#roy and jamie's continued adventures in being utterly weird

[thetarttfuldickhead]

It’s seems unlikely that Roy will have time to get up every morning to train with Jamie now that he’s been made manager, but since neither of them feels quite right if they don’t spend absurd amounts of time together they’ll meet up for breakfast after Jamie’s early morning work-out at least three times a week, and then go into work together.

As they spend more and more time hanging out without the excuse of training, though, Roy gets a little particular about keeping things extra professional in the work place: there’s no beating the favouritism allegations, not truly, but when at Richmond he tries to keep it at the Jamie is our best player and my special project and I am going to be extra hard on him-level rather than the Jamie is my best friend and I’m furious about how much I love him-level.

And Jamie’s good with it, too, being all respectfully Coach and doing as he’s told and carefully not giving Roy any lip while they’re on the clock. But because this is Roy it gets a little bit ridiculous at times, potentially leading to interactions like this:

A regular morning a few months into the season, Roy and Jamie arriving just in the nick of time, chatting and grinning as easily as you please when they saunter into the dressing rooms with just a few minutes to spare. Jamie goes to his cubby, Roy steps into his office – only to come right back out:

“Oi, Tartt! Training starts in five minutes, why the fuck haven’t you changed yet?”

As the room around them hushes for a moment, Jamie’s face is a study in confusion turning to incredulity to fucking really, man? “Sorry, Coach,” he says, and there’s just the tiniest hint of snark in his voice. “Bloke who gave me a ride here took ages finishing his toast ‘cause he couldn’t stop nattering on about this play his niece put on last night.”

At that, the rest of the team decide that this is just Roy and Jamie being Roy and Jamie again, nothing to worry about, so they go back to tying their shoelaces and what-not. Roy, however, takes a step closer, waving his finger in Jamie’s face.

“I’m not interested in you fucking excuses, Tartt. Part of your job is being here and ready on time, so don’t go fucking blaming others if you can’t manage that, do you hear me?”

Jamie just looks at him. Roy looks right back, not breaking, and eventually Jamie rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Sorry, Coach. Won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Roy nods slowly in that angry way of his, and then he stalks back to his office.

Jamie looks to Sam, probably, and they do their whole little thing of can you fucking believe it and you signed up for this, my friend, so you better suck it up.

Shaking his head at this coldhearted (but fair) lack of support, Jamie turns to Cockburn as he begins to hurriedly change, confiding: “The play was dead good and all, but not like I wasn’t there to see it myself, right? Didn’t really need a scene-by-scene breakdown of it, did I?”

(And then after training they leave together again to go have dinner with Keeley, probably.)