have mental problems and you would rather that happen now than later in life when you have a family. You told him you never wanted to talk to him again, that you would never contact him again. You held up your end of the deal pretty well, it's been 3 weeks since this happened but, you just missed him. 

    Your thoughts were interrupted when the phone in your hand started ringing, it was your friend. They had been bugging you for the last week for you to come out to a bar or to a club to meet some of their new guy friends. You couldn’t leave your house, let alone your bed for that matter. You tried to explain to them that your depression had been worse this week, but you wanted to make it sound less depressing as you didn’t want them to know how bad it had been for you. It was working, or so you thought but it turns out they saw right through your lies. They knew it had to do with your breakup, that’s what sent you spiraling, seeing as it only happened a week ago and that’s how long it's been this bad. 

   You sighed, pressing the accept button and bringing the phone up to your ear, “Hello?” You say, attempting not to sound like you’ve been crying on your kitchen floor for the past hour.

   “Y/N! I was calling to see if you wanted to come out to the bar on 12th street tonight, a bunch of the people from my dorm is here and I want you to meet a few of them!” Your friend says you could tell they were a little tipsy, the slurring in their voice, and the sounds of the loud thumping music coming from the bar gave off that vibe. 

   You chuckle lightly, “Ugh, I wish I could tonight but I’m studying, I’ve got that biology exam tomorrow you know?”, you quickly come up with a lie as you play with the string on your pants. You felt bad, you shouldn’t be treating them this badly, but you can’t help it. It was better to hurt them now than later in life. 

  “Y/N, It's been so long since you’ve come out with me, promise that you’ll come out to the bar with me after your exams?” They say. You could tell they were making sad, puppy dog eyes through the phone.

   You close your eyes, leaning back and resting your head against the cabinet behind you, “I promise, we’ll go out next week and drink until we get blackout drunk.”

   Your friend squeals loudly, causing you to pull the phone away from your ear, saying a quick, “Thank you!!”, before hanging up.

   As you stared down at the numbers on your phone, reading 12:34 am, you began to wonder what Mat was doing. Was he with his new girlfriend? Was he hanging out with Anthony? Or was he living it up in whatever state the team was playing in today? You often wondered if he had found somebody else. Sometimes you’d stalk his Instagram, hoping one day he’d post her, though that day still hasn’t come. It was pathetic the fact that you sat around, waiting for him to post her but, at the same time, you figured it was just a common thing for exes to do. 

   After a few minutes, you began to drift off to sleep, not even realizing you were still on the floor of your kitchen as you continued to fall asleep. You were awoken by the sound of somebody knocking on your door, you shook your head slightly before tapping the screen of your phone looking to see the time. It read 2:47 am, you began to worry about the fact that somebody was pounding on your door at almost three am. You quietly get up and begin to walk to the door, trying to remain as quiet as possible you look through the peephole, only to discover the man you were just wondering about hours before, Mathew. 

   Your heart was in your throat, and the pit in your stomach had reappeared. What was he doing here? The last time you spoke to him, you told him you would never speak to him again, nor would you contact him. Yet here he is on your front doorstep? As you reach forward to open the door, you hear a quiet sigh leave his mouth as he begins to speak. 

   “Y/N, I don’t know if you can hear me and I know you said you wouldn’t talk to me again but, your friend called me. They're worried about you, and they told me what's been going on. I need you to open the door, we need to talk and I don’t want to do this while standing in the hallway of your apartment where all of your neighbors can hear me.” He says, looking around at all of the apartment doors that surrounded you. 

   You let out a deep breath before unlocking the door. He looks up at you slightly shocked, he didn't think you would open it, to be honest. His facial expression quickly shifted from being shocked to concern. You looked pale and fragile. He didn’t say it out loud, he knew better than that so he kept it to himself. As you pushed the door open, not saying a word, he steps inside, looking around your apartment as he does. It didn't look different one bit, except it was slightly messier than the last time he was here, which wasn't long ago only about three weeks. 

   You lock your door back before turning around, walking back to your kitchen, and sitting back down on the floor. Mathew didn’t question it, he didn't question most of the things you did as he knew there was some reason or comfort behind it, who was he to judge somebody for that?

   He silently sat down beside you, before clearing his throat, “I know we didn't end on the best of terms but that doesn't mean I don't care about your well-being. I know it's cheesy and whenever couples break up they always say that to one another but I mean it. You were my life for two years and it fucking pains me to learn from your friend what you've been going through. I know you went through it when we were together but It wasn't as bad as what they told me…they told me you've been pulling away from everyone…That's not like you and I know that. I knew that right when they told me what you were going through. I remember what you told me when we first started dating, you told me that there would be times when you would pull yourself away from everyone and you would dig yourself into a hole where you ignored everyone and everything. When you told me that I made sure I did everything in my power to make sure you would never go through that again and I’m here to pull you out of that hole, I’m not letting you go through that again. Not on my watch.” Mathew says, tears forming in his eyes as he watches you. He was waiting for your reaction, he didn't know if it would be good or bad but, he didn't care. There was nothing you could do to make him leave. He was staying. 

   You look up at him with tears in your eyes, “Matty…” you go to say as your voice cracks. He quickly pulls you into his side, wrapping his arms around you and resting his chin on top of your head, as you bury your head into his chest. You couldn’t lie, you missed him, and he understood what you were going through, like he said, you were pushing others away and digging yourself a hole where you would eventually stay in forever. You didn’t want that, but you felt like you would never be able to stop that from happening. You never pictured yourself living past a certain age, nor did you ever picture yourself with a husband and kids. But, you always wanted to have that. You wanted to have that picture-perfect family, and you weren't going to lie to yourself, you wanted that with Mat. 

   You continued to cry into his chest, as the minutes went by he listened to your breathing slow, and your heart rate returned to normal. You had fallen asleep, he didn't mind though, he could tell you were exhausted just by the way you looked at him when he first walked into your apartment, but the bags under your eyes gave it away the most. 

   As he sat there for a few more minutes contemplating what he was going to do, he finally decided he was going to pick you up and take you into your room, so that's what he did. He tried lifting you as quietly as he could, almost tripping on a few things that were laying around the house, as he walked into your room. It was a mess, clothes were all over the room, along with a few cups and plates. He didn't mind, he knew it was a thing that came with depression, you didn't have the energy to get out of bed some days. 

   When he finally lays you down, tucking you in to the bed quietly, he leans over placing a soft kiss on your cheek before he turns around and begins to pick up some of the things lying around your room. As he picks up the clothes lying on your floor he throws the into the washer, he knew you wouldn’t mind, and he knew if you were awake you’d probably be trying to fight him, telling him you could do it yourself and it wasn’t a big deal. But he also knew you would appreciate it, and it would take some of the stress off of your shoulders, and that's all he wanted to do, and what he wanted to do was support you. 

   Even if that's what he would do for the rest of his life, and he wouldn't mind one bit, as long as you were by his side. 

-

[fear-of-flyers]

Forever With You

Mat Barzal x gn!reader

Word Count: 882

Warnings: Mat cries (but like happy tears).

Mat knew he wanted to propose to you. He had always kind of wanted to propose to someone on the ice before a game. He knew it wasn’t for everyone and obviously wouldn’t do it if it was something they weren’t comfortable with. Early in your relationship he had expressed this after a night out after a big win. You had laughed along but knew that the two of you weren’t ready for that step and that you didn’t want something so big as a surprise.

It was now 4 years later. Mat was thriving in the NHL and the two of you were happier than ever and ready for the next step of marriage. Mat hadn’t thought about proposing on the ice more than passively and was looking forward to whatever did happen but you hadn’t forgotten. The only issue you had with surprise proposals is if you were to be surprised, but if you proposed to Mat it would solve the problem. With that you started working on a plan. You coordinated with Anders, Beau, the training/coaching/media staff and the rest of the team to make sure everything was perfect.

Finally the night was there. It was a home game against the Avs, a happy coincidence because it meant that Tyson could be there, and Mat was under the impression that he would be doing a special puck drop. The carpet was rolled out and Mat skated over, meeting Gabe Landeskog in the center, still a bit confused about what the whole thing was. Gabe knew what was happening and if Mat had looked around he would’ve seen his teammates (and Tyson) bouncing around excitedly.

Then, after what seemed like forever for you the announcer started talking.

“Today’s ceremonial puck drop honors a player on this ice right now.”

That confused Mat even more, he wasn’t aware of any recent milestones reached that hadn’t already been celebrated. He looked around for an answer but couldn’t find one, turning back around when the announcement started again.

“The player in question is number 13 for your New York Islanders, Mathew Barzal and now, to drop the puck, we invite his partner Y/n to come forward.”

Mat’s jaw dropped, he was confused, you were walking out and no one could answer anything. He turns his questioning gaze towards you and you shrug, a smile evident on your face. There is a mic attached to your collar, wired to UBS’s speaker system, but it doesn’t pick up the “Good luck” Gabe whispers your way as you reach the end of the carpet. You smile towards Gabe, mouthing a ‘thank you’ before hugging Mat. “What’s happening?” he whispers into your shoulder. “You’ll see” You respond before pulling back to start your speech.

“Mathew Barzal. You have made my life so much better than I ever imagined it being, you have been there for me since day one and have brought so many wonderful adventures to my life. I couldn’t see being here without you today. You have been the best friend and boyfriend that anyone could ask for and I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.”

At that you got down on one knee, pulling the ring out of your pocket as a collective gasp rose from the people around you.

“I didn’t forget 2 years ago when you said that you’d always dreamed of proposing at a game but here I am beating you to it. Mathew Michael Paul Barzal, will you marry me?”

When you finished Mat sunk to his knees pulling you towards him and into a kiss, eyes shining.

“Of course I’ll marry you Y/n” he says now crying freely. You smile up at him and pull the ring out of the box, slipping it onto his finger. You kiss again before the crowd around you pulls you from your bubble. Once you stand up again Mat’s teammates swarm the two of you, congratulations thrown from all directions.

Finally the commotion calmed down and you hugged Beau and Anders, thanking them for their help. “You guys KNEW???” Mat yelled hearing your thanks. They nodded, smiling and rolling their eyes at Mat’s shock. “Yeah we knew,” Anders said, “I think most of the team did.” Mat looks around, shocked they all kept the secret before turning his attention back to you unable to believe how lucky he is.

Then it finally comes time for the game to actually start. You wish the boys luck and although the mic had been turned off once Mat said yes, you finally handed it to one of the staff escorting you. With that done you made your way up to the suite that held your parents and sibling(s) as well as Mat’s family. On the way you stop in to say hi to the other partners, giving more hugs than you could imagine, immensely grateful for the family you had made through the team.

The game, of course, was amazing. The Isles won 6-2, Mat getting a hattrick, pointing up to you after each goal. Everyone got a laugh out of his on-ice reaction to your families being there and after you all went out for dinner to celebrate. All in all, Mat couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

Bonus Little Edit

yourusername

Liked by titobeauvi91, mattymarts17 and 23,472 others

yourusername literally the only pic i have from tonight, here’s to forever with you love ❤️

tagged @barzal97

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josty17 ayyyy congrats you two!

islesfan23 omg!!! you are so cute!

barzal97 couldn’t be happier. ❤️

—

barzal97

Liked by ny_islanders, pagertrain and 64,291 others

barzal97 you beat me to the proposal but i think i win in the end because i get life with you. @yourusername

view all 1,203 comments

ny_islanders and we got to watch it live! congrats!

yourusername let’s call it a tie <3

titobeauvi91 ew that caption mat (jkjk 😂 congrats)