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Ted Lasso Rom-Communism Secret Santa Exchange 2022
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Published:
2022-12-20
Words:
1,933
Chapters:
1/1
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28
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Oh yes they do

Summary:

Ted, Henry and Rebecca go to a pantomime (oh no they don’t / oh yes they do)

Notes:

For majolination who had many wonderful prompts including: stories set right before they officially become a thing, them being oblivious and / or delusional about their feelings, what they get out of this relationship they never got to have before, and my personal favourite: it doesn’t have to be too long!

I really hope you enjoy it - have fun spotting the Christmas romcom reference and Happy Holidays!

Work Text:

“Knockadoodledoo!”

Higgins watched as Rebecca looked up from checking the board meeting minutes and her face brightened.

“Hey Hig Daddy!” Ted nodded in greeting. “Now, boss, do you know how much Santa Claus paid for his sleigh?”

The boss in question let out a long suffering sigh, somewhat undermined by her relentlessly fond facial expression.

“No Ted, how much?”

Ted grinned before dropping into the chair and handing over the day’s biscuits. “Nothin’. It was on the house!”

“Good grief, is it possible they’re getting worse? Even Leslie didn’t laugh at that one.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s cuter when it’s an eight year old doing the telling.”

Another soft smile escaped Rebecca. He should start a tally.

“I’m quite sure it is. Not long now ‘til he’ll be here to tell them in person! Oh, that reminds me, I thought of another one.”

Ted looked at her with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning. “Another joke?”

“No! Absolutely not. No, another item for the Henry and Ted Do Christmas In London List.”

Higgins had heard a great deal about this list. He couldn’t help but notice the amount of effort and research Rebecca was putting in to make sure Lasso Junior would have a wonderful time in Richmond. If he happened to have any theories on why that might be so important to her, he was wise enough to keep them to himself.

“You have to take him to a pantomime.”

“Oh no he doesn’t!”

Rebecca gave him a sharp look, and he reflected, not for the first time, that he really should make sure to be clear of the office by the time Ted dropped by with the biscuits (the goddamn biscuits!)

“No, sorry Rebecca, that is actually an excellent idea. Julie’s parents always used to take us as a Christmas treat, and the boys loved going. By the time Terry was old enough to come there were so many of us, they used to get group discount.”

“What’s a pantomime?” Ted was perplexed.

“It’s a show, well a play really, with songs. Always at Christmas, though weirdly they’re not at all Christmassy. They’re normally based on a fairy tale or a nursery story or some such. And this year in Richmond it’s Beauty and The Beast”

“Oh no it isn’t!”

This time Rebecca’s long suffering sigh was perfectly convincing, “Yes, thank you Leslie.”

Ted’s curiosity was clearly piqued. “Okay that’s twice now, what did I miss? Was that a bit? Ooh, are you doin’ a bit?”

Rebecca turned back to Ted and the smile returned. “It’s a panto thing. Audience participation. So if someone says ‘Oh no it isn’t’, we all have to shout ‘Oh yes it is!’”

“Kinda like Rocky Horror?”

“Mmm. Less suspenders.”

“Though there is cross dressing”

“And singing.”

“Ooh, like the Disney version?”

“Absolutely nothing like the Disney version. And for legal and copyright reasons, very different.”

“Oh, and you have to boo and hiss at the villain, and shout ‘He’s behind you!’”

“I have to say, it’s not until you try to explain it that you realise just how bizarre the whole thing is,” Higgins mused.

Rebecca nodded in agreement. “Anyway, Henry would love it and you can’t say he’s had a proper British Christmas unless you take him.”

“Okay then, I’d better add it to the list.” Ted paused. “What if we don’t know what to do and when to do it? Will they throw us out? Do I need to get a guidebook or something?”

Leslie wasn’t sure if it was divine inspiration or just an unavoidable reaction to having watched them dance around one another for so many months. “Well it sounds like Rebecca is a big fan, you should all go together. She can show you what to do, make sure you’re shouting out at all the right moments.”

“I’m sure Ted doesn’t want me imposing - “
“I really wouldn’t wanna impose - “

God, even their deflecting was in sync.

“That’s settled then,” Higgins twinkled over his glasses. “You’d best get booking the tickets, you don’t want to miss out!”

And he left the office before anyone could raise any further objections.

**

“Dad said you really like the show, do you come every year?”

“I haven't been for a long time, but I’m extremely happy to have an excuse to come tonight.”

Henry scrumples up his forehead in such a perfect outward display of Ted’s own internal reaction to that sentence that he almost laughs. “Why do you need an excuse to do something you like?”

“That, Henry, is an excellent question. You’re quite the wise head on young shoulders.”

There’s something a little bit magical about walking through Richmond in the dark, lights twinkling everywhere, and Henry and Rebecca chatting happily like it’s the most normal thing in the world for them to be hanging out.

When Higgins had made his suggestion, Ted hadn’t known what to say. Rebecca had been nothing but enthusiastic about helping him plan their holiday activities but she’d always talked in terms of things that he and Henry should do, never including herself in their plans. He tried not to think too much about why she might have such a comprehensive list of things to do with a child at Christmas but not want to take part in any of them herself. Because when he put it together with the charity gala and the Santa deliveries and the asshole ex-husband it damn near breaks his heart.

In any case, he’d been more than a little worried that spending time with Henry might be difficult for her. He shouldn’t have been. The first afternoon his boy had spent at Nelson Road, Rebecca had offered up the couch in her office as a jet lag recovery zone. He’d come back after practice to find Henry wide awake and being beaten mercilessly at Uno, and that was that - instant besties.

As they enter the theater, Rebecca steers them through the foyer and straight to the usher selling refreshments. “You have to have sweets! It’s practically a legal requirement. Just nothing that rustles. Now, what’s it to be Henry, Minstrels or Fruit Pastilles?”

They make their way to their seats. He’d wondered if she’d book out one of the boxes (she seemed like a box kinda gal) but they were right down the front in among all the other Richmond families. (Well not ‘other’ families, because they weren’t a family and where did that thought even come from?) Anyway, they were at the front, with all the other folks, and when the lights go down, he sees her give Henry’s arm an excited little squeeze as she wiggles in her seat.

There’s a lot to concentrate on. What’s going on up on stage, trying to follow the story - an almost familiar plot seemingly held together with terrible jokes and covers of pop songs - and whether he’s supposed to be yelling anything out. What he’s mainly paying attention to though is his companions.

Rebecca is really getting into it, booing and hissing at the villain with gusto, giving Henry little nudges so he knows what’s what, and trading candy with him. She sings along with the songs so quietly he’s not sure if she realizes she’s doing it. She’s so animated, happiness radiating off her. He loves seeing her like this - open and enthusiastic and utterly unbothered by how she might be perceived.

She glances over and finds him staring and he’s reminded he really ought to be watching the show rather than her. He’ll start soon. Any minute now. And then she and Henry are yelling out “oh no she isn’t” and Henry looks up at him with a “C’mon Dad” and he’s only too happy to join in with the pair of them.

**

Henry grabs Rebecca’s hand as they leave the crowded theater, and continues to hold it as they make the short walk back to the apartment. Ted feels a little catch in his chest watching them, even as he’s marveling that Henry’s achieved in one evening what he’s been working up to for months. Some things are simpler when you’re eight.

Normally he loves how close his place is to everything, but tonight he wishes it was just a little further away. Wrapped up against the cold, listening to Henry excitedly reviewing the show, quizzing Rebecca on her favorite part, her favorite song. Whether she liked the Beast better or the Prince? What was the best show she ever saw? He could happily do this for a little longer.

But, they reach Rebecca’s car far too soon and it’s time to part ways.

“Well thank you for a wonderful evening both of you. That was the most fun I’ve had in ages.” She takes a deep breath. “Right, off to do my daughterly duties. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck!”

“Be sure and send Deborah my best. And, y’know, try not to murder her. We’ll see you tomorrow, after your - uh - deliveries.” He gives a little wink over Henry’s head for good measure.

She smiles. “Absolutely, I’ll see you at the Higginses”

Once she’s safely in her car, Ted and Henry make their way back home. They go through the important business of reading The Night Before Christmas, hanging out their stockings by the chimney with care, and leaving out milk and cookies (not biscuits) for Santa. While he’s sitting on the bed waiting for Henry to brush his teeth he’s struck that it’s the most content he’s felt on Christmas Eve he’s had in a long time.

“Hey Dad?”

He never thought he’d find his kid yelling at him from another room such a simple pleasure. “Yeah buddy?”

“Rebecca said she really likes musicals but she never goes. I think she needs someone to remind her to do nice things.” Henry appears and wiggles into bed, pyjama clad and minty fresh. “You should take her.”

“Well you know, that’s not a bad idea. Is there anything you think she’d like to see with us?”

“Daaad. Not us. You. Y’know. Like a date.” Henry enunciates it as if he’s speaking to someone without much brain processing power. Which is pretty appropriate because Ted’s brain is very much not processing right now.

“You think I should take Rebecca on a date.”

“Yeah! She’s really nice, and she’s good at Uno, and she looks at you with squiggly eyes.”

“Squiggly eyes?”

“Yep. You do it to her too. It’s kind of weird but I figure at least you’re both doing it.”

“Oh no we’re not.”

Henry giggles. “Oh yes you are!”

“Oh no we’re… Oh you think you’re so funny!” Ted protests, and then in the only reasonable response to being called out on his crush by a third grader, tickles him until neither of them can breathe.

**

Later on with Henry finally asleep in his bed (visions of sugar-plums optional) Ted sits on the couch watching the tree lights dim and brighten in their soothing rhythm and enjoys a single miniature whiskey. He didn’t buy a big bottle this year.

And then, just because it’s Christmas (and at Christmas you tell the truth - even to yourself) he lets himself think about squiggly eyes and what show Rebecca might like to see at the theater and how he’s going to ask her without any intervention from Henry or Higgins and whether he might get to hold her hand on the walk home.

He’s content and he’s safe. He’s looking forward to Christmas morning with his boy, and Christmas evening with his boy and his Richmond family.

He’s looking forward.