Arber talks about congratulating Florian on scoring a hat trick

~Arber Xhekaj Protecting You Imagine

You honestly didn't even know what exacly had happened. Few seconds after the face-off Arber had dropped his gloves. The guy from the other team was coming at him fast but Arber had enough experience and intuition to read his opponent, oh and unraveling rage...he had plenty of that on the ice.

The other guy got the first two good hits, Arber's helmet fell down on the floor and you instantly got up from your seat behind the bench of the Habs. It sure wasn't the first time that you've seen Arber fight, happened every other week. But everytime his head was left unprotected you felt yourself getting more and more nervous, you reached to the front to grab Juraj's shoulder. He looked around and gave you an encouraging nod.

Just in that moment a noise went through the crowd in the rafters. Your eyes went back from Juraj to the rink. Arber had lifted the other guy up and threw him on the ice. He let out a few cuss words before independently making his way to the penalty box.

*

After the game was over you made your way to the hallway the team would pass. You high fived a few guys and Kaiden gave you a quick hug as he knew how much nerves Arber's fights cost you sometimes.

And last he came, one of his knuckles bleeding and one of his eyes bruised. You reached for his hand and he grabbed you and pulled you close placing a tender kiss on your lips "Just another day at the office babe", he whispered. "I'm proud of you", you answered with a long kiss in return.

And you really were, because as much as he threw his gloves away on the ice, you had never seen Arber loose his temper off of it. He was calm and gentle and you always felt safe with him. He was your rock and you could always count on him.

"I'll see you in a bit.", he grinned down on you. "Yeah go and get a shower", you laughed as you ran your hands through his wet and sweaty hair.

You watched him walk down to the Habs lockerroom and let out a sigh, happy that the nerve-wrecking part of the day was over.

Now you had a bit of time left until you and Arber would drive home, so you decided to go and get you some nachos while you waited. You loved them and Arber loved to eat the rest as he was always hungry after a game. There was still a bit of a queue so you needed to wait a bit.

Just as your food was almost ready you heard running footsteps behind you. It was Kaiden, almost out of breath "You gotta come, Arber got into a fight." You didn't understand "Wha-" but Kaiden just grabbed you by the arm and dragged you with him.

When you came there the tension was still high. Arber was being held back by Juraj and Josh on one side of the hallway while the other guy, the guy who Arber had thrown on the ice, was held back by some of his teammates on the other side. They were shouting and calling each other names while you could hear their teammates trying to calm them down.

You had never seen that look on Arber's face. Never. There was a little bit of blood on his cheek, right beneath the already bruised eye. The other guy held his head and stumbled a bit while still shouting at Arber.

Juraj and Josh finally ended the situation and Juraj shoved Arber, whose fists were still clenched into a room while Josh hissed a last few words towards the other guys until they left as well.

Kaiden and you went in as well. "Talk to him.", Juraj said. And they both left.

Arber was sitting there, his leg was shaking and he was looking at floor. You sat down beside him and placed a hand on the back of his head. "What happened ?"

He looked to you, eyes piercing straight to your soul. You could still see all the tension boiling inside of him. And you could see sadness.

"Arber what did he do ? I've never seen you get into fights off the ice. Never." you were honestly shocked. And you knew that the other guys had been just as shocked. Otherwise Kaiden wouldn't have come running and Josh wouldn't have gotten involved and Juraj wouldn't have been so serious.

Arber got up and turned himself away from you "He said something bad about you. I told him to shut up, but he didn't. I warned him again but he kept calling you names and then I lost it."

You walked over to him and turned him around to face you. All the rage in his eyes was gone, he looked at you like a hurt puppy and pulled your head on his chest, holding you close "I know it was stupid."