NHL Imagines

Brendan Gallagher (Montreal Canadiens)

After a stressful season for Brendan and my last year of the hell they call school, there was nothing more the two of us wanted than to take a vacation somewhere far away from our dear old hometown of Edmonton.

Waking up next to the love of my life in the morning was something I could never get tired of. It was almost a reward to see him this relaxed, not that I would ever tell him. Most of the time, he was awake before me, grinning and teasing as he usually did.

It seemed strange, but there was always a temptation to touch him. Sometimes it wasn't even in a sensual way. Just running my fingertips along his jawline and cheekbones, kissing his forehead and nose. He thought it was adorable of me to do it, but there were times I almost weirded myself out.

This morning, the feelings were no different. Today though, I decided to let him sleep in. Instead, I did my best to crawl out of bed without moving him too much. 

Not a single sound ran through the house during my journey to the kitchen, even my footsteps sounding lighter against the tiled floor. I couldn't help but stop at the window as I walked past it.

The first thing Brendan and I agreed on when we booked out trip was that it had to be somewhere near the ocean. Edmonton was such a beautiful city and it did have its lakes, but being close to the crystal blue waters of Bora Bora just made you hold a sense of satisfactory.

Not only were we here for time away from the all too well-known Canadian province, but we were celebrating our nine year anniversary. We had officially been together since we were fifteen years old. People never thought we would last, but hell did we prove them wrong. Back in high school, we were the unfortunate typical stereotypes. He was an absolute sports star and I was the shy girl who sat in the back of the classroom for all of middle school. Up until Brendan and I started talking, I was the last person people would talk to— or even look at.

"What are you daydreaming about, sweet girl?" 

My eyes flickered to the figure standing in the doorway and I let a small smile grace my lips. "Just thinking,"

He padded up to me and hugged me around my waist, pressing a gentle kiss to my neck. "Anything in particular?"

"Did you know we've been together for nine years? Isn't that just insane to you? Look at all the people who doubted us," I huffed, leaning my head back against his shoulder. "I'm sure they regret ever saying a single thing about our relationship,"

Brendan gasped dramatically. "Oh damn, our anniversary is today?"

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes, pushing him to the side with my hip. 

"I'm just messing with you," he whispered, bottom lip jutted out. "I have something planned for today,"

"Why would you tell me that when I know that you're not going to tell me what it is?" I mumbled, resting my forehead against his chest.

"Actually, I was going to take you out to the water so we could go paddleboarding," his chest vibrated with a chuckle.

I jumped back with a wide eyes. "Bren, are you serious? I've been wanting to go paddleboarding for the longest time! When are you going?"

"In about," he looked behind me "ten minutes,"

"Awesome," I clasped my hand together. "I'm gonna go get my bathing suit on,"

"Don't you want to eat first?"

After slipping on my two piece, scarfing down a quick breakfast, and practically sprinting to the docks, we were the first people to grab a pair of the better-looking boards. By the time we made it to the water, a few other couples came out as well. 

Neither of us struggled to stand, but Brendan started panicking when he noticed fish swimming under us. 

"Calm down, Bren," I giggled "I don't think parrot fish and sting rays will hurt us,"

"What if I hurt one of them?" he looked up at me, awaiting an answer.

"Brendan Gallagher, we're supposed to be here so we're not stressed out. Take a chill pill and start paddling,"

I noticed he finally relaxed after awhile, him and I basking in the morning sun, completely falling in love with how serene everything around us was. 

"Do you see us together forever?" 

My board came to a slow stop when I turned my attention towards him. "Of course I do. I can't see myself with anyone else,"

A grin spread across his sun-kissed cheeks and he hummed contently, continuing on with his motions.

"Ah, ah, no sir," I held the end of his oar in my grip. "You can't just ask me something like that and then move away like nothing ever happened,"

He shrugged. "I didn't think it was too serious of a question. I plan to marry you someday and I wanted reassurance that you felt the same way,"

"You want to marry me?" I asked bashfully, dropping the paddle to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"I haven't dealt with you for all these years because I wanted to break up with you," he teased, poking his tongue out from between his teeth.

"Love you, too, you dork," 

"I know you do," he brought his oar back, smacking my backside with enough force to knock me off balance.

"Brendan!" I squealed, body hitting the cold water. "I'm literally going to murder you in your sleep,"

"That's no way to talk to your future husband now, is it?"

Requested by Thclouds :)