call it what you want

1. just touched down

She doesn't know how she let herself get talked into this. Letting her far too cheerful uncle talk her into coming halfway across the world with him to coach a sport he knew nothing about and that she hadn't played in years.

So when she woke up as the plane landed in England to her uncle's best friend / her honorary uncle Beard shaking her awake she wasn't exactly thrilled about this.

"You didn't sleep at all?" Victoria asked her uncle Ted as the 3 of them walked through the airport, her cane tapping rhythmically. 

"Not a wink." Ted Lasso was the most chipper and upbeat person Vic had ever met. It got on her nerves sometimes but she knew she was better off having him in her life. "My brain just kept on cooking. At first, I was thinking about not sleeping. Then I was thinking about thinking about not sleeping. And that-" He huffed. "that's never good. Next think I know they're handing out warm chocolate chip cookies and the planes landing."

Beard looked at his best friend. "I didn't get a cookie. Did you eat mine?" Ted shook his head pointing a thumb over at Vic. Beard looked at her in mock anger, putting his hand over his heart. "How dare you Miss Victoria Adams!" She smiled just a little as she pulled the saran wrapped cookie out of her pocket.

"You were asleep! I did you a solid." Beard smiled at the girl and took the cookie from her messing up her hair. Vic laughed along with him before looking up, seeing a group of people looking at her. She didn't even bother trying to hide the long scars on her face anymore. There really was no good way to hide her face besides wearing a face mask and a raised hood.

Eventually she decided. Fuck it. I'll live with the stares and glares. I've been through worse. If she wasn't going to get stared at for her scars she would get stared at for her cane and limp. Catch 22.

They arrive at the AFC Richmond training grounds and as they walk through the dark halls Beard speaks. "You know how they came up with soccer?" The question was mainly for Ted but Vic answered anyway.

"Wasn't it that these old Victorian era guys wanted to get their boys to stop jerking it, so they came up with a game where you don't use your hands and stuff? I really don't think it worked." She laughed a little as Ted turned a corner. They ended up in the bleachers of the stadium. "Holy mother of God." V whispered, looking out over the thousands and thousands of seats.

"This bigger than the ones back home?" Ted nudged her arm with a smile, he was always the biggest supporter of her and her career in soccer, Beard was too. They made it to every single game, even Nationals, and barely left her side after the accident.

"Way bigger."

They ended up finding a boy leading them through the stadium to the big bosses office. His name was Nate and he seemed very surprised at the kindness they were showing him. When they entered her office Nate knocked on the door, stuttering not even 2 words before running out of the room..

"He seems nice." Ted smiled at Vic as she rolled her eyes looking at her new boss. "Hey, how y'all doing? I'm Ted Lasso, your new coach. You must be Ms. Welton." Ted entered the room first as he always did when meeting new people.

"Please call me Rebecca." The woman was stunning, tall and blonde. She shook Ted's hand with a smile. Vic could tell herself getting a little flushed at the sight of her.

Ted smiled back before gesturing behind him. "This is Beard and my niece, Victoria." Rebecca reached her hand out to Beard then Victoria.

"It is so good to finally meet you all face to face!" When Rebecca shook Vic's hand her eyes didn't seem to linger on her scar as much as she thought it would, which made her feel a lot better about the whole interaction. "Huggins?" She turned to the man behind her before looking back to Vic and her family. "Sorry. This is Higgins, our current director of communications." Higgins smiled politely with a wave. "Could you take Coach Beard and Coach Adams and get them their ID's and housing information?"