Chapter Text
Rebecca exhaled slowly, trying to calm the storm stirring inside of her. God, this was nerve wracking! You’d think she’d be used to the stress of yet another match. Unfortunately, the more they won, the more that feeling started to suffocate her. Going back to Wembley, where they suffered such a heartbreaking defeat last time, did not make it any better.
Besides, if any match would be anxiety inducing, it would be this one. The FA Cup finals against fucking West Ham. Even though she had stopped caring about what Rupert thought or felt about anything, she would just love to rub a win into that arrogant face of his.
“Oh, this is gonna be a doozy!” Ted had exclaimed yesterday, when he had barged in for Biscuits with the Boss.
He was like a sun chasing the storm away. She felt her body calm down immediately when hearing his usual joyous morning tone. “That’s a good thing, right?” she asked. Not always sure if her knowledge of American slang was accurate.
‘As good as a double chilly mint margarita,’ Ted casually replied, taking his backpack from his shoulders. There was something so comforting about this daily routine.
She tilted her head, trying to imagine the taste of a double chilly mint margarita but failed.
“Are you offering?” She just couldn’t resist baiting him.
Ted flashed her a million dollar smile, always appreciating her having a quick comeback to his silly puns. “Oh, I see what’s going on”, he narrowed his eyes as he dug into his backpack, “you’re trying to seduce this innocent employee into asking you out for drinks”. His mouth turned into a lopsided grin when he placed the biscuits on her desk and zipped down his Richmond jacket to sit comfortably in the chair opposite her.
“Oh, aren’t we cocky, coach Lasso”, she feigned a mild shock while pulling the pink biscuit box towards her, not missing that one dimple forming on his cheek. “When you get us to win tomorrow’s match, I promise you, I will try any odd cocktail you can persuade Mae to prepare for me.” With that she bit into the delicious treat, not able to suppress her audible appreciation for her daily dose of happiness.
Ted raised his eyebrows, his mouth had turned into a big grin, emphasised by his moustache. “Oh wow, now you know I’m gonna make the boys work extra hard today to ensure that we’ll be holding that trophy tomorrow….And I’m gonna be googling some recipes tonight!”
“Can’t wait!” The familiar words lingered in the air for a bit while she held his gaze, only to cast her eyes down to close the pink box. She always wanted to savour the biscuits to help her get through the day.
“Alright”, Ted announced as he raised from the chair. “I gotta whip these kids up. But boy, are they in shape at the moment. If you’d ask me, they can take any team now. So, that little insignificant club we’re playing tomorrow, should be lemon squeezy.” Off Rebecca’s look he added: “You know, easy peasy”.
Rebecca let out a chuckle.“Quite right, who are we playing again? I seem to have forgotten the name.”
“No idea”, Ted shrugged casually while moving towards the door, dressed in his usual attire and backpack slung back over his shoulder. “But I heard the owner is a bit of a windbag. So, it would be great to see him deflated.”
Rebecca had shaken her head and raised an eyebrow at him. ‘“Yeah, that wasn’t my best joke”, he had admitted. “But doesn’t it make a great visual?” With that he had given her one last smile and closed the door behind him.
Rebecca grinned again, thinking back to how she had stared at the door for a little while longer, before she had gone back to work. Feeling a million times lighter.
It hadn’t been an unusual interaction. Their rhythm had become effortless over the past months, interlaced with flirting as of late. Just innocent enough to be able to stay out of HR’s office but obvious enough for them both to lean into it. Ted and her were individually on better life tracks, moving away from the painful aftermaths of their divorces and inching closer and closer to each other each day.
He had told her about his sessions with Dr. Fieldstone and how it had helped him cope with his past and the burden he had put on himself. Encouraged by his healing, she had sought out the Doc as well and it had certainly cleared a path for her to make more conscious decisions about her happiness and that of others. Her urges to choose revenge or more selfish routes in the face of difficulty, had been laid bare. By acknowledging it, she was on the way to become a better person. The appearance of Ted in her life had already kick-started this process but she realised professional help was unavoidable to give her the tools to become the person she wanted to be.
Consequently, it had lowered her walls and allowed her to be more present and free. Being more relaxed had opened the door for a deeper friendship and connection with Ted. This had lit some sparks inside of her, she didn’t know she could still have in her late fourties.
However, the interesting part was that it didn’t scare her. It was Ted, after all. And it all seemed so natural and logical. Of course it was him. She almost felt daft for seeking love on Bantr or pursuing other men while he had always been right there with his silliness and tenderness. The first person who had really broken through her barriers. She hadn’t noticed it at first. He was nothing like any men she had dated before, but slowly he had wiggled his way into her heart.
And there were the biscuits. Even she wasn’t so dense to think it wasn’t fucking weird for a man to bring home baked goods to his boss, friend, whatever… every day for over 2 years. When she had looked at him with this new notion, she could simply see it in his eyes too. This had set off some light flirting, which they had eagerly indulged in. Just when they were alone. It felt like some sort of secret foreplay where they knew where this would lead to.. Both just waiting for the right time.
But today she hadn’t seen him yet. He, Roy and Beard were busy settling the team into Wembley while she would join right before the Derby, with Keeley. This made her nervous. Everything had been going so well and she just didn’t want to lose this feeling of euphoria, where all seemed to finally fall into place. A loss might break the spell. She just really wanted them to win this, and shoving all of that into Rupert’s face would just be the icing on the cake because… you know, fuck Rupert.
Ted looked around the Wembley locker room, while Will was making sure everything was ready for the team. Roy and Beard were talking strategy details on a whiteboard in the corner. It sure was an impressive stadium and he was very much focussed on turning last year’s negative experience into a victorious one.
Last night the three of them had spent long hours going through the game plan and felt very confident Richmond could win this. They had already played West Ham one time before, at an away game. Even though it had finished in a tie, they clearly were the better team. Now this just had to be reflected in the results, because this one mattered. Ted tried not to get caught up in the significance of this particular match: the FA Cup and the Rupert of it all. It was unneeded pressure that wouldn’t help them. But boy oh boy, wouldn’t a win be amazing?
And then there was Nathan. Of course there had been a run in with Rup-a-dupes and his new coach when they had played them earlier in the season. Ted had tried to find a moment to speak to his former protégé in private, to ask him how he was and if there was anything he needed.
Unfortunately Rupert had always been at Nate‘s side, lurking over his shoulder. It hadn’t been a coincidence and it was gut wrenching to see how West Ham’s owner had his clutches tightly hooked into the impressionable young man. Ted wished he knew a way to pull Nate back from the dark side. Sometimes he felt like Obi Wan, trying to shepherd Anakin back to the light. He just hoped he would fare better. The many messages he had sent had gone unanswered and Ted realised he had to be patient. The door was always open for Nate the Great to come to him when he would be ready.
He remembered the warm comforting sensation of Rebecca’s hand on his back when Nate had answered his pre-game “How are you?’ with an icy “Fantastic, Never better.”
Her slow rubbing had eased the pain he felt at Nate’s rejection. He remembered Higgins’ words: “when you are with the right person, even the hard times are easy.” He finally fully understood what it meant.
Rupert had noticed her gesture as well. “Well, well, your string of good luck has awarded you some special attention from the boss, Ted! Lucky you.” He sneered with that unsettling voice, full of acidic charm.
Thankfully, Ted had become a pro at handling Rupert’s snide remarks. “Yeah, funny how it works, right Rupy? When someone falls into luck, someone else falls… ya know, out of luck. But I’m sure this game will be better.”
Ted knew how to keep his face from showing any negative thoughts towards this vile man. His light tone always infuriated Rupert and calmed down Rebecca. As much as he didn’t like the man, Ted didn’t care for winning any confrontation. Adding fuel to Mr. Mannion’s toxic fire was not something he aspired to. He just couldn’t resist some white knighting for Rebecca.
“Don’t worry, I know every single one of Richmond’s weak spots and its incompetent coach. And there are way too many to count. We can’t lose”, Nate chimed in, gaining him a slap on the shoulder from his boss.
“See?” Rupert grinned at Ted and Rebecca. “When you have a gaffer with some actual football knowledge and an owner who isn’t an emotional mess, one doesn’t need luck.”
“Oh Rupert, how I admire your confidence!” Rebecca’s voice sounded so genuinely upbeat, Ted almost expected someone to pop out and hand the woman an Oscar. “It’s so inspiring to see how you are still putting yourself out there despite,” she casually waved her hand around … “everything”.
Ted almost choked watching Rupert’s eyes narrow before regaining his composure again. This must have stung. Rupert had suffered a streak of losses earlier in the season, on top of some speculation in the tabloids indicating that he and Bex were on the rocks.
With a quick peek at the wonderful woman next to him, Ted tried to convey all his admiration in one single look. His reward had been a subtle but very triumphant wink.
Rupert glanced from Rebecca back to Ted and shook his head. “Well, Rebecca, Ted, lovely as this is, we have to start preparing for the match. You are welcome to join our post victory celebrations.” He turned on his heel, followed by Nate who seemed to mutter something inaudible.
“Hey, Nate”, Ted quickly tapped his former buddy’s upper arm, making Nate turn slightly towards him. “My door is always open, I ain’t mad.” His voice was soft and careful so Rupert wouldn’t overhear.
Nate looked at him for a second and it almost seemed like he wanted to give in. Unfortunately, he chose the other direction. “Oh fuck your mind games, Ted Lasso!” Loud enough for Palpatine… uhm Rupert, to hear before he skated after him.
Ted shrugged his shoulders at Rebecca.
“That little grey-haired shit”, she muttered.
“Yeah, but you got him good! Woman, that roast burned!” He mockingly shook out his fingers to emphasize the sting of the burn.
It earned him a gentle slap against his shoulder, “Not Rupert, I meant Nate!”.
“Ohw”, he dug his hands in his pockets as they both turned around to walk back to the locker room. “Could have fooled me!”.
Rebecca had bumped his shoulder with her own when they had walked off.
He smiled at himself, thinking back to that exchange. He was proud of how Rebecca hadn’t even needed his aid. She had stood her ground against her manipulative ex-husband, with devastating elegance . At that moment Ted had used all his will power to control the urge to give her a big ol’ kiss, showing how exhilarating that had felt.
“Oi, I’m so stressed about this whole thing”, Keeley exclaimed as she stepped into Rebecca’s car. “I don’t know how you are still breathing and… looking gorgeous!”
Rebecca rolled her eyes at her forward friend. It was bloody cold outside so she had opted for pants and her long wool coat. No hat this time, somehow this felt like a no-hat occasion. She wore her hair untied to force herself to feel careless and free.
“You are looking downright glamorous yourself”, she responded while taking in Keeley’s golden sparkly dress and equally sparkly red jacket. “But you will be freezing your arse off in that! It is such an oddly cold day. When will we ever get to summer on this God damned island.”
Keeley playfully slapped Rebecca’s knee. “Don’t worry, babes. I’ll steal one of Roy’s Richmond jackets so I can bask in his smell while looking at him being all sexy and commanding on the pitch. You know, I always thought those musky sweaty players were the hot guys out there but it turns out I was wrong. It’s the coaches!” She gave Rebecca a meaningful look.
Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh even though she rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what Keeley was getting at. “Well, we’re never too old to learn, right?” She finally responded, earning herself a hug from her bubbly partner in crime.
The atmosphere in the changing room was more relaxed than Rebecca had expected when she and Keeley barged in. Mainly, it was Keeley doing the barging and Rebecca trailing her. She caught Sam’s look as he nodded at her. She smiled back. Luckily things were normal between them. She had even been to the opening of his restaurant and met his new girlfriend who, as Keeley had pointed out, was basically a younger version of Rebecca Welton. This time she hadn’t minded the ‘younger’ part. Sam deserved someone who could be with him for the long haul and give him a home base in London. He is such a lovely guy.
Speaking of which, Ted greeted her from the back of the room with a “Heya boss, you’re right on time. I’m about to do the mandatory pep talk and I think you might like this one.”
Her lips curled upwards as she acknowledged his call out with a twinkle in her eyes, lowering herself on the bench. Keeley gave Roy a quick peck before sitting down next to Rebecca.
“Ok fellas”, Ted started, hands in the pockets of his khakis, wearing the navy blue Richmond puffer jacket as usual. Somehow he made that look good.
“I know you might not remember our last game here ‘cause y’all have been goldfishing and that’s mighty smart. But today we are going to kick ass!”
The players let out a collective chuckle at Ted’s choice of words as he usually refrained from any crass language.
“Yeah, you heard it. I can give a hundred reasons why we should win this game and you all know a few of them. I do also know that some of you are stinkin’ mad.” The boys nodded, realising he was referring to Nate.
“But we are not going to win for all those reasons. We are gonna win because we are the best. We have beaten stronger and faster opponents than this one. The only way we can lose is if we get distracted by Wembley, Nate or whoever the owner of West Ham is. I’ll tell y’all now that it doesn’t matter. We will win because this FA Cup is ours. Each of you is going to go out on that field.. or pitch,” he winked at Rebecca, “and you’re gonna show the world what Richmond is worth. We’ll show them all that we are in this together. We fought for our place here and we earned it. I want you all to look at your teammates…”
There was silence in the room while everyone was looking around, taking in the men they have been on this journey with for the past few years.
“I want you to look at their faces to remind you why you’re going out there to win. It’s to see these guys next to you holding that cup. Tonight we’ll celebrate together. Now go out there and kick some ass…or arse!”
The players yelled like soldiers in some medieval battle as they gathered in the middle of the room to do a ‘Richmond on 3’ before they stormed out. While Keeley haggled Roy for his jacket and Beard followed the players to the pitch.
Ted stood there grinning at her. “Whatta ya think?”
She got up and walked towards him, trying to calm down the urge to give him a big tight hug in this very public changing room. These were exactly the words she had needed to hear. She always loved listening to his speeches. He had a way with words. Ted wasn’t some fancy poet but did know exactly what people needed and how to break it down in plain simple words of encouragement. God, she loved that man!
That thought stopped her heart for a second before it continued beating at a much happier pace.
The feeling was wonderfully comforting. “Thank you, Ted”, she said as she put her hand on his upper arm, letting it slide down til it reached his hand.
He caught her hand and squeezed it. Rebecca almost gasped at this simple yet intimate gesture. “I mean it,” he said. “We’ll win this one.” His voice was soft and confident as he sought her gaze.
Rebecca nodded, her nerves easing when feeling the relaxed muscles in his hands. She took the other one too.
“And you are ok, right?” She asked to be sure. He nodded while looking straight at her. For a second she thought he might just reach out and touch her lips with his own. She heard other people scurry about but it was all a blur.
“I am, no worries about me. I’m good, really!” Ted assured her while quickly glancing down at her their joined hands. There might have been some flirting lately but they had mostly refrained from touching. This was new, this was nice.
“If my hands are trembling right now, I can tell you, it has nothing to do with panic.” The corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a boyish smile.
“Oi, for fuck’s sake!” Roy’s voice cut through the moment as he pulled Ted towards the tunnel that led to the pitch. “You can shag the gaffer all you want, after we win this match. But right now he needs to be out there!”
Rebecca gulped at Roy’s words as she watched Ted being dragged out by his assistant coach. Her cheeks felt instantly hot. Ted just shrugged his shoulders looking all innocent when he disappeared into the tunnel.
“Come on babes,” Keeley called. “Let’s get some champagne and get hammered in our VIP seats.”