Y/N really had gotten used to living the WAG life. Over the last month her and Matthew had made things official, while not official in the world of media, they had started referring to one another as boyfriend and girlfriend after their 6th date.

In all honesty, there was nothing Matthew loved more than being able to introduce Y/N to his friends as 'his girlfriend' or 'his lady' He was a sucker for many of the things people thought meant nothing to him.

As the weeks passed and the rest of the leaves fell off their trees, Y/N and Matthew started to prepare for the holidays. First was thanksgiving which in canada had already passed, but seeing as though Matthew was from the states- his american thanksgiving was very important to him.

It was actually the first time that Y/N had met Matthew's family. It was the one night everyone on his side of the family had time off and at first, Y/N thought that matthew might want to be alone with them- even if it was over faceTime- but he insisted that he wanted his girlfriend to be apart of his family thanksgiving seeing as though his brother's girlfriend would be there as well.

So Y/N set out to make an impression. She made herself and Matthew a traditional American thanksgiving meal. Complete with Turkey, chicken, mashed potatoes and Carrots some stuffing and cranberry sauce with an apple pie for later.

To say matthew was amazed was an understatement. He was really happy that Y/N had put effort into something he cared so much about- especially when the holiday was nothing of importance to her.

They got dressed up in their nice clothes before setting up Matthew's laptop on his dining room table. Within a few moments, the tkachuk family gathering had commenced.

Y/N was beyond nervous when she talked to Matt's parents, but luckily Brady and Taryn had eassed her into the conversations so she didn't feel left out. Their gathering was unconventional but it was one of the best family nights the group had been apart of in a long time.

After watching the Macy's thanksgiving parade and calling it a night, Y/N had survived her first meeting with Matthew's family.

With Thanksgiving gone past, the next holiday on the list was Christmas. Unfortunately since Matthew wasn't able to get enough time off to visit his family in St.Louis, it looked like he would be spending christmas alone.

His girlfriend was an option, but she had already made plans to drive down to Edmonton to visit her folks. He was beyond happy for her, knowing that she really had been missing them ever since she moved to calgary- but that didn't mean he wasn't going to miss her too.

He had two days off and unfortunately for him to travel down to St.Louis, it just wasn't practical.

As Y/N packed the last of her things into her suitcase, she looked at Matthew and frowned. He had been moping around the condo for the last few days in between games and practices- they seemed to be spending a lot more time at Y/N's place than his in recent weeks.

"Why don't you come with me?" she suggested. "I mean... I know we've only been dating for a couple months- but i've met your folks... I think it's time you meet mine." she told him, zipping up the suitcase.

Shaking his head, Matthew sighed. "No no... this is your christmas vacation, you haven't seen your family in over a year- you deserve to spend time with them." he tried to reassure her that he was fine by putting on a smile and giving her a hug.

Y/N pulled back and pouted. "Matt please- you have two days off... please come with me to Edmonton." she told him. "We'll get back in plenty of time for you to make it to practice on Monday and you'll get a break from calgary." She worked on persuading him.

Matthew couldn't say no to her, With a smirk gracing his lips, he kissed her forehead and looked down into her eyes. "You know I play for the flames right? Going to Edmonton without playing is practically treason." he joked.

Heading over to her closet, Y/N grabbed an extra bag so matthew could throw some clothes into it for himself. She had quite the collection of matthew's hoodies and sweatpants as well as his shirts residing in her bottom drawer. Usually "borrowed" from the many nights she had spent at his place.

"I'll make sure to lock you up when we get back then." she winked at him.

With a blush burning the man's cheeks, he chuckled.. "kinky."

The answer he received was Y/N tossing a pillow in his direction all while her laughter echoed through the room.

A cold car raced down the highway avoiding patches of black-ice and chunks of snow as Y/N took the familiar number-two highway into Edmonton. Alberta wasn't much to look at when you were cooped up inside a vehicle. It was mainly grassy plains and empty space although this time of year everything was covered by several feet of snow and a blanket of fog that carried a negative thirty windchill. "I hate canadian winters." Matthew frowned. He was bundled up in the passenger's seat, wrapped in blankets and various layers of jackets and gloves.

Y/N chuckled softly, although it was barely noticeable through the chatter of her teeth. She had neglected to tell Matthew that the heater in her car had been broken for a few days. "That's because- you were born in sunny Arizona, while I was born in the cold Alberta capital." she teased him.

Luckily for them both, their journey had come to an end- partially due to Y/N's excessive use of speed on the highway. She made a pit stop at Tim Hortons as they entered the city, buying them both hot drinks to warm them up.

By the time they made it to her Y/N's parent's house, they had become less of icicles and more like people. Matthew could see the christmas tree sitting in the front window- the perfect green contrasted by yellow tinted string lights that made their way from the bottom to the very top.

Y/N's father had done the tree up in various shades of red, stemming from burgundy to reddish browns. As far as he was aware, the man decorated his house the exact same ever since Y/N was a little girl. In previous years, Y/N had argued with her father to change things up, but now as a woman- she looked back and remembered the familiarity fondly.

"Ready to do this?" Y/N looked over at her lover, tilting her head and giving his hand a squeeze from across the centre console of the car.

Matthew looked nervous but he nodded meekly anyways. When Y/N talked about her family, she told him all the stories that in hindsight she thought were wonderful- but worried matthew greatly. From the tales of his daughter, Mr.Y/L/N was portrayed as a strict and traditional man. He had a set of morals that he believed in that no one could change. But at the very least of his convictions, he only cared about three things. His family, their happiness and anyone who threatened to disrupt that happiness.

As the young couple made their way up the stairs, Matthew took in the sight of the house- a faded out green siding was placed along the front, most of it covered by a thin layer of frost. Icicles hung from the pipe along the corner of the house and the plants in which Y/N's mother had planted in the spring -y/n always mentioned her mother's green thumb- were sadly reduced to nothing more than a withered state.

Standing in the front entryway was Mr.Y/L/N. A tall and stout man with a figure in which resembled a garden rake- he lacked mass and depth, but from the gaze in his eyes and the clenched appearance of his jaw, Matthew knew that the man could hold his own in a fight if need be.

"Merry Christmas Dad." Y/N walked up the stairs and embraced her father in a hug. Her arms wrapped around his torso as the man hugged her back- his chin pressing down onto the top of his daughter's head.

"Merry christmas Sweetheart." The man's gruff voice had a slight softness to it, something that only ever became apparent when he was around his children. Even then it was very rarely used.

Pulling away, Y/N brought Matthew forward, her hand resting on his bicep and giving it a comforting squeeze. "Dad, this is Matthew- my boyfriend."

Her parents had been informed that she was bringing him home, and more importantly, her father was warned to play nice. He often liked to play around with the boys Y/N had brought home in the past, although there were fairly few that ever made it to the parental introduction.

"Merry Christmas Sir, It's nice to meet you." Matthew stepped forward and outstretched his hand, he may have been a fighter on the ice- and more or less a pest, but he wanted to come across as a respectful young man to Y/N's parents.

After all, he was her boyfriend and he cared very deeply about her. He knew the impression he made on her parents mattered greatly.

Matthew could tell from his handshake that Y/N's dad didn't like him very much. It was firm and cold. There was a tightness in the man's grip that hinted to the hockey player he had a lot of work to do. He needed to earn the man's approval, it wouldn't be simply handed to him.

Between the awkward stares and shuffling footsteps, Matthew soon found himself inside the Y/L/N residence, Y/N's mother had come around the corner and she smelled of fresh baked cookies. She embraced both her daughter and Matthew in a warm hug, ridding them of the cold.

"It's so good to see you honey-" she ran her hands over her daughters shoulders and took a look at her proudly. Finally making her way to Matthew, she did the same and smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Matthew..." she was a lot kinder at first than Y/N's father and thankfully that eased Matthew's nerves. After a quick introduction and warming up, Y/N and Matthew were quick to run out to the car and grabbed the few bags that they had.

"Why don't you two go get settled in and then come up for dinner?" Y/N's mother suggested.

The premise of getting into some warm clothes certainly sounded inviting to Y/N. So she led her boyfriend through the house and into her bedroom which up until two years ago, she had lived in for quite a while.

As a child she had always moved around a lot, with her father's work seeming to always lose balance, they were never able to stay in one house for too long. They resided in Edmonton for her entire life, but she usually only stayed in one school district long enough to make a few friends and then miss them when they were gone.

Walking into the bedroom, Matthew immediately noticed it's similarities to the one Y/N had decorated back home in Calgary, the fake plants which provided greenery contrasted the ivory coloured curtains and beige walls. The only difference was that she didn't have a window, the curtains were just pinned behind the bed on the wall sort of like a decoration.

"It gets really cold down here so we might have to grab some more blankets from the closet." Y/N told him. "You can put your bags wherever you want- or you can put all your stuff into my dresser, it's empty since i took pretty much everything with me when I moved." she reassured him.

Matthew smiled. He took a look around and sighed. "You haven't changed much have you?" he asked, walking towards her dresser and starting to put a few of his clothes inside. He noticed a picture frame in which Y/N was standing in front of a tree. She had the same giddy smile that appeared the night of their first date, she had some younger features which he assumed was due to her age. She looked about high school aged in the photo.

Y/N smirked. She sat down on the bed and shrugged. "Well I've changed a little bit... I date annoying hockey players now."

Rolling his eyes, Matthew chuckled. He was relieved that through their relationship, the bickering and teasing one another had turned playful rather than remained bitter like it used to be. "Ha ha very funny."

Changing into a pair of pyjama pants and a long sleeved shirt, Y/N pulled on some socks and brushed out her hair.

It was Christmas eve and the chill snuck through the basement like a creature in the dark, stretching along the walls and covering it in a sleet as the sunset was replaced by a frostbitten moon.

As the couple headed upstairs for dinner, Matthew made sure to help out in the kitchen. He and Y/N set the table and polished the silverware for her mother while Y/N's father sat in front of the electric fireplace drinking a small glass of auburn rum.

"Would you like anything to drink dear? Wine? Beer? Rum?" Y/N's mother asked Matthew as she set the last dish of potatoes in front of everyone.

Matthew smiled. "Wine please." he glanced over at Y/N to see if she wanted anything.

Stopping her mother from getting up again, Y/N reassured her that she would get the rest.

Disappearing into the kitchen for a few moments, Matthew watched as his safety net slowly fell away. Being in the same room as Y/N's family was frightening, but being alone with them was something else entirely.

"So Matthew, Y/N tells me you play hockey." Her father spoke up, shoveling a piece of turkey into his mouth.

Ah, finally something he felt comfortable talking about. Throughout the night, Matthew had been listening to conversations about his girlfriend's parents and their careers, all of which he felt he had no room to comment on.

"Yes sir, I play professionally for Calgary." He cleared his throat, taking a sip of water. "This is my fourth year in the NHL." he answered.

Y/N's mother smiled brightly at that. "Congratulations!"

When Y/N came back, Matthew felt his heartbeat slowly settle, relinquishing the tightness in his throat and his nerves climbing down from the height they had put themselves upon.

Dinner was relatively smooth apart from the random questions, usually instigated by Y/N's father, who, as Matthew learned, loved to play devil's advocate.

As everyone retired to their rooms for the night, Y/N let out a sigh of relief. Her and Matthew were laying in her bed, wrapped up in one another's grasps and staring at the ceiling. "I'm sorry about my dad." she told him.

"He's never been this rough on any of the guys i've brought home." she told him. It was an attempt to make Matthew feel better, promising him that her father wasn't always like that, but it did the opposite.

Her words of comfort only made the hair on the back of his neck stick up. Was there something wrong with him? Did he disrespect her father without even meaning to do so?

When Y/N mentioned the other guys she had brought home, Matthew couldn't help but get curious. "Were there uhm... how many others?" he asked hesitantly. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he shouldn't have asked. He didn't want to know the answer.

Y/N chuckled softly. She sat up and looked at Matthew with a smile. "What, are you jealous?" she smirked deviously.

Matthew, holding his pride in his hand, scoffed. "No of course not-" he rolled his eyes and rested his hands on her hips, pulling her into his lap as he traced her sides.

"Well... just in case you were jealous... there were only two. At the time I thought they were serious relationships, but I was a kid- and i didn't know what was waiting for me." she told him.

Looking up at her with a sheepish smile, Matthew tilted his head. "And what was waiting for you?" he asked.

Leaning into Matthew's touch, Y/N let her hands slide up his chest- feeling the taut muscle against her hand, although still covered by the soft fabric of his long sleeved shirt. "An american hockey player playing for a canadian team..." she trailed off. "But more importantly, a pest who I care about more than anything." she kissed his lips softly.

Reciprocating immediately, Matthew smiled into the touch. They had yet to say the 'L' word, but neither of them were too pressured about it. They both knew how they felt, there was no need to put a label on it.

Falling asleep that night, Matthew didn't pay attention to the cold seeping through the basement. He was warm underneath the mountains of blankets and the embrace of his girlfriend. Only a few hours prior had he been worried about spending christmas alone, but now he was lying awake with a wonderful girl under his arm, and being alone was the furthest thing from his mind.