Hockey Boys Ruined Me

You even considered your coworkers friends and regularly talked to them outside of work, which is why you were so upset when you were called in this morning. Everyone knew how special of a day it was for you, not only because it was Game 6 of the first round for the Leafs but it was also the first game they were letting fans in the arena. While all of the WAGS and family declined the option of going to the arena due to the 5 1/2hr drive you knew you would do anything to watch Mitch play hockey in person. Since you were the only one going, the Leafs management got you a pass to join the social media and photography crew so you wouldn’t have to sit alone and you’d have easier access to the locker room after. You’d been talking about this day for weeks and needless to say you're very excited, something that Mitch had picked up on last night.

“Why do you sound so excited?” Mitch’s questioning voice comes through the phone pulling you out of your thoughts.

“I can’t be excited that you're going to kill it tomorrow, win and score me a hatty?” You laugh, focusing back on cooking your dinner.

“A hatty?!” Mitch lets out a snort, “How about a goal?”

“Nope,” You shake your head pointing at him through the screen. “You either go big or go home. Now swear it.”

“Fine,” Mitch huffs and you see him roll his eyes before using the worst British accent you've ever heard, causing you to burst out laughing. “My dearest love, I swear to you on the natural springs of Florida I will score you a hatty.” He can barely finish before joining you in laughing.

“That was beautiful and I wish I had recorded it.” You snort, wiping away your tears. “Okay I should let you go so you can get some hatty scoring rest.”

“Alright, I’ll call you after the game. I love youuuu.” Mitch sings out making obnoxious kissing faces at the screen.

“I love you too and you’re going to do awesome.” You end the call with a smile on your face letting out a small squeal, you can't believe you're finally going to see him play in person again. You're practically vibrating with excitement when you settle into your bed knowing it's going to be hard to sleep. You're definitely not looking forward to waking up early and the long drive ahead but you can't wait to see the surprised look on Mitch's face when he sees you there.

It feels like you just closed your eyes when you're abruptly pulled from sleep by the ringing of your phone, and dread immediately fills you when you see that it's not your alarm but your boss calling. You barely get out a hello before she starts frantically speaking.

“I'm so sorry, I know you're supposed to be off but Jeremy didn't come in to bake and he somehow ran out of sugar yesterday and didn’t tell anyone. Plus today is catering tasting day, which means we need all of that baked too so I can deliver it.”

“And no one else can come in?” You question already pulling on your clothes. “What about Heather? She's been wanting more hours.”

“Heather said she doesn't feel good and won't be able to come in till 11.” Anna huffs.

“Yeah cause she partied till 4am last night.” You mumble under your breath. “Well I'm on the way.” You tell her as you grab your car keys and head out the door. Unbelievable you think to yourself, it's times like this where you hate how reliable you are. It feels like stress when you arrive, Anna basically throws the catering menus at you of what the customers want to try before she speeds out the door, tossing a ‘be back soon’ over her shoulder. And now the real fun and chaos begins, you think to yourself as you grab out all the recipes you'll need.

It's almost 3 hours later when it feels like you can finally breathe easier now that the baking is done. Then Heather finally arrives, two hours late you might add, you think you're done only to realize she can’t remember how to properly package the taste testing boxes, you let out a breath of frustration before showing her how to do it. After helping her you're nearing the 4 hour mark, way past the time you were planning on leaving, and just when you're about to high tail it out of there when Heather decides she can't work any longer and walks out before you can say anything. You let out a few choice cusses before sending Anna a text that everythings done but that Heather left so you’re stuck waiting for her to come back then you can leave and hopefully make it on time for the start of the game. Anna doesn’t reply so you're in the middle of stress wiping the counter for like the 16th time when she burst through the door, apologies flying out of her mouth faster than you can acknowledge.

“Anna, Anna!” You shout, causing her to stop mid sorry. “It's fine and not your fault.” You reassure her, “but if there's nothing else that needs to be done.” You trail off.

“My goodness, please leave, I can’t believe Heather would just walk out like that, I promise you will get overtime. And I'm so sorry I kept you for so long! And here take some treats with you for your drive.” She exclaims, shoving a box full of cookies and muffins into your hands and pushing you towards the door. With a wave you're finally out the door and rushing to your car, Montreal here you come.

-----dance break broskis make Mitch proud-----

It’s official, you hate Montreal. Maybe more than any other city at the moment because you just sat in traffic for 45 plus minutes when you were only 2 miles away from the arena, had it not been your car you would have left it and walked the rest of the way. But the good news is that you're finally here and you're glad that you didn't tell Mitch you were coming so there's no way he'll be disappointed that you missed the first two periods.

Getting settled into your seat the excitement of seeing Mitch play is slowly being replaced with dread as the clock counts down to the last 10 minutes of play, it seems that everything that could go wrong for the team is going wrong right now, as you watch Mitch try to clear the puck on the penalty kill, you see how it flies off his stick wrong and goes straight over the glass. You feel tears welling up in your eyes when they show Mitch hanging his head as he's ushered into the box, you can’t imagine how he’s feeling especially when Montreal ends up scoring. When the boys bring it back to tie the game you're ecstatic, knowing they have a chance to pull through, your eyes glancing at the clock praying they can get a goal. You’re slightly disappointed when the clock runs out before they can get one, knowing you have to go through the classic nail biting overtime.

Now that you have time to relax a little you finally send out a few texts to your friends and WAGS to let them know you had made it there safely just in time to watch the third and that you’d let all the guys know regardless of the outcome that they’d be there for the next game. When the teams finally come back on the ice and overtime starts you can feel the stressful adrenaline pouring through you so much that you have to stand and watch. You almost jump in place when you see a shot on goal so close to going in before it’s stopped by Price, your heart rate calms a little as the team settles back into playing. There’s only 5 minutes left of OT when it happens, a turnover, a turnover that results in a Montreal goal. The dreaded goal horn sounds for them so loudly you think you might hear it forever in your nightmares. And when Montreal's win song starts playing throughout the arena you wince before dropping back into your seat with your head into your hands to hide your frustration, all you can think about is how awful Mitch is probably feeling and knowing he's putting this loss on his shoulders alone. You force yourself to watch the boys skate off paying special attention to Mitch as he hangs his head stepping off the ice. Watching as the fans start filtering out you take one more glance at the ice and with a dejected look on your face you leave your seat taking your time walking down to the locker room knowing Mitch will be doing his post-game interview. You stick to the wall when you get there wanting to stay out of the way of workers passing in front of you, while waiting you have enough time to start getting heated over all the tweets about Mitch when some of the players start filtering out. You make eye contact and give them a soft smile and a little encouragement. When you see William you perk up a bit knowing Mitch is usually right behind him but he just shakes his head causing you to deflate. You figure Mitch is getting some advice from his honorary dads since you haven't seen Jimbo or Spez leave yet.

“I tried telling him when we were in the box that it wasn't his fault but,” William trails off seemingly trying to come up with something. “He’ll be out soon. You know how we get.” He finally lets out with a shrug trying to give you a small smile.

“Yeah.” You breathe out. “Stubborn hockey players. C’mere you all deserve a hug.” You slip your arms around him, giving him a quick hug and smile before releasing him so he can walk towards the bus.

“Now I expected my boy to be back to his normal self by practice.” Will wags his finger at you trying to lighten the mood.

“You got it Willy Styles.” You salute with a wink. With a roll of his eyes he’s off leaving you alone again to wait. It's another 5 minutes before your man of the hour finally shows.

“Hey Mitchy.” You call out softly when you see him walk out of the locker room.

“Wha- how?” He struggles to get out before collapsing into your open arms for the tightest hug you can give him. You can feel him start to shake in your grip causing you to squeeze your eyes shut to fight off the tears.

“I know it hurts but It’ll be okay, bud.” You whisper in his ear not letting him out of your arms till you see that all the guys are ready and loading up into the bus.

“Please don't let me go.” You hear Mitch say softly and you can feel your heart shatter at those words. Especially because you know you have to, even if it’s just temporary.

“I have to but I'll meet you at the hotel, I promise.” You say giving him a final squeeze before releasing him from your hug. “I drove here and as much as we both want to ride together you have to go with the team. See you soon.” Giving him a kiss on his forehead as a goodbye before going your separate ways.

You get to the hotel rather quickly, glancing at your phone to make sure you're at the right room before you take a few deep breaths to psych yourself up knowing that Mitch is going to still be devastated on the other side of the door and it's going to be painful to see. The door is yanked open as soon as your knuckles hit the wood, Mitch once again collapsing into your arms, you mentally thank yourself for putting down your bag before you knocked.

“I know, bud” You drag your fingers through his hair, “Lets go get comfy okay? I brought some snacks if you want.” You gesture towards your bag, he nods his head letting you grab it before tugging you into the room. You bring out the snack as both get settled on the bed cuddling up against each other with a movie playing in the background, both of you just enjoy each other’s presence. You take a glance at Mitch after a good minute of silence, and seeing his frown you can tell he’s thinking about the game.

“Ya know, we don't have to talk about the game,” you tell him quietly, you get a grimace in response before he lets out a huff of air, curling into your side.

“It’s just that you wasted your time driving to see me play like absolute garbage.” He starts ranting to you, eyes beginning to turn red with tears brimming in them. “I shouldn't be allowed to play in the NHL. All those people are right.”

“Who said that?” You question with anger in your voice, something that makes him look at you. “The guys with beer bellies living in their parents' basement, who have never touched a puck, let alone ice? Those absolute motherfreaking douchecanoes can suck my-”

“Okay I get it” Mitch cuts you off with a little smile, and you mentally cheer when you see it knowing that your ridiculousness is slowly cheering him up.

“Alright say this with me.” You proclaim taking his face in your hands and pushing your face as close as possibly practically going crossed eyed with how intense you're staring at each other.

“I Mitchell Marner am not going to let these doofinshmurtz from evil incorporated who have never done anything important in their life besides flip a burger to affect you and the way you play.”

“I'm not going to say that!” Mitch lets out a slight peal of laughter, which causes you to do the same.

“If you don't say it, I'm not giving you any hair scratches.”

“What am I a dog?” He gasps with the most offended look on his face.

“Okay,” You shrug before turning over in bed to face away from him. “I guess you don't need cuddles either.”

“Noooo.” He whines launching himself at you so you have no choice but to cuddle him. You let out a small huff of laughter when he nuzzles into your neck like a puppy, letting a comfortable silence wash over the room. You hear a quiet thank you whispered out as you start running your fingers through his hair which you respond with a loving kiss to the top of his head. And as you’re cuddled up with his weight draped across you all you can think of is that this is where you belong.