Work Text:
You knew there was something special about Ted Lasso from the moment you met him. And maybe a little bit before you met him too.
When the two of you first crossed paths, you were at the Crown & Anchor on a terrible date. Your friends had been trying to get you to put yourself out there for quite a while, all of them smitten with partners of their own, so you finally agreed to download a dating app and go out with Chris. Chris, who had seemed rather inquisitive and kind while chatting but showed up in a stained T-shirt and flip-flops and positioned himself in the pub so he could watch the end of the football match on the telly above your head.
After many mind-numbing, painful minutes of trying to draw and keep his attention you sighed and cast your gaze around the pub, locking eyes with a mustachioed man you recognized from social media. Your eyebrows raised in recognition and he gave you a small smile, but then Chris cheered loudly and abruptly and your expression turned dour as you turned back to your date. Trying to be polite, you asked him what had happened and you were summarily ignored, his silence in response embarrassing you. You rolled your eyes and went to the bar to get yourself another drink.
You knew you could just leave, but having to report back to your friends what a failure tonight had been kept you from bailing early. As Mae handed you a full pint, you felt someone lean against the bar next to you. You caught a whiff of cologne, not obtrusive but spicy and clean. You used to work in a makeup store that sold cologne and you tried to identify it but as you turned to see who was wearing it you figured maybe it was only American.
"Not much of a football fan?"
"Not in the traditional sense of the word, 'fanatic.’ I like it okay. Follow it enough to recognize you, Coach Lasso."
"Shoot, so my reputation precedes me… I hate when that happens. There's nothing I like more than a good first impression. But I'll guess I'll give it a shot anyway, I'm Ted." He stuck his hand out and you were struck by how warm he was, literally and metaphorically. He squeezed gently and you were pleased to note that he didn’t overdo it and crush your hand just to prove he could like so many other men might.
"Y/N."
Mae placed a pint in front of Ted and he took his hand back to bring it to his lips, which gave you a chance to really look at him. He was older than you, but aging gracefully it seemed; the gray hair popping up at his temples and mustache only accentuated his good looks. He was well groomed, though his hair was losing a bit of its hold, one loose tendril just barely scraping his eyebrow. You weren't lying when you said you recognized him—it just wasn't really from football. It was from a very vocal subsection of Richmond fans who found him incredibly attractive. You didn't participate in the lusting online but you'd certainly seen the fan cams and photo edits.
Ted looked at you over the edge of his pint as he sat it on the bartop and you smiled at him. It was automatic, something about being this close to him made you a little giddy, which was not something you often felt. In fact, you were more likely to be annoyed by a random conversation struck up in public than charmed. But everything in you wanted Ted to keep talking to you, to keep his hazel eyes locked on yours.
"Sorry I didn't mean to keep you from your company, just seemed like you might not have been having the best time."
You looked back over at Chris and realized he still didn't know you were gone; apparently, some player had just gotten a yellow card. "Well, shit company," you shrugged quickly, downing your drink and catching the way Ted's eyebrows rose as you did, an impressed smirk putting his dimples on full display. "Are you offering me a better time, Ted?"
You watched as a blush crept up Ted's cheeks at the innuendo and you waited to see what he'd say. You didn't think you were reading him incorrectly but it would certainly suck to get rejected twice in one night. At least a shag with the AFC Richmond manager would be a better end to this failed date story when you repeated it to your friends.
Ted cleared his throat and then mirrored your earlier actions, quickly downing the rest of his pint. He caught Mae's eye, waved an index finger over your empty pint and his, and then made an okay gesture, signaling that the drinks were on his tab. You grinned at the gesture. He smiled brightly at you, much less embarrassed now than he had looked when you had not so subtly propositioned him, and tilted his head towards your date who was once again bellowing at the tv screen.
"That shouldn't be hard to manage."
Except the two of you didn't shag. Instead, he led you on a meandering walk of the Richmond green after buying you ice cream and you got to know each other. It felt like a real date, with both of you taking a genuine interest in what the other had studied in school (English and sports medicine), your favorite foods (barbecue), and what you did for fun (reading, both of you). The lampposts were lit by the time you made it back to his place, where he offered you a glass of wine and you shook your head no before leaning over and kissing him briefly. When you pulled away he chased your lips and you smiled into another kiss, moaned when his mouth opened to yours and you realized he tasted like chocolate ice cream. The two of you made out like teenagers in his kitchen, his hips pinning yours to the counter, his arousal evident. When he released you, taking a step back and a deep breath, you whined, surprising yourself with how turned on you were.
"I've, uh, really enjoyed spending time with you, Y/N." Ted was looking down as he spoke, suddenly sheepish.
"Oh God," you groaned. "Are you about to try to let me down easy?"
"No no not at all! I mean you’re gorgeous, you’re funny, you're whip-smart. I am very into you, Y/N."
You looked pointedly at his pants. "I can see that." Ted blanched but made no move to adjust himself, obviously taking it for the compliment you intended it to be.
"I just … I know the one-night stand thing isn't for me. I'd like to really get to know you. Take you out on a date that I asked you on instead a’ just savin’ you from one you didn't want to be on. It’s late though, you're welcome to stay and I'll take the couch"
You sighed, taking both of his hands in yours and tugging him back a little closer. "I get it. And I appreciate it. Unfortunately," you paused and kissed him on the lips, "I am also just very turned on by you right now." You kissed quickly across his jawline, leaning closer to place an open-mouthed kiss behind his ear, pleased when he shuddered and screwed his eyes closed tightly. "So if this isn't happening tonight I should go home. To respect your silly, silly wishes."
Ted smiled, opening his eyes again. "So I can take you out again soon?“
You walked towards his front door, picking up your coat and bag before giving him one more parting kiss.
"The sooner the better."
//
It had been 2 months since that night at the Crown & Anchor. You saw Ted at least twice a week, more if you could help it, he'd met your friends and you'd met his. For all intents and purposes, you were in a relationship with Ted Lasso.
Which is why you were especially on edge when you rounded up Rebecca and Keeley for a Thursday night happy hour to discuss why the two of you still weren't having sex.
You sipped a glass of white wine and sighed. “I know blue balls aren't what everyone says, but God I feel like I have them.”
“Oh, babe,” Keeley stretched across the table and gently patted your hand. She was wearing a form-fitting baby blue dress, having long ago dropped her work blazer somewhere behind Rebecca’s plush white couch. “It’s not the end of the world! What have you two done together?”
Rebecca was in loungewear, a rare sight for both of you to catch her looking so relaxed, but it suited her. She playfully covered her ears at Keeley’s question. “I don’t know if I want to hear this, I got enough of an earful from Sassy.”
You laughed, respecting Rebecca’s discomfort. “Well to put it simply all the bases are loaded, I'm just looking for a home run.”
The two blonde women stared at you blankly and you looked at them in confusion, taking another sip of your drink.
“God, you two really are spending a lot of time together; was that an American sports reference,” Rebecca questioned, rather astonished.
“See,” you exclaimed, “that just proves my point! I mean we go on the best dates, we laugh, we connect, and then we go back to one of our places, snog like mad, and then either he goes home or he sleeps on the couch.”
Rebecca sighed, moving from the armchair she had been reclining in to sit next to Keeley who still had a light hold on your hand. “Y/N, I’ve known Ted for years now, and I’ve never seen him so smitten. I think he’s just afraid to be too much too soon. He wants you to set the pace because he’s been burned before.”
This wasn’t a surprise to you, you and Ted had talked about the end of his marriage, his relationship with Henry, the death of his dad. You’d had a number of deep, serious conversations, especially considering it was still early days.
“He needs to know that you're really in this and that you want him as much as he wants you,” Rebecca finished her thought before finishing her glass of wine, gesturing to ask Keeley if she wanted another, but she declined.
“God I think I want him more ,” you complained, letting your head flop to the back of the couch.
“So it’s settled. Operation Seduce Ted is starting now!”
You never agreed to call it Operation Seduce Ted, but you didn’t put up much of a fit on Friday when Keeley took you shopping for lingerie. It had never really been your thing, but you couldn’t deny the thrill of seeing yourself dolled up in ribbon and lace. Despite the fact that you currently hadn’t had sex, you knew Ted well enough to know that he wouldn't actually care what you were wearing, but he would certainly appreciate the effort. You had forgotten how fun it could be to put a partner first; the arousal that came with wondering what Ted would see and think when you revealed the black lace corset you had picked out, tight and sheer, with the matching garter and thong. If the way Keeley’s jaw dropped when she saw you was any indication, Ted hopefully wouldn’t be able to form thoughts.
You texted Ted on the way back from the boutique, asking him if he wanted to come over in a few hours. The two of you didn’t have standing plans, but it was nearly a given that you’d see him on Friday nights unless there was a match. You looked up some American recipes, wanting to cater to him, but also keep it simple, not wanting the food to make or break the date.
You ended up with store-bought fried chicken (a grease fire would undoubtedly ruin your night), homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, and a side salad. And most importantly, you booked two tickets to Kansas for the end of the season in a few months. You were putting yourself out there, and it felt a bit risky, but he'd made references to things he'd want to show you in Kansas with Henry. The dates of the flights could be moved, you’d paid extra to make sure of it, but it was about the gesture. You hoped it showed him how much you truly cared.
Just as you were putting the finishing touches on the gravy, you heard Ted’s key in the door. You were thankful you had already changed, putting a simple olive green, knee-length dress on over your lingerie. You listened as he followed a familiar coming home routine; it pleased you that the routine existed and that you could name all of its steps: shoes toed off at the door, backpack on the floor next to them, jacket on the hook on the inside of the closet, keys in the bowl you keep on a table in the walkway. And then he was behind you, his broad shoulders caging you into a warm embrace and…normally a kiss, but you were surprised when there was no bristle of his mustache against your neck in greeting. You set your spoon down and turned in his arms, curious, but instead of meeting your gaze he released you and stepped back.
You immediately saw on his face that Ted thought something was up with you. He was nervous, his eyes shifting over you just as yours shifted over him, both of you struggling to read each other. You opened your mouth to try to reassure him, but he beat you to the punch.
“Are you breaking up with me,” he blurted, and you can tell he had been trying not to say exactly that. “I know we haven’t really put a label on things or, uh, crossed the finish line, so to speak. I appreciate you being patient with me. I just think we’ve really got something here and I don’t want to ruin it by…overdoing anything.”
Ted let out a deep breath when he finished, and you snapped your mouth closed quickly when you realized you were gaping at him. Instead of answering, you took the suddenly dejected man by the hand and led him into the living room, encouraging him to sit before you walked to your desk and picked up an envelope.
“I was saving this for after dinner, but I think you should open it now.”
He looked at you confused, but didn’t question it, just unsealed the small manila envelope and pulled out the two tickets to Kansas. You watched his eyes get a little misty as he realized what you’d done.
“I’m in this, Ted. With you. I am on this ride for as long as it will go. I want to see and know every part of you.”
Ted’s expression cleared and settled into a mischievous smirk as he sat the envelope on the coffee table and placed his hands on your waist, tugging you into his lap so you straddled him on the couch.
“Every part, huh?”
“Well I have to admit tonight I'm a little more interested in one specific part of you.” You punctuated your confession by grinding your hips down over his and he groaned before pressing his lips to yours. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, one hand scratching through the hair at the nape of his neck. He tugged gently at your bottom lip and you gasped, arousal coursing through you. Ted released you from the kiss but didn’t move far, nudging his nose against yours.
“We should put the brakes on, you went through all the trouble of making dinner.”
“Oh fuck dinner,” you griped and Ted chuckled at you, a low husky sound that went straight to your core. “I want you so badly, Ted, you have no idea.”
Ted held your gaze with his as he reached between your bodies, slipping a hand under your dress, and stroking his long fingers over the now obvious wet spot in your underwear.
“Fuck darlin’,” Ted’s voice was so low the bass of it made your heart skip. His head fell back against the couch as if overcome with the knowledge of how much you desired him. But his fingers never stopped moving against you, gently, just barely enough to take some of the edge off.
He used the hand that had been holding your hip to push your dress up further, his large, warm palm sliding up your thigh, stopping briefly to toy with your garter and swear under his breath, until finally both hands were under your dress and he was looking at you again, watching your reactions to his every move. You dropped your forehead to his collarbone with a shaky, “fuck,” before dragging your tongue over his pulse point, sucking lightly, and then moving up to press your lips to his ear and ask, “bed?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Ted stood so abruptly he nearly threw you from his lap and you giggled, not surprised that sex with Ted could be just as fun and silly as it was sexy. He helped you get your legs under you before he tugged you to the bedroom and playfully tossed you against the pillows, wasting no time in stripping off his top layers. You got barely a second to take in his broad frame, the dark hair curling against his chest, before he was climbing over you and placing kisses every inch of the way from your ankles up.
You had anticipated that based on the amount of reassurance Ted needed to have sex with you, he might be a bit timid in the bedroom and that was okay. You had mentally prepared yourself to take charge, which was a role you didn’t mind. But apparently, you had opened the floodgates, and now nothing was holding Ted back from showing you his devotion. His hands and mouth were everywhere, gripping your waist, mouthing at your hip, licking at the crease of your thigh, tickling against your collarbone.
“Jesus Christ, Ted, please never stop touching me,” you begged, not even a little embarrassed when you realized he’d barely started touching you. Ted leaned up and grinned, one hand toying with the hem of your dress, before slowly pushing it up and off of you, as if just now realizing he could. Ted sat back on his heels and just stared at you laid out underneath him, the grin sliding off his face into pure awe. He traced his fingers along the lines of your corset, the waist of your thong, and playfully snapped your garter belt.
“Gorgeous.”
You blushed under Ted’s praise and he raised an eyebrow. He could tell that it had done something to you, and you knew he would be filing it away for later. He lowered himself, slower now that he could see all of you and hone in, and his mouth found your nipple through the corset. His warm, wet tongue laving over the slight scratch of the lace had you convinced you might come from that alone. He moved his attention to your other side, and your hand came up to grip lightly at his hair and he froze, your nipple between his lips as he released a guttural moan, his hips jerking against nothing. Now it was your turn to catalog something for later.
You pulled him up to your mouth, sliding your tongue against his as you shifted your body, feeling his erection pressed against your hip. You reached for his tented pants, not breaking the kiss, quickly flicking open the button on his khakis and carefully rolling down the zipper so you could reach inside his boxers, and… fuck he was big. You had some idea, but having never seen or felt it firsthand it made your mouth water with anticipation and Ted could tell, considering his tongue was still in it. You broke the kiss, your hand still wrapped around him.
“Fuck me, take it off.”
“Yours or mine,” Ted gestured to your outfit and his undone pants.
“Everything. All of it. I don’t fucking know, just…”
Ted laughed a little at your frustration, placing a small kiss on your nose before he stood and removed his pants and boxers while you undid your corset. He leaned over the bed to help you with the thong and garter belt, and while he sat them carefully at the end of the bed, bless him, you surprised him by slipping off the bed onto your knees and taking him into your mouth. There wasn’t much space between your bed and bedroom wall and the surprise of your lips on him knocked him back into the wall hard. You didn’t stop your ministrations, but you did pull back slightly, running your tongue slowly up the underside of him as he swore. You looked up at him from your knees, making sure he hadn’t seriously hurt himself against the wall, but the look he returned your way was pure adoration.
Ted deserved everything, he was everything and you wanted to tell him that but you also never wanted to lose the weight and warmth of him against your tongue. You tried to communicate it by lifting his hand to place against the back of your head, encouraging him to take control, telling him without words that he had all your trust. He didn’t move at first, so you swirled your tongue against the tip of him and his hips jerked involuntarily. You moaned loudly against him, a desperate, wanton noise as he brushed the back of your throat. That was what finally released him to fuck into your mouth, knowing that you wanted him to—that his pleasure was yours and vice versa.
The more his pace increased the more you could feel the wetness spread against the inside of your thighs. The only thing you wanted more than sliding your hand between your legs to push yourself over the edge, was for Ted to slide his hand between your legs and make you cum himself. The thought of it forced you to restrain yourself, and you closed your eyes, focusing instead on hollowing your cheeks and relaxing your throat, giving yourself over to the sensations, to the heavy breathing and whispered praise of Ted above you.
You opened your eyes again and saw Ted was looking at you, pupils blown. You could imagine what you looked like from his perspective, heavy-lidded and lustful. His grip tightened suddenly and he pulled you off him. You knew your face was a mess, but you grinned at how overcome with desire Ted was as he gazed at you, his chest heaving as he tried to keep himself together. He ran his thumb over your swollen bottom lip, and you opened your mouth for him again, licking against the pad of his thumb.
“Jesus fucking christ, baby. You’re so good for me. Is that what I’ve been missing out on all this time?”
You chuckled and he helped you up and back onto the bed, kissing as much of your skin as he could reach. You waited until he joined you to pull him into a deep kiss, trying to get as much of your bare skin against his and enjoying the way he caressed your side, traced the lines of you like you were something incredibly precious. He pulled back from your lips and pressed kisses down your jaw.
“Are you going to show me what I’ve been missing, Coach?”
Ted grinned, a glint in his eyes that told you the title definitely had an effect on him. He didn’t answer verbally, just took the suggestion for what it was and crawled down your body, nipping and licking as he went but wasting no time putting his tongue right where you wanted it. He started slow, clearly not assuming anything about what you liked but learning quickly. After the way your body had reacted to blowing him, it didn’t take much to have you arching against his face and crying out his name. He pressed a flat tongue against you, encouraging you to roll your hips and it was enough for the tension that had built inside you to snap and you bit back a scream. Ted gentled his tongue against you, slowly letting you down from your high but as soon as your panting slowed, he slid two fingers smoothly into you as he crawled back up your bed to lay beside you, propped up on his elbow.
“Fuck, Ted,” you murmured as he stroked his fingers over the spot inside you that made you see stars. He was quickly building you back up, helped along by the praise he cooed directly into your ear. Your eyes closed but you could feel him watching the heat rise in you as he spoke.
“That’s it, love. Let me make you feel good. You’ve been so good to me. You’re so gorgeous, Y/N. You’re all I think about. I want to feel the way you clench down on my fingers as you cum.” You pulsed against him as if on command and you could feel the smile on his lips as he kissed your neck. “Go on, baby, cum for me. Please, baby.” He moved his thumb up to rub against your clit and this time your orgasm was less of a snap and more of a rolling warmth from your core up until your vision whited out and you lost yourself for a moment.
Ted coaxed you back gently, smoothing his hands over you and placing gentle kisses over your face until you could see him clearly again. You could tell from his expression that he would have gladly left it there, that if you were overstimulated he could go take care of himself and just wrap you in his arms to go to sleep. But you certainly didn’t want that.
“Fuck me, please,” you stated plainly, your voice a little hoarse from how loud you’d been.
“We don’t have to—”
You reached between the two of you, stroking your hand down his length.
“I am begging you, baby. Please,” your voice was low and sultry and Ted wasted no time complying with the request, but to your surprise, he didn’t hover over you. Instead, he pulled you into him by the waist so that he was spooning you from behind and lifted your leg over his hip. You couldn’t physically get any closer and you were more than pleased. He held you tightly to him with one hand on your hip as he slid easily into you, the other hand massaging your breast and toying with your nipple.
“Yes, love,” you whimpered as he picked up his pace, encouraging him. Ted groaned, his hand tight on your hip as his every thrust sparked something deep within you. He never stopped murmuring in your ear but it was hard for you to focus on the words when he kept hitting the perfect spot inside you. He pulled out quickly and you were about to complain, but you tuned back in long enough to hear him say, “come here, sweetheart.” He had settled on his back and was tugging gently on your hip to get you to follow him. After two orgasms you weren’t sure you had the energy to ride him, but you wanted to try. You swung your leg over him and before you could warn him that you weren’t sure how much you had in you, he had lifted his knees, pressing his feet flat on the bed and driving back into you.
“Shit,” you exclaimed, and Ted froze, concerned it wasn’t the good kind of expletive, but you smiled down at him. “Fuck, do that again.”
He followed instructions, pulling almost all the way out before slamming back in and you dug your nails into his chest as you cried out, leaving little crescent marks on his skin. Ted reached up and placed a hand on your neck to tug you closer, kissing you sweetly before setting a quick pace that forced you to wrap your arms around him and hold on tight. You couldn’t believe you could already feel heat pooling in your belly again, so quickly after your last orgasm, but you let the pleasure build as you could tell Ted was just as close. You sat up slightly again, changing the angle so Ted was hitting even deeper inside you.
“Mmm,” he hummed, “look at you. You’re so beautiful, baby. You feel so perfect.” You didn’t respond, couldn’t do anything but whimper and nod, as you rocked your hips in time with his thrusts.
You moved one of Ted’s hands from your hip to your throat, not choking, just adding pressure. His eyes widened and he gave you a devilish smirk, somehow picking up his pace yet again. “That’s my good girl. You ready to cum for me again, Y/N?’
“Yes! Fuck, yes please, Ted.” His hand on your hip slid down to your core and he rubbed gentle circles over your clit that had you begging incomprehensibly. You didn't even know what you were begging for just more until the moment your muscles tightened and spasmed against him and you cried out, "shit, shIT, FUCK, TED." He cursed loudly, following you into release. You slumped to his chest and the two of you stayed tucked into each other as your breathing synced, the sweat cooling on your bodies. “If that’s what waiting two months gets me, maybe I should be even more patient next time,” you sighed, your body completely sated.
“Sorry sweetheart, unfortunately, you’re like a can of Pringles.’
“What,” you chuckled, questioning the comparison and knowing his answer would be incredibly silly.
“Once you pop, the fun don’t stop.” You could feel Ted grin as soon as it left his mouth. You wanted to say you couldn’t believe someone so ridiculous had just fucked the shit out of you, but you knew what Ted said about belief. You laughed as you slid out of bed to get cleaned up, pulling on fresh underwear and one of Ted’s abandoned shirts.
You could hear Ted moving about in the room, but you didn’t expect to walk out to a makeshift picnic. Ted had laid a towel over the bed and brought you each a plate of the dinner you had made. You grinned and joined him against the headboard and he handed a plate over, before taking his first bite.
“I couldn’t let your hard work go to waste, especially when you did this damn good of a job.”
“Anything for you, my love,” you responded easily and Ted grinned instantly at the affection, sitting his plate down briefly to kiss you.
“Thank you. For showing me that you care.”
"Always."