nhl one-shots | multi

last christmas | m. barzal

Summary: Y/N and Mat have always been friends. When a confession goes wrong, it changes everything

Pairings: mat x reader, titio x reader

The Christmas lights strung upon Y/N's apartment balcony were Anthony's first indicator that something wasn't right. They were always turned on, sometimes glittering a thousand different colours, or other times remaining in a classic white fashion- he knew that the holiday was one of Y/N's favourites and she went all out- so when he arrived at her apartment complex and found that her lights were turned off, there was a pit of worry beginning to build in his chest. Perhaps he had read her 'come over now' text wrong, maybe she wasn't home and she was actually headed to his place- shaking his head, he checked the messages one last time and realized that he was overthinking.

Y/N had in fact had invited him over.

It was honestly a very strange occurrence to have the woman inviting him anywhere. Of course they are friends but they were not as close as her and Mathew. One of Anthony's teammates. In fact, Tito was pretty sure that mat and Y/N even had plans that night. Something must have happened for her to call him instead.

The ride up to her floor was quiet, the elevator played a static-filled version of 'rocking around the Christmas tree' that over the last week and a half, Anthony had heard far too many times to feel comfortable with.

Ever since Y/N had come to a realization that she was in fact head over heels for Mathew, Anthony had become the one to hear every single thing about it. He didn't mind at first, he knew Y/N needed to talk to someone she trusted that was close to the situation but wouldn't judge her or tell her crush her feelings. So there he was, standing outside of Y/N's apartment for the fifth time in the last 14 days, carrying a box of take-out Chinese in his hand and preparing to listen to his friend get upset.

Anthony had never seen Y/N as anything more than a friend, but as she poured her heart out to him, he realized just how much Mat was missing out on. Y/N wasn't one of the crazy types, she didn't think that she and Mat were destined to be together or that her life would be over if she lost him. She just loved him a lot and didn't know if they were on the same page- so with that uncertainty came an array of fear, sadness and worry.

Anthony had been in the same situation himself.

So as she let him into the apartment and they sat down on the couch together, Anthony made sure there was enough food to go around and that he was up to speed on everything that had happened. He had realized that food often made Y/N a letter more clear headed and less sad- because even if her problems weren't solved by the end of the night, at least she had a nice meal.

"I have no idea what I am supposed to tell him and it fucking hurts okay?" Y/N rubbed her face, she couldn't stop the tears from coming to her eyes as she looked up at her friend. "I love him so much and the fact that I can't tell him pains me." She whimpered. She definitely didn't intend on pouring her heart out to Anthony that night. The plan was to share a bottle of wine with Mat, but after realizing that Y/N could no longer be in the same room with him without breaking down, she knew she had to cancel.

Anthony rubbed his jaw, his slight scruff brushing against his hands. "You should tell him Y/N- I know that Mat is a complicated guy... but telling him would take a lot of weight off your shoulders." He did his best to convince her. There was no telling whether or not Mat actually shared those feelings with Y/N. He had never once mentioned it to him and Anthony knew that Mat was going out with a blonde from the coffee shop down the street. Going out as in hooking up with.

Y/N gulped. "Would he even feel the same? Is there even a point?" She asked hesitantly, her voice came out just above a whisper and she realized that for once, she didn't know what was going on in Mat's head. She used to be able to read him like a book but ever since she had dawned rose coloured glasses, it was like he was a stranger.