Chapter Text
How are you mon coeur?" Richard asked Jan as they got ready to leave the house, "all good for today?"
"Coffee and a movie?" Jan asked, "I think I can handle that."
"Come on," Richard said, "I can tell something is upset you."
"I do not wish to talk about it," Jan shook his head, "not yet."
The two stepped out of their now shared home into the crisp evening air. Richard took Jan's hand. Jan gripped his hand back tightly.
"Have you heard from any of your brothers lately?" Richard asked making small talk as they began the four block walk to their favorite Cafe by Jan's house.
"Simon is planning on proposing to his girlfriend Josephine, and Hendrick got in his third fender bender this month," Jan said.
"I swear he's worse than Colin," Richard laughed. "What about the other six?"
"Not much news, Ricky is raising the twins, Jereon is addicted to Baldur's Gate, Bram took a new temp job, Johannes is thinking about trying tinder, Dennis and his boyfriend are visiting our dad soon, and Dirk is still in the space station," Jan said, listing his brothers on his fingers. He talked about his large family without the awe Richard felt when he heard about them. Like it wasn't wonderful and lovely. Richard hadn't spoken to any members of his own family in years.
"That's all from the Maas boys groupchat?" Richard asked.
"Yes, we're supposed to have a family call with our vader soon, but we haven't planned when. I'd love for you to join in on the call when we get there," Jan said, "if we could get all ten of us in Groningen at the same time I'd love for you to attend but that feels less and less likely each passing year."
"If I had a family I would introduce you to them," Richard said. "I would have loved to show you the farm."
"I have no interest in going to France," Jan teased to lighten the mood.
Richard swatted at him. "France over the Netherlands, any day."
"In your dreams," Jan said.
They turned the corner to the Cafe entrance and Jan dipped down quickly to kiss his boyfriends before holding the door open for him.
He heard Richard let out a "Oh mon dieu," as he stepped inside.
Jan entered behind him and his eyes immediately clocked what Richard was talking about.
At one of the small cafes a few tables sat Coaches Beard and Lasso.
Coach Lasso seemed to catch their gaze and quickly began waving, "hey fellas! Come over here."
And without comment or a gaze at each other the two approached their coaches.
"Good afternoon," Ted Lasso greeted with a wide smile, "what are the odds of this fun surprise, running into you two on a day out."
"We love this cafe," Jan said.
"It's good to see you both," Richard said.
"Shoot, y'know I had no clue you two were close friends," Ted said.
"They're dating, coach," Beard said.
Ted's eyes bugged a bit before settling, "and here I was thinking the romcommunism at Richmond started and ended with out very own Mr. Roy Kent and Ms. Keeley Jones."
"Actually there are several couples on the team," Richard said, "we've been on a series of double dates this month."
"How about that," Ted remarked, "Well why don't you boys go order yourself some drinks and some grub and come join me and Beard over here for some chatting."
Richard looked at Jan with a face he hoped conveyed 'get us out of this'
"We'd love that, Coach Lasso," Jan said.
"Oh hush your butt, Jan Maas," Ted said, "it's the weekend, you can call me Ted."
"I'm still Coach Beard to you," Coach Beard said.
Jan nodded, "I'll get our orders," Jan said, "Richard, do you want your usual?"
"Oui," Richard said, "light cream."
"I know," Jan said, pressing a kiss to the top of the Frenchman's head, "be right back."
Richard awkwardly sat down with his two coaches as his boyfriend walked away.
"So how have you been Richard?" Ted asked.
"Uh, good, good," Richard said, "things are all good."
"Well that's good," Ted said, "now me and Ole beardo here have a rule: no work talk when we run into a friend in public. We should take advantage of this serendipitous moment and get to know you better. Say now where in France are you from?"
Richard was taken aback by how many words Coach Lasso used to say something so simple. He was used to it at work where it was about his playing and speed but this felt intense and personal. "I am from Cordon," he said, "where in Kansas are you from?"
"Cordon, huh?" Coach Lasso said, "like chicken cordon bleu? With the ham and the sauce? That was never my thing but I respect any meal that has a fancy name like that."
"It's a Dijon mustard sauce, coach," Coach Beard said. His arms were folder and his eyes were squinted which was so different than Ted's demeanor but Richard got the feeling after being coached by the man for years that that was Coach Beard's default behavior
"See if I'm getting mustard I'm going yellow mustard, but if I'm going condiment I'm going barbecue sauce," Ted said, "anyways tell us about Cordon."
"Oh, it's a mountain town," Richard said, feeling like he was not in control of the conversation, "popular during the skiing season with tourists. I grew up on a farm, we raised goats."
"What type of goats?" Coach Beard asked with squinted eyes.
"Nubian," Richard answered, "they were for dairy."
Coach Beard nodded firmly.
"I can't picture you on a farm," Ted said, "barrels of hay, overalls, dirt on your brow, little straw hat. I always pictured little you in a beret and having picnics. What lead you to football?"
"Oh, well," Richard trailed off nervously.
He was saved by the bell as Jan sat down with two coffees and two treats.
"Hello coaches," Jan said, "Hello liefde."
"Is that a little Dutch pet name?" Coach Lasso asked.
"Yes," Coach Beard answered.
Richard looked at Jan like he had saved his life. Richard drank his hot coffee eagerly not caring how hot it was just happy to not have to speak.
"How about you, Jan," Ted asked, "Where in the Netherlands are you from?"
"Groningen," Jan said, "Very nice area, lived on the water with my father and my brothers."
Ted nodded, "Myself and Beard are only children so it's always interesting to hear about peoples siblings."
"I have a lot," Jan said, "I have eight brothers, my home was never quiet."
"What a fun time," Ted said, "what about you Richard, did you have brothers or sisters helping out on the farm?"
"No," Richard said, hands clutching his mug, "it was just me, my parents and the goats."
"How about that," Ted said, "You two come from completely different worlds and football brought you together. Kind of like me and Beard."
"Really?" Jan said, "I assumed you were pretty alike because you're from the same US state."
Jan was always a stronger conversationalist than Richard. Richard was good with press and models and strangers as he had perfected his fame persona but with sort of not quite friends and coworkers he was an awkward mess. Richard appreciated Jan taking over conversation for him.
"Well I grew up going to public school living with my mom and dad, while Beard went to catholic school and his parents weren't together," Ted said.
"And Ted didn't drink until college," Coach Beard said, "I started drinking at eleven."
"I started having wine at age ten," Richard said, trying to contribute to the conversation.
"I wasn't drinking wine then," Coach Beard said.
"So how did you become friends?" Jan asked, "did you meet through work?"
"College football," Ted said, "American football, that is. Neither of us were all that good at the sport but we loved it. So we'd sit on the bench and talk strategy and books we were reading while hoping the coach would put us in the game."
"Your coach is selling himself short," Coach Beard said, "he is a very talented athlete and was only on the bench with me like half the time."
"And you were friends ever since," Jan concluded.
"Essentially," Coach Beard said.
"That's wonderful," Jan said, "I don't talk to most of the friends I made that long ago."
"You were barely alive that long ago," Ted joked. "You're hanging out with two older gents here."
Jan smiled at him, "whatever you say, Coach."
"Oh, call me Ted," Coach Lasso repeated.
"Okay, Ted," Jan said.
Richard felt so awkward. How was Jan so good at this?
"What type of scones do you have there?" Coach Lasso asked, pointing at the food on both their plates.
"I get the palmiers because their pretty plane and I don't like strong flavor," Jan explained, "Richard gets whatever I think looks the most French, which today was that fancy croissant with the apricots."
Ted nodded, "Well they look delicious, I always split a muffin with Beard. He takes the bottom and I take the top."
Richard ignored the amused glance Jan sent him at that comment.
"How has England been treating you?" Jan asked changing the topic, "Myself and Richard are from other countries too but I imagine the culture shock was much more drastic for you."
"You can say that again," Ted said, "We're doing better now four years out but man, Jan Maas you should have seen us that first year. I didn't even know how to cross the streets the right way."
"He still struggles," Coach Beard said.
Ted smiled, "I'll get it one day, you alternatively still haven't adjusted to the lack of air conditioning."
"I like it cold," Beard said.
"We're both from cold areas," Jan said, "We agree the heat here is a lot at times."
"Not enough snow here," Richard agreed. "I miss skiing."
"I've only been skiing once," Ted said, "Myself and Beard went our sophomore year to a resort on the East Coast of the US as our winter break in January. I was scared enough about getting stuck on the ski lift I only went down the bunny hill maybe three times. Beard did the bunny hill with me and when I went and warmed up with hot cocoa in the lounge he went down the black diamond. Trip got cut short when he broke his ankle. Not on the mountain of course that's too easy for Beard. He picked a fight with a guy who was being a bit too mean to his lady so of course Beard had to step in. Won that fight and then the guys buddy's jumped him. Classic ski lodge shenanigans. We spent the rest of the trip drinking hot cocoas in the hospital."
"You made friends with the whole nursing staff," Coach Beard said. He seemed to he more enthralled in the conversation as Ted reminisced, his eyes were wider and he was wistfully smiling.
"Had to make sure they were taking proper care of my Beard."
Richard shot Jan a look that Jan pretended not to see.
"Do you take trips together often?" Jan asked.
"Well we made it across the pond together," Ted said. "But yeah we do, travel buddies. From Disney world to Hershey Park to DisneyLand to Action Park back in the day."
"A lot of trips are made with Henry," Beard explained.
"Now don't pretend you and me didn't go to Disney Land before Henry was born," Ted said.
Beard sighed, "We did but we also took grownup vacations. Like when we went to Texas together."
"That's a lot of traveling," Jan said, "I have always wanted to go to the states, specifically to go to New Mexico, one of my brothers moved there a few years ago for work and he loves it."
"I haven't been there yet," Coach Lasso said, "What about you, Beard?"
"Not while sober."
"I have also not been to the states," Richard said, "Though Los Angeles seems exciting."
"Haven't been there either," Coach Lasso said, "Beard?"
"Once, fell asleep on a bus, woke up there."
This made Ted hysterically laughing at a joke Richard didn't get.
"I love that story," Ted said, "Go on, tell the boys."
"I fell asleep on a coach bus in Utah. I woke up in Los Angeles," Coach Beard said.
"Tell them the funniest part," Ted said.
"The bus was supposed to go to Wisconsin."
Ted was wheezing out a laugh attracting many stares.
"I don't think they know enough about our geography to get the joke, coach," Beard said.
"Sorry," Jan said.
"That's okay," Ted said, "suppose that's what you call an inside joke. So what are you two up to for the rest of the day?"
"We're seeing a movie after this," Jan said.
"That's nice," Ted said, "what movie?"
"Ces Quelques Lumières Mourantes," Richard said, "it's French."
"Oh, foreign cinema," Ted said, "Well I guess for Richard it's national cinema and everything else is Foreign Cinema."
"Is that the one about the sex worker and the trauma nurse?" Coach Beard asked.
"Yes," Richard answered, "you know it?"
"I keep up with the arts," Coach Beard said.
"I remember when Coach here took me to Woodstock ‘94 back when we were practically babies," Ted said. "I wound up wrangling a group of Beard and his new friends who were having what we call a bad trip."
"I think we had meth on accident," Coach Beard said, "Ted brought me back to the light as always.
"Always will, big guy," Ted said.
Richard felt Jan move his arm around Richard's back and forced himself to not grin like a madman still absolutely in his honeymoon phase with the other man.
"That's so amazing," Jan said, "What a beautiful friendship."
Beard jokingly said, "We tolerate each other."
"We're what you young folks call platonic soulmates," Ted said, "Speaking of soulmates the boss man herself Rebecca Welton has been giving me updates on the fanfiction that Nora has been reading about her fantasy books and some of it sounds so dang compelling."
"How does soulmates tie into that, coach?" Beard asked.
"Well in some of these fics Nora is reading the two soulmates have intricate tattoos that lead them to each other," Ted explained, "if that were the case I'd have a Kansas city hat and a big bushy beard."
"I'd have a mustache and some barbecue sauce," Beard laughed.
"What about you boys, what would your soul marks be for each other?" Coach Lasso asked.
When Richard looked at his boyfriend he was blushing.
"I don't know if Richard would call me this soulmate," Jan said awkwardly.
"I-" Richard hesitated, "I don't know that I believe in soulmates."
Richard assumed that he would have made everything awkward and bad but Ted Lasso and Coach Beard seemed unphased.
"Boyfriend tattoo then, what would yours be?" Ted said with a smile.
"Maybe a baby goat with a football," Jan said, "maybe a fine bottle of wine, perhaps these tattoos would be more convenient with a name and birthday added to them so you could find them faster."
Richard rolled his eyes, "mon cœur, that takes out the true love and drama of Nora's fanfiction. I think Jan's would be a stack of books or something."
"A stack of books?" Jan asked with biting sarcasm, "Oh how romantic."
"What?" Richard said, "you are very intelligent and well read."
"There is more to me than that," Jan said.
"Okay new topic," Beard said, breaking the tension, "Dream vacation?"
They continued their small talk until the coffees were finished and it was time for the pair to head to the theater.
"I'm sorry," Richard said as they walked hand in hand. "You are more than a stack of books."
"It is all right, liefde," Jan said, "You are more than a goat."
"I thought the coaches would make fun of me if I said they'd have to tattoo the whole universe onto me," Richard said.
"You are cheesy and that is cheating," Jan said, "I love you."
"I love you more," Richard answered.
The next day Richard approached Colin in the locker room.
"Did you return everyone's money from the bet yet?" Richard asked.
"I have it in my gym bag, actually," Colin said, "Why, boyo?"
"We have a winner," Richard said.
Colin looked at him confused.
Coach Lasso entered the locker room and came right up to Jan, "hey, Jan Maas, how was your movie, yesterday, myself and Beard thought it sounded good during our impromptu hang out."
Colin smacked his hand to his forehead. He should have bet on that.