onward.
a kyle dubas fic
a/n: first and foremost, best of luck to kyle and his irl, non-fictional family! the leafs made the wrongggg decision imo, BUT.. come to pittsburgh, kd!!! anyways, turns out I write for kyle dubas now, apparently. this idea popped into my head after the news broke, and I went from “ope I started a kyle fic” to “ope I finished a kyle fic” reallll quick! fully fictional feminine reader insert format, based on the real events of the last week. obviously didn’t want to use the names or ages (adjusted after the preview I posted) of kyle’s actual kids with a reader insert, so those are also fictional!
warnings: sad kyle dubas, brendan shanahan slander (deserved), angst with a hint of fluff and a hopeful (though I wouldn’t say happy) ending, mention of pregnancy / children, alcohol, references to anxiety and coping mechanisms
Friday, May 19, 2023 - Dubas House - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Your heart sunk to your stomach as you heard the garage door open and then close, sending your household into a familiar frenzy. Your husband texted you 99.9% of the time when he was heading home from the rink, mostly to notify you that he’d soon be there for “backup,” as he sometimes even jokingly put into writing. Today you’d received no such text.
Your six-year-old golden retriever Duke, named for the Marlies mascot, of course, and gifted to you by Kyle upon your engagement, let out a couple of excited barks before running to the inside door to the garage to greet his lifelong companion, whimpering all the while; his trusty sidekick, nine-month-old husky pup Blue, rescued from the Toronto Humane Society and named for your son’s favorite cartoon character as well as the team color that adorned nearly every inch of your home, followed his lead, their tails wagging as they awaited the arrival of their favorite parent; and, the most excited of all, four-year-old Hunter zoomed around the corner exclaiming “daddy’s home!” while eighteen-month-old Harper toddled behind him as fast as her chubby little legs would allow, squealing and clapping while babbling “dada, dada, dada!” again and again.
You wished you could share in their excitement as you normally would, but your own anticipation had a much different tone today. As you heard the car door close, you scooped Harper up in your arms and brushed back her soft, dark hair, just like her dad’s, and began to bounce her in place in the middle of the kitchen, waiting for Kyle to appear in the doorway.
Seconds later, he did. From his energy alone, you sensed that the meeting with Brendan at the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke had not gone the way you’d both hoped. Your intuition was confirmed when, in the midst of nuzzling the dogs’ heads and bending down to press a kiss to Hunter’s, Kyle’s eyes met yours and he gave a quick, subtle shake of his head. Tears sprung to your eyes and you pressed your free hand flat to your chest, rubbing back and forth in an attempt to keep yourself calm.
