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and i’m known for giving love away

Chapter 9: Epilogue

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It’s three months later, three months since Jamie’s breakdown, and their making up, it’s been good. Been fucking incredible actually. And if he’d thought that what they’d had before had been nice? This whole being in a demonstrative, loving relationship thing was fucking heaven. 

Despite assuring them repeatedly that he actually had felt loved before - that was part of the problem, he’d felt so cared about that it made him feel like he was going delusional - Roy and Keeley were very determined to never again let Jamie doubt how much he meant to them. Better still, he was allowed to act on every fond feeling that he’d been tamping down, and yeah, it had just been perfect. Not to mention Sexy December 28th. Jesus.

Jamie’s naked and lying on his stomach facing the foot of the bed, finally reading the Da Vinci Code. It’s a frankly terrible book about a holy grail and creepy monks and the Virgin Mary, and Roy swears it’s fucking brilliant. Honestly, Jamie is judging him a bit, but his enthusiasm is pretty endearing. 

Roy’s sat leaning against the headboard, boxers on, one hand absentmindedly squeezing Jamie’s right foot as he browses on his laptop, thumb pressing into Jamie’s arch just right. Roy, Jamie has happily learned, adores taking care of Jamie’s feet. Keeley’s in the en suite doing her face. She’s got a product launch party tonight, but she’s taking Rebecca as her date, so Roy and Jamie are off the hook. 

They’re planning on ordering takeout from that burger place that Keeley doesn’t like, and then Jamie’s hoping Roy’ll be up for round two, old man that he is. Though, he admits, just making out in front of the telly, with no urgency to it? Sometimes that's pretty fucking great.

And if it does get Jamie too worked up every now and then, well, Roy watching Jamie jerk off in the shower? Pretty fucking great too. What can he say? He's 25.

Roy swats Jamie on the thigh. “Oi, come up here and tell me what you think about this?” 

Jamie grumbles, but he crawls up to sit next to him and looks at the laptop screen. “It’s a bed?” It is, indeed, a bed, covered in dark purple fabric.

“Yeah, but what do you think of it?” Roy pushes. He’s playing with options on the website, flicking between two massive bedhead add-ons.

“I mean it looks good? But what’s wrong with the one you’ve got? Got good memories of this one.” Jamie smirks, patting the padded pink headboard. Roy just rolls his eyes.

“Well, Jamie,” he drawls, “If you’re going to be moving in this summer, I thought maybe it was time to get a bigger bed. One that'll fit us all more comfortably. This is a custom size. From Sweden. There’s an 8 week lead time. It’ll probably get held up at customs. Fucking Brexit.” And Jamie’s heart is immediately in his throat.

“Roy!” Keeley shouts from the bathroom, and then she’s standing in the doorway glaring daggers at him. “Royston-” 

“Not actually my name.” 

“Royston Fucking Kent. Have you learnt nothing? Remember when had that very serious conversation about using our words, and not making assumptions, and being very fucking explicit about what we’re asking?”

And Roy actually flushes, looks sheepish. “Sorry, babe.”

Keeley just shakes her head. “Do you maybe want to try that again?” 

Roy turns to Jamie, who’s starting to remember how to breathe again. “Jamie Tartt. This is me, Roy Kent, clearly and explicitly asking you if you would consider moving in with Keeley and I when the season’s over? We’ll have to be careful about how it looks, but we would really like it if we could always have you around. If that’s something you'd want, too.”

“Yes.” It took him a second, but Jamie’s caught up, and he doesn’t have to think about his answer. “Yes, I want that. I definitely fucking want that!” 

And then he launches himself at Roy, kissing him, and pulls away to kiss Keeley too, who’s moved to join them on the bed. He hopes Rebecca won’t mind her being late. “I really, really fucking want that.”

Notes:

And we’re done. Sort of. I already have one fic in this same universe at 8k and nearly finished, and a bunch of half written timestamps and codas on the way.

The biggest thank you ever goes to Hall who edited this for me, suggested a ton of missing scenes that doubled it in length, and pointed out my many terrible habits when it comes to grammar and structure that I am attempting to break. It would, both literally and metaphorically be half the fic it is without her.

And a huge thank you to Cass and Maria too, who are both excellent and prolific writers themselves and humoured my new writer excitement very kindly, whilst also giving me tons of feedback, tips and general cheerleading.

Lastly thank you so much to everyone who commented, it’s embarrassing how obsessed I got over comments, but they really did make me very happy! So if you were umming and ahhing about leaving one, please do! Especially if you go back and re-read the whole thing!

Like I said I have a few half formed codas (some from different POVs) and a lot of ideas for future ones. But if there’s something you’d specifically like to see from my trio, leave me a prompt in the comments and I’ll see what I can do.

And feel free to reblog it on tumblr here, or say hi over there too!

Last few notes for you:

  • The Da Vinci Code is not a good book, but it is an enjoyable one in an utter trash way. Given I just watched most of a terrible series called Strike Back: Retribution because Phil Dunster is in, and enjoyed it whilst also knowing it was terrible, I cannot judge Roy. Unlike Roy though I am recommending you all avoid watching Strike Back. Phil is lovely in it, and his character is probably the only truly likeable one, but...there was an extremely traumatic death at the end that I’m still not recovered from. Anyway, the point is Roy has terrible taste, and I judge him, but I also judge myself.
  • Roy does not have a foot fetish, per se, but he does have a competence kink about Jamie’s skills as a player, and those feet are Very Important to him.
  • Based on the complicated timeline I backed myself into (Ted arrives early Jan 2020. He celebrated Sam’s birthday in mid January, 1.02. He presumably would have celebrated Jamie’s birthday if he’d been aware of it, if it had occurred after he arrived. Jamie is said to be 23 in 1.04, set Feb 5 2020. I said he was 24 in a chapter set around Sept 2021, and didn’t cover his birthday between July and November. Ergo, My Jamie was born somewhere between Dec 1996 and Jan 1997.
  • I have decided that Jamie’s birthday, in my fic, is very early January, like on or before the 5th (Ted’s arrival) - so he’s turned 25 since breakup/makeup. He’s a Capricorn, friends! Fun fact: this headcanon really adds a special flavor to Jamie’s behaviour regarding Sam’s birthday party - if his was a week earlier, or even in Ted’s first week before Ted noticed, and no one cared, vs what Ted did for Sam.
  • This is set in say, early March 2022, looking towards moving in late May or early June. By July 2022, they’ll have been doing this thing together for a year.
  • There would be a lot of logistical difficulties with Jamie moving in, for one thing, the press and being discovered. He’d have to keep his place as a smokescreen, but just… never sleep there? That is kind of Roy’s deal, too, though obviously he doesn’t need a cover, he just doesn’t like his house. Maybe I’ll write the move in more detail in the future, maybe that won’t actually be an interesting coda for anyone other than myself and Hall, who apparently live for minutiae. For instance, there’s an unresolved note in the google doc where the two of us discuss the current housing market in London and what that might mean for house prices and who is likely to own vs rent and whether anyone would sell. We’re wild.
  • Carpe Diem is the Swedish custom bed company, if you’re curious, and they’d get a Sandö Emperor Long. Here’s a pic of the bed options (one) (two) (and the price.)
  • Feel free to ask literally any other questions about details or meanings or anything at all. I can talk about these people forever.

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