#tyler seguin fic

[matthewtkachuk]

the seasons are changing and so are we - tyler seguin

a fight threatens your relationship with Tyler, until a sunset boat ride changes everything

pairing: tyler seguin x reader

warnings: angst, alcohol, boats, mentions of marriage, shelb projecting (when am i not?)

word count: 2.3k

a/n: inspired by my own september long weekend with two black labs and some white claws. thanks as always to @antoineroussel for making sure it's coherent and a special shout out to @hotanddistraught for telling me i'm sick <3

“Those things are disgusting.”

They’re the first words Tyler has spoken to you all morning, since you woke up all alone in the spare room of the cottage. The first words spoken without vitriol since the screaming match yesterday, really. 

It had started innocently enough—a mention of how you didn’t want this summer to end during the drive up to Muskoka—that had somehow devolved into you silently crying in the passenger seat with Gerry in your lap trying to lick the salt from your face and the other two’s wet noses poking at you from the backseat. 

When he’d finally pulled into the long driveway of the ostentatious cottage, you’d all but leaped from the still moving vehicle without so much as making an attempt to help with the bags or the dogs. 

Supper had gone similarly—chock full of your silence and malicious noncompliance as you left him to suffer through not only grilling but preparing a side dish, too. 

And then you’d stubbornly side stepped his outstretched hand offering to take you to bed, choosing to spend the night alone in the spare room. 

You spent the entire night reliving the argument in your head, wondering how your wistful expression that you wished the summer would never end translated into unhappiness and a desire to leave the sincerest, most fulfilling relationship you’d ever known in Tyler’s eyes. Tossing and turning, you couldn't escape the way you felt in that passenger seat, the hurt and the anxiety intermingling with the fear that it was all slipping through your fingers.

Fear that somehow turned into anger, a fire lighting within you that he’d taken your words and twisted them until they were unrecognizable before throwing them right back in your face.

Which led you here, cracking a hard seltzer at nine o'clock in the morning which was clearly offensive to your boyfriend who looked on with a disapproving stare.

“Really?” you raise an eyebrow at him. “Is critiquing my drink choice your idea of an apology?”

He brushes past you as easily as he brushes past your words, reaching into the fridge for the orange juice and taking a giant gulp straight from the bottle. You barely suppress a grimace as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, his chest tattoos and abs on full display. If you weren’t still so mad you probably would have made a joke about it, but, as it stands, you can barely stomach being in the same room. Especially since he seems content to ignore the issue. 

“We should go out on the boat today,” he says, proving your unspoken point. The B word gets the dogs going and you use the moments Tyler is shushing them to school your features. 

“Are you joking?” The hurt is present in your voice and written clearly across your face. Tyler winces at the sharp sound. 

He says your name softly, and though it’s normally one of your favorite sounds, it does nothing to temper your mood or your outrage this time. 

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you speak, “I’m not going to just let you sweep this under the rug with a fucking boat ride, Tyler.” 

He kind of pauses, then. Almost like he hadn’t expected your outburst. “I’m not—I’m not trying to sweep anything under the rug. I just don’t know what to say.”

All efforts at controlling yourself fly directly out of the window at his words. You slam the now empty can on the counter and grip your forehead in frustration. “You don’t know what to say? How about start with an apology and then let’s talk about how an innocent comment turned into all out war on the fucking highway.”

“I’m sorry—”

He’s the gasoline and you’re the slow building fire that started last night under the itchy covers of the spare room. “Well now it doesn’t mean shit because I had to tell you to do it! So what’s the real fucking issue here huh? I’ve given you everything I've got, Ty, it’s gotta be enough.” You’re referring to his heated comments yesterday, where he’d implied maybe this wasn’t working anymore. 

“It is! It’s enough. God, baby, it’s more than enough. It’s not you it’s me—” You give him an exasperated look, all but ready to push past him and grab your bags, ready to take your chances hitchhiking back to the city. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re perfect and you’re everything and I’m just some idiot hockey player with a no good hip, past his prime. You could have anyone you wanted-“

“You, Ty. I want you.” It’s honest and earnest, and you’re still fucking mad at him, but you love him, too.

“I can’t give you stability, I can't promise you I'll be home for supper every night. Hell, I can't even give you an entire summer at home. You’ll never be first, hockey will always be at least tied-”

“Do you think I don't know that? Tyler, we've been together for three years, I’m very aware of the limitations of your career. And I love your passion and your drive and your resiliency. I love you and the boys and the life we’re building.”

“I know and I am sorry. So sorry, baby. I let my insecurity get the best of me. 

“If anyone should be insecure it’s me—have you looked in a mirror lately? Or read your instagram DMs?” You’re joking, and the sound of your laugh calms him, soothes his soul, reassures him it’s safe to step into your space and steal a kiss. 

“Don’t need ‘em,” he says. “Got you.”

You lean into his embrace for a minute, fully giving into the love he so willingly offers before you break the spell briefly. Curving your hands alongside his jaw, you brush your thumb over the stubble on his cheek. “You gotta promise to talk to me, Ty. I can't read your mind and I can’t help when I don't know what's wrong. It’s not fair to either of us to hold it all in until you snap.”

“Promise.”

“Okay, I promise, too.” You kiss him quickly, before giving him a little love tap on the cheek. “Now go get the boat ready. I’m going to fill the cooler with beer and my disgusting drinks.” 

It’s a good morning on the boat—the perfect juxtaposition between the cool breeze as you cruise the lake and the gentle warmth of the sun as you drop anchor and Tyler tries (and fails) to catch fish for supper. Despite his earlier teasing, you find him more often with your drinks in his hand than his own, but he just gives you that stupid grin of his when you try to say something. 

Marshall and Cash lounge away on a bench seat, content to soak in the sun rays while their brother alternates between trying to jump on your and Ty’s laps and lounging at the front of the boat where the water crests over the bow. Your Insta stories consist of a short video of the boat cutting through calm waves, a shot of the cold drink in your hand, and one of Marshall looking away from the camera. Tyler reposts each one—every story slightly tilted in the way that all hockey players do when reposting on Insta.

Without the tension hanging over your head any longer, the good mood continues back at the cottage. You giggle and laugh through making supper, feeding the boys more than their fair share through meal prep before lounging on the back deck to enjoy your meals. 

The boys don’t get the invitation to climb up onto the bed until long after Tyler’s made your toes curl and your eyes roll to the back of your bed. 

Truth be told, the next morning you’re not quite sure how any other day of the long weekend could possibly hope to compare to the complete 180 of the day before. Until you’re woken with a kiss and the smell of caffeine and waffles. The waffles turn out to be just eggos, but he gets a solid A for effort, if only because he’s made you a cup of your favorite warm drink exactly how you like it. 

The morning fades into early afternoon as you lounge outside with your boys, your book in one hand and a cold drink in the other while Tyler runs around after the dogs, checking in every now and then like a toddler. “Did you see that babe?” and “what about that babe?” and “look at Gerry, babe!”

The sun is warm on your face, and you’re content to soak it all up while focusing most of your attention on your book. Only most of your attention, because Tyler is running around without his shirt on and there may have been a time or two where you had to read the same page several times over until it stuck. You’re just finishing a chapter when your sunlight goes dark, mere seconds before your boyfriend is tucking your bookmark to mark your page and tossing the book to the side and covering your body with his. 

“You, me, shower then boat. Whaddya say?” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and you nearly choke on your own spit before letting out a sharp laugh. 

The shower is short and quick, less handsy than maybe you were expecting until he slides behind your naked body, gripping and holding your bare skin as you apply hair products in the mirror. 

“Wear that sundress I like,” he suggests, nipping at the skin of your shoulder and dancing out of the bathroom before you can get out so much as a confused ‘okay?’

Undoing the knots holding the boat to the dock is a tad harder than you remember it being while your movements are slightly more restricted in the dress you’re wearing, but you manage to get it done while Tyler starts up the boat. 

Getting on the thing itself is a little harder after you’ve pushed it off the dock a little, what with the yellow lab laying directly in front of the door.

“Move it, Ger,” Tyler says, pushing his youngest back to give you room to hop onto the boat. “Let mom get on board.”

You preen under the sound of his voice, your stomach warming the way it always does when he calls you the dogs’ mom. Grabbing Tyler’s hand, you thank him quietly and have a seat beside Cash in the tiny bit of space not occupied by the large dog. 

When you get out further on the open water, you grab a drink from the cooler at your feet and relax further into the seat, head tilting back to try and catch some of the breeze. 

“This is nice, Ty,” you tell him contentedly before taking a sip of your drink. 

He doesn’t drive much further, finding a little bay and dropping the anchor before shutting off the boat’s engine. 

You look out at the water, admiring the way it reflects the sun that’s beginning to set. He moves until he’s stood at your back, caging you in his arms. He kisses your bare shoulder and then your neck and then your cheek. “I love you.” 

You sigh again, relaxing further into his embrace and leaning your head back against his shoulder. “I love you too. I can’t believe I really thought you were going to break up with me.” 

He kisses your shoulder once more before backing off entirely, and you find yourself missing the warmth even though the early September air isn’t exactly cool yet. A minute or two pass before he speaks, “Well, I don’t really wanna call you my girlfriend anymore.”

You’re confused, a little bit of that earlier hurt finding its way back into your heart and brows furrowing as you spin around, only to pause in your motions with a gasp caught in your throat.  

“There’s something else I’d rather call you if you let me.” Tyler’s on one knee, holding an open ring box and you’re sure it’s a lovely ring but all you can see is that stupid smile on his face and all you can feel is just how much you love this guy. In this moment, every single stupid fight you’ve ever had is inconsequential, utterly unimportant except for the fact that they’ve all brought you forward to this place, this moment, this feeling. 

He starts to launch into some clearly rehearsed speech, and you wonder how long he’s been planning this if for no other reason than all three dogs are perfectly quiet and well behaved despite their dad at ground level which would ordinarily send Gerry into a licking fit.

And it’s all just so crazy, so ridiculous that you say “No.”

“No?” He looks a little nauseous, that same look on his face from yesterday where it’s like he couldn’t comprehend your response crossing his face. 

It’s not what you mean, not at all actually, the exact opposite, really, and so you quickly fire back “No because yes.”

“Yes?” he asks, somehow like he can’t believe it and yet like it’s the exact answer he was expecting. 

You’re crying now, a hand clasped firmly over your mouth, and the other reaching for him as you nod fervently, “Yes!”

“She said yes!” he shouts, popping up and pulling you into his body. Shouting comes from all around you, flash photography nearly blinding you as a dozen of your closest family and friends reveal themselves on nearby boats. The dogs finally lose their cool, barking and jumping and you honestly could not care less about the chaos. 

Not with Tyler sliding a ring on your finger and his tongue in your mouth in an earth shattering kiss, the promise of forever with him on his lips.

[ilyasorokinn]

family man , tyler seguin

note, how did i come up with this idea? i got a tiktok on my fyp, an edit of ty from his gq interview. we all know the one. pair, tyler seguin x reader summary, the five times tyler gushed about his family to the media. warnings, children/kids, mentions of murder (jokingly) word count, 2098 words

(gif not mine)

Tyler was a proud guy and he loved talking about his family at any chance he could. If prompted, he would proceed to gush, and even un-prompted he would gush about you and Rosie.

one. postgame, september 2017

Tyler was getting ready to leave for the arena. He really want to have you there with him but Rosie was still too small, so you settled for watching it on TV.

He kept, longingly, looking back at you and Rosie as he tied his tie, "Stop. Just get ready." You laughed, throwing something at him.

"Hey, violence!" He shouted.

You shook your head as you rocked Rosie. He eventually was ready and opened his arms. You placed Rosie in his arms and he smiled, "Goodbye, Roro. Be good for mom. Promise?"

He held out his pinky, which Rosie wrapped her tiny little hand around, "Good." He smiled and kissed her head.

He stared down at her for a few more minutes, not wanting to leave or let go, "You gotta go, Ty."

"No." He shook his head, "Wanna stay."

"I know." You frowned, "But you have you." He sighed but relented.

He grabbed his stuff and you followed him to the door. He slung his bag over his shoulder and turned around you both and looked so sad you almost didn't want to send him away.

"We love you." You told him, leaning up and kissing his cheek.

"Love you, too." He kissed you. He then leaned down and kissed Rosie's head, "And I love you, too, sweet girl."

You watched from the comfort of your couch, dogs laying all around you, sporting your Seguin jerseys, Rosie wearing one of her own but it being a little too big on her.

"Stars Fans, this summer, our very own Tyler Seguin and his girlfriend Y/N welcomed a new family member to their clan. Please put your hands together and welcome Rosie to the Stars family." The arena erupted in cheers, from both sides.

You smiled, moving Rosie so she could see the screen. On the jumbotron, a photo taken after Rosie was born flashed up onto the big screen. It was after you got home from the hospital. His mom had taken it.

The camera flashed down to Tyler who flashed a teary smile to the fans. He nodded appreciatively and waved a hand. Fans on the other side banged their sticks against the side of the wall.

After the game, Tyler knew most, if not all, questions would be about Rosie and he was pumped.

"So, Tyler, tell us…" Right off the bat, Tyler knew exactly where the question was going, "How's dad-life?"

"Oh, man, I was waiting for this one." He got laughs, "It's the best thing in the entire world.

"You have a daughter, correct?"

"Yeah, Rosie."

"Is Rosie best friends with the dogs?"

"Oh, for sure. Before she was even born, they were the ones standing guard next to Y/N, my girlfriend." A smile found its way onto his face when he said the word 'girlfriend'.

“And is Rosie a daddy’s girl yet?”

“She’s a doggy’s girl.” He laughed, “They’re best friends.”

“That’s so sweet.”

two. home interview, june 2018

Home interviews weren't something done too often, but Tyler was asked and he accepted. So, you cleaned your house to the Gods, even when Tyler assured you people wouldn't judge you on the appearance of your house.

You ignored him.

While Tyler sat in the backyard, Gerry sitting at his feet with the interviewer, you were in the little playroom with Rosie, attempting to entertain her.

"Dada." She whined.

"I know, I'm sorry. Daddy's busy." You cooed, rocking her back and forth, trying to avoid a meltdown.

"Dada." Marshall and Cash tried to soothe her but even they couldn't help.

She kept crying as you tried to soothe her, bouncing her up and down and running a hand up and down her back. She pointed up, "You want to go upstairs?" She nodded.

You held her hands and helped her up the stairs and helped her walk into the kitchen. Her eyes went wide when she saw all the camera equipment sitting in the living room.

You opened the fridge and looked down at her, "Do you want a snack, Roro?" She nodded, and you picked her up, pointing to the different food sitting in the fridge.

She pointed to the container of strawberries, "Berry." She pointed.

"Good choice." You pulled out the strawberries and set her on the ground so she could play with the dogs. While you were cleaning and cutting the strawberries, she waddled over to the backyard door.

"Do you guys have any special game-day rituals?" The interviewer asked. The questions before had been a bit more hard-hitting, so a fun question in between was a nice change of pace.

Tyler laughed, "Yeah, we do. It's different between each game. Before home games, all three of us have a special little ritual, which I won't share because it's our special thing." The interviewer nodded, understandingly.

"But at all the home games they come to, we have our ritual up by the glass."

"And what's that?"

"I'm sure we all know what it is because it's been posted everywhere on social media, but we blow each other kisses through the glass. It's our thing." He shrugged.

"And is it different for away games?"

"Yeah, we do our goodbye ritual before I leave, but before each game, I usually Facetime them, just to see them. So, that's usually our only game-day rituals." The interviewer smiled.

Gerry's head popped up and he looked over at Rosie. Tyler out of the corner of his eye spotted Rosie. She grinned and waved. He waved, gesturing for her to come over.

She waddled over and raised her arms, "Up." She demanded, and Tyler picked her up, setting her in his lap.

She had yet to see the interviewer, but when she did, she got shy and huddled further into Tyler, "Speak of the princess, and she shall appear." Tyler joked.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Rosie Juliet Seguin." She stated, making Tyler smile proudly.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Rosie." The man smiled, holding out his hand. She reached out and shook it, "So, Rosie, do you like watching your dad play hockey?"

"Sticks?" She asked.

"Yeah." Tyler nodded.

"Yeah!" She cheered.

"What's your favorite part about going to dad's games?"

"Unke Rope."

"Her favorite part is seeing Uncle Roope." Tyler translated.

The interviewer nodded with a laugh. Rosie looked over to the backyard door and saw you standing there. You raised a brow but she only burrowed herself further into her father's arms. You sighed, shaking your head but letting her win this battle.

three. podcast interview, august 2019

"So, tell me, now that all the work questions are out of the way, let's get down to the fun ones. Congrats, I saw you got married last month." Ally, the interviewer smiled.

"Yes, thank you." Tyler nodded.

"I might've shed a few tears while watching your wedding video." She admitted, "Especially when Rosie walked down the aisle."

"Oh, you and me both." Tyler laughed.

"And when the dogs walked down the aisle." She looked down at her notes, "I know there are so many different moments to pick from, but which one is your favorite?"

"I have two." He stated, "The first one is definitely seeing Rosie for the first time. We had a special first look with me and her, so seeing her the first time was special."

"That's so cute."

"It was, I think it's in the wedding video, but it was my favorite moment I got to share with her. She was so excited too. She picked out her dress and the entire night she gushed about how excited she was to get her makeup done and get her hair done up all special." He gushed.

"Awh." Ally smiled.

"And my other favorite moment was after the ceremony before the reception, Y/N and I, we just sat in a room in the reception hall while guests were arriving, just sitting there. We were eating a bag of goldfish and I think then it was finally settling in that we were actually married."

Ally nodded with a laugh, "That might be universal."

"Did that happen with you too?"

"Yeah, after I got married, we were sitting in the car, my husband and I, and we were literally just sitting there and it was finally sinking in. It was crazy."

"It was surreal, that's for sure."

"Well send my congratulations to the Missus, and tell her she looked absolutely gorgeous."

"I let her know that every day." He flashed his goofy grin.

four. gq tattoo tour, february 2020

"I'm Tyler Seguin, and this is my tattoo tour." He slammed the clapperboard.

He got through all the tattoos on his arms and his right chest, as he called it, before stopping at the tattoo on his right ribcage. It was Rosie's name in cursive. It was simple but it meant so much to you and Tyler.

"This tattoo is special to me because my wife and I got matching tattoos. We both got our daughter's name tattooed, but her's is on her forearm."

He ran his hand over the lettering, "I tossed up a few ideas, but the only idea that stuck with her was this one, so here we are." He nodded.

"I, of course, have my wedding band tattoo." He flashed the tattooed wedding band etched into the skin of his left ring finger, "It has both of our initials and our wedding date." He explained.

"I can't wear my ring on the ice, so this is the next best thing I have." He shrugged.

"Any more?" The person behind the camera asked.

"Yeah, I have one I have yet to tell my wife about, so sorry honey." He looked into the camera with a laugh, "I recently got this one while on the road." Below Rosie's name was 6 delicate small hearts.

"All 6 hearts represent our family. So one for me, one for Y/N, one for Rosie, and the other three are the dogs." He laughed.

The GQ interview came out, and you watched it, learning about the new tattoo on his ribcage. You found him in the basement playroom, "Let me see it." You demanded.

"See what?"

"You know what." He lifted up his shirt, letting you see the tiny hearts, "Oh, Ty." You cooed.

"What? Is it bad? Do you not like it?" He panicked.

"No, no, I love it. It's sweet." You smiled, kissing his cheek.

five. interview, june 2020

"So, Tyler…" The interviewer began, "There have been some rumors flying around, and I've had many people send me messages asking me to ask you this question."

"Oh, boy." He laughed.

"Before this question gets taken the wrong way because that's the last thing I want to do is insult you or your wife, but are you expecting?" The man asked.

Tyler smiled, "Oh, man, she's gonna be so upset with me. But yeah, baby Seguin is coming sometime of next year." He beamed.

"Well, you heard it here first, friends. Baby Seguin number 2 is coming soon." The interviewer clapped.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Congrats, and send my congrats to the Missus."

"I will if she doesn't kill me first." He laughed.

The next day, Tyler awoke to messages from friends, family, and everyone else in his life, to articles of different titles, but they all said similar things.

"TYLER SEGUIN AND WIFE EXPECTING BABY NUMBER 2"

"TYLER SEGUIN BREAKS NEWS: BABY NUMBER 2 COMING NEXT YEAR"

"TYLER SEGUIN MIGHT BE DEAD AFTER BREAKING NEWS OF BABY NUMBER 2"

He decided to take to Twitter to send out a message because there were a few messages, concerned you had in fact murdered him.

tseguinofficial: Yes, baby number 2 is coming, and thank you o the people who reached out to make sure I was still alive. Thank you for all your kind messages.

19.6k likes 5.4k retweets

ynseguin: for the last time, i wasn't gonna actually kill you loser 🙄

-

yn.seguin

Liked by dallasstars, tseguin92 and 12,395 others

yn.seguin yes, baby #2 is coming. i had a special announcement planned, but blabbermouth tyler had to go out and spill the beans. and yes, tyler’s alive and doing fine.

tagged: @/tseguin92

View all 395 comments

tseguin92 it was an accident!

dallasstars congrats again!! 💚

starswags the fact that she has to keep saying he’s still alive 😭

-

my taglist: @joelsfarabees @ashleymarine @tysonjost-taylorsversion @laurenairay @kidlnthedark @bowen-power @nhlrbs @lam-ila @catahshart @puckinrightschicagoo @stars-canucks @iwantahockeyhimbo @2manytabsopen @calermakar08 @hamilton160 @pierrelucduboiis @thescooby-gang @sammysworldddd @corneliaskates @mista-svech @fallinallincurls @hockeyboysarehot

add yourself to my taglist!

for rosie’s name tattoo (view here) imagine it says rosie’s name and not james lol

[puckmaidens]

If you are taking requests.....can I request anything soft and fluffy with Oleksiak or Seguin helping the reader with depressive episode?

Better Days - Jamie Oleksiak x fem!reader x Tyler Seguin

WC: .7k

Y/N was exhausted, and both Jamie and Tyler being gone didn't help. Sleep was difficult to come by since the playoffs started but definitely with Seattle and Dallas playing each other for a Western Conference Final spot.

Y/N was torn for a multitude of reasons but the biggest one was leaving the house. Her meltdowns and random irritations made being there for both boys hard.

Why am I not strong enough to get up and go see them at the game? None of the other Better Halves struggle like this, they show up and out. Their minds didn't hate them so much that getting out of bed was the hardest thing all day.

She hadn't slept or left the house in weeks, and basic things like bathing and eating were Herculean efforts, and more times then not getting in the shower didn't happen.

She missed them both, but she couldn't call them. Too much was at stake for them, Jamie on a new team making it to playoffs and Tyler making a deep run with the Stars.

I’m only one call away, Superman got nothing on me

Her phone basically stayed attached to the charger unless Y/N was listening to music to fall asleep to. Her laundry was reaching a critical mass and the smell was overwhelming. Even being awake was too overwhelming some days.

Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow...

Y/N let the phone ring, body finally shutting down for sleep.

The door opens and Jamie walks in to find his (and Tyler's) girlfriend fast asleep and distraught in her sleep.

"You take care of us, so let us take care of you, baby. I'll call Tyler and do your laundry. Don't worry, we'll make up for lost time."

"Segs. She's not doing good, found her asleep in her apartment and everything is a mess. I need your help."

"Rig, I'm on my way. Anything for both of you. I'll grab food too. How did we miss this? Y/N, baby we're gonna make sure you're ok. Ok?" Tyler's voice gets soft as he hangs up the phone.

Jamie starts doing Y/N's laundry, sorting out clothes and in-between loads finding out what food was there.

The door swings open and Jamie hears Tyler's footsteps before feeling him bump into Jamie.

"Is babydoll still sleeping? I've got food and some stuff. Soap, laundry detergent, new pjs."

"Out cold, couldn't even get her blanket off her. I checked her temperature and it seems normal. You can go and try to wake her. Ty?"

"Yeah, Jame?"

"You have a plan? I don't think she's going to without a fight. Or without help." Tyler nods, setting his haul down.

"I'll carry her to the bathroom and you'll start the bath. She needs both of us right now. You think the laundry will finish by then?" Jamie drops the last load of laundry in, adds detergent and gets it running.

"Let's go take care of her."

Y/N wakes up to the smell of lavender and arms around her.

"Mmm hi? Aren't y'all supposed to be with the team?"

"Baby, you weren't picking up. Nobody could reach you. We had to use our keys, why didn't you tell us things were getting bad?"

"You both were so busy and I didn't want to be a burden or too much. You both have been working so hard and I didn't want to bog you down with my problems."

Tyler presses a kiss to Y/N's forehead and Jamie pulls her into his chest.

"You are our baby, our partner. Taking care of you is never a burden. We will love you even when things feel hard. Ty and I will make sure you know we love you every day."

The night wanes on with both boys helping you finish your bath, Tyler scrubbing Y/N's arms and Jamie washing her hair.

The bed is heavy with Tyler pressing your neck to his shoulders and Jamie spooning you from the back.

Everyday isn't perfect, but with both of them loving you, it's at least better even when the dark days arrive.

[writingonleaves]

like you were my closest friend - tyler seguin

pairing: tyler seguin x original female character

warnings: swearing, some angst, mostly fluff

word count: 4.1k

based on: "maroon" by taylor swift, title from that song as well

author's note: okay this isn't my favorite one because i think it's a bit rushed, but i thought i'd put it out anyways. would very much like to emphasize that this is fictional and i'm rooting for segs and his hot wife!! im a sucker for right person wrong time vibes and shit happening at weddings so here's a combo of that! also maroon is so seggy coded and you can't tell me otherwise

*****

Carmen Valez was 19 and stupid when she first met Tyler Seguin.

Working at a tattoo shop to make extra money while trying to put herself through college, she was cleaning up from her boss’s last scheduled appointment of the night when in came a group of rowdy guys. It wasn’t the first time a group of drunk guys came in looking for a tattoo. She had listened as her boss Ken came out and did his spiel and she heard laughter and some agreements so they couldn’t have been that drunk because her boss would’ve put up more of a fight.

When she first saw Tyler, she recognized him immediately. Growing up in Boston in a family of hockey lovers, how could she not recognize the rookie who had just won the Stanley Cup? As she turned the corner even more, she saw Brad Marchand and all she could think about was that she couldn't wait to tell her brothers and dad about this. 

Ken introduced her to the guys and asked her if she could set up some things. She waved in greeting and nodded, going in the back to gather the supplies needed. She tried to stifle a yawn as she re-sterilized the needles, but it didn’t work.

“Long night?”

She whipped around to see Tyler peeking in behind a curtain. “Are you looking for something?”

“The bathroom. But I think I found something much better.”

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “Go to the end of the hall and it’s on your right.”

“Thanks,” he tilted his head to the side. “Are you the one who drew those flower designs that are hanging up in the hall?”

“I am. Ken asked me to draw some things so the shop wasn’t only filled with his designs.”

“You tattoo as well?”

“Oh, no way. That’s all Ken.” She shrugged. “I’ve designed some, but never physically tattooed them on someone. My hands are too shaky.”

“They’re beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

He hummed and then went on his way to the bathroom as she finished gathering the supplies and went outside with them. 

Ken became the guy Tyler kept coming back to for his tattoos so she got to know him and despite his reputation as a partier and womanizer, she found him endearing, often making conversation with him during his longer sessions while Ken was working on him on the table and she was doing schoolwork or doodling in the front. 

It was a weird friendship because Tyler was rarely stationary in Boston and Carmen was attending Northeastern University and they really didn’t mix in any of the same circles but they kept coming back to each other. Their friendship developed to the point where he would come by on his nights off to her off-campus apartment with takeout and they would flick on a movie. He told her about his insecurities of having such a fantastic rookie year and then never amounting to anything else and she told him about her confusions of what she actually wanted to do with her communications degree. He talked about how hooking up with girls was easier than seeing if someone was only using him for his image and she talked about her view on relationships and how long distance never works. 

He would invite her to games and she’d come along sometimes, dragging her best friend along with her to TD Garden. She knew all about his lifestyle and how he’d hook up with girls left and right but when she was with him, she always only saw a 20 something year old boy who was thrust into stardom really quickly and who was fucking up like anybody else his age but being overly criticized for it because of his job. She didn’t really see him as anything more than a friend, truly. She could admit easily that he was objectively attractive and probably too charming for his own good, but she saw him as one of her dearest friends more than anything. 

(Even if she had the slightest feeling that she wanted to be more during those years, heart fluttering when he texted her to make sure she got home safe after late nights or winking at her and throwing her a puck at one of his games, causing her to grin like a middle school girl with a crush, she always pushed it away)

So when she was in the Cape celebrating the Fourth and news broke out that the Bruins had traded him to Dallas, she felt her heart drop. She ventured to a quieter area away from the celebrations and dialed his number. She wasn’t sure if he’d want to talk, but she couldn’t not call him to see if he was okay. 

From the sniffling on his end, despite what he said, she knew he wasn’t okay, and told him that when she was back in the city, she’d come around to his place with food, wine and hugs. 

The next week, when he opened the door, she dropped everything and just embraced him, holding him for several minutes as she tried to keep her tears in. She pulled away and just apologized for bringing some cheap rose that her roommate left at her apartment a couple of months ago instead of an actual nice bottle and he just laughed. She set up food from their favorite takeout place and they automatically went through all of these motions but with a sad feeling in the air. This night was going to be the last one of these, before he went back home the following weekend to Canada to spend the rest of his off season there and then head to Dallas. His apartment was already bare, having gotten started on moving out as soon as he had gotten the call.

She tried so, so hard not to cry as they put on Great British Bake Off and talked and somehow they started reflecting on numerous random moments and memories they had shared the last three years and they were both laughing as he complained about her almost spilling her wine like usual and she just threw her napkin at him. For the first time, he’s the one who splashed his wine on her t-shirt and he hiccuped and apologized and offered a shirt for her to change into and she waved him off, a blush on her cheeks either from the alcohol or from his proximity or both.

At one point, they ended up on the floor cuddling with his dogs and he asked how they even ended up there and she snorted, referencing the two bottles of rose they had downed and he had snorted and flashed her a stunning smile and her heart cracked a bit more. 

They were both dozing off on the couch — his arm thrown over her as she cuddled into his chest because they both had always been touchy when they were drunk — when he said something that would forever plague her memory. 

“I should’ve asked you to be mine.”

She blinked and shot up, looking down at him. “What?”

“I-I should’ve just asked you on a date. You could’ve been mine this whole time.”

“Tyler. You can’t say shit like that if you don’t mean it.”

“What makes you think I don’t mean it, Car?” He shot back, sitting up. “I know I’m drunk and I know I’m about to leave this city and maybe never see you again but of course I mean it.”

She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears fell. “Tyler.”

“I don’t regret a single moment of our friendship. I just regret that I never told you how I felt until it was too late.”

“You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Stop trying to discount my words because I’m drunk,” he said sternly. “I love you as a friend, of course, but I-I love you as more too. For awhile now, I think. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same and again, I’m the dumbest guy alive for bringing this up tonight of all nights but I just…I had to tell you before I left.”

She put her head in her heads and started crying softly. “I love you too,” she admitted through her tears. “I-I just never said anything because I didn’t think you were looking for more. Jesus, I literally know two of the girls you’ve hooked up with the past year. Do you know how annoying and gross it is to hear about your performance in bed while I’m trying to cram last minute for an exam?”

He chuckled and she looked at him again and saw that there were tears running down his cheeks as well. “We’re both stupid, aren’t we?”

“We are.”

He looked up at the ceiling with quivering lips. “I’m not going to ask you for more, no matter how much I want to.”

She nodded vehemently and cupped his face with both her hands, wanting so bad to kiss his lips and using every part of her strength not to. “You’re going to be amazing in Dallas.” She brushed a falling tear and tried to give him a reassuring smile as his top lip quivered. “You’re going to become a lover of the heat and look amazing in green and start liking country music and I’m going to make fun of you for all of it.”

“But you’re not gonna be there.”

She swallowed with a small shrug. “Who knows? Maybe a job in Dallas will open up after I graduate.”

“You wouldn’t take it. I wouldn’t let you. Your heart belongs to the Northeast.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” she weakly protested, slapping his arm and making him chuckle.

But he was right. And she hated that he was right.

She watched his eyes flit to her lips and she hoped that he was also fighting the urge as he placed a kiss on her forehead, which somehow was probably worse than if he had just kissed her. 

“I’m going to miss you so much.” He said, voice cracking at the edges. 

She squeezed her eyes shut, not being able to say it back because she didn’t want to completely break down. “Let’s get some sleep.”

That last night, they fell asleep on the couch like they had done numerous times before and he sent her off in the morning like he had done numerous times before, except this time she held onto him as tight as she could. Maybe if she kept hugging him, he wouldn’t have to go. 

But he had to. And he did. 

Carmen Valez was 22 when she saw Tyler Seguin again. 

After graduation, she had gotten a job in New York, and he was in town playing the Rangers. They had gone out to dinner and then to a bar for drinks and things fell back into place as they leaned in close to each other the whole night and she kissed him, bringing him back to her apartment. She woke up with marks on her collarbone and memories of his lips all over her body and cursed herself as she watched him peacefully sleep next to her because she was still in love with him. 

He had woken up with a soft but sad smile. “Has your view on long distance relationships changed?”

She bit her lip, shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”

He swallowed. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault you’re the easiest person to fall in love with. Can I ask one thing though?”

“Of course.”

“If your view does change, give me a call?”

“Tyler-”

“I’m serious. Whether it’s 10 days or 10 years from now, call me.”

A tear had slipped out from her eyes when he pulled her into his chest, placing a kiss on her forehead. 

Carmen Valez was 27 when she realized her view on long distance changed. And the first person she thought of was Tyler Seguin. 

They had kept in touch very sporadically throughout the years over text and had tried to meet up everytime he came to New York to play, but the contact became less and less as the years went on. She tried to pretend it didn’t hurt. She had no right to be hurt. He could live his life however he wanted.

She was going down to Dallas for one of her coworker’s weddings and was tempted to call Tyler to see if he was around — for the first time, she’d be where he was instead of the other way around — but she didn’t bother because it was the off season and she figured he was home in Canada. 

As she walked into the venue, she was shocked to see Tyler speaking to the bride’s grandma. She couldn’t help but smile at how gentle he was, soft smile on his face as he tucked the grandma’s hand into the crook of his elbow while leading her to her seat. He looked so handsome in his gray suit.

Gosh, he’s changed since they met in that tattoo parlor in Boston. They both have. But something about his smile makes her realize that almost nothing has changed at all.

When he sees her, she swears he lights up and her stomach flutters. She notices quickly that he’s a groomsman, if his matching suit with a couple of the other ushers indicates anything. He strolls up to her with his signature charming smile and she can’t help but roll her eyes. 

“Funny seeing you here.”

She scoffs, before stepping forward and hugging him tightly. “Hey Ty.”

“Hi Car.” He turns to her coworker with a stunning smile. “And hello Car’s friend. I’m Tyler. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Samantha. How do you two know each other?”

She exchanges a look with him, because it’s a long story. But she settles with, “Ran into him when he played in Boston and I went to college there, and he didn’t leave me alone.” The three of them laugh. 

“I’m assuming you both are here for the bride?”

“We are.”

He offers an arm to the both of them. “Follow me, ladies.” Carmen can tell Samantha is charmed as she rolls her eyes but grabs the crook of his elbow anyways.

After he escorts them to their seats, he has to bolt and just bids them farewell with a kiss on Carmen’s cheek and a promise to save her a dance later before ducking out of the church, presumably to help out with some behind the scenes stuff. 

As soon as he’s out of earshot, Samantha gives her a skeptical look. “We’ve been working together for two years and you failed to tell me that you know Tyler Seguin? You know I grew up a Stars fan.”

“It’s never come up.”

“Fair.” She blinks, looking for something in her coworker’s face. “You love him, don’t you?”

“What? No, of course-”

“Nice try. If your heart eyes hadn’t given you away, it was your response just now. You’ve always been a bad liar. What’s the story between you two?”

She sighs, staring at the front of the church at nothing in particular. “We met when I worked at a tattoo parlor in college and he came in and we became really good friends. He got traded to Dallas and then told me loved me on his last night in the city. Knew I didn’t believe in long distance at the time so didn’t ask for more. We slept together around a year later. My stance on long distance hadn’t changed. We’ve seen each other sporadically when I’m free and he’s in New York for a game, but not much recently.”

Samantha whistles. “Sounds like a lot.”

Carmen just snorts. She has no idea. 

“So you still love him.” 

Carmen just sighs. 

“I think he still might love you too.”

Carmen snorts, smoothing down her dress. “How could you possibly know that? You met him for maybe two minutes.”

“Maybe it’s the fact that we’re at a wedding and this could be a scene from a Hallmark movie, but I’m also pretty sure he also had heart eyes when he saw you.”

Carmen just hums, and Samantha drops it, as they shift to other safer topics. 

The ceremony is stunning and the bride is gorgeous and the groom is beaming, yet besides when the bride walked down the aisle, she can’t tear her eyes away from Tyler, standing at the front with a constant happy look on his face. As he walked down with an accompanying bridesmaid on his arm, he caught her eye and shot her a sly wink and she knows she blushed and she didn’t even try to hide it. 

The next time she caught him was well into the reception, after dinner had been eaten and the dance floor was starting to open up. She had just finished her drink before she felt a tap on her shoulder, looking up to see Tyler with an outstretched hand. 

“Dance with me?”

Without giving a verbal answer, she takes his hand and lets him lead her to the dance floor. She wraps her arms around his neck as his hands settle on her waist.

“You didn’t reach out to tell me you were gonna be in town.”

“I figured you’d be in Canada for the off-season.”

He hums, but he doesn’t buy the excuse. To be fair, she doesn’t either. “It’s really good to see you, Car.” He says, and she might be imagining him pulling her closer. “You look beautiful.”

“So do you.” 

He smirks and she feels like she’s 19 again. “I look beautiful?”

She rolls her eyes. “You do.” She says softly. “How have you been?”

And then they start catching up, and it’s so damn easy, as the conversation flows from hockey to her advertising job to their memories in Boston to their mutual friends who just got married to their families and it feels like he’s still on the Bruins and she’s still at Northeastern. At some point, they migrate from the dance floor to the empty-ish open bar and they’re still talking and she realizes how much she’s missed having him in his life. 

When she voices that out loud, his beaming smile dims the slightest. “God, I’ve missed you so much. Is this what I’ve been missing out on?”

“Don’t even start, Seguin.”

“What?”

“Blaming yourself or whatever you’re about to do. If we’re gonna blame someone, it’s all on me.”

Their first seconds of silence fall between them. “How has that been, by the way? You got a lucky guy back in New York waiting for you?”

She snorts. “Absolutely not. You? I hope I didn’t steal you away from a date or something.”

“Nah. No one for me.”

“Not at all?”

“None who have meant as much to me as you.”

She feels like her heart’s been sucker punched. Typical Tyler Seguin. Always going in for the kill. 

She switches topics. “I-I watched your Stanley Cup playoff run. You played really well. I’m sorry it wasn’t the result you guys wanted.”

“You watch my games?”

She swallows. Busted. “I try to whenever I can, even though I still feel like I’m betraying my Bruins when I do.”

He laughs, still a bit shocked. “I’m sure they’d forgive you. I was a Bruin, after all.”

She downs her drink and asks the bartender for a water. “I missed you,” she says quietly once the bartender is out of earshot. “And I always loved watching you play. Figured it was the next best thing.”

“You could’ve called. Or texted. I would’ve answered.”

She shakes her head. “That would’ve been unfair to you, especially with how I left things off.”

He chuckles, albeit sadly. “Carmen. I’m kinda weak when it comes to you. Always have been.”

She squeezes her eyes shut, a tear falling as she feels Tyler place a warm hand on her thigh over her maroon dress. “You give me way too much power.”

“I don’t think I could ever give you what you deserve, no matter how hard I try.”

Carmen wipes the tear away with a small smile. She pokes his chest. “How do you come up with this shit?”

He laughs, taking a sip of his beer, before his face settles into a more serious expression. “Can I ask you two questions, though? No bullshit. Just the truth.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Do you still love me?”

She nods at an embarrassingly fast pace.

He swallows. “Oh.”

She picks at her nails, suddenly unsure. “D-Do you still love me? It’s-it’s totally okay if you don’t. I mean, I wouldn’t expect you to. It’s been years and we don’t really see each other much anymore and-”

“Of course I still love you.” She whips her head up to stare at him in shock. He runs a hand through his hair with a huff. 

She puts her hand over his that’s still resting on his thigh and interlaces their fingers together. “What’s your second question?”

“Do you still not believe in long distance?”

“I’ve been thinking…I think I’m open to trying it.”

His eyes flash in surprise as his lips turn up into a hopeful smile. “Really? You’re not fucking with me?”

“Since when have I ever lied to you, Ty?”

“Can I have a third question? And maybe a fourth?”

She rolls her eyes fondly, squealing a bit as he brings her stool even closer to him. “Was that it?”

“Smartass.” She nods at him to ask. “Would you want to try? With me?”

She swallows. “Yes.” She thinks he physically lights up, like a lightbulb with a new battery, but she holds a hand up. “But Tyler, things have changed. We’ve changed. Is this…is this really what you want? Am I really who you want?”

“I left Boston eight years ago in love with you. Here I am, eight years later in Dallas, still in love with you. Probably more in love with you, actually, which I didn’t think was possible.” He grabs her hands and lifts them to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “When do you head back to New York?”

She blinks at the abrupt change of subject. “Um, I’m actually in Dallas for another week for a work conference. So not until next Sunday.”

He grins. “Stay at mine then. Please.”

“Tyler-”

“I’ll have to head back to Canada for a couple weeks for things I can’t reschedule, but then, if you let me, I’d love to come to New York and spend some time with you until I have to come back to Dallas for pre-season.”

“Tyler, that’s…how are you so confident and sure about all of this?”

“Because it’s you,” he says. “And I love you. I’m not wasting this chance that you’ve given me.”

She bites her lip, trying to take it all in. “I’m going to need to grab my stuff from the hotel tonight.”

“Deal. I’ve only had like, two beers in the last three hours anyways. I can drive you.”

“You know that I’m not just going to…drop everything to come to Dallas, right? My job and my life is all in New York.”

“I’d be a dumbass to expect that. Your heart belongs to the Northeast.”

She smiles, momentarily flashing back to the last time he said those exact same words and how similar and different they are now. She leans forward and kisses him sweetly, like he’s coming home from a game, like she’s in the middle of cooking dinner, like they’ve been doing this all their lives. She then pulls him up and drags him back to the dance floor. 

“Would you have called me?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers into his chest, immediately knowing what he’s referencing. Eight years later and she still remembers that night like it was yesterday. “What if you were in a relationship or something? That would’ve been unfair to everyone.”

“I wouldn’t have been.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. Because I’ve always loved you. At this point, I’m pretty sure that I always will.”

“Thank you,” she whispers. And as he presses a loving kiss on her forehead, she hopes he understands what she’s trying to thank him for — for coming into that tattoo shop all those years ago, for all the nights and memories in Boston that involved takeout and Netflix and endless fits of laughter, for always believing in her, for waiting for her and being understanding even when she broke his heart. 

For loving her.

“By the way,” Tyler says as he twirls her around, hands immediately attaching to her waist once she’s facing him again. “I always loved you in maroon.”

[miracleonice87]

“Don’t call me cupcake in public, I have a reputation!” with Tyler Seguin (1) - from m’s two year tumblrversary prompt list

9 months later and I’m finally fulfilling this request from @starshine-hockey-girl, though the original ask just got eaten by my inbox 😵‍💫 thankfully I remembered who this was for! hope you enjoy after all this time 🫶

- - -

Game 5: Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars

Stars win, 4-0

You stood scrolling your phone postgame, shoulder leaned against the cool, painted cement block corridor wall deep in the hidden heart of American Airlines Center, across from the entrance to the families room as you waited for your boyfriend to exit the locker room. The corners of your lips automatically pulled upward as you pored over the Stars’ Instagram stories showcasing Tyler’s legendary pregame stretching and warmup routine, followed by the numerous goal celebrations throughout the night, including one of his own. You were so engrossed in your feed that you didn’t hear the sound of footsteps falling down the hall toward you.

“What are you smilin’ about over there?” a deep, unmistakable voice rang out a few yards in front of you.

You immediately stood up straight upon hearing Tyler, tucking your phone into the pocket of your playoff jacket and crossing your arms casually over your chest.

“You, Mr. Four-Goals-in-Five-Playoff-Games,” you retorted. He beamed, now just a few steps away.

“Do I get a kiss for that achievement?” he inquired, the way his one brow quirked above his playful honey brown eyes eliciting a tingle up your spine.

You tapped a finger against your chin and hummed, feigning contemplation. You were now toe-to-toe with your partner, though his frame towered over yours and melted you instantaneously.

“Well, I suppose,” you muttered, barely getting out the last syllable before he dipped his head down to capture your lips with his. The kiss lingered despite the bustle of the surrounding staff and fellow players and families, and you physically had to press a hand to his chest to bring it to a halt, though you wrapped your arms around his waist to keep him close.

“Easy, tiger,” you joked softly, making him giggle.

“Sorry, guess I’m a little keyed up,” he admitted.

“No wonder – you were amazing,” you praised. You pressed a chaste kiss to his neck, inhaling his familiar post-shower scent as you nestled your head against his. “I’m so proud of you,” you whispered against his skin.

He let out a low chuckle and squeezed you appreciatively.

“That’s what keeps me goin’,” he told you sincerely, kissing your cheekbone before you pulled away.

“How you feelin’?” you asked, your hand falling from his collar in favor of rubbing his back through his suit jacket.

He exhaled through pursed lips. “Tired,” he admitted, rolling his head from one side to the other. “Sore.”

You hummed in understanding but couldn’t resist the urge to tease.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go home and run you a bath, cupcake,” you told him, playfully patting his bearded cheek.

Tyler gasped dramatically, smirk on his lips, and he pried your fingers from his face.

“Don’t call me cupcake in public! I have a reputation!” he exclaimed, hand still clasped around yours.

You chuckled devilishly as he turned your hand to press a kiss to your wrist.

“But seriously, thanks for taking care of me, especially this time of year,” he said, allowing your joined hands to fall as he spoke. “Couldn’t do what I do without you.”

You smiled, squeezing his hand affectionately. “Nothing I’d rather do, babe,” you assured him softly. “See you at home.”

Tyler nodded, kissed you one last time, then, with a wink, disappeared down the hallway.

[starshine-hockey-girl]

The Serpent Strikes- Magical Mystery Ride Chapter Twenty Seven

Summary- This a continuation of the last chapter- The Dove and The Serpent. We go back in time a little bit and see things from Chaz's perspective. I confess that I went FULL ON drama and it gets dark.

Warnings- verbal/physical violence, voyeurism, domestic violence

@pattiemac1 @penstxgal1968 @juuuuuse @hockeykittee @sugakookie9 @cellythefloshie @laurenairay

Previous Chapter- https://www.tumblr.com/starshine-hockey-girl/703003404083068928/the-dove-and-the-serpent-magical-mystery-ride?source=share&_branch_match_id=link-1154860346251412887

Tuesday- January 8th-Chaz’s office-Downtown Philadelphia

Chaz opened Instagram as he sat down to eat his lunch. He checked out his usual people before logging in under his burner account. He loved to keep tabs on his Dovey. It had been almost five years since he had been in her physical presence. He had gladly taken the pile of cash her father had offered in reward for leaving her in peace. She had worn out her usefulness to him and he had grown bored that she no longer posed a challenge. She had not even fought back the last time. She had laid there like a limp ragdoll. Even the sight of the emerging bruises and bloody cuts no longer thrilled him. 

Still he could not control the urge to follow her movements. It had been a troubling development when she had revealed her relationship with Seguin on Instagram in the fall. He had been forced to follow the NHL star to see the complete picture of their relationship. Two things were abundantly clear-she was happy and in love and Seguin was completely whipped.

His eyes widened when he saw her latest post. He couldn't believe it at first. His Dovey was coming to Philadelphia. He had procured tickets to the game already with the purpose of sizing the new man in Dovey's life. He was curious however about the choice of games on her part. January in Pennsylvania seemed to be an odd choice. He looked at the date of the game again, January 10, 2019. He smiled to himself- five years to the date. "How perfect Dovey- come to me, my little. Dovey," he thought to himself. He couldn't be completely shocked that she was coming to Philadelphia in time for Seguin's game given that date fell on their “anniversary”. As much as she pretended that he no longer existed, Chaz knew that she was still controlled by the fear of him. 

He scowled and picked up the phone and dialed Chelsea, his new girlfriend. The fact that she was part of the Philadelphia Flyers social media team was about to come in very handy. When she picked up, his voice became warm and cozy- warm enough to melt butter. 

Chaz: Hello Chels

Chelsea: Hey babe

Chaz: I need a favor. I used to hang out with Tyler Seguin back when I lived in Dallas. I would love to surprise him at his hotel to say hello. Do you know where they stay?

Chelsea: You hung out with Seggy?

Chaz: Yeah, back in my wilder days

Chelsea: I am glad those days are over. Seggy is a manwhore. I will find out and let you know..

Chaz: Thanks, Chels

He picked up the phone and called his buddy, Chandler. They worked together briefly at Chaz’s first job in Philly but stayed in touch after Chaz was fired for taking a swing at a female co-worker who challenged him during a meeting. 

Chaz: Yo Chandler-What’s up?

Chandler: Nothing much. Just watching Harper in her bounce swing.

Chaz: Do you still have that Teddy Bear with the nanny cam?

Chandler: Yeah, we don’t use it anymore. What’s up?

Chaz: Long story- but I need to catch someone being naughty. Can I borrow it? 

Chandler: Sure, want to meet up for a couple of beers tonight?

Chaz: Nah, I’ll swing by and get it

He hung up the phone and saw the text notification from Chelsea and texted her back

Late Wednesday morning- Westin Hotel- Philadelphia

“Excuse me?” Chaz said impatiently as stood behind the tall brunette having a conversation at the concierge desk, “Are you going to be done soon?”

Jamie Benn turned around slowly and raised an eyebrow, “You got a problem?”

Chaz backed down immediately when confronted, “No, no problem. I just need to get this bear delivered and be on my way.”

The concierge cleared his throat, “Sir, I do have that reservation made for you for this evening at Club Risque for the VIP table. Is there anything else you need?”

“Nah, I am good,” he said as he went to walk away to where the guys stood. “All set for tonight.  Now let’s get breakfast. I am starving”

Chaz stepped up to the counter, “Hey, I need to deliver this to Flynn Rider.”

“Certainly Sir,” the concierge checked the room listing, “I see him here in a room. I will get it delivered right away.”

ONE HOUR LATER- hall leading to Tyler’s hotel room

“Come on Seggy,” Benn pleaded as they walked back from breakfast, “If you go, then everyone else will.”

Tyler slid his key over the door lock and laughed, “No.”

They walked into his room and Benn continued to plead his case, “Come on Seggy. It will be fun.” 

Tyler shook his head, “Teddy will be here in a few hours. The last thing I am going to do is to leave her alone in a hotel so I can go to a strip club. Why would I do that?”

Benn made his final plea, “It will be a team bonding thing.”

“You bond with the team. I will bond with Teddy’s boobs instead,” Tyler joked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tyler noticed the bear sitting on the bed. “What the fuck?”, he muttered and walked over. He picked up the card and read it to himself. He didn’t notice the camera located in the eye of the bear. 

In Chaz’s office, the nanny cam notification alerted Chaz and he picked up the phone to observe. 

“The bear is for you?” Benn scoffed, “I saw it dropped earlier. Delivery guy was totally sketch. Who had a bear delivered to you?” Tyler handed him the card to read. “Aww, it’s from Teddy?” Benn read, “Why is she coming up again?”

Tyler took the card back from Benn, “Tomorrow is the anniversary of something bad happening to her. I invited her to come so she wouldn’t be alone.”

“Something bad happened?” Benn questioned, “To Teddy?” 

Tyler hesitated. Although there had been a thaw in Teddy and Benn’s feud, Tyler didn’t want to divulge too much. 

“She had a creepy boyfriend, Chaz,” Tyler finally spoke, “That’s all I can really say.”

“And he hurt her?” Benn said quietly, trying to read between the lines. 

“Yeah,” Tyler replied, “Pretty bad.”

“You should stick with her tonight. Maybe take her to some fancy place for dinner? Girls like that shit,” Benn tried to suggest in order to get out of the conversation. 

“Reservation has already been made,” Tyler smiled, “Now I gotta go get Teddy from the airport.” Tyler looked over at the large bear and had an idea. He picked it up and started out of the room with Benn following behind him. They waited at the elevator and when it dinged Tyler said, “See ya later. Don’t let Hitch catch you and the boys at a strip club tonight.”

“You underestimate my sneakiness, Seggy,” he laughed as Tyler entered the elevator. He turned to walk to his room but turned back before the elevator door closed. “I am sorry to hear about Teddy. You have to be a really twisted fuck to hurt someone as sweet as her.”

Chaz stared at the video on his phone, “Oh you have not idea how twisted I can be, you dumb fuck.” 

He sat the phone down and listened for more notifications. He was pulled into a meeting and put the phone in his pocket. He felt the vibrations of the notifications that buzzed in his pocket. After the meeting, he raced back to his office and shut the door. 

On the camera feed, Teddy stood across the room with her arms wrapped around Tyler’s waist. Chaz leaned forward and zoomed the camera in to examine her face. She smiled easily and her voice sounded different in some way. He zoomed out again and watched as Tyler walked them over to the bed. Chaz felt the anger rise in him as they embraced and Tyler spoke tenderly to Teddy. When Tyler pulled her down onto the bed and she straddled his waist, Chaz tilted his head. There was a confidence in her that he had never seen before. When Tyler pulled up her skirt to reveal she had no panties on, Chaz’s mouth dropped. 

This wasn’t his Dovey. This wasn’t the Dovey who flinched every time he touched her. His Dovey didn’t like sex, not that it mattered much to him anyway. He used her body for his own pleasure with no thought to what she wanted. His eyes were transfixed on Teddy’s body as she took the lead. “She’s enjoying it,” he thought to himself in disbelief, “fucking slut.” 

His breath catched when Tyler approached the bear and turned it around. His view was now of the wall, but he could still hear every moan and sigh. Chaz closed his eyes and listened. His mind raced with undeniable arousal at the sound of her voice to white hot rage at the realization that she had denied him this. Sex with Teddy was quiet and only done on Teddy’s part out of obligation and fear. “This- this” he thought to himself, “I deserved this.” His body responded to the sounds and his arousal became too much to ignore. He stroked himself and imagined how she would feel as a willing and active participant. The moans got louder and the cries more intense. “Yes, yes, yes” she urged Tyler, "fuck Tyler- I'm almost there." Chaz imagined it was him and it fueled the intensity of his strokes. He climaxed just before Teddy. The sounds of her orgasm hung in the air. 

When she sighed, “Oh Tyler, you fuck me so good”, Chaz’s fists balled up. 

“You fucking slut,” he seethed, “You goddamn whore.”

“I love you Sweet One,” she breathed happily, “You are the best thing to ever happen to me.” 

Chaz screamed and punched the desk. The rage took control. “So you can be a slut, just not for me,” he hissed as swept the contents of his desk on the floor. “You denied me, Dovey,” he grunted as he picked up a stapler and threw it across the room, “I got the cold fish and he gets this?” His mind raced. His initial plan to simply spy on her and plant seeds of doubt in her head changed. “Oh no, Dovey” he said to himself as he trashed his office. “Oh no,” he exclaimed, “You owe me and I am going to take it whether you like it or not. You will be mine again.”

He disconnected the nanny cam app and looked around his office. “Let housekeeping clean the mess,” as he gathered his things. “Dovey,” he said to himself, “I’m coming for ya.”

TWO HOURS LATER- WESTIN HOTEL 

Chaz had no immediate plans as he walked toward the hotel entrance. The rage had dissipated and turned into cold calculation. She was somewhere in this hotel and he was going to find her. His head was down to escape the cold, bitter wind as he approached the door. The collision with the taller brunette didn't faze him as he continued his walk. However it was the voice that drew his attention back. Tyler called out, “Hey, watch where you are going,” and Chaz froze. He turned slowly to see Tyler staring at him. 

His eyes scanned the area. He saw her red curls as she faced away from him. It was clear that they were going out. In a nano-second, he assessed the situation. “Sorry Seggy,” he called out before turning back to enter the hotel. Teddy’s head turned at the sound of Chaz’s voice. Her eyes searched the area but saw no sign of the voice. She shook her head and turned around. 

Inside the hotel, Chaz stood by the window and stared as they entered. His eyes narrowed as Teddy leaned over to Tyler to kiss him softly. “Think Chaz-think,” his brain willed him to think. They were dressed up so probably going to a nice dinner. “What a waste of money,” he continued to think to himself. Nice dinners at expensive restaurants were not a regular occurrence when he was with Teddy. He preferred to keep her at home. Besides, Teddy could always stand to lose a few pounds. “Where would Seggy take her?” he thought to himself. His mind replayed the memory of Jamie Benn from this morning getting reservations from the concierge. “Of course,” he smiled and started toward the concierge desk. 

The concierge looked up with a tired expression. It was the end of a long shift and the only thing on his mind was a nice glass of wine at home. Chaz approached him with a smile, “Excuse me, I am supposed to meet my friend, Flynn Rider, for dinner. I got tied up in a meeting. Can you tell me where the reservation is set?”

The concierge looked at Chaz in exhaustion. He seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps he had seen him with Mr. Rider/Seguin earlier in the day. He looked down at his notes. “The reservation is for seven pm at Alpen Rose. He selected the private dining room. Would you like me to arrange transportation?”

“No, no thank you” Chaz smiled, “I’ve got it.” He walked away and the concierge put up the closed sign at the desk. Chaz selected a seat in the lobby with a view of the front door. As he waited, his mind ran through multiple scenarios to achieve his goal. He had to get her alone-, that much he knew, but how. When would be a time she would be separated from the pretty boy? He thought for a moment. “During the game,” he smiled and concocted a plan to get Teddy to him. The plan started to take shape. “I’ll need Chelsea’s help,” he thought to himself, “She will do it if she knows what’s good for her.”

He was almost lost in his thoughts when he saw Tyler enter the hotel with Teddy following behind. Chaz stood up and followed them from a distance. He couldn’t resist the urge to toy with her one more time. He called out to her as they waited by the elevator, “Dovey, Lovey Dovey- come here Lovey Dovey.” She turned to search for the voice. The fear was evident all over her face. He smiled and said, “Not yet, Dovey, not yet.” Her knees buckled and Pretty Boy raced to her. He couldn’t hear what was being said so he edged closer. Teddy kissed Tyler’s cheek as the elevator doors opened. Chaz took another step closer. “Let her get a good look,” he smiled to himself, “Let her know that I am coming to get her.” 

The elevator door opened up and they stepped inside. Pretty Boy walked backwards to lean against the elevator wall. Teddy stepped towards him and he pulled her in tight. "Are you sure I can't convince you not to sleep right away?" he whispered when Chaz came into his view. Tyler looked into his eyes as he lifted his foot to hit the door close button. "Sorry, man- I am going to do unmentionable things to her in this elevator," Tyler smiled as Teddy's hand reached down and palmed his crotch. The bearded man with dark eyes and curly hair blinked and took a step toward the door before it closed. 

Chaz stood and stared at the elevator doors. She was going to give him another taste of it tonight, he thought to himself. Frigid bitch never offered it up to him period, much less more than once in a day. He started to fume when his phone rang. 

Chelsea: Hey where are you?”

Chaz: I got caught up with something. Why?

Chelsea: I made these cookies that you wanted me to make. Are you sure that this recipe is right? It seems like too much salt to me. 

Chaz: Oh, it’s just right. Seggy will love them. I’m on my way to your place. Be ready

Chelsea: I didn’t realize you wanted to do that. You know since we…… last night.

Chaz: What? A guy can’t want to fuck his girl two nights in a row? Do you want to deny me?

Chelsea blinked at the subtle change in Chaz’s tone. 

Chelsea: No, no…. 

She said quickly to keep the peace

Chaz: I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Be ready.

Chelsea: Yes, Chaz 

Chelsea's bedroom

The headboard knocked against the wall. Chelsea's face was buried into the pillow to muffle the sounds. Chaz's hands gripped her hips as he thrust deep into her. His head was thrown back and his eyes remained closed.  In his mind, it was Teddy taking it from him. Her sounds from earlier replayed in his mind.

Chelsea whimpered as he took his aggression out on her body. "That's it. Take it like the little slut you've become," he urged. Chaz's hand reached down to grab Chelsea's hair and pull her to his chest. "I don't want you quiet," he hissed, "I want to moan for me like you did for Pretty Boy. Call me Sweet One. Say it."

 Chelsea's eyes grew wide at his words. "Chaz, you are scaring me. Who is Pretty Boy? Who is Sweet One?”,Chelsea pleaded with him. All of it made no sense to her- his words, the sudden aggression and the new intensity. He fucked like a man posessed. He pulled her hair tighter, "Don't argue with me. Just fucking do it." He pushed her back down and continued. 

Chelsea spoke tentatively at first, unsure what to say. "Yes, Sweet One,yes," she started, "fuck me hard." She gulped, 'Fuck your little slut, Sweet One. Give it to me Chaz. It's all yours. All of it belongs to you."

"Louder, say it louder," he instructed as he bent down, turned her head and kissed her.  The angle changed just enough to hit her magic spot- a first. 

"That's it, Chaz," she moaned, "it's so good." It was a new type of sex and Chelsea wasn't sure how she felt about it. Previously, he had not produced anything that felt this good. Nothing that approached this level of pleasure. She hoped that she was about to experience her first orgasm. She let go of the questions in her mind and enjoyed the ride. Pretty soon, the physiology of it took over and her body responded. Then her voice joined, becoming louder with each thrust until she exploded with screams of pleasure. 

Chaz followed with impassioned pleas. "Yes- Yes, my Dovey, that's how it should be. That's how it should have always been."

Chelsea stiffened slightly at the name, Dovey. He had never called her that before. "And what was this insistence that she call him Sweet One?" she thought to herself. All of it swirled in her mind as he kissed her neck tenderly. She sighed softly and enjoyed the moment. It was a nice departure from his usual “wham bam, no thank you ma’am” style  and if the new names were part of the game, she was willing to play along with it.

He pulled her to him and spoke softly, "Hey, I have another favor to ask."

"What's that?" She yawned as her body basked in the post orgasm glow. Finally all of the hype about sex made sense to her. This might actually make all the other shit tolerable. 

"Can you take the cookies into the arena tomorrow and get them to Seggy? To the locker room?" He asked expectantly. He focused on keeping his voice calm and neutral.

"Why didn't you give it to him tonight?" she asked innocently, “That’s where you right? At the hotel?”

“He wasn’t there,” he said as he began to spin his lie, “I got there and waited there. I finally checked with the concierge who told me that the team went to Club Risque.”

“Wait, the entire team went to Club Risque tonight?”, she said in surprise. 

“Yeah, you know those hockey guys. Nothing but trouble, right?”, he smiled. 

Chelsea flinched. Chaz’s distaste for the Flyers players had been a great source of tension between them. The memory of his first backhand slap entered her mind. Chaz had thought Claude Giroux, of all people, flirted with her. Since then she had been careful to limit any interaction to purely professional circumstances. “Yeah,” she finally said, “nothing but trouble.” 

“So will you do it, my Birdie?”, he questioned. 

“Sure, Chaz, anything for you,” she smiled. 

Wells Fargo Center- near the visiting team locker room

Chelsea looked around nervously. The pass around her neck provided her all access to the arena as part of her social media job with the Flyers. However, there was no real reason for her to be near the visitor locker room, especially not to deliver a tin of cookies. 

She had scoffed earlier that morning when Chaz put the tin of cookies in her hand. “Really?” she asked, “I can’t believe you actually want me to deliver a tin of cookies to him? I don’t get it.”

He pulled her into a hug, “It’s an inside joke. Don’t overthink it, Chels.” He flashed her a smile and felt the urge to question him dissipate. 

“Hey, can I help you?”,the Stars equipment manager called from inside the room as he readied the team’s equipment before the morning skate. 

She mustered up her courage, “Yeah, can you put this in Seguin’s locker?” 

He looked up and stared at the tin. A smile of recognition spread across his face. He recognized the tin from the multiple times that Teddy had sent Tyler into practice and/or a road trip armed with her infamous cookies. “Sure,” he walked over and grabbed them. “Did Teddy send them through you? I heard she came in yesterday.” he mentioned casually. 

Chelsea blinked and questioned how to answer. “Umm, sure,” she finally. She hoped that it would allow her to extricate herself from the situation as soon as possible. She turned to leave and was halfway down the hall when a loud voice called out to her, “Hey Teddy- what are you doing here?” Chelsea turned around to see Jamie Benn walking toward her with a smile on his face. 

“Oh, you aren’t Teddy,” he said quickly, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. It’s the second time I’ve heard the name Teddy in the last three minutes,” she smiled as he approached her, “Who is this infamous Teddy?”

“It’s Seggy’s girlfriend,” he said as he got closer. He picked up her access badge and read it. “Chelsea, you look a lot like her. Sorry for the confusion. What are doing down in this area? Did they send you in to spy on us?” He laughed softly. 

“Yep, it’s all part of the Flyers plan on beating you guys,” she responded with a touch more flirtation than intended. 

“Oh, that plan is brilliant,” he took a step towards her. 

Alarms bells began to ring loudly in her mind. “Danger, danger, danger,” she thought to herself. “Well, it was lovely to meet you….,” she paused for an answer, “Mr. Benn. I have to get back to the winner’s side of the arena now.” 

Benn started to give a smart ass answer but Chelsea took off in a practical sprint back to her office. She closed the door and rested against the door. So many thoughts swirled in her mind. “Who was this Teddy? More importantly, what did it have to do with Chaz?” she thought. She sat down to start doing some investigation. First she pulled up Tyler’s instagram. There were at least a dozen posts featuring Teddy. She blinked at the uncanny resemblance. 

Still, what did this have to do with Chaz? His strange, albeit pleasant, behavior last night was odd. The more she thought about it, the more questions she had. “If Chaz really hung out with Seguin in Dallas, why didn’t he have his phone number? Why did he need me to get the info for him?” she thought to herself. She searched Tyler’s followers. Chaz was not listed. She searched Chaz’s page to see who he followed. He did not follow Tyler. She went back to Tyler’s page and looked at the posts about Teddy. She paused at the post from Tyler in November. In Teddy’s reply, she used the hashtag #mysweetone. “Sweet One,” she thought to herself, “That’s the name Chaz wanted me to call him.” 

She kept scrolling through Tyler’s feed. Then she clicked on Teddy’s profile. It was set to private. She went back to Chaz’s profile and checked. He did not follow Teddy. The investigation was creating more questions than answering them. One there was clear- Chaz had a fascination with Tyler Seguin and his girlfriend, Teddy. The only question that remained unanswered was why. 

FOUR HOURS LATER- CHELSEA’S OFFICE- WELL FARGO ARENA

Chaz knocked softly on Chelsea’s door. Chelsea stared at her screen and tried to put the pieces together. Something wasn’t right and she couldn't put her finger on it. When Chaz didn’t get an answer, he cursed silently and knocked louder. Chelsea looked up, “Come in.” 

Chaz walked in carrying takeout from his favorite sushi place. He smiled and held it out as a treat for Chelsea. She looked up and then back to the screen without acknowledging it. She wasn’t a fan of sushi and he knew it. Chaz walked over to the desk and sat on the edge. His hand went to her face and turned it to him. “Birdie…..” he said in a tone that contained the slightest of edges. “What’s so fascinating that you can’t acknowledge me?” he asked. She quickly switched tabs to the Flyers instagram page. 

She turned to him and examined his face. He raised an eyebrow in question. 

“Who is Teddy?” she asked firmly. 

“Who is who?” Chaz replied. 

“Who is Teddy?” she repeated just as firmly. 

“I don’t know what you are talking about Birdie and I really don’t like your tone,” he replied neutrally. Inwardly, his heart raced. He needed Chelsea. He needed Chelsea in order to get to Teddy. 

“Fine, ignore the question,” she spit out, “Do you really know Tyler Seguin?”

“Of course, I do,” Chaz scoffed, “We go way back to when he was traded to Dallas.”

“Why did you need me to get you the hotel information, Chaz?” she quizzed, “Why not ask him yourself?”

“Because it was supposed to be a fucking surprise,” he hissed.

“So you are such good friends with Seguin that you don’t follow him on instagram and he doesn’t follow you?” she continued. Chaz blinked. He knew that he couldn’t take the chance to follow Seguin under his main account so he used his burner account, but he couldn’t explain that to Chelsea without explaining Teddy. “You know I looked at Seguin’s Instagram today. Did you know that he has a girlfriend named Teddy? She looks a lot like me too,” she prodded. “You know what else?” she asked, “Apparently her nickname for Tyler is Sweet One. Now where have I heard that before? Huh Chaz?”

Chaz froze. She stood and walked to the other side of the desk, instinctively putting a distance between her and her boyfriend who was prone to lose his temper when challenged. “Tell me who Teddy is to you and why you seem to be obsessed with her.” 

Chaz smiled, “I am not obsessed with her Birdie. That’s all you need to know.”

“Fuck that, Chaz,” she answered defiantly. 

His hand flew up in a swinging motion but he caught it. Chelsea saw it and took a step backwards. 

“Tell me the truth, Chaz,” she ordered, “Tell me the truth or get out!”

“Okay, okay,” Chaz spoke urgently, “Teddy is my ex. Teddy is my ex-girlfriend.”

 “Was all of this a ruse? A ruse to get to Teddy?” she gasped, “Why do you want to get to Teddy so badly?”

“I need to…. I need to make amends,” Chaz lied as he walked around the desk, “I need to see her so I can apologize to her.”

“Why?” she stepped back, “Why do you need to apologize to her?”

“You know me, sometimes I can lose my temper,” he stepped towards, “I want her to know that I’ve changed. I have a good woman and have changed.”

“So you are totally over her? Why did you want me to cosplay her last night?” she held out her hand, “You weren’t fucking me last night. You were fucking her.” The reality sank in and she screamed, “Get out! Get the fuck out!” She turned to open the door and Chaz slammed it shut. 

“Birdie,I am not going anywhere,” he whispered in her ear, “I am not going anywhere until you bring me Teddy.”

“Why the fuck would I do that, Chaz? Why would I bring her to you? What do you want?” she said half-defiantly and half-fearfully.

“It doesn’t matter what I want, Birdie,” he said menacingly, “Bring her to me or pay the consequences.” Her eyes flashed up at him. “That’s right. You remember what happens when you don’t obey me.” The implied threat sank into her soul. 

“Please Chaz,” she begged, “Please don’t make me do this.”

“Don’t make me ask again.” he placed his hands on her arms and squeezed tight. He pulled her forward and slammed her back against the door. “Don’t make me ask again, Birdie. I’ll have to clip your wings.”

“No, please don’t hurt me, Chaz. I’ll do it,” she said as her eyes filled with tears, “What do you need me to do?”

“Just get her to the concourse. I will take it from there,” he answered as it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

“And you will leave me alone after that?” she asked quietly. 

Chaz opened the door, “It will be my pleasure. You were beginning to bore me anyway.” 

Outside in the hallway, Flyers captain Claude Giroux stood and watched as Chaz walked away. He heard the tears and sniffles coming from Chelsea’s office. He knocked softly. “Go away, Chaz,” she cried, “I’ll do it. You don’t have to browbeat me anymore.”

“It’s not Chaz,” the captain answered, “Can I come in?”

Chelsea opened the door and stepped aside. Her head was down and she stared at the floor. “How can I help you?” she asked quietly. 

Claude looked at her tear stained face and frowned. His eyes did a quick scan of her body. They stopped at the red handprints on her arms. “I heard crying and wanted to check on you. You know, see if you needed anything,” he said gently. 

“It’s just a silly fight with my boyfriend,” she said quickly. The thought of Claude or anyone else on the team knowing the reality of her situation filled her with shame. 

Claude nodded to her arms, “Did he do that?”

Chelsea took in a ragged breath, “It’s no big deal. I’ll be fine.”

“Look at me,” Claude said firmly. He quickly added in a softer tone, “Please.”

She raised her eyes to his and waited. She waited for the admonishment. She waited for him to blame her for being involved with someone who treated her so badly. Instead his eyes were soft and she wasn’t sure if his pity was better or worse. 

“I want you to know that the team cares about you. I care about you. If you need anything else, just say the word,” he explained. She nodded her head. “You don’t deserve to be treated that way, Chelsea. Don’t let him make you think otherwise.”

“Thank you,” she said before her voice cracked, “That- that means a lot.”

“I have to go get ready for the game. I’ll see you before we hit the ice, eh?” 

Chelsea forced a smile, “yeah, I’ll be over there soon.”

“Keep your chin up,” he smiled back, “You got the Broadstreet Bullies at your back. You’re one of us. If he messes with you, then he messes with us.”

Wells Fargo Arena- Concourse

Inside the arena, Teddy and Trish made their way down to the rink for warm-ups. With the spotty service, both were oblivious to their phones blowing up. Trish glanced around the lower bowl of seats for any sign of Chaz. There were none. "Incoming," Trish whispered as a red-head approached Teddy. “Excuse me, aren’t you Teddy Baxter?” she said brightly. 

“That’s me,” Teddy answered warily. 

The red head flashed her badge to Teddy and Trish. “I’m Chelsea with the Flyers social media team. Can you come with me to do a quick bit for Instagram?” she asked. 

Teddy tilted her head in confusion, “Why would the Flyers want to do a bit with me? My boyfriend is the star of the opposing team.”

"We try to get an Instagram influencer to participate when they are at games. It can be a great way to build your following," she said cheerfully. Chelsea glanced up at the concourse, “Come on, it will be fun. We can get the Stars in on it too,” 

"Oh, I would have to run it by my brand team first," Teddy shook her head no, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Chelsea pleaded, “Please? I really need you to do this for me.” 

Teddy turned and focused her attention onto Tyler who smiled and took a running leap into the boards right in front of her. Then he turned with a dramatic flair, placed his hands on his heart and blew her a hiss. Teddy smiled and giggled. 

Chelsea slowly walked up the stairs with a sense of dread filling her. At the top of the stairs, a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. “I thought I was clear in my instructions, Birdie,” Chaz hissed, “You were supposed to get the bitch up to me.”

Chelsea turned to him and cried, “Chaz, I tried. I really tried but she wouldn’t come. Please don’t hurt me.”

FIRST PERIOD

Teddy tried to focus on the game, but her mind wouldn't let her. She knew that there were enough eyes focused on her and not the game for there not to be a chance of Chaz suddenly appearing. Besides, it wasn't his style to do things publicly. No, he would want to get her alone. 

Then her mind drifted back to her conversation with Chelsea. It had been so odd and confusing. She pulled out her phone to search Instagram for her. There was no signal. Teddy shook her head, got up and started up the stairs. Trish followed her, "Teddy, what's up? You have to give me some warning." 

"Don't you think that whole thing with the Flyers media girl was odd?" She answered and continued up the stairs. They had both barely reached the top of the stairs when Teddy felt a hand grab her arm tightly and start to pull her. She instinctively pulled against it until she looked up to see her father. From a secluded spot, Chaz watched and plotted. Getting close to his Dovey was getting infinitely more difficult.

Suddenly, the arena erupted as the Flyers scored their second goal of the period. In the pandemonium, Chaz lost sight of the trio as Robert guided Teddy to the supply closet the Baxter security team had commandeered for the night. Once the door was shut, Teddy looked around the room. "What happened?" she said quickly as she observed the team's faces.

Steve stepped forward. "Remember the tin Tyler carried back from morning practice,? Turns out they were sent by Chaz as a message."

"A message? What sort of message?" she asked quickly when the more important question hit her, "How did he get it there?"

"You're getting good at this, Teddy," Steve answered, "Chaz is in a relationship with someone in the Flyers organization. She delivered the cookies to the locker room."

"She?" Teddy asked. Her mind went back to Chelsea. There was something about her desperation to get her to film something. Her desperation to get Teddy alone. It was only now that she recognized the terror in her eyes. Instantly she knew the source of the terror. "Chelsea, it's her. Isn't it?" Steve looked back in confusion. "She tried to get me to go with her to film an Instagram thing for the Flyers. It didn't make sense to me so I told her no. She practically begged me to help her. Oh God, I told her no." 

"Exactly what you should have done," Robert interjected, "Good instincts."

"There's more," Steved added. "There was a flower delivery to the conference room with a message. Chaz knows we are here."

"How would he know that?" Teddy questioned.

"The bear," Steve answered.

"The Teddy bear?" She answered, confused, "I don't understand. How could the bear tell him anything?"

"It is a nanny cam. When we brought it to the conference room and he saw everything," Steve explained, "We are leaving now."

"Now?" Teddy questioned, "What about Tyler? He will be worried if he doesn't see me in my seat."

"Then let him fucking worry," Robert yelled.

Teddy turned to him, "Don't yell at me."

"I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe," he yelled back.

Teddy steeled her spine, "You know what doesn't make sense to me, Daddio? How did nobody know that Chaz was in Philly? He has been here long enough to have a damn relationship. Why didn't anyone know about that? You told me that I didn't have to worry about Chaz, Daddio. I trusted you and yet here we are."

He stepped back with a wounded look on his face. "Daddio, I am sorry. I take it back."

Steve interjected, "Teddy, I will get word to Tyler. He will understand. Your safety is the most important thing to us."

"Give me a damn second," Teddy walked to the corner of the room. She closed her eyes and tried to process the information- the nearness of Chaz, the Teddy bear, the cookies as some sort of message, the flowers with a definite message, and finally Chelsea." 

She paced and remembered the look in her eyes. Chaz had involved her in whatever plan he had. There would be consequences for her failure. Teddy closed her eyes and imagined just how violent Chaz could and would get. She shook her head.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something obvious. "Tell me about the cookies," she asked.

Robert sighed and punched the wall. Teddy glanced then focused her attention on Steve. "The cookies were bad-full of salt, inedible," he explained.

"He tried to hurt Tyler," she said plainly.

"And the flowers. Tell me about the flowers," she continued.

Steve described the large bouquet of white gladiolus and carnations and the contents of the card. "Funeral flowers," Teddy stepped back, "that was his message to me." Everyone turned with a question in their eyes. "I hate those flowers because you only see them at funerals. He knows I would think of that. He wants to kill me."

"Which is exactly why we need to get you out of here!" Robert screamed again.

"Then what?" Teddy questioned, "do you think that he will just say 'oh well' after all this? If he doesn't get me, then what?" She stared at the group, "then what? He already went after Tyler, in this arena. You think he can't get to him again?"

Steve and the team exchanged looks. "And what about Chelsea? Do you think he is just going to do nothing? He tried to use her to get to me, with the clear goal of death. You think she won't be a price for that?"

"What are you saying?" Steve asked.

"I am not going anywhere until we come up with a plan to protect her. I had no one to protect me back then. I am not going to allow the same thing to happen to her. Now let's think." Teddy said with authority.

"You heard Teddy. We have twenty minutes to come up with a plan," Steve barked out, "Someone get me the head of arena security."

Outside on the concourse, Chaz searched the crowd. "Where did that bitch and Dovey sneak off to?" he thought to himself. Shortly before the end of the first intermission, he saw Trish and Teddy leave a concession stand with popcorn and sodas. They laughed and joked as they walked back to their seats. When warm-ups started, Tyler skated to where Teddy stood by the glass. His hand went to glass and he called out, "where did you go?"

 She smiled, "a chat with Steve and team."

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Don't worry about me," she smiled, "I am in capable hands. Focus on scoring."

"Okay, bossy butt," he laughed and skated away. He turned around and blew her a kiss.

On the concourse, Chaz seethed. When Chelsea put her hand on his arm, he jumped. "It's just me," she said quickly, "good news. She wants me to come talk to her during the third. We have another shot."

Chaz looked at her with a question. "What had changed? he thought so himself, "You know what? I don't fucking care." He forced a smile, "Good for you, Birdie. Good for you."

His eyes were focused on Chelsea as she went to Teddy's seat. Chelsea had received a simple DM on Instagram during the first intermission that read "Come see me about your idea during the third. Maybe we can work something out." 

When Chelsea arrived at the seat, Trish got up and walked up the stairs, per the plan. Chelsea sat next to her and looked nervously. "So, when is the first time he hit you?" Teddy said without making eye contact. Chelsea gasped. "What? He told you that had never happened before, right? That it was whatever you did made him do it," Teddy continued, "It's all your fault."

"It was after the first time we…." Chelsea started.

"At least he is consistent," Teddy laughed, "So what does he want?" 

"He wants to apologize," she whispered. 

"You believe that?" Teddy asked.

"No," she answered.

"Good, at least you are not totally blind," Teddy said, "So we have a plan. I am going to need you to trust me." Chelsea looked back nervously. "Don't do that," Teddy urged, "He will get suspicious."

"We?" Chelsea asked.

"Security team. I will explain it one day," Teddy, "Tell him that it has to be right before the end of the game otherwise Tyler will get suspicious. Got it?"

"Okay," Chelsea answered got up to head towards the stairs.

Teddy turned as she started up, "He won't hurt us. He won't hurt us again. Just follow my lead."

Trish returned to the seats and slipped a tracker into Teddy's hand, "They will be able to track you and hear you, but you won't hear them. Test it out."

Teddy smiled, "Steve, how it's going out there? So much for that plan on beer and cheesesteaks? When we get out of here in one piece we'll grab one of the way to the airport, okay?"

Trish pressed on the ear piece, "Stick to the plan and we'll be fine."

END OF THE THIRD

Teddy used Benn's goal in the third period to escape to the concourse. As she ascended the stairs, she spoke "Heads up boys. The show is about to begin." Chelsea waited for her on the concourse. They stared at each other momentarily, then nodded in solidarity.

Teddy saw the fear in Chelsea's eyes. Chelsea looked around as she started to lead them to the stairs that led down to the bowels of the arena. Chelsea said quietly, "Why are you doing this? You could have just escaped."

"And what? Let you pay the consequences of his hate for me? No, we are not going to let that fucker win." She leaned forward and grabbed her face, "You can do this. I can do this. We will do this together."

Chelsea whimpered and Teddy felt Chaz's presence before he grabbed her arm. She turned and gasped, "Chaz!"

"Quit the act, Dovey," Chaz hissed.

Her eyes filled with tears, "Suspecting that you are watching me, knowing that you are and you grabbing me are very different things. The last time you surprised me, I ended up in the hospital. It's not an act."

 "I know that you have eyes on you-at least for now." He insisted, "Don't worry, we will lose them soon.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Teddy replied, "Just let us go. No harm, no foul."

Chaz twisted Teddy's arm behind her back, "Now where would the fun be in that, huh?" He glanced back at Trish who was told to keep a respectful distance in the planning session. Her gut was telling her otherwise. Chaz glanced at the clock. They had about thirty seconds before the arena would erupt in celebration of the Flyers 2-1 victory over the Stars.

On the bench, Tyler's eyes searched Teddy's section for a sign of her and saw nothing. Benn leaned over and asked, "What's wrong?" 

Tyler turned "I think that Teddy's intuition that Chaz was following her was right. She isn't where she is supposed to be."

They both looked at the section again with no sign. Benn tried to encourage Tyler, "She probably headed down early to beat the crowd. You know how these Flyer fans get."

The horn sounded and throngs of people swarmed the concourse. Chaz yelled, "Birdie, get us to our final destination or pay the consequences." Chelsea grabbed Teddy's free hand and pulled her through the throng of people. Chaz followed behind with her arm twisted behind her back. With each step the pain increased and Teddy whimpered.

"Where are we going?" Teddy cried. She knew that her team would lose visual contact in the crowd and hoped to provide any clues that she could. The confidence that she had in abundance while they planned began to fade. It was one thing to put herself in the line of Chaz's wrath but it was entirely another thing to include Chelsea.

When they began their descent into the bowels of the arena, she narrated their travels. "Why are we going down here, Chaz? Where are you taking me? Have you thought about how you are going to leave this arena alive?"

"Shut up Teddy. Shut your fucking whore mouth," Chaz hissed. He grabbed her hair and snapped her head back, "Does your Daddio know what a whore you've turned into? You were so innocent with me." He pushed both of the women as they traveled along the dark hallway. "Maybe it's time to show Pretty Boy how it's done."

In the makeshift war room, Steve barked out orders. "Get the lower exits sealed. Do it now!" He yelled. 

The head of arena scanned the possible routes. He picked up the radio, "Secure the locker rooms. Shut them down."

Inside both team locker rooms, players looked up in surprise as the doors leading out to the arena with sudden force. A chorus of "What the fuck?" echoed in each room. Tyler looked at the door and got up from the bench, half-dressed. "What's going on?" he asked urgently. In his gut, he knew. Something was wrong and Teddy was in danger. 

The security guard refused to answer. Tyler asked again, his voice rising an octave. Benn got up and stood next to him. "Do you think it's Teddy?" 

On the radio, updates flowed. "Chaz has two hostages downstairs. They are heading to main hallway. Keep distance. Teddy seems to be in physical distress. Chelsea seems fine."

In the Flyers locker room, Giroux had take a spot next to the guard in order to relay information. "Chelsea…. Boys, he has Chelsea." 

"Our Chelsea?" TK Konecy asked. "What's happening?" Claude explained what he had overheard earlier. The entire team gathered to listen. "That punk ass bitch has been hitting her?" TK questioned, "You know what he have to do, G."

Meanwhile, a similar conversation took place in the Stars locker room. Tyler raced to get dressed. Benn went to him, "Where do you think you are going?"

"Chaz has Teddy who is under "some physical distress". Where the fuck do you think I am going?" Tyler hissed. 

"Hold on," Benn said, "I will create a distraction." Benn walked over and got in the guards face. "When are you letting us out of here? Look, I don't have time for lockdown practice. You are standing between me and a plane to take me home to my extremely hot woman." 

The guard tried to respond and Tyler slipped out the door. Once in the hallway, Tyler listened to get a clue which way to head. 

"Pretty Boy? Who is Pretty Boy? Is it Tyler?" Teddy's voice became clear. "Chelsea, is that where you are taking us? To Tyler?" Chelsea nodded her head. "Fuck," Teddy thought to herself. She could only hope that Steve would have planned for that scenario. "Chaz, you won't be able to get into a locker room. Even with Chelsea's credentials, they won't let you in there. Come on, you are not thinking clearly." 

Chelsea tried to think. Chaz relied on her to guide him to the locker room. He wouldn't notice if she directed toward the security office. She made the turn as Chaz dragged Teddy behind him. Steven and Robert Baxter stood in the hallway. Chaz screamed, "You stupid bitch. You stupid, stupid bitch" He let go of Teddy's arm and and reached for Chelsea. 

"Nooo," Teddy screamed and placed her body in front of Chelsea, "Run, Chelsea, run. You can make it. They will get out safely. RUN NOW"  

She took a step toward Chaz,  "I am the one you want. She is just doing what I told her to do. Blame me- blame me!" 

Chaz took his hand, swung it hard and slapped Teddy with his backhand. He grabbed her by the hair and forced her to face Robert. Her father's face contorted in anguish. Her face stung from the blow. "I'm okay Daddio. I am okay." Teddy tried to soothe.

"Not for long, Dovey, not for long," he hissed in her ear, "I am done with you by a long shot."

Teddy examined her surroundings. From what she could gather, there were four outlets on the main hall. Chaz would have to guess between the other three options. "Walk, Dovey- turn around and walk," he ordered. 

In the Stars locker room, the team had chattered away, assessing the situation. The consensus was that they were not going to allow an attack on Teddy unchallenged. It didn't take much effort to intimidate the security guard away from his post. When word came out that Teddy had been separated from Chelsea, the team stormed past into the hallway. They arrived at the same time as Chaz and Teddy.

"Where is he? Where in the fuck is Pretty Boy?" Chaz shouted as he scanned the team, "See Dovey, you need a real man. You need a real man to keep safe. Where in the fuck is he? " He whipped her body around and dragged her down the hall to the third outlet. The Flyers blocked it. 

Tyler had mistakenly taken a right turn and landed on the hall of the fourth outlet. Chaz's words echoed through the hall. Teddy’s cries pierced his heart. He ran and stood at the fourth and final outlet. He screamed, "Hey Chaz, are you looking for me?"

Chaz pushed Teddy forward to Tyler. She fell on her knees, looked up and saw his face. He never looked stronger. He took a step towards her and saw the mark on her face. "Pretty One," he said softly, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Chaz grabbed her by the hair again, pulling her to her feet again. "Oh Pretty Boy, don't worry about Dovey. She is used to a little discipline in her life. None of that Pretty One bullshit," Chaz taunted, "She needs it rough."

Tyler took a lunge at Chaz, who danced out of his grasp. "Let her go or I will fucking kill you," 

Chaz, "Oh Pretty Boy, you will stand there and watch. You can watch how a real man does it."

Something in Teddy snapped at Chaz's words. "Real man? She thought to herself, "No, her father was a real man- a man devoted to his family for almost thirty five years. Lex was a real man- a best friend who saw the good in her even when she couldn't. Finally, Tyler was a real man- a sweet soul who loved her without conditions or restraint." 

Teddy twisted her body around. Behind her she saw her father and Steve, poised to pounce. She turned to her side and saw the Flyers team standing together. The look in Claude's eyes was defiant, as if to dare Chaz to make a move. Her head swiveled to the Stars who waited patiently for a signal. Finally she turned to Tyler who watched with a pained expression on his face. She gave him a smile and felt her strength rise up within her. 

She thought about Chelsea. Teddy had been compelled to help Chelsea who did not have anyone else. Turns out that she was wrong. Chelsea did have an entire NHL team ready to go to blows for her. 

Then she turned her attention to Chaz. She saw him through a new set of eyes. He was so sure that he could control her and bend her to his will. She laughed as she thought to herself, "Fucker could not find a clit with a compass and a map. How the fuck is he going to hurt me?" 

The laughter became louder and Chaz pulled at her hair, "What the fuck are you laughing at Dovey?"

Teddy turned him and smiled, "You fell for it. You actually thought I was fucking scared of you. Oh Chaz, no one is actually afraid of you. You think you are real man because you hit me a couple thousand times? You are a little momma's boy trapped in a man's body. You only pick on people smaller than you- the ones that you think you can scare into submission. "

Teddy looked over at Tyler, "Say the words, Sweet One."

Tyler's eyes widened and he stared for a moment. She nodded in encouragement. "Who do I want, Pretty One?" Tyler said softly. He was confused by the request.

Teddy smiled, "Me and only me." She felt her soul rising up.

Chaz grabbed her face and pulled it to face him. "Shut the fuck up, Dovey," he seethed. He grasped at straws to keep some sort of control over her.

"Keep going," she pleaded with Tyler.

"Why do I want you?" He continued.

Teddy wretched her face from Chaz's grasp and turned to Tyler, "Because you love me and will never hurt me."

"Never, ever Pretty One," Tyler asked loudly, "Who is my lady?" 

Teddy smiled triumphantly, "Me and only fucking bad ass me." 

She turned to Chaz and spit in his face. "You just made a big mistake-huge." 

She picked her foot and stomped down onto with her stiletto heel. He doubled over in pain and shock. "I'm sorry- did that hurt?" She scoffed, "I wear real heels now that I don't have to make myself small for my man." 

She threw her favorite boxing combination of a jab, cross, hook, uppercut followed by another cross. The blows each landed with enough force to know Chaz back. She took a breath and repeated the combination as Chaz fell to his knees. "Oh, did you not know I take private boxing lessons three times a week? I probably should have told you. Oooops!"

Chaz covered his head with his arms as the blows rained down upon his body. "Wait," she laughed in his ear, "I thought you said you were going to show me how a real man does it. What happened- you pathetic piece of shit."

"Stop," Chaz's voice said weakly, "Please stop."

"Say it again," she screamed, "Say it again, you fucking.coward."

"Please stop. I am begging you," he pleaded for mercy.

Teddy grabbed his hair and pulled his face up to look at her, "Look at me. Look at my face and know that I am not afraid of you. I will never be afraid of you again." Chaz's eyes welled up with tears. "You know where you fucked up, Chaz? When you tried to hurt Tyler- that's…. that is when I decided to kick your ass. I would die before I allowed you to hurt him,” she declared.

"If you come for Chelsea again, I will beat your ass. If you come for him again, I will beat your ass. If you come for me again, I will put your ass in the damn morgue," she shouted as she stood up and walked away. She abruptly stopped and turned around, "Don't believe me? Just look at all the back up I have. Fuck around and find out."

In the span of time it took Teddy to make it five yards to Tyler, a team descended upon Chaz and restrained him. Teddy didn't look back and ran to Tyler. He swooped her into his arms and squeezed for dear life. "Pretty One," he whispered into her ear, "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," she cried, "don't say anything. Just hold me and don't let me go."

"Okay," he swayed back and forth. In the chaos that surrounded them, they clung to each other. Both were lost in their own thoughts. 

Teddy rested her ear against Tyler's chest and listened to his heartbeat. "Your heart is racing," Teddy said quietly.

"I  was scared to death. I was afraid to try to take him down. I should have… I should have saved you," he sighed.

"You did save me. Maybe not tonight, but you saved me with your love. It was your love that brought my strength to the surface. It was your love that reminds me every day that I can do the hard things. I can do them because I am not alone anymore," she encouraged.

"You give me too much credit, Pretty One," he kissed the top of her head. 

"You don't give yourself enough credit," she kissed his chest, "Do you need the words?" he whispered yes.

"Who do I want?",she asked.

"Me and only me," he answered

"Why do I want you?", she repeated their pattern.

"Because you love me more than anyone else in the world and you know I will never, ever hurt you,” he answered earnestly.

"Who is my REAL man?", she smiled up at him.

"Lucky me," he smiled back.

"I love you Sweet One," she whispered, "I have a feeling it's about to get crazy around here." She turned to look at the crowd around them. She looked back into his eyes with tears.

"It's a good thing I am certified in handling crazy," he wiped her tears, "I love you and you can do the hard things." He paused and corrected himself, "No, we can do the hard things together." 

[laurenairay]

Oooooh okay. I’m feeling #12 with my boy Tyler. 😏

You asked me to make this hurt, Em, so I did my best! Thank you for choosing Tyler!

"Don't look at me like that." "Like what?" "Like you still love me."

Words: 608

*

“Oh thank fuck, you’re still here.”

You looked up from packing your suitcase at the familiar voice, anger rushing through you in a way that it never had before.

“Tyler,” you said dryly, trying to keep your emotions in control.

“Baby, please stop,” he begged.

You pursed your lips, quickly shaking your head, ignoring the way his face fell. “I’m not your baby anymore, Seguin. You lost that right in Florida. Or was it Chicago? Or New York? Should I keep going?”

Tyler swallowed heavily, visibly drawing in on himself – you’d never actually seen him look so small. But it didn’t change the fact that your words were true. He didn’t get to call you baby, not after everything he’d done.

“It was a mistake. All of them, they were all mistakes,” Tyler insisted.

All of them. Just hearing him confirm his unfaithfulness so simply made your hands shake too much to continue packing your clothes, so you took a deep breath to steady yourself before finally turning properly to face him. The devastation on his face, in his whole body, twisted the painful knife even further, and you hated him for it.

“Don’t look at me like that,” you said sharply.

“Like what?” he asked, confused.

“Like you still love me,” you said, coldness clear in your voice.

Tyler laughed bitterly and shook his head. “I may have fucked up royally, like I’m well aware of that, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you. I love you. Nothing’s going to change that.”

How could he still say that he loved you? Tears sprung to your eyes and you looked away from him quickly, desperate for him not to see how he’d affected you. “That’s not fair, Ty,” you whispered.

“Baby, I…fuck,” he groaned.

You turned your head back ever so slightly, watching him run a shaky hand through his hair out the corner of your eye. A sharp pang ran through your body but you tried to ignore it – he deserved to feel like shit, he deserved to feel this messed up, after how badly he’d messed you around.

“Is there nothing I can do? Please tell me there’s still some scrap of hope for us,” he finally said, stepping closer to you.

But you just held a hand up, turning your body back to him as he halted in his steps.

“Any hope was lost the second time you cheated, Tyler. I could’ve forgiven one stupid night, even though I feel like an idiot even saying that. But considering that it’s been three that I’ve found out about? No doubt that there’s countless more? Not a chance. You ruined everything,” you hissed, eyes filling with tears all over again.

The humiliation you’d felt when your friends first texted you still burned through your veins; the betrayal you’d felt when you saw picture after picture sat in your stomach like a sunken rock. There was nothing he could ever do to make you forget how his disloyalty made you feel, nothing. Even if it broke your heart irreparably.

“I’m so sorry,” was all Tyler said.

“It’s a bit too late for that,” you said, laughing dryly.

“I want you to know, baby, I-”

“Just stop, Tyler,” you interrupted, zipping up your suitcase, “I’m going to stay with a friend – I’ll be back to pick up the rest of my stuff when you’re gone.”

“I’m supposed to just let you go, just like that?” Tyler said, more than a little desperate.

“Yeah, you are. Do us both a favour and lose my number, Tyler Seguin. I won’t have my heart broken by you a second time.”

[hockey-x-imagines]

Made to Last || Tyler Seguin/Jamie Benn Pt. 22

A/N: I'm thinking there's going to be just 1 or 2 more parts to this story unless y'all want more. I definitely cried writing this.  

Song Inspo: Made to Last by Issues & You're Not Sorry Taylor Swift

Paring: Tyler x Reader Jamie x Reader

Warnings: Cussing, angst

Word Count: 1216

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

Y/N's P.O.V.

Last night you cried yourself to sleep, mourning the relationship you and Tyler once had. You came to a conclusion, whether you and Jamie work out or not, you still have to have this conversation with Tyler. Just the thought of what you're about to tell the man you used to think you were going to spend the rest of your life with guts you. Part of you wishes you could be a chicken shit and do this over the phone. As you wait for the door to open you try to collect your thoughts.

"Y/N now's not really a good time." Tyler's greeting is laced with annoyance. Not exactly the greeting you were hoping for. Though you can't really say you're surprised.

"Tell Nessa to put some clothes on, or tell her to wait. We need to have this conversation, and we need to have it now. I also need to get the rest of my things." Maybe this conversation will be easier than you thought. Rolling his eyes, Tyler steps to the side inviting you in.

"So this is it?" He asks.

"Tyler, I've wasted all this time waiting and hoping you'd come around. I've been giving out chances and every time all you do is let me down. And it's taken me this long to figure it out. You're thinking we'll be fine, because every time you fuck up I come running back, but not this time around. Could've loved you all my life if you hadn't left me waiting in the cold. You had me crawling for your love, and it never would've gone away. You used to shine so bright, but I watched all of it fade You can tell me you're sorry, but I don't believe you like I did before.  I don't want to hurt anymore. It's not just me I have to look out for anymore. Part of me was hoping we'd work out for our child, but you accusing me of cheating, and you running back to the arms of Nessa the second something seemed off between us is the last straw. So you don't have to worry about the 2 of us anymore. I'm done, we're done. The baby and I deserve so much better and more than you could ever give." You were proud of yourself, not a single tear was shed.

"I'm sorry." That's all he had to say. After 2 and a half years, all he had to say was he was sorry.  You had hoped that maybe he would've shown that he still cared, but he didn't.

"You're not, but that's okay. I'm really sorry. I'll grab my things and be out of your hair." You reach in your back pocket and grab the ring he gave you, "give this to someone you really want forever with, not because you feel guilty." With that, you go collect your things.

"What are you doing here?" Nessa hisses. Lovely.

"Don't worry you dumb bitch I'm just here to get my shit and go." You can't see what Tyler sees in her, maybe she's got a pussy of gold. That's the only thing that would be appealing about her.

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

Tyler's P.O.V.

"Y/N, before you go I feel like I need to give my side." Right now seemed like the best time to come clean. She's already leaving me, not that I blame her.

"It's not going to change anything Ty, I've made my mind up, and seeing Nessa here just cemented my choice."

"What I have to say is only going to make things worse." I take a deep breath, " I can't tell you why or when but I lost feelings for you, and around that time I started seeing Nessa again. I know it was wrong, but I just didn't see a way out. I figured if I was a big enough dick eventually you would've left me like you're doing now. I really am sorry I thought hurting you was the best option. That being said, you can drop the whole pregnancy facade." The look on Y/N's face tells me I struck a nerve.

"You're a fucking idiot." Is all she had to say before slamming my door in my face. We hadn't been having a lot of sex in the first place with her being stabbed and all, so there was no way she is pregnant with my child. There was a small voice in the back of my head telling me she wouldn't lie about something like that, but I refused to believe her. If I believed her, that makes me an even bigger asshole than I intended to be.

A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts. Maybe Y/N forgot something? She's about the only person I could think of that would knock. To my surprise it's Jamie.

"Why the hell are you knocking?" I ask.

"We need to have a little chat." Something is off in his tone. My gut tells me whatever he's about to say isn't going to be something I like. Stepping to the side I let him in. "I've done a lot of thinking and I feel it's best that I tell you how I'm feeling." What the hell is he talking about?

"Okay? If you're about to tell me what a shitty person I am, Y/N did a pretty good job of that already, and sadly I don't give a shit." There is a small part of me that does feel bad for the shit I've done, but I don't really care.

"I'm glad she did. Tyler you fucked up, bad. But I'm not here to yell at you. I've already told Y/N, but I feel like you deserve to know that I'm in love with her." What. The. Fuck. "I don't know why or when but I'm in love with her. Like I said I already told her, and if she decided to have me, I'm going to treat her right."

"How long have you 2 been fucking?" Logically I know Jamie wouldn't do that to me, but right now I'm not thinking logically. Of all the people I could see Y/N moving on with, I never would've thought it'd be my best friend. I thought she'd leave Texas and I'd never see her again. That's what made this so easy. Seeing her happy and thriving is something I don't know if I can handle.

"You're a fucking idiot. You know better than that. She was or is madly in love with you, she would've never done you dirty the way you've done her dirty. I was happy to sit back and let you two be happy, but you went a fucked up again. So now if she'll let me, I'm going to step up to the plate and treat her the way you should've from the start."

"So you're just going to throw away our friendship over a little bit of pus-," before I could finish my sentence his fist connected with my jaw.

"You are the only person to blame for our friendship being what it is now. And don't you ever talk about Y/N that way. We both know she's more than that." I haven't seen Jamie this pissed since the morning Y/N left the first time.

[leafs-lover]

Hi and welcome to a special celebration event! 😊 My birthday is on the 23rd and I want to celebrate with all you lovely people! My inbox will be open for the next eight days to send me any of the following, I will be posting answers starting November 24🎉

🥂 - ask any question about me and I will answer

🧬 - general life advice/questions

🎬 - send me a sentence or idea from any of my fics and I will write a short scene about it

🏒 - send me questions about hockey, teams, players etc

⁉ - Questions about my ongoing or upcoming fics

📝 - writing prompts - send me a prompt and a player and I will write something. Anyone I've written for before is fair game, but you can send in others too! Feel free to come up with your own prompt or use one of these:

One | Two | Three | Four

💋 - FMK - send me three players and I'll do the rest

🎁 No birthday would be complete without gifts! Write me a fic (reader insert or OC, any player, any length, any type/trope, smut is okay - just make sure you put warnings!), send me one you read and think I'd enjoy, or just some general dirty thoughts you have in your brain.

[ilyasorokinn]

tyler seguin as a girl dad. omg i’m in love just thinking about it

TEA PARTY

before rosie was even born, she had her father wrapped around her finger. early morning cravings? tyler was jumping out of bed and getting it for you. feeling cold? he would jump out of bed to the thermostat, completely forgetting he had the ability to change it from his phone.

after she was born, nothing changed. if she cried in the middle of the night, he was jumping out of bed to check on her. she knew she had him wrapped around her finger, so she used it to her advantage. even at almost 3, she knew she held all the power.

and that's how tyler found himself in a sparkly pink tutu, a tiara on his head, and squished into a small chair meant for a child, in front of a tea party table surrounded by stuffed animals and drink water (which she pretended was tea) and eating oreos.

"more tea, daddy?" rosie asked.

"i would love more tea, princess rosie." he smiled, holding out his cup and letting her pour more "tea" into it.

you walked through the door, bags of groceries in hand, "i'm home!" you announced.

"mommy!" rosie came running from her room and into the kitchen where you were.

"hi, roro." you smiled, hoisting her up and holding her on your hip. you burst out laughing when you saw tyler walk into the kitchen, tutu, crown and all.

"i don't know why you're laughing. i was crowned princess." he did a spin.

you looked down at rosie, "did you dress up daddy?"

she nodded, proud of herself, "we're having tea party."

"a tea party? and i wasn't invited?"

"you are now." she wigged, and you put her down. she grabbed your hand and pulled you into her room. she looked back at tyler, and nodded over to the bags of groceries, gesturing for him to put them away.

when he came back into the room, you were squished into a chair of your own, a crown on your own head, "more tea?" rosie offered.

"i'd love more tea." you smiled, and she poured more water into your tea cup. you looked over at the doorway, "come here, princess. join us."

"i'm coming." he laughed, squishing into the chair once again.

taylor's dilf day!

[plasticfilth]

you’re a real one on this horrendous blog of mine if you remember my personal assistant! x tyler seguin series that i never finished called personal. 

[miracleonice87]

i would love a fluffy seggy blurb!!!! anything that your heart desires (maybe an off season vacay?)

warning: mention of babies and major cases of baby fever

as made obvious from my posts from earlier today, I went more the “anything your heart desires” route than vacay 😏😉

while this is based on Tyler’s ig stories holding the baby from earlier today, I don’t know his friends’ feelings about privacy, but since their ig accounts are private, I decided to use different names for the purposes of this story. enjoy!

_____

Best Friend’s Baby with Tyler Seguin

“Hi, hi, hi! Sorry, sorry, sorry, I’m late!” you greeted, barely pausing to press a kiss to Ryan’s cheek as he opened his front door for you. You breezed past him, your eyes scanning the house for his newborn baby daughter, Annie. Ryan and Carly were by far your and Tyler’s closest friends, and you had both been chomping at the bit to come and meet Annie, their firstborn, since her arrival last week. You deposited an enormous bag of the couple’s favorite takeout in the fridge before turning back to Ryan.

“Where is she? Am I too late? Is she sleeping?” you asked as you quickly rubbed in hand sanitizer from the counter, your heart breaking as you envisioned the days-old infant dreaming in a dark room where she couldn’t be disturbed.

Ryan gave you an “are you crazy” look. “She’s a week old,” he reminded. “All she does is sleep, no matter who’s here or who’s holding her.”

“Good, because I need to get my hands on her,” you told him, flexing your fingers as you turned into the living room, still facing Ryan.

“Is Ty here or is he-” You stopped short when you turned to find Tyler sitting in the recliner, donning a hoodie and a backwards hat, little Annie, sure enough, fast asleep in his arms. The moment was enough to leave you frozen in your tracks.

You’d seen him countless times with kids, even babies – he was like a magnet for his teammates’ and friends’ children. Everybody wanted to play and sit with “Uncle Tyler.” But you’d never seen him with a baby so small. And you’d never seen him so completely taken with a little one. He’d barely glanced up from the newborn to acknowledge your arrival with a sweet smile before turning his attention back to the girl. His eyes held more awe and captivation than you’d ever witnessed before.

“He got her to stop fussing,” Carly said softly, her eyes wide, impressed, pulling you from your thoughts. “Hold onto this one, babe. He’s gonna come in handy someday.” She said as she crossed the room and pulled you in for a hug.

“I plan on it,” you said dumbly as she let go, your arms falling back limply to your sides as you slowly walked toward Tyler. When you reached the chair where he sat, you knelt down in front of it to get a good look at the brand new baby in your life.

With two hesitant fingers, you slowly stroked the top of the newborn’s head, her downy hair softer than anything you’d ever touched. She was swaddled in a hospital receiving blanket and smaller than any baby doll you’d played with in your childhood. More than any of this, though, she was safe and content in your boyfriend’s loving arms, and that was enough to throw every hormone in your body into high. Fucking. Alert.

You looked up at Tyler wordlessly, unable to even come up with a greeting for him.

“Pretty cool, huh,” he hummed warmly, his free hand leaving the baby’s swaddle to cup your cheek gently. You only nodded.

“I’ve never seen this girl speechless in my entire life,” Ryan laughed, placing a glass of water in his wife’s hand before taking a seat beside her.

“Me either,” Tyler chuckled, throwing a glance Ryan’s way.

Still, you said nothing. You were completely entranced.

“Tyler, stop hogging the baby and let your girlfriend hold her,” Carly instructed. “I think she needs the resuscitation.”

A smile finally stretched across your face at Carly’s words.

“You wanna hold her?” Tyler asked as he beamed at your expression.

You nodded, grin growing with every passing second. You eagerly took a seated position on the floor in front of the chair, and Tyler leaned forward to pass the baby into your waiting arms. Once she was secure, Tyler remained hunched over, elbows resting on his knees, admiring the baby as much as admiring you holding her.

“She’s perfect,” you finally whispered, pulling the blanket away from her chin to gaze at her perfectly pouted lips and chubby cheeks.

Tyler kissed your temple, his own paternal instincts suddenly bubbling up inside him. He suddenly felt even more protective of you than usual, knowing the sight of you holding a tiny new baby was causing these unfamiliar feelings.

Conversation among the four of you continued easily for the next hour or so as little Annie slept. Tyler eventually relaxed back into the chair, soothing you by absentmindedly running his hands over your hair for where you were now situated between his knees. Every once in a while, he would catch you murmuring to the baby, or gently shushing her, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. You were a natural, and as it turned out, so was he.

Eventually, Annie began to squirm in your arms and make soft noises of discontentment, so Tyler helped you to your feet and you passed her back to Carly.

“She’s an angel, you guys,” you said, smoothing your hand over Carly’s back affectionately. “And a lot of work, I’m sure, so we’re gonna get out of your hair.”

“Yeah? Gotta get to work on my new niece or nephew?” Ryan asked, only half-joking.

You smirked devilishly.

Ryan held out his two pointer fingers, one toward you and one toward Tyler.

“Yeahhh! You guys both just gave me the exact same face,” he exclaimed, clapping Tyler’s back as he drew him in for a hug. “Alright, seems like you guys will be even busier than we are, so we’ll see ya when we see ya.”

Carly playfully shoved at her husband’s leg with her foot, shaking her head with a smile.

You said your goodbyes and promised to check on the little family again in a couple of days, but Ryan was already rushing you out the door, for reasons other than his own peace and quiet. He bid farewell, winked at Tyler, and firmly shut the door behind you.

In the driveway, you got into your Range Rover and prepared to shut the door, but you were stopped by Tyler’s much-stronger grip taking hold of the door handle. He propped his forearms against the top of the car’s frame, caging you in. A new light flickered in his brown eyes.

“Something just happened in there, didn’t it?” he asked after a hesitant pause.

Facing him, you only nodded.

“So… whattya think?” he asked, unsure of where to go next and unwilling to pressure you into something he wasn’t absolutely sure that you wanted, too.

“I think…” you began, twirling his hoodie string around your finger as you gazed up at him. “That I really… really cannot wait to see you as a dad.”

Feeling his heart flutter, Tyler was powerless to stop the joyous expression from forming on his face. He leaned in even closer, your faces just inches apart.

“So… when you say you ‘can’t wait,’ does that mean…” he trailed off, eyes darting between both of yours to read you like he did so very well.

This time, you nodded even more slowly, tugged down on his hoodie string to bring him ever nearer, and kissed him in a way that left no doubt.

You truly, wholly couldn’t wait. And neither could Tyler.

[diorsluv]

die for you , part 1

“ swear i couldn’t sleep a wink last night ”

series m. list next chapter

( socialmedia!au )

yourusername

liked by jasonrob19, mush__27, trevorzegras, and 314,882 others

yourusername got new pink leg warmers 😈🎀

view all comments

username12 trevor has been liking and commenting for MONTHS there’s no way they’re not hooking up

→ username25 calm down she’s friends with turcs and cole 😭😭

logan.stankoven WE GET IT you got new skates or whatever

→ yourusername i will personally send you back to the ahl

→ logan.stankoven okay i was on fire on the texas stars 🥱

→ yourusername what if i light you on fire 🤗

→ logan.stankoven oh!

→ jpav8 let’s be nice guys

_alexturcotte is that the lululemon water bottle

→ yourusername HOW COULD YOU TELL FROM THE LID??

→ _alexturcotte my spidey senses tingled

→ yourusername turcotte tingle is insane

→ _alexturcotte HEY MAN don’t slander the family name ❌❌

username36 my figure skater idol 🙇‍♀️

username4 trevor zegras eh??

colecaufield and new skates and new skate guards and a new bag

→ yourusername you sent me money what was i supposed to do with it????

→ colecaufield use it to pay off your student loans 😒😒

→ yourusername but you already paid them off for me 😶

wyattjohnston_ that’s so preppy and coquette

→ yourusername stop. just stop 😭

→ wyattjohnston_ I’M TRYING TO BE SUPPORTIVE

→ yourusername THEN STOP

→ wyattjohnston_ you don’t want me to be supportive of you? 😔

→ yourusername no

jasonrob19 i bought those skates for you

→ mush__27 we know you spoil her 🙄

→ t.harley48 fr you ain’t gotta flex

→ yourusername indeed you did 😈😈

username41 i’m patiently waiting for the day trevor accidentally posts that they’re dating

→ username88 is he not with dixie??

→ username12 LMAO as if

jackhughes niceee solid skates

→ yourusername jack hughes 😱

→ jackhughes yes that’s me

→ yourusername i feel like a successful fangirl

→ jake30oettinger i thought you liked the stars 😒 yourusername

→ yourusername I LOVE THE STARS I PROMISE OTTER

trevorzegras 👍

liked by yourusername

→ _alexturcotte you’re such a pussy

→ trevorzegras you are what you eat

→ _alexturcotte stfu

→ colecaufield stop being so critical turcs

username53 it’s so preppy in here!

ilia_quadg0d_malinin oh please we all know i can do better

→ yourusername your ego is unbearably big

→ ilia_quadg0d_malinin say that to me when you land a quad

→ yourusername I LITERALLY DID IT BEFORE YOU THO????

→ ilia_quadg0d_malinin that’s a lie and we both know it

→ yourusername STOP GASLIGHTING ME THIS IS NOT BEST FRIEND BEHAVIOR

lhughes_06 Ma’am, would you like to visit the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey to watch us practice prior to our game against the Anaheim Ducks?

→ jackhughes you’re supposed to dm her, not publicly comment…

→ lhughes_06 YOU TOLD ME TO COMMENT ON A POST

→ lhughes_06 this is ur fault

→ yourusername YES I WOULD

→ lhughes_06 see it worked anyways jackhughes

t.harley48 you messed up the ice before practice 🤬🤬

→ yourusername stop whining start grinding 🥶

→ wyattjohnston_ stop whining start grinding 🥶

→ logan.stankoven stop whining start grinding 🥶

→ mush__27 stop whining start grinding 🥶

→ t.harley48 once i get on that zamboni it’s over for you all

yourusername

liked by miroheiskanen, trevorzegras, _alexturcotte, and 300,024 others

yourusername someone tell him i’m outside waiting rn 🙏

view all comments

username29 PLEASE TELL ME “HIM” IS TREVOR

ilia_quadg0d_malinin oh! when did you start posting about your crippling love life 😍

→ yourusername you’re like the only person i told and you proceed to make fun of me 😃😃

→ wyattjohnston_ no you told me

→ logan.stankoven and me

→ jpav8 and wyatt told me

→ hhinee you told me as well

→ miroheiskanen i also know

→ matt9duchene so do i

→ tseguin92 oh you told me too

→ t.harley48 don’t forget about me

→ jake30oettinger you literally told me too

→ mush__27 good lord how many people did you tell (i know about it too)

→ ilia_quadg0d_malinin you told an ENTIRE nhl team. yourusername

→ yourusername ……..i told you first…..?

→ jasonrob19 what are we talking about

nickrobertson01 that’s not one of your jackets…

→ yourusername how would you know if you haven’t been in my closet 🤨

→ nickrobertson01 you just gave me a closet tour on ft yesterday…..?

→ jasonrob19 then whose jacket is it?????

→ yourusername no one i swear it’s mine 😰😰

jamiebenn14 is that not a literal nightgown?

→ yourusername stop judging my stylistic choices 💔

→ tseguin82 THAT’S WHAT I WAS THINKING

→ yourusername you old men are NOT hip with the kids

→ jpav8 you’re breaking our hearts here 😔😔

username33 is that or is that not the outside of an ice rink???

username20 i swear to god she’s seeing trevor

username94 someone tell me i’m insane because i swear i’ve seen the ducks practice there before

→ username17 no no you’re not insane i think you’re right 😰

→ username11 lmfao maybe she just practices there too???

hhinee so to be clear, “him” is HIM right?

→ yourusername yes yes you’re right roop

→ jasonrob19 why do i not know what you’re talking about

username6 IF I’M RIGHT, i think i’ve seen that backpack in the background of one of trevor’s stories before…

logan.stankoven so what i’m hearing is if you hang out with him, you leave us alone?

→ yourusername what happened to the kid that BEGGED for my autograph when i showed up to one of the texas stars games

→ logan.stankoven YOU SAID YOU WOULD NEVER BRING THAT UP

→ yourusername 🙄

→ wyattjohnston_ HE BEGGED?????

_quinnhughes cool fit i like it 👍

→ yourusername aw thank you ☺️

→ username37 OH MY GOD IS IT QUINN

→ username72 WHAT THE FUCK WAIT A SECOND

colecaufield i see you’ve been gaining more attention..

→ yourusername are you saying i’m not successful enough to regularly get attention??

→ colecaufield oh my god YOU ALWAYS DO THIS

_alexturcotte i have never seen someone leave mid-convo as quickly as i just did

→ yourusername you were with him?

→ _alexturcotte no he just stopped typing all of a sudden

→ yourusername so you were.. texting him????

→ _alexturcotte yeah??

→ yourusername THEN HOW TF DID YOU SEE HIM LEAVE??

→ _alexturcotte I DONT FUCKING KNOW I WAS JUST YAPPING

→ yourusername you know for someone so smart, sometimes you make no sense 😭

mush__27 you being 1,500 miles away should be a crime

→ yourusername oh stop complaining i was literally back home like 8 hours ago

username17 has trevor not commented yet??

→ username99 it’s not as if he comments frequently

jake30oettinger you’re so not slick

→ yourusername that’s great i’m so glad you noticed even though you literally didn’t know until i told you!

→ jasonrob19 PLEASE GOD JUST TELL ME 😔

next chapter notes ) your bitch is back with a trevor au and this time it’s gonna be irl + smau because i was fucking STRUGGLING with feather.. and also i’m thinking of the nickname being lacey because i think it’s just so cute and also i got a whole backstory and all… 😈 but regarding ilia malinin and all of my favorite dallas stars.. yall might have to know some stars and figure skating lore for this one but i don’t really think it’s gonna affect the plot of the story or the story itself (you just might not know who anyone is 😭😭) as always if you wanna be tagged, just comment or dm me!!

[starshine-hockey-girl]

The Dove and The Serpent- Magical Mystery Ride- Chapter Twenty Six

Summary: Teddy and Tyler work together to help Teddy survive a significant anniversary

Author's Note: Okay, I went full-on Lifetime movie with the drama on this one. It's probably not realistic, plausible-blah, blah, blah. I don't care. Teddy and Tyler need a little drama

Warnings- discussions of past abuse, alcohol use, drama for drama's sake

@pattiemac1 @laurenairay @penstxgal1968 @hedoublehockeystix

January 8th- Team Hotel- Winnipeg

Tyler picked up his phone and initiated a FaceTime call with Teddy. He had just returned from morning skate at the Winnipeg arena and was in jovial spirits. The beautiful redhead answered from her desk in her studio. 

Teddy: Hey Sweet One- give me a second to save this video

Tyler: Oh sure, I see your priorities.

Teddy: Bite me Tyler- bite me

Tyler: Oh, I didn’t realize that you were into the kinky shit. Good to know. 

Teddy: Are you trying to torment me right now?

Tyler: No, I am trying to banter with you like we do EVERY DAY.

Teddy: Not in the mood to banter right now. 

Tyler: Why not?

Teddy: It’s that time of the year. 

Tyler: What time of the year? You have me confused. It happens a lot, but explain it to me.

Teddy: It’s almost the anniversary of ……..

Tyler: What anniversary? We don’t have any anniversaries in January. If I remember last January you ghosted me for almost a week. 

Teddy: Yes, I ghosted you the week of the anniversary last year. 

Tyler: WHAT ANNIVERSARY???

Teddy: The anniversary of when Chaz assaulted me the last time- when he put me in the hospital.

Tyler: Fuck

Teddy: Yeah, fuck. I get this way every year. I’m sorry. 

Tyler: When is the actual date? 

Teddy: January 10th. You have a game in Philly. 

Tyler: Why do you know my schedule better than me?

Teddy stared at him in disbelief. 

Tyler: Nevermind. I know why.

Teddy asked: Why?

Tyler: Because of your superior brain and intellect?

Teddy stared again. 

Tyler: What can I do? What can I do to help?

Teddy sighed and spoke: Nothing. There isn’t anything that anyone can do. 

Tyler bit his lip and thought for a moment. He hated to see her in turmoil. Being on the road made him feel powerless and useless to help her. Suddenly a light bulb went off in his brain. 

Tyler: Can I ask you a question?

Teddy: Shoot.

Tyler: Would coming to see me help? You could fly out early and meet me in Philly tomorrow. I can’t be with you all day on the 10th, but I can do at least the morning and afternoon until the game. 

Teddy’s voice cracked: Won’t you have morning skate?

Tyler: I will skip it. 

Teddy asked softly: You would really skip it for me?

Tyler: Of course I would skip it for you. You need me more. 

Teddy: I do need you Tyler. I need you more than I thought I ever would.

Tyler: Is that a bad thing?

Teddy: No, it’s a good thing. You have never let me down. 

Tyler: So we have a plan? I will see you in Philly on the 9th?

Teddy: Yes, I will make the arrangements. 

Tyler: What can I do in the meantime? How can I make it better?

Teddy: Just you wanting to make it better helps. 

Tyler: I love you, Pretty One. You don’t have to do it alone this year. 

Teddy: How did you know that I did it alone last year?

Tyler: Because you ghosted me for a whole week. It was horrible. I forgive you though because you’re cute. 

Teddy laughed: Thanks

Tyler: Do you need the words?

Teddy: Yes, please.

Tyler: Who do I want?

Teddy: Me and only me

Tyler: Who do I love?

Teddy: Me and only me

Tyler: Who is my lady?

Teddy: Me and only me

Tyler: Talk to you after the game, before I get on the plane tonight.

Teddy: Hey Sweet One….

Tyler: Yes Pretty One

Teddy: Thank you. Thank you for not letting me be alone.

Tyler: My pleasure

January 9th- Philadelphia Airport 

Teddy walked through the sliding glass door that separated the terminal from the baggage claim and exit. She had her head down when she heard a voice called, "Teddy….Teddy Baxter!" Her eyes scanned the area for her driver but saw no one in a uniform. Again the voice called, "Teddy…. Teddy Baxter!" In a much louder voice. Something about the voice seemed entirely familiar. She searched again- still no driver. Something else caught her attention- a giant stuffed Teddy Bear. The bear was holding a sign that said "Pretty One." She smiled and  walked toward the bear quickly. 

When she stood in front of the bear, she took notice of the arms and hands wrapped around the huge teddy bear. The arms are covered in detailed tattoos. She leaned her head and looked around the bear. Tyler flashed his signature smile, "about damn time. This thing is heavy." He dropped the bear and pulled Teddy into his arms. "Now here's the Teddy Bear I love," he teased as he kissed her cheek. Teddy smiled at the teddy bear before she nuzzled her face into his neck. "Pretty One? You okay?" he asked.

"I will be. I will be soon," she whispered, "I am here. I am not alone."

"You don't have to be alone anymore, Pretty One," he wrapped his arms around and squeezed her tight.

"Ummm, Sweet One? What's up with the bear?" she asked.

“I don’t know. You tell me,” he said in confusion.

“What do you mean tell you? Why would I know about the bear?” she replied equally confused. 

“You didn’t send it? It was my room when I checked in last night,” he responded, “It had a note too.”

“What did it say?” she questioned. 

“I can’t wait to cuddle with you. Love, Teddy Bear,” he answered.

“Love, Teddy Bear? Really?” she scoffed. 

"Teddy Bear? Like your name?" He joked.

"When have you ever heard me refer to myself as Teddy Bear? Only two people on the planet call me Teddy Bear." she said gently. 

"Oh," Tyler replied, "so you didn’t send the bear?"

“Nope, definitely not me,” she pondered, “Who sent it?”

“Maybe it was one of the guys?” he said sheepishly, “I may have been talking non-stop about how excited I was to see you.”

“You think?” she wondered. It was a plausible enough explanation. She shook her head and decided to get with it. 

“So do you want the bear or not?” he laughed. 

"Hell yes, I want the bear. I want you more though," she teased.

"Good- now you can carry that thing. It's ruining my rep," he laughed as he took her overnight bag from her shoulder.

"What rep is that?" she laughed as she picked up the bear, "a big old softie? A mushy gushy boyfriend?"

"Teddy, I am a badass," he countered. She raised an eyebrow as they walked to the waiting SUV. "Okay, a badass AND mushy gushy boyfriend. What the fuck happened to me?" he admitted. She smiled brightly and he groaned, "You- you happened to me. You put a spell on me."

"Me? Little ole innocent me?” she batted her eyes.

"Shut up and get in the car. It's freezing out here," he gruffed.

At the hotel, Tyler opened the door to his room. He set Teddy's bag on the floor by the window while she set the bear in the club chair. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her head against his back. She looked over and noticed Tyler's bag on the floor. "Ummm, Sweet One- why are your bags in my room?" She questioned.

"Because technically, it's my room," he answered as he walked them over to the bed.

"Is that allowed?" Teddy balked, "I don't want you to get into trouble."

Tyler sat down on the bed, pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist "Again, technically it would be frowned upon especially if I don't play well tomorrow. It will give me an incentive to score," he explained. She frowned. "Teddy," he added, "There is a room with your name on it. Nobody is going to come check the beds. I won't get in trouble." He gazed into her eyes and pushed her hair behind her ears. "If I get in trouble, then I get in trouble but I can't let you wake up alone tomorrow. I can't let you wake up alone on the anniversary," he continued.

Teddy leaned forward and kissed him gently. He pulled her down on top of him, "Don't worry, Pretty One," he moaned as she straddled his waist and pushed up his shirt, "Don't worry."

They kissed slowly as Tyler's hands pushed Teddy's sweater over her head. His mouth immediately went to her bra covered breasts. He pulled the bra cups down and began to suck and lick. Teddy's hips rocked against his crotch as she leaned down to give Tyler better access. His hands slid under her skirt and he groaned loudly. "Fucking commando," he growled as he flipped them over onto her back. He looked up as he reached to unbuckle his pants and push them down. The giant bear stared at him. He looked down and back. He muttered under his breath, "Damn bear-quit looking at me. I am trying to fuck here." 

Teddy's head turned and she grinned, "Don't talk that way to Beaux. He is a sensitive soul."

"He has a name already? You bonded quickly there, Pretty One. Make him stop staring" Tyler whined.

"Go, turn him around," she giggled, "turn him around if he is bothering you."

He kissed her hard, "Don't move." He shimmied out of his pants and boxers and hopped over to Beaux and turned the bear around. "Sorry dude, I am not going to get cock blocked by a stuffed animal." He returned to Teddy and kissed her neck, "Now where was I? Oh yes, I was showing my girlfriend what it's like to be fucked by an bad ass."

"Only if I get to sleep with the mushy gushy boyfriend afterwards," purred slowly.

"Your wish is my command," he answered.

LATER ON

Tyler’s fingers slowly stroked her back. She snored lightly as her head rested on his tattooed chest. A soft smile spread across her face. A light moan escaped as she wiggled beneath his touch. “Pretty One,” he whispered, “You need to wake up. It’s time to go to dinner.” She shook her head in defiance. “I made reservations for us….” he hummed out loud. 

“Reservations? Like in a fancy place?” she sat up straight. 

“Yes- that’s why I told you to pack a dress,” he smiled up at her. 

“You’re taking me to a fancy place in Philly?” she poked his abs. 

“Why are you talking like I never take you to any fancy places?” he joked, “I take you to fancy places, Teddy.” 

Teddy opened her mouth to argue. It was true that they did go to upscale restaurants in Dallas, but it was always with another couple or team outing. The last time he had taken her solo was their first date. She smiled at the memory of his nervousness and desire to impress her with the private dining room. 

As if reading her mind, Tyler spoke, “Remember you said that you would be happier doing our thing at home instead of fancy places. You only have yourself to blame.”

Teddy playfully pouted, “Well played Seggy, well played.” She dragged her finger down his rock hard abs. “Where are you taking me?” she teased, “Tell me, tell me, tell me”

“No, I am not telling you,” he laughed, “You will just have to trust me.”

Teddy lifted her leg and straddled his waist. She leaned forward and pressed her chest into his chest and kissed his neck. “You know I trust you,” she whispered, “I trust you more than any other person on the planet.” Her hips rocked against him and she could feel his body respond. 

Tyler wrapped his arms around her waist, “Even more than your dad?”

“Please don’t mention my father while I am dry humping you, Sweet One,” she moaned.

“Pretty One, that’s not dry humping. It feels pretty wet to me,” he returned her moan.

“Going to do anything with it?” she teased. 

He rolled them over so that he was on top of her, wrapping her leg over his hip, “Guess we are going to be late for that reservation,”

“I hope so,” she murmured, “I hope we are very late for that reservation.”

LATER

Tyler held Teddy’s hand as they walked through the hotel lobby. She stopped to put on her gloves before they walked into the brisk night air. Tyler looked especially dapper in his navy wool coat and suit. She grabbed his coat label and pulled him in for a kiss. He smiled down at her, “You are especially smushy tonight. What gives?” 

She gazed into his eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath, “You know I am going to be in my head a lot, especially tomorrow.” She blinked back tears, “I am just thankful that the part of my life is behind me and now I have you. So, yeah, expect a lot of smush from me. I hit the jackpot.”

He nodded solemnly and flashed a smile, “It feels nice to be appreciated. I will take all the smush if I can return it to you. Besides-everyone knows, I hit the jackpot-not you.” He kissed her quickly then grabbed her hand. She wrapped her coat around her as they stepped outside. A shorter brunette man pushed past Tyler, forcing Tyler to turn around. "Hey," Tyler called after doing a quick visual scan to ensure Teddy was okay, "watch where you're going!" The stranger called back, "Sorry Seggy" before slipping into the crowd. The sound of the voice made Teddy stop dead in her tracks. She turned to look for the source, but the man had disappeared into the crowd. Tyler pulled at Teddy's hand and she turned to him, "Everything okay?" 

Teddy gulped and started walking again, "Yeah, just got in my head again. Let's go!" They climbed into the Uber and made the drive to the restaurant.

At the restaurant, Tyler handed over their coats at the coat check before he turned to look at Teddy. She adjusted her dress to emphasize her cleavage. The deep blue velvet fabric clung to her curves with a deep v-neckline and thigh high slit. Tyler licked his lips involuntarily before he again placed his hand in the small back. "What is this fabric? He asked as his hand ran up and down her back. The hostess led them to a small private room. 

"It's called velvet," she giggled, "Did you learn nothing in school?"

"I played hockey so I learned forechecking and backchecking."  His hand snaked around her waist and down her hip. "Can I just rub my face on it?" he asked, "just on the tits?"

"No, you may not motorboat me in public," she chided him.

"Oh so I can in private? Good to know" he retorted.

Teddy's eyes got big as they walked into the room. The room had a fireplace and was aglow with hundreds of lit candles. Flowers adorned the mantle while a low floral arrangement sat in the middle of the table. "Sweet One, what is this?" she said softly.

"Remind you of anything?" He asked.

"Our first date," she smiled.

"Good, it worked," he smiled in return.

"Worked?" She asked.

"I want to remind you of a good memory and not a bad one," he said softly, "It worked, didn't it?"

Teddy smiled sweetly at him. His face looked so expectant and hopeful. His heart was in the right place even if his plan was naive at best. She placed her hand over his and squeezed softly. "That's not the way this works, Sweet One," she explained, "I just can't tell my brain 'don't think about it' as if I can control the thoughts. Random sights and sounds will trigger a memory. It comes in waves."

"But I want to make it better. I don't want you to be in pain," he said tenderly as he brought her hand to his lips, "Tell me what you need."

"I need you to be there when the waves come. I need you to hold me and remind me that I can swim. Sometimes the waves wash over me and I think I am drowning when actually I just need to stand up," she spoke gently, "I can't tell you how much it means to me that you want to make it better. You love me so well, Sweet One."

"I love you so well because you love me so well," he whispered as the server came to take their orders. When they left, Tyler's fingers went to her velvet sleeve, "You need to wear this dress every day. I am obsessed," he complimented, "You have never looked more beautiful."

"It's the boobs," she looked down at deep v-cut neckline and smiled, "but I appreciate the compliment." Their drinks arrived and they got caught up in conversation about the road trip. By the time that dessert arrived, Teddy was walking the fine line between sober and tipsy. The coffee with Kahlua pushed her over the line. Tyler smiled as Teddy relocated from her chair to his lap as he signed the bill. Her mouth went to his neck as he struggled to sign it. "We need to leave to get back for curfew, right?" she asked.

Tyler's hand rubbed the velvet that covered her thigh and smirked. "We need to leave so I can get this dress off of you," he quipped.

Teddy made an exaggerated yawning movement, complete with arm and back stretch. The result was her breasts practically in his face. "You are right," she sighed, "I can't wait to get out of this dress and into some comfy pajamas. I need to get to bed. I am soooooo tired."

Tyler blinked slowly before giving her a nervous smile. She stared back at him blankly. "Pretty One," he squeaked out, "Are you being serious? You want to go to sleep?"

She kissed his cheek, "Oh, you wanted to do something else? Such as what?"

Tyler gently pushed her out of his lap as he stood. He shook his head at her feigned innocence, "No, bed sounds great." His hand found the small of her back that immediately began caressing the fabric again. Teddy grabbed his hand as he guided her to the coat check and then out of the restaurant. In the Uber, she sat as close to his body as the seat belt would allow before resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arm around his waist. He gently stroked her back as they rode in contented silence back to the hotel.

The hotel lobby was full of drunken businessmen and women who were shamelessly flirting with each other without the prying eyes of their spouses. Teddy and Tyler were almost to the elevator when she heard the low call of "Dovey, Lovey Dovey- come here Lovey Dovey." She stopped in her tracks and scanned the elevator lobby. Her breath hitched and her heart raced. It was HIS voice. She knew it and she felt it. Tyler turned around with a smile, "I thought you wanted to go to bed, Pretty One." He looked at her face. The panic had reached into her eyes and her heart raced. She spun around in search of him. "Not yet, Dovey, not yet" the voice called. Teddy's knees buckled and Tyler scooped her back up.

"Pretty One, talk to me," he demanded, "What's happening? Teddy's mind raced. 

The rational side of her brain screamed out loud. "This can't be happening. He can't be here. Why would he be here? You are not in Dallas. How would he find out you are in Philadelphia?" The voices chanted. She nodded and listened. They were right. She was hearing things. She wasn't in danger. She was fine. Tyler was here and she was fine. She turned to him with a shy smile, "I was getting in my head. It's nothing."

Tyler tilted his head, "Are you sure?"  She walked up to him and kissed his cheek. The elevator door opened up and they stepped inside. He walked backwards to lean against the elevator wall. Teddy stepped towards him and he pulled her in tight. "Are you sure I can't convince you not to sleep right away?" he whispered when a male form came into his view. Tyler looked into the man's eyes as he lifted his foot to hit the door close button. "Sorry, man- I am going to do unmentionable things to her in this elevator," Tyler smiled as Teddy's hand reached down and palmed his crotch. The bearded man with dark eyes and curly hair blinked and took a step toward the door before it closed. A chill ran down Teddy's spine. She turned to see her reflection on the metal elevator door. Tyler kissed her shoulder, "It was nobody." 

On the first floor, Chaz stood motionless and stared at the elevator door in disbelief. His Dovey was actually here in Philadelphia and was within his grasp. He smiled and turned to go home to his apartment. He thought to himself, "It is time to clip those wings again, Dovey, and I am going to be the one to do it."

NEXT MORNING- TYLER'S HOTEL ROOM

Tyler groaned as his eye fluttered open and his arm reached to pull Teddy closer to him. Having a warm body next to him on the road was a rare luxury. He planned on making the most of it.Teddy had been too nervous to push the envelope in November, but he had made a convincing argument yesterday so she had stayed to sleep with him. However, when he reached out, there was no Teddy to be found. 

He sat up and looked around the room. Her stuff was still neatly organized on the desk. He twisted his body and saw the glow of the bathroom light coming from underneath the door. "Oh, she's peeing," he thought to himself as closed his eyes again. Within a minute, he was asleep again.

In the bathroom, Teddy paced back and forth. She had been awake for nearly two hours. The first hour she had laid silently next to Tyler and listened to him breathe. She tried to will herself to wrap her body into his arms, but the idea seemed suffocating. She rang in the second hour by taking a long, hot bath. Her mind raced with a memory from THAT night which had emerged from the depths of her memory. "Dovey, you are still mine. You will always be mine. No one else will want you." he had breathed into her ear. The intense pain from the assault resonated throughout her body. She eventually gave up any hope of relaxation in the bath and began her pacing. She checked the time and did the mental math of the time difference. She inhaled deeply and pressed the dial button. On the second ring, Steve, head of corporate security for Baxter Enterprises, picked up. 

Steve: This is Steve

Teddy: Hi, Steve. This is Theordora Baxter, Robert’s daughter

Steve: I know Teddy

Teddy: I remembered that you said that you were an early riser so I hope I didn’t wake you. 

Steve looked at the time. It was currently 5 AM Dallas time and he was in the process of checking the global security alerts. 

Steve: I have been up for a while. How can I help you?

Teddy’s voice got smaller: This may be nothing, but I remember that you said that you would rather me come to you with nothing than take the risk. 

Steve: Yes, I did say that. Tell me what’s going on. 

Teddy: It’s probably all in my head,  but I think that Chaz might be trying to contact me.

Steve’s attention became laser-focused and grabbed a legal pad and pen. 

Steve: What makes you think that, Teddy? Where are you?

Teddy: I am in Philadelphia. I came to visit Tyler for his road game. 

Steve made notes as he listened. 

Steve: Is it unusual for you to visit Tyler on the road?

Teddy: Yes, I have only done it once before. 

Steve: Was there a reason for this visit? 

Teddy: Tyler thought it might be a good idea to get my mind off of the anniversary

Steve: The anniversary of what?

Teddy: The anniversary of Chaz’s last assault- the one that landed me in the hospital. It was  five years ago today. 

Steve scrambled to his computer to log-in to the secure folders. Steve had only been in his role for nine months and only knew high level details about Charles “Chaz” Williams and his abuse towards Teddy. 

Steve: What makes you think that he is attempting contact?

Teddy explained the mysterious bear in Tyler’s room and the two times that she had heard his voice. 

Steve: Okay, Teddy- I am coming to you. I can be wheels up in less than an hour. I should be there in less than four hours. Please text me the hotel details. 

Teddy shakily: Are you sure? It may be nothing. 

Steve: If it’s nothing, then at least I will get a good cheesesteak out of it and we can take in the game together. Now, I will have to update your father. 

Teddy: I would rather you didn’t

Steve: It’s non-negotiable. In fact, everything that I do between now and when I determine Chaz is not a risk is non-negotiable. 

Teddy: Okay. I will see you after ten then. 

Steve: Teddy?

Teddy: Yes

Steve: I am glad that you called. 

Teddy: Me too

Teddy placed her phone on the counter and examined her reflection in the mirror with a cold, demanding eye. She could feel the wave of guilt and shame rising within her. Her father would know. Her father would know that Chaz was potentially back. It would be like reliving that moment when he found out about the attack. The look of shock and horror on his face forever etched on her brain. The voices of anxiety added to the guilt and shame created a cacophony in her brain. Just below the surface of the noise came the small voice that repeated, “Get Tyler. Go to Tyler and ask for help.” She opened the door and stepped into the room. His eyes fluttered with the sound of the door. Once again, he reached for her and found emptiness. He sat up, half asleep, “Pretty One? Pretty One, where are you?”

“I’m here,” she said softly. He turned to look at her and saw her tear stained face. He simply held up his arms and she ran to the bed. Teddy climbed into the bed and clung to him. “Tyler, I’m drowning….. I’m drowning,” she whispered over and over. 

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I am here and you can swim. Remember you are strong and you can swim,” he assured her. He squeezed her tight and rocked, “You are so strong and you can swim.” He repeated it over and over until her breath returned to normal and the tears stopped. They laid in silence before Teddy whispered, “We need to talk.”

Tyler, "Tell me."

Teddy, "I think Chaz is trying to make contact with me. I have a bad feeling. The last time I felt like this was right before the last time he attacked me."

Tyler rubbed her back as she trembled, "Are you sure it's not your anxiety?"

Teddy, "I think I heard his voice last night. Once when we were leaving the hotel- right after you got bumped. Then again when we were standing by the elevator. The voice used his nickname for me. The nickname he used before he would beat me."

Tyler flinched at the word beat. He spoke quickly, "but your anxiety knows that, right? It could still be a mind fuck."

Teddy looked into his eyes, "Then who sent the bear? Someone from the team sending it is weak at best. Seriously- tell me who would go through the effort?"

The question stumped Tyler. He briefly considered if Benn would do it but quickly dismissed the idea. Teddy and Benn had just established a friendly relationship and ceased fire in their long running feud. Benn would not take a chance on restarting the feud so quickly. Katie would not forgive him. None of the other players could be considered a real suspect. Tyler's brow furrowed as he tried to formulate a guess. "I got…. I got nothing," he finally admitted. "What do we do if he is trying to contact you? He isn't allowed to do that l, right?"

"He could be arrested for violating the protective order. There are no guarantees though," Teddy grimaced, "I don't know what we do if he is trying to contact me, but I knew who to call."

Tyler, "You called someone? When? Pretty One, it's six fifteen. Who can you call this early?"

Teddy answered, "I called Steve, my father's head of security. He will be here after ten."

Tyler, "Holy shit. Why is he coming here?"

Teddy made a face, "For me- he is coming to protect me until he can determine what is actually happening. Most likely there is a team who are currently working furiously to locate Chaz and get eyes on him."

"What am I? Chopped Liver?" Tyler scoffed. She stared at him. "You think I can't or won't protect you?" he spoke softly as he sat up in bed. She sat up and placed her hand on his forearm. "Do you really think that?" he sighed.

"I think you would do everything in your power to take care of and protect me. You have done it so well- emotionally, psychologically and physically you have kept me safe from harm," she kissed his shoulder, "but you are not an expert. You also have a morning skate and a game. You cannot protect me then. Who knows? This may be entirely in my head. We will know more when he arrives."

Tyler pushed her hair back, "so did you sleep at all?" She shrugged her shoulders. Tyler frowned, "What happened?" She shook her head no. "You can't tell me?" His voice suddenly became soft. 

"A memory came back," she whispered, "That is all I am willing to say because it's that horrible."

Tyler kissed her forehead, "How is your anxiety twisting it?"

Teddy smiled sardonically, "Oh, the greatest hits- I am broken beyond repair, I am a burden to everyone around me and nobody wants me." She forced a smile, "but hey, my mind does immediately counter with 'but Tyler wants you' so I am counting it as progress."

"I do want you," he kissed her softly, "You are not a burden and you are fabulously flawed."

"Fabulously flawed?" She laughed.

"Perfect to me," he countered, "others may be slightly more critical. I am blinded by love."

Baxter Enterprises Corporate Jet- Dallas Love Field

Robert Baxter bounded up the stairs to board the private jet. He had received a brief text from Steve thirty minutes earlier that simply read, “Teddy in possible danger. Going to Philadelphia to investigate. Wheels up in thirty minutes.” Robert abandoned his early morning workout and threw clothes together. When the security team heard his footsteps, a hush came over the plane. Robert barked, “What the fuck is going on?”

Steve stood, “We’ll get into details after we take off. Short story- Teddy thinks that Chaz might be attempting to contact her. She called this morning. I believe there is enough circumstantial evidence to take the possible threat seriously. I want to get eyes on her and assess the situation.”

Robert turned the pilot, “Get us into the air. Get us into the air NOW!” 

After take off he turned to Steve, “Tell me that you know where he is. Tell me that you know where that fucker is.”

Steve inhaled deeply and spoke slowly, “No, we do not have a current location for him.”

Robert blinked, “Why? Why don’t you know?”

Steve answered, “Do you want the long or short answer?”

Robert yelled, “I want a fucking answer.”

Steve replied, “Short answer is that we dropped the ball.”

Robert hissed, “We? As in both of us?”

Steve answered, “Exactly.”

Robert balked, “Explain it to me.”

Steve explained, “From what I could gather in the last thirty minutes of searching, at one point, knowledge of Chaz’s whereabouts was maintained by an outside source who provided monthly reports to my predecessor who then reported it to you. It appears that almost eighteen months ago, the relationship with the outside source was terminated and the information ceased. I am not sure if he continued to update you with false information or you ceased to ask for the updates.”

Robert blinked. Steve’s predecessor was Mike Jackson who was an old school security guy before he retired. The timing of Steve’s information seemed correct. Truthfully, Robert couldn’t remember that last time that he had been updated on Chaz. It was long enough that it never became a part of Robert’s weekly meetings with Steve who had been in his role a little over a year. Steve wasn’t maintaining the knowledge because he had never been given direction to do so. Robert had failed to instruct him to do so. Robert kicked himself mentally. He had failed Teddy. She was possibly in danger because he had not kept his eye on the ball. 

Robert was lost in his thoughts when Steve cleared his throat. “Mr. Baxter, we can’t go back in time and fix the past. We just need to work from here. Thankfully we do have vital information and we are working on getting a location for him. We are also working on a plan to protect Teddy. It’s important that you keep your focus here. Can you do that for me?”

Robert nodded his head. “Oh my God, I have to tell Elizabeth,” he thought to himself. She will be beside herself with anxiety. “I’ll tell her when we have more information,”

Wells Fargo Center- Philadelphia

“Hey Seggy,” Todd, the equipment assistant, called out as Tyler walked in with Bishop for morning skate, “The Flyers staff dropped off a package for you. They said that you were expecting it?”

Tyler’s eyebrows raised, “I am not expecting anything. Where is it?”

“I put it in your spot. You better save me some,” he called back.

Tyler walked in, saw the familiar tin and smiled. “Teddy,” he thought to himself. He went over and opened it. Sure enough, there sat two dozen of Teddy’s infamous snickerdoodle cookies. Benn appeared behind him and exclaimed, “Cookies!” He reached over Tyler’s shoulder and snagged a cookie. 

“Hey, those are for me,” Tyler protested as Benn shoved the cookie into his mouth. 

The captain’s eyes widened as he ran to the trash can. He spit out the cookie and gasped, “Water. I need water.” Tyler looked on in confusion as he handed him a water bottle. “What the fuck was that, Seggy? Some kind of joke?” Benn choked out. “If she wanted to prank me, game on,” he spit out. 

Tyler laughed, “What the hell are you talking about? How would Teddy know that you would STEAL one of MY cookies? What’s wrong with them? Teddy doesn’t make bad cookies.”

Benn disagreed, “Those taste like a whole container of salt or something is in them. They are horrible.” 

Tyler looked at the container again. While at first glance it was similar to Teddy’s tins, it wasn’t the same. Her tins were blue with silver filigree and this tin was blue with gold filigree. He took out a cookie and sniffed it gingerly. There was nothing on the smell. He gave it a small lick and tasted the overwhelming flavor of salt. Something was definitely off. He picked up the phone and dialed Teddy. It went straight to voicemail. “She must be getting ready for Steve,” he thought to himself. He shrugged and walked over to the trash can. He almost threw it in the can before deciding to keep it in order to show Teddy herself. 

Team Hotel- Philadelphia

Robert and Steve walked in quickly into the hotel lobby. Robert looked down at his phone and remarked, “We are in the USS Blue Ridge boardroom.” His assistant, Mary, had secured hotel rooms and a conference room to serve as base of operations. The team raced to the room to begin setting up. Inside the room, Teddy paced. She dressed casually in her favorite Tyler hoodie and sweats. The commotion over the team entering the room caused her to look up and lock eyes with her father. “Teddy,” he called to her as she walked to him. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her steel her spine beneath his touch. “It’s okay, Teddy,” her father soothed, “I am here and everything will be okay.”

“Daddio, I didn’t mean for you to come. You have that big meeting tomorrow. It’s a huge deal,” she answered quietly, “We are not even sure it’s him.

“Sir,” a female voice shouted out as she entered the room, “I think I have something.” She walked over with the head of security for the hotel. “This is footage of the delivery of the large stuffed animal to the front desk yesterday morning.” The team gathered around the laptop to watch the footage. The face of the person was obscured when entering the lobby but could clearly be seen while exiting. All heads turned to Teddy in question and she nodded her head in confirmation. It was Chaz. 

“So it was him last night, too?” she asked as the door to the ballroom opened. Tyler walked in, holding the tin of cookies. Teddy reached out her hand to him and he walked quickly to her. He put the tin down on the table and wrapped his arms around her body. She leaned back against his chest. 

Trish, the female security analyst, asked, “What time was it?”

Teddy thought for a second, “It would have been about six fifteen. That’s when we were leaving for our dinner reservation.” She sighed softly. How quickly her world shifted in the span of sixteen hours. Trish nodded her head and pulled up the cameras from that time. Tyler and Teddy entered the shot. They exited the building and the bump could be seen at a distance. A few seconds later Chaz entered the building. 

Tyler leaned closer to the screen, “Wait, that’s Chaz? I know that face. I saw him last night.”

“Yes, when he bumped you,” Teddy agreed. 

“No, it was later,” Tyler corrected, “When we came back. He tried to get on the elevator with us, but I kicked the door close button.” 

“Are you certain it was him?” Steve asked. 

“One hundred percent,” Tyler answered. 

Steve shook his head, “Okay- people we have confirmation that Chaz is in Philly. Now let’s track his ass down.” 

Team went into a flurry of activity. Teddy and Tyler stood by the side and watched for a few minutes. “Sweet One,” she said quietly, “You need to go eat your lunch and take your nap. There is no use getting out of your routine.” After a few minutes of spirited discussion, it became clear that Teddy would not budge from her position. “Please, Tyler,” she pleaded, “It will give me more anxiety for you to be here. Not because I don’t want you here, but I don’t want to mess your routine up.” Tyler gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and headed to the other ballroom to eat with the team. 

Throughout the afternoon, bits and pieces of Chaz’s information began to crystallize. He had started a new job at a local advertising agency in the summer of 2018. Records indicated that he rented a large apartment overlooking FDR park near the Wells Fargo Center. Nothing suspicious could be found on his rarely used social media. He seemed to favor Instagram over all the others. The investigation came to stand still by late afternoon. After conferring, the team decided that while annoying, Chaz posed a limited physical threat to Teddy while she was surrounded by the team. That threat would be severely diminished by Teddy’s quick return to Dallas. Therefore, Steve, Robert and the team agreed that there wouldn’t be an issue with Teddy attending the game, providing she took Trish as an escort. Teddy bristled at the idea but finally succumbed and agreed. 

Teddy and Trish dressed for the game. (Teddy insisted that Trish dress casually for the game as well.) Both heeded the advice of Tyler in wearing plain, nondescript sweatshirts to prevent any trouble from rambunctious Flyers fans. They headed out for a quick dinner before the game at Tyler’s insistence. Robert, Steven and team would pack up the war room and also attend the game. They would depart for Dallas immediately following the game. 

Steve, Robert and team were packing the war room when a floral delivery was brought in by hotel staff. The flowers were delivered to the attention of Teddy. The large vase of white gladiolus and carnations were ostentatious in size and presentation. Robert opened the card and read “Teddy- Thank you for always being the wind beneath my wings. Too bad that you had to have Daddio clip them for you. Why did you call him in to save the day? Didn’t trust Pretty Boy to protect you? Wise decision. You’re still mine, Lovey Dovey”

"Motherfucker," Robert muttered. Steve’s head popped up in surprise. "He is watching us."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

“He knows that I am here which means that he has eyes on the hotel,” Robert quipped, “We’ll be done here in the next fifteen minutes. Keep your eyes open for him but we should be in the clear.”  The remaining computer and equipment were boxed up when Steve’s eyes fell on the cookie tin. “Where did this come from?” Steve asked. 

“Tyler brought it with him from the morning skate,” Robert said, “He must have forgotten when he went upstairs. It looks like Teddy made him some cookies for the game.”

Steve went over and picked up the tin and looked at it with concern. “Call Tyler. I have questions.” Robert obliged Steve’s request and got Tyler on the phone. 

Robert: Hey Tyler, I am going to put you on speaker phone. Steve has some questions for you. 

Tyler stood in the underbelly of the arena and waited.

Steve: Hey Tyler- I understand that you brought a tin of cookies into the ball room. They’re from Teddy, correct?

Tyler: Crap, I forgot about them. I thought at first they were from Teddy, but it doesn’t make sense now. 

Steve: Why doesn’t it make sense, Tyler?

Tyler: Well, first the tin LOOKS like the tins that Teddy uses for her cookies. If you look closely, it’s a different design. Also the cookies are awful. Teddy has never made a bad cookie in her life. 

Robert looked at the tin and confirmed. He opened it, took a bite of a cookie, then spit it out quickly

Steve: What else, Tyler?

Tyler: I don’t know how Teddy would have gotten it delivered to the locker room. First, why would she go to the trouble when we were in the same room together? Second, how would she have access to the building?

Steve’s eyes got wide. Tyler had a point. 

Steve: Tell me exactly what was said to you. 

Tyler explained that a member of the Flyers staff had given it to the equipment manager to deliver it to him. 

Steve: I need you to find that equipment manager. Find them right now. 

Tyler ran in search of Todd. He grabbed him by the arm and shoved the phone in his hand

Tyler: Okay, I got him. 

Steve: Hey Todd, who from the Flyers gave you the cookie tin for Tyler?

Todd: Ummmm, it was Chelsea. She is in charge of their social media. 

Steve pulled out his phone and checked the Flyers website. There it listed Chelsea Thomas, head of social media. He cross-referenced Chelsea on Instagram. 

“Get Trish on the phone. We have a problem,” Steve yelled.

“What’s the problem?” Robert asked. 

Steve handed the phone to Robert in disbelief. “Chaz has access to the arena,” Steve explained. Robert blinked and looked at the photo on Instagram. 

Inside the arena, Teddy and Trish made their way down to the rink for warm-ups. With the spotty service, both were oblivious to their phones blowing up. Trish glanced around the lower bowl of seats for any sign of Chaz. There were none. "Incoming," Trish whispered as a red-head approached Teddy. “Excuse me, aren’t you Teddy Baxter?” she said brightly. 

“That’s me,” Teddy answered warily. 

The red head flashed her badge to Teddy and Trish. “I’m Chelsea with the Flyers social media team. Can you come with me to do a quick bit for Instagram?” she asked. 

Teddy tilted her head in confusion, “Why would the Flyers want to do a bit with me? My boyfriend is the star of the opposing team.”

"We try to get Instagram influencer to participate when they are at games. It can be a great way to building your following," she said cheerfully. Chelsea glanced up at the concourse, “Come on, it will be fun. We can get the Stars in on it too,” 

"Oh, I would have to run it by my brand team first," Teddy shook her head no, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Chelsea pleaded, “Please? I really need you to do this for me.” 

Teddy again shook her head, “No, thank you.”

Teddy turned and focused her attention onto Tyler who smiled and took a running leap into the boards right in front of her. Then he turned with a dramatic flair, placed his hands on his heart and blew her a hiss. Teddy smiled and giggled.

Chelsea slowly walked up the stairs with a sense of dread filling her. At the top of the stairs, a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. “I thought I was clear in my instructions, Birdie,” Chaz hissed, “You were supposed to get the bitch up to me.”

Chelsea turned to him and cried, “Chaz, I tried. I really tried but she wouldn’t come. Please don’t hurt me.”

TO BE CONTINUED

[zegrasdrysdale]

[ impossible ] t. seguin

day eleven of malia’s christmas fic marathon

paring : Tyler Seguin x fem!reader

summary : (Y/N) is surprised when ex boyfriend Tyler knocks on the door of her parents’ house on Christmas Day

warning(s) : angsty, but nothing besides that

author’s note : last two fics of the christmas marathon. let’s do this

༺═──────────────═༻

She has never been happier to be home in Toronto. (Y/N) loves living in Dallas, but the last few weeks haven’t been the best. Being surrounded by family should help her out of the post-breakup funk she’s been in recently.

Even now as she's sitting in the living room with her family in her Christmas pajamas and opening their gifts, she misses Tyler. She misses her old life with Tyler, but she couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't keep doing the distance.

He was away more often than he was home. When he was home, he went out with his teammates after games or on off days. She'd often go weeks without seeing him because he'd stay over at a teammate's house.

She wasn't equal with hockey anymore. Not like she used to be. She got tired of it.

She never gave him an ultimatum because she could never make him choose between her and hockey. (Y/N) made her feelings known and Tyler didn't seem to care, so she has been living with her best friend in Dallas and came home for Christmas a week ago. She stopped answering Tyler's texts and calls so she hasn't even talked to him in nearly two months.

Her family doesn't notice that something's wrong. (Y/N) does her best to keep a smile on her face and interacts with her nieces and nephews as they open their gifts. No one has asked where Tyler is and she is very much grateful for that.

As (Y/N) opens a gift from her mom, there's a knock on the door. Her mom goes to answer it as she opens the box that contains a Dallas Stars customized jersey that has her last name above the 91. "Tyler!" her mother shouts from the front door. "It's so nice of you to join us. We didn't think you'd be joining us."

Her head snaps toward the door so quickly that she thought for a split second that she gave herself whiplash. She's very surprised to see her ex standing at the front door of her parents' house in Toronto.

"I needed to go see my parents before coming over," Tyler says as he looks right at (Y/N). "Sorry I'm late. I forgot how insane Toronto traffic can be."

Words cannot express how angry and annoyed she is that he is at the door. She thought that he would've gotten the message that she was done when she didn't talk to him for two months.

Apparently not because there he stands in a Stars hoodie and plaid pajama pants with a bag full of gifts at the front door.

She gets up off the floor and pushes Tyler out the door without a word to anyone. It closes behind her, leaving the two of them alone in the cold Toronto air. Snow is on the ground and she's outside in a tank top, fuzzy pajama pants, and slippers. (Y/N) can't even feel the cold because of the fact that she is fuming.

"You have no right showing up," she spits at him. "We haven't spoken in two months and you show up at my parents' house."

Tyler blinks and says, "Last time I checked, you're the one that stopped talking to me. I don't remember being told that I wasn't allowed to come to Christmas because you stopped answering my texts and calls."

"We're done, Tyler," she tells him. "In case that wasn't clear."

"You're done," he retorts. "I'm not. I don't understand why you just up and left."

"I told you why!" (Y/N) practically shouts. "You're gone for weeks at a time, Tyler. The only time I get to see you is when we're separated by a thick piece of glass while I'm sitting in the stands and you're on the ice. You used to spend off days with me, you used to come home to me and we'd watch a movie on the couch or in bed. Then you decided to go out after every game or go out on off days."

He runs a hand through his hair and says, "I am a leader, (Y/N). I was never around my team. I needed to show them that I am still a leader and I couldn't do that when I was cooped up at home with you. You knew what you were getting into when we started dating and all of a sudden, you can't handle it anymore?"

Anger courses through her veins. Her blood is boiling to the point where the snow might melt around her. "No," she retorts. "I can't do it anymore. You used to make time for me and now you're a ghost. I was living in a shell of our past life together while you seemed to be moving on. I was alone in that apartment. It was like I didn't have a boyfriend anymore. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal if I left."

A look of hurt flashes on Tyler's face. "Of course it would be a big deal if you left," he softly says. "I love you. I miss you."

She shakes her head and does everything she can to keep the tears from spilling over to her cheeks. "You didn't listen," she tells him. "I told you how I felt and you still went out that night after the game. I made the decision to leave because I knew that if you went out after I told you how I felt, you'd keep going out. I couldn't do it anymore."

Tyler frowns and says, "I went out to tell the guys that I wasn't going to be going out as much with them after games and on off days. That is the only reason I went out. I was gone for thirty minutes. When I came back to the apartment and you were gone, I realized that I didn't tell you that I'd be right back."

"I- you-" she cuts herself off when she realizes that if she had just stayed around for an hour, he would've been back. "Why didn't you just text that to me?"

"I thought that you'd be back," he admits. His eyes fall to the ground. "I didn't think you'd ignore me for two months. I didn't think it would take you a half hour to pack a bag and leave. I should've told you that I'd be right back."

A tear slips down Tyler's cheek. Her own tears begin to fall when she sees Tyler's tears. "Tyler, I'm so sor-"

"It's not your fault," he interrupts her. "Don't you dare apologize. We wouldn't even be in this situation if I had just realized how lonely you were or if I had just told you that I would be right back. I'm sorry. I know I probably shouldn't have come up here to try and fix things but I couldn't let you spend Christmas thinking you did something wrong when you didn't."

She takes a few steps forward and wraps her arms around his torso. Tyler's free arm wraps around her shoulders as she buries her face in his chest.

They've both done a lot wrong the past few months, but all they can do now is acknowledge what they've done wrong and move past it.

Hopefully Tyler's season can recover too because despite not being together, (Y/N) did keep an eye on his stats. He really began to fall apart a week after she left the apartment and has never been able to get it together.

That's all on her.

"Sorry your season has gone to shit," she sniffles as she looks up at him. "You can blame that on me."

Tyler shakes his head and cups her jaw with his free hand. "I'll never blame how good or bad a season is going on you," he tells her. "That will never be on you.'

A gust of wind blows and she shivers. Tyler wraps his arm back around her shoulders and holds her close to him. "I'll blame myself enough for both of us," she says. "Can we go inside?"

"As long as you're not done," Tyler replies. "I came up here to fight for us and I won't go inside unless you tell me that we can go back to how things were, minus my going out all the time."

(Y/N) looks up at him and nods. "I'm not done," she practically whispers. "Even when I said I was done, I don't think I actually was. You're impossible to move on from, Tyler Seguin."

He smiles and leans down to press a soft kiss to her lips. He hums and pulls back. "God, (Y/N)," he says. "Your lips are so cold. Let's go."

She lets out a light laugh and walks into the house with Tyler in tow.

Everyone looks at the two of them as Tyler pulls off his hoodie and pulls it over (Y/N)'s head since they were outside for fifteen minutes talking in freezing temperatures. "Everything okay?" her mom asks. "You guys were outside for a while. I thought I heard yelling."

"Everything's okay," she assures everyone in the living room. She goes back to sitting on the ground and Tyler sits next to her. He takes her hands in his so they warm up. She leans into him and rests her head on his shoulder. "We're okay."

That was more for Tyler than anything. He kisses the top of her head before he starts to hand out the gifts that he brought with him for (Y/N)'s parents and siblings. She watches them open their presents with a smile on her face.

Then Tyler holds a little present in front of (Y/N). She slowly takes it and looks up at him. "What is this?" she asks.

"Now that would ruin the surprise," Tyler teases. "Open it and find out. I know technically we weren't together when I bought this but I knew I wanted to buy it for you."

She unwraps it and opens the little black box. There's a silver ring that sits inside with a 91 in little diamonds on it. Her jaw drops and she looks up at her boyfriend. "You really went all out even though we weren't together," she gasps.

Tyler grabs it out of the box and takes her right hand. He slides the ring on the ring finger. "Wanted to make sure that everyone knows who your boyfriend was when we got back together," he replies. She admires the ring on her finger and Tyler kisses the ring.

(Y/N) smiles and leans against him to watch the last few presents get opened.

It finally feels like Christmas now that Tyler is here. It didn't feel like it until he got here because they have spent the last three Christmases together.

Despite being angry that he showed up, she's very happy he's here now.

༺═──────────────═༻

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[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: my @wyattjohnston winter fic exchange fic for @senditcolton (whose writing i am OBSSESSED with - praise you like i should made me see the light on matty t) 🥰 i’ve never written for tyler seguin and my only familiarity with him was him showing his own headshot to get into the arena which immediately made me love him lol. i had fun writing this one and i hope you enjoy!!!

word count: 12.1k

tw: drinking , fingering (f receiving), oral (f receiving), dirty talk, hangovers, mild cursing

summary: new year’s eve in las vegas gets out of hand when you meet tyler, a gorgeous stranger in the club

After your divorce papers are signed, sealed, and delivered - on Christmas day no less, leave it to your jackass ex to find the only lawyer in the entire Fort Worth area willing to work on a national fucking holiday - your best friends appear at your front door with suitcases, bottles of champagne, and round trip tickets to Las Vegas, leaving on the 27th.

“No,” you tell them flatly, arms crossed over your flannel shirt, hair in a three-day old knot on top of your head. “I’m not in the mood to go anywhere, much less Vegas.”

You hadn’t even taken your parents up on the offer to pay for a plane ticket back home to New York for the holidays. It was too much to face them after your marriage had imploded and getting the third degree from your relatives wasn’t exactly something you wanted to do. Spending the holidays alone had seemed like a better option, even if the day had been a little lonely. But a spiked hot chocolate and a string of Christmas movie classics had kept you from getting too depressed.

“Honey,” Nora says, in her Christmas sweat set, the cartoon Grinch blazoned across the front giving you a nasty smirk, a patient smile on her face, “now is exactly the time to get away. You just shed a hundred seventy five pounds of jackass, you need a distraction.”

She muscles past you and nearly drags her rolling suitcase’s wheels over your bare toes. You pull your foot back and lean against the wall as Katie and Nic follow her inside, a makeshift parade to celebrate your divorce. Nic at least has the decency to shoot you an apologetic look as she passes, whispering, “I tried to get her to settle for a little trip to a spa, you know, manis, pedis, massage. But you know Nora…”

“Never Takes No for an Answer Nora,” you finish when Nic trails off, smiling a little despite yourself. Nic gives you a little smile and bumps your hip with hers.

“Seriously though,” she says as you close the door behind her, “if you really don’t want to go, Nor will understand.”

You sigh and shake your head. “No, I…it’s probably good for me to get out of town,” you admit reluctantly. It’s been a depressing few months, full of anger and tears and tense phone calls and curt emails. You’re tired of being sad, of being angry, but mostly you’re tired of being in the same city as your asshole ex-husband. Even though you moved out of the house you shared and into an apartment, the entire city holds reminders of your relationship. Now that the divorce is official, you’re starting to wonder if staying in Fort Worth is the right move. Your friends and your job are here, but the risk of running into Jason is astronomically high and maybe a change of scenery would be good. You rub at your forehead - that’s a problem for the new year.

The girls leave their suitcases in a pile in your front hall. Two pairs of Nikes and a pair of Ugg platforms join the suitcases and you’re pulled into a pile on your couch - the college tradition for a broken relationship. Back then it had been cheap wine coolers and binge watching The Bachelor. Now, Nora hands you a bottle of champagne, cheers when you pop the cork, and drops her head to your shoulder after you take a huge gulp. You drape your legs over Katie’s lap and rest your cheek on the top of Nora’s head. It’s not the way you thought you’d be spending the holidays, but you’re so grateful for your friends.

“In about an hour, we’re going to start helping you pack,” Nora says, taking the second bottle of champagne from Nic and swigging from it. “But right now, it’s time to tell us every single negative thought you’ve had about Jackass Jason and didn’t want to say before.“

“Have to cleanse the energy,” Nic says, “by putting all his negative traits into the air and I’ll light some sage.”

“Sage?” You lift an eyebrow, warm and cozy in the cocoon of your friends.

Nic digs into her giant purse and pulls out a wad of sage, tied up with white string. She beams. “Sage! It’s very cleansing.”

Katie cackles a laugh. She kicks Nic’s thigh lightly and grins, “never change those hippie ways, Nicky.”

“Pass me a lighter,” Nic holds out her free hand and wiggles her fingers. Nora drops a well used plastic Bic onto her palm and you lean in to cup your hands under the sage bundle. The last thing you want is ashy smudges on your couch.

It takes two tries, but eventually Nic manages to get the lighter to catch and she holds the flame to the top of the bundle. It immediately starts to smell of the burning herb and smoke rises to the ceiling when she blows out the small fire. You cough a little, the scent of sage stinging your nose. Nic rolls off the couch and begins to wave the stick around, explaining what she’s doing as she goes.

“So, we’re getting rid of all of Jason’s negative energy and karma,” she waves the stick and you wince when a little clump of ashes falls to the carpet and then sigh when Nic’s bare foot grinds them further into the fibers.

“Jason never lived here,” you point out reasonably, the bottle of champagne lighter in your hand as you take another drink. Your chest already feels lighter and less knotted with grief and anxiety.

Nic looks at you like you’re an idiot and you feel strangely chastened, taking another swig from the bottle. “Honey, his negative energy and toxicity was absorbed by you and all the stuff you took from the house. We have to just, like, get his energy out of here.” She cocks her head at you, squints, asks, “would you consider cutting your hair? Hair holds onto a lot of trauma.”

“No!” You yelp, hand flying up to clutch at the knotted mess on top of your head. “I thought you were the ones to talk me out of breakup bangs when he first left? Now I’m supposed to cut my hair?”

“Just a suggestion,” she says, even as the other two chime in from the couch to encourage a change in your hairstyle. Nora mentions a bob and you resist the urge to kick her.

With a roll of your eyes, you say firmly, “I’m not cutting my hair. Let’s move on from this.”

Nic nods and finishes sageing the apartment, leaving a faint haze of smoke in the air and you’re honestly very grateful when she puts the bundle in a ziploc bag and stashes it back in her purse. “Okay,” she beams, dusting off her hands, “bad energy officially cleansed. We can move onto the fun part!” She drinks from the bottle that you’ve mostly emptied on your own and before you can ask what the fun part is, you’re being pushed into your bedroom and the girls are rummaging in your closet for your suitcase.

They work in coordination, while you’re sitting stupid in the middle of your bed, to throw your skimpiest clothes into the opened suitcase. You watch as a colourful array of fabric is tossed from your drawers and wonder what, exactly, they have planned for the trip.

“This one, for sure,” Katie’s voice is muffled from deep in your closet. Her hand appears, the mirrored minidress you bought and wore for the Eras Tour swinging from its hanger. The mirrors sparkle under the hi-hats in your room and throw discs of light onto your bedroom walls.

“What are we doing in Vegas?” You ask finally, pulling your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. “I mean, I love that dress, but can’t this just be a chill trip? Like what if we just got tickets to see Adele? And I can cry to her music?”

“Absolutely not,” Nora shakes her head and Katie shakes the dress at you again. “We’re going to get you to forget about the jackass and the divorce one way or another. Whether it’s drinks or dick, that’s your choice, but you deserve to let loose after taking care of him all these years.”

“Besides,” Katie pipes up, “how good do you think we are that we could get last minute Adele tickets? That shit was sold out months ago!”

Tears prickle at your eyes, your nose burning a little. Divorced at 27 isn’t exactly how you pictured your life going after meeting Jason in college, getting married at 22, and supporting him all throughout his time in law school, but you’re beyond grateful for your girls.

“No dick,” you murmur, a shaky smile on your face. “I’m not ready for that, but drinks I can do.”

The trio cheers and starts tossing more clothes into your suitcase.

——

The next day is spent nursing your mild hangover and repacking the drunken mess you’d all made of your suitcase the night before. Once you’re packed to your satisfaction - mirrored mini dress and platform heels included - you run out for a quick wax before meeting the girls for a manicure.

“I meant to say it last night,” you say watching your crusty old gel polish disappear into dust, “but let me know what I owe you, for the flight and hotel and everything. I’ll Venmo you.”

Nora waves you off, apologising quickly to the manicurist when she complains as Nora’s hand is ripped away. “Don’t even worry about that. I used miles for the flights and -“

“The guy I’ve been seeing?” Nic cuts in. “The hedge fund guy, Mark, he’s treating for the hotel suite.”

Katie’s eyebrows shoot up along with yours. Clearly she didn’t know about the hotel connect. “Whoa,” she grins, “Nicky with the high roller! Hold onto him with two hands.”

Nic blushes. “He’s really sweet too.” She continues talking about him for a few minutes until she stops herself and looks at you with wide eyes and an apologetic expression. “Oh god, I’m so sorry! Here I am rambling on and you’re going through -“

“Oh my god, don’t do that!” You cut her off. “I’m okay! I want to hear about the guys you’re dating. Just because I’m single again doesn’t mean I want death to love for everyone.” You snort a laugh that sounds a little forced even to your own ears. The girls share a look that you hate, but continue talking about the dates they’ve been on and the mediocre sex they’ve been having. Truthfully, you tune them out a little bit, cranky about the divorce, about the trip that was sprung on you, and embarrassingly enough, jealous that they’re having sex at all.

Even before Jason started the divorce proceedings six months ago, it had been nearly eight months before that the last time you had sex. You should’ve realized he was seeing someone else on the side because there was no way he had gone that long without sex. And yet. You’d been caught off guard by the cliched texts found in his phone, the lacy thong found in his car, and the divorce petition delivered to you while he was “working late.” Thinking back on it, you feel supremely stupid.

Now that the paperwork is signed and you’re officially, legally single again, you’re just glad you didn’t have kids or anything really significant to fight over. It’s almost a blessing that the process wasn’t as drawn out as it could’ve been.

You make a conscious effort to push all thoughts of Jason from your mind and try to be in the moment, a task made easier once you’re in the air en route to Vegas and then actually in the city itself. It’s both like the movies and not, colorful and loud and a little sketchy. But you immediately make twenty bucks on a slot machine in the airport, so you figure that’s a good omen for the trip.

The first four days of the trip pass in a blur - all you can eat buffets, drinking, dancing, spas, too little sleep, and too much gambling. You’re up nearly three hundred dollars after being down almost a thousand the day before, so that’s cause to celebrate with drinks. Not that you really need an excuse - you’ve had more alcohol in the last four days than in the last four months. You’re exhausted, but you’ve also laughed more than you have in a year and your face hurts from smiling. The entire city has a numbing effect on your lingering emotions and you feel yourself starting to rediscover who you were before the Jason of it all.

“Time for the mirrorball dress!” Nora singsongs, dancing around the suite in her plush robe. It’s New Year’s Eve and the city feels even sparklier than usual. The streets have been packed with people and the casinos are at capacity - apparently there’s a hockey game tonight too, so the sports bettors are having a field day. You’ve been going to different hotel bars and clubs the past few nights, but tonight is the big night out before you fly back to Texas tomorrow night.

The entire Strip is shut down to traffic for the night and you’re planning on going to TAO for dinner and dancing since it’s inside the Venitian, where you’re staying. It’s a major splurge, but fuck it, you’re about to get alimony from your corporate lawyer ex-husband. You still have Jason’s credit card, so you’re fully planning on putting dinner on his tab, before he realizes that the card is in your possession. For all the little details Jason remembers, he’s surprisingly bad about his finances.

For now though, you dig your hand into the pillowcase that had been full of the little shot sized bottles of alcohol four days ago and is now mostly empty. You groan when you pull out a little bottle of Pink Whitney, the pink lemonade vodka is your least favorite drink. You knock back the shot while the girls cheer you on, all three of them already in various states of tipsy. It honestly feels like you haven’t been completely sober since you left Texas.

Nic blasts a classic 2000s playlist while you’re getting ready and you dance around the huge suite, feeling light and floaty.

It’s complete chaos out on the Strip, even though it’s barely after 7. You could’ve gotten to the restaurant directly through the hotel, but you decide to walk outside for a bit to see what’s happening. It’s chillier than you expected, so by the time you get to the restaurant, you’re more than ready for a drink and dinner. You fill up on sushi and expensive drinks, gossiping about people you knew in college, spilling some more of the more extreme details of Jason’s cheating when you’re finished with your third TAO-tini.

“FUCK HIM!” Katie shouts in the middle of the restaurant, drawing attention to your table. You giggle and shush her drunkenly, waving a hand to get her to lower her voice. “No,” she shakes her head, only marginally quieter, “you really are so much better than that douche. When we get downstairs, we’re finding a man and you’re fucking him!”

Nic giggles and leans a little sideways in her seat, “new dick to cleanse Jackass Jason from your vagina!”

You flush with embarrassment as more people look over, but thank god the waiter comes by with the check. You toss Jason’s platinum AmEx onto the little dish and grin wickedly as you tell the girls, “dinner was on Jason.” They cheer and Nora laughs, “I should’ve ordered another drink!”

Once the bill is paid, with a generous 30% tip added, you traipse downstairs into the club part of the restaurant. The lights are low and the music is loud, plenty of people already drunkenly dancing just three hours before midnight. Nic and Nora join the fray immediately while you and Katie detour off to the bathroom quickly where you fix up your makeup and fluff up your hair, inspecting your face in the mirror. You look tired, but there’s a spark in your eyes that you hadn’t noticed was missing in the last year of your relationship with Jason.

“I’m serious,” Katie says, her solemn tone betrayed by the slight slur to her ‘s’. “Pick a guy in here and I will make sure you fuck him. You deserve a little fun.”

“I have been having fun,” you assure her, your reflection grinning at hers. The alcohol is making your brain pleasantly fuzzy, thoughts drifting away as easily as they come. “I don’t need a man right now,” you continue. “Even for the night. I just want to dance.”

“Okay!” Katie chirps, grabbing your hand and pulling you back out into the club. “Let’s dance!”

And you do. You find Nic and Nora and for a handful of songs, the four of you are jumping and screaming and having a blast.

Sweaty and thirsty, you break off from the girls and wobble towards the bar, weaving in between the throngs of people. The line for the bar is two or three people deep, so you settle in for a wait, looking around the room and people watching. The crowd seems pretty typical for New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas, but your gaze lands on a group of men and your heart skips a beat.

There’s at least four of them huddled together, maybe five, and you know you’re drunk, but you didn’t think you were drunk enough to be seeing double. You blink and they come into sharper focus - not seeing double, just two incredibly handsome, dark haired and bearded men. Another dark haired man with no beard and a curly haired blond man. They’re all in slacks and white button downs in various states of unbuttoned, like they came from the office or something. They don’t look out of place in the club though, with drinks in their hands and the way they’re grouped together.

They’re laughing and shoving at each other, like overgrown frat boys, and you can’t look away. You’re captivated by the way they hold themselves, clearly confident in their bodies. Even in the dark of the club, you can see the faint outlines of ink through the white fabric of one of the guys’ shirts.

You’re still staring like a creep when the tattooed guy turns and looks directly at you, making and holding eye contact. A little gasp slips from your lips and your stomach flips, the familiar and nearly forgotten feeling of arousal sparking to life in your stomach. His friends shove at his arms, laughing. You blink and look away, feeling shaky and not from the alcohol. A faint flutter between your legs has you pressing your thighs together. “This is stupid,” you mutter to yourself. Ten seconds of eye contact shouldn’t have had you reacting like this. Yes, it had been a while since you last had sex, but jeez.

You rub your fingers over the bridge of your nose and nearly jump out of your skin when a deep, unfamiliar voice says, “what are you drinking?” right in your ear.

“Oh!” You turn, stumbling just enough that a hand shoots out and grips your elbow to steady you. A warm, broad hand. Attached to a tanned, tattooed forearm. Attached to a broad chest barely covered by an obscenely unbuttoned white shirt - tattoos and chest hair exposed and making your body react. Attached to the dark haired man you had made eye contact with. You blink up into warm brown eyes and ignore the way your stomach clenches up. His thumb brushes against the inside of your elbow and your skin feels like it’s on fire.

His mouth, full lower lip and thinner upper lip surrounded by a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, quirks up at the corner. “In case I wasn’t clear,” he says and you can hear the laughter in his tone, “can I buy you a drink?”

A faint smile touches your own lips and you nod. “Double vodka cranberry,” you say, voice a little raspy from screaming along to the music.

Mystery Man nods, smiling, “good choice. Come with me?” Without waiting for an answer, he slides his hand down your forearm and laces his fingers with yours to pull you behind him while he uses his broad shoulders to muscle past the crowd around the bar. When you reach the bar, he does a quick maneuver, dragging you in front of him so you’re sandwiched between the bar and his chest, heat pouring off his body. He leans forward a bit, pressing against you, and catches the bartender’s attention. Your entire body feels too warm, the thin fabric of your thong growing damp from the solid mass of his chest against your back.

“Double vodka cranberry for the lady,” he orders. “And double scotch on the rocks for me.”

His forearms come to rest on the bar top, trapping you in the circle of his arms. The alcohol is lowering your inhibitions and your intrusive thoughts win out and you arch your back a little, pressing your ass into his crotch, turning your head to look back at him. He wears a shit eating grin on his face.

“I don’t usually let strangers buy me drinks,” you say, heart pounding in your chest. He doesn’t feel like a threat, doesn’t feel like someone you should be afraid of. You lean a little closer to him, something crackling in the air between your bodies.

Something flitters across his expression, but you’re just this side of drunk and can’t manage to identify it before it’s gone. “Tyler,” he introduces himself, trailing a finger over your arm and up to your shoulder where he plays with the thin silver strap holding your dress in place. “Not a stranger now.” Goosebumps lift on your arms as his fingertip twists in the skimpy strap. His gaze is searing, flickering from your eyes to your lips to the hint of cleavage exposed by the draping of your dress. Your nipples tighten under the fabric, pinching almost painfully.

You offer up your own name in return, taking the drink directly from the bartender when he returns. You sip at it and it tastes stronger than a double or maybe that’s just Tyler’s proximity that’s clouding your senses.

He takes a sip of his own drink and leads you away from the bar, giving you another opportunity to watch his back muscles move under his shirt as he works his way through the crowd. A gym rat, you think, with the way he’s all lean muscle and quiet strength. He’s muscled, but not disgustingly so.

“What are you doing in Vegas?” He asks, when you’re alone again, just off to the side of the bar. You can see the girls out of the corner of your eye, staring at you with matching ‘you go, girl!’ expressions on their faces. You giggle a little.

“Celebrating,” you reply vaguely, taking a sip of your drink and fluttering your lashes. You’re flirting, you realize. You haven’t flirted with anyone since Jason. The bubbly feeling in your chest expands and you smile up at him.

“Huh,” he laughs warmly, “what do you know, me too. And the only thing my night was missing is a pretty girl.”

Alcohol fuels your confidence, along with the hungry way Tyler’s gaze takes in your body, and you reply, “good thing you found me then.”

Your gaze lingers on the notch of his collarbone, the dusting of hair over his chest, the dark lines of his tattoos. Your cunt gives an enthusiastic throb and you swallow heavily.

Tyler leans in a little and you catch a whiff of spicy cologne mixed with the scotch on his breath. This isn’t his first drink of the night either. “Would your friends mind if I monopolized your time tonight?”

Biting your lip, you look over at the girls. Katie is moving her hand near her mouth in the universal sign for blowjob and Nic is giving you the biggest, most encouraging puppy dog eyes. Nora flashes you a double thumbs up, spilling some of her drink in the process. A laugh huffs through your nose and you look back up at Tyler, “no, I don’t think they’ll mind.”

“Good,” his smile is adorable, his hand lands on your waist, and you completely forget why you told Katie you weren’t interested in a hook up tonight. “Want to dance?”

You’re not quite sure how it happened - one minute you were dancing with Tyler, one of his arms wrapped securely around your waist while your hips gyrated against his pelvis, the hard bulge of his cock obvious every time you moved and the next minute you found yourself pressed up against a wall in the VIP section of TAO, with Tyler’s tongue deep down your throat and his hand sliding up the side of your thigh, fingertips playing at the hem of your dress. Your hands are fisted around the collar of his shirt, pulling him as close as you can while you moan into his mouth and cant your hips towards his, spreading your legs a little to encourage his hand’s exploration.

His fingertips make contact with the soaked fabric of your thong and you whimper, knees going weak. Tyler’s lips turn up in a smile against yours and he uses more pressure, finding your clit easily through the fabric until you have to pull back and gasp for air, your head thrown back while you pant.

“Jesus, baby,” he mutters, kissing a trail down your jaw and over your throat. “You’re fucking soaked.” He sucks gently at your pulse point, your heart hammering in your chest.

He slips his fingers under the fabric, rough pads of his fingers catching against your slick folds. “Oh my god,” you mutter, grinding against his fingers. “More, please, Tyler.”

He obeys, thumb catching on your clit and middle finger teasing at your entrance before sliding inside easily. A whine catches in your throat and it feels so good, too good. Between the alcohol and the lust and the months long celibacy, you’re at the edge of an orgasm in less than a minute, dripping around Tyler’s fingers before you can even process that you’ve come. White spots dance in your vision and it could be the strobe lights or the searing pleasure from having your clit rolled between Tyler’s thick fingers.

“Good girl,” he grins against your neck, beard and teeth scraping against your skin. Your face already feels rubbed raw with beard burn, but you don’t want him to stop. “Think you can do it again?”

Truthfully you think that you’re so worked up and horny you could come just from Tyler looking at you, but you nod and squeak out a yes.

Tyler bites a mark against your collarbone and drops to his knees, wedging his shoulders between your thighs and forcing them apart. He looks up at you from between your legs, dark eyes even darker with lust and a wicked grin on his face, “hold on, baby, gonna make you see fireworks for the New Year.”

You laugh at the corny line, choking off into a prolonged moan when he buries his face between your legs and presses his tongue flat against your cunt, the wet heat of his tongue pressing your damp thong into your sensitive clit.

You’re beyond thankful for the darkness of the VIP area and the loud music because you can’t contain the noises that Tyler’s drawing from your mouth. You tangle one hand in his hair - fuck, it’s so soft - and hold his face up against your cunt. The other hand reaches blindly for the magnum bottle of champagne you’d been sharing. Technically it’s the second bottle and it’s more than half gone when you tip it up to your mouth for a drink.

“I - ah! I don’t usually doooooh my god, right there - this,” you gasp, writhing over Tyler’s face. His nose is pressed against your clit and his tongue is flat against you, licking with purpose. You grind against his face, making sure the tip of his nose rubs against your clit.

“What,” he pulls back with a wicked grin that only grows when you whine and try to push him back in place with your grip on his hair, “get your pussy licked?”

The bottom half of his face is glistening in the strobe lights and you feel the blush rise on your chest knowing that your body did that to him.

“Um, yes,” you admit quietly, “and the whole, uh, stranger in a club thing too.”

His smile turns a little soft, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Happy to be your first then,” he kisses the inside of your thigh and lifts your leg so it’s draped over his shoulder and you’re spread even wider for him. You’re impossibly exposed to him and all it does is make you wetter. Tyler tilts his head back a little and opens his mouth, you instinctively pour some champagne into his mouth, the both of you laughing when it splatters onto his face and shirt, making the white fabric nearly see-through. He wipes a little at his face, fingers scraping at his beard, and he shrugs. “Was gonna get all wet and messy anyway.”

He holds his champagne covered fingers up to your face and you lick at his skin, sucking his fingertips into your mouth and letting them rest on your tongue for a moment before he pushes them a little further past your lips, until saliva is dripping down his palm.

Tyler’s head is back between your legs, a strong hang gripping at your thigh, his lips wrapped around your clit. He sucks at the swollen bud and your leg kicks out, the heel of your platform smacking against his back with an audible thunking noise. He grunts into you and you moan an apology, his fingers falling out of your mouth so you can take another gulp of champagne. The bubbles fizz on your tongue and burn going down.

He buries his wet fingers into your cunt, curling and pumping, and you bite down hard on your lower lip to keep from screaming. Not that anyone would hear you with how loud the music is in the club. You grind your hips against Tyler’s face and feel him smile, the coarse hair on his face scratching against your inner thighs when you subconsciously try to close your legs around his ears.

“Gonna kill me,” he pulls back and mutters, nipping at the junction of your thigh. You jolt when his hands squeeze at your asscheeks, the scrape of the sequins on your dress adding more overwhelming sensation. He adjusts your thigh over his shoulder, his other hand trailing down your leg and wrapping around your ankle. He pulls back a little and you whine at the loss of sensation. “I like these,” he says, his fingers tapping against the sparkle of your platforms. “When I fuck you later, I want you to keep these on.”

You laugh, about to deny that this is going any further than the club, when his mouth is back on your cunt, tongue stiff and warm as he licks at your clit. All thoughts are gone from your head, aware only of the pleasure Tyler’s giving you. His hands are all over your body, fidgeting from your thighs to your ass and back again, calloused fingertips ghosting over your skin and making you shiver.

You close your eyes against the pleasure building in your body, tears pooling at your waterline. How the fuck did you go this long in life without realizing that you’ve never had a satisfying orgasm? And some random, gorgeous man in a club in Vegas is the one to satisfy you over and over? It’s a shame this is a one night thing.

—-

Sunlight streams in through the windows and you screw your eyes shut tighter, nausea rolling your stomach even though you haven’t moved. It’s like an ice pick is stabbed into your temple, the throbbing somewhere deep in your brain a harsh reminder that you’re not 21 and immune to hangovers anymore.

You press your lips together and lift your hand to rub at your temple, trying to keep your movements as slow as possible so you don’t vomit. Something hard and sharp knocks against your brow bone and you crack one eye open to see what the hell it could possibly be since you don’t remember putting any jewelry on last night. A huge twinkly diamond ring stares back at you from your finger.

The ring finger.

The left ring finger.

…fuck

Your eyes fly open and you ignore the wave of nausea and shooting headache to look around the hotel room. The unfamiliar hotel room. The sheets slide down your chest, exposing you to cold air and making you shiver. Your nipples pebble from the cold and you look down, eyes widening at the little bruises and bite marks scattered over your chest and stomach. You’re naked under the sheets save for a pair of black boxer-briefs looped around one thigh, like you tried to put them on last night and got tired halfway. The fabric is soft and worn and they’re absolutely not your underwear.

“Fuck!” You yelp, gaze landing on Tyler’s prone form in the bed next to you. He’s flat on his back, one arm thrown over his face, the other out to his side with his fingers curled in your direction. “Oh my god!”

His chest is bare, tattoos a stark contrast against the white sheets and his tan skin. He’s got purpling bruises on his chest and stomach too, marks that you must’ve left on him. Marks that make a trail from his collarbone over his pecs, down his stomach, barely hidden by the sheet that rides low over his lap.

If you’re half wearing his briefs, he’s definitely completely naked from the waist down too. Before you can comprehend the thought, you wonder if you left marks lower on his body too.

Your head is moving around like it’s on a swivel, taking in all the details of the room that you’re pretty sure is Tyler’s. There’s a black suitcase in the corner and your dress is a shiny pile on the floor. Your thong tossed over the lampshade on the bedside table. You can’t find your shoes, until you notice them at the foot of the giant bed, left in a haphazard pile and you remember, faintly, Tyler’s words from last night - “When I fuck you later, I want you to keep these on.” They look like they were discarded in a rush, one ankle strap not even fully pulled from its buckle. His clothes are everywhere, tossed in a trail from the door that speaks to how fast you were trying to get him naked.

The hangover is clouding your brain, making it feel like your head is stuffed with cotton, and you haven’t even begun to consider what the ring on your finger means. Maybe it was just a joke? It had to have been a joke.

Tyler shifts, grunting a little in his sleep, and reaches his hand out in your direction like he’s trying to find your body. His movement startles you.

“Ah, fuck!” You yelp, scrambling out of the bed, legs all tangled in the sheets. The briefs slip down your leg and tangle around your ankle. You kick your leg wildly, the black fabric going sailing across the room with the force of your kick. Frantically, you yank at one of the blankets crumpled at the foot of the bed and wrap it around yourself like a toga. Your hands shake a little.

Tyler stirs and blinks sleepily, stretching his arms over his head, giving you a show with how the black ink of his tattoos move. His gaze is unfocused when his eyes finally open, landing on your blanket-wrapped form. A slow smile graces his lips and he rasps, “hey, morning.” There’s a smudge of your dark lipstick on his cheek, partially hidden by his beard. A bruise is sucked into the underside of his bearded jaw and you notice, for the first time, the ragged red nail marks on his shoulders and biceps. He looks like he was attacked by a feral animal - and it’s a jolt to the system when you realize that feral animal had to have been you.

You can’t even find words, mouth gaping open and shut at him like a fish. Now that you’re standing, you finally stop for a second to take stock of your own body. Sticky between the thighs, sore like you’ve never been sore before - in a pleasant, well taken care of way. Your inner thighs feel raw and you know that when you look later, you’re going to find beard burn on the sensitive skin. You can already feel it on your chin and cheeks.

“What is this?” You hold your left hand out to him, the gaudy ring - because now that you’ve gotten a better look at it, it’s not a real diamond, thank god. It’s cubic zirconia or something cloudier than a real diamond and it’s a huge oval, spanning the entirety of your knuckle - glinting in the early morning sunlight.

Tyler squints at you, rolling onto his side before sitting up, either unaware or unconcerned that he’s completely naked and the sheet pools low enough in his lap that you can see the trail of dark hair leading down to his dick and the hair at the very base of him. You try to keep your eyes from looking, but he reaches a hand up and rubs at the back of his neck, making his bicep pop and the sheet move around and you’re only a woman, you can’t help yourself from looking. Your clit throbs between your legs, clearly remembering what happened last night even if most of it after getting eaten out in TAO is a little fuzzy to your brain.

“It’s a ring,” he replies simply, looking like his brain is trying to come back on-line too. He shifts his hand and his eyebrows lift. “Oh, shit. I’ve got one too.”

Your gaze lands on the band on his left ring finger. It’s yellow gold, or something cheap that looks like yellow gold, and you hate that your immediate thought is that it looks good on him. The band contrasts nicely with his skin and he spins it with his thumb, your eyes tracking the rotation.

A little chuckle slips past his lips and you blink at him. He takes in your expression and laughs outright. “Come on, you can’t possibly think we what? Got married last night?” His laugh is warm and too familiar for someone you’ve known less than twelve hours. “That’s a Vegas cliché if I’ve ever heard one.”

You shake your head. “Right, no. Yeah, I’m just being stupid. It’s just—“ you hesitate, glancing around the room again, avoiding looking at him, noticing the - oh god - four condom wrappers discarded on the floor. No wonder you’re so sore. The tenting of the sheet in his lap isn’t doing much to hide his morning wood, the shape of him obvious even with the quick little glances you’ve been sneaking. Four times. It’s a minor miracle that you’re not walking bowlegged.

Tyler stretches again and looks around for something - his clothes, his phone, who knows - while clearly not caring that the sheet is covering next to nothing. “Hey, do you see my phone?” He asks, drawing your attention back to his face. “Just wanna check the time.”

He’s remarkably chill and you’re starting to feel a little crazy for overreacting so much to silly rings bought in a drunken haze. There’s a phone on one of the little decorative tables in the corner of the room and you’re not sure if it’s yours or his, but when you pad across the room to get it, you step on a piece of paper, crumpling it under your heel. Leaning down to pick it up, you fall back on your ass in shock when your eyes land on the words at the top.

Clark County Marriage License

“You okay?” Tyler asks, sounding concerned.

“No,” you manage to squeak out the word around the block in your throat. There in black and white - your name and Tyler’s. Tyler Paul Seguin, apparently, if the document is to be believed. You feel your stomach lurch when you see the date on the license. Last night, New Year’s Eve.

How drunk had you been?

Who the hell had let you get married?

You’re so caught up in the implications of the piece of paper you’re holding that you don’t realize Tyler’s out of bed and squatting next to you, wearing his briefs, thank god.

“Whatcha got - oh,” he cuts himself off, reading the words over your shoulder. “Oh. Shit. Wow.”

He sits down on the floor next to you and you look over at him, eyes wide. “We actually got fucking married in Las Vegas,” you breathe, chest tightening in panic.

“I mean, maybe we didn’t?” He says hopefully. “That’s just a license, doesn’t mean we actually did it.” He taps his fingers absently over one well-muscled thigh, an irregular beat that you somehow sync your breathing to. With a huge effort, you drag your gaze away from his fingers - long and thick and the last you remember, stuffed up your cunt and dragging an orgasm out of your body - and steady your breathing. One hand presses against your chest, fingers digging into your skin like you could reach in and squeeze your heart back into a normal rhythm.

The phone on the tabletop starts buzzing and Tyler reaches up to grab it - “mine,” he says, glancing at the screen and jabs his finger to silence the alarm. He reaches his hand back up on the table and comes back with a handful of Polaroids. He splays them out like a deck of cards and you look at them. “Huh.”

Each picture is blurry as hell, but they’re unmistakably wedding photos. You’ve got a little fluffy veil on. Tyler’s shirt is unbuttoned past is sternum, but tucked neatly into his pants. He’s got you dipped back at the waist, kissing you dramatically. You’re on his back, holding a bouquet of flowers in the air as you kiss his cheek. He’s holding you, chest to chest, one large hand splayed over your bare back, your hand slid underneath his shirt. The Little White Wedding Chapel sign behind you and Tyler in one photo makes what happened last night unavoidable.

“I think we got married,” Tyler states the obvious and you burst into hysterical, gasping laughter. He looks at you, concerned for a beat before starting to laugh himself. It’s not funny at all, but if you don’t laugh, you think you’ll cry.

Once you catch your breath, you hiccup a little noise that sounds like a sob and carefully put the license up on the table. Tyler watches you and then glances back down at his phone, wincing at the time. “So, uh, hate to get married and run, but I have to go,” he taps his phone screen. “I’m on a flight to San Jose in an hour and I really can’t afford to miss that.”

You catch a glimpse of his lock screen and it’s a picture of him cuddling three dogs, which makes you feel marginally better because at least it’s not a woman that he’s cheating on and any man that has his dogs as his phone screen can’t be a total sociopath. A little bit of the knot in your chest unravels.

“San Jose,” you repeat, finally catching onto what he said. “Is that where you live?” You ask the question realizing you know nothing about this man that you’ve married. You didn’t even know his last name until five minutes ago. Oh god. You’re going to have to manage a time difference while filing for divorce. Your thoughts spiral out. Can you even get divorced in a state that’s not Nevada? You should know this, you’re probably the divorce expert in the room. He isn’t giving off divorced man energy, but do you give off divorced woman energy? You hadn’t thought about that and now it’s all you can focus on.

Tyler laughs a little, drawing your attention and stopping your panic attack. “No, thank god. I’m, uh, not to sound conceited,” he says sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck, “but you really didn’t recognize me?”

“Should I?” You frown, studying his face. Maybe he looks familiar? But in that way that most dark haired white men look alike. You’re almost positive that you’ve never seen him before.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “This is awkward. But I play for the Dallas Stars, the hockey team? We played Vegas last night, San Jose tomorrow.”

You cock your head at him, this new information sinking in. Dallas. Just thirty minutes from your place in Fort Worth. You’ve obviously heard of the Stars, you don’t live under a rock, but you’ve never been to a game, never cared about sports enough to learn any of the players’ names. It would be a weird thing to lie about, but - “prove it.”

“Prove it?” Tyler repeats incredulously. You nod. He frowns and looks like he’s trying to make a decision. After a second, he huffs a little laugh to himself and mutters, “well, it already worked once,” before unlocking his phone and typing away on the screen. A second later he holds it up next to his face, a Google search open on the screen. A headshot - Tyler’s headshot in a green jersey - looks back at you. He grins wryly, “proof enough?” The search bar at the bottom of the screen shows that he typed in ‘tyler seguin dallas stars headshot’ and misspelled his own name as ‘tylor’ - you don’t know why, but it makes you bite your lip to smother a laugh. The little typo is endearing.

You look back and forth between the screen and Tyler, long enough that he starts to genuinely laugh. “C’mon,” he teases, putting his phone down on his thigh, “you’re a tougher sell than security at the arena.”

“Okay,” you offer him a tiny smile, “I believe you. I’m just, um, a little overwhelmed. I don’t do this kind of thing.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever done it before either,” he replies, shoving a hand through his hair. “I’m going to be on the road for a bit, west coast swing, but if you put your number in my phone, I’ll have my lawyer start working on the paperwork.”

“Paperwork?”

He coughs a little awkwardly. “The divorce? Or annulment? Divorce though right? ‘Cause we obviously slept together,” he gestures at the condom wrappers, “so we can’t just sweep it under the rug. Like Ross and Rachel in Friends.”

“No!” The word slips out before you can stop it and Tyler frowns.

“We can annul it? My knowledge of ending Vegas weddings is pretty minimal.” He pauses and then as if to reassure you, says, “my knowledge of ending marriages in general is pretty limited too.”

“No,” you chew at your lip, “it’s still a divorce. But, fuck, this is mortifying. A second fucking divorce before I’m even 28. Good fucking job with your life.” You mutter the last bit more to yourself than to Tyler, tears welling up in your eyes. That would be the last thing you need, to tell your family and friends about this whole debacle. Literally a week after your first divorce is finalized, you go out and get married again. Drunkenly. In Las Vegas!

Tyler’s eyebrow lifts and he doesn’t ask the question he so clearly wants to ask. You scrub a hand over your face, nausea returning but you’re not sure if it’s the hangover this time or the way he’s looking at you.

“What if,” he says slowly, studying you carefully for a reaction, “what if, we just…didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” You shift, the floor uncomfortable under your sore ass. The blanket wrapped around your body isn’t the softest and you’re starting to sweat a little despite the cold air pumping into the room. Tyler’s presence next to you is becoming distracting, the movement of his chest muscles, the rasp of his voice. Your body wants more of him.

“Didn’t get divorced…” he tilts his head at you, keeps looking you in the eye, even after your jaw drops and the blanket slips a little. “We could, I don’t know, just -“

“Stay married?” You finish for him, eyebrows up in your hairline. He nods, shrugs - why not? “Oh my god.”

Tyler’s phone vibrates on his thigh and he glances down at the alarm. It reminds you that you have no idea where your own phone is and you really, really need to talk to the girls. He jabs at the alarm again and looks apologetic. “I really do have to go,” he gets to his feet and holds out a hand to pull you up. A spark shoots up your arm when his fingers clasp around yours. He doesn’t let go right away, his thumb rubbing against the backs of your fingers. “Think about it,” he looks at you more softly than you think he really should be in this moment. “You said you don’t do this kind of thing,” he continues, “but new year, new you?” The tiny smile he gives you sends your heartbeat into overdrive and this cannot be good for your health.

“Drunk married in Vegas would be a really new me,” you reply faintly. His hand finally falls away from yours and you’re mildly concerned to realize that you miss his touch. Your fingers flex at your side.

His smile doesn’t waver and he reaches out to brush a piece of hair off your cheek, fingertips lingering on your skin. “I’ll be back in Dallas in two weeks. Think about it, I’ll take you to dinner and we can just…go from there.”

He says it so simply, like it’s nothing. Strangely enough, you do feel calmer than you had a few moments ago, Tyler’s steady calm rubbing off on you.

“Okay,” you nod, repeating yourself. “Okay. I’ll…two weeks.”

Tyler grins a little wickedly. “At least we know we’re good together in bed,” he teases, kicking at a condom wrapper with his bare foot.

A laugh startles out of your chest and you find yourself nodding in agreement. “I, ah, definitely agree with that,” you murmur, your entire face flaming with heat.

——

One Year Later - New Year’s Eve. Dallas. TX

Tyler greets you at the door, suited up and bouquet of flowers in hand. “Hi, Mrs. Seguin,” he grins at you.

“Mr. Seguin,” you laugh back, leaning in to loop your arms around his neck and kiss him soundly, nipping at his lower lip. When you pull back, you’re breathless. “Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?”

His hands roam up and down your back, catching in the fabric of your sparkly white minidress, sliding up under the hem to knead at the flesh of your ass. He grins wickedly when his hands don’t find any fabric covering your ass. You smirk at him and wink, giggling when he pinches a cheek.

You lean into his touch with a contented purr. If it wouldn’t make you late for your own party, you’d pull him inside the house for a quickie. You’d already had sex this morning - a wedding present, according to Tyler when he’d given you back to back, mind numbing orgasms with his tongue and dick before you’d returned the favor with a blowjob that had rendered him speechless for twenty minutes - but you would never get enough of being in Tyler’s arms.

“Does it count as bad luck if none of the guests know they’re coming to a wedding?” He asks, eyes twinkling with mirth. “Or a vow renewal, technically.”

The last twelve months have been a little insane and honestly, looking back, you don’t think you’d have it any other way.

After getting dressed quickly, Tyler had found your phone wedged in the cushions of the hotel room’s armchair. The battery was nearly drained but your screen was lit up with more than a hundred texts in the group chat with the girls and nearly as many missed calls. When you had finally called back, all three had shrieked that they were twenty minutes away from reporting you missing. You’d kept the little surprise of legally binding matrimony to yourself, but had admitted to the girls that you’d spent the night with Tyler and that he lived in Dallas and that you were going to see where it went. The flight home was full of whispered shrieking and more questions than you had honestly had answers for at the time. The gaudy engagement ring was buried in the bottom of your toiletry case, acting like the tell-tale heart, blood rushing in your head every time you thought about it.

When you got home, you’d shoved the ring in your jewelry box, determined not to think about it, but found yourself absently running the pad of your thumb over the underside of your ring finger when you let your mind wander to Tyler.

After Tyler had returned to Dallas from his two week road trip - during which you’d basically internet stalked him and spiralled out quietly about not filling for a divorce right away - you’d finally decided to give it, give Tyler a chance. He’d texted nearly every day he was gone, sending stupid jokes or a picture of something he thought would amuse you. Worst case scenario, you filed for divorce and went through the process all over again. By the time Tyler took you out for dinner at a quiet dive-y taco place in Fort Worth where you could actually hear each other, both of your memories of the wedding night had returned, although yours were coloured in a hazy film that made the whole thing seem like a fever dream.

The little ceremony had been officiated by an Elvis impersonator, another Vegas cliché, a fact that you’d learned when Tyler had found another Polaroid in his wallet when he was on the plane to San Jose. You’d cracked up when he finally showed it to you in person - Elvis in the middle, clearly past his prime, with you and Tyler on either side of him doing your best air guitar? Maybe?

“I think I’m trying to do an Elvis hip swivel,” Tyler had laughed.

“Whatever it is, it looks like we’re both mid-seizure,” you’d nearly snorted your drink out of your nose. Looking at the photographs was fun now, a little warmth building in the pit of your stomach, not the tight, nauseous coil of anxiety that you’d experienced when you had first seen them.

Other wedding details were still a little hazy, like where you had picked up the rings or what exactly the ceremony had consisted of, beyond being declared man and wife and being told to kiss and cement your “burning love.”

(What you remembered and what Tyler made sure you didn’t forget was just how good you were in bed together. The four condom wrappers on the floor were not an anomaly with Tyler.)

He’d gotten you tickets for games, right up against the glass so he could skate by you during warmups and tap his glove against the glass to capture your attention. After a few games, once you’d decided to really commit to the relationship and were official within your friendship circles, he picked up the habit of blowing you a kiss, grinning when you’d blush.

He’s really good at his job and you’re only a little surprised to find that you actually love watching him play. It’s horrific watching him get hit or tossed into the boards, but when he scores a goal and celebrates in a big hug with his teammates you’re always the first one on your feet, screaming your head off.

You’d brought the girls to a game early on in your relationship and all three of them had been surprised at how comfortable you were in the arena and how quickly you’d picked up the rules of the game. It was hard to explain that you weren’t just trying to make a regular relationship work, but a whole marriage. The stakes were just a little bit higher than usual.

The league had a break for the All-Star Weekend in early February and Tyler had surprised you with a trip to Mexico, where you’d soaked up the sun and gotten to know each other better, giving him all the sordid details about your divorce and sharing stories from your childhoods over icy margaritas and more tacos than your body knew what to do with. He’d told you about his early career, his misbehavior in Boston and how much he loved being in Dallas. The long weekend was slow and lazy, leaving so much time for the two of you to really talk and get to know each other. The experimental sex in a hammock on the beach was the icing on the cake.

After that, it was like a switch flipped and all you wanted to do was be with him. Truthfully, you sometimes forgot that you were thrown into the relationship with a marriage and settled comfortably into dating Tyler, folding each other into your lives, moving in with him, telling him you love him and hearing him say it back, cheering him on when Dallas made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being bounced in seven games by, of all teams, the Vegas Golden Knights.

Summer break meant a road trip to Whitby to meet Tyler’s family. A drive that should’ve been two or three days took nearly a week because you kept making random stops to see the silliest monuments advertised on the highways. You’d nearly killed him driving through Illinois, convinced this was the end of the relationship and you’d have to pull the trigger on the divorce, and then he had surprised you by stopping at a corn maze and getting lost in it with you almost immediately. Your stomach had hurt from laughing with him and making out like teenagers.

The trip to his hometown had been beyond fun, getting Tyler to show you his childhood haunts and seeing all the baby pictures of him with his mom telling you stories too.

On the drive back to Dallas, halfway through Oklahoma and in the middle of the night, while you’re pulled over on the side of the road to look at the stars, Tyler asked you to marry him. Again.

This time you had the moment committed to memory, the way Tyler’s hands had been shaking slightly with the black velvet box popped open in his fingers. The way Tyler’s speech rambled, like he hadn’t prepared anything or had forgotten his words just as he started talking, explaining how your relationship had started in an unconventional manner, but he couldn’t picture his life without you now. The way you’d started crying almost the second he had turned to you on the hood of the car with that gorgeous ring glinting at you in the moonlight and how you hadn’t stopped until he’d slid the ring home on your finger and kissed you like he’d never kissed you before.

Over the months, the wedding plan shifts and changes, from a summer wedding so you can have a real ceremony and party, the whole nine yards, to what it actually ends up becoming - a quiet inside joke with the two of you in order to keep your anniversary date, a New Year’s Eve party for your closest family and friends to be surprised at midnight when you and Tyler recite your vows.

It’s much easier to plan a party in six months than it would’ve been to plan a wedding.

Jamie Benn, Tyler’s best friend and the dark haired man in Vegas you had initially thought was just you seeing double, is tapped as the officiant, getting ordained online and getting really into his role, not knowing it’s basically all just a front. He just loves that he’s the only one in on the secret, constantly wearing a shit eating grin any time any of your other friends discuss wedding plans for a summer wedding that’s not going to happen.

“I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces,” you admit, hooking your hand in the crook of Tyler’s elbow and letting him lead you out to the car. He does a double take when he notices your hand.

“What’s that?” He taps on the ring nestled on your ring finger. Your original wedding ring from a year ago had been replaced with a real diamond, still an oval, but smaller and more tasteful. But that’s not what you’re wearing right now.

Your lips twist up in a sly smile. The huge, gaudy cubic zirconia is back on your finger, your second engagement ring tucked safely in its box in your drawer. “It didn’t feel right to get married without it,” you admit, flexing your fingers against his arm so the fake gem will sparkle.

Tyler’s laugh is contagious. “Everyone’s going to ask about it,” he warns you.

“Let them,” you shrug. “I want to wear my original ring on my anniversary.”

Hours later, when the surprise has been pulled off and Jamie announces that Tyler may kiss his bride, you fall into your husband’s arms, kissing him with all that you’ve got.

Fireworks go off outside the venue, the countdown to midnight at less than a minute.

“Happy anniversary, wife,” Tyler grins against your lips, quiet enough that only you can hear him.

Around you, the countdown continues, seconds ticking away until it’s January first.

“Happy New Year, husband,” you whisper back, laughing when he dips you back dramatically.

The party continues well into the early hours of January first, you and Tyler having had the foresight to rent out the venue for twice as long as a normal party. You spend the night flitting between dancing with your friends and cuddling up against Tyler’s side, tucking yourself under his arm and wrapping your arm around his waist. Your cheek is pressed against Tyler’s side, the wrinkled fabric of his button down soft under your skin. Your fingers play with the buttons, slipping them from their holes one by one until his shirt is more unbuttoned than not.

Tyler smirks down at you, his hand rubbing an arc over your hip, rucking up the fabric with each upward stroke of his hand, exposing your thigh inch my inch. “Undressing me already, wife? Can’t wait for the wedding night?” He winks at you and you laugh into his chest.

“I think that ship has sailed,” you murmur, sliding your hand under the unbuttoned shirt and over the smooth skin of his stomach, ridged muscles dancing under your touch. You yawn a little, the weird combination of overtired and wide awake making your brain buzz.

Tyler holds you close and leans down a little to whisper in your ear, “want your anniversary gift?”

“Mmm,” you hum, “I thought I already got my gift this morning?”

“That was a wedding gift,” Tyler teases. “This is an anniversary gift, and no, it’s not in my pants.”

You giggle and look up at him, resting your chin on his chest. “Shame, I like what’s in your pants.”

“I’ll give you that later,” he promises, dropping a kiss to your forehead. “Come on, I stashed it in the coat closet.”

He tangles his fingers with yours and leads you off, getting stopped every few feet by someone else who wants to gush about what a great surprise the party was. “Just couldn’t wait another minute to marry her,” Tyler grins in response every time, making you laugh at his side, the inside secret of your Vegas marriage a warm fizz in your chest.

When you finally escape off to the coat closet, you try to loop your arms around Tyler’s neck and lift up on your toes to kiss him. He obliges you happily, cupping the back of your head and giving you a searing kiss before pulling away. You whine, “I thought we were sneaking off for a wedding night quickie?”

“I literally told you that your gift wasn’t in my pants,” Tyler laughs, kissing your cheek. “Why would you think I wasn’t being serious?”

Your hands find their way underneath his shirt again, fingertips digging into the muscles of his back, and drawing yourself closer to him. “Because I wanted you to be kidding,” you reply. “A little coat closet quickie would be a fun way to start the year.”

“And normally, I’d agree, baby. But I think you’re gonna like this gift,” he leans forward and reaches behind you, giving you the opportunity to press your nose against his collarbone. When he pulls back, he has a fairly large, flat wrapped package in his hand.

“What’s that?” You ask, taking the gift from Tyler as he leans back a little, shoulders resting against the wall, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. The package is lighter than you thought it would be.

He nudges your foot with his, “open it.”

“I didn’t get you anything,” you chew at your lower lip. Neither of you had really discussed the fact that it’s your anniversary or gift giving and now you’re a little embarrassed that you hadn’t thought about it. You sway a little on your feet, fingers ripping a little at the corners of the paper until it crumples under your touch and the corner of the gift pokes through.

Tyler shakes his head. “Don’t care. It’s kind of something for both of us anyway,” he says and you wait for the little joke, the tease that you can let him unwrap you later, but it never comes and that’s how you know your husband is about to make you cry with whatever this gift is.

You can feel Tyler watching you as you pull back the paper - leftover Christmas wrapping that’s so clearly been wrapped by a man, too much tape and messy folds. God, you love him - and expose a frame. It takes you a second to process what’s behind the glass, but when you do, you hiccup a little gasp and tears well at your lash line.

Behind the glass is your marriage license with last year’s date and your pair of wobbly signatures. The Polaroids you’d taken that night surround the license and you trace trembling fingertips over the image of you kissing Tyler on the cheek.

“Tyler…” your voice cracks on his name and he gives you a soft little smile.

“This year his been batshit insane, baby,” he leans into your personal space and cups your cheek, rubbing his thumb over your cheekbone. “But I’m really glad you’re the one I drunk Vegas married.”

Tears are sliding down your cheeks and you nod, “I’m really glad you’re the one I drunk Vegas married, too.”

His laugh is muffled by all the coats surrounding you, but it’s warm and it feels like home. He pulls you into a hug, the frame smushed between your bodies and digging into your stomach, but you don’t care. Tyler’s hand curls around the back of your neck and you wipe at your eyes with the back of your wrist, black mascara smudges streaking across your skin. You giggle a little wetly, “I’m such a mess, oh my god.”

“Everyone will just think you dragged me off so you could have your wicked way with me,” Tyler teases, smirking at you.

“Coat closet quickie for the newlyweds,” you reply, grinning. You settle the frame on the floor, the back of it leaning against your leg, and really wrap your arms around Tyler’s neck, pressing a kiss against the hollow of his throat. The spice of his cologne invades your nostrils and you press your nose harder against his throat, enveloped in his warmth.

Tyler rests his chin on the top of your head and hums, rolling his hips against yours lazily so you can feel the bulge behind his fly. “I could give you a real quick one, just to make sure you don’t have to lie,” he ducks his head to whisper in your ear, kissing at the hinge of your jaw. His hand slides down to graze your ass and you’re nearly ready to say yes, suddenly desperate for him, when a loud bang on the door has you jumping back, heart pounding from the shock, nearly cracking Tyler’s chin with your head. The frame bounces off your leg with your movement, falling to the floor with a little clatter that you hope isn’t broken glass.

“Fuck!” He yelps and you clap your hands over your heart, gasping. “Jesus, who is it?”

Jamie’s voice is choked with laughter as it comes through the door. There’s a slight slur to his words too, as he shouts, “stop fucking on everyone’s coats, we’re doing body shots.”

Your jaw drops open and Tyler rolls his eyes at the interruption. He bangs on the door with a hand and shouts back, “fuck off! I’m trying to spend some time with my wife.”

“Actually,” you say slowly, a little smirk forming on your face, “body shots could be fun…”

“Yeah?” Tyler lifts an eyebrow at you, palm flat on the door.

“Yeah,” you confirm with a wicked grin, “you know I like the way champagne tastes on your skin.”

Tyler’s eyes shut like he’s in pain and your gaze slides down to see the bulge in his pants grow. “You’re a fucking menace and I’m so fucking glad you’re my wife,” he mutters, grabbing you around the waist and hauling you out of the coat closet, nearly knocking Jamie over in his hurry, your shrieked giggles drowned out by the music from the party.

The next morning, afternoon really by the time you finally open your eyes, you wake up with half of your body draped over Tyler’s completely naked one. His hip and thigh is securely wedged between your legs, his morning wood hot against the outside of your thigh. One of your arms is in the sleeve of Tyler’s button down, the rest of the fabric draped over your back like a blanket. The hangover pounds at your temples and the sunlight blinds you and it’s such a deja vu moment you almost think you’re back in Vegas, right until the moment Tyler’s hand twitches against your lower back and he rubs his bearded chin against the top of your head. You melt against him, sighing happily.

“Anniversary party slash vow renewal every New Year’s Eve?” Tyler rasps against your hair, sliding his hand up your spine.

You hum into his skin, “as long as you get me electrolytes and a greasy breakfast on January first, I’m in.”

“How about a headache relieving orgasm first?” Tyler rolls you gently onto your back, already kissing a path down your body. You shiver with each brush of his lips and your legs fall open for him to slot himself between them. He rests his chin on your hip bone and looks up at you with a soft look in his eyes that doesn’t match the hungry smirk that curves his lips.

“What?” You ask, angling your neck to look at him, raking a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already was. There’s a little streak of glitter against his temple and you brush your thumb over it, wiping the smudge away.

He shakes his head a little. “Just thinking about this past year,” he lifts one shoulder in an awkward shrug. “How fun it’s been, how glad I am that we did the surprise last night.”

“Getting soft on me, Seguin?” you tease, poking at his side with your foot. He wiggles away a little from your touch, ticklish even though he won’t admit it.

“You know I’m anything but soft for you,” he laughs, nipping at your skin. “Let me prove it.” He presses a kiss against your hip bone and then lower and then there’s no more thoughts, just you and Tyler and the rest of forever stretching out in front of you.