Hey guys, so I know I said this series was finished, but ever since I got a comment saying that the person was surprised to learn that Ted had made the first move with Trent, well, their first kiss has plagued me until I finally caved and wrote it.
Of course it happens before 'Panic' so I'm slotting it into first place in the series so its in chronological order, but it was written after 'At Ease."
I also have an alternate title for this; "I Kissed a Boy and I Liked It" - I think its hilarious XD
Also I'm doing a second watch through with a friend, and I'm still uber obsessed :D
Hope you all enjoy this addition, let me know! Much love xox

PS. I want to give a shout out to klainelover120498 - it brings a smile to my face to see your name in my email notifications, thank you for continuously supporting my works over the years. Sending you love xox

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

It was the first game of the new season, and they'd almost won the Premier League last season, so it was a big deal for the team, and the supporters for Richmond to win this one straight off the bat. Of course Ted wasn't about winning or losing, it didn't matter to him, but he was one of the very few who felt that way.

It had been a close game, and of course it had been against West Ham, who was no longer owned by Rupert, but Richmond had serious history with them now, and that only made them more determined to win. Ted and Nate had really put their heads together in the second half of the game to come up with a plan, which had worked quite well, evening out the score to four-four. Jamie, the god send, had received a penalty kick with one minute left on the clock, and everyone had told him to take it – no one had wanted to jeopardise the game at such a critical moment.

The crowd had gone mental as West Ham's goalie dived and the ball hit the net, securing the win for Richmond. The sea of blue and red jerseys roared in joy, the stadium suddenly louder than a music concert as shouts, cheers and whistles filled the air after a few rounds of, "Jamie Tartt doo-doo-doo-doo-doo."

After an enthusiastic display on the field, the boys skipped all the way into the locker room, the coaches followed, with Ted bringing up the rear. The sight of the crowd showing so much love and support for the team filled Ted up with bubbles of happiness, feeling light inside, and so proud of the fellas. The unbridled happiness and enthusiasm of the team in the locker room only served to bring Ted closer to cloud nine, how could he feel anything else?

The Boss, Keeley, Higgins and Trent sprung through the door then, and it was a proper party now everyone was there. A few of the boys started squirting each other with water bottles, and Ted jumped behind the protection of his office window to narrowly avoid being hit. Apparently Trent thought that was a good idea too, joining Ted behind the glass, laughing and tucking his luscious hair behind an ear.

"Close, but you missed me, Colin!" Trent shouted through the doorway, and then ducked back in behind the window as a forceful splash of water hit the glass in front of his face.

The chuckle that came from Trent in response filled Ted with warmth, and then he turned to face Ted with that smile, and Ted forgot how to breathe for a moment as his own grin expanded exponentially.

"Fantastic game, Ted, I had absolute faith that you and the team could-"

Ted opened his eyes, realising that Trent had stopped talking mid sentence, only to find that he was the reason for it. He was sure that his expression matched Trent's as he disconnected his lips from Trent's warm, full ones, hands falling from soft cheeks.

Oh boy.

"Called it," Beard's voice cut through the deafening silence, "you owe me fifty bucks, Nate."

Ted wrenched his eyes away from a timidly blushing Trent, to see Coach Beard looking smug in his computer chair, then in the opposite direction to the office window, where every set of eyes was on him and Trent. He didn't know what to do, or what he was feeling, it was completely unexpected, and he'd done it in front of everyone.

"Yeah, Coach!" it was Isaac who called it out, and the rest of the boys followed immediately after, showing their support, some rooting for Ted, and others for Trent, both, or one then the other.

Eventually Roy told them to go about their business, for which Ted was grateful. He felt blessed to have such a supportive team, and people, in his life, but he was still trying to process the fact that he'd just kissed Trent Crimm.

Trent recovered quicker than Ted did, "Can we-do you-would you like to go somewhere quieter to talk?" he asked finally, cheeks still rosy, and a coy smile playing on his sweet, very kissable lips.

Ted nodded, not sure where exactly his voice had gone, and followed Trent out of the offices, down the corridor and into another room. He must have still looked shell-shocked because Trent was the first to speak again.

"Are you okay, Ted?"

Ted wet his lips with his tongue, mouth feeling dry, "Uh, honestly I don't know why I did that, just ya know, when you smile like that, it's infectious, and, uh, gosh, I'm sorry, Trent. I don't normally do that…"

He stopped talking when Trent put a comforting, solid hand on his shoulder, "It's alright, you don't need to apologise," Trent assured him, "it, um, it wasn't exactly unwelcome," he admitted, cheeks darkening again as he pulled his hand back to clasp with his other one, and ducked his head a little.

God, Trent was adorable when he blushed. Wait. Rewind.

A flurry of thoughts, feelings, and images rushed through Ted's mind, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, they seemed meaningless alone, but put together and they created quite the picture. Oh. Well, he could honestly say that he didn't foresee that coming.

Ted rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath, "Well, I reckon that I should be grateful for that, cause, uh, Trent, well, see…I think I might have feelings for you…that I didn't realise myself until just now."

He saw something light up in Trent's features, excitement? Hope?

When he spoke, it was clear that Trent was attempting to contain whatever overpowering emotion was rallying to burst out of him, "I-I'm absolutely flattered, Ted…would it be too overwhelming for you right now if I admitted to reciprocating said feelings?"

"No, no, that's…um…wow," his mind was racing a million miles an hour, but it was also stuck in peak hour traffic at the same time, "sorry, just tryna process all this. Kinda snuck up on me, like Christmas. I've, uh, never kissed a fella before, didn't know I was interested in kissin' one, well apparently one in particular…you."

"I understand," Trent nodded with a small smile, "nothing has to come of this if you don't want it to," he paused to swallow, "it's up to you, and you don't have to decide right now. Take your time, figure out-"

"Trent…"

"Yes, Ted?"

Ted was mighty confused and a little shocked, but what he was feeling for Trent – now that he'd worked out what the feelings meant – seemed pretty familiar, which made it a whole lot easier to figure out what he wanted, "I think I want to kiss you again. Would that be-?"

"Absolutely, yes."

Trent's enthusiasm only made Ted more sure that he wanted to lock lips with that man again. He took a step into Trent's space, smelling his musky, floral cologne underneath the lingering scent of being in the stands at a football game, and timidly looked into brown eyes. Trent brought his face within an inch of Ted's, feeling a warm breath of air on his lips, which snapped something inside of him. He held back at the last second, a hairbreadth away from Trent's mouth, hesitating but uncertain why, until the desire pushed him that extra millimetre and their mouths connected.

The kiss was slow, timid, experimental, and far too short in Ted's opinion. He didn't hesitate in reinitiating the kiss as soon as the first – second – one was over, this time Trent's palm came up to lightly cup his jaw. Ted rested a hand on Trent's narrow waist as his tongue flicked out against lush lips.

"Mmm, goodness, why do you taste so delicious?"

Trent's lips curved into that heart stopping half smirk, "It's just my cherry chapstick," he confessed with a light chuckle.

"Cherry? Hmm, maybe I better have another taste…"

How had he not realised how much he wanted to kiss Trent before? Though why would he have? He'd thought that he was just plain old straight, but his brain – and heart – had decided to throw him a curve ball in the form of one Trent Crimm, and he was not complaining, no siree, merely adjusting. The man was rather stunning, in looks and personality, he was intelligent, and gentle, and…boy he really should have noticed this massive neon sign that said he had a giant crush on Trent. How'd he miss that?

"I'll second that," Trent agreed, easing them back into another tender kiss.

Cherry chapstick or not, Ted was pretty confident that he was thoroughly enjoying kissing Trent, and maybe he wanted to be able to do that every day for the foreseeable future – at the very least. The rest he could figure out later.