NHL Imagines/ One Shots

Darcy Kuemper- Minnesota Wild *Requested

"Y/N, please don't do this," he begs.

I'm in a daze. His face, though only inches from mine, is starting to blur. I feel his hands on my shoulders, lightly. "Do what?" I say, in the same dazed tone, eyes continuing to stare.

He sniffles and adjusts his feet. He's been kneeling in front of me for quite some time. Due to our relationship spanning over two years, Darcy has learned to recognize these periods of depression I sometimes fall into.

Sometimes, he realizes even before I do.

"Don't let yourself slip away from me," he begs, voice cracking slightly. I want to be better for him, I want to cry because of the way I'm making him hurt. But I just can't, and it doesn't do me any good.

I reach out slowly and touch his cheek. He doesn't lean into my hand the way he does if this were any normal Thursday night. He knows that on these kinds of nights, the small action would cause me to recoil and curl away from him. He stays still, frozen to wait for me to make the next move.

"I don't want to, but I can't think of anything else to do," I whisper. I have to admit that I am being very eery. This mentality I have causes me to see in tunnel vision. I can't find my purpose, rather I can't think of anything except the fact that I won't ever find one.

I pull my hand back and finally blink my eyes. Tears that had been trapped fall as a result. Darcy surprises me by standing up and retreating to our bedroom quietly. He never does that. He always stays with me until I fall asleep. And then the next day, he stays with me again. He buys me flowers because he thinks they will brighten my mood. He kisses my hands to send warmth in my skin. And eventually, I snap out of it.

This time is different already. I rise onto my feet and then sink to the couch. I start to get anxious- on the inside. My exterior remains cool, which I hate because it means that I am not displaying feeling.

It must be an hour later when Darcy returns from the bedroom. I can't bring myself to look at him, so instead I wait for him to sit beside me on the sofa. He takes my hands in his and kisses them each twice.

"I love you so much." His voice cracks. I look up. "I'm sorry I left you alone. I didn't want you to see me ... crying. I didn't want you to see me falling apart," he explains, making eye contact with me through his embarrassment.

"Why didn't you want me to see?" I ask, even toned.

"Because I'm supposed to be strong for you."

"I need you," I agree. He nods.

"Right. And I need you."

We plunge into silence. I hurt him by being hurt myself. I sniffle again. "I'm so sorry, Darcy. You don't deserve this. You deserve someone so much better," I cry. Crying is good- it means it's getting better. "But ... but please don't leave me," I beg pathetically.

A loud sob escapes my chest and Darcy springs into action, wrapping me into his arms and shushing me quietly. He rocks me like a baby and wipes my tears and smoothed my hair at the same time. He's amazing.

"I'm never leaving you. Didn't you hear? I need you, Y/N," he repeats over and over again. "I love you more than anything and it kills me to see you like this and know that I can't help."

I ball my hand into a fist on his chest. "You do help me, Darcy! You're the only thing that can fix me," I tell him. Understand!

We become quiet, just rocking on the couch. My face is in his neck and his arms hold me to him. I occupy myself with making our breaths go in synch.

"You don't need to be fixed," he mumbles after many minutes. I sigh and he kisses my forehead.

If you say so.

for puppyluv7115 :)