Spoilers for all of Ted Lasso. Canon compliant-ish until "Carol of the Bells" (S2E4) and then it's not. (Everyone is still in character, though, so there are a few swear words.) This is my first time writing for this fandom and these characters. I love this show so much and was perplexed there weren't more fics about this pairing. I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute some thoughts and feels to the mix.

Also posted on AO3 under my user r_n_g_are_dead.

Thank you so much for reading! Comments are wholeheartedly appreciated.

It was the start of his second time through It's a Wonderful Life when Ted finally turned off the television. He sat up, bones cracking from laying awkwardly in the same position for a couple hours, and put his unfinished tumbler of whiskey on the coffee table next to the mini dartboard from Henry he had opened that same day.

None of the magnetic darts would stick to the board. Ted knew that was a sign of things to come.

Christmas had always been Ted's favorite holiday, but this year everything felt wrong. It was his first one away from Henry. His first one divorced from Michelle. His first one not spent in Kansas. Ted had mostly gotten used to being a fish out of water, but more and more he didn't even feel like he was comfortable in his own scales as it were, to continue the metaphor.

Here he was telling everyone they should be a goldfish when he himself was unable to forget pretty much anything these days. Hypocrite, thy name is Ted.

It was hard not being around family. Heck, it was hard not being around anyone. Usually Ted could count on Beard to be there when he needed someone, but he was off with Jane at Stonehenge. And, as much as Ted thought that was a downright awful thing for both Beard and Stonehenge (if anyone could knock over one of those rocks, it would be Jane), he couldn't fault Beard for wanting to spend the day with someone he had feelings for. Even if those feelings were all over the place. (Ted had already set a calendar reminder to check in on Beard the following morning.)

Leaving his Santa hat on, Ted slipped into his jacket; grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone; and left his apartment. Flat. Whatever.

It was surprisingly warm out when Ted stepped outside. Not warm enough that his jacket wasn't warranted, but warm enough that he wasn't going to freeze his tuchus off, as his childhood best friend Ben Horowitz's bubbe used to say.

Ted should have expected the pub to be closed until the evening, seeing as it was Christmas, but it was still a letdown all the same. He bit his lip and kept walking, telling himself it was better for him to stretch his legs than have another drink anyway.

The decorations in the shop windows were a nice distraction. They didn't make him think any less of being alone on Christmas by any means, but they sure were pretty.

It didn't take long for Ted to get lost. Though he had been living there for a while, he still wasn't super familiar with the lay of the land surrounding his apartment. Flat. (Dang it.) He knew how to get to Nelson Road and that was really all that mattered.

But here he was, on Christmas, as lost as a fourth wiseman who never made it to the manger. (Though a wise man would have stayed closer to his flat. YES!)

Ted scrunched his nose as he looked around for something familiar. He did see a bench. And while it wasn't a bench he ever sat on before, it was a bench where he could sit and look at a map on his phone.

Only instead of pulling up the map, he got a text from Michelle. It was a short video of Henry in their backyard flying his drone while waving at the camera and telling his dad how much he loved him and missed him.

Tears found their way down Ted's cheeks and into his mustache. He typed back a quick response that he loved and missed Henry too. Ted was wiping at his eyes when he heard from behind, "Coach Lasso?"

Trent Crimm, The Independent was walking toward his granddad's assisted living facility with a little less holiday cheer than usual. He had just dropped his daughter off at his ex-husband's after an enjoyable morning of her excitedly ripping open her presents and thanking her father for posting her letter to Santa in October because she got everything she had asked him for.

It wasn't his first Christmas as a divorced man, but it was his first one without Madeleine the entire day. And now that she, Maddy, was nearly five, she was old enough to understand that her dads weren't together and that was different from some of the other kids in her class. It wasn't the dads part that was the problem, it was the divorced part. (To which Trent thought, pessimistically, just give it time and some of those kids will have two of everything too.)

Maddy clung to Trent's leg like a koala when his ex, Isaiah, tried to pick her up to take her into his flat.

"Noooooooooooo, I want to stay with Papa," she said firmly through a flood of tears. "He can't be alone on Christmas."

It broke Trent's heart to see her trying to be stoic about it. Her stubbornness came from him even though she was biologically Isaiah's.

Trent ran a hand through her hair as he flashed Isaiah an apologetic smile. They had been best friends long before they were husbands and still remained friendly since they were co-parents. Was it a punch to the gut that Isaiah had already remarried less than two years after their divorce? Yes. But, Xander was a good man and Trent couldn't fault Isaiah for moving on. They were good parents to Maddy and Trent knew she was safe and loved on her days and nights with them.

"I won't be alone, darling," Trent said softly as he patted Maddy on the back. "You have fun with Daddy and Xander and I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Maddy looked up at him with watery eyes, nodded before she unlatched herself from his trousers, and slowly walked past Isaiah, disappearing into the flat where Trent could hear Xander make a big deal about how happy he was to spend Christmas with Maddy.

"So… not alone this Christmas?" Isaiah asked with a grin.

"Sorry?" Trent asked, shifting where he stood.

Isaiah cocked his head. "You just told Maddy you wouldn't be alone today."

"Oh, right," Trent said, adjusting his glasses. "Well, it got her inside, didn't it?"

Isaiah nodded slowly, understanding the little white lie. "Will you be okay?"

Trent nodded and forced a smile. "Happy Christmas, Isaiah. To you and Xander both."

"You too, Trent," Isaiah said with a sad smile and shut the door.

Christmas had never been Trent's favorite holiday, but he came to love it when he had a family. It was the first time he had a Christmas tree since he moved out of his parents' home. It was the first time he ever kissed someone under mistletoe. It was the first time he understood the joy of giving and watching his daughter take everything in and 100% believe with all her heart about Santa and the magic of Christmas. He hadn't been a grinch before, but his heart felt fuller around the holidays when he had someone to spend them with.

But now there was no one.

Trent walked out of his ex's building and made a left. It was convenient Isaiah had found a flat not too far from his own. Made shuffling Maddy back and forth between the two that much easier. Plus, the park between the two of them was great. Plenty of room for Maddy to run around and wear herself out while Trent sat on a bench and went over notes for a story or jotted down book ideas.

As he passed the park that day, he noticed some familiar khakis and a mustache he had gotten used to seeing in the past year. On instinct, he pulled out his notebook.

"Coach Lasso?"