nhl one-shots | multi

if walls could talk | s. crosby

"Are you and daddy fighting?" Tyler asked worriedly, he had a couple of kids in his class that had divorced parents, and while he didn't totally understand the concept, he knew that if mommy and daddy split up, it meant that their family wouldn't be together. That was a lot to take in as such a young boy. He was still a baby in Y/N's eyes.

Shaking her head and cupping his cheek, Y/N brushed his curls out of his face and kissed the top of his head. "No baby... Mommy is just sad with daddy... She misses him." She tried to simplify it as best she could. Emily wasn't really affected by the fighting as she was already asleep in her crib. But Tyler knew better. "I miss daddy too." He confessed.

That alone was enough to break Sidney's heart in a million pieces. He knew that he needed to step up.

Walking in, the man looked wounded- he needed to make amends. Y/N looked down and Tyler crawled under the blankets. Sidney sat on the bed next to his wife and wrapped his arm around her- noticing that she didn't melt into his embrace like she used to. "Im really sorry... to both of you guys- and I promise... Daddy is gonna be around more, alright bud?" He looked at Tyler and gulped.

The little boy sighed and just rolled over- turning out his night-light. He was upset. Y/N pressed her lips into a firm line and stood up from the bed, tucking her son in and kissing the top of his head. As she and Sidney walked out of the bedroom, he really wanted to talk to her and fix things.

"Y/N please just tell me what I have to do to make things better..." he begged- holding her hand as they headed into the bedroom. He paused at the door as his wife started getting into bed- he wasn't sure if he was allowed to stay in the room or not. Patting the spot next to him, the last thing Y/N needed was for the kids to wake up early and see their father sleeping on the couch. Tyler already knew that his parents were fighting, she didn't need her son to be worried anymore.

Rolling over and turning out the light, Y/N laid with her back facing the hockey player. "Start being around the kids more, taking them to school- picking them up and doing more than just taking Tyler to the rink..." she listed with a monotone voice. But that wasn't what Sidney wanted. "And what about with you? How do I fix our marriage?" He asked sincerely, trailing his hadn't across his shoulder. It wasn't sexual but rather he was trying to comfort both himself and her.

Pausing, Y/N honestly didn't have an answer for him, she didn't know what she wanted. "I don't know if it can be fixed Sidney..." Going to sleep that night, Sidney was haunted by nightmares- he couldn't believe that he was so close to losing his family.

He was going to prove to Y/N, Tyler and Emily- hell everyone in the world, that he could be a good husband and that he could be an amazing dad. He wasn't going to lose his family. He would do whatever it took, if it meant that he got his life back.

Things didn't get much better after that night- although Sidney had pulled through with his promise of being there for the kids and being around more, he still wasn't sure what to do about his marriage- With every passing day, it seemed as though his wife was pulling further away from him. Y/N was a strong woman and he knew that, she didn't like to let on that she was hurt- but moments like this made Sidney wish that she was a little more sensitive.

Or at the very least comfortable enough with him to share her thoughts.

That night, Sidney had tried to reach out several times to the woman who slept next to him- but she might as well have been thousands of miles away. The space between his side of the bed and hers was a cold reminder that Sidney had messed up. He was desperately in love with Y/N, and she was in love with him- but their relationship was stuck in some sort of limbo.

He had gotten too comfortable with their relationship, he stopped trying and assumed that everything was fine. But Sidney came to the realization that the reason they worked so well together was because they had a mutual understanding. Before the kids, the Canadian always made time for date nights and always came home at the end of the night. When he was on road trips, he sent countless messages and spent hours on the phone with his then girlfriend.