Coming Up for Air (cole caufield x oc)

Forty-Eight

𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕪𝕒

Just three weeks after their vacation ended, Cole's team heads to Ottawa for another bout against the Senators. One of the benefits of being in the same division is getting to play four times over the course of the season. 

Admittedly, Tate might be the most excited Freya has ever seen her. She's only been to Ottawa a couple times, and only since she's been with Josh, but the whole drive there, she's telling Freya all about the restaurants and clubs they're going to visit in their few days there. It makes Freya smile when she gasps and exclaims, "We can finally do a real double-date!"

Freya laughs and nods her agreement, even though it still feels strange to hear Tate excited about a man rather than repulsed by one. It also means, of course, that since Josh's team has been on a West coast roadtrip for the past two weeks, Freya has also had to hear about how much Tate misses him—even when they're in the car on the way to see him.

"I don't know how y'all ever kept it a secret," Freya muses. "Because you're so obviously in love with him."

Tate waves her away with one hand, which she then tightens on the steering wheel as she drives. "To be fair, Nicky had to hear a lot about it when he was the only one who knew," she remarks.

"And he's okay with your job?" Freya prompts. It's always been a fear of Tate's, even back in Florida, that she would never find a partner who approved of her work. Freya knows it isn't what Tate wants to do forever, but at age twenty-two with a background in competitive dance, it more than pays the bills.

Tate replies with a smile, "He's always just worrying about me getting home safe when it's dark out." She shrugs. "But he's not intimated."

"That's a real man," Freya concludes with a nod, and Tate hums in agreement. 

-------

As she and Tate ascend the stairs to their seats, Freya waves to Cole on the ice. He skates over right away, skidding to a stop in front of the glass as Freya sits down. Their seats straddle the centre-line, so Josh joins them there, bumping Cole as he does it.

"Hey, watch it, Norris," Cole jokes, "or else we're gonna have to drop the gloves out there."

Josh rolls his eyes and smiles before he turns his attention to the girls. "Traffic wasn't too bad?" he asks.

Tate is busy beaming at him, so Freya responds for them, "Not bad at all." She nudges Tate and adds, "Helps that T was going a little extra fast."

"I was just excited!" she counters, which makes Freya giggle.

Cole shuffles his skates back and forth before asking, "What do you say—you two wanna see Joshy and I go for a row?"

Tate scoffs, "Like either of you would fight anyone ever."

"Hey, you never know!" Cole snaps. He taps the glass with the blade of his stick and grins at Freya. "You look beautiful."

She crinkles her nose at him, blushing. There's no one in the world who makes her feel as soft and warm inside as Cole does on a daily basis. After not seeing him for three days, all Freya wants is to climb right over the boards and give him a hug. Somehow, though, she maintains her composure. "Go score me a goal," she tells him.

"Yes, ma'am," he replies before saluting her. She gives him a little wave as he skates back to his warm-up.

Josh bumps his shoulder against the glass, and then Freya sees him flash Tate a little wink. Once he's gone, Freya raises her brows. "You two are so fucking cute," she observes.

Tate, cheeks flushed, offers a shrug. Freya can't help but smile: she's never seen her friend glow so much from the inside-out.

-------

The game is, for some reason, especially chippy. Brady, ever the antagonist, is more than happy to get into scraps with Kirby, then another with Kaiden. Nick scores on an assist from Cole at the end of the first period, and they, along with Josh, manage to stay out of the scuffles.

That is, until the end of the second period, when something happens at the faceoff dot. Josh, as usual, appears to chat briefly with the Canadiens' center, Jake Evans who gets ready across from him. Freya remembers Brady complaining about Josh being too friendly when he's waiting for the draw. He and Jake appear to exchange a little chuckle, but when they line up, something appears to catch Josh's attention. It distracts him enough that he accidentally moves too early, prompting the referee to kick him from the circle.

Josh is replaced by Brady, who had been manning Kirby, and now that Josh is beside him, it's clear that's who managed to distract Josh at the dot. In fact, Kirby still appears to be chirping at Josh as Brady and Jake line up again—and that's all it takes.

Josh's expression darkens to pure rage. Tate breathes the words, "Oh, no," but neither her nor Freya has time to say anything else before Josh has thrown off his gloves and swung at Kirby. His first punch appears to connect with Kirby's visor, stunning him, but the next is off-target, and it gives Kirby an opening.

Before the linesmen can step in between them, Kirby lands a punch with his right, and while Josh stumbles, he stays on his skates, connecting one last time. This hit knocks off Kirby's helmet altogether, and he crumples to the ice. Josh hovers over him, shouting, but the referees manage to pull him away.

At first, he is ushered to the penalty box, but after a video review, Josh is assessed a game misconduct for the instigation. Cole, on the bench, glances over his shoulder and meets Freya's eyes. He shrugs, but his eyes are as wide as hers must be. Beside her, Tate is nearly hyperventilating. 

Whatever it was that Kirby Dach said to piss off the least piss-offable guy in the world—Freya has a feeling she doesn't want to know.