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Chapter Text

The morning rays shone through the blinds, as they always did during mid August mornings in Richmond. The sun rose early and set late, and the days were long but they never felt that way. Ted had long gotten used to the ridiculously useless blinds that seemed to be commonplace in every English household. He never minded, though, he liked to wake with the sun. He found that it put a pep in his step, something about that darn sunlight.

Ted rolled to his side, expecting to be met with a certain long haired, handsome reporter, but his hand only fell onto his lukewarm mattress. He sighed to himself, disappointed but not entirely surprised. Trent always nonchalantly explained he wasn't much of a sleeper. He said it like he said every fact: with certainty and devoid of any inflection that suggested if it was positive or negative. Ted found that particular fact concerning, as he has told Trent on numerous occasions, but the other man just shrugged, much to his chagrin.

Ted glanced at the clock. He knew it was time to get up, but he didn't really feel inclined to do much of anything.

The door slowly opened with a creak (Doors, Ted noted, was another thing the Brits could not seem to get right). He was met with his boyfriend carrying his morning beverage of choice, which was certainly motivating.

"Finally up then, Coach Lasso?" Trent inquired, tone soft and teasing. It was one of Ted's favourite Trent voices, not that he had been cataloging them or anything.

"Yes sir, awakey like eggs and bacey," he replied.

Trent stifled a laugh, "None of those words rhyme in proper English, love."

"It's real early for all this yapper," Ted claimed with a yawn at the end to really sell the exhaustion he was feeling. "Is that coffee I see in that hand of your, Mr. Crimm?"

"Perhaps," Trent replied, setting both mugs down on the bedside table nearest to Ted. Ted budged over a little, and Trent happily settled himself in that space. Ted couldn't help placing a gentle hand on Trent's cheek, drawing him in for a sweet kiss. He just looked so adorable when he was all dressed down for Ted's eyes only. "You have morning breath, dearest."

His voice was teasing as usual, and Ted chose to ignore that particular comment, "You are quite the cutie you know, Trent." Trent rightfully buried his head into Ted's neck.

"Slander," Trent replied softly into his skin. They both took a moment to be with each other, to feel each other against their skin. Trent eventually pulled away, grabbing the two mugs from their bedside table. He gently placed the Richmond mug into Ted's hand, and he kept the Hedwig mug for himself.

"Thanks for the java," Ted said, soft and breathy. That classic Midwestern smile appeared on his face. He really did mean it when he said thank you. He was so genuine, it was papabile through his every action. That truth, Trent supposed, was one of the first things that drew Trent to Ted in the first place.

"Anytime." Trent, in return, gave Ted all the truth he could give. "When are you-" The loud ring of the doorbell interrupted his question of when Ted was planning to get to the club. Ted went to get up, but Trent simply placed a hang on his thigh and stood up. "I've got it."

Trent pulled a hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it, so he could look relatively presentable to whoever it was ringing the doorbell at this godforsaken hour. Just because he did not have a proclivity for sleep did not mean he was fond of mornings. He passed by the kitchen, making brief eye contact with the milk he'd forgotten to put back into the fridge. He hoped the death glare he gave the inanimate object would magically transport it back to its home.

"Fucking hell, took you long enough-" Roy Kent was standing at his door. Well, Roy Kent was standing at Ted Lasso's door, which made far more sense. His brain was stuck in panic, so he did not consider why exactly Roy Kent was standing at his- Ted's door at 8:24 in the morning.

"Morning Roy," he said, employing as much of a casual tone as he could standing at Ted Lasso's door in worn flannel sleep trousers and a battered old Wichita Football T-shirt.

"Trent fucking Crimm?!" Roy exclaimed in his traditional angry tone.

"This is going to be rather difficult to explain…" Trent muttered, more to himself than to Roy.

"Fuck yes it is."

Ted must have heard the commotion because he appeared in the kitchen wearing a Richmond jumper and some gray trackie bottoms, which was far less revealing than the white tank top and boxers he traditionally slept in. "Well this is quite the doosie," Ted chuckled to himself.

Both Trent and Roy sent him a mild glare at that particular comment. "Well, come in then. Does anyone want a cuppa?" Trent proposed.

"You Brits will never get me convinced over that leaf water, but I'll be happy as a hen to get some water boiling," Ted said, quickly heading to the sink with the kettle in hand.

"Fuck, fuck, fucking hell."

"So you are always like that then?" Trent pondered.

"Shut your fucking mouth, Crimm. Stop with the fucking pleasantries and someone tell me what the fuck is going on here." With that, Trent took a seat in his favourite place in Ted's living room, the end of their L-sofa. He leaned back and gestured to Ted to do any and all explaining that he wished.

"See, uhm, Trent and I- we, well we've been gettin' closers these last couple of months-"

"You're fucking shagging the enemy!" Roy exclaimed. His heart was in the right place, he was just being protective. It came off rather- rather angry, though.

"Well, sure there's been some hanky panky," even Ted seemed to wince at his choice of words, "But Trent and I we're datin'."

"Dating?"

"What other darn thing would he be doing at my apartment at 8:30 in the morning?"

Trent chose this moment to interject, "Ted, love, I rather think that Mr. Kent thought our relations were solely of a casual nature, if you know what I mean." Trent put an emphasis on the word casual as to ensure his point would come across.

"Oh Lord, yes, message received captain," Ted replied quickly, finding his way to the sofa to take a seat next to Trent. He didn't sit in his normal way, tucked into Trent's side, but he kept a respectable 3 inches between them, however much he wanted to curl into the other man and pretend this was all a dream. Roy was still awkwardly hovering by the kitchen island.

"Care to take a seat, Mr. Kent?"

"I'll do what the fuck I want, Crimm."

Trent put his hands up in surrender, not meaning to cause any obstacles to a peaceful resolution of this rather odd conflict.

Roy took a seat on one of the bar stools that's colour matched nicely with the marble atop the island, "How long, then?"

"Six months," Ted supplied, short and sweet. Knowing Ted was never a man of few words, Trent carefully rubbed his knee.

"And what- you love him?"

"That I do Roy, I very much do. I understand this
might come as a bit of a shocker, like when them Giants beat the Patriots back in '08, but Trent and I are the real dealio. I didn't want you to find out this way, but I was planning on telling y'all soon enough."

Roy nodded and grunted, seeming to process the odd situation.

"If I may," Trent said, once again voicing his thought, "Why exactly are you here this morning, Mr. Kent."

Roy rolled his eyes, "Ted invited me. Told me we had some important stuff to discuss before practice on Monday. He told me to catch him before work."

Ted chuckled, "I was imagining more of one of our good 'ol car park conversations, Roy."

"Be fucking clear then," Roy said, grunting again. Trent seemed to take that as his exit cue, and he began to stand up. "Crimm." Trent glanced up. "You fucking think about hurting him ever again, and I will end you. I take my fucking threats real fucking serious."

"I can imagine that you do," Trent nodded, sighing. He pressed a kiss to Ted's head, "I'll let you get on with what must be a rather important conversation. I'm in the bedroom if you need me, love."

"Fine as fiddle, darlin'." Trent rolled his eyes at the classic one liner.

Roy nodded his head in address to Trent, and Trent nodded back. They were calling a truce for the sake of Ted. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, after all.

As Trent entered their bedroom, he overheard Roy telling Ted to get on with it then. He took that as his cue to firmly shut the door.

Chapter Text

Trent and Ted had fallen into a somewhat successful routine in which they manage to spend each day working in one another's vicinity without making it exceedingly obvious they were shagging.

They arrived staggered, despite the fact that more nights than not Trent slept at Ted's place or Ted slept at Trent's place. This particular morning was rather chaotic due to the lack of sleep Trent got the previous night. "Trent?" Ted inquired from the passenger's seat.

"Yes," Trent replied, eyes trained on the road ahead.

"You wanna talk about it, darlin'?" Trent found it rather unfair that with his southern drawl the world darling all but undid him.

"What is there to chat about?" Without even looking over at Ted, Trent knew he was giving him an endearing look that said stop bull shitting.

"Trent.."

"Ted.."

"Come on, we ain't going to pretend there isn't nothin' going on in that pretty head of yours," Ted said softly, encouraging Trent to lean on Ted for whatever it was that was bothering him.

"It is nothing of importance, love."

"This is where you and I are gonna have to disagree. Anythin' that keeps your mind moving a million miles per hour is worth a conversation about." Ted was trying his best to earn Trent's trust, his love, but it sure was a heck of a process.

"It is nothing special," Trent began slowly, calculating his next words, "See, well, Kala is rather under the weather, and I am worried about her. It's just a fever, but she's with Jonathan until Friday, so I can't help but be worried because I can't see her, so I'm trusting that bastard's word that she's just a- a little sick. And, I'm just exhausted." Ted placed a hand on Trent's shoulder, gently massaging it. Ted sucked in a breath.

"Heck Trent, I'm sorry. I know how much you worry about that little munchkin of yours. Is there anything I can do to help you out today?" Trent was always a little shocked, but rather delighted, with Ted's ability to always say just what Trent needed to hear. Trent composed himself.

"No love, thanks for listening, though."

"I'll always be here to listen," he said immediately, without much thought. Trent knew he was good for his promise, though. Ted always was.

Trent took the rather sharp left, stopping at the gated entrance. Security recognized the car and lifted the gate. Trent put a thankful hand up as they entered the parking lot. His firm grip on the steering had loosened, and, as he fixed his hair, he let out a long breath.

Trent mindlessly parked in his normal spot. He raised a hand to open the door, but Ted placed a hand on his thigh. "We're gonna head into that building and put on our best performance of professionalism for the fellas, but Trent, I'm here for you. In there and out here." The lack of puns or pop culture references conveyed his sincerity far more than any of the sweet words. It was not often that Trent Crimm, savage reporter and brilliant journalist, found himself speechless, but in that moment, he was.

He gave Ted an appreciative nod and swung the door open. Ted followed suit. Trent held the door open for Ted like the gentleman he was, and Ted replied with an apt movie reference about being thankful. Trent just nodded and smiled, pretending to understand.

They parted at the stairwell to Rebecca's office.

"Catch you later alligator," Ted said in lieu of a goodbye.

"Goodbye, Coach Lasso," Trent replied, a fond smile playing on his lips. Trent was not particularly overjoyed to be parting with his boyfriend on a morning when he craved Ted's particular brand of comfort, but he had a job to do.

–

"You look like fucking shit, Crimm," Roy pointed out sharply when he entered their office.

"Why thank you, Roy," Trent said, sarcasm dripping off his voice.

"You alright, then?"

"Perfectly fine," he replied, opening his laptop in an attempt to steer the conversation to an end. Thankfully he was successful and Roy went into the boys locker room to scream at them for one thing or another.

That was how Trent sat for several hours, staring at the header: Chapter 12: Total Football. He wrote a sentence, then a paragraph, re-read it, and deleted all the text he wrote. He must have done that at least 17 times. As the boys and coaches bustled around in their space, he caught Ted looking over at him, concerned. It was almost like Ted could read his emotions off him like a book: the tight lines on his forehead, his slouched back, and his glasses thrown to the side. Everytime they made eye contact, Ted traded his deliberating eyes and tightly pressed together lips for his classic Midwestern smile and a shy wave.

Trent just smiled back, sitting up and fixing his hair. He went back to cyclically writing and erasing writing.

"Alrighty then fellas, fuel up them minds and body for some more training!" He heard Ted say, voice filled with enthusiasm. As soon as Ted dismissed them, Trent saw the boys flood out of the room. He noted that Roy had followed the boys (Jaime) out of the locker room, and Beard had taken to a chat with Will about the wonders of the great game (not to be confused with Football, they were chatting about Chess) in the corner of the locker room. Trent leaned against the frame of the door that separated Beard and Ted's office from his and Roy's. "Hey you."

"Hey, how was training?"

"As good as Barbara Streisand playing Fanny Brice in the good ol' golden days of Hollywood, yes sir."

Trent let out a little chuckle, "Glad to hear everything went so very smoothly."

"What about that book of yours, Mr. Crimm."

"Going down about as smoothly as a lukewarm bottle of Jack Daniels," despite the humorous tone to the comment, frustration was clear in Trent's voice. Ted couldn't help but wrap his arms around Trent, and Trent didn't have the energy to remind him that they had to hide for numerous reasons. Trent buried his head in Ted's shoulder, and Ted carded through Trent's hair carefully. Trent, for the first time since arriving in his office that day, felt like he wasn't breathing someone else's air.

It was an intimate gesture, one that meant far more than a deep kiss or peck on the lips. Ted was his reassurance.

"I'm so tired, Ted." He said in the softest voice possible. He didn't want to break the closeness of the moment. There was a moment of hesitation before Ted spoke.

"I know you are darlin'." Ted kept his arms firmly around Trent, unsure how exactly to approach the vulnerability Trent was giving him. He wasn't sure if it was born of complete exhaustion or a deep level of trust. Ted thought it likely to be somewhere in the middle. Trent removed his head from Ted's neck, pressing a quick kiss to Ted's cheek.

"Oi coach! I think-" Trent saw Collin's face freeze at the sight of himself and the gaffer intertwined in a rather compromising position. Trent's mind was working at a quarter of the speed it normally did, so he did not register the danger immediately. Ted, however, did, letting go of Trent. Trent sort of leant on Ted until he realized that they were supposed to be separating in panic. He sighed, taking a seat in his black swivel chair. He gestured to Ted to take care of the situation, despite the fact it was unequivocally his fault they ended up in this compromising position. Ted nodded more to himself than anything.

"Hiya Collin," he greeted on behalf of the two of them.

"Hi," Collin said weakly, "Sorry for interrupting- uhm whatever that was."

"It was- well-" Ted fumbled around for an excuse.

This could all be simplified in 5 words or fewer. "Ted and I are dating."

"Trent!" Ted exclaimed. They'd already told Roy, so, honestly, Trent couldn't see the harm. It was Collin, after all, fellow homosexual.

"You-" he pointed at Trent, "and the Gaffer." He pointed at Ted. Trent nodded calmly.

"I knew you was down bad, boyo, but I did not have a scooby boss here was too! Score, trenty-boy!"

At that, Trent let out a genuine chuckle, "Thank you Collin. He is, indeed, a score."

"Too true!" Collin smiled at this revolation. He looked between them, a boyish grin permanently stamped on his face. Trent thought he looked like a kid who just found out they were off to Disneyland. Ted just smiled back, perching on the arm of his boyfriend's chair.

"We are rather keeping it under wraps at the moment.." Trent said. Collin nodded in understanding.

"Of course, I'm chuffed for you guys, really am!"

"Thank ya, Collin."

"I did even know yous was gay!"

"Bisexual," Ted clarified softly, "I'm surprised the many hay stacks of musical theatre references didn't give me away."

"Gaffa, I don't understand half them words that come out of your mouth to be honest," Collin chuckled.

"It is quite the adjustment," Trent agreed, teasingly rubbing a hand against Ted's arm.

"I'm on the same page with your Queen at High Tea accents and that obsession with those little tiny sandwiches. Why have tinsy ones when you could have a jumbo type one?!"

Collin and Trent shared a look before simultaneously saying, "Americans."

Chapter Text

This was an important match, simply put. Richmond were facing off against West Ham for the second time that season, and the two teams were battling for fourth place. The fourth place that decided if they were getting champions league football or not. It was a complex match, with layers deeper than the football itself. It had history, even if that history was a mere 3 years old. Trent, sitting with glass to his left side and Keeley Jones to his right, itched for a notebook and pen. His brain was dissecting each play, figuring out who to frame as David and who was Goliath in the match up, for his imaginary article. He missed this, the thrill of watching a game not just for pleasure but for the creation of a narrative, a story. This hunger for knowledge and truth was, after all, what drew him to journalism in the first place.

He glanced at Keeley beside him, who was yelling and cheering at each of Richmond's triumphs and failures. She watched like a fan, passion and all. She had a stake in this outcome between being head of PR and Jaime and Roy. Trent wasn't sure how the dynamic between Jaime and Roy and Keeley had resolved, though it was obvious from one look at the way she treated the two men that she still held a lot of love for them.

Trent didn't watch like Keeley though, he watched like a journalist. He watched objectively, quitely, and outlined the bare bones for an article in his mind with each passing minute.

His mind had wandered to how one might title this match; a match that was still nill nill 37 minutes in. Neither team was more dominant than the other. They each had their moments. His eyes zeroed in on a building attack, and he saw Collin coming forward. Colin, who had pushed far more forward than any defender had a right to be in any other tactic other than total football, got fouled in the box. As soon as he went down, Trent froze.

"Ref that is blatant! Have you even got eyes!" Keeley yelled, gesticulating wildly. Trent blinked slowly.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath.

Keeley turned to him, eyebrows raised, "I'm sure he's fine, Trent, Collin's a strong one."

"I-i," Trent glanced at the opposition's box. Collin was still on the floor. The team had gathered around him, and McAdoo gestured to Ted for the medical team. "Right." One word was all Trent could muster. He unclenched his fist that he did not realized was clenched until that moment. He thought, "Collin will be absolutely fine."

"That fucking bastard," Rebecca said quitely to him and Keeley. She, unlike Keeley, did not risk being called out as an overly emotional owner in yet another misogynistic press article. She had her reputation to think of in front of this large group of executives from the club, despite how flawed the whole thing was.

"It was clearly bloody intentional," Trent nodded, outraged at the rather violent attempt to stop a Richmond goal. "But that's how West Ham play us: dirty."

Rebecca paused before responding, not quite sure what to do with Trent's enthusiasm about the foul. "Right, too right. Fucking Rupert." Trent nodded along with Keeley. Trent felt his heart beating against his chest when they bought out that orange stretcher. In a logical part of his brain that he could not reach, he had the statistic of players not walking off the pitch to being long term injured. It wasn't near 100%.

He felt his breath pass his lips more frequently than it was before. He ran a hand through his hair, and he found that it got a little stuck due to the clam on his hands.

"I wonder who Lasso is going to sub in?" He heard a person in the box next to them inquire. He was wearing a full suit and blazer.

Time had moved on without him. Collin disappeared into the tunnel, and Ted and Beard were consulting with a clipboard between them.

"Surely he'll put on Winchester." He heard Keeley whisper to Rebecca.

"He hasn't been in training this week, Keels. Sprained ankle." Rebecca supplied, worry leaking off her words.

"Fuck sake."

Total football is hard to play without complete chemistry throughout the team. A week of not practicing with the squad could be catastrophic. Coach Lasso was faced with a problem that had little to no solutions.

That's what Trent would have written if he was still a journalist. That's what he would have scribbled down in a little match day notebook. The header would have been Richmond vs. West Ham. A notes section with important information would be at the top half of the page. Then he would document important notes, minute by minute. He would jot a little '41 by that particular comment.

"This decision is going to stress Ted out even more than he already is," Trent said to Keeley.

Keeley opened her mouth to respond before closing it. She was silent for an instant. "Yes, but they know this team better than anyone in this world," her tone was even and certain. "Aside from you, of course." With a little chuckle, Keeley turned back to the pitch. There was the announcement that Colin had been taken off in favor of Tommy. Keeley called it. Rebecca and Keeley shared a look of confirmation before clapping on the number four defensive player.

Trent sat still. It wasn't long before the ref blew a long whistle sound, signaling half time. There was commotion around him, a normal proceeding after half time. His phone started to buzz, and he mindlessly picked it up.

"Trent Crimm speaking."

"Trent- I-"

"Ted?"

"Y-yes sir."

"I'm coming down, wait for me outside the medical rooms," He said quickly and authoritatively. Ted was suffering, Trent needed to help. Also, he secretly wanted to check on Collin, and the locale of just outside the medical rooms would aid him in his plan. He rushed out of the box, only quickly telling Rebecca and Keeley that he would be back before the second half after they sent him a questioning look regarding his hasty exit.

He ran down the steps, his loafers making light rapping sounds with each step. He let his mind wander as his feet carried him though the awfully familiar building.

He spotted Ted, seated on the bench, head in his hands.

"Ted," he said softly, sitting right close next to him. Ted's breathing was fast and uncontrollable. Trent expertly reached for his hand. "Breath with me, Ted, just breathe with me." He knew the comfort of his hand on Ted's would ground him. They had spoken about it. He needed to slow down his breathing before he could slow down his brain. Ted took one clean, long breath before it went back to being frantic. "Ted, love, you are doing so well. One more long breath with me." He squeezed Ted's hand, a reminder to start the longer breath. Two deep breaths in a row become three which become four. He had regained control.

"What if Tommy wasn't ready? This whole darn triangle game got Collin taken out, and if I put Tommy in too early his ankle might get reinjured, and, and we don't have the-the-"

"Depths," Trent provided.

"That darn word to have two of our top boys injured and-"

"Ted. You are catastrophizing. Talk me through this with your wise mind and your emotional mind." Trent threw in some therapy buzzwords for safety. They worked for him, and they worked for Ted.

"I made that choice, the choice to put Tommy on. He has to be okay."

"Why?"

"Because if he isn't, I put a win over the health of my player."

"You trust these boys?"

"Like they are my own."

"Then, Coach Lasso, trust that they trust you. Trust that they feel safe enough around you to say if they cannot play. Trust they wouldn't lie about their health, trust that you have told them winning and losing are just results, and you are not interested in results."

"They know that."

"Then Tommy wanted to play. Tommy can play."

"Shucks Trent, I feel all wrong about this."

"You know what Ted, Keeley told me that I am the one person that might know this team better than you or Beard or Roy. Keeley is one of the most intelligent people I know, but she was wrong about that one. No one knows these boys like you know these boys. The call you make, whether it works out or not, is a call made from the most informed person in the world. You gotta trust that, even if you gotta hear it from me rather than your own thoughts."

Ted took a moment. "You're right." Ted sighed, sitting up. "I got a team to coach."

"That you do, Coach Lasso." Ted stood up, turning towards the kit room. His eyes were soft yet determined. He knew what he was doing, Trent could tell from once glance at his eyes.

"Check on Collin for me? Tell him I'll come see him in a jiffy, and that I'm mighty sorry I couldn't check on him earlier?"

"Already planning on it, love. I'll text you with an update." Ted took a few more steps forward before turning on his heel. Trent's heart dropped for a moment.

"And Trent?" Trent nodded. "Thank you. I sure do love you." Trent just smiled at him, giving a quick nod.

"Love you, too."

Trent watched Ted walk down the hallway and disappear to the left. He even threw in a hop and a skip for good measure. Trent smiled at the display before brushing off his trousers and standing up. He took the first right, entering the medical room. Colin was seated on the right most blue chair. There was ice under his hamstring, and a bright, classic smile on his face.

"Trenty-boy!" Colin exclaimed. Trent gave his classic short wave. "Ain't you meant to be up in that fancy box of yours, laddie?"

Trent gave a quick swivel of his head, checking the room was empty. "The gaffer sent me in. He sends his condolences that he couldn't come in earlier. There were some- complications." Colin lowered his eyebrows in question. Trent sighed and took a seat on the edge of the blue medical bench. "He had a panic attack." (Trent only said it because Ted was in the other room informing the boys of what happened.)

"Oh- yeah. For reals?"

"Yeah, kiddo." Trent couldn't hold back the pet name. Colin nodded in understanding. "But that's dealt with for the moment. You, however, are not."

"I'm fine, Trent." Trent sent him a look. "Stop fussing, lad. Doc said a few days of R n' D, and leg will be good."

"Are you in pain?"

"Nah, docs gave me some meds. Said I should take em for 24 hours or something. I'll play next week."

"I don't much care about that, but I'm glad to hear you are okay."

"Thanks for checking in. I mean that, I do." Trent nodded his head.

"Anytime, Colin. And I mean that. I'll report back to Ted?"

"Yeah, please." Trent nodded. Colin glanced at the small TV screen hanging in the corner. "You should get up there."

"Yes, yes I should. Michael will be looking after you?"

"God I 'ave got you worried, 'avent I?" Trent rolled his eyes, tilting his head for an answer. "Yes, texted the boyfriend, Trent. And before you ask, he knows me treatment plan."

"Good." Trent nodded to himself. "See you later, Colin."

"Laters, Trenty-boy."

–

The match went rather smoothly after that. Tommy cleared a goal off the line with a header, and an Oscar worthy dummy run from Jaime put Sam in for an easy, clean finish. The pull and tug between the two teams continued with what Trent could only describe as beautiful. Trent was still not entirely sure which team was David and which was Goliath.

"Yes Sam! Good lad!" Trent said, joining in with Keeleys supportive yelling.

"What a run!" Keeley yelled, raising her eyebrows seductively at Rebecca. Trent briefly wondered what that was about before focusing back on the match where O'brien punched away the incoming cross. He gave a shout of, "Good defense!"

He wasn't sure he was much interested in the complex dynamics of this clash anymore, rather he was taken with a want for Richmond to gain those all important three points. As the ref blew the final whistle, he stood and clapped alongside Rebecca and Keeley.

Rebecca hastily made for the door to thank everyone for coming and let everyone give her a congratulations. As he made to leave, Keeley pressed a light hand to his arm. She looked around the fully empty seats of the box. "How long ave you two been shagging then?"

Trent must have given her a bewildered look. "Ms. Jones, I find it rather offensive for you to imply the only two gay men on the team are dating."

She giggled, "Christ no! Not you and Colin, you numpty. You and Ted."

Trent gave her another bewildered look, "I can assure you, Ted and I are not-"

"I know he's bi, relax."

Trent looked at her skeptically this time, "How did you come across that particular piece of information?"

"We have a bi club: me, Ted, and some other lads from the club." Trent went back to looking bewildered.

"A bi club? A club of bisexuals? At Richmond?"

"Yep! We keep it lowkey for obvious reasons. It's a bit like that fight club, accept more talking about feelings and less physical violence fueled by toxic masculinity."

"I see."

"So, you and Ted?"

"Coming up to a year."

"Oh!" She squealed, "I knew something was up with that book and you two last season!" Trent smiled, supposing Keeley was right that they had been fairly obvious about their feelings, however unintentional. "Right, I got my two boys to check on. Catcha later, Trent."

"Always a pleasure, Keeley."

Coach Lasso found himself in a predicament during this all important match. Colin Hughes, central defender, found himself fouled in the box left with a game ending injury. Total football requires absolute balance to be successful, and Hughes is certainly critical to that balance. Tommy Winchester is the obvious substitute given their shared position, but there are reports that he had been out of training this week due to injury. He was included in the bench for this game, indicating that he is fit to play. Injuries require time, and that time was not awarded to Winchester. Coach Lasso played Winchester, leaving us to question if Winchester's injury was taken seriously enough by the Richmond coaches. In the 78th minute, Winchester cleared a likely to be goal off the touch line. Coach Lasso seemed to have made the right call with his substitute. Football enthusiasts and Richmond fans will be wondering: will Tommy Winchester suffer the consequences of this play time further into the season?

That's what he would have written if he were tasked with writing a traditional scathing piece about Richmond FC. Instead, he shot a text to his boyfriend congratulating him on the victory and a masterclass in management. He wasn't Trent Crimm, the independent, ruthless journalist. He was Trent Crimm, Richmond.

Chapter Text

Ted curled into Trent's shoulder, pressing a kiss to the exposed skin. "Keeley knows."

"Oh shucks! We aren't doing so great on this whole secret thing, are we darlin'?" Trent smiled against Ted's skin.

"No, no we are not. I don't mind, though, not really. Do you?"

"Not at all, Mr. Sal."

"Mr. Sal?"

"Ya know from that meth television show!"

"Breaking bad?"

"That's the one, honey bun!"

"Ted, you are going to be the death of me."

"I sure do hope not. That'd be mighty unfortunate for me."

"It would be, wouldn't it?" Ted intertwined his leg with Trent's, getting comfortable half on top of his chest. Trent carded his hands through his hair as soon as he was settled.

"Speaking of Keeley, she invited us to this little shindig of hers."

"Us? As in both of us?"

"Yeah, we're a duo package, ain't we?"

"I suppose so." Trent intertwined Ted's free hand with his own, laying their joined hands on his chest. "Say more about this exclusive event?"

"Nothin' much to say, it's an upscale brunch in the words of Ms. Jones."

"Guest list?"

"Gays of AFC Richmond. Once again in the words of our host." Trent was a little taken aback by the openness of it all. They were in the highest flight of a sport not known for its inclusion. "I think it's jolly great."

"Are you ready to come out to everyone?" Trent asked softly.

"See I've been thinking on that one, and I think I'm ready to tell the fellas." Trent smiled. "Are you?"

"I am, in fact, Coach Lasso."

"Good to hear, Trent Crimm, now independent."

"You're never going to lose that one, are you?"

"Never, Darlin', never." Ted shuffled up so their lips could gently meet. They kissed softly for a few moments, enjoying each other's presence despite their clear exhaustion. Ted pulled away.

"You're the best, you know?"

"No better than who you've allowed me to become, love."

–

They finally made it to Keeleys door. Finally was an apt word because Trent had changed his outfit at least 46 times. For Ted, it had been simple. He grabbed a fresh pair of Khakis, a polo shirt, and an AFC Richmond jumper to top it off. Trent, on the other hand, had cycled through many different fabrics and styles before landing on the trousers he selected. Don't get Ted started on the number of coats he pulled out of their closet. He called to Ted a multitude of times ("Does this look to gay?" To which Ted replied: "Clothes do not have a sexuality." Trent rebutted, "Of course they do, have you ever seen a straight person in flannel?" Ted rolled his eyes, telling Trent he looked perfect. After another outfit change, Trent declared that he now looked, "Not gay enough.")

"You still freakin over there?" Trent gave Ted a dignified look.

"I was never 'freakin' out, as you so eloquently claim."

"Between them big ol words comin' out and the episode of Say yes to the Dress, I'm pretty sure you were." Trent rolled his eyes, briefly wondering if Ted had a habit of studying him, as he had a habit of studying Ted. Trent pressed the doorbell as a signal of him being totally fine and normal. Ted intertwined their hands as soon as Trent dropped his from the doorbell. Trent heard some scattered footsteps before the door opened wide, revealing Keeley in a short pink dress that Trent was sure only she could pull off. Even more so with the matching chunky high heels. She looked like she had just been pulled out of a Barbie box. In a good way, in a very good way.

"Howdy!"

"Hey guys! So glad you could make it! You can chuck your shoes wherever, the plan was to have it in the back garden but shit English weather, innit." Trent humned in agreement, thinking that the weather had been particularly bad this week.

"Well a big thank you for hosting, looks lovely Keeley!" Ted said, passing over the little party bag they picked up on the way.

"Ahw thanks Ted, I'll just pop to put this away! Make yourself comfy."

"This is going to be mighty lovely!" Trent nodded, still sort of taking in the scene. He saw Jaime in the corner half standing and half leaning on Roy's chest. Roy had his arms loosely wrapped around Jaime's waist. Jaime seemed to be whispering something or another into Roy's ear.

"Did you know that was happening?" Trent asked, making a vague gesture with his head towards the very domestic scene.

"Didn't have a scooby," Ted said, smile wide on his face, "But they look like a mighty happy couple!"

"That they do." Trent continued surveying the room. He shockingly saw Will the kitman with his partner, a tall person with rather spiky looking green hair. Trent noted the they/them pin clipped on their flannel shirt. He saw Danny Rojas with his two girlfriends chatting to the other couple. In a very Danny fashion, they had all coordinated their outfits into different shades of red, each outfit had a little hint on the other two's shades, though. Even more shockingly than Will, he saw Lesslie pouring himself a glass of prosecco. He would not have guessed in a million years that Lesslie was queer in some shape or form.

It was a both long and short guess list. This was quite the show of queerness from one single football club, but at the same time it felt intimate, like everyone was just chilling together. "Didn't know there were quite so many of us," Ted said, almost in shock.

"Me neither. I'm sort of speechless."

"Trent Crimm speechless? Must be a heck of a showing, then." Trent gave Ted a friendly slap on the shoulder whilst rolling his eyes. "Come let's go be social." Ted waved at Jaime and Roy in the corner. It was a good tactic, saying hi to the people they knew best first. Sort of ease them into the experience, so to speak.

"Hello there fellas!"

"Hello," Trent chimed, the end of Ted's words overlapping with Trent's greeting.

"Hey coach, Trent," Jaime greeted, unmoving from his comfortable looking position against Roy's chest. Roy made a grunting noise in lieu of a greeting.

"How are you both doing on this fine morning?"

"This hairy fucker made me get up at four am in the mornin' to go for a run," Jaime said, fondess clear in his tone, "But other then that, pretty good. You?"

"Other than this fella changing his outfit 12 times, smooth ridin'," Ted reported.

"You- Trent?"

"That's the one!"

"You and Trent are- you two are-?"

"Yeah! Yes! We are a couple of cows in a barn!"

"That didn't make much sense I'm afraid, love," Trent injected, rather amused.

"Oh, oh, okay." Jaime sent a look to Roy that Trent couldn't quite decode.

"I figured Roy over here would have spilled the beans already!"

"You knew! Before me." Jaimes me sounded a lot more like meh which made it all the more amusing to Trent.

"It was fucking obvious."

"No! Not to me."

"Guess we do need to work more on your ability in reading the pitch," was all Roy said, in a low tone.

"Hey!"

"I'm don't fucking out people, fucks sake." Jaime put his hands up in defense. Just as Ted went to ask another question, Keeley magically appeared by Roy's side.

"Don't fight boys," she said playfully, pressing a kiss first to Roy's cheek and then to Jaime's. "What's going on then?"

"I, for one, didn't realize the extent of the queer population at Richmond."

"Yeah, I know right. I started hanging out with the whole lot of em because of PR stuff and that, and everyone just ended up being gay, so I thought let's put all the gays in one place!"

"It was a good idea," Ted commented.

"Yeah, it seems to be going alright, doesn't it?" Keeley smiled. She quickly surveyed the room. "Now boys, you promised me you wouldn't sit in the corner the whole time."

"I don't wanna talk to nobody, Keels." Roy grunted in agreement.

"How did I end up with the two most introverted men?" Keeley asked, aiming the question at Trent and Ted.

"Love is love, I guess, Keeley." Ted joked. Trent rolled his eyes at the comment.

"I would have gone with the more apt proverb of opposite attracts."

"Hmn," Keeley considered, "I like Trent's best." She turned back to face Roy and Jaime. "Go greet your guests or I'm calling both of your mother's."

"Fuck," was all Roy said.

"Guess we are off then, good seeing yas, Trent and Coach."

"Boys, amirte?"

"Too true, Ms. Jones," Trent said. The doorbell then rang, sending Keeley on another quest. She shot them both a quick give me a sec before darting off.

"Not too bad, huh?" Ted asked.

"Perfectly fine, love."

"Lookie here, it's Will the chill."

"That does not work as a nickname in the slightest."

"Positive words that rhyme with Will are harder to find than you might think," Ted replied in his flat explanatory tone. "Hey there Will!" Ted greeted before Trent could throw a witty remark back.

"Coach Lasso! Trent!" Will gesticulated to his left, "This is my partner Jax! Jax, this is coach Lasso and Trent."

"Ted is just fine, Jax."

"Lovely to meet you, Ted and Trent!" They extended their hand which Trent shook just after Ted did.

"You too! I must say I am a very big fan of this hair you got going on," Ted complimented. One of the things Ted did so easily was spread kindness. It was almost like it was written into his DNA. Which, to Trent, was infuriating but also one of the things he most loved about Ted. He needed that positive light in his life, and Ted was always there to provide it.

"Thanks, just got it dyed."

"Looks great," Ted nodded, smiling comfortably.

"I feel like I already know you guys, Will talks about Richmond so often."

"Hey, do not."

"You do," Jax said, turning their head from Will to Ted and Trent, "He does."

"All good things I hope," Trent added.

"Will isn't physically capable of saying a bad word about Richmond, and I have to agree with him on that one."

"You a supporter?" Ted inquired. Trent was relieved that he didn't say some American term like fan. Maybe Trent did have a positive influence on Ted, too.

"Since birth. Dad had me in a Richmond onesie before I could say my first word.

"Well ain't that precious."

"Mum wouldn't agree to much," they replied, all chuckling at the humour of it all.

They chatted idly for a few more minutes, learning more and more about each other. They moved from couple to couple getting to know everyone. At some point Keeley had started handing people glass, insisting that everyone needed to drink because she bought too much prosecco. That began with everyone getting systematically drunk at 1pm on a Sunday.

Overall, it was a pretty successful day. Keeley had some great ideas.

Chapter Text

Ted and Rebecca had a special sort of friendship. One that seemed to transcend so many lines of professionalism and also logic. Rebecca was the kind of person who liked to be meticulous, and she liked to surround herself with similarly meticulous people. It helped with maintaining control and limiting chaos in her life. After Rupert she had dealt with enough chaos for three lifetimes. So that’s why her friendship with Ted seemed so out of the ordinary.

It’s not like Ted is overly chaotic, he is just unique. His uniqueness is born of a deep trust not only in himself, but also in the people around him. He did what he thought was best. Period. This determination often led him into some less than ideal situations like going on a losing streak just after they had been promoted back into the premier league, and also letting a notoriously cut throat journalist travel with their team for an entire season.

But it worked, and maybe, afterall, there was some logic, because Ted was easy to trust, and Rebecca, well, the hardest thing for Rebecca to do was to trust.

This, of course, was what Trent thought. He outlined these thoughts to Ted in the evening after a couple glasses of red wine were shared on their kitchen island after the kids had gone to sleep. “You sure have thought a lot about this, darlin’.”

“Not really. It is very apparent. Plus, it was my job to study the club for an entire season.”

“Fair enough. You ain’t no cut throat journalist, though, Trent.”

“I am too. Or rather, I was, too.”

“Nah, you quit all that as soon as it stopped helpin’ people and started hurtin’ em.”

“I suppose you are correct on that front. I’m not quite sure when I was ever helping, though.”

“You were. People wanted to hear what you thought, and you told ‘em. They trusted you, and they still do.” Trent blushed under the compliment, just nodding his head in half agreement with Ted. “So, I’m thinking there was a point to all these theories of yours?

“More of a question, I think. Old habits die hard afterall.”

“Too true, Trent. See what I did there?”

“Alliteration is charming to an English major.”

“I mighty do hope so. That question then Trent Crimm, now independent.” Trent rolled his eyes at the usage of the pun for what must of been the millionth time.

“Don’t take offense to it. I am merely curious.” Ted nodded his head, urging Trent to get to his mysterious question. “Why does Rebecca not know we are dating yet?” Ted must have looked rather baffled because Trent quickly added, “No pressure, though.” Ted picked a point to stare off into the distance, and he moved his mouth back and forth. Trent had seen that look enough times in the press room that he knew what it meant: Ted was baffled by the question.

“To be honest here Trent, I don’t really know. It should have come up in conversation, we sure do yap a lot, and Rebecca sort of knows everything. Including things I don’t really want her to know.”

“So?”

“So- so maybe it is still hard to come out to people who aren’t queer?” Ted said, staring intently at his hands that were interwoven to create a little rock on the countertop.

“I thought as much,” Trent said softly. There was nothing to the words he said. No judgment, no pressure, and hopefully as much love as you can put into four words.

“It’s silly, I know.”

“No Ted, it is the farthest thing from silly.” Trent placed a hand on top of Ted’s. “It’s hard to come out to people, regardless of whether or not you know they will have a good reaction.”

“That sure is the truth. I just get all worried that she gon start treating me all different, and I just want to be Ted, Coach Lasso to all of em. And, and I know no one in the community is gonna start doin’ anything different, but you never know for other people.”

“I completely understand. In fact, I figured as much. I just wanted to have the conversation about it.”

“Yeah. Yes. I’m comfortable in my own skin, ya know. Bisexual and all. I don’t know why this is so difficult. I kept on sayin’ I’ll tell ‘em casual, so it ain’t no big deal or nothin’. And all these opportunities kept comin’ up, and I just kept, I kept sayin’ next time. But, it don’t make no sense because I- I know who I am, and I love who I am. I just- I just don’t wanna have to tell her. Why’s it all so hard?”

“Well, I don’t think there is a real answer for that one. There are facts, though: we all just want to be loved equally in a very innately human way, we don’t want the way people view us to change, however arbitrary, and the world we live in is not built to be a safe place for queer people to exist.” Ted let out an audible breath.

“Ain’t that the truth.” Trent moved from the side of the counter he was leaning across to stand next to Ted. He put an arm around Ted’s neck, gently pulling him close. Ted leaned his head on Trent’s shoulder. Trent pressed a careful kiss on the top of his head. “I love you. So much.”

“I love you, too.”

“Sorry for being such a debbie downer.” Trent chuckled lightly.

“You did nothing of the sort. We had a conversation. A good conversation.”

“I do want to tell her, ya know. You are mighty important to me, and I want all the people at the club to know that.”

“I know Ted. She’s important to you, and you should tell her when you feel comfortable. Don’t do it for me and certainly don’t do it for her.”

“I like doing things for you, though.” Ted said, standing up straight and turning to face Trent. He loosely wrapped his arms around Trent’s waist. The tone went from rather somber to flirty. Only Ted could so smoothly manage that magnitude of tone change. Trent placed a hand in Ted’s hair and another on his cheek. Their lips met carefully, slowly moving against one another. It was slow and emotional. There was no heat, it was late, and they just needed to feel each other’s love.

–

Thursdays quickly became Trent’s favourite day of the week. After speaking at length with Kala’s father, Trent got to introduce his favourite person to his other favourite person. See, he’d been spending time with Henry for what felt like forever, Ted and Michelle had found an easy middle ground on most problems, and so the Trent meeting Henry was somewhat of a non-issue. Ted had shared one of the most important aspects of his life, his son, and Trent so dearly wished to introduce Kala to Ted. It had been a fight, though, like all things with Jonathan had to be. He used worries for his daughter as an excuse for torturing Trent. Of course, that was in Trent’s opinion.

But they’d all met, and it went just about as smoothly as Trent could have hoped for. And the goal, the goal had been reached: Ted met Kala. It didn’t take long for Kala to be her bubbly and bossy self around Ted. Ted, in return, was his authentically kind self with his daughter. It was almost a magical feeling that found itself in Trent’s heart. For the first time in a long time, Trent felt at peace in the chaos of this crazy world.

That, of course, was why Thursdays were his favourite day. Trent and Ted both had their kiddos. It was easy to pretend there was no conflict in either of their lives. It was easy to give their kids their undivided attention.

“Alright kiddos, what’s on the menu for dinner tonight?” Ted inquired, putting the feelers out for dinner before Kala got too hungry and stopped being able to use words to communicate.

“I vote Indian,” Trent said, raising his hands.

“Didn’t know you were a kiddo, darlin’.”

“Merely putting my suggestion in.”

“I would also like Indian,” Henry said, not looking up from the lego set he was building “with” Kala. He more so asked her to grab pieces and pretended they were the right ones even though they almost never were. It was funny when Kala and Henry first met because Henry was still adjusting to all the British words he would encounter as well as what he classified as their “funky accents.” Kala, on the other hand, had never left the country, so she just barely understood Henry’s midwestern drawl. It was endearing how they communicated so ineffectively yet they just seemed to get on so well. It was another one of the magic moments in Trent’s heart. He looked over at Ted, in that moment, and saw a little reflective film gloss over his eyes. Ted later admitted that it was the moment he knew he hadn't made a mistake dragging Henry halfway across the world and completely uprooting his and his mother’s life.

“Kala, honey?” Ted inquired.

“Is dada cooking?” Ted looked over and Trent. Trent nodded left to right, he was far too exhausted from nothing in particular to even think about turning on the stove. Nor did he have any of the items he needed to make even the most basic shak.

“We’ll prolly order in,” Ted reported.

“Sounds good!” she said, looking up at both of them and smiling. She promptly went back to looking at the piles of lego that surrounded the two kids.

“I’ll order,” Trent said, getting up to grab the home phone.

“Thanks, darlin’.”

“Of course. Anything for my three favourite people.” He said that last comment particularly softly not wanting the two kiddos to overhear him being so soft. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but Ted gave him a knowing look. They needed to talk, that much was clear.

Trent went into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the little charging dock. He typed in the already memorized number before greeting Ravi, the person who always managed the phone at their favourite Indian take out place. He gave a quick greeting before reciting the same thing the four of them always get. Trent’s mind briefly coursed over how familial the routine felt.

Aside from the curry stain on the brand new white carpet under the brand new dining table, dinner went relatively smoothly. As they were putting dishes away and cleaning up the pile of orange coloured dirty tissues, Henry spoke up. “Hey dad, not to dip out of my responsibilities, but could I run to speak with my friends real quick? They’re havin’ a sleepover for Brandon’s birthday, and they’ll be goin’ to sleep soon.”

“No worries kiddo, I’ll wing by to say good night around 9?”

“Thanks dad, love you guys,” Henry said casually. He gave Kala an awkward sideways hug as she was lying on the sofa dozing off, whispering a goodnight specifically to her. He then ran off to his room.

“Did he just-”

“Yeah, he did.”

By the time the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher, Kala was fast asleep on the sofa.

“Let’s get the munchin to bed then,” Ted whisphered. Trent’s phone started buzzing in his pocket. Trent looked over at Ted. “Go, I got it.”

Trent pressed a kiss to Ted’s temple, whispering, “You’re a lifesaver.” Ted just smiled at him with all the love he could muster.

Ted made easy work of lifting the little one into her bed, tucking the covers right up to her chin, and pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before whispering a goodnight. Kala turned to her left and let out a little noise.

“Night papa.”

–

After dealing with their respective responsibilities, the two ended up cuddled on the sofa, Ted’s head resting calmly on Trent’s chest. “A lot just happened, didn’t it?”

“That's an understatement," Ted lightly chuckled.

"Henry said he loved all of us."

"Yes sir, not much of a surprise, though?"

"No, I suppose not. He is- he is very important to me, and I do love him." Ted just smiled up at Trent, pressing a quick kiss into his neck.

"That ain't something you experience everyday, huh?"

"No it isn't," Trent said, smiling back. "It's just- a lot. You know?"

"Sayin' a lot of commitment, are you?" Ted's tone wasn't judgy, it was curious.

Trent flushed. "Yes. We've joined our lives almost completely, and to be honest Ted, I'm a little terrified." Ted grabbed Trent's hand that had been wildly gesticulating through the air. He laced their fingers together and rested them on Trent's chest.

"Trent, I'm mighty scared, too. Don't be forgettin' that we've both given ourselves completely to someone else before and it not havin' gone our way."

"I know, I know," Trent breathed out, his words soft.

"Here's the thing, darlin', I love you so much. I love you in my chest, and I feel it all the time. Love and love and love."

"You are so cheesy sometimes." Ted had a goofy smile, and he looked up at Trent expectantly. "But I love you, too."

"I'm here for the long run, darlin'."

"Me too."

–

If they were in it for the long run, as they had just promised each other, he needed to tell Rebecca. Not for Rebecca's sake nor to show Trent how much Ted meant his words from the previous night, but because Trent was slowly but surely becoming Ted's world. And if he was that important to Ted, Rebecca should know. Hell, everyone should know.

Needless to say, biscuits with the boss went rather differently the following morning. Ted asked Rebecca if he had a plus one for the upcoming Charity Gala, and Rebecca said that he of course did. Ted replied that he would be bringing Trent. Rebecca raised her eyes speculatively. Ted replied with a simple, “Yes. Like that.”

That was the end of that conversation. Aside from a quick hug from Rebecca, and her saying she was very glad that Ted was happy. Trent had grown a lot, and Ted was starting to think Rebecca might even be considering liking the ex-journalist.

Chapter Text

Ted and Trent somehow matched each other’s rhythms to perfection, and Trent had this theory that love put two people on the same kind of course. It wasn’t a specific kind of course that had forks in the road, and each half of the partnership was choosing the same road. Instead, it was sort of like a wave that had the same frequency. The amplitudes could be completely different, and yet at the peaks and the troughs were in sync.

And that, poetic and all, was how Trent felt about Ted. So, the only logical step after intertwining their lives so deeply that they became almost interchangeable was to ask the other man to marry him. Trent wasn’t traditional, not in all the ways that traditional often meant sexist, racist, homophobic, and uninterested in progress. He was, though, traditional in the sense that respect meant everything. Any relationship relied, at its core, on mutual respect. Which made it so very hard to ask Ted to marry him.

Ted’s prior marriage had trapped him, not in any sort of malicious way, but rather in the way that Ted slowly gave away pieces of himself in order to create the image of a successful partnership. So did Michelle, and she saw what Ted was doing for her and what she was doing for him, and she knew that it wasn’t the definition of success. They were losing themselves. They loved each other deeply, and, at a point, that love slowly dissolved into something else. It wasn’t hate, they never hated each other. Ted assured him about that. But it wasn’t quite love anymore, and Trent could not for the life of himself provide the word.

That transition was why he felt he couldn’t ask Ted to marry him. There was no cheating bastard to blame in their marriage, there was no loss of love, the two simply grew apart. Trent never wanted him and Ted to grow apart, it filled him with such deep, gut wrenching fear. And, if it filled him with that much fear that marriage would do that to them, he couldn’t imagine what Ted might feel when approached with that proposition. He never wanted Ted to ever feel that much terror.

Which left him- stuck. He went out with Kala on one of the nights they spent just the two of them, and he took her to a ring shop. “Dada, why are we here? What do you need a ring for?”

“Well, sweetheart, I want to give one to Ted.”

“Like the one that you gave to Papa?”

“Yeah. Yes. I want to marry him, but- but it’s different than Papa.”

“Why?”

“Well, you know how when something makes you happy you smile?”

“Yes,” She nodded her head, eyes tightened in concentration.

“You might also feel something here,” Trent said, carefully lifting Kala’s hand to her own heart.

“I feel that! I feel that when we eat your Kidney beans shak, dada!”

Trent let out a dignified chuckle at his daughter's love for food, “Glad to hear that, love.”

“So, Ted makes you feel like that?”

“He makes me feel like that every second of every minute of every hour of every day.”

Kala pouted, “I wish I could eat your shak all day!”

Trent smiled, “Maybe something else might make you feel that way, and one day you will feel it.”

“I don’t think anything beats Shak though, papa!” She questioned, her stubbornness coming to light.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Have you tried everything in the world?”

“No. I have tried a lot!”

“So?’”

“So maybe not Dada,” Kala said, looking at Trent for answers. “What’s it called? That feeling?”

“I think the word for it is love, sweetheart.”

“You love Ted?”

“Yeah.”

“You still love me right?”

“More than anything else in the world, Kala.”

“Promise,” she asked, holding out her pinky.

“Pink promise.”

“You know if you break that I get to cut off your pinky!”

“I am well aware of the conditions.”

“Good,’” she nodded to herself, “Good.” She nodded once more for confirmation. “Did you love Papa?”

“Ah, this one is rather difficult.”

“Why?”

Ted so desperately wanted to tell her that he would explain when she was older, but that was not the kind of answer she wanted. Nor, in truth, was it the answer she deserved. No matter her age, she deserved to know the truth. Even if it was a lighter version of the truth. “I thought I loved him.”

“So you did then.”

“Thinking something does not mean it’s true all the time.”

“So you loved Papa sometimes?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, but yes. He made mistakes, and so did I.”

“Mistakes make you stop loving people?”

“No, no definitely not. It just- when you hurt someone really really bad, it can change how you feel about them. And that is okay.”

“So if I did something really really bad, you would not love me anymore?”

“No. I will always love you. Remember our pinky promise?” She nodded her head, seemingly satisfied with the fact that Trent would always love her.

“But how do you know Ted won’t do something that hurts you a lot a lot?”

“Well, I trust him. I trust him, and I don’t think I really ever trusted your papa in the same way.”

“Trust?”

“Yeah. Like when I told you I love you forever, you believed me right?”

“Yeah!”

“Why?”

“Because you do nice things for me. You make me shak, dada!”

“So, you trusted me because I earned your trust, you see?”

“Yeah! Like my teacher always gives me a stuffed toy when I am crying because she is nice! I trust her.”

“Yeah, Kala, you trust her to take care of you because she does it a lot.”

“Makes sense! We should get Ted a blue ring!”

“Okay, why is that little one?”

“Well, his favourite color is blue, so blue makes him happy.”

“Sounds good enough for me! Want to go speak with the man over by the counter and see what kind of blue rings they’ve got?”

“Yes! Yes!”

The pair ended up picking up matching simple silver rings. Ted’s had two little blue diamonds embedded in the metal though. In the end Kala had taught him a lot more than he taught her in their conversations.

–

They’d both done the marriage thing once already, and Trent wanted to keep it simple, therefore he knew Ted would want the same. That did not mean, however, that it was going to be anything less than perfectly planned, executed, and romantic.

Trent slid back in his rolly chair to grab his phone off the coffee table. He unlocked it with a quick jerk of the device to his eyes level. He pressed on the little icon which meant call Ted that he had added to his lock screen. He insisted that it was not romantic, but rather logistical when Colin had teased him. The lad was relentless, Trent was only trying to show the Richmond player a cute video of his daughter. “Hey,” Trent greeted as soon as he heard the line connect.

“Howdy Trent. How goes your day?”

“Relatively productive, you?”

“Pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. We are goin’ crush that team like it’s made of glass. Get it, cause we playin’-”

Trent, ashamed, let out a little laugh, “Yes, love, I do indeed get it.”

“Course ya do Mr. Journalist.”

“Ex journalist,” Trent replied with a teasing tone.

“Right, right o’ course." There was a brief pause. "Any reason for calling?”

“Not particularly, just a quick question. Want to go out for dinner tonight seen as we don’t have the kids?”

“Oh- yeah! That sounds quite alright, Mr. Crimm.” He was teasing again. If it were anyone else Trent would expect that training was going very smoothly, but it was Ted, so it could be an absolute shit show, and he would still be this goofy.

“Great. I’ll make the booking.”

“If I may ask: where?”

“It’s a surprise,” Trent replied. “You have a good rest of your training session. Love you!”

“Have a good- what is it y’all call it? Writing session? Writin’ time? Wri-”

“Good bye, Coach Lasso.”

“Bye it is then.”

Trent ended the call, still smiling at his phone.

–

Trent fiddled with the ring that was snugly fit into his pocket, hoping the bulge wasn’t too apparent. He agreed to meet Ted there because there was no point in the other man going home just to come back the same way. Plus, Trent knew Ted always kept a spare pair of clothes at the office. He was just- like that. Simultaneously over prepared and underprepared at the same time. It was truly a talent.

Trent’s leg was bouncing up and down, and he had already downed the water that the waiter had poured into the two glasses set on the table. He briefly worried what Ted would think about his glass being empty and his own being completely filled. He scanned the crowd looking for their waiter, who almost instantly made eye contact with Trent. He came over with a smile. “Anything you need, sir?”

“Just some more water would be great.”

“Of course, let me go get that now.”

“Thank you.” Trent hoped he would be fast and arrive before Ted did. It would be awfully awkward to try to explain why the waiter was in the act of filling his cup. Or maybe it would be normal, as though he had just poured the water. That would be good because then Ted wouldn’t know that Trent showed up early to get some details sorted with Ollie, who had always been so kind to the two of them whenever they came. Though Trent and Ted never made the spice level mistake again.

He took a deep breath. Everything was fine. They had a private section behind some colourful curtains to give them some more privacy. He planned to ask Ted after they ate their mains. He told Ollie to give them 20 minutes after their plates had been cleared. He was all going to be fine, in fact it was going to go very smoothly.

After another two minutes of Trent trying to relax himself (it was actually 2 minutes and 12 seconds, but Trent wasn't counting), Ted appeared,.pulling aside the colourful cloth to enter. “Fancy smancy!” Ted exclaimed, coming over to Trent to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“Hi Ted,” Trent replied as they pulled away.

“Hey,” Ted smiled, taking his seat across from Trent. “How was your day?”

“Rather average,” Trent reported, fiddling with his spoon.

“That ain’t bad, is it?”

“Neutral I think.” Trent waved that away with a hand gesture, “How was your day?”

“Good, very good! The boys are really comin’ together. Feelin’ like a real team again. It always takes a couple weeks to get ‘em all trustin’ and friendly.” Trust Ted to report on a football practice without talking about any football at all. Trent smiled fondly, leg still bouncing.

“That’s good.”

“Are you okay?” Ted asked, looking carefully at Trent. Ted knew Trent, and he rarely got nervous. It wasn’t built into his system, he was a stone cold journalist who got the job done. Nerves had no place in his line of work.

“Fine, why?”

“Nothin’ darlin’, you seem a touch nervous?” Trent looked up from the small crack on the surface of his plate that he was staring at with intensity.

“Eh, that,” Trent said, mostly to himself, “I suppose so.”

“Anything you wanna talk about? I’m always here to be an ear!”

Trent cleared his throat. He took a deep breath, and he dropped to his knee. He heard Ted suck into a breath, and before he could begin reading into the other man’s expression he started speaking.

“Ted, I know we’ve both done this before, but I feel something so special whenever you walk in the room. I am consistently floored by your sheer kindness and the way in which it is your natural inclination to make people feel included, no matter the personal sacrifice involved. As I thought about how to ask you this question, I felt flooded with doubt because marriage is hard, we both know that. But I realized something, something critical: I trust you. I trust you with every part of myself: good or bad. I trust you with my love, and that is because you are this perfect person. You are not only drop dead handsome, but you believe. Your belief lifts every person in your life up. So, will you marry me?”

Trent looked into Ted’s eyes.

“Yes, yes, good lord yes, come here.” Ted pulled Trent into a long hug. He carefully whispered into Trent’s ear, “I never thought I would do this again.”

“Neither me, love.”

“I trust you more than anythin’, you know that?”

“I do. I really do.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“Not possible.” Trent didn’t mind the tears staining his jacket. Not at all.

Three months later, to the day, they sent out a lot of invitations, and suddenly, everyone knew. And they wanted everyone to.