ted lasso. afc richmond’s new coach, and your favourite victim to mess with. there’s just something about him. whether it’s the large age gap, that sexy midwestern accent, the silly moustache— it’s safe to admit you’ve got a little crush on him.
today, like every other day, you’re back in his office with a box full of his favourite biscuits, twirling your hair and giggling at every single word he says.
“ohhhh sweet mother of jesus. these gosh-darn cookies… they’re somethin’ else.” ted groans, biting into one, eyes fluttering shut as he leans back in his chair.
“yeah? you like them?”
“darlin’, the day i say no to that question is the day you gotta start lookin’ for the real ted lasso ‘cause that’s an imposter standin’ in front of ya.” you giggle, perching on the edge of his desk. he gives you a warm smile— that classic ted lasso smile that can easily brighten your whole day.
“coach, you got a bit of—“ you murmur, eyes narrowing at the crumbs on his moustache.
“oh—yep—such a messy eater, aren’t i?” he chuckles, letting you brush the crumbs from his face as he tilts his head.
“lemme just—” you bend forward, giving ted a full view of your cleavage, making it practically impossible for him to look away. he swallows hard, feeling his cock twitch in his pants.
when you place one hand high up his thigh to get a better angle, his whole body tenses up, sweat forming on his forehead.
“oi! the fuck is this?!” roy’s gravelly voice ripples through the air like an earthquake, and for a second you swear you could feel the floor beneath you tremble.
“roy!” you squeal excitedly, acting oblivious to the raunchy scene he just walked in on— you, sitting on the edge of ted’s desk, short skirt riding up your bare thighs, tits nearly spilling out of your top in ted’s flustered face.
ted’s eyes turn comically wide, only making him look more guilty than he actually is. roy storms at him and points an accusing finger right in his red-as-a-tomato face.
“she’s half your age, you fuckin’ bellend!”
“oh, boy… let’s not jump to any conclusions, son.” ted raises his hands in surrender as he jumps up from his chair, shaking his head, “she just brought me some cookies! very, very delicious cookies, at that. you should try some if you—”
roy lets out a low grunt, making ted blink rapidly.
“alrighty… a-anyway, we were just chattin’, yeah? platonic—so very platonic—boy, couldn’t be more platonic than this. ain’t that right?”
you nod, unable to contain the cheeky grin spreading across your face as you coyly swing your legs.
“see!” he lets out a nervous laugh, “you know what you need, roy? one of these to cheer ya up.” he grabs a biscuit from the box and hands it to roy with a cheerful nod, who crumples it right in front of ted’s face like it’s nothing.
“or… not. you know what, that’s fine— maybe—maybe you’re just gluten intolerant. more common than you might think!”
roy grabs his collar and yanks him close, face turning a shade of purple that seems humanly impossible.
“if i see you near her one more time, you’re a dead man walking. you hear me, lasso?”
you jump down from the desk, “oh please, roy. don’t be so angry! ted’s a nice guy” you pout, voice breathy and a little too flirty, but roy releases ted nonetheless. he storms out, muttering a ‘fuckin’ hell’ under his breath, and slams the door shut.
“i’m sorry, coach. he’s just such a drama queen, but don’t mind him, ‘kay?” you run a hand over his chest, feeling his heartbeat racing under your palm.
“well, shoot… i reckon that’s my cue to start lockin’ this door during biscuit time, huh?”
“where are you going?” jamie asks as roy gets up. he’s scrolling through tik tok, but he had his headphones in so roy’s reading wouldn’t be interrupted.
he closes his book as he stands, marking the page with a bookmark. “i want to be alone.” roy huffs.
that’s a lie. it always is.
he doesn’t plan on going far, just from the living room to their bed. the third stair from the stop creaks as he steps on it, just like it always does.
he flops down on their bed and reopens the book, but he’s not reading any of words. he can’t focus on them.
he doesn’t want to be alone, he wants to be with jamie. they’ve spent all day together, waking up in each others arms and eating at the same table and going over the grocery list and then doing the actual grocery shopping and then going to a cafe for lunch and then coming back to their house (jamie’s house, but roy basically lives here) where jamie scrolled through tik tok while roy read.
jamie has never once expressed that he and roy spend too much time together. never once.
but roy is clingy, he is needy and he knows this, has lost a lot of relationships because of it. and he’s trying to be better. he’s trying to give his partners that distance they seem to need and he just can’t understand why.
so he’s been making sure to give jamie that alone time, make sure he doesn’t feel like he’s being suffocated.
the third stair creaks as someone steps on it.
a moment later, jamie walks through the doorway. he crawls on the bed, his body moving right over roy’s.
“what are you doing?”
jamie shrugs, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to roy’s lips. “being with you.”
roy growls, but it’s half hearted at best. “i want to be alone.”
“well, i don’t.” jamie doesn’t back off, just flops down on roy’s chest, their bodies melting together. “i want to be alone with you.” jamie says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.
oh.
okay.
roy hopes his heart isn’t beating too fast, but jamie’s breathing evens out moments later.
alone with you.
roy could get used to that. this time when he reads, he follows each word as his hand glides gently across jamie’s back.
this was a ‘first pool day with ted and the team’ type deal but it quickly turned into its own fic. thanks anon!!
a/n: idk the word count and this was most definitely not proofread.
tw: alcohol/drinking but that’s it i think!!
find my masterlist here.
——
the team had settled on a beach day, apparently it had been a long time coming.
you and ted had a flirty, teasing relationship that had developed over the past few months and you were looking forward to his reaction of seeing you in your swimsuit.
keeley helped you pick out one that was a little showy but still tasteful, because at the end of the day you did still work with these people.
the trek down to the beach wasn’t bad, and everyone quickly claimed their loungers before heading into the water. ted obviously sat his stuff down next to yours in a heartbeat, which only boosted your confidence. you’d been bantering back and forth all morning, and it had reawakened that longing for something more deep inside you.
after he draped his towel over his chair he quickly got caught up in a conversation with beard and roy. behind him, you made small talk with keeley as you slid your cover up off and applied some sunscreen. ted didn’t miss the way beard and roy glanced over at you while they slightly drifted off from their conversation.
everyone knew ted had a thing for you, especially his fellow coaches, and they couldn’t wait to see his reaction at you in this deep burgundy string bikini. as soon as he turned around to see what caught their attention, you were moving towards him with a bottle of sunscreen in your hands.
“ted, can you get my back please?”, your smile almost made him faint. he couldn’t stop the way his eyes slowly flickered down your body as he sputtered, trying to remain respectful while falling victim to his mind’s instincts.
keeley had conveniently walked off to talk to a few of the players and helped them set up their beach volleyball game.
ted’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he cleared his throat, “oh- uh, yeah I can.. yeah.”
you slyly but your lip and watched him take the tube of sunscreen with shaky hands.
they trembled lightly against your skin as he brushed your hair to the side. you held back a shiver at the feeling, hoping he didn’t notice the goosebumps that scattered across your skin.
thankfully everyone else had seemed to drift into their own conversations as he worked the lotion into your back. he was uncharacteristically quiet, and seemed to rub it in for far longer than he probably needed to.
you didn’t dare say anything to him, but after a few more seconds he seemed pleased with his work. either that or he couldn’t handle having his hands on you any longer.
“there you go, angel.”, your cheeks flushed at the nickname he’d picked up over the past few weeks.
ted tossed the tube of sunscreen back into your bag, expecting you to run off to meet keeley. in an attempt to stop himself from scaring you off, he didn’t say another word and turned to find beard.
“wait, ted!”, he quickly turned around at the sound of your voice.
your heart pounded in your chest as you made a move on him. a small move, but enough to make you feel like you’re going to shit your pants nonetheless.
“you don’t- did you put sunscreen on yet?”
“uh, no.. i didn’t. usually just bypass it n’deal with the burn later.”
your eyebrows crinkled at him. “c’mere ted..”
there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be able to resist you calling his name like that.
you would’ve thought ted was just learning how to walk by the way he awkwardly stumbled towards you. wanting him to relax, you coaxed him to sit down.
“here, sit..”, he sat on the edge of the beach chair while you got on your knees behind him.
after his back was to you, he slipped his thin t-shirt over his head. you didn’t miss the way his biceps flexed as he pulled it off, and you definitely didn’t even try stopping your eyes from trailing over his broad shoulders. a deep blush spread across your cheeks as you imagined them towering over you.
sure, you had a hefty appreciation for them underneath his clothes, but now? it took all the strength you had not to press soft kisses to the light freckles scattered on his skin.
trailing your eyes down, there was no way you were going to look over his love handles. you knew he was kind of insecure about being a bit out of shape, but if he only knew how bad you wanted to grab onto him. they seemed perfectly molded for your hands.
before he could grow suspicious you cleared your throat and grabbed the tube of sunscreen.
you put a healthy amount of the sunscreen in your hands and rubbed it between your palms in an attempt to warm it up. still, when your hands made contact with ted’s shoulders, he jumped.
the sunscreen could’ve been boiling hot and he still would’ve jumped solely from the feeling of your hands on him.
your hand on his arm after a funny joke was already almost too much, but he was certain the feeling of your hands on his bare skin would bring him to an early death.
ted’s shoulders were still tense as you rubbed the sunscreen in.
“you okay, coach?”
“me? oh, uh- i’m good. m’fine ‘n dandy over here”, his awkward chuckle made your heart beat a bit faster.
even in the sweltering heat, you swore you felt goosebumps under your fingertips as they ran back and forth over his broad shoulders. mentally, you mapped out each little freckle, trying to commit it to memory.
moving your hands back towards his neck, you applied more pressure, “relax, ted..”
he was quiet now as he slowly relaxed his shoulders and let out the breath he was holding. the sunscreen had been rubbed in, at this point you were basically giving him a massage. thank god it was just the two of you, because surely one of the other coaches would’ve slid a knowing remark in somewhere.
the feeling of him just breathing underneath your bare hands had you feeling all fuzzy. by the time your hands got to his mid back, there was no more sunscreen.
you pulled away to get more, and if you listened close enough you swear ted whimpered at the loss of contact. he turned around but as soon as he realized you were just getting more, he settled. in the back of his mind he was hoping and praying you didn’t notice how desperate he seemed.
it’s not even that he was desperate, he was just desperate for you.
he let out another deep breath as your hands worked the muscles of his lower back, and you were so happy to see him finally relax.
“feel good, teddy?”
ah, there it was. the nickname you reserved for moments where you really wanted to tease him and see him blush. no matter how ted his cheeks got, he couldn’t deny that he loved it.
“y-yeah.. feels amazing, hun.”
now it was your turn to blush at the pet names. ted slowly slipped into the habit of calling you “hun” after finding you upset in your office after work one day. there was no doubt the coaches and team had picked up on it, but you were lucky enough that they didn’t say anything to your faces.
he didn’t want to stop calling you that. it was the closest he could get to doting on you. a nicknamed reserved for him to call you.
and you sure as hell didn’t mind. all you could manage back was a sweet hum and a tiny shuffle towards his back. ted leaned back ever so slightly in a poor attempt to meet you halfway.
before you could open your mouth, sam’s voice interrupted you.
“coach! do you want to come play beach volleyball with us?”
now, all eyes were on you and ted. well, most eyes.
“oh, uh.. sure thing, sam! be right there!”, he turned around after watching sam walk off.
“think i’m protected from the sun now?”, he teased with a smirk.
your chuckle made his heart pound as you replied, “for a little while at least. come back in about an hour though, yeah? don’t want you getting burnt.”
ted stuttered a bit at that. he was used to the light teasing and flirty banter, but definitely wasn’t used to the idea of someone taking care of him. not even someone wanting to take care of him. if he hadn’t already been in love with you before, he sure as hell would’ve been now.
his silence scared you, but luckily he spoke before you could sputter out an awkward apology.
“y-yeah, okay. better be waitin’ for me, missy.”, thankfully he turned away after winking at you because if not, he would’ve seen you internally combust.
you watched him walk away and bit your lip watching his calf muscles flex as he walked through the sand. the way his biceps flexed as he caught the volleyball almost made you moan. before you could get any further into your thoughts, keeley walked over with the cooler you two had packed.
“oooh, looking at your man, huh?”, her voice was cheeky as always. she sat in the chair beside you and tossed you a seltzer and a can holder to put it in.
“my man? yeah, okay.”
“oh, babe, stop that. i just watched you rub sunscreen on his shoulders for twenty minutes like you were in some porno.”
“that- he didn’t want to get sunburnt!”, your voice went up about four octaves.
“yeah yeah, whatever you say babe.”, she teased. you two got settled in the beach chairs and sipped on your drinks while you had some girl time.
keeley gave you the latest on her and roy while you both worked on a pretty strong buzz.
an hour and a half later, the buzz turned into being straight up drunk. keeley had you cackling at a well-timed sex joke before changing the conversation.
“ooh, y/n, look! here comes your work husband.”, although her voice was relatively quiet it suddenly seemed like she was screaming.
“keeley- what.. don’t-“
keeley giggled and relaxed back into her seat while you turned to face ted.
he looked like a dream walking towards you. a sheer layer of sweat had made its way to his forehead and shoulders, and his chest was heaving. you hadn’t really gotten a good look at his figure from the front until now, and being drunk made it so much worse.
dark hair was scattered across his chest and belly with some grey sprinkled in here and there. he wasn’t ripped, but was working the dadbod in all its fashion. those shoulders were just as broad from the front.
the sunglasses you were wearing were your saving grace, because you felt like a straight up perv the way you were basically eye-fucking him. you could only imagine what the hair across his belly lead to. does he keep it trimmed? does his-
your thoughts were interrupted once he got closer.
“hi ladies!”
“oh, hello ted! having fun yet?”, keeleys voice sounded so knowing. there was no way she didn’t sense you checking him out.
“oh yeah! that lil’ game we had goin’ on got me out of breath though. think i might go see what roy ‘n beard are up to in the water here in a second.”
your head was spinning as he sat down next to you on the edge of your chair. not only were you pretty drunk, but he was sitting so much closer than he was earlier. even the slightest touch of his thigh against yours had you dizzy.
“m’ready for my sunscreen now, madam.”, ted said cheekily. you drunkenly giggled at him and sat up to grab the sunscreen. with your movements being slightly hindered, you stayed sitting criss cross applesauce and just shuffled towards him. he turned his back to you as you got a handful of sunscreen.
keeley announced her plans of going to the bathroom before leaving the two of you alone.
without your filter to stop you, you blurted out, “i like your freckles, teddy.”
you couldn’t even regret it at this point.
“yeah? i honestly forget about ‘em. cant really see back there, ya know?”, ted laughed.
what he said was typically funny but your drunk mind found his words hilarious in the moment, and you couldn’t stop the giggles that left your mouth.
“what’s got you laughin’ like that, hun? s’it me?”, he sounded amused and you’re sure he had a smile to match his tone.
without thinking you let yourself lean forward and press your cheek to his back as you kept giggling. between the laughing and alcohol you couldn’t even find it in you to be embarrassed or pull away. it felt too nice, even with the greasy sunscreen. it was ted.
your hands had dropped down to his sides, but you didn’t pull them away. luckily, ted seemed to have the same idea. as you giggled away, he brought his hands down to cover yours and giggled with you.
ted had been dreaming of being this close to you for so long. so touch starved, but only for you. a swarm of butterflies fluttered around in his stomach as your eyelashes fluttered similarly against the skin of his back.
he didn’t move his hands even after your laughter died down.
“yeah, you’re pretty funny, teddy. jus’ a funny guy.”
he didn’t miss the way your words were slightly slurred as your spoke. you felt like a deer in headlights as he turned around.
“woah now, you okay there hun?”
cue the giggles again. “m’fine teddy. wait, turn around i think i missed-“
his hands grabbed at yours again, “promise?”. the crease in his eyebrows appeared when they furrowed. although you should’ve been responding, you found yourself even admiring the wrinkles on his face, sending you into another fit of giggles. you were so far gone for this man.
“yes, coach”, you huffed sarcastically with a fake salute.
ted laughed, a good belly laugh you always loved to hear, and turned around. he shook his head as he laughed, but it was full of admiration.
you lazily rubbed sunscreen into the places you previously missed and let out a yawn.
“tired?”
“mm”, you hummed, “just comfy”.
you let your hands fall softly to the skin above his waist as you scooted closer to him and pressed yourself against his back again. this time, it wasn’t just your face. after you got settled you had to basically wrap your arms around his middle with how close you were.
it didn’t dawn on you until now that keeley had been gone longer than expected, but you silently thanked her for giving you some alone time with ted.
you settled with one hand wrapped against his belly, and the other one resting against the back of his leg. one of his hands came up to hold yours that was pressed against him, silently keeping it there.
instead of speaking, you smiled a soft smile and nuzzled further into his back, knowing he’d understand the silent ‘i like this’.
you played with the fabric of his swim shorts where your hand was sitting behind his thigh, and your eyes fluttered closed against his back.
it felt like you were high, with the way your head was spinning and you were pressed up against ted. you could feel him breathing, feel his bare skin against your cheek. your senses were overwhelmed with him, and it was dizzying.
ted was in another world of his own. the way you softly nuzzled into his back after he held your arm to his abdomen was just the reassurance he needed. even in the heat, your warmth felt like heaven to him. the way your dainty fingertips played with his shorts almost had him squirming.
surprisingly, when keeley came back neither of you made an effort to move.
“wh- oh. welcome back to me”
ted was silent, but your giggles were enough of an answer for her. being the good friend she is, she silently sipped her drink and opened up her book. you knew she wasn’t reading, but you loved her even more for pretending to.
ted’s fingers had begun tracing over the skin of your hand, and you flexed your fingers into the skin of his belly. the hair was scratchy but his skin felt so soft. it was so him.
“coach!”, beard yelled from the water. you tensed slightly, but relaxed at the feeling of ted gently squeezing your hand.
beard had started his trek up to where you were sitting, and your heart leaped when ted made no attempt to move.
“do you…”, beard trailed off as he eyed ted before giving him a sneaky thumbs up. “..want to come check out the water?”.
this was code for: you need to come here and tell us all about this, and how we’ve been right.
“yeah, i’ll.. yeah.” ted seemed almost sad as he softly patted your hand that was still holding tightly to him.
“i’ll be there in a sec, beardo.”, ted gave beard a single nod before turning back to you.
that was code for: hold up, i cant leave it like this
you softly pouted at him without even realizing it. “m’gonna go see what they’re all about over there, hun. i’ll be back okay?”, his voice was soft and gentle as always. but now, it just felt a bit different. good different.
ted watched as your eyes trailed down to where he was still holding your hand.
“come back for more sunscreen, ‘kay?”
“what if I just wanna come see you?”
you felt like you were going to combust. right there on the beach in the public eye.
“mmm” you hummed contently, “i guess that’ll be okay.”. ted laughed at your sarcasm and gave your hand a squeeze.
“drink some water, darlin’. i’ll be back in a bit. holler if you need me, okay?”
you nodded up at him, “mkay, teddy.”. he stared at you with eyes full of adoration while he watched you settle back into your beach chair.
“keeley, make sure she gets some water, will you please?”
keeley gave him a very overdramatic salute, “sir, yes sir.” as he walked away, sending the two of you into a laughing fit.
once it died down, she turned to face you. “c’mon. you cant even deny it anymore!”
you smiled hard and giggled once more, “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“teddy?”, she replied. “darling? he is totally your man.”
Summary: Natalia's past is now quickly becoming her present. Might as well try to make light of it all.
Word Count: 2.3k
Warnings: swearing but that's about it
A/N: I'm so so so grateful for all of the love already for the first chapter! I'm pretty rusty in the writing world, so be patient as I get my footing again. I just love Roy Kent so much, yall. Also, yes I used an old Lorde song for the title of this series in the year 2023, nature is healing
gif from @winterscaptain
Chapter 2
His eyes were so dark. A deep warm brown bore hard into her sharp green for a moment. Natalia blinked hard, hoping, wondering, if this was a dream. A glimmer ghosted across his eyes before it disappeared behind some furrowed and bushy eyebrows.
“Natalia,” He nodded quickly.
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could even utter a sound, Roy had pushed past her and quickly through the photographers giving them obscene gestures and a slew of “Fuck off”s. Natalia scoffed, dumbfounded. She quickly shook it off and squared her shoulders before stepping onto the red carpet. The cameras and reporters roared when she stepped into frame.
“Talia, Talia, who are you wearing!?”
“Talia, over here!”
“Talia–”
She squirmed under the flashing lights and cacophony of sound. Talia tried her best to soothe herself in the moment, playing it off with her hard rocker energy and striking a few poses to appease the cameras. After a pose with devil horns and her tongue out, she began her descent toward the ballroom.
“Is it true you’re now a minority owner of AFC Richmond!?” A reporter yelled.
She stopped, flipping her hair over her shoulder for one final money shot with the response, “Yes, darling. It is true. But I must be off to donate to children in need, toodles!”
Natalia stomped into the ballroom and was quickly overwhelmed with the crowds. Not wanting to bother Rebecca as she was clearly in her own groove, she found Ted at the bar.
“I’ll have the same as him, love,” Natalia rapped on the bar beside Ted as she heard him order a triple of whiskey.
“Well I’ll be,” Ted smiled, quickly admiring her outfit, “You sure do clean up nicely!”
“Thank you, Ted,” Natalia smiled, leaning over to fix his tie. Quickly she felt eyes on her from somewhere else in the room. “Everything alright, Mr. Triple shot?”
“Oh y’know when you just see through someone?” Ted shrugged.
“Ah, I see you met Rupert,” Natalia nodded as their two drinks were delivered.
“You know him?”
“It’s hard not to know him in these circles, but I only know him to be particularly fucking disgusting. You ever heard how Rebecca found out about his cheating?”
“Mm mmm,” Ted shook his head as he drained his whiskey. Natalia raised her eyebrows, taking a long slow sip, not breaking eye contact with the American. Ted took a moment to register what she meant. She felt the eyes again, but she ignored it.
“You?” Ted finally put two and two together.
“Yup,” Natalia nodded, knocking the bar and ordering another round, “He extended me an exclusive invite to Bones and Honey, thinking he could win me over that way… Little did he know I’m already a fuckin’ member. So, I promptly showed up, squashed a morsel of that ego of his and then quickly left to find Rebecca.”
“Well, I sure am happy you made that call,” Ted smiled, clinking his glass with yours, “otherwise I never woulda had this opportunity. So I s’pose I have you to thank then.”
Natalia smiled, relaxed for the first time all day and patted Ted on the shoulder, “Pleasure is all mine, Ted.”
The two enjoyed some chit chat at the bar and seemed to be having a good time. Roy Kent, however, was not. Not only was he sitting at the table with Jamie fucking Tartt, but everytime he had glanced in Natalia’s direction, she seemed to have been getting closer and closer to the gaffer. His hands clenched into hard fists under the table. He hadn’t seen her in decades and there she is chatting up that annoying American.
He couldn’t understand why he was getting so angry. But then he saw her and Ted rise from their spots at the bar and make their way toward the table, just as he was getting ushered off to be brought up on stage.
Natalia reached the table as Keeley Jones was making her way back. A small squeal emitted from both the small women, the two quickly hugged each other.
“Talia! You looking fucking incredible, babes!” Keeley squealed, running her way to her in her golden gown. She kissed Natalia’s cheeks and ogled her.
“Your tits are fucking fantastic,” Keeley breathed staring at the deep cut V in the front of her dress. Natalia just laughed, rocking her head back.
Keeley quickly dismissed the young woman named Bex before having a quiet but heated discussion with Jamie. Roy was the next player to be auctioned off. It soon became clear that Keeley was now playing Jamie’s game from earlier at the auction. Frankly, Natalia was sick of it. Sick of seeing Roy being in the middle of it all. Plus, she wanted to have fun anyway. Right before Rupert auctioned off Roy to an old bitty who was promising to make his night one to remember, Natalia stood up with a paddle.
“10,000 pounds,” Natalia proclaimed, the crowd quickly filled with commotion and whispers. Roy’s eyes widened underneath the spotlight.
“Well, well,” Rupert smiled, a hint of distaste in his features as he realized who it was that bid, “Sold! To Miss Talia Forrest! Just a couple of Sunderland natives out on the town, then? Tell me, what does £10,000 unlock in the Roy Kent Dating Package?”
“Who knows, but what else is a ‘washed up rockstar’ to do with all this royalty money? For the children, right Rupert?” Natalia quipped back, eliciting a scattering of chuckles in the audience, a challenge in her eyes, “Plus, Roy’s been put through enough having to consider a night with Cheryl over here. Hi there, Cheryl, darling.”
“Natalia Forrest, everybody,” Rupert announced, “Don’t you hurt his ego too much,” gesturing to Roy to exit the stage. Roy promptly rushed off stage, moving at bullet speed, he stormed past the crowd as the auction came to a close. Without much acknowledgement, he grabbed Natalia by her arm, dragging her along with him.
“Whoa, Roy–” Natalia stammered as he dragged her off to the quiet area of the abandoned sidebar.
“Don’t fucking do that again,” Roy growled.
Natalia’s eyes widened in shock, “Roy— I was just—“
“Between Keeley using me as some stupid fucking jealousy game with that prick and you auctioning out of fucking pity— I fucking hate it.” he bit out.
“I-“ Natalia started, ready to be defensive. Instead she just looked at him. She hadn’t seen him in so long, and even though she wanted nothing more than to wrap him in a hug, she sighed, “I’m really sorry, Roy. I was just sick of Jamie and Keeley’s stupid fucking game.”
Roy took a moment, his eyes searching hers for any sign of deceit. But all he saw were big, apologetic soft green eyes staring back up at him. With heels, she only stood about 5’5”, but there was a time he remembered where they were roughly the same height. A pang of sadness pulled in his chest.
“Thank you,” he nodded.
As he turned to leave, Natalia caught his arm, “Roy wait.”
He paused, turning around to face her again, the feeling of her hand on his arm sent a long forgotten shock through his body.
“You owe me a £10,000 date,” Natalia said smirking up at him, “So you better make it fucking worth it.”
He gave a soft growl and stormed away. Natalia’s heart sank into her gut again as he disappeared. She was quickly distracted by the sound of Rebecca introducing a very last minute musical guest, a street busker, and she was immediately blown away by the young man’s performance. Natalia rushed into the crowd and bounced around to the music with who she was assuming was her team, and by the description Rebecca had given her earlier, danced hard with Coach Beard.
As the night wound to a close, Rebecca found Natalia speaking with Cam Cole, Ted, and Beard. Talia had just finished handing Cam a few business cards and took a photo with him for her personal social platforms to promote the performer when Rebecca approached.
“Hello gentlemen,” Rebecca smiled nervously, “Natalia, I was- uhm- wondering if you would care to join me and–”
“I’m fuckin’ in,” Talia responded.
“I didn’t even finish–”
“I will do anything with you,” Natalia reassured, “Plus, something tells me Keeley is involved.” Glancing over Rebecca’s shoulder to see Keeley trying to wave with two champagne bottles cradled in her arms.
Natalia turned back to the three men, “My chariot awaits gentlemen. It’s been a fuckin’ blast. Cam, please do give me a call, I see a lot of fucking potential in you.”
“Jeez louise, Nat,” Ted laughed, “You swear just like Roy. Hey, have you met Roy?”
“I have, Ted,” Natalia said a bit sharper than she meant, recovering, “I bid on him, remember?”
Beard gave Talia a pointed look and a feeling went down her spine. He seemed to know something
“Anyways, see you lot around, yeah?” Natalia asked, hugging and leaving a kiss on each man’s cheek.
“Don’t be a stranger,” Ted beamed, “It’d be fun to have you around more.”
With that, Natalia dashed over to the increasingly impatient women and they found their way to a bike taxi where they squeezed close together and drank the night away. Once they had made it to Rebecca’s flat (which was one hell of a workout for that poor bicyclist), Natalia left him enough money to pay rent twice over and the three stumbled inside.
“Get these bloody fucking things off me,” Rebecca groaned as she kicked off her heels, giving her ankles a soft rub. Keeley and Natalia soon follow.
“Shit I forgot how tiny you both are,” Rebecca laughed, “like a couple of elves.”
“Oi!” Keeley and Natalia yelled together. Immediately the two started cackling.
Once the women had settled down, they drank away at the wine and all cozied up on Rebecca’s couch, which was somehow even more comfortable than the one in her office. In true teenage-girl-sleepover fashion, they all huddled around and turned on a movie that was quickly discarded for immediate gossip of the night.
“God, Rupert is such a dick,” Keeley groaned, throwing her head back.
“Amen,” Natalia drunkenly lifted her glass in agreement.
“Say,” Keeley swiveled, her big eyes a bit droopy, “What’s the deal with the $10,000 bid tonight.”
Natalia was taken aback by the sudden switch in topic. “For the children?” She mumbled unconvincingly.
“Oh bullshit,” Rebecca rolled her eyes, “£10,000?”
“Rebecca, when have I not thrown money out for donations?”
“Natalia,” Rebecca lightly challenged, a knowing look, and a raised brow, “Only when it benefits you.”
Fuck.
Keeley gasped, “You wanna shag Roy!”
She couldn’t tell which was the culprit, but between the sudden and drunken interrogation, and the obscene amount of alcohol running through her, she couldn’t help the faint blush that tinged the tip of her nose and ears. Keeley and Rebecca let out a couple of squeals jumping in their seats. Natalia quickly rolled her eyes, giving her the best scowl she could muster. After a moment, however, she softened, her fingers lighting dancing around the rim of her wine glass, eyes intently looking at her own movements.
“It’s not like that,” she mumbled, a soft smile on her lips. God, why do I go so soft around these two?
Both other women noticed Natalia’s shift in demeanor. They also immediately scooted closer, worried but aching to know more. Talia gave a quick glance up to two pairs of very expectant eyes. With a sigh and a slight roll of her eyes, Natalia finally responded.
“Roy and I grew up together,” she admitted. It felt good to let someone else know. Their eyes widened at the new knowledge. Natalia continued, the liquor prompting the words, “Grew up in the same, shitty and rundown flats– the community would always joke that no matter how poor we all were, the place was magic to be able to produce two famous kids."
At this, Natalia let out a soft chuckle, mind a million miles away as she rambled on, “Due to both of us being just wee kids, we were expected to continue on in schooling. We were both put into the same tutoring system.”
“Oh my god, childhood sweethearts!” Keeley squealed gently, earning a side look from Rebecca.
Natalia responded with a dry laugh, “Hardly. A few years past and we were closer than ever,” she explained, “but then between Roy’s hard fuckin’ work paying off in the football clubs, and my music career exploding into my first tour, we drifted apart. I haven’t seen him since I was 16 during his debut game. The next time I saw him was today.”
Rebecca and Keeley sat dumbfounded, and grateful that she was so open with them. They stared at Natalia dreamy-eyed with the childhood nostalgia.
“But that ain’t the Roy Kent I fuckin’ know,” Talia stated. A deep sadness tugged at her gut, as she finished the rest of her wine. She shook her head, “Nah. The Roy I know was soft, and gentle, and always tried to make me laugh.”
After a beat, Talia shrugged, looking at the time. Rebecca and Keeley had eventually received the message and they all proceeded to get ready for bed as they all managed to sleep quite comfortably in Rebecca’s bed.
Roy laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t fucking sleep. Anytime he’d close his eyes, she should pop up behind his closed eyes. It was driving him fucking crazy. He growled, reaching over for his phone. He pulled her name up from his contacts and started to draft a message. He had tried and failed multiple times writing out something simple.
“Fuck it,” he growled, slamming his phone back onto the nightstand before rolling over and tried to force himself to sleep. Trainin’ is going to be a fucking bitch tomorrow.
“there you are! was wondering where you’d got off to,” laura says, walking out to meet her fiancé on the front step to their house. “what’s wrong, love?”
“yes, sorry. needed some air,” trent says into his arms, crossed atop his knees.
she sits down next to him, mirroring his own position with her legs curled up to her chin. she nudges his shoulder.
“i. i’m sorry laura.”
“for what, love?”
trent’s stomach flutters and his heart feels like it’s beating out of his chest. hes gotta tell her. she deserves better.
“im… i think im… i think im gay.”
the two sit in silence for a little while. trent’s stomach feels like it’s going to turn itself inside out. he looks over at laura who’s facing the sidewalk in front of them, eyes closed. she opens her eyes and looks over at him, a small smile on her face, eyes misty.
“trent, we’ve been dating for years now. since university. we’re getting married, of course you’re nervous. it’s okay, i am too.”
“no, i-“
“i know it’s a big step and i know it’s scary, but it’s gonna be okay. we’ve got each other, don’t we?”
“… yeah. yes of course, love.”
“c’mon, i don’t want dinner to burn, let’s head in out of the cold.”
Summary: A little glimpse into mornings with sleepy Jason <3
Word Count: 631 words
A/N: Hello, this is my first time writing jsuds-related stuff (and my first non-kpop fic in a While lmao) I hope yall like it!! I’m probably gonna post more with him or ted lasso on here, or on ao3, depends on how everything goes!
(the gif is completely not related to this teeny tiny drabble, I just like cats)
You’ve been awake for a few minutes now, laying still as you soak up the feeling of the sun gently caressing your cheek through the window on your right. You must have forgotten to draw the curtains closed last night, especially considering what had happened in the past 12 hours; and with who, especially.
You turn your head to the side, a soft smile and the hint of a giggle playing on your lips as you drank in the strange sight in front of you. A forehead and a messy head of brown hair peeking out from under the sheets were the only clear indication that there was someone else in bed with you. It can’t be comfortable to sleep with that covering his face, you thought to yourself. Plus, you wanted to see him, to see Jason as he slept, as if you were in some kind of lovey-dovey rom-com moment.
You shift your whole body to face him with as little sudden movements as possible, not wanting to wake him. Carefully, you reach forward and pinch the sheets between your thumb and forefinger, pulling it away from Jason’s face until it was no longer obstructed by the soft material. Immediately, Jason’s nose scrunched upwards in his sleep and you froze. Did I wake him?
When he made no further indications that he was woken up by your actions, you sighed softly in relief, smiling as you watched him sleep, the way his chest moved with every breath. He was cute, a little vulnerable this way; how his doubts and responsibilities roll right off his strong shoulders the moment he succumbed to slumber with you by his side. Jason had always been a busy man, and you prided him for his hard work and his dedication to his craft. He had often mentioned how he felt weightless around you (”In a good way, you know?” he’d say, and you’d nod because that’s exactly how you feel about him too), and that made you feel all fluffy and warm inside, pleased for having that kind of positive effect on him.
“Are you watching me sleep again?”
“Shit!” You move away, clearly startled by the sudden sound of his low, raspy voice, which was super fucking sexy, by the way; even when it’s thick with sleep and the words were slightly slurred when he spoke. “Were you awake this whole time?”
“Mhmm.” Jason hummed in response, his eyes were still closed but he was smiling now.
“Jerk.” You slapped his arm with what you’d classify as a medium-level smack, and this caused Jason to open his eyes and look at you with the sleepiest, most adorable glare. “You… You can’t intimidate me when you look like you’re about to fall back to sleep at any second, you know.”
“If I do, are you gonna watch me again?” Jason mumbled as he moved closer towards you, burying his face against your bare shoulder.
You suppressed a smile at his actions, patting his head gently. “Yeah, you’re super cute when you sleep.” That might have not been the response Jason was looking for as he lifted his head a little, just enough to look at you with a sleepy yet quizzical glance.
“Did you say ‘hot’, you said ‘hot’, right?”
“No,” You shook your head. “I said ‘cute’… ‘super cute’, in fact.”
Jason pressed his face against the pillow this time, grumbling about how a middle-aged man should not be considered ‘super cute’. This made you laugh, and you repeat the phrase once more for good measure, only to frown when there was no response. You gingerly prodded him with your finger, realizing moments later that he had gone back to sleep. How the fuck does he do that?
“Super cute,” You whispered softly.
—
Hi!! I hope yall enjoyed reading this, I primarily take requests for jason/ted x reader so don’t be shy!!
She walks through the halls of her home, fingers dragging along the wall where paintings once hung, photos of friends and family and places she loved. The rooms are empty where furniture once sat. There’s no lingering background noise, nothing in her washroom drawers, no clothes in her closet. This is it, she thinks. One last time to take it all in, the walls that held her together when all she felt like she would do was fall apart.
She makes it to the sliding glass door in her living area and opens it, steps out onto the patio and breathes in her garden while she can still call it hers. The flowers have bloomed and look like a dream in the sunshine that peeks out from the clouds, almost as if it were just for her. She brushes a petal with her fingertip and commits the feeling to memory. Not that she’ll never have flowers again, not that she’ll never plant new ones… But isn’t that the metaphor of it all?
She’s planting new flowers. She’s saying goodbye to the old ones.
Ted comes up behind her, wrapping his solid arms around her middle as he kisses the side of her neck. "You alright, sunshine?"
"Yes, of course, love. Just saying goodbye," she says, turning in his arms to place a soft kiss against his lips. "Are we ready?"
He smiles so bright it warms her insides. "Yes ma'am. All set."
She's never been so sure of anything. She's looking forward, now, to the future. One that's filled with Kansas sunshine and barbecue sauce and Ted and Henry and she's so happy she could burst.
"Lets go."
based off this prompt
Kansas Ted and Rebecca is a dream. One day I'll write that for them, but for now have this hastily written thing that wouldn't leave my brain :)
In this scenario, I imagine she's either sold the club or is letting someone (like Higgins) run the operations while she works remotely. Their main base being Kansas with trips made to Richmond during the season.
I also imagine Beard would take over the head coach position while Roy stays on as the assistant.
