Chapter Text
Roy was… not in his office. His bag and phone were, so she checked Dr. Sharon’s but no luck either. After a thorough search of the club, she had an epiphany and checked the pitch – but nope, strike three. She’d almost given up when she looked up to the stadium stands, and there he was, sitting motionless, stoic. He hadn’t spotted her, so she snuck away to enter through the doors behind him.
Before announcing herself, she watched him; how he stared at the empty pitch, so serious and sad, and wondered how much hurt was inside him, and if he’d ever share it with her rather than thinking he could protect her. Here was her chance to find out.
“There you are! Been lookin’ all over for you,” Keeley said sweetly, walking towards him.
Roy glanced at her, nodded and looked back out at the pitch. “How’d you find me?”
“Knew you were here somewhere. Saw your parked car. Saw your stuff. Walked around the whole place and then finally walked out here, yeah? You had me worried for a bit.”
“You sound like Jamie.”
“Ha, ha!” Keeley found it funnier than Roy meant. She then looked around and out to the pitch where Roy was staring. “Good spot for some deep thoughts, though.”
“Ted’s spot. Figure if it was good enough for him, might do me some good.”
“Can’t argue with that logic.” Keeley smiled at Roy’s respect for his wholesome friend. “Mind if I sit down?”
She pointed at the chair next to him and Roy nodded again.
They sat quietly for a few moments. The stadium, bereft of fans, seemed like a silent temple, and she felt like she had interrupted the stillness. She let the quiet surround them again, giving Roy time to adjust to her presence. He would not begin the conversation. He was Roy Kent after all, and had been there alone, in contemplation.
Keeley was trying to think about the best way to broach things. Now that she was next to him, it didn’t matter what Jamie had said to pump her up with the romance of it all; she hadn’t been lying – it was complicated. However, the vision of Roy she’d seen before she’d spoken, sitting alone, introspective, and sad, reminded her that in some ways, they had both been sitting alone in an empty stadium, waiting – lonely, sad, feeling unworthy – when all along they could have been, maybe should have been, sitting together.
She forged ahead, looking at him while he continued to stare forward. She ever-so-cautiously, gently, lowered her hand over his on the armrest, her fingers barely able to circle his when she squeezed. His head finally moved, his eyes gazing down at her hand touching his. It had been a long time since they’d touched that intimately.
“I need to say something. You won’t like it to start but just let me finish, yeah?” Keeley tried to catch his eyes, but his gaze did not waver from her hand. She saw an almost imperceptible nod and took that as acceptance to the conditions.
“Jamie just came to visit me and told me-“
“Fucking hell. I’ll fucking kill-“
“Oi! What did I just say! Lemme finish!” Keeley ordered.
Again, Roy nodded wordlessly.
“He had lots to say. Surprising, really. An eye opener, yeah? He was a right mess though. Seriously mad at you for being mental… least in his eyes.” Keeley was stalling, not usually her style, but she was nervous. Roy had hurt her, had apologized and she understood some of his motivation, but he’d made mistakes, and here she was, ready to risk her heart again.
Roy behaved though. He didn't interject and was waiting for her to continue, his eyes still focused on her hand over his.
She finally got the gumption up to take her leap of faith. She started small. “Told me it’s you who’s been sending me daisies. Had figured… had… hoped it was you. There’s only so many people who would know, yeah? The small vase for my desk seemed more your style than… well… than anyone else who might know I love them. Thank you.”
Yet another small nod of acknowledgment. Thankfully, this didn’t deter Keeley. She was quite accustomed to his conciseness. Why would he speak if a nod sufficed?
“And told me about you getting the boys to help me with work. You didn’t hafta do that, you know.”
At this Roy came alive. “You work your fucking arse off. Least we could do.”
Keeley bit her lip, holding in a grin. “Regardless, it’s very sweet and you’re right. Iss not a bad idea to keep footballers on a schedule.”
“Fuckin’ right,” Roy said under his breath, and Keeley continued to hold in laughter. Her heart was full; Roy still could give her the giggles even in such a serious moment.
“All this to say, Jamie was blown away that you’d do all this without credit, without making sure I knew. He said you told ‘im you just wanted me to be happy, to make my life easier.”
Keeley stopped. Having someone do all this for her so selflessly, hit harder when she said it out loud. No one had ever been so thoughtful to her. It spoke to Roy’s character; his need to make amends, credit or not. It made her leap much less daunting. She stood, and moved to face him, leaning against the seat in the row in front of him, her legs snug between his. She then took both his hands in hers.
Roy finally looked up at her from under his dark lashes. They framed his deep, brown eyes so delicately, such a contrast to the rest of him. She’d always envied how naturally thick they were compared to hers, how if she had his eyelashes, she would never need false ones, and how if they’d had a daughter, she hoped she’d be blessed with them. Where did that come from? she asked herself as she took a deep breath and moved on.
“He also told me you’ve been seeing Dr. Sharon for months.”
“Little prick. Told him not to say-”
But at this outburst, Keeley brought two fingers up to Roy’s lips to hush him. His eyes closed at the touch and his lips immediately brushed them in a kiss, an uncontrollable, hungry impulse from having her skin pressed to his. The intimacy was almost too much, and Keeley sucked in a barely audible “oh” in response.
Roy’s eyes immediately opened, and they stared at each other, neither moving nor speaking, hardly breathing, really, not knowing what they were waiting for. Once she’d calmed herself, Keeley took his hands again and charged ahead.
“Said you were doing it for yourself but ‘cuz of me. Not to get me back, just to be a better person.” Keeley stopped, her eyes filling with tears and her voice catching in her throat for a moment. Again, Roy gave her an almost imperceptible nod in confirmation. When she could speak again, she managed, “That’s… that’s beautiful, Roy. You’ve no idea how that makes me feel. Can’t quite put it in words.”
“Didn’t want you to find out like this. Just wanted you to maybe notice I was … better. A good person.”
“But you’ve always been a good person.” It hurt her to hear him disparage himself so.
Roy shook his head. “Don’t try to convince me. Still working on that, okay?”
“Right. Got it. But… you’ve always been a good person to me.”
“I hurt you.”
“And I hurt you. I’m not blameless in this. We didn’t do what we said we’d do. We weren’t honest with each other, at least not in the right way, yeah? We stopped that and we both need to do better.”
“Yeah. I'm trying.” But then Roy’s eyebrows creased inward, confused by Keeley’s intensions. ‘What’dyou mean?”
She brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. “I mean, I don’t wanna be friends.”
“You don’t?” Roy asked, his eyes alight, hopeful.
“I wanna be more than just friends.”
Roy pulled in his lower lip, bit down hard, and looked away, overcome with a flood of feelings he still wasn’t quite capable of expressing. He tried to speak a couple of times, but his voice failed him. So, he gave yet another nod and she waited. After he collected himself, he managed to say, “I’d like that… but Christ …. I’m so fucking scared of fucking up.”
“You think I’m not? I’m terrified, babe,” Keeley admitted, and then smiled. “But if it’s evident to someone like Jamie that we’re supposed to be together, maybe it might not be as hard as we think?”
That crack managed to make Roy smile. “You’ve got a point.”
“Course I do. Can you imagine? Jamie’s the one who made this happen?”
“Iss fucking surreal is what it is.” Roy agreed.
“We did good with him, Roy. ‘Specially you, yeah? You can get through to him just like Ted could.”
“Not like Ted.” Roy looked down, humbled by the comparison.
“Different methods, same results. But it comes from a place of caring, of love.”
“Fuck off. Wouldn’t go that far.”
Keeley rolled her eyes. “Have it your way, babe, but you’re not fooling anyone ‘cept yourself.”
Roy managed a growl and Keeley had never been so happy to hear one directed at her. They’d learned a lot while apart, but she was relieved to know she still felt so at home with him.
And without further ceremony, Keeley sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. At first Roy seemed incredulous that she was so close to him again. For him, it was all happening so fast. Then his face broke into a grin, showing his sheer delight in having Keeley in his arms again.
“Whaddya say we don’t make this too complicated,” Keeley continued. “If you’re having a hard time expressing something to me, maybe we get Dr. Sharon involved, yeah? We’ll work on this together, ‘kay?”
“You’d do that for me?”
“For both of us. Just like you’re doing already.”
“Right. Fair. I can do that.”
“Sa-ay it. Promise to do that,” Keeley said with faux sternness à la Roy, and then added her own protruding lip, something that had always made him melt. His adoring eyes told her that hadn’t changed.
“I promise. For you? Anything.”
“I wanna laugh with you again, Roy.” Keeley brushed his beard with her hand. “Have fun. I missed that. Life wasn’t as fun without you.”
“You takin’ the piss?” Roy’s head leaned back, and a sceptical eyebrow rose.
“’Course not! You know iss true. Was the same for you, wasn’t it?”
Again, that slight nod was the only confirmation she needed from her succinct man, though his dewy eyes indicated he had lots more to say but couldn’t yet do so.
Keeley looked at his lips and he followed her meaning. She moved to kiss him, and he let her lead, soft at first, building momentum until it felt much like their very first kiss, full of promise and passion with smoldering hunger bubbling under the surface. Unlike their first kiss, it also held deep feelings that had never diminished.
Pulling apart, Roy scanned her face, his eyes and own face awestruck from a moment he’d never expected to happen again. Before he knew what he’d said, buried feelings impulsively surfaced. “I’ve never stopped loving you. Never will.”
Keeley again breathed in “oh” and a bashful smile overtook her face, her lashes dropping so he couldn’t quite see her full reaction.
“Shit. I’m sorry, Keeley. That… you don’t need that fucking pressure. It just slipped out.”
Again, Keeley brought two fingers to his lips to quiet and soothe him. She looked back up and smiled. “Don’t ever apologize for loving me, babe. I won’t ever apologize for loving you either. ‘Cuz I always will too.”
This brought on another round of soft kisses and caresses that led to Keeley giggling, and yes, true laughter returningbetween them. They were together, their future held promise, but they still didn’t want to leave the moment. They weren’t afraid of what came next, they were just caught up in the perfection of being alone and in no hurry to be anywhere else but in each other’s arms. It felt right after a long time of feeling wrong. Keeley even managed to get Roy to express his inner joy, convincing him to join her in shouting out into the empty stadium. She laughed and cried when everything he roared was about his love for her. First a “Fuck yes!”, then a “I fucking love Keeley Fucking Jones” echoed through the stadium, only to be followed by a hushed whisper of naughtier things he loved about her as he nuzzled her neck and made her laugh. He seemed freer to Keeley already and it gave her more hope than she’d ever imagined.
Everything was big and intimate at once. The club was virtually empty that day and, if anyone were anywhere near the stadium, they weren’t bothering them. That is, until Keeley’s phone kept buzzing.
“Iss Jamie! Wants to make sure we’re back together.”
“Christ, he can be an annoying prick.”
“But he’s our annoying prick.”
Roy side-eyed her and let out another growl. Her body tingled at having that back in her life.
Shrugging her shoulders and giggling, she looked down at her phone. “I’ll just type. All good. We’re back on.”
“Tell him I’m gonna kill him.”
“You’ll do no such thing.”
“Oi. Not literally. I never really mean it literally… well, almost never. With him, there’s been a time or two.”
Keeley rolled her eyes and typed, “Roy says thank you.”
“What the fuck?”
“I’m translating. Suspect I’ll be doing that for the rest of our lives with you,” Keeley sauced before she realized the implications of her comment.
“Christ, I hope so.” Roy’s voice sounded wistful and clued her in to the depth of her words, but before she could react, he guided her to stand up and wrapped his arms around her. Keeley buried herself in his chest and savoured the engulfing, protective hug.
She finally stepped back and looked up to this brute of a man, known for his ferocious stare, but for her those eyes were at their most vulnerable and loving. “Got anything else planned for the day?” She held onto his hands and started to walk backwards out of the row, her eyes sparkling impishly.
“Gave everyone the day off. Got nothing planned.” Roy’s mouth quirked in understanding.
“You have plans now, yeah?” she asserted.
“Do I?” This time his eyebrow arched playfully.
“Oh yeah. All day. Maybe all night. We’ve lots to work out.”
“Iss that right? If you say so, I s’pose we do.”
Suddenly she let go. “Race you to my place. Last one home has to do wha’ever the other wants.”
She turned and ran before he had a chance to respond, and alone again, he chuckled. He would give her a head start. He casually left the stadium, and started to whistle as he strolled down to his office. He would pick up his bag and make it to Keeley’s a few minutes after her. And then… then they’d begin the rest of their lives doing whatever she wanted. After all, it was exactly what he wanted too.