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The day had started out pretty good. They won 2-1 against Watford, everyone was happy. He’d caught her eye from the pitch when the whistle blew, and her little salute made his insides line dance, he couldn’t have anticipated the turn it was gonna take.
“So, are you seeing anyone?”
He watches Rebecca blush faintly, and open her mouth to say “Sort of.”
She doesn’t look at him, and Ted’s pretty sure his stomach just dropped hard enough to pierce a hole through and through the earth's crust. It's probably out there in the – well, not in the Indian Ocean, that's Kansas' antipode, he doesn’t know London's, he'll have to look it up.
“Ooh, who is it? Spill, we haven’t spoken in ages, I want to know all about it.”
This is an old colle- university friend of Rebecca’s, he knew her name until five seconds ago; now he’s barely holding onto his own. He can tell she’s an expansive type of person, but, he thinks, not mean spirited.
“Well, I-” Now her eyes do shift to him for a split second, “It’s not quite… official, so I'd rather not say.”
The friend whoops and reaches to lay a hand on Rebecca’s forearm, crossed against her chest. “He is famous isn’t he? Oh, you lucky slag! I bet he is fit. Anyone I’d know?”
Rebecca shakes her head, shifting on her heels. Ted is feeling a little faint.
"Oh, alright, I'll leave it alone. It's going to come out one way or another soon anyhow, isn't it? Those nasty tabloids, always up your bum," she sobers suddenly, straightening up "I'm quite sorry about that, dear. The way they made that cheating cunt come off during the divorce, frankly appalling."
Rebecca softens, putting her hand on top of the other woman's "Thank you."
They shift the conversation toward old acquaintances and Ted spaces out, blinking dumbly and nodding when someone acknowledges him.
The thing is, he kinda thought they were headed somewhere. They haven’t spoken specific words about it, but there’s something there. Or he thinks there's something there. Maybe there isn't something there? Oh shoot, maybe that’s just his something reflecting back to him?
Oh boy, oh man.
Well, it’s good that he got the news like this, actually, because it really would’ve sucked if he’d figured it out by doing some wackadoodle thing like trying to kiss her. First off, that would’ve violated all kinds of boundaries and he’d have to march himself to HR, quit, and maybe put out a statement, and second, he doesn’t think he would’ve been able to handle her face, or her thinking he doesn't feel their friendship is important, or enough to him, or that he was doing it all just because he wanted to kiss the back of her neck in the morni- Wait, no, he can’t be thinking about that.
Point is, this is good. This is great. He knows now, and he can recalibrate, it’s-
“Ted?”
His head snaps up, “Uh, what?”
“You’re white as a sheet, dear,” Rebecca’s friend says with a degree of amusement, “Probably still shaken up about the match, men are all the same,” she waves a hand dismissively, “I ought to get going, it was nice seeing you, love.” She kisses Rebecca on the cheek, “Don’t be a stranger.”
“I’ll call.”
The other woman throws her head back in a hearty laugh, “I don’t believe it for a second, but I hope we’ll run into each other again,” she blows Rebecca a kiss, nods her goodbye to him and exits the locker room with a certain flair, heels click-clacking away a little louder than these hallways are used to.
They’re left alone in the silence and his stomach drops all over again when Rebecca turns to him.
“Are you alright, Ted? You do look frightfully pale.” She reaches for him, and when her hand is just another inch away from his cheek he realizes it would be too much to feel it, and shakes his head out of the way, shoving his hands into his pockets in what he hopes is a subtle move. He doesn’t want her to feel dismissed.
“I think your friend there has a point, think I’m just in my head about the game, don’t mind me.”
She narrows her eyes, “Ted-”
"Colin should've made that pass," he blurts out "We won, but we were this close to a tie, and Jan was supposed to fall back way faster than that, I'll admit, they got lucky on the-"
"Ted-"
"Second half, that Watford didn’t get another one in. Our defense was not tight today, I'll tell you that much, and did you see Jamie-" He wants to stop, but can't, it feels like she'll see right through him if he does.
"Ted, could you-"
"Running around, clowning like that, and oh ho ho, don't even get me started on Zoreaux. Hey, that rhymed, do you-"
He senses it before it happens, knows she'll reach for him again, sees her hand ready to wrap around his bicep the way she does when she thinks he needs calming down, nails digging in just a little to try and ground him. His heart doubles its pace, and at the same time his thoughts chant Don’t do it don’t do it don’t do it his mouth opens, and before he can stop it, he's croaking out "Didn't know you were seeing anyone, boss."
Goddammit.
Her hand halts just shy of his shirt sleeve. “What do you-”
“Not that you had to tell me about it, just mentioning it, that’s all, ‘cause you brought it up, and everything.” Geez Louise, he needs to shut up.
Her mouth’s hanging slightly open, a frown creasing her face, and she lets her hand drop back to her side. “So you didn’t-” she stops mid-sentence, takes him in again, and then her posture relaxes and he watches, dumbfounded, as she snorts then takes a step closer to him. “Yes, that’s right, I’m seeing someone. Well- not quite, but I’m hoping to.”
His stomach is definitely in orbit now, it can’t go any further. “That’s uh, that’s real nice boss, so who’s this fella? Anyone I know?”
She smiles and says, “I don’t think so,” and shifts a bit closer, “But I quite like him.”
That’s good, real good. She should be happy. He’ll just tuck away these other feelings and enjoy being her friend, that’s pretty darn swell all on its own.
“That’s just great, Rebecca, and what’s he like? Is he nice to ya?”
“Oh,” she says, so close now that her perfume’s reached him, “He’s very handsome.”
Ted shifts nervously. “Uh, solid, you know.” He gives her a thumbs up. “Handsome, that’s a point.”
She nods sagely, pressing her lips together, though he can see their corners are turned up. “Successful too. And very kind, to everyone. To a fault, at times.”
He is having to look up at her slightly in her heels, they’re about to be sharing body heat. His heart is thumping so hard she must be able to hear it.
“Just a wonderful man,” Rebecca whispers, and does inch that little bit closer, unmistakably inside his personal space now, “And yes, he is very nice to me.”
Ted swallows thickly, his thoughts swirling, trying to connect the dots. “Boy, that- That sounds like a real catch.”
He sees her smile openly, and mutter “Don’t I know it” just before she goes for that final stretch.
His brain goes into overdrive, she’s so close, and he’s gone through every emotion in the book over the last ten minutes, and in a split second decision that he’s not even sure he is actively making, Ted pulls back.
Rebecca stumbles, missing her aim on him, and he reaches to steady her with both hands on her biceps. “You do mean me, right?” He blurts out.
She blinks a few times, coming to, then rolls her eyes and says “No, I mean Ted Danson.”
Ted lets go of her to clutch the fabric of his shirt over his heart, “I know you’re annoyed, but I’m honored.”
He watches her lower her head into her hands and take a deep breath, then straighten up and fix him with a determined stare.
“Would you be still so I can kiss you, now?”
He blushes, heart going off again, “Yes, ma’am.”
And boy, when she does, the last thought that crosses his mind before it goes completely blurry is Ted Danson wishes.