nhl one-shots | multi

𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 | 𝙢. 𝙩𝙠𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙠

SUMMARY: Y/N has dealt with a lot of torment in her life- everyone has. But when the trail of all her problems continuously leads back to a single source, she has to decide whether or not it's time for her to cut ties and let go.

The feeling of holding love in your arms was intoxicating. The pure adrenaline from a single touch had been the basis of Y/N's addiction. To be able to feel so much joy and ecstasy while with a single person should have been outlawed. But it wasn't. Which meant that people just like Y/N had to chance to find their own person that would give them that familiar sensation. For Y/N, It was Matthew.

An asshole of an individual when he was on the ice, but a sweetheart pest when he was with those he loved. He had been the source of all Y/N's problems. From the broken hearts and angry confrontations to the long nights waiting by the phone for a single call. It seemed that Matthew was the source tying all of Y/N's heartache together.

Which is why she needed a break. She couldn't continue to put herself through his antics. It wasn't healthy. She loved him more than anything and wanted to have a life with him. But there was something always coming between the two of them that prevented that. At first, it was their schedules- Matthew travelled a lot and he wasn't sure if he could do long distance, but after going on a few dates with Y/N- he realized that he wanted her around, he didn't care if it was long distance because he knew that whenever he came home, he would be coming home to her.

But then it became his family.

Y/N wasn't used to such a sarcastic and abrasive bunch that it threw her for a loop the first time she met Brady and Keith. They teased Matthew and her relentlessly and it wasn't until Taryn had sat down with her and welcomed her with open arms did the woman feel as though she could find her place amongst the tkachuks.

The point was, that no matter what had been thrown their way- they had somehow managed to push through it. Y/N knew that every relationship had it's troubles, and her and Matthew had worked through them, just like she had done in her previous relationships- but the difference between her and Matthew and her prior flings, was that Matthew was a celebrity- at least in the world of hockey.

He was a star and one of Calgary's resident troublemakers. Which meant that having her name tied to him brought in unwarranted attention.

From the calls from her friends asking for tickets, to random strangers following her on her social media platforms- she felt overwhelmed. Unfortunately Matthew wasn't much help in that regard. His best advice was that she private her accounts and ignore any tweets or comments she might see on his posts.

So she did.

But it wasn't enough. She felt exposed. She couldn't post a picture or go out in public without someone making a negative snarky response. It was something she had never dealt with before.

But she swallowed her feelings and kept her mouth shut.

She was able to keep her life separate from his for a while, the best she could. They saw each other whenever possible and limited their dates to their individual apartments. It was going well, it was lonely, but it worked for them for a while.

When Matthew decided he wanted to go home and quarantine with his family, they met another rift.

Y/N had wanted to go home with her family too- so they were at a crossroads. Y/N could never ask him to leave his family for her. They weren't living together so it wouldn't be fair of her to ask. But that didn't mean that she wasn't going to miss him.

"What if you just came with me? That way we don't have to be apart- and you can get to know my family better. Matthew suggested. He may have been a little more closed off when it came to his emotions, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to miss her like crazy and feel sad when he was alone.

Swallowing harshly, the girl looked down into her suitcase. Matthew had stopped by her apartment that evening. He was going to drive her to the airport so that she could go home and visit her parents for the duration of quarantine.

"I can't come with you Matt... I haven't seen my family in forever and we don't know when these restrictions are going to be lifted- I might not see them for a long time, and it's already been over a year since I've been home." She told him. Her heart clenched in her chest as she recounted her fears to him.

Matthew frowned. "What if you visited them for a while and then flew up to see me?" He was terrified of losing her and he didn't know if their relationship would survive a long distance stretch when he wasn't able to come see her at the end of his usual away game stretches.

"What? And risk getting my parents sick? What about your family Matt- If I travel back and forth I could get them sick!" She shook her head, almost insulted that he thought that she would do that to the two families.

Matthew clenched his jaw. "Im just trying to help- I don't want to lose you." He sighed.

Y/N looked up with glossy eyes. "I don't want to lose you either..." she gulped.

She knew that this break was going to hurt the both of them. It didn't matter if they were able to call on the phone or video chat- it wasn't the same. They didn't know if they would survive this stretch of time apart.

"I think you should come with me." Matthew told her. "I will fly your parents out and we can rent them a guest house- whatever it takes-" he reached out.

Furrowing her brows, the woman gaped at him. "What- Matthew no. My family cannot afford to live in a guest house- they would need visas for an extended stay too- this isn't going to work." She snapped.

Matthew glared. "Stop saying that! We can make it work but you're not even trying!" He stopped her from packing her suitcase.

Y/N whipped her head around. "Excuse me? I'm not trying?!" She growled. "This entire relationship I have been trying! It is always me that is trying and sacrificing! You leave for periods of time then come back and we act as if it's fine- you don't constantly get the threats about how I'm ruining your career or sleeping you for clout- it is me!" She shouted.

"Thats not my fault-" Matthew tried to defend himself.

"I know that! But the least you could do is try to make it better- your whole attitude is for me to ignore it and just do what is best for you- I cant talk back because it could hurt your reputation, we can't move in together because the league will think im using you- which they already do so it doesn't even matter-" she shook her head bitterly.

"It is not fair for me to love you as much as I do. Because I am not getting enough out of this relationship compared to what I put in." She sighed shakily.

Matthew looked at her and frowned. He didn't realize that she was hurting so terribly- and he didn't realize that it was coming down on her because of him. "So what do you want to do?" He asked.

Y/N bit her lip. "I think you need to go be with your family and I need to go be with mine... I am not breaking up with you- but we need to reevaluate how we want to go about this relationship..." she mumbled.

Matthew walked forward, wrapping his arms around her as his curls bounced along his head. His jaw clenching as he kissed the top of her head. "We're not going to end this baby.... We'll get through it- I'll make it better.... I promise."

Times were changing, and they had to change to if they wanted to survive.