nhl one-shots | multi

rebuilt | n. mackinnon

Summary: After being shattered by a horrible breakup, Nathan takes comfort in his friends and family- a particular friend named Y/N helping him put the pieces back together

From Prompt list: 10 w/ Nate mack "I think I'm in love."

Requested: Yes

Breakups had always been such a hard thing for Nathan to go through. When he was in a relationship, he gave his all and devoted his heart to whoever he was interested in. Sometimes he got the same in return, but for the most part- the women he dated were only after his money or the status that came with dating a famous hockey player.

After breaking up with his ex Vanessa, Nathan had sworn off relationships- he was frustrated and fed up of trying to please someone when all they gave him was shit in return. It wasn't like he wanted to be alone, but he figured he had put his heart through enough and just needed time to heal.

Through it all, he had his hometown friends at his back- pushing him forward and supporting him to the best of their abilities. If it wasn't for them, Nathan probably would be locked himself in his house with tubs of ice cream and then overworked himself at the gym or hockey practice due to guilt.

Nathan's last ex had really done a number on him, they were together for years and he was convinced that this was the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with. It was so bad that the Colorado avalanche player had gone ring shopping- planning to propose the valentines day coming just after their split.

It had been so sudden that when Vanessa had left him, he sat in his house for hours just in shock- staring at the front door as if she was going to walk back in and say that it was a prank or that she changed her mind- but she never came back... the door stayed closed for days until Nathan had to go back to hockey training.

His heartbreak had lead to long nights at the bars- a few holes punched into the walls of his bedroom and mornings spent throwing up over the toilet bowl. It had broke him, convinced him that nothing would ever be the same.

And in reality it hadn't.

Slowly, Nathan had built himself back up- with the help of his friends Y/N, Sidney and his parents, everyone took their time into helping him get better- helping him move on and see that he didn't need Vanessa or a girl to feel happy.

Y/N had been a big part of Nathan's life when it came to hockey, he was the daughter of his childhood coach and they had met at one of his hockey practices when he was still in midget- she was the only girl on his team and she could definitely keep up with the boys. He really wanted to see her go forward into the women's league, but with such limited opportunity for growth, he knew it wasn't realistic.

When Nathan split from Vanessa, Y/N had been the first one to notice- she could read the man like a book and when he suddenly started backing out of plans and limited his talking of Sid and his parents, she knew that something was wrong- Nate was the type of guy that loved to show off the important things in his life, when he was back home- he would constantly talk about how good the guys on his team were and how well Vanessa's job had been treating her.

It took some time to convince him to let her in and help, but once he did- Y/N had been on the first flight out to Colorado- going as far as to move in with Nate while he got over his lost relationship. She knew it was risky considering people would start rumours or think that she was taking advtgnge of him, but she knew none of that mattered in the long run. Nathan was her friend and he needed help.

Just over a year had passed since Nate's split with Vanessa- it was summer and the beefy blonde was taking advtgnge of the offseason. Part of his routine was to head home to Cole harbour every summer- spending time with childhood friends, his family and sid. They would train every morning and do lunch, but today it was Canada Day- the family had planned a big summer bonfire out at the cabin and everyone was in attendance.