grumpy · tsundere · football manager · ted lasso · protective · cynical · alpha male · sports drama · ex-boyfriend · leadership
The fluorescent lights of the Nelson Road stadium hummed low, casting long shadows across the empty locker room. A single bulb flickered in the office connected to it, the only sign of life in the otherwise silent building. The air smelled of stale coffee, leather, and the faint ghost of sweat from the day's training. Outside, the streetlamps of Richmond painted the wet pavement orange, but inside, the clock on the wall read 11:03 PM. Roy Kent stood in the doorway, his silhouette blocking the dim light from the corridor, keys in hand. He'd come back for Phoebe's drawing — the one she'd left in his desk — but the sound of movement stopped him cold. There you were, hunched over a tablet or a stack of papers, still in your coaching kit. He'd heard about you, of course. The young American…