requested

a/n: this gif is fucking stunning. look at tito-

"hey cos!" mathew said excitedly when he saw you.

you were the rookie and newest player on the isles and mat had taken you right in.

you smiled and waved at him politely.

"ah ah." mat scolded, "try to greet in english."

you were russian and had such a trouble with speaking english. why could one word have what felt like 800 different meanings? it made no sense. you could understand what other people were saying averagely well, but speaking it fluently was a whole different challenge.

"hi mat." you said and rolled your eyes dramatically.

mathew smiled, "good job!"

you shook your head, "i not dumb."

"do you want to work on more english tonight?" mathew asked.

you nodded.

mathew smiled.

you liked to spend time with mathew. he was welcoming. ever since you had got to new york, he had been nothing but nice to you. mat had quickly become someone that you were spending a lot of time with and you loved it.

that night, you and mathew practiced english. mat realized how hard the language he naturally spoke was. he also knew that he was no teacher either and these little lessons he would try and teach really didn't help. he was losing motivation.

maybe he should just leave this to a professional, he thought.

you and mathew eventually had just started hanging out without the lessons.

the islanders organization helped you find a real english teacher even though you much preferred mathew's familiar presence. you had to admit you were getting farther with the learning though.

"hi barzy. how you?" you greeted mat slowly.

mathew looked up from his locker room stall at you, "hey cosette. i'm good." he said with a proud smile, "you're getting better."

"thank you." you said with a proud smile on your face as well.

"excited for morning skate?" mat asked.

you nodded, "yes. i very excited."

mathew smiled at you.

you guys went out for morning skate connected by the hip as always.

that night you guys had a game against the washington capitals.

you went home and took your pregame nap and ate your pregame meal.

sooner than later, it was time to go to the rink and warm up for the game that night. you were carpooling with mathew.

"you ready for tonight?" mathew said quickly.

you looked at him and furrowed your eyebrows, "what?" you asked confusedly.

you had no clue what he said.

"sorry. are you ready for the game?" mat asked a little slower.

you nodded in response.

mathew nodded back with a smile, "good."

you guys arrived at the rink and played some soccer and did some stretches before the game. everything you would normally do.

you went onto the ice feeling a surge of confidence. you felt good that night and you were hoping that it would translate.

the isles ended up winning 4-2 against the caps.

you had picked up the gordie howe hat trick and felt a proudness in yourself that had a smile plastered on your face.

when you walked into the dressing room, the whole room erupted in happy cheers and gathered around to hug you.

you sat down in your stall and leaned back. you began to take your equipment off piece by piece.

"nice job tonight cos." mathew said as he patted your knee as he walked past.

"thanks." you smiled as he walked to his stall.

you took a quick shower to rid yourself of the stench of a vigorous hockey game.

"you ready to go home?" mathew asked as you finished getting dressed.

you nodded and stood up, grabbing your stuff.

you and mat made it out to his car.

mathew sighed.

you looked at him confusedly.

he placed his head on the steering wheel then turned to you, "can i tell you something?" he asked.

you nodded and waited for him to continue.

"listen cosette, i think i love you. i was instantly drawn to you when you came here. you're literally the most beautiful woman i've ever seen in my life and the way you play hockey is... wow." mathew began to ramble and ramble on.

at some point in his rant, you stopped listening. you couldn't get out of your head the fact that he had just said he loved you.

"you don't have to say it back or anything, i just couldn't keep that to myself anymore." mathew said quietly.

you stared at mathew blankly. the only thing that was going through your brain was one phrase. the one phrase you had practiced so much in hope to, one day, use it on mathew.

"i love you."

it was clear, though there was a strong russian accent behind it. it was the clearest english you had ever spoken.

mathew's eyes widened at the words you had just spoke. that sentence was the first full, fluent english sentence that you had ever said to him. he wasn't expecting it to be such a strong one.

"really?" mat asked timidly.

you nodded with a smile on your face.

the happiness of all the previous events overtook you and you gained a burst of confidence.

you grabbed his face and kissed his lips. you felt him begin to kiss back over he got over the surprise of the event.

mathew pulled away and panted quietly, "holy shit."

the words were on the edge of your tongue again as your mind irked you to say them so beautifully again.

"i love you."