Mat Barzal Imagines

Flash Flood

Warnings: One swear word, minor spoiler of Stranger Things 3

You were psyched to be with Mat in Coquitlam, British Columbia this summer. It represented a huge step forward in your relationship for him to take you home to see where he grew up; he already saw your hometown since it was on Long Island.

This weekend, Mat rented a cabin about an hour north of the Vancouver area so that the two of you could have some quality time away from his parents and sister. You adored Mat's sister, Liana, but you did want to have some alone time with your boyfriend. You had just finished drying your hair and were about to exit the bathroom after your shower when a harried Mat came in.

"Hey (Y/N), what are you doing?"

"I'm just going to change into my dress. What's the matter, babe?"

"There's a flash flood warning, and we've been told to shelter in place."

You froze when you heard the words "flash flood warning." You lived through Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and saw so many people lose their homes and electricity due to the storm surge. One of your closest friends lost her home when it burned to the ground in the Breezy Point fire. You went to visit her a few days after the fire was put out, and seeing the charred remains of the foundation of her house scared the shit out of you. Since FEMA was extremely slow to help, their house wasn't rebuilt for almost four years, and your friend and her family were forced to move in with relatives. Seeing your friend go through such a devastating tragedy left its mark on you. While you were lucky enough to live in an area of Long Island where the impacts were not severe, you developed a life-long fear of floods.

"You just got really pale, are you alright?" Mat said, alarmed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you cleared your throat to try and stop the tears threatening to spill, "I was just thinking about Sandy and the flooding." When you finished talking, you started to cry.

"Come here." Mat pulled you into his arms and hugged you.

"We're only sheltering in place as a precaution, but even if the worst case scenario occurs, I promise I will never let anything bad happen to you."

"I love you, Mat," you said, cuddling into his chest.

"I love you too, babe," Mat replied. "I'm sorry we can't have dinner on the patio like we planned."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault, babe," you said.

"I have a good idea: why don't we start watching the new season of Stranger Things?"

"Yes!" you cheered, and Mat flashed his beautiful smile at you. Even after over a year of dating, his smile triggered butterflies every time.

"Alright, I'll go cue up Netflix, and why don't you get dressed in something comfy?" Mat said. "Although if you want to keep the robe on..."

"Mat!" you playfully whacked him on his shoulder.

"Sorry, you're just so damn sexy. I'll see you in a few, babe." Mat kissed you on the lips before padding into the living room.

You walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants, an old Hofstra t-shirt, and warm, fuzzy socks. When you got dressed, though, it felt like something was missing. You opened Mat's drawer and pulled out one of his old Thunderbirds hoodies. Once you put it on, you felt much better.

When you walked into the living room, you saw Mat had put the dinner you were going to have outside on the table in front of the couch. You would never know it, but Mat was secretly a good cook.

"That smells so good," you referred to the bowls of seafood linguine on the table as you sat on the couch next to Mat.

"Wait a minute...is that my hoodie?"

"Bite me, Barzal," you joked, and he kissed you on the cheek. You pulled your food closer to you on the table while Mat grabbed the remote and put on the first episode.

An hour passed, and Mat paused the show before it could move on to the second episode. He then put his arm around you, signaling that he wanted to cuddle. You curled up into his side as he hit play.

You screeched in happiness when El went to Max's house for boy advice, and you couldn't stop laughing during the mall montage when El and Max had a ball shopping while Mike and the boys moped.

"God, stop doing that," Mat muttered.

"Doing what?" you asked.

"Laughing."

"Is that a problem?" You turned your head to face him, surprised.

"Well, considering that I'm trying to watch the show but my girlfriend is distracting me with her adorable laugh, yeah," he chuckled.

"You are too much sometimes," you joked, kissing him on the cheek.

"I'm actually glad we got stuck in here tonight," Mat said. "It certainly wasn't part of how I envisioned our quality time, but I'm just happy to sit here in comfy sweats and watch you laugh. And I'm looking forward to you hiding in my arms because it's going to get really gory in the next few episodes."

"You really think that's how it's going to go?"

"Yeah."

"We'll see about that," you replied, cupping his cheek and bringing his lips to yours.