For CaptinAwesome, hope you'll like it:)
It was Tom's last season before the Washington Capitals drafted him when you started dating. But before that happened, you two were anything but friends. He played for Hershey Bears and you played one season for Lehigh Valley Phantoms, which was making the two of you number one rivals.
~~~
"Ready to face Bears, Y/N?" one of your teammates asks and ruffles your perfectly braid hair. You smack his hand away and smile: "As I will ever be."
You pull a helmet on your head, put the gloves on and grab your stick, before following the others on the ice, where Bears are already warming up. You notice one of them occasionally shooting glances at your direction, but you decide to ignore that. After all, playing hockey is your priority and he is a rival. Captain of your team nudges your arm, making you turn around to face him: "What?"
"Why is that dude checking you out?"
"He isn't. I am sure he is watching our warm ups and nothing or no one else."
"He's been watching you since the second you stepped on the ice."
You wrap your fingers around the stick tightly and lean onto it: "Then I'll give him something to see."
Before he can even ask what's on your mind, you speed down the ice, skating past all of your teammates. Your main attribute on the ice is your speed, which makes you an excellent forward. With a corner of your eye you see that same player who has been looking at you all along, carefully observing you and whisper something to one of his teammates.
"Y/N!"
A second later the puck flies towards you and with it at the end of your stick, you skate towards the net and shoot a wrist-shot. Black rubber hits the back of the net and you stop by the boards with a satisfied smile on your face, which grows bigger when the captain of your team fist-bumps you before whispering: "You showed that dude what hockey means. Well done, kiddo."
"Thank you," you reply with a toothy grin and look at the direction of the Bears. You notice number 14 whisper something to one of his teammates and they both laugh. Going by their laughs and looks on their faces it's anything but nice.
I will show them. I'll show them how the game is played. You think to yourself and give them a mocking wave, which surprises them.
"Y/N, move! The puck will drop soon."
You skate to your team's bench, where coach starts explaining strategy. You listen to him, but hear nothing until you hear him say: "...and Y/N is on the face off tonight."
"What? Why?"
"Because you are a good player. And I think you deserve a shot."
"Thank you, sir, but..."
"She'll take it," your captain answers instead of you and gives you no other option but to accept the responsibility. Sighing, you nod in a sign of agreement before you skate to the face off circle. Where you face the same guy, that one wearing number 14, who has laughed at you.
"A girl on a faceoff? Well, they want you to be knocked down, eh?"
"You'll be the one to get knocked down," you hiss and prepare for the puck to drop. You hear him chuckle above you and that makes you even more determined to prove him he is wrong, that the girl can play hockey.
As soon as the puck hits the ice, you keep your promise and knock him down. He gets up and you know he won't let you get away with it. Being knocked down by a girl...every guy's nightmare. You pass the puck to your captain and speed down the ice in front of the Bears' net. You are the best when it comes to clearing rebounds in the net and blocking goalie's view.
"Y/N!" you hear your name being called and you prepare to clear the rebound if needed. In that moment you feel strong force hit back of your head and you hit the ice, agonizingly painful headache blinding your vision. You close your eyes and open them again when you look up, seeing number 14 grinning down at you: "Lift your ass off the ice and stop crying."
His words make your blood boil and you pull yourself up: "Wanna go, big guy? Or you don't want your ass beaten by a girl?"
"It's on," you both drop gloves and the arena explodes in loud cheering. Somewhere in the distance you hear the announcer shouting: "Bears' Tom Wilson and Phantoms' Y/N Y//L/N drop the gloves in what it seems unexpected fight! Let's not forget, this is Y/N's first season and also her first AHL fight!..."
He continues yelling what is going on, but that's not what you focus on. You grab his jersey and swing your fist, aiming for his cheek. He ducks, avoiding the hit, before it's his turn to throw a punch. Being quick on your feet, you avoid the punch, but you slip. His hands are still tightly wrapped around your jersey, so you pull him down with you. As soon as you hit the ice, refs pull you apart and loud hollering of the fans become audible again. One of the refs takes you to the penalty box and you hear the broadcaster announce your names and penalties.
During the second period you get a chance for a pay back. He accepts the pass near the boards when you speed down the ice and slam him against the boards, earning loud applause and standing ovations from the fans. But you suddenly feel sorry when you see him holding his shoulder and not getting up from the ice.
"Shit," you say to yourself and try to get closer, but your teammates stop you: "What are you doing?"
"I wanna get to him, I didn't mean to injure him."
"He is just faking it."
"He clearly is not faking it."
He is taken off the ice and you visit penalty box again. When you return in the game, you are clearly not with your head back in there. Your mind keeps wandering away to the injured player and you can't wait for the game to end. During one of the face offs, you gather enough courage to speak with injured player's captain: "Any news on number 14?"
He glares at you, various emotions, varying from anger to surprise, flashing in his eyes: "Why do you care?"
At first you want to say something back, but then you stop yourself. After all, you were the one who sent his teammate out of the game and it's no surprise he doesn't trust you. Plus, your team is his team's biggest rival.
"I didn't want to injure him and I am sorry for sending him off the ice."
"He's fine," the answer is short, letting you know the conversation is over. In a next second, the puck drops and the game begins again. If you expected him to be nice after having a little chat with him, you've been mistaken. He shoves you away and chases after the puck, which is currently in your teammate's possession.
The game ends in over time and what bothers you the most is that number 14 hasn't come back. Right before skating off the ice, you get stopped by his captain: "You still want to know how's Tom doing?"
"Yes, please. I really didn't mean to injure him..."
"His shoulder is fine, is not dislocated and he will play the next game."
"So he is okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, he is."
"But...why didn't he come back then?"
His captain seems to have troubles holding back a grin: "His dignity is injured. He never thought a girl could play and now he had to leave the ice because a girl checked him."
You crack a tiny smile: "So there are no serious injuries?"
He shakes his head in response and smiles a bit: "Still, that was a nasty hit out there."
You look down on the ice and say quietly: "He provoked me."
You don't wait for him to answer as you join the rest of your team when they skate off the ice and into your locker room.
"Y/N, that was a hell of a hit!" one of your teammates slaps your shoulder and grins approvingly. The other guys gather around you and congratulate you, but you still feel bad for making that hit.
"Thank you, guys," you smile without a real excitement, but your captain is the only one who notices that. He drags you a bit away form the others: "Are you okay?"
"Actually, no. I feel bad for making that hit..."
"Don't feel bad. You knocked down a hockey player and he plays for our rivals. Look, don't bother, as I heard he is okay, there is nothing wrong with him. Beside, if you didn't hit him, he'd probably hit you. That's hockey, sweetie."
"I know it is..."
"Don't feel sorry. Hey, wanna go out with us tonight, celebrate the win?"
"Naah, I think I will skip it, thank you. Maybe next time. Thanks again."
"Will you be okay?"
"Yeah, I will be okay," you shake his hand off your shoulder and get to your stall, where you grab a towel and a shower gel before heading into a shower. Well, at least you got assigned a separate shower stall. It doesn't bother you getting dressed in the guys' locker room, but taking shower is a different story.
Normally, you would spend hours in a hot shower, but tonight you hurry with your showering routine. Thirty minutes later you are dressed into street clothes, but you haven't dried you hair, which is now tucked under wool beanie.
After saying quick goodbyes and "good game"'s, you hurry out, your bag slapping against your knees and legs. On your way out, you notice the guy you injured, his arm resting in a sling.
"Hey!"
He turns around and sees you, his face becomes angry mask when he asks: "What do you want?"
"I-I just wanna say sorry. And ask how are you? How is your shoulder?"
He shrugs his healthy shoulder and turns around, going through notes on a wooden board. You sigh deeply: "I am sorry..."
Again, he faces you, only this time his face is softer: "I know you didn't mean to hurt me. You just don't seem like this kind of person."
"I didn't want to hurt you that much... Y/N Y/L/N, if you missed my name when the announcer explained our penalties."
He takes your hand and smiles a bit: "Tom Wilson. Nice to meet you, Y/N."
"Nice to meet you to."
~~~
Every following game your friendship with Tom grew stronger and when he got picked by the NHL's Washington Capitals, you made a step forward and become a couple. You moved to Washington with him and occasionally practiced with the Caps and even more, practiced with a man who used to be your number one rival at the beginning of your acquaintance, but became your sweetheart after months of friendship.
So sorry if this one is bad, it's the first one I've tried to write after that break and yeah:) Thank you all for support and understanding, I truly appreciate it:)