Jonathan
He laid in Stephanie's bed with his arms around her shoulders. She held onto his waist. He could feel her breathing slow down as snuggled closer to him. He held her closer.
"Babe," He whispered. She tilted her head back to look up at him. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Being a pansy." He sighed. "I let my dad say all this shit about how you're the reason I fuck up in hockey and that b,"
She shushed him before pressing her lips to his. He kissed back before she pulled away. She held onto his face.
"Don't worry about it. You have to focus on the tournament. I'm fine." She smiled.
He closed his eyes, pulling her back into his chest. "He needs to realize you're the only thing that's kept me sane through all this hockey shit, Steph." He mumbled to her.
"Jon, go to sleep." She said into his chest.
He smiled. "I love you."
"I love you too. Now shut up." She growled.
Jon woke up the next morning. He and Stephanie were spooning. He smirked, pressing his lips to her neck. She whined, trying to push his face away. He laughed as she rolled to face him. She frowned at him. He leaned towards her to kiss her but she put her hands on his face.
"Guess what we're doing today." He sang.
"You have a game so beats me." She stated.
"After that," He kissed the base of her neck. "You and I," He kissed closer to her face. "Are going," He kissed just below her jaw. "On," He kissed the corner of her mouth. "A date." He finished, kissing her lips.
"Why?" She whined, nuzzling her face into his neck.
"It's Valentine's day, Steph. I gotta take you out and show you off." He nudged her.
"We could stay here and I could still show off." She smirked against his neck.
"We can do that after." He kissed her ear. "Plus I want you to come with me when I go to talk to my dad."
She rolled away from him, climbing out of the bed. "No." She shook her head.
He flipped the blanket off of him and stood up. "Why not?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Because I don't want you to say anything to him because I said something. I shouldn't have had to say something to get you to speak up." She sighed, walking into the kitchen.
His eyes followed her into the kitchen. She stood in it in her tiny underwear and tank top. Her arms were crossed as she frowned.
"Steph, I'm doing this because I've had enough." He spoke He walked over to her.
She stared at the ground. He pulled her into him. She exhaled against his chest. Her arms were still crossed.
"You don't think I hate hearing him say the shit he says about you?" He asked.
"You haven't said something in the eleven years we've been together." She hissed.
"Yeah, because I'm an idiot." He stated. "But now I know that you're my girl, forever, and I'm hoping you're going to be around for the rest of my life, so he's going to have to put up with you." She shoved away from him.
"I stuck around for this long, I'm obviously gonna stick it out." She explained. "We can talk to your dad together."
Jon smiled, pressing his lips to hers. "God, I'm in love with you." He sighed.
Jon was definitely in love with Stephanie. He'd been in love with her since they were fifteen. It was probably crazy to some people that they had been together for so long but weren't engaged or thinking of marriage. He thought they were at a good place. He knew he wouldn't have the time to get married with all that was going on with him. He needed everything with hockey to die down a bit before he could think of that. Well, he had thought of it, he just couldn't act on it. He was at the prime of his career.
After his game, he found Stephanie waiting near the change room. He pressed his lips to hers instantly. She smiled through their kiss.
"You look really good in that 'Toews' jersey." He said against her lips. "It'd probably look a lot better on the floor of your hotel room."
She giggled, shoving him away. He heard laughs from behind him. He spun to see Sid's ex, Autumn, with a blonde girl he didn't recognize.
"Look who made up." The blonde teased.
"Yeah, he's not being an asshole anymore." Stephanie explained, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Haven't seen you in while, Kid." Jon called towards Autumn.
"Haven't had reason to see you in a while, Bud." She shot back as he gave her a one armed hug. "Why didn't I ever meet Stephanie before?"
He shrugged. "Keeping her for myself." He stated. "That's not a 'Crosby' jersey."
"Yeah, I upgraded to 'Bergeron' because he isn't an asshole." She rolled her eyes.
Jon inhaled. He didn't know what to say. He knew their break up had been bad but he didn't want to hear Sid being dragged. Not that he thought Autumn was in the wrong, he just didn't want to be a part of it.
"This got awkward. We're gonna go." The blonde spoke, grabbing Autumn's wrist.
Jon turned back to Stephanie with a questioning expression. "That's Jordan. She's dating Jake Gardiner." Steph explained.
"He's not,"
"Came to cheer on Kessel and JVR." She finished.
He nodded. "Are you ready to face 'Bryan Bear'?" He referred to his father.
"I've been waiting to face 'Monster Toews' for a while." She laughed as they began walking to his hotel.
"I think you should call me that in bed." He bumped her shoulder with his.
"Gross. I just referred to your dad as it." She shoved him.
The couple got to the hotel. Jonathan was nervous. He had never confronted his father about the accusations he made about Stephanie. He could tell she was nervous as well by the way she wouldn't look him in the eye.
"Hey," He tapped her leg. "Don't worry about anything, okay?"
"I'm a little worried." She admitted. "What if he just hates me more?"
"Then he's missing out because you're the most amazing girl in the world." Jon kissed the side of her head. "And the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Getting drafted?" She challenged.
"Nope, you still top that." He gave her a tooth grin.
She smiled at the ground. "I love you and I just want you to know that I do even though I get mad at you a lot over stupid shit. I should probably take classes for anger man,"
"It's not stupid. If it upsets you, it isn't stupid." He argued.
She stayed silent. The elevator took them to Jon's floor. He and his dad were in a suite. His mom and brother had stayed home for his brother's hockey. He said greetings to his fellow athletes as he guided Steph to the room. When they got there, she pulled his hand back. He turned to look at her.
"You don't have to say anything, Jonny." She sighed.
"I need to say something. It's been going on for too long." He told her.
She rolled her eyes as he opened the door. He walked in with her following close behind. His dad looked up from his seat on the couch.
"Good game, Bud." He cheered.
"Thanks." Jon grinned.
His dad's eyes landed on Stephanie. He cleared his throat before looking back at his newspaper. Jon rolled his eyes.
"Can we talk?" He asked.
"Sure. Maybe your friend should l,"
Jon shook his head. "Dad, she's my girlfriend. She's been my girlfriend for a while. Why can't you just accept it?"
"I don't think she's good to have around. That's all." His dad shrugged.
"She's been around since I was fifteen and she's done nothing but be supportive." Jon growled.
"She's a distraction, Jonathan." His dad gritted his teeth.
"No, she isn't! She's the only thing that's kept me sane through all this bullshit!" Jon yelled. "Have you ever thought who's kept me together with all this pressure? Because it sure as hell wasn't you."
His dad just stared at him. Jon shook his head. He turned to Stephanie. She frowned up at him. He grabbed her hand before he lead her to the door.
"Jonathan, wait." His dad's voice boomed.
Jon looked to his dad. Bryan walked towards his son and Stephanie. He walked past Jon and stopped in front of Stephanie. She slowly looked up at him.
"I'm sorry for never giving you a chance." He sighed. "You clearly mean a lot to Jon and you keep him stable and happy. I couldn't ask for anything more for my boy. Thank you."
Stephanie smiled. Jon watched as she stepped forward and actually hugged his dad. His father slowly reacted, hugging her back.
The couple left for their date. They were sat at a table. Jon just smiled at Stephanie. Seeing her approach his dad like that made him love her even more. She looked up from the menu. She cocked an eyebrow at him as she took a sip of her water.
"We need to get married." He spoke.
Stephanie laughed. "We're basically already like a married couple." She teased. "But we don't need to. If you aren't ready in your career yet, we don't have to rush."
"I'll make you a deal." He smirked.
She rolled her eyes. "What's this deal?"
"If we win gold, I'll propose right on the ice." He explained. She laughed again. "If we get silver, I'll propose in front of the team."
"And bronze?" She taunted.
Jon scoffed. "As if we won't play in the championship." He rolled his eyes. "But if we get bronze, it can just be a quiet proposal."
"And if you don't medal?" She licked her lips.
"You get nothing now for even thinking that." Jon gasped.
She chuckled. "You're a dork."
"You're beautiful." He replied.
"Shut up." She groaned.
He smirked before he moved his chair over to her. He grabbed each side of her face before kissing her lips.

Notes