nhl one-shots | multi

proof | m. barzal

Summary: With everyone ragging on him for wasting an opportunity with the perfect girl, Mat is out to prove that they are nothing more than just friends.

Requested: No

Y/N was getting real tired of people telling her who she should date. It seemed as though every time she went out with her friends, they were trying to set her up with some stranger at a bar, or push her to make an account on bumble.

Whenever she denied their suggestions or advice, they always brought up her friend Mat. They gushed and cooed statements along the lines of "you two are so cute together!" or "you're perfect for one another!"

Because even though they might be right, Y/N and Mat had only ever been friends.

Meeting through one of his teammates, Anders Lee, Y/N was pretty close to both his hockey friends and his every-day life friends. It was a decent balance. Whenever Mat needed a plus-one to an event, Y/N was the one he called, and whenever Y/N needed someone to come to the bar with her, Mat jumped to the opportunity.

They were pretty close friends, and not once had they ever crossed that line. Mat was relieved to have a woman in his life that he could get advice from or even just have the company of without having strings attached. They were by no means friends with benefits or anything along that line.

They were just friends. But that didn't stop Mat's fellow linemates from buttering him up and teasing him about the woman he had grown rather fond of. "He talks about you in his sleep when we're on the road." Anders teased the pair as he took a sip from his beer. The group of friends were hanging out around beau's apartment for the night, the man having just bought a new grill and set of steaks that he determined were 'to die for'

Y/N rolled her eyes. "I would hope so- much rather have him call out my name than yours Lee." she giggled softly. She caught notice of Mathew's blush and laughed even harder, giving him a pat on his shoulder as she comforted him.

Anders' wife Grace chuckled. "But seriously- you two would be perfect for each other." she hummed, watching as the pair in question shifted slightly in their chairs. They were all seated on Beau's balcony where there was a lack of chairs- resulting in Grace sitting in her husband's lap, and Y/N sitting in Mat's.

"No one will hold it against you if you're jealous Andy." Mat raised his beer up in a 'toast' like fashion before taking a swig. His hand was resting against Y/Ns hip, playing with the denim material of her shorts.

She turned back at him and smiled softly. If Y/N was being honest, she loved their friendship, she had never thought about Mat in a romantic way- but she was no stranger to how attractive he was. She knew that plenty of women would kill to be in her position- but it wasn't her responsibility to worry about what girls were close to Mat. She didn't bother to ask about his love life unless he brought it up, and he did the same.

They played a few games of beer pong in the kitchen after a while before Y/N left with grace and some of the other WAGs to go dance on the balcony. She was having a great time, and she was really happy that she had become friends with Anders in the first place.

"So you're really telling me that you don't have any feelings about Y/N?" Beau asked softly. They were watching the girls from inside, cleaning up a bit of the mess and getting drink refills for their bros. \

Mat rolled his eyes. "Do you guys seriously not talk about anything else?" he asked. It had gotten old, with how often the guys were on his abc about the girl- he didn't know what else they wanted from him. He never looked at her that way. Surely she was beautiful, she had a great personality and she was one of his favourite people in the world. But she had never shown an interest in him like that and Mat was somewhat relieved that she hadn't. He was tired of girls throwing themselves at him or trying to use him just because he played hockey or had money. Y/N was different and he liked the friendship they had going right now.

Anthony shrugged. "I'm just saying- you have this amazing girl in front of you, and youre missing a great opportunity." he threw a few empty beer bottles into the recycling bin.

Having a flush spread through his cheeks, Mathew huffed. "You want me to prove that there is nothing going on between me and Y/N? Fine." he chugged the rest of his beer before slamming the bottle onto the countertop- luckily not shattering it to pieces.

He headed out of the kitchen and onto the balcony. Never had he felt so strongly about something, but he was out to prove his point.

Reaching out to grasp Y/N's waist, he spun her away from Grace whom she was dancing with- leaning down and letting his lips mould with the girl's. He felt her warm flesh press against his and it was like his eyes had been opened.

Y/N stiffened in his grasp at first, certainly not expecting for her friend to kiss her. It took only a moment for her eyes to flutter shut and her hands grip at his shirt. She kissed him back, tasting the coronas against his tongue. His lips were chapped and almost minty- reminding her that Mat had borrowed her chapstick a few hours ago. He tasted great.

His hands tangled into her hair as he tugged on the strands just a bit. The kiss growing rougher and more heated with ever second. It was like they had been without each other for years and this was them finally coming back together to see what they had missed.

Suddenly Y/N realized that there were people around. She pulled away with warm cheeks. Her eyes darted around at the group and she separated herself from Mat who seemed to be just as confused and shocked as she was.

"I- Y/N." Mathew started to talk, reaching out to take her hand.

The woman back stepped and took a deep breath. She was definitely embarrassed, there were a lot of things rushing through her head and she honestly wasn't sure how to process it all. "I uhm- I'm going to go grab some more beers from my car." she made up an excuse to leave quickly.

She smiled nervously at grace and the others as she passed through the apartment, heading down to the parking garage of Beau's building.

Mat stood in shock for a few moments as she left. He definitely wasn't expecting that. He thought maybe he would give her a quick peck and that would be the end of it. But as soon as his lips met hers and she kissed him back- his plan had done a complete one-eighty.

His determination to prove that he harboured absolutely no feelings for Y/N had failed. Not only did Mat realize that he did in fact have feelings for the girl, but he was pretty sure he could never look at her the same again.

"Well... that was unexpected." Beau spoke with a chuckle, making an attempt to break the tension as he headed out on the balcony. Mat just nodded quickly and gave him a rushed 'yeah' before jogging past him and heading out to follow Y/N.

Finding her in the parking garage, she was pulling a couple more cases of beer from her Trunk. Mat immediately went over and grabbed one from her to help. "Here-" he spoke, at the same time as she said. "I got this-"

Mat bit his lip. "Y/N i'm really sorry- I shouldn't have startled you like that- It wasn't fair of me." he started to apologize but he was cut off as the girl gave him a nervous glance.

"Did you like kissing me?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't know whether or not she wanted to hear his answer, because as soon as he answered, everything would change. If he said no, she would feel like shit. If he said 'yes' then they were no longer going to be just friends. They were going to be two friends who just shared a pretty passionate kiss and liked it.

Swallowing harshly, Mat blew a strand of his hair from his forehead. "I uhm- Yeah I did..." he admitted. "That's not weird is it?" he asked softly.

Y/N couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head. "No that's not weird... I liked it too." she told him. Looking up into his deep hazel coloured eyes. "I know that we never talk about it- but... maybe our friends are right?" she suggested.

Mat grinned. He couldn't stop himself from feeling butterflies even if he tried. "I don't know if they are..." he told her. "But I would really like to find out." he admitted.

Smiling fondly at the ground, Y/N swayed slightly as she felt happiness wash over her like warm ocean waves. "Our friends are never gonna let us live this down, you know that right?" she smirked.

The islanders player shrugged as they headed for the elevator. "Could Be worse."