NHL Imagines

Tyson Barrie - My North Star

Warnings: Swearing/language, anxiety, mentions of sexism in the workplace

Word Count: 1.2k

You were sitting on the bed watching Netflix and trying to unwind from a rough day when you heard the door open.

"(Y/N)?" your boyfriend, Tyson called.

You jumped off the bed and flat-out ran through the hallway separating the bedroom from the living room. Tyson was putting his bag down when you tackled him in a massive hug, throwing your arms around his neck and nearly knocking him over.

"Whoa, there, that's quite the welcome!" Tyson said, laughter ringing in his voice. "You seriously don't know your own strength."

"Fuck, I missed you so much, Ty," you murmured into his neck, holding him tighter.

You felt the tension creep into his body before he pulled away to look at your face, although he still kept his hands on your waist. "Babe, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

You were about to respond that you were fine, but tears streamed down your cheeks instead.

"Babe, seriously, what's going on?" As Tyson's brown eyes scanned your face, his eyebrows knit together, which always happened when moderate worry turned into serious concern. "Did something happen at work today?"

"No. Well, not one incident in particular," you said through sniffles. "It was just one thing after another. My boss totally shot down my branding idea in front of everyone at the meeting today—it was so fucking humiliating—then I had to deal with a shit ton of paperwork for one of the apartment closings, and it was just..." You finally took a deep breath after talking a million miles an hour. "It was such an overwhelming day."

Tyson's eyes had darkened at the mention of your boss, but now his tone matched them. "I've said it before and I will say it again: Smith is an ass."

"Yeah, but what can I do about it? He's so entrenched in the real estate group." You hated sounding so defeated, but that was how you felt.

"Alright, why don't I make you a cup of tea and we can talk about it?" Tyson suggested.

"Okay."

Tyson kept one arm around you as he led you into the kitchen, and he only let go when you were ensconced on one of the bar stools. He handed you the tissue box and you tried to smile at him gratefully, but it looked more like a grimace.

"Do you have a headache?" he asked after you blew your nose.

"Yeah, it's from all the crying."

"Let me go get your nose drops, I'll be right back."

He walked out of the kitchen and returned within 30 seconds with your drops in his hand. "Here you go, sweetheart." He handed you the drops and kissed your forehead.

"Thanks, babe." You managed a real smile this time; it wasn't big, but it was something.

You watched as Tyson pulled out your favorite mug and put some water in it before placing the mug in the microwave. While the water heated up, he pulled a peppermint tea bag out of the cabinet. This was one of the things you loved most about your boyfriend of nearly three years: he went about things in such a calm manner that you couldn't help but relax, no matter how shitty you felt. He made you feel grounded.

The microwave started beeping and Tyson took the mug out, making sure to grab the handle and not the mug itself. Early on in your relationship, he burned himself on a hot mug when he went to take it out of the microwave and screamed so loud you thought something had caught fire. Tyson had been extra careful not to have a repeat ever since.

Tyson handed you your mug. "Here's your tea."

"Thank you, Ty." You took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh; you instantly started to feel better.

"Did that hit the spot?" He smiled for the first time since he realized you were upset.

"Yeah," you replied, inhaling deeply as you took a few more sips of tea. The knots in your stomach began to untangle and settle down.

"So what exactly happened at the meeting with Smith?"

You dreaded talking about it, but you knew letting it out was the only way you'd truly feel better. "So you know how we have our group meetings twice a week?" Tyson nodded. "Well, management said we have to do a better job of branding our real estate group, so Smith opened the floor to suggestions. I had a really good one about overhauling our social media accounts, and everyone else at the table seemed to agree, but Smith called it 'asinine' and asked for any 'serious' suggestions. You know, he wouldn't dare behave like that if I were a man. He fawns all over Jason even though he's the most incompetent agent in the entire group."

Tyson's eyes darkened again before he visibly schooled them to take on a softer tone. "(Y/N), I know you don't want to hear this, but I think you need to look for another job."

"But where? I'll never be able to get a reference from Smith. Not that I really want one from him, anyway, but it'll make me look bad if I don't have one." You sigh in frustration. "This job was supposed to be a way to climb the ladder. Now I feel like I'm at square one."

"Can't you have your ex-boss from Denver and the managers here write letters for you? Didn't you say the managers praised your work ethic and success at the monthly meeting last week?"

"You know, that's actually a really good idea." It was true: you hadn't thought about contacting your old boss from Denver. It wasn't like you worked for her years ago; you only left six months ago after Tyson was traded to the Maple Leafs. A letter from her and the managers at your current group would be enough to compensate for the lack of a reference from Smith.

You felt the weight that had been on your shoulders for the past six months lift as you said, "I'll hand in my resignation tomorrow morning. Thank you, Ty, for giving me the courage to leave. My anxiety would've kept me stuck there, but you're like my north star, guiding me through my worst times. You've always been that, you know, but people tend to change. I'm just thankful you're still the same guy I fell in love with."

His face lit up like a Christmas tree when you said he was your 'north star.' "You're welcome, (Y/N). I'm just glad I could help—you already look so much less burdened."

"All thanks to you." You leaned in and kissed Tyson, threading your fingers through his curls. You wanted to stay in that bubble of happiness forever, but you yawned.

Tyson chuckled. "Tired, are we?"

You giggled. "Yeah, I'm ready for sleep."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Not even ten minutes later, you were out like a light in Tyson's arms.