Fanfic Writer

It would be one thing if Roy was just his rival. But Jamie can’t ignore the fact that he’s so much more than that. He looks up to the old dick. Admires him.

Thinks he’s probably one of the best-looking blokes on the team. Probably in London. Maybe even in England.

Needless to say, Jamie’s beyond jealous. He just isn’t sure who he’s more jealous of, Roy or Keeley.

One night, he had a dream — a dream that they’d all had a threesome. Just a dream, he tells himself over and over, trying to swallow down any longing he had whenever he saw the two of them together. Just a dream.

Instead of lusting over them like a bloody lovesick puppy, he’s decided to focus on jealousy, giving Roy more dirty looks than normal, even shooting a couple glares at Keeley — but only when he knows she wasn’t looking. After all, it isn’t her fault.

But the pining hasn’t stopped.

“So, what the fuck’s up with you and Roy, then, anyway?” Jamie asks Keeley one day after training, pulling off his jersey and not-so-subtly flexing his abs. He’s proud of his six pack. Not everyone on the team has one. Roy probably doesn’t, being a fucking hairy forty year-old dickhead.

That’s a lie. Jamie knows Roy’s still fit as hell.

Keeley gives Jamie a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

Jamie shrugs as casually as possible, leaning against his locker in a (hopefully) tantalizing manner. “I mean… do you actually like him? Or are you just trying to make me jealous?” He flashes her his signature cocky smirk.

Keeley grins back, a teasing grin that Jamie knows all too well, a grin that sends shivers down his spine. “Seems to be working, doesn’t it?”

Jamie chuckles, feeling a rush of adrenaline as he banters back. “Nah, hardly. You know me. I’ve got plenty of options.”

Keeley rolls her eyes, prompting Jamie to continue with that same smirk. “Still care about you, though, innit? Want to make sure you’re not making a mistake with that hairy old prune.”

Jamie gestures backwards towards Roy, who’s at the other end of the locker room, clearly watching them with a deadpan stare. Good, he thinks to himself. Let him get pissed.

Keeley’s grin fades into a fond smile. “Well, I care about you, too, Jamie,” she admits, and the sincerity in her voice makes the striker’s heart race. “But… I do like Roy.”

And just like that, his heart sinks. He’d been half-hoping she’d admit she was just dating him to make him jealous. But deep down, Jamie knows. They’re fucking falling for each other, and Jamie’s left on the sidelines.

He just can’t believe he fucked this up so bad with Keeley.

Quickly, though, he masks his disappointment with a scoff. “What’s there to like about him? He’s basically me, but… older. Grumpier. Way less attractive.”

Keeley gives him a look. “Jamie…”

“No, really,” Jamie interrupts, smirking a little. “I mean, if that’s what makes you happy, fine, but…”

“Jamie,” Keeley cuts in, her smile fading into a more serious expression. “He makes me happy. All right?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Jamie grumbles, rolling his eyes slightly as he turns back to his locker, starting to rummage through it. “When you get out of the whole honeymoon phase and inevitably dump him, give me a call.”

Keeley doesn’t even respond that time. Jamie’s jaw clenches as he starts rummaging around in his locker, packing everything into his bag as he prepares to leave.

“Oh, hi, babe!”

Keeley’s sweet voice snaps Jamie out of it. He already knows what he’s going to see if he turns around, but his masochistic side forces him to glance over.

Roy leans down and presses a kiss to Keeley’s lips. Jamie wants to scream. And yet, he can’t look away.

“Ready to go?” he murmurs against her lips. His voice, sweet and tender but still with that same gruffness, is so different than it is with anyone else.

Jamie wishes Roy would speak to him that way, but he’s royally fucked that one up, too. Not that he ever had a chance with Kent.

“Yeah,” Keeley answers, her eyes sparkling in a way that makes Jamie’s blood boil.

The old prick wraps an arm around her. She leans into it with that perfect smile.

And then, as if he can read Jamie’s goddamn mind, Roy suddenly locks eyes with him.

Jamie clenches his jaw and gives Roy a sharp glare, trying to hide the fact that just one look can make his heart beat a little faster.

Roy’s gaze only remains on his for another moment before he turns back around, guiding Keeley out of the locker room. And now Jamie really wants to scream, because he hears her giggle, and he even catches a glimpse of the old man’s mouth quirking up into one of those rare smiles.

Eventually, though, Roy pulls back, planting one last kiss to his girlfriend’s forehead. “Right, then. Let’s go.”

Keeley puts a gentle hand on his arm. “Oi. You sure you’re okay to drive? We can call a cab.”

Roy gives her a deadpan look, though his eyes hold a hint of amusement. “I’ve had two glasses of wine.”

Keeley just smirks, her eyes sparkling. “Love it when you get all serious with me, babe.”

Roy breaks into a gruff chuckle, then just throws one arm around her shoulders. And just like that, they exit the restaurant.

He should’ve listened to her. He should’ve fucking listened. Why the fuck didn’t he just fucking listen?

He wasn’t drunk. Roy’s alcohol tolerance was certainly high enough to withstand two glasses of wine without hindering his ability to drive. He’d been confident in that. So fucking confident.

It had all happened so fast. The crash. Keeley’s scream. The impact. The airbags.

“Are you okay?” he’d asked her, like a fucking idiot. She’d nodded breathlessly, not taking her eyes off the other car.

The other driver, a young woman — about his age — had been slumped against the steering wheel. Unconscious.

“Oh my God,” Keeley had gasped, immediately getting out of the car. Roy had followed her in a daze as she kept repeating those three words like a mantra. “Oh my God… oh my God…”

Keeley had called 911. Roy had just stood there and watched. Watched as the ambulance took the young woman away. Watched as the cops showed up, asked who had been driving.

Watched as Keeley hesitantly pointed to him.

Watched as he was led into the police car. Watched from the window as he’d been taken down to the station. Watched the breathalyzer numbers slowly increase as he blew into it.

He didn’t dare to say a word.

Any normal person would be reeling from all this. Freaking out. Crying, probably.

I must be a fucking psychopath, Roy thinks to himself, because he’s just fucking standing there.

Watching.

“A walk on the beach?” Keeley asks, looking between them to judge their reactions.

Roy nods in approval. Jamie, on the other hand, wrinkles his nose. “A bit basic for a first date, don’t you think?”

Keeley sighs with mock frustration and crosses her arms. “All right, then. You two have any ideas?”

“Oh, I’ve got ideas.” Jamie grins mischievously, then playfully nudges Roy again. “A hot tub, for example.

Roy wrinkles his nose and looks down at Jamie with mock disgust. “That’s not a fucking date, Tartt.”

Jamie feigns offense. “Oi! Anything’s a date if you’re brave enough to call it that.”

Keeley just smiles fondly. “Well, I’ll use any excuse to see you two shirtless…” She winks, then turns to Jamie. “But I have to agree with Roy, babe. That’s not really a date.”

Jamie frowns, though it looks more like a pout than anything else. “Fine.” He looks up at Roy, who looks just a tad too smug that Keeley took his side. “What do you want to do, old man? Let me guess — birdwatching? Pickleball? Other old man things?”

Keeley stifles a giggle. Roy just deadpans.

“Picnic,” he finally answers, still giving Jamie a look. He lightly jabs his finger into the younger man’s chest. “And I don’t wanna hear that it’s ‘too basic.’ We’ll bring food, hike to some fucking mountaintop, have a picnic, watch the sun set, and go home.”

Keeley beams. “That’s bloody romantic, Roy! I’m impressed!”

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it,” Roy grumbles under his breath, still not tearing his gaze away from the Jamie. “Tartt?”

He’d quit rehab. Relapsed. Didn’t even seem to care about recovery anymore. He’d been spotted at the last City match, drunk off his ass, screaming at the ref, even yelling slurs at the players who upset him.

Needless to say, Jamie’s not okay.

He used to think it was pathetic to cry, or to show any real kind of emotion. He still does, to some extent. But he isn’t sure he could hold it back even if he tried.

Luckily, there are two people in this world who make him feel like it’s okay to be vulnerable. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to express himself freely, to let go of his cocky persona and just let himself feel.

Jamie settles himself into Roy’s lap, his arms wrapping around the other man’s waist. Roy’s hand automatically comes to rest on the small of Jamie’s back. And without a word, Jamie buries his face in the crook of Roy’s neck, letting the tears stream down his cheeks.

Roy doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t have to. He just tightens his grip on Jamie, sliding his other arm around the younger man’s waist while his hand continues to rub gentle circles on his back.

Keeley sits right beside Jamie, leaning up to press a kiss to the top of his head. Her hand comes to rest on his scalp, stroking his hair soothingly as he cries.

“I just…” Jamie sniffles and mumbles into Roy’s shoulder, clinging to him like he’s a lifeline. “I just feel so f-fucking stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” Keeley murmurs quietly, her fingers tangling in his hair. “He manipulated you, baby. That’s a reflection on him, okay? Not on you.”

“But he’s been doing that my whole life,” Jamie argues, the tears not stopping for even a second. His voice wavers. “Like, how did I not… expect it?”

Roy just tightens his grip on Jamie, hating to hear him so upset and wanting to kill the bastard who made him feel this way. Keeley, on the other hand, keeps stroking his hair, going quiet.

“It’s like…” Jamie lifts his head for a moment to wipe his eyes, then just buries it in Roy’s neck again. “He never showed any willingness to change before, so I… I thought it was real.”

“And that’s okay,” Keeley reassures him gently, shifting a little closer to rest her other hand on Jamie’s arm. “Anyone would. You did nothing wrong, Jamie.”

“I know, but…” Jamie curls up a little more in Roy’s lap, sounding completely broken — which breaks Roy’s heart and causes him to tighten his grip even more, by the way.

“I just thought that… maybe I could… finally… have a real dad.”

“Oh… Jamie…” Keeley immediately wraps her arms around him from behind, basically squishing him in the middle of her and Roy. She knows how much Jamie loves this — how much he not-so-secretly craves affection from the two of them — and how much it helps when he’s feeling so down.

Jamie’s sobs continue, his body shaking as he clings to a silent Roy. This isn’t unusual. Roy is usually pretty quiet when it comes to comforting people. He doesn’t think he’s any good with words; he’s too blunt to try and work through people’s emotions in a sensitive way. He’s tried before, but he’s always afraid of making it worse.

He can’t stand to see the people that he loves upset. So, he takes on the role of the silent protector, the rock, the one who will hold them while they cry, the one who’s just there to listen.

But Keeley’s good with words. Keeley’s good at navigating emotions — both her own and other people’s. That’s why Roy usually leaves it to her.

But sometimes, even she can be rendered speechless.

“I wish he was dead.”

Those words, spoken so freely with almost no hesitation, cause Keeley’s hand to freeze on the back of Jamie’s head for a moment. 

The silence washes over the three of them for a couple moments, only punctuated by Jamie’s sniffles. Keeley, after taking some time to think about what to say, opens her mouth to tell him that’s a valid way to feel… only to hear a deep grumble.

“So do I.”

Both Keeley and Jamie snap their gazes to Roy. The older man just sits there, holding Jamie in his lap, his face completely stoic.

The room seems to still as the silence washes over them once more. And then, quietly accepting Roy’s sentiment, Jamie nods, moving to rest his head back on the other man’s shoulder as he lets out a deep exhale.

Keeley finally finds her voice again, fingers starting to run through his soft hair again. “You don’t need him to be okay, Jamie,” she murmurs, leaning in to press a kiss to his temple. “You’ve got us.”

“Yeah,” Roy agrees, his voice still gruff but undeniably serious.

It still felt new to him, the whole polyamory thing. But like any good, totally sane partner would, Roy had done research.

Hours of it.

He’d heard about “group kisses.” He’d even seen one in a film once a few years back. It had looked a bit unusual to him back then, but now, he wanted nothing more than to taste both his partners’ lips at the same time.

But how the fuck was he supposed to do that? Just pull them both in, one on each arm? Smash their faces together and pray their noses don’t get in the way? Make a fucking triangle with their lips?

Not knowing how to do it was bothering Roy more than he cared to admit. So, he’d spent a couple hours researching the different ways to do a group kiss with three people. And now, he felt totally prepared to romance the shit out of his partners.

Totally prepared. What could go wrong?

Roy waited until after dinner to make his move. The three of them were just sitting at the table, Keeley chattering away about something she’d read online. In all honesty, Roy wasn’t paying attention.

Once she had finished her story and a comfortable silence enveloped the three of them, Roy interrupted it.

“Oi.” He stands up from his chair, pushing down any residual doubts about whether or not he was doing this right. “C’mere.”

He gently grabs each of their arms with one hand — Keeley on his left, Jamie on his right — and guides them over to the couch.

Jamie, the little shit, just grins as he settles down beside Roy. “What’s this all about?”

Roy just raises an eyebrow at Jamie, figuring he’ll start by shutting the little prick up. Without a word, he leans forward, cupping Jamie’s cheek. The younger man immediately leans into the kiss that follows — slower than their usual kisses. Gentler.

Jamie’s hand comes up to the back of Roy’s neck. Roy deepens the kiss.

When Roy pulls back, Jamie almost whines, like he’s missing the contact. But he doesn’t have time to complain much, because he’s watching Roy turn his face to the left, his lips meeting Keeley’s with that same tenderness.

Keeley returns it just as eagerly, even daring to slide her tongue between Roy’s parted lips. The older man lets out a breath, his eyes closing.

It’s then that Keeley’s hand comes up to rest on top of Jamie’s, right on the back of Roy’s neck. When the kiss is broken, Roy looks between them, then slowly wraps one arm around each of them, pulling them closer.

He doesn’t have to say a word. They get the message. Keeley throws a leg over Roy’s lap and captures Jamie’s lips. Jamie reciprocates… and then opens his mouth a little wider and pulls back from Keeley just enough to leave a small gap.

He cracks one eye open, the corner of his mouth half-upturning into a semi-smirk, his challenging gaze meeting Roy’s.

That’s all the motivation Roy needs. He tightens his grip on Jamie’s waist and yanks him closer, then slips his tongue into the gap.

Jamie gasps, his eyes squeezing shut as his brain attempts to process the fact that the two hottest people in the world are both kissing him at the same bloody time.

Roy and Keeley’s tongues intermingle inside Jamie’s mouth. It’s messy; it’s not perfect, and at one point, Keeley’s nose almost pushes into Jamie’s eyelid, and the younger man has to pull away. But it’s their first time, and that’s good enough for Roy.

They’re all breathing heavily by that point. Keeley’s face is flushed, and there’s a noticeable bulge between Jamie’s legs.

Roy almost laughs. Horny idiots.

But, in this case, they’re not the only ones.

“Right, then,” Roy says, breaking the silence as he stands up, the hint of a smirk on his face. “Bedroom?”

Keeley and Jamie both practically leap off the couch like they’ve just won the fucking lottery. And this time, Roy does laugh, just a little bit.

“Keep up, old man,” Jamie taunts playfully, grabbing one of Roy’s hands to help pull him up. Keeley’s already halfway to the bedroom.

Roy just shakes his head in amusement as he gets to his feet. “I say one word and you lose your shit.”

Jamie just grins unapologetically and starts to practically drag the older man out of the room. “When the word is ‘bedroom,’ yeah.”

Roy rolls his eyes playfully, but he follows Jamie to the bedroom. “Fucking idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Jamie smirks and grabs Roy’s other hand now, too. He backs into the bedroom, then flops down right next to an already shirtless Keeley, trying to yank Roy on top of him. “C’mon. We haven’t got all night.”