Sunday, 8th January 2023

"Excuse me," a voice called from nearby. "Mr Kent, Mr Tartt?"

Roy blinked, realising he'd fallen asleep too. He looked down and jostled Jamie until the younger man turned sleep-heavy eyes up to him.

"Wha?"

"We're here…wherever here is." Roy looked out the window but all he could see was a nice hotel carpark.

Jamie pulled away and stretched. "Thanks, Syd. I didn't know the deal so I got you a room too so you could rest before you have to get back to Ms Welton."

"Thank you, Mr Tartt, that is appreciated. But Ms Welton told me to stay with you until you wished to return home."

"Mint, let me know if you need clothes or anything."

"I keep a bag in the boot."

"Sensible man," Jamie said, pulling away entirely and sliding across the seat. "Come on, Roy."

"Wait," Roy said. "Where are we?"

"Gretna Green," Jamie told him, opening the door and swearing at the burst of cold air.

"What?" Roy asked, climbing out of the car and swearing at the snow on the ground and the frigid air after the warm car.

Jamie laughed and went to the boot. When Syd opened it, Jamie grabbed both of their bags and nodded at the hotel entrance. Roy glared at him and turned to walk, stiffly, across the pavement between the car and door…all of fifteen steps until he was again in warm air. Roy paused, waiting for Jamie to walk in and then followed the younger man over to the counter. The person standing there looked bright eyed for…Roy looked at his watch…3am.

"Hello, my name is Amy, how may I assist you this morning?"

"I made a reservation yesterday," Jamie said, smiling at her winningly. "One under Kart and the other under Syd."

"Of course," she typed at her screen for a moment. "Do you need assistance with your luggage?"

"No," Jamie said, "but, Syd will need to park the car."

She smiled and reached under the desk handing Syd a small remote control. "This will get you into the secure parking, please use bay 5."

"Certainly," Syd said with a wave and walked away.

"I'll book Syd in when he returns, we have you in our best suite. I'll take you up and show you the amenities."

"Just the key and location tonight please," Roy said, wanting to get Jamie back into bed and sleep.

"Can we do the amenities in the morning proper?" Jamie asked. "It's been a long trip. Also, Syd will be staying the whole visit instead of just tonight, I hope that's not a problem."

"Of course not," she said. "I'm on until 10am, if you need anything please call down but I will make a note for the person replacing me regarding the amenities. Would you like some food?"

Jamie looked tempted but also tired. "No, we'll order breakfast when we wake up, thank you, Amy."

She directed them to their suite, handed over the keys and reminded them of the number to call her should they need anything. As soon as they were through the door, Jamie flipped the security bolt over, dropped his bags and walked towards the bedroom, one hand holding the edge of Roy's shirt. They stripped down to their jocks and slid into bed. Jamie curled himself around Roy.

"Gretna Green?" Roy asked, yawning.

"We'll talk about it when the sun is up."

"I can't get married without Ruth and Phoebe."

"Mmmkay," Jamie said, going limp and snoring a few beats later. Roy sighed and reached over, finding the remote for the curtains and closing them before he closed his eyes.

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Roy woke up to an empty bed. He stretched out, wincing at his knee protesting the trip and sleeping in the car. He stretched it as best he could and would have asked Jamie to rub it for him, but he didn't know where the other man was. Roy climbed from the bed, going into the adjoining bathroom and taking care of his insistent bladder before washing his hands and venturing out into the rest of the room. He found Jamie holding an arrangement of white orchids and his eyes widened.

"You're not supposed to be up yet, I'm not done."

Roy looked at the spread of coloured paper squares on the table, the bottle of rosé from the brand that he kept on hand because it was his favourite for his yoga and rosé nights. Jamie was holding the arrangement and had another two on the floor inside of the door. "Want me to go take a shower?"

"Mint, see you soon."

Roy backed out of the room.

"And I'll give your leg a massage later too," Jamie called to his back.

Roy let out a happy breath and went into the bathroom. He spotted their empty bags next to the cupboard. He grabbed a new pair of jocks and went into the bathroom, turning the water on hot and then thinking better of it and washed quickly before starting to fill up the bathtub. There was a selection of bath oils and bombs so Roy picked two that sounded nice and put them into the water. He set the water and stepped into the bathtub before it could get too full. He was able to lower himself in gently when it wasn't full. It wasn't as good as stepping into a nice hot bath but it was safer. He rested back into the side of the bath, stretching his legs and wondering if he could convince Jamie to join him before whatever was being planned in the main room. He let the heat soak into his knee, his back, and the other tight muscles around his body. He toed off the tap and closed his eyes. At some point later, coming back from allowing his brain to float, he heard Jamie come into the room.

"For a man who wasn't into baths, you look fucking happy."

Roy opened his eyes and looked at Jamie. "They are good for my knee."

"Sore?"

Roy nodded. "Not so much now, want to come in and join me?"

Jamie bit his lip. "Yes, but breakfast will get cold."

"Breakfast?"

"I ordered us breakfast; it's waiting on the table."

"I'll get out," Roy said, sitting up and bracing his hands on the side of the bath.

"Wait," Jamie said, stepping closer.

"We can come back after," Roy told him, hoisting himself up on his good leg and getting steady.

"I'm holding you to that," Jamie told him, leering at the water sluicing down Roy's chest and legs. Roy felt his cock respond to the look but ignored it to reach out for Jamie. The younger man held his hand as he stepped out of the bath. Stealing a long kiss as Roy was reaching for a towel.

"Should I get dressed?" Roy asked.

Jamie looked down at his own shorts and t-shirt. "I should have made better plans for clothes."

Roy squinted at him. "I'll wear my jeans and the dark tie dye top."

Jamie beamed at him. "Mint."

Jamie stepped into the bedroom and grabbed a different outfit himself. Then he ducked out into the main room. Roy took his time, drying himself off, pulling on his clothes. He didn't bother with underwear…he knew Jamie liked that and he had a feeling they were going to have sex before they made it back to the bath. When he walked out of the bedroom, Jamie was sitting on the table surrounded by white orchids.

"Jamie?"

"Come here."

Roy walked over to the table. "They are beautiful flowers."

"They're your favourite."

"Where are your favourite flowers? Roy asked.

Jamie reached behind him and pulled out a vase of maroon-purple dahlias. "Here."

Roy smiled and reached out to take a stem from the vase. "This is a lot of effort."

Jamie smiled and slid off the table. Behind him was a buffet of breakfast food – waffles, bacon, eggs, hash browns, baked beans, tomatoes, sausages, black pudding, and toast.

"Your diet isn't up for that breakfast."

Jamie smiled at him and pushed Roy over and into a chair. He took the one on the other side of the table. "For three days we are going to completely ignore the fact I'm an elite footballer and should be on a diet. The only exercise I'm going to get is sex and you're not even going to worry about it."

"I'm not?"

Jamie shook his head. "It will make sense when you've eaten."

Roy reached out and started to put together a plate for himself. "How do we have three days?"

"I asked Rebecca. We actually have five but after three I'll go back to my diet and exercise routine. We'll be back in time for the next game."

"Good, do you want a waffle?"

Jamie nodded and pushed his plate closer, watching Roy choose his food for him. His heart warming as Roy selected all of the food he would have chosen for himself.

"Thanks."

Roy and Jamie ate quietly. When they were done, Jamie piled the food back onto the cart it had been delivered on and came to sit next to Roy.

"Why did you pick that flower?" Jamie asked.

"Because of this," Roy said, picking the flower up and sliding the band of yellow and white gold from the middle of the petals.

Jamie grinned and dropped down to one knee next to Roy. "Marry me."

"Yes."

Jamie smiled and bounced up to lean over Roy and kiss him. Roy pulled back, blinking at Jamie slowly. "I can't get married without Ruth and Phoebe."

"They'll be here tonight, along with Mum, Simon, and my Katie."

"Tonight?"

"We're getting married tomorrow at 10am."

Roy's eyebrows lifted. "You were that sure I'd say yes?"

Jamie nodded. "You wanna marry me. You fucking love me. And now that we're on the same fucking page we're doing the whole thing and getting married so we both know this is fucking it and no one's leaving and we're both loved."

Roy smiled and told Jamie he loved him, beaming at the response. Then he sighed and stood, pushing Jamie back onto the table and pressing himself into the lee of Jamie's thighs. Later, they refilled the bath and soaked together.

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I am aware that this is no longer how Gretna Green works...but I don't care, let's collectively pretend.