Happy birthday, dear newnumbertwo!
Title: Long May You Run
Word count: 1350
Rating: T
A/N: Since we all know how much I love newnumbertwo's Ikeaverse (*hugs Ikeaverse*), I could hardly help but write in it for her birthday. Thanks in advance for letting me borrow Coach Laura and Assistant Coach Bill, and have a wonderful birthday weekend! :D
A/N2: Title and cutline are Neil Young's, not mine
Laura stretched leisurely, her head in Bill’s lap as she read the paper. “This is wonderful. I can’t remember the last Saturday we had free.”
He stroked her hair and sipped his coffee. “I know, Coach. I had no idea what I was in for when you decided we would take on the cross country team.”
She sat up and grinned. “And now we have a state champ to show for it.” Sam Anders had won the state meet the previous weekend, and the team had placed third overall with strong runs by Zak, Felix, Karl, and even Billy to back up Sam’s blazing final high school race. All that was left in their season was an awards banquet that Kara was organizing for sometime the following week. Laura’d wanted to have it sooner, but the team manager pleaded that she needed time to organize the photos she’d taken over the course of the season into a slideshow.
Bill set his coffee on the laminate-lacquered side table and gathered her into his arms. “That’s not the only thing. We both got into pretty great shape trying to keep up with the kids.” He slid his hand under the hem of her silk pajama pants to cup the back of her smooth calf and lightly squeeze the muscle. He hadn’t seen the inside of a boxing ring since he’d started seeing Laura three months earlier, but he had no complaints; between the five jogs a week and about an equal number of enthusiastic sexual encounters, he was feeling more energized than he had in years.
“Mmm. You were in pretty fine shape to begin with, Commander.” She rubbed his biceps appreciatively.
He chuckled. “Once we both got outfitted with new sneakers, my knees protested less, at least.”
“I’ll be glad for the break, I think.” She tipped her face up to his to place a kiss to his lips. “You see, there’s this wonderful man with whom I’d rather be getting sweaty in ways that don’t involve lagging woefully behind five high school runners.” They’d once been able to keep up with Billy, but the precocious senior had dropped fifteen minutes from his 5K time over the course of the season and was eventually able to hang with the back of the pack, far ahead of his huffing coaches.
“Speaking of that--” he started, but was interrupted by the sound of the buzzer.
“What the--” Laura jumped off his lap and went to the intercom box next to her front door. “Yes?”
”Ms. Roslin, there’s a delivery for you down here. Can I send him up?”
“Just one minute.” Laura released the button and turned to Bill. “I’m not expecting anything. Do you know what this is about?”
“I might,” he admitted, rising from the couch. He looked her up and down. “Go get dressed or put on a robe, I’ll take care of the delivery.”
She looked down at the flimsy camisole she wore, braless and sleep-rumpled. “Right.” She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, then reached for the intercom. “Send it on up, Alex. Thanks.”
”Will do, Ms. R,” came the doorman’s response.
When Laura emerged from her bedroom five minutes later, there was no sign of a delivery person-- just Bill, and a brown cardboard box that could easily fit both of them together, standing on its end in the foyer.
“Bill, what is that,” she asked warily.
A hint of color rose on his craggy olive-toned cheeks. “A gift for my favorite coach.”
She looked behind him to inspect the box so she could make out the bold lettering on the side. “Life Fitness...home treadmill? Are you kidding me?”
Bill’s face fell. “You don’t like it.”
“I just need to get used to the idea,” she said, biting her bottom lip. Bill had never been reluctant in making grand gestures. “What possessed you to buy a treadmill for my condo without telling me?”
“I thought that between the season ending and daylight savings time, you might want to be able to run at home, stay in shape until next season.”
She hummed thoughtfully. “A nice enough idea, I suppose. But where are we supposed to put it? This is a serious piece of equipment, Bill. And my place is already a little cramped.” A not-so-subtle dig at the fact that Bill’s things had joined the semi-organized clutter strewn around her condo, particularly in the bedroom. Although he had his own apartment a few miles away that was likewise increasingly filled with her stuff, Bill spent more nights than not at Laura’s.
“The living room?” he ventured. “You hardly ever use that room anyway...”
“Bill, we were just having a wonderful lazy Saturday in that room. It’s our sanctuary.”
“No, your bedroom is our sanctuary,” he corrected with a smirk. “How about the laundry room?”
She shook her head. “Too small.”
He could tell that she was becoming agitated, not the response that he’d hoped for. Time to roll the hard six. “Maybe it’s time to look for a bigger place.”
“Excuse me?”
Bill gently led her back to the couch, away from the offending equipment. “It was always my intention, after my retirement, to rent for a short time, and then buy a place once I figured out where I wanted to live.”
Her green eyes fixed on his blue ones, and she nodded.
“I’ve never felt at home so much as I do when I’m here, with you,” he began. “But it’s not just this space. It’s you.”
“I feel that way, too,” she said softly. It had only been a couple of months, but he already felt utterly indispensable to her. She’d been so lonely when he first showed up in his U-Haul, and now she had a lover, partner, assistant-- and maybe a cohabitant.
“I’d like to start looking for a place to buy, Laura. But I can’t imagine moving somewhere without you.”
The way he said it made it seem so natural, so simple. Their lives had already collided, and the treadmill was just a very large reason for them to consider that it might be time to streamline things going forward.
She reached for his hand. “Of course I’ll move in with you.” It wasn’t too soon; she’d told him she loved him after their first month together, despite never having made such an admission before, and her feelings had only grown stronger. But then, he’d said the same after just a week. Her voice turned dreamy as she imagined what their shared home might look like. “At the edge of the district, north of here, there are these wooded lots, a couple of acres apiece. Sometimes when I’m feeling cramped in here, I think about how nice it would be to have a cabin with a wraparound porch, a stream running through the backyard, and no neighbors in sight.”
His thumb stroked back and forth over the back of her hand as she spoke. “Build a place of our own?”
She smiled, and his heart nearly stopped. “Yeah.”
“With space for a treadmill.”
“We can put it in the hobby room, with your model ships.”
“Hmm.” It never would have occurred to him to build rather than buy a preexisting house, but he had to admit that the idea appealed. New house, new furnishings-- a new start to their life together, unburdened and unafflicted by their respective pasts. “I want to keep your bed, though.”
Laura grinned knowingly. “You love my bed.”
“For its occupant, I’ve explained plenty of times before.” But also for its superior support and memory-foam pillowtop. His side of her bed was more comfortable than any rack he’d ever had. “Speaking of which...”
She squealed in delight as he swept her up and carried her toward the topic of their discussion. “Gonna seal the deal, sir?”
“Always and forever,” he promised.
Laura giggled as he lay her down and began exploring her body, removing her clothing. “I’d say this is a fortuitous start to the off-season.”
Word count: 1350
Rating: T
A/N: Since we all know how much I love newnumbertwo's Ikeaverse (*hugs Ikeaverse*), I could hardly help but write in it for her birthday. Thanks in advance for letting me borrow Coach Laura and Assistant Coach Bill, and have a wonderful birthday weekend! :D
A/N2: Title and cutline are Neil Young's, not mine
Laura stretched leisurely, her head in Bill’s lap as she read the paper. “This is wonderful. I can’t remember the last Saturday we had free.”
He stroked her hair and sipped his coffee. “I know, Coach. I had no idea what I was in for when you decided we would take on the cross country team.”
She sat up and grinned. “And now we have a state champ to show for it.” Sam Anders had won the state meet the previous weekend, and the team had placed third overall with strong runs by Zak, Felix, Karl, and even Billy to back up Sam’s blazing final high school race. All that was left in their season was an awards banquet that Kara was organizing for sometime the following week. Laura’d wanted to have it sooner, but the team manager pleaded that she needed time to organize the photos she’d taken over the course of the season into a slideshow.
Bill set his coffee on the laminate-lacquered side table and gathered her into his arms. “That’s not the only thing. We both got into pretty great shape trying to keep up with the kids.” He slid his hand under the hem of her silk pajama pants to cup the back of her smooth calf and lightly squeeze the muscle. He hadn’t seen the inside of a boxing ring since he’d started seeing Laura three months earlier, but he had no complaints; between the five jogs a week and about an equal number of enthusiastic sexual encounters, he was feeling more energized than he had in years.
“Mmm. You were in pretty fine shape to begin with, Commander.” She rubbed his biceps appreciatively.
He chuckled. “Once we both got outfitted with new sneakers, my knees protested less, at least.”
“I’ll be glad for the break, I think.” She tipped her face up to his to place a kiss to his lips. “You see, there’s this wonderful man with whom I’d rather be getting sweaty in ways that don’t involve lagging woefully behind five high school runners.” They’d once been able to keep up with Billy, but the precocious senior had dropped fifteen minutes from his 5K time over the course of the season and was eventually able to hang with the back of the pack, far ahead of his huffing coaches.
“Speaking of that--” he started, but was interrupted by the sound of the buzzer.
“What the--” Laura jumped off his lap and went to the intercom box next to her front door. “Yes?”
”Ms. Roslin, there’s a delivery for you down here. Can I send him up?”
“Just one minute.” Laura released the button and turned to Bill. “I’m not expecting anything. Do you know what this is about?”
“I might,” he admitted, rising from the couch. He looked her up and down. “Go get dressed or put on a robe, I’ll take care of the delivery.”
She looked down at the flimsy camisole she wore, braless and sleep-rumpled. “Right.” She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, then reached for the intercom. “Send it on up, Alex. Thanks.”
”Will do, Ms. R,” came the doorman’s response.
When Laura emerged from her bedroom five minutes later, there was no sign of a delivery person-- just Bill, and a brown cardboard box that could easily fit both of them together, standing on its end in the foyer.
“Bill, what is that,” she asked warily.
A hint of color rose on his craggy olive-toned cheeks. “A gift for my favorite coach.”
She looked behind him to inspect the box so she could make out the bold lettering on the side. “Life Fitness...home treadmill? Are you kidding me?”
Bill’s face fell. “You don’t like it.”
“I just need to get used to the idea,” she said, biting her bottom lip. Bill had never been reluctant in making grand gestures. “What possessed you to buy a treadmill for my condo without telling me?”
“I thought that between the season ending and daylight savings time, you might want to be able to run at home, stay in shape until next season.”
She hummed thoughtfully. “A nice enough idea, I suppose. But where are we supposed to put it? This is a serious piece of equipment, Bill. And my place is already a little cramped.” A not-so-subtle dig at the fact that Bill’s things had joined the semi-organized clutter strewn around her condo, particularly in the bedroom. Although he had his own apartment a few miles away that was likewise increasingly filled with her stuff, Bill spent more nights than not at Laura’s.
“The living room?” he ventured. “You hardly ever use that room anyway...”
“Bill, we were just having a wonderful lazy Saturday in that room. It’s our sanctuary.”
“No, your bedroom is our sanctuary,” he corrected with a smirk. “How about the laundry room?”
She shook her head. “Too small.”
He could tell that she was becoming agitated, not the response that he’d hoped for. Time to roll the hard six. “Maybe it’s time to look for a bigger place.”
“Excuse me?”
Bill gently led her back to the couch, away from the offending equipment. “It was always my intention, after my retirement, to rent for a short time, and then buy a place once I figured out where I wanted to live.”
Her green eyes fixed on his blue ones, and she nodded.
“I’ve never felt at home so much as I do when I’m here, with you,” he began. “But it’s not just this space. It’s you.”
“I feel that way, too,” she said softly. It had only been a couple of months, but he already felt utterly indispensable to her. She’d been so lonely when he first showed up in his U-Haul, and now she had a lover, partner, assistant-- and maybe a cohabitant.
“I’d like to start looking for a place to buy, Laura. But I can’t imagine moving somewhere without you.”
The way he said it made it seem so natural, so simple. Their lives had already collided, and the treadmill was just a very large reason for them to consider that it might be time to streamline things going forward.
She reached for his hand. “Of course I’ll move in with you.” It wasn’t too soon; she’d told him she loved him after their first month together, despite never having made such an admission before, and her feelings had only grown stronger. But then, he’d said the same after just a week. Her voice turned dreamy as she imagined what their shared home might look like. “At the edge of the district, north of here, there are these wooded lots, a couple of acres apiece. Sometimes when I’m feeling cramped in here, I think about how nice it would be to have a cabin with a wraparound porch, a stream running through the backyard, and no neighbors in sight.”
His thumb stroked back and forth over the back of her hand as she spoke. “Build a place of our own?”
She smiled, and his heart nearly stopped. “Yeah.”
“With space for a treadmill.”
“We can put it in the hobby room, with your model ships.”
“Hmm.” It never would have occurred to him to build rather than buy a preexisting house, but he had to admit that the idea appealed. New house, new furnishings-- a new start to their life together, unburdened and unafflicted by their respective pasts. “I want to keep your bed, though.”
Laura grinned knowingly. “You love my bed.”
“For its occupant, I’ve explained plenty of times before.” But also for its superior support and memory-foam pillowtop. His side of her bed was more comfortable than any rack he’d ever had. “Speaking of which...”
She squealed in delight as he swept her up and carried her toward the topic of their discussion. “Gonna seal the deal, sir?”
“Always and forever,” he promised.
Laura giggled as he lay her down and began exploring her body, removing her clothing. “I’d say this is a fortuitous start to the off-season.”