Word count: 1357; also, sorry if it's crappy :( 

Representing his home country on the ice, on the world's greatest stage, was something Jake Bean has always dreamt of. Representing his country on Canadian soil (or ice in his case) was even bigger deal for him and his teammates. With the team playing in Toronto, their motivation and determination to bring home gold have never been stronger.

Each player got three tickets for his family for each game. And of course your parents couldn't turn down complimentary tickets. Even if they didn't get the tickets, they would still purchase them, but they wouldn't turn down free tickets for all the games to see their son play. Getting three tickets meant it got to the point where you found yourself on a plane and picking up your luggage at the airport sometime later. It's not that you don't support your brother, but you would much rather support him from the comfort of your room. Usually you loved going to his games and travelling to see him play, but you are seeing a guy, for who you wish to call yours one day and you have been planning your first date for a month. But after getting the tickets, you had to cancel it.

As soon as Jake sees you, you regret your thoughts and don't even want to think how you wanted to stay at home instead of seeing your brother play the game he loves on the international stage. His eyes light up as soon as he catches a glance of you and as soon as you are close enough, he pulls you into a tight hug, burying his nose in the crook of your neck. Ignoring teasing and wolfwhistling from his teammates, their comments along the lines like 'Beanie has a girlfriend.' and 'Bean won't be bored for sure.' he mumbles: "God, I missed you."
"I missed you too, Jake..."
"I am so happy to see you here, kiddo," he continues as he pulls away and looks at you one more time before hugging you again, nearly squishing you. Being twins, born only minutes apart, you are extremely attached to one another. When you were younger, your friends at school were often crept out as you started finishing each other's sentences. Even now, years later, your bond is still strong.

"Don't 'kiddo' me. We are twins, remember?"

"Only I am older."
"Only by few minutes, dumbass."

He laughs and ruffles your hair before wrapping his arm around your shoulders. As you walk to your parents, you catch a glimpse of one of the guys in Canada hoodie, looking at Jake and you. You notice small, almost invisible grin, as he sees his teammate act like an overly-excited kid on Christmas. Well, seeing his family on December 25th was his Christmas present after all...

The next day, on December 26th, Canada has their first game scheduled. They clash with the Russian team at eight in the evening. Three hours and a half before the warmups, you wrap yourself in the warmest clothes you can find and meet your brother in front of the arena. You don't need much to spot him in a group of his teammates, all of them wearing red Canada jackets.

"Jake!" you call his name and sprint towards the group when he turns around. He spreads his arms wide and catches you in a bear hug. With a giant smile on his face, he turns to his friends, wrapping his arm securely around your waist: "Guys, meet Y/N, my..."
"Your girlfriend?" one of his teammates asks with a grin, causing you to blush.

"No, Barzy, my sister. Y/N is my twin sister. You chucklehead."
"At least I am not a duster. Did you hear that, Stromer, you might have a shot with her, now when we know she is Bean's sister," the same guy chirps and pokes his friend. 'Stromer' as he called him, blushes dark red and starts inspecting his boots.

"I am sorry, Y/N, I hoped they will behave at least for a bit," Jake sighs and tries to take you away. You shake your head: "It's okay, Jake. I am used to it. I grew up around guys, remember?"

"Why don't you join us in the locker room?" Noah Juulsen smirks and jabs one of the guys next to him. You remove your brother's hand and step closer to tall defender: "Of course, why wouldn't I? I am pretty sure there's nothing special to see."

Jake chuckles and ruffles his hair: "I guess I should have mentioned, she is fluent in sass."

"She got ya well, Noah." 'Stromer' finally looks up and pats his teammate's back. When he looks at you, you notice his eyes and his shy smile. But his eyes...they make you forget about your almost-boyfriend back in Calgary.

"How long are you staying here?" he asks you, his eyes still locked with yours and his smile still lighting up his face.

"Until January 1st, we have early morning flight, then going back home with mom and dad," you glance at Jake, who doesn't seem to notice. He is busy chatting with a few of the guys from the team, which you don't mind.

"Oh, I am Dylan Strome, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Dylan. I am Y/N Bean, Jake's sister, in case you missed his introduction," you shake Dylan's hand. He chuckles and quickly lifts your hand to his lips, pecking it quickly: "It's a pleasure to meet you. Believe it or not, Jake has told us everything about you."

"There probably wasn't enough since we barely see each other now," you shrug. Dylan's shy smile gets a bit shyer as he speaks up quietly, barely loud enough for you to hear him: "I would like to get to know you better."

"We could hang out after the game...?"

"Jake told us before you came here not to even look at you..."

"Well, Jake is not my older brother, he is the same age as I am and if he can hang out with girls, I think I can hang out with whoever I want to. Beside, we would hang out, not make out or whatever."

He hesitates a bit before answering: "I don't know... I would love to, but Jake..."
"Jake can't even beat me, let alone anyone of you."

He breaks into an avalanche of concealed chuckles, but he finally nods: "Then I would love to hang out with you."

On December 31st, after their game against the USA, you head with your mom and dad to the hotel as you hear someone calling you. As you turn around, you see Dylan in his gear, even still wearing his skates (only he put blade guards on), running towards you.

"Mom, dad, can I catch up with you in a second?"

They turn around and see Dylan quickly approaching you. Your mom takes your dad's hand and whispers softly: "Let's leave them alone for a bit."
"Who is this, Y/N?"

"Darling, let's leave them alone now, okay? You can ask questions later. Come on," she takes him away, giving you some time with Dylan before you leave for Calgary.

"Hey, Dylan. Aren't you cold? Also, congrats on your assist."
"Yeah, it would be better if we won, y'know? Are you leaving?"
"Yeah, we are going to have a really short night. Well, it was nice until it lasted..."
"We will keep in touch, right?"
"Do you want to?"

"Sure I do. What about you?"

After a few moments of silence, you hug him tightly and peck his cheek. His cheeks are already red, but as soon as your lips touch it, he blushes harder.

"Does that answer your question?"

"I think it does. Happy New Year, Y/N."

"Happy New Year to you too, Dylan," you say softly. You don't usually kiss so soon after meeting someone, but it feels....natural to kiss him. He brushes a strand of hair off your cheek and leans down: "Do you mind if...if I kiss you?"

"I-I don't think so..."
He becomes your last kiss in 2017, but your first thought in 2018.