"Whistle! Bring it in!" Roy shouted as the team jogged back and forth.

"Alright, fellas, how y'all feeling?" Ted asked just as Bumbercatch threw up on the spot.

"Bumbercatch, did you just puke whole cheerios?" Ted asked in intrigue.

"Yes, Coach," He nodded, still leaning over, his hands resting on his thighs, "I like to eat my breakfast without chewing, to conserve my energy in case an impending class war breaks out."

"Yeah, no, makes sense, I get it," Ted and Roy nodded in understanding, "Alright, gentlemen, today we are gonna focus on versatility, in Total Football, you gotta constantly be asking yourself, 'what does this situation need from me right now?'"

"You know, do I need to drop back and replace Jan Maas on defence? Or should I attack like Jamie?" Ted asked as the boys continued to stretch, "Or do I lend Roy here a piece of gum because his breath smells like dookie?"

Roy smelt his breath with concern.

"Complete hypothetical, don't worry, you're fine," Ted assured him, "You gotta be able to jump in anywhere at any time, and the way to do that well is to understand and appreciate everyone's position and every position's function."

The boys nodded as a physical demonstration of their slow understanding of the idea.

"That's why we got our man, Beard replacing Will today as our kitman," Ted told the team, gesturing over to Beard as he stood alongside the drinks table, looking incredibly out of his depth, "And our very own Billie will be taking the place of Richmond's resident journalist, Trent Crimm."

Ted gestured to the pair who stood on the sidelines of the pitch, Trent with a camera in his hand, wearing the jacket from one of Billie's retro tracksuits. Billie had committed to her role completely, wearing an Elton John t-shirt with a pair of forest green wide leg trousers and a tweed blazer as she stood with Trent's notepad in hand. She had found time to jot down a couple of notes on things she thought he ought to include in the book; she wanted the world to see the boys she saw, beyond the football boots and brand deals.

"Yeah, so when we get out here and we scrimmage, y'all are gonna be swapping positions with someone else, yeah?" Ted told the team, "For example, Isaac, we're gonna move you up to forward, and Dani, we're gonna drop you back to defence, got it?"

"I'm gonna be Dani Rojas?" Isaac asked.

"That's right, Isaac," Ted nodded, "And Dani is gonna be you, make sense?"

"We're gonna fuck 'em up, bruv!" Dani huffed, doing his very best South London accent.

"Ay, Dios mios," Isaac dramatically signed a cross.

"Y'all don't have to do the voices," Ted told them, earning sighs of disappointment from the team, "Okay, alright, y'all can do the voices."

The boys cheered in delight.

"You go ahead, Roy, help 'em out here," Ted gestured for the coach to step forward, "Roy's gonna be handing out paper that's got someone's name on it, that's the name of the person you're gonna do the swaparoo with, everybody understand?"

"Yes, Coach," The boys nodded.

"Alright, good, Coach, did I miss anything?" Ted turned to his left.

"That's it, baby, let's go!" Will dressed as Coach Beard with a beard fashion out of brown tape exclaimed.

Billie observed the boys nodding in delight as they discovered who they'd be swapping places with as she stood beside the real Trent Crimm, "This whole observing and taking notes malarkey, it's fun, innit?"

"For someone with a media degree, you have a unique way with words, Miss Kent," Trent smiled fondly, quickly holding up the disposable camera she'd leant him and snapping a photo of her.

"I could've done journalism, just don't have the patience," Billie sighed as she watched Jamie approach Ted and the real Coach Beard with a frown on his face, "I also get the feeling that women don't have as much luck in that industry."

"I'm afraid you're not wrong," Trent replied as Billie kept her eyes on Jamie, her gaze followed by Trent, "Between you and me, do you find it hard to spread your attention across photographing the whole team when you're...well..."

"In a very happy relationship with the team's number nine?" Billie quipped with a smile.

"Yeah."

"No, like don't get me wrong, he's easily the fittest player on the team, and probably the whole league, even though I'm probably biassed," Billie told him, "But taking photos of the team, it's about more than just who looks the best or how they kick a ball, to me it's the story those photos tell, the intricacies in the team dynamics, the way the fans feel in our highs and lows...I always make sure that I capture the crowd during a match."

"For someone who told me she never cared about football, it sounds like this really matters to you," Trent replied.

"It does," Billie smiled fondly.

"Bils, you seen this?" Jamie approached Billie and Trent.

In an attempt to play along with the whole swaparoo thing, Billie glanced at Trent, "I believe he's talking to you."

"Babe, when you told me today would involve role play, this weren't what I had in mind." Jamie huffed as Trent's eyes widened.

"I'll give you two a minute," Trent smiled knowingly as he made his way along the pitch.

"What's the matter?" Billie asked, squeezing Jamie's hand.

"Look," He held out the folded piece of paper, showing her that both sides had his name on them, "What's that about?

Billie glanced down at the piece of paper and her heart skipped a beat as she smiled, a strong enough idea of what that meant. She had witnessed Jamie's greatness, she had seen how hard he was pushing himself, and it seemed that she wasn't the only one. He was the central cog, the core, the unsung hero, he just didn't know it yet.

"What's that smile for?" Jamie frowned in confusion.

"You'll figure it out, pretty boy," She assured him, "You always do."

Billie joined Trent as the pair made their way into the coaches' office, having swapped back their usual roles.

"Ted, I just want to make sure I have this right, you're gonna change tactics at this stage in the season and replace it with a totally new method that the boys are clearly struggling to understand," Trent enquired as Billie took a seat on the edge of Ted's desk, "And you think this is a good idea?"

"Well, Trent, the way I see it, it's kind of like taking a hike with Robert Frost... could go either way," Ted smiled proudly.

"You and your old man jokes," Billie sighed as Ted left the office.

Trent turned to Beard's seat, met with nothing but the faux Beard who was taking his role incredibly seriously, his feet propped up on the desk with his head in one of Beard's books. Trent remained stunned, promptly leaving the office and assuming that he would have to make his own conclusions.

"Get the fuck out of my chair," Coach Beard muttered as he entered the office.

"Yeah, no, of course, sorry," Will mumbled as he scrambled from the chair, hurrying from the office.

Billie made her way into Roy's half of the office, perching on the edge of his desk with an eager smile.

"No." He grunted.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say!" Billie exclaimed dramatically.

"You're going to ask me why we gave Jamie himself in the swap, and I'm not going to tell you," Roy told her as he kept his eyes on his laptop, "Even though you already know."

"So it's true?" Billie whispered.

"You can't tell him though," Roy sighed.

"Because he has to work it out himself to believe that he's actually capable of it," Billie replied.

"Yeah, exactly."

"I love how well you know him," Billie smiled as she hopped off of the desk, "And I love that you care about him."

"I never said-"

"Love you, Royston!" Billie called out as she skipped out of his office.

"Okay, Greyhounds, today we're talking about number three, awareness," Ted told the group as they stood on the pitch, "When you play Total Football, you gotta know what your teammates are doing at all times, constant movement requires constant concentration, yeah?"

The team nodded.

"So if Sam makes a run through the centre, y'all gotta shift, right?" Ted continued, "And if Dani moves back on defence, that means what?"

"Hell has frozen over?" Colin remarked.

"No, it means you gotta move up and support Dani's choice," Ted assured him, while the team continued to remain hesitant, "Okay, any questions so far?"

"Yeah, Coach, what's with the red string?" Jamie asked, holding up the red thread that connected the players to each other by their, well...

"Great question, in Japanese culture, they have a myth where they believe that all soulmates are connected by an invisible red string, and those strings are attached to each of their little fingers," Ted explained.

"Okay, so why is it tied around our dicks?" Jamie asked the question the whole team was thinking.

"Yeah, well, you know, that was Roy's idea, but I'm pretty sure the thought behind it is that it is nearly impossible to not be fully aware of what your teammate's doing when y'all got a rope tied around your dingdong," Ted explained, "Am I right about that, Roy?"

"Yeah, something like that," Roy huffed.

"Okay, great, so we gonna get after this right, a full scrimmage at half speed," Ted told the team, "And I don't wanna see them strings get too loose, and I'll leave it up to y'all to make sure they don't get too tight."

Billie had spent most of training skirting around the edge of the pitch, capturing content the best that she could while attempting not to trip over or get caught on any red string. She wasn't entirely sure what fans would make of the whole red string thing, not until the team had the results to show that it was affected.

A harsh yelp had her looking up from her camera, glancing across the pitch to Jamie who's face resembled shock as he clutched his crotch. Billie stood beside Roy as Dani picked up the loose end of Jamie's string, before he joined his fellow striker's side.

Jamie pulled on the waistband of his shorts, assessing any damage as Dani lingered beside him. Jamie slowly held his hand up with a nod to Dani, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's okay! His penis is okay!" Dani assured the team who shared his mutual feelings of relief.

"Oh my God," One of the boys sighed, "I thought I just ripped Jamie's knob off."

Roy laughed to himself, earning an elbow in the ribs from his sister, "What was that for?" He frowned.

"Do you want another niece or maybe a nephew one day?" She folded her arms across her chest with raised eyebrows and a tilted head.

"Please do not talk about procreating with Jamie Tartt at a time like this," Roy huffed, "My porridge from this morning might resurface."

Ted blew his whistle, eagerly running forward but misjudging as his legs hit yet another red string, causing both Isaac and Bumbercatch to keel over in discomfort, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry about that."

Roy laughed under his breath and Billie couldn't help but smirk, "It's funnier when it's not my boyfriend."

Speaking of nieces, once training had wrapped up, Billie and Jamie had found themselves on Phoebe duty, she didn't really require babysitting, she was more intelligent than most adults Billie knew, she just needed adult company. She'd asked if they could take Nelson for an evening walk, which of course the couple agreed to.

"It's nice, innit?" Jamie remarked, his arm wrapped around Billie's shoulder as Phoebe and Nelson walked several paces ahead.

"What's nice?" Billie asked, glancing up at him, admiring the way the evening's golden hour complimented his face as they walked along the river.

"Being settled," Jamie replied, "We've got a dog, we've nearly been together for a year, I'm not sure it can get much better than that."

"I feel like it's been longer than that, but then it also feels like I met you yesterday," Billie smiled fondly, "Time's not real when it comes to you."

"I like that one," Jamie sighed, kissing the top of her head as he made a mental note to add it to the list of one liners and feelings in his notes app that he hoped to one day use in a speech on their future wedding day. He was aware that nothing was promised, he'd seen his fair share of relationships that failed to go the distance, but he didn't have those worries when he looked at Billie, he saw a future that he liked the look of.

"Uncle Jamie!" Phoebe called out, having stopped in the middle of the path.

"Yeah?"

"Nelson's done a poo," She replied with a slight smile.

"Well, Auntie Billie has the poo bags," Jamie informed her, earning a gentle elbow to the ribs from Billie.

"But the rule is that the person who's holding the lead has to pick up the poo," Billie teased as Phoebe frowned.

"He's not my dog," Phoebe folded her arms across her chest, "Uncle Jamie, you can do it, I'm delegating."

"You are definetly your Uncle's niece," Jamie sighed, taking the poo bag from Billie's back pocket and doing what needed to be done.

"Can we get a J2O at the pub?" Phoebe asked once Nelson's business had been dealt with, pointing to the riverside pub up ahead that Billie had frequented a couple of times.

"Just the one, you've got a tendency to be lightweight, kiddo," Billie teased as they continued to walk.

"You gonna have a pint?" Billie looked up at Jamie.

"I'll probably stick to diet coke," He answered, scratching the back of his neck. It hadn't been an active decision of his to avoid alcohol, it just sort of happened when he started training with Roy, in fact he couldn't remember the last time he'd had an alcoholic drink.

"Okay, babe," Billie smiled as they reached the pub.

"Auntie Billie, it's Alfie," Phoebe nudged Billie who glanced across the pub garden that sat at the front of the pub overlooking the river to see Alfie with Colin.

To the untrained eye, they'd look like any other mates in their twenties, grabbing a couple of pints after work. They were both wearing sunglasses and Colin was wearing a baseball cap, which most people were, given the pre-summer golden haze that danced over the town. Billie hadn't asked Alfie about Colin, she knew that it wasn't her place, because Colin wasn't out, and she respected that, she understood how tough it must be to live in such secrecy.

Before Billie could do anything, Phoebe was weaving her way through the various tables, approaching Alfie with a toothy grin as she clung to Nelson's lead. Billie and Jamie followed close behind, walking hand in hand until they reached the table, Colin and Alfie both smiling awkwardly.

"Hey, boyos, fancy seeing you here!" Colin stood up, wrapping both Billie and Jamie in quick hugs.

"We were just walking Nelson," Phoebe told the two men, "Auntie Billie said we could get J2Os."

"You wanna join us?" Alfie asked in an attempt to dispel any lingering sense of awkwardness.

"If that's alright with you lads?" Jamie glanced between the pair, oblivious to the nature of their relationship.

"Of course, boyo," Colin assured him with a nod.

"Phoebe, you wanna come help me with the drinks?" Jamie asked the young girl as she handed Nelson's lead to Billie, "I'll throw in a bag of crisps when your Auntie Billie ain't looking."

"Okay, Jamie!" Phoebe nodded as she followed him into the pub.

"If you'd told me two years ago that Jamie Tartt would be loved up with Roy Kent's sister, I never would've believed you," Colin sighed with a slight smile, "But now, it wouldn't make sense any other way."

"You're a proper softy, Colin Hughes," Billie smiled, "But you're right, I'm not sure I could imagine my life without him in it either."

"Colin was telling me that Ted's got the team practising Total Football," Alfie said as he sipped on his pint.

"Never has a day off, do you, Alf?" Billie grinned, turning to Colin, "Better be careful, Colin, he'll be quoting us in his next feature."

"That was one time, Bils!" Alfie laughed dramatically.

"Yeah, in the school newspaper in year twelve when you asked me who I thought the fittest teacher was," Billie sighed in embarrassment.

"Who was it?" Colin asked out of intrigue.

"Mr Taylor, our year eleven history teacher," Billie replied.

"He was fucking fit to be fair," Alfie nodded in agreement.

"Scottish or Welsh?" Billie quipped.

"Huh?"

"Was he Scottish or Welsh?" Billie asked.

"They are two very different places and accents, Bils," Colin replied, pretending to be deeply offended.

"He was Welsh," Alfie smirked, taking another sip of his pint.

author's note: this is a bit of a filler chapter but it's full of little moments i just had to write