Work Text:
Nathan’s favorite part of practice and games was the ice time he got. He didn’t voice his opinion about it but every now and then he couldn’t help but smile. Why was ice time his favorite part, one might ask? Well, it was all because of Gabriel Landeskog, the captain of the Colorado Avalanche.
The former rookie had been lovestruck the moment he saw Landeskog on television. He admired the guy and got butterflies whenever he saw him. His locks of golden brown and his gorgeous blue eyes...Just thinking about him sent Nathan’s heart into a frenzy.
He was elated when Roy told him and the boys their line changes and found out that he was with Gabe. He had been hoping to spend more time with the captain now that he had gotten to know him. After all, they had a budding relationship. Nathan could feel something towards the captain and he didn’t know what.
So, here he sat, on the bench, waiting to get ice time for today’s practice. Roy didn’t like to have everyone on the ice at once, sometimes. It could get to be too much if the boys weren’t practicing their best. Leaning against the boards, he watched Gabe from afar.
Roy’s voice snapped him out of his daydream, “MacKinnon! Get your ass out here!”
Nathan scrambled, tripping over his skates, as he skidded onto the ice. His stick out in front of him, he wobbled towards Roy. Unaware of where he was going, he smashed right into Gabe. The two fell over each other until Nate was in between Gabe’s legs, his gloved hands on either side of his head, on the ice.
“I am so sorry, Gabe. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” Nate mumbled.
Gabe only laughed, flashing him a hearty grin from ear to ear. God his teeth were so perfect. “I thought first overall would be a better skater than that,” He teased.
A flush fell over Nate’s face and he climbed to his feet, hoisting Gabe up with him. They held hands for a little bit longer than necessary until Roy pulled them apart with his voice. The two stood beside each other as they listened to a new strategy the coach had.
Throughout the rest of practice, Nate’s stomach was in a jumble. Well, practically everything was in a jumble. He couldn’t stop thinking about Gabe and the way they held hands. He was still so embarrassed about bumping into the captain that he attempted to avoid him. Attempted. It was kind of hard to avoid someone if they followed you around.
With every practice shot Nate scored on, Gabe was there to congratulate him. At one point, Gabe skated behind the net and brushed gloves with the old rookie, whispering a soft “nice job” and flashing a meek smile. Nate couldn’t help but swoon.
Nate was skating off the ice at the end of practice, gloves tucked under his armpit, when he felt someone’s hand grab his. Despite the freezing temperatures of the Pepsi Center, Gabe’s skin was warm. Nate looked up at the captain and squeezed. Their gazes lingered.
“Nice job today, Nate. You proved me wrong about your skating. Your stickwork is fucking amazing,” Gabe praised, his face lighting up and eyes crinkling from a grin.
Nathan had heard from Tyson that Gabe wasn’t a very aggressive person so it meant a lot when he heard him swear. Gabe’s a lover, not a fighter, Barrie had told him. He felt himself flush. “Thanks. I mean, it’s not a big deal. Just some tricks I learned,” He struggled to hide his lisp but found it difficult. His cheeks grew redder.
Gabe’s eyes widened and he shook his head, “Just some tricks? Those are not tricks. I can’t even do some of the stuff you were doing and I’m captain!” He chirruped.
When he felt something tighten around his hand, Nate looked down. He didn’t notice they were still holding hands. He laughed, shrugged, and responded sheepishly, “Thanks, Gabe. That means a lot.”
“Anytime,” Gabe squeezed his fingers again before leaning in. “Your lisp is cute, Nathan,” was the last thing he said before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and skating off the ice.
The Winnipeg Jets had crushed the Colorado Avalanche the last time they had visited the Pepsi Center. The 3rd period had ended with the Jets having a four point lead and one pissed Avalanche coach. Nathan could still hear Roy’s angry ranting in his head as he skated in circles, waiting for the puck drop of the second period. He was usually the one who took the face-off with his line shift.
The ref whistled for the players to line up and MacKinnon obeyed. He crouched, his stick on his knees like always. The puck dropped, he swung, but was immediately distracted by the sudden screeching of the crowd. Something was happening.
Nathan shredded ice as he circled around, backing up to watch a gloveless Gabriel Landeskog throw fist after fist into the face of the Jets’ captain. Nate wandered aimlessly around the ice, eyes wide and heart pounding. This was a side of Gabe he had never seen before. Not even the team had seen it before and it was terrifying. They had rarely witnessed such rage in their loveable teddy bear of a captain.
When the fight had finally dissolved and the refs had managed to pry the two apart, Nate trailed behind Gabe, who carried his gloves under his arm, as he drifted to the penalty box. Before the Swede hopped off the ice, Nathan’s hand shot forward.
Gabe twisted, anger still swimming in his eyes, and was about to snap when he saw who it was. His shoulders sagged and a sad, tired grin fell upon his lips. “I could see you were pretty scared,” He murmured, chin bowed.
Nathan shrugged, refusing to let go of his captain’s hand. “Hey, Ladd’s an asshole. Everyone gets mad once in their lives.”
Gabe shook his head. He didn’t believe a word the former rookie was saying. He hated getting into fights. He hated the aftermath of his anger. “No, not like that. It’s different. I could tell you were scared. Everyone was scar-”
Nathan cut him off by lifting both of his hands to his face. His eyes skimmed over the small scrapes on his knuckles and the bruises on his skin. He then planted small kisses on each cut he found, thumbs rubbing circles into his palms. When he looked up, he offered a small grin.
Gabe was speechless for a few moments until a fit of giggles broke him. A wide smile stretched across his jaw-line and he hooked Nate into his arm. He kissed the top of his helmet then his forehead before leaping into the penalty box.
The game had gone into overtime and it was the fastest 5 minutes Nathan had ever played. In fact, it had blurred together with 3rd period and he couldn’t even remember if he had played. He was listening with intensity to Roy discussing the shootout and who would be attempting to score goals. He glanced to Matt when he was picked first to go second. Of course Dutchy would be picked. He was phenomenal at breakaways and would no doubt score a goal for the team. When Roy called Nathan’s name, though, he swelled with pride and surprise. He hadn’t scored a goal in a long time and was hoping to prove his worth like last year.
As he was waiting to skate out on the ice, he felt a presence behind him and attempted to turn but couldn’t. His shoulder bumped right into Gabe’s upper chest. He was wearing a wide smile, hand resting on the butt of his stick and eyes skimming the rink. Nate studied him.
“You’re gonna do great, Nate. You scored so many amazing goals for us last year and I know you haven’t had many opportunities to do so this year but you’re gonna do great. Your shot will be beautiful,” Gabe murmured. His voice was so gentle; Nate almost couldn’t hear him over the cheering crowd.
He nodded. Gabe’s free arm slipped around his waist and pulled him in for a tight hug which he embraced with relief. He melted into the captain, head burrowing into his shoulder and his free arm mimicking Gabe’s. He could feel the Swede’s breath on his neck and he had the dying urge to kiss him but knew it would be the talk of the entire country if he did. He wasn’t sure if Gabe wanted that publicity. He wasn’t sure if he himself wanted that publicity, or was even ready for it.
The refs ordered Nathan onto the ice. When he pulled away, he left, feeling cold and empty, as if a piece of him was missing. Who knew a hug could do so much?
He juggled the puck, shot, and scored. He didn’t want to brag but it was a pretty easy shot. It was like the goalie wasn’t even trying. He felt his stomach clench when he saw Landy waiting for him on the bench.
“Like I said-” Gabe cut off and looked at him, one of his famous lazy grins shining, “beautiful.”
Nathan could feel the deep scarlet blush that fell over the bridge of his nose. Gabe could see it too, which resulted in a soft chuckle. He placed tender fingers across Nate’s cheeks and his smile grew, “I love it when you blush.”
Nate didn’t have time to respond when Matt was pushing his way past them to get out on the rink. The centerman gave a grunt and Nate slid away from the entrance, mumbling an apology, “Sorry, Dutchy.”
“No big deal, lovebird,” Matt snorted and skated backwards, flashing Nathan a wink and one of his notorious smirks.
The former rookie scoffed and rolled his eyes. When he turned back, Gabe was happily chatting with O’Reilly and Talbot.
The Avs had won the shootout which meant they won the game. It was all thanks to Calvin Pickard though. If he hadn’t have blocked the Jets’ shots on goal, the Avs would have been toast. Nathan couldn’t help but feel thankful that Varly was out on groin injury. Picks was the second best thing next to the Russian.
But the game win was not the only thing on Nate’s mind. He sat in the locker room, glancing between interviews of his teammates and those who were getting dressed. He had yet to change out, even as people were leaving to go home and get some rest. He was staring at his hands when he saw a shadow pass over them.
Gabe stood in front of him, still decked out in his Avalanche gear. He was smiling wide, like he always does. When was there a time Gabe didn’t smile?
Nathan’s brow furrowed. “Why are you still here? Why haven’t you changed?” He sat up straighter, adjusting his position.
The captain shrugged, “I wanted to do something with you. Come on.” He offered his hand to the younger player which was taken tentatively.
“Gabe, what are we doing?” Nathan inquired as he was dragged through the locker room and back out onto the rink. The Pepsi Center was empty, save for a few janitors still cleaning up, which meant they had the ice to themselves. Nate thought he heard Gabe whisper “perfect” under his breath.
“Gabe, come on, tell me what we’re doing,” Nathan pulled back his hand but Landeskog’s grip was too tight. Instead, he was yanked back out onto the ice. He slipped a few times, reaching for Gabe’s shoulder for support. Laughter dribbled past Gabe’s lips. “Don’t laugh,” Nate frowned.
Gabe shook his head and waved his open hand in dismissal. “Not laughing, I swear,” He reassured, accidentally letting slip a few chuckles. “Okay, come on, MacKinnon. I wanna do something with you,” He twisted around, taking Nathan’s other hand in the process.
Nathan stayed quiet as he let Gabe take over. The captain placed one of Nate’s hands on his shoulder and tenderly held the other one. Gabe’s other hand found itself upon Nathan’s waist, just above his hipbone. He frowned in confusion.
“What do you think we’re doing, dumbass. We’re dancing,” Gabe snorted.
“But we don’t have any music…” Nate trailed off and glanced all over, wondering how in the world they would dance without music.
Gabe huffed, “Have a little imagination, MacKinnon. We don’t need music.”
He heaved Nathan closer to his chest. After a few seconds, the former rookie relaxed into him, resting his head against his chest and drifting with the older player. He felt Gabe’s grip around him tighten and he sighed in relief.
Out of nowhere, Gabe began to sing. It was a bit of a shock to Nathan, listening to Gabe serenade him with “What A Wonderful World”. He didn’t bother questioning the song choice. Gabe’s voice was so soothing and he didn’t want to cut it off.
The Pepsi Center and the world faded around Nathan. All he could hear was Gabe’s heartbeat, pressed close to his ear, and his deep voice purring the song. All he could smell was a hint of Gabe’s cologne, which he must have put on before they came out here. Their skates gracefully twisted around each other, dancing on ice in circles.