DON’T BLAME ME | MARK ESTAPA
nora’s bday celly | fem!reader x mark estapa
summary: in which someone runs there mouth about you on the ice and mark doesn’t let him get away with it. (1.0k words)
warnings: mentions of fighting/blood, injuries, angst with an adorable ending
author note: i love mark estapa!!
A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd at YOST Ice Arena. Your brows furrowed as you stood up, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the ice. People crowded around you in the suite— Mark had gifted you the tickets before the game.
“Is that Mark?” A boy asked, turning to his friend. His friend nodded with a chuckle in response.
Your heart dropped.
You pushed to the balcony of the box as your eyes widened. On the ice stood Mark and a player from Michigan State. Mark held onto the boy’s jersey whilst he threw bare knuckle punches at him. The camera of the jumbotron zoomed in which only emphasized Mark’s furious features.
“What’s going on?” Alison asked from behind you. Her hand rested comfortably on your shoulder. “Oh my god.” Her voice trailed off.
“Yeah,” your voice was barely above a whisper as you responded.
Blood dripped from Mark’s nose— the Michigan State player had caught him square in the nose with a strong fist. However, the rest of the blood splattered on his face and jersey was from the player below him. Viciously, he hammered his fist into the boy’s face repeatedly. Referees and players from both teams crowded the two, tugging at Mark’s jersey in an attempt to stop him.
Finally, one of the referees planted both of his hands on Mark and forcefully pulled him away. As he was escorted towards the penalty box, he began shouting at the player who was uncontrollably bleeding.
“Don’t you ever talk about her again!” His booming voice reverberated throughout the arena. Everyone fell silent.
“He’s talking about you.” Alison said. You both exchanged a shocked glance at each other.
Your ears began ringing and the hair on your neck stood up. You couldn’t help but blush something fierce as you avoided the judging eyes of everyone around you.
You weren’t embarrassed of Mark fighting— honestly his fighting flicked on a switch inside of you that you recognized all too well- you were merely shocked that he was fighting over you.
What had the Michigan State player said about you?
Luck had seemed to be in your favor as the game had less than two minutes left in regulation. As the buzzer sounded throughout the arena, declaring a 4-2 win for UMICH, you let out a breath that you’d trapping. Quickly, you fled the arena’s suite and into the open halls of YOST.
The echoes of the crowd's cheers were now replaced with the hushed murmurs from individuals waiting outside of the team’s locker room.
You had convinced Alison to head home after the game with many reassurances that you were ok to wait alone. Now you leaned against the cold, painted brick of the arena, picking at your nails in an attempt to silence your whirlwind of thoughts.
“Y/N,” Ethan called out. You picked your head up and sent Ethan a smile.
“Good game!” You cheered as you opened your arms, allowing Ethan to give you a quick hug. “How’s Mark?” Your tone was laced with urgency and anxiety. Subconsciously, you picked at your cuticles, ignoring the burning sensation of pain as you ripped at your skin.
Ethan chuckled, shaking his head with a tight lipped grin. “He’s fine, don’t worry.” His words were assuring and comforting. “But I can’t say the same for the guy he was fighting. He managed to skate to the bench, but he looked pretty banged up as he went down to the locker room.”
“God,” you mumbled. Mark’s gotten into his fair share of fights and scrums, but never one that has injured a player this badly.
“I know. I was surprised they didn’t eject Marky, he dodged a bullet with that one.” he said.
“What happened that made Mark so mad?” Your question hung in the air. Ethan’s face revealed his hesitancy to tell you.
“You should ask Mark that.” He shrugged. With that he nodded his head and left you standing there. It wasn’t his place to say what had happened.
As Ethan’s figure disappeared into the sea of people, you were left to ponder over Mark’s actions. Minutes stretched into what felt like hours as you waited for Mark to emerge from the locker room. Finally, the door swung open and out came Mark. Small cuts adorned his flushed cheeks as well as a dark bruise around the bridge of his nose.
“Mark.” You called out as he locked eyes with you. As you stood before him, your eyes scanned his face. “Oh, babe, you’re all beat up.” Your lips dropped into a frown.
“You should see the other guy.” He smirked, his voice laced with pride. He wrapped his arms around you, bringing you into a bone crushing hug. On your tallest tiptoes, you melted into his embrace.
“Mark,” you began, your voice hesitant, “what happened out there?” He hummed, nuzzling his face deeper into your neck.
“Just some douchebag talking shit.”
You pulled back from the hug, staring deeply into his eyes. “I know there’s more to the story. Everyone heard what you shouted at him.”
He sighs, shaking his head and looking upwards towards the ceiling. “He said something about you that he had absolutely no right to say. It was disgusting and I couldn’t stand there and let him get away with it.” His jaw was clenched as he looked at me with fiery eyes.
You were taken aback by his confession. Mark put himself in harm's way to defend you. Your heart melted into a puddle while your limbs felt like jello.
Suddenly, you grabbed his shirt, pulling him down into a passionate kiss. He slowly began kissing you back, smiling ever so slightly into the intimate kiss.
“Thank you.” You pulled away from the kiss breathlessly.
He grinned in awe of you. His features softened as a pink blush painted his cheeks. “I’d do anything for you.” He admitted quietly.
