Home is Where You Left Your Heart- Ted Lasso x reader
summary: reader insert with no use of y/n, but heavy use of pet names like "baby", "honey", and "sweetheart". Slight angst, smut, cunilingus, and some swearing. Bit of a rushed ending, but this was in the works for like a week. Happy reading!
"Ted, we have a life here!" She cried out, throwing up her hands in distress, "Friends, family, my job, your job, this is our home. How could you possibly even consider this?"
"Baby, this is a great opportunity for us! You've always wanted to travel!" Ted tried to reason with his wife. He reached out to take her hands, but she pulled them away before he could.
Ted had been invited to Richmond, England to coach the football team under its new manager Rebecca Welton, who happened to be the ex wife of the old manager. The problem was that Ted and his wife don't live in England, they live all the way in Kansas, where they'd spent the last fifteen years of their marriage. She'd already moved from her home town to where they lived now, for him. Now, here they were, fifteen years later, and once again he's asking her to uproot her life for him. She couldn't help but stare at her husband in despair. They'd built a life here, she'd been teaching at the same high school for ten years and he wants her to up and leave without a question. To Ted, moving jobs wasn't a big deal. He'd coached many different teams over the years and had grown to appreciate the time he had with them, but could leave when the time was right. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around why his wife was so upset about her job, but if Ted was anything, it was sympathetic and kind.
"No, Ted. This is a great opportunity for you. For me, this means I'd have to quit my job and get my credential again, say goodbye to our loved ones," her lip quivered slightly, so she quickly turned away from him, "I just- I don't know what to say."
"Baby, baby," he replied hurriedly, gently turning her to face him, "Please, don't cry. I haven't made the decision yet… let's just call it for tonight and pick up again tomorrow, hm? You just got home, you're tired, let's get some food and maybe a little wine in you." Ted pulled his wife into his arms, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and sighed, "Honey, I'm sorry for upsetting you… I thought you'd be excited, but…clearly, I misjudged."
She didn't reply. She couldn't. The thought of running off to another country horrified her completely. She'd never even left the country for a vacation, let alone to move— however temporary. Ted accepted her silence and took it with grace. He murmured a soft c'mon and led her over to a seat at the island in the kitchen where he began to cook up some dinner.
If Ted were any other husband, he probably would've cooked in silence given how he'd upset his wife just moments before, but in Ted's mind, the only way to get over something was through. So, he talked and talked about his day, asking his wife about hers, about how she wanted her steak, what side dish she wanted, which wine, etc. Ted was determined to make it up to her, not only because he hated seeing her upset, but because he felt Richmond was calling to him. Something told him they were meant to go there, he just had to convince the love of his life to follow him.
"Oh, baby. You will not believe the mess I got into today!" Ted let out an excited laugh, checking on his steak before turning to toss his salad, "There was a man at the grocery store today, reaching for the same bottle of grenache as me. Now, I know how much you love your grenache, so I told him— sir, as I understand it, my hand reached first. My wife's last bottle is danm near drier than the Mojave in middle of July, so I'm gonna have to ask that you let me take it. Get this, he responded with- and excuse my language- Get your fuckin' hand off of that bottle, I don't care how badly your wife needs it, it's mine. Safe to say I took my sorry butt right to the next liquor store I could find. Ain't that somethin'?" Finally, Ted managed to get a soft laugh from his wife. It was weak, laced with her anxiety over his big decision, but it was there. It made his heart twinge and the smile on his face soften right along with his words, "There's that laugh. You don't know how lucky I am to get to hear that laugh, let alone be the one to bring it out of you."
"Ted…" she murmured, clearing her throat and standing from her seat to cross the kitchen towards him, "Sweetheart, you don't have to jump through hoops to make me feel better." His wife took his hands and looked at him with a sad smile, "It's okay to be upset sometimes, okay?"
"Yeah," he murmured, nodding in response, "I know, I know. I just really hate seeing you upset, especially when it's my fault."
She leaned in and pressed a comforting kiss to the corner of his mouth, "Honey, just focus on dinner, okay. Make it up to me later."
"Hey, now that I can do."
***
As later rolled around, she found herself with Richmond far from mind as her husband laid her out on the couch and sunk to his knees in front of her, the plush carpet beneath his joints a comfort he paid no mind to. His mind was set on something much more pleasurable.
Ted began kiss up the inside of her thighs, his thumbs rubbing against her skin as he murmured softly, "Baby, you're so beautiful. I'm gonna make you do a lot more than laugh tonight."
The feel of his mustache tickling her sensitive skin caused her to squirm slightly and Ted's grip on her legs tightened in response. He all but inched up her thighs, eager to please. By the time he made it to her cunt, she was soaked— it was hard to be around Ted Lasso and not be wet. He pressed a hot kiss to her panties before looking up at her with a dazed look in his eyes, "May I?"
After a wordless nod, Ted too the liberty of pulling down her panties and dragged his tongue up between her folds in a slow languid motion. He smirked against her skin at the sound of a soft whimper bubbling up from her chest.
Ted's mouth was good for a lot more than a little pep talk.
His tongue flicked over her clit, causing her hips to twitch suddenly. Pleased by the reaction, Ted repeated the action a few more times before puckering his lips and sucking gently against that little bundle of nerves. A sharp moan jumped from her throat, the sensation of his mouth mixed with the feel of his mustache was all too much.
Much to Ted's satisfaction, she was already hurdling towards the edge under his mouth when he added one of his fingers. His finger pumped into her, aiming straight for that special little spot that made her cry out— and it did. Her hand reached out and tangled into his hair to pull him closer as she felt that heat between her legs grow white hot.
"Ted, I'm so close." She cried, her thighs tightening around his head.
Ted pulled his mouth away for just a moment, his finger still moving inside of her, "I know, baby. You just go ahead and let go for me." Then his mouth went right back to her clit where, with a string of curses and moans, she hit her climax, "There you go, baby. That's it. Good. Good girl."
*** The next morning, Ted woke up to an empty bed. The cold air hit his bare skin like a harsh slap. He always woke up before his wife and she was always curled into his arms with a smile, but she was nowhere in sight. Pushing aside that unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, Ted pulled himself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. As he approached, a soft noise from behind the closed door gave him pause— a small sob.
His eyebrows furrowed and his heart sped up a bit as he walked closer to the bathroom, "Sweetheart? You okay in there?"
There was silence for a long moment. Inside the bathroom, she was wiping her tears and attempting to compose herself for the coming conversation she was planning on having with her husband.
After a moment, the door opened and his teary eyed wife exited the restroom. Taking note of how upset she looked, Ted rushed to her side, "Oh, baby… why're you crying?"
"You should go."
"What?" Ted blinked hard, staring at her with a confused half smile, like it was almost ridiculous what had just been said to him.
"To Richmond." She croaked out, taking a shaky breath, "You deserve to take an opportunity that big and I would be a shit wife if I told you not to."
"Honey-"
"Ted." She stopped him, stepping forwards to take his face in her hands, "Go. Do it. Coach the hell out of those boys… I'll be here until I figure out my job situation and-" her voice broke off. It was clear this decision wasn't easy for her, "I'll follow you out there when the opportunity presents itself."
Ted felt a lump in his throat at the sight of his wife being brave enough to even propose moving to a different country, let alone having him temporarily leave her behind, "Baby… are you sure?"
"No," she whispered weakly, "but I love you and that's enough for me to know that this is what needs to happen. We're strong. We can make it work."
Ted let out a soft laugh of disbelief before taking her into her arms and kissed her, "I ever tell you how goddang lucky I am to have married you?"
"Pretty often."
"Well, it's still not enough".
*** There was a knot in her gut as her and Ted walked hand in hand towards security— as far as she could go without a ticket. Coach Beard was already making his way through TSA to let Ted say his goodbyes, already having made his own.
She let out a soft, sad laugh in an attempt unsuccessfully to hold back tears. This caused Ted to tsk his tongue softly, his hand going to the back of her head to pull her into his chest.
"I'm gonna miss you so much." He murmured into her hair, taking in as much of her scent as he possibly could, memorizing its warmth, "You're gonna be here soon though. I'll see you real soon, baby."
"Yeah," she whispered, "Soon."
They shared a rather gentle kiss, appropriate for the airport, but filled with enough love to last this lifetime and the next. The couple held anxiety in the pits of their stomachs because they'd never been so far apart, but somewhere deep down, they both knew that it would all be okay in the end.
"Okay, I got a plane to catch." Ted reluctantly reminded her, placing a few more kisses to the top of her head, "I love you, so much. I'll see you soon, okay?"
A few tears finally made their escape down her cheeks, but she still managed a small smile, "I love you too, honey. Have a safe flight and call me when you land, I don't care what time it is."
"Okay," he laughed softly, pressing one last lingering kiss to her lips before stepping off towards TSA.
***
It had been just over two months since Ted said goodbye to his wife and left the US for his new job and she'd made no mention of packing up to join him in Richmond. In fact, it was starting to worry him. Every time Ted mentioned his new place in Richmond and how much she'd like it, or ask if she'd made any headway on her plans, she'd totally avoid the conversation.
He knew it was irrational, but Ted could break out into a sweat just thinking about it. He was terrified that she'd decided not to come at all.
"Sam! C'mon! Put some pep in your step, man! Hustle it."
Coach Beard's direction to one of their players momentarily pulled Ted from his downward spiral of an existential crisis. The ringing in his ears faded into the background and his breathing returned to normal as Beard's hand clapped against his back to get his attention.
"Anyone in there, Coach?" Beard muttered, doing his best to not draw attention to Ted.
In turn, Ted cleared his throat and looked over, "Hey, ha ha! Sorry, Coach. Head in the clouds today." Ted wasn't nearly convincing enough. It was clear he was struggling with something, but it was true. Coach Beard does know Ted and he knows that he doesn't like to talk about serious things.
"It's about Mrs. Lasso, isn't it?"
Ted sighed and nodded to himself before turning to Beard, "She hasn't mentioned moving here or visiting— not a single time. I mean dang it, it's like her and Richmond are two negative sided magnets. The second I mention it, she's gotta go."
"Maybe she's scared." Beard offered wisely, readjusting his sunglasses as he watched the team run drills.
"Scared…" Ted murmured to himself, shaking his head. He turned to Beard with furrowed eyebrows, "I know she's a little reluctant about moving here—"
"Very reluctant."
"Right, she's pretty reluctant, but I thought we'd worked it out: she's gonna move out here when she's ready." Ted paused to throw his hands up in defeat, "It's been over two months and nothing. Nada!"
Beard took a deep breath before giving Ted a knowing look, "Have you… I don't know… talked to her? Have you told her how you feel? Asked how she feels? C'mon, man. You've been married for too long to not know this. This is rookie stuff."
Ted scoffed to himself. He knew Beard was right because Beard was always right about these things. He knew a long time ago that he needed to talk to her about this, but he's been scared too. He hasn't seen her in two months, and if he's being honest, he's worried that her avoiding the Richmond conversation is because she's rethinking their marriage as a whole.
Ted was never an "insecure in his relationship" type of guy, but this distance was killing him. There were so many opportunities for her to meet other people while he was gone and yeah, he knew it was ridiculous to think that. That woman was just as faithful to him as he is to her and Jimmy Buffet, but he still had that cruel voice in the back of his head that told him the only reason she decided to stay behind was to have freedom from him.
"Lost you again." Beard nudged him, raising an eyebrow, "Why don't we call it a day for practice and you go call your wife?"
Ted nodded, "Yeah, that's a good idea." He looked at his best friend for a moment before continuing, "You're the best dang assistant coach a man could ask for. You're like the barbecue sauce to my ribs." He giggled to himself, "The Batman to my Superman… the Lindsey Buckingham to my Stevie Nicks- oh, no. That one didn't end well. Never mind, you get my point."
"Ted?"
"Yeah, Beard?"
"Call practice."
"Right," Ted chuckled sheepishly before calling out to the team, "Alright, boys! That's practice! Hit the showers, I'll see you tomorrow!" With one last nod to Beard, Ted headed to a quiet place to call his wife. He could wait until he got back to his place, but he was anxious to see her face, so he'd decide to just hunker down in his office. When he finally made it there, he was quick to pull out his laptop and hit the FaceTime button.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring—
"Ted!" His wife smiled tiredly, clearly bundled up in bed and ready to sleep, "You're lucky you called me when you did. I was about five minutes away from calling it a night."
Ted chuckled softly, "Baby, you can call me back later if you wanna go to sleep. My feelings won't be hurt."
"No no, I want to see your face for a bit." She murmured with a lazy smile, fighting her closing eyelids with a deep sigh, "How was practice today?"
"It was good, baby. Thanks for askin'." Ted smiled warmly, taking in the sight of his sleepy wife. He missed seeing her like this. Times where all of her worries subsided and she could just be herself. Whenever she was like this, she was extra affectionate— extra kisses, longer hugs, sweeter smiles, "How was your day? Students treatin' you okay?"
She felt a twinge of guilt at the start of her lies. She didn't go to work. She hasn't been in days, but he couldn't know that.
"Good as always," she smiled, pushing aside her guilt for a moment. She just had to get through the call and everything would be okay, "They really are the sweetest students I've had."
"Yeah," Ted murmured appreciatively. His eyes were practically glued to the pixels that reflected the face of his everything.
Until.
Ted's head cocked to the side as he noticed the color of the pillows under her head. The pillows, instead of the patterned blue cases they had at home, these ones were a stark white. Hotel white.
"Uhm," Ted could feel the ringing in his ears begin to resurface and his heart begin to race, "Honey? Where are you?" She couldn't be at a hotel could she? Why wouldn't she be at home? Was she meeting with someone?
"What?" She laughed, albeit nervously, "I'm at home, silly."
"Well, no. Our pillows aren't white." This time Ted was the one to let out a reluctant chuckle, "Did ya change 'em or somethin'?"
"Oh, yeah." She shrugged dismissively, "Got tired of the old ones- you know, I'm pretty tired, Ted. I'm gonna head to sleep now. Have a good rest of your day. I love you!"
"Oh… love you too, baby." Ted's smile seemed to fade ever so slightly before completely falling as the call ended abruptly.
But as he stared at the black screen, reflecting his face back at him, he couldn't help but let that panic set in again. This time, tears even welled up in his eyes and he could feel his fingers curling into his palms, pressing sharp little crescents into his skin as he tried to calm down.
She couldn't be seeing someone in secret, right?
*** That night, Ted didn't sleep. He tried and failed over and over to reason with himself, make himself see that she couldn't ever commit such an act just because he was in a different country. Afterall, she was the one who told him to go. That she would meet him there.
"Fuck!"
Every man on the team felt his eyes bulge or his head shoot in the direction of his coaches. Coach Lasso. Ted Lasso just swore loudly and aggressively.
"Whoa, Coach. Are you—"
"Everyone shut up and listen!" Ted snapped, his eyes zeroing in on each player that didn't do exactly what he wanted on the last play. He stalked forwards towards the team with a menacing glare, "Jamie! What the hell are you doing out here?! You wanna play solo? Go hit the locker room with your left hand! This is a team playing a team game and you're running like you're the only one on the field! Make the extra fuckin' pass!"
Everyone continued to stare. They couldn't figure out what had gotten into their happy go-lucky coach that could have made him so angry.
Ted continued his tirade, pointing out each faulty player and their mistakes. Nobody was safe from Led Tasso.
Finally, Ted had sent them all to run laps when Coach Beard placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Ted. You need to go home."
And, hesitantly, he did.
Ted gathered his things from his office and set out to walk home. Home. It's a funny word. So simple and straightforward, yet one that holds so much weight. What is a home? A house or apartment? Sure, but what about the feeling home invokes? Home is where the heart is. A common saying, cliche even. What happens if you left that heart behind? What happens if your heart is in a different country altogether? Is home where you left your heart?
Ted couldn't seem to get out of his head. His wife is everything to him and more. What was he without his wife? Just Ted? Just some American coach who coached a sport he knew nothing about? Ted was many things, but his favorite role was husband.
He took his time to take in his surroundings. He tried his best to take a moment to look around when he walked to and from work and find new things. He always felt like it was important to appreciate what's around you. His wife had taught him how to find the beauty in everything around him. Find the beauty in the leafs drifting through the gutter or the way the sun bounced off random puddles, even the way the cars and bikes sounded as they passed against the gravel. It calmed him, brought his thoughts back down to earth.
His house key clicked into the lock before he paused… the door was already unlocked. Did he forget to lock up before leaving today? He slowly opened the door, glancing around to observe any potential changes in his flat before stepping inside. The only difference was a very distinct scent he hadn't smelled in months. It was so unique, he instantly knew exactly where it had come from and all of his worries suddenly dissipated.
That sweet sent of vanilla and cocoa enveloped his heart in a warm embrace. The smell was like a reflection of her being. It rang out with her laugh, shimmered like her eyes, and it reminded Ted of home— because she was his home.
His heart rate raised slightly as he closed and locked the door, his hopes raising for the first time in days. Maybe she was in a hotel that night. Maybe she had plans to come and surprise him. Maybe he really was in his head this whole time.
"Baby!" Ted laughed, searching his home for his wife, "You here?"
But, there was no reply. Not a stifled giggle, no call out, not even the sound of someone walking into the room. Ted could feel the room grow cold under her absence. Even if she wasn't ever in the room, the inherent lack of her in the space made the air grow thick.
"Baby?" Ted asked softly, the question floating through the silent flat. Like a candle in the wind, Ted's hope was distinguished almost immediately. His shoulders slumped forwards as he walked over to his kitchen to set down his work things. He felt like he'd given himself emotional whiplash over giving a nostalgic smell more weight than it deserved and now he was paying the very disappointing price.
With morose steps and a downcast face, Ted reached into his peanut butter jar, scooped out a sizable clump, and sucked it off of his finger. Normally, this action sparked a least a bit of joy in him, but this time it reminded him of just how alone he was in that moment. When he was home, his wife would spot him and make a silly comment about the squirrel on his face craving peanuts. Now, the only sound of the slick sound of the food squishing around his mouth.
As Ted set the jar down and moved to the fridge for a beer, he felt the weight of his loneliness drowning out everything else. The sound of his couch creaking beneath him as he sat down, the feel of the cool brown leather surrounding him, the cold beer rolling down his throat, none of his usual comforts mattered. All he could think about was how badly he wanted to call his wife and how terrified he was that she'd be anywhere but their bed.
"Shit shit shit shit shit," came a whispering voice from behind him, accompanied by the opening of his front door and the rustling of what sounded to be paper bags. Once again, Ted's eyes shot open and his heart jumped into his throat.
Ted jumped off of the couch and whipped around towards his front door where his wife sheepishly stood, holding a bag of… groceries.
"Baby?" Ted felt his eyes grow teary as he took in the sight of her for the first time in what felt ages. He set his beer down, hurried to her side to take the groceries from her, and placed them on his counter before enveloping her in a hug.
"I'm so sorry, Ted." She whispered into his arms, embracing him back as tight as she could, "I'm so sorry for lying, but I wanted to surprise you." She pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes, "I'm ready to move here. I landed a spot in an online university and I started my credentialing program, I'm researching schools, all of it. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere."
A few tears slipped from Ted's eyes as he stared at his wife in awe, "You don't need to apologize, this is completely worth it. Seeing you makes it all worth it." He sighed and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "I feel like I left more than home behind when I moved here."