𓄰 MODERN AU !

The hockey arena was still buzzing with the intensity of the final, the ice stained with the traces of a fierce match. Cregan should have been ecstatic; he had been training for this moment for weeks, and his team had finally won the championship. But, even with everyone around him — teammates and fans cheering the victory — he could only think of her, isolated among the crowd, with that restrained look that he had learned to decipher.

She looked at him from afar, hesitantly, almost lost amidst the chaotic celebrations and the girls who crowded around the players, some seeking attention with laughter and looks that, he knew, made her uncomfortable. It was an invisible barrier, but it weighed heavily between them. Cregan knew that she never sought the shine of attention, unlike him, who, even without meaning to, seemed to attract attention. But for him, hockey was never a means of showing off; Sport was his passion, his focus, and he wanted her to see that, to understand how important it was to have someone he truly loved by his side, someone he could genuinely be himself with.

Without thinking twice, Cregan left the circle of fans and colleagues and launched himself through the crowd, making his way until he reached her. There was a calm determination on his face, as if each step towards her dissipated the tension he had felt since the start of the match. When he reached her, he held her face between his hands, his fingers sliding carefully, as if he wanted her to feel how much that gesture was hers alone. He knew she needed that security, that certainty.

Then, without saying a word, Cregan leaned over and kissed her, in a deep and sincere gesture that dissolved all the insecurities around her. There, enveloped in the warmth of that kiss, he conveyed what could not be said in words: that she was his most precious victory, far beyond the ice and the lights of the arena.

"I love you, my princess. Thank you for being here." He said as he pressed his forehead to hers.