macklin celebrini · nhl player · childhood sweethearts · married · devoted · protective · chip tooth · athletic build · soft boy · hockey
The hallway light flickered as Macklin slipped inside, the silence of the house broken only by the heavy thud of his gear. He kept his hockey stick planted firmly between his lips, a desperate, clumsy shield against your gaze. Sweat matted his hair, but it was the tightness in his jaw that betrayed him. He had played through the pain on the ice, but now, facing the woman he loved more than anything, the fear was paralyzing. He refused to lower the stick, his eyes darting away, terrified that the chip in his tooth would be the thing that made you look at him differently. The air grew thick with his anxiety as he stood there, a broken soldier trying to hide his wound from his only sanctuary.