nhl one-shots | multi

must be love | n. patrick

Summary: The flyers suddenly notice just how much Nolan has changed, but they can't figure out why

Based on prompt 13

There was something about Nolan Patrick.

Whether it was the way he seemed to have a slight skip in his step, a permanent grin on his face, or the blush the creeped upon his cheeks every time he stared at his phone- There was something different about the Philadelphia Flyers player.

His friends had noticed it right away, they were so used to seeing their teammate being quiet and almost mysterious- often cracking jokes with Travis or getting some shut eye in the bleachers towards the end of hockey practice.

But over time, he stopped hanging out with Travis as much and seemed to quickly take off from the locker rooms after practice and games. Surely the rest of the flyers expected Travis to be on Nolan's case, but tiki bar was saying nothing- his lips locked tight. He had a knowing smile and often wished Nolan good luck every time he headed out.

"Maybe he got a dog?" Carter suggested- everyone packing up their things at the end of another win. Nolan hadn't come back to change yet- he was skating around the rink and doing some fan service. In his mind that was the only expectation as to why he would need to rush home so quickly.

Kevin was untying his skates and shook his head. "No way- I think he's got himself a girl." Upon realization, everyone looked towards Travis and raised their brows- The man just snickered softly and went back to his own business, putting his stuff away and getting ready to head home for the night.

They were all starting to place bets on what they thought it could be. Carter was still convinced that Nolan got a dog while the rest of the team had money on it being a girl-

When Nolan came into the locker room, he made a bee-line for the showers, cutting his usual 20 minute wash down to a sharp 5 minutes. He was a man on a mission, grabbing his clothes and putting them on before handing his gear off to the equipment manager. "Hey patty! Wanna go get drinks tonight?" Kevin called out- the guys usually made a tradition of going out after a win, so it would be really odd if Nolan backed out.

Just as Nolan was about to say yes, Travis shot him a look. "Don't you have that thing you gotta do?" He gave him a look that was extremely obvious to the other guys. Suddenly Nolan's skin ran pale. "Shit- sorry guys I can't." He frowned, it wasn't what they wanted to hear but they would have to suck it up.

Without saying much more, Nolan grabbed his bag and took off, Travis catching the glances of their friends and giving them a shrug. He knew exactly what was going on- but he couldn't tell them. Nolan had specifically asked him not to.

The team seemed to let it go for a while, letting Nolan do his own thing. That was until their monthly guy's night rolled up. They always scheduled it for their days off- and it just so happened to be Nolan's turn to host it at his apartment.

When the guys showed up to his apartment, holding cases of beer and piles of food- Nolan was half dressed, his boxers hugging at his legs and shirtless as he stumbled through the apartment- caught red handed, Kevin and Carter stood there with Travis laughing as they allowed themselves into the apartment.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Kevin laughed roughly- making himself at home on the couch. Travis shot Nolan a look and mouthed something along the lines of 'is she here' to which Nolan nodded quickly. Carter and Kevin didn't seem to notice the feminine clothing laying around the apartment.

Travis distracted them long enough for Nolan to pick up the bra and panties that were behind the couch- pushing them into his pocket as he got dressed, he ran to the bedroom and told the guys he would be back. Closing the door behind him- he pressed his back to the door, eyes darting across to the room to the girl that stood half naked, wearing one of Nolan's shirts and boxers.

"It's guys night." He breathed out in realization. How could he forget about guy's night? They did it every month and it was always on the same day- even worse, how could he forget that it was his turn to host?

Y/N looked up at Nolan with flaming red cheeks. Pulling her clothes on, she snickered softly. "Its fine- I'll just head out." She promised him, getting ready to head out of the door before Nolan grabbed her arm. "You can't go out there- then they will know that were dating..." he rushed her.

The girl pouted. "Well what do you expect me to do? I'm not climbing down your fire escape." She crossed her arms and pouted. It had been her decision to keep them a secret, not exactly wanting to deal with the media backlash that came with dating a hockey player just yet.

Looking around the room and rubbing his face, Nolan sighed. "I don't know just- give me a minute, I'll get rid of them. I dont want you to leave- ill just say im sick." He reassured her. Chuckling softly, Y/N rolled her eyes. They were going to have to tell his teammates that he was seeing someone- if not, she could just sneak out and say she was a hook up.

It wasn't exactly what she wanted, but if it made Nolan feel better, she could suck it up.

Leaving the girl in the bedroom, Nolan returned to the living room wearing fresh clothes and no longer having lingerie in his pocket. "Hey guys I uhm- Im not feeling guy's night..." he tried to couch and play fake sick. Travis rolled his eyes and snickered at this. "Dude really?" He was having fun with this now- seeing his best friend so flustered made him chuckle.

Even if he was slightly jealous that the other half of his 'married couple' friendship had been preoccupied lately. Kevin narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms- Carter following suit. "Do you have a girl in the apartment Patty?" Kevin smirked. He was ready to push past the younger player and go searching for the girl- thats just the type of person that he was.

Nolan shook his head. "No I uh- there's just something I gotta do." He shrugged.

Coming around the corner, Y/N decided to suck it up and just introduce herself to Nolan's teammates. She could leave after. She had already ordered an uber anyways. Kevin gave Nolan a pointed look and gestured to the woman behind him- wearing a pair of jeans and sneakers and one of Nolan's hoodies.

'babe." Nolan spoke quickly- he didn't want to rush her into anything. Kevin laughed. "So she's the girl! The one thats making you act like a teenager!" He slapped Nolan on the back.

Y/N chuckled at this and walked forward. "Hey... I'm Y/N- Nolan's..." she trailed off, not really knowing if Nolan wanted her to be known as a girlfriend or just a hook up type of thing. Even if she knew they were boyfriend and girlfriend- she didn't know if he wanted the world to know that yet.

"Girlfriend." Nolan finished for her- introducing her to the team. Brushing her hair out of her face, Y/N smiled politely. "Sorry- I didn't know it was guys night. Im actually gonna head out, I ordered an Uber." She told the guys but also Nolan who was now pouting obviously.

Kevin shook his head. "You dont have to leave- right guys?" He looked to Carter and Travis.

Travis walked over and pulled the girl into a hug. "You know I always want you around." He chuckled softly- ruffling the girl's hair. He had been the one to introduce Nolan and Y/N- having met Y/N through Carly.

Carter nodded. "Yeah im good with that." The teammates genuinely wanted to learn more about Nolan's relationship.

So as Nolan had the girl sit dow with him on the couch and cancel the car- she blushed furiously. "Uhm so what do you wanna know?" They were bombarded with questions about their relationship, starting with how they met, how long they've been together, if they had hooked up yet, and what the plans were.

Obviously Travis took credit for setting them up, they had been together for 6 months and yes they had hooked up, the plan was just to see where things were going- but they both wanted something long term.

When the guys finally left for the night, Y/N couldn't help but chuckle. "See that wasn't that bad?" She tried to shove Nolan, the man quickly catching her wrist and pulling her close. Rolling his eyes, he knew that she was right and he really had nothing to worry about. "Yeah yeah. Just kiss me already."

Her lips met his and he couldn't help but melt against her. Nolan had definitely changed- and it was all due to Y/N.