trashchildren | For Joan

"You know," she says, thinking about it, "I don't think he did. Not the talkative type, huh? I think I've heard more words from Beard." She smiles, remembering Beard's reaction to the song, namely his lack of surprise. "Beard had us figured out," she notes, amused.

Ted chuckles, having noticed that as well. "Yeah, well, I spend a lot of time with him, and he's known me for a long time. Honestly, if he hadn't, I'd've been worried there was something wrong," he says with a smile. "Also, regarding Roy, he can be pretty vocal when he has something on his mind. Of course, then about every third word out of his mouth is a cuss, so."

"He seems to approve, so that bodes well," she says. The only equal endorsement Joan can think of would be Sherlock, if and when the detective comes around and actually gets to know Ted. It will happen. If just because there's no way for both Sherlock and Ted to be vital parts of her life without crossing paths a lot.

"I can definitely see him swearing up a storm," she says, amused. "It goes with the eyebrows."

Ted is pretty sure Beard has very little opinion on what sort of lady Ted should be with, beyond someone who makes him happy. And Joan definitely does that.

They keep chatting comfortably until they eventually reach Ted's place. "You coming up for a drink, or no?" he asks. "I know you wanted to get some work done." And they've had a lovely quiet chat now, so he wouldn't feel slighted if she left.

"I can come in for a little while," she says. She will have to go at some point, which makes her a little sad, but they left karaoke early, so she has a little more time.

Ted smiles happily at that, leading the way upstairs, holding the door open for her as they head inside. He's just in such a good mood, seeing his friends and Joan liking each other, getting to spend a fun evening together that also turned out to be pretty romantic... He can't remember feeling this happy in a long time.

They haven't even made it to the couch before Ted decides he wants to kiss her again, cupping her jaw with both his hands. Just a soft, loving, happy kiss.

Joan makes a small sound, her hands coming up to cup his face as well as she kisses him back, just as soft, loving and happy, sweet and at first unhurried. After a moment, though, she presses a little closer, a hint of desire seeping into the kiss.

Mmmm, oh boy. Ted reciprocates automatically. There's a tiny voice in the back of his head that says maybe leaning into this is a bad idea if she has to go soon, but that's a voice that's far too easy to ignore right now.

He lets his hand slide down to rest on her waist instead, leaning into the kiss with a happy noise.

Joan has that same voice, the voice that says that this might not be the time, considering she has to go back to Baker Street. But they've been holding back, and now that the dam has burst on being able to be affectionate in public, it's hard not to allow this domino to fall, too.

She answers the happy noise with one of her own, and lets one hand trail down his side to grip the hem of his sweater and tug it upwards.

Alright, well, guess they're committing. Ted is okay with that. Ted is more than okay with that.

He lets Joan tug at his sweater until he has to let go of her and pull back a little so they can get the sweater off him, haphazardly tossed onto a chair. Which is good, because it's suddenly very hot in here, isn't it?

Once he's freed from it he immediately returns his hands to her, but rather continue kissing, he leans down to kiss at her neck.

Yep. They're doing this.

Joan moans softly as he kisses her neck, her eyes drifting closed. She tilts her head a little, to give him more access to her neck. Meanwhile she tugs on his shirt, untucking it a little from his waistband, and slips her hand underneath to touch the bare skin of his side.

Ted draws in a little breath as she actually makes contact with his skin. Hoo boy. He smiles against the side of her neck, and then, well, since they're now definitely doing this...

He pulls back a little to grin happily at her. Then he wraps his arms around her waist and picks her up, kissing her as he makes for the bedroom. Mentally grateful that daily soccer practice keeps him in decent shape.

She laughs in surprised delight as he picks her up. He's a soccer coach and she's petite, so it's not terribly difficult to carry her. She kisses him back, her kisses increasingly hungry now that it's clear they're going all in on this. She manages to unbutton the first two buttons on his shirt on the way to the bedroom.

He closes the bedroom door with his foot as they enter. It doesn't actually matter, but there are some habits you develop after years of being a dad.

He sets her down carefully once they get to the bed - playful carrying aside, Ted is obviously not someone who's instinctively very rough or rushed. In fact, now they're here, he actually slows down a little. Even if they don't have too much of it, he wants to take his time.

Not that he's going to stop her from undressing him or anything like that, and he starts gently undressing her as well. He's just going to make sure they both enjoy every moment of it.

She loves how he's being so slow and gentle, and she responds in kind, her kisses going from hungrily impatient to slow and deep. She continues to unbutton his shirt, gently pulling it from his shoulders and off his arms, letting it drop to the floor. She spends some time allowing her hands to explore his torso, fingers running through his chest hair, thumbs gently brushing over his nipples.

Ted tries not to feel self-conscious, as he feels remarkably average next to Joan, but she doesn't seem to mind, and as long as she's happy, he's happy.

He tugs the cardigan off her and tosses it onto a dresser. (He doesn't care about his own clothes, but he's definitely not tossing hers on the floor if he can avoid it.) Then he takes a moment to pull back and just look at her for a moment. All flushed and slightly disheveled, and looking up at him like that.

"You're amazing, you know that? And gorgeous. And wonderful," he says quietly, voice coming from deep in his chest. Looking at her with reverence and admiration.

She doesn't mind his body one bit. Quite the opposite; it's his body, and he's beautiful to her.

She looks up at him, the man she's fallen for, shirtless and flushed and disheveled, and looking at her like that. Like every single word he says is true. And she believes it, wholly. She can't remember the last time someone made her feel this appreciated, this desired, this loved.

"Thank you," she answers softly. "You're incredible. In so many ways." The corner of her lip twitches upwards. "Including incredibly attractive."

Could just be that Ted spends a lot of time with shirtless young athletic men in their 20s. Probably skews his perspective a little bit. So the compliment on his attractiveness makes him smile shyly and blush a little bit. (Then again, it probably blends in with the rest of his flush.) But he knows she means it, and that makes him feel like he is too.

He doesn't know what to say to that though, but that's okay, because he just kisses her instead. There's only so many words you need.

He tugs gently at the hem of her shirt to pull it over her head, maybe try to equalize the amount of undress a little bit. It's not the first time this thought has occurred to him, but he would very much like to see her without clothes.

She helps him pull off her shirt, setting it aside, then reaches behind her back to unhook her bra. She knows that men often like to try to unhook a woman's bra, but in her experience it always winds up being awkward and frustrating, so she decides to just move past it, sliding the bra off. She's now just as undressed as he is, and she takes a moment to focus on kissing him, her chest softly pressed to his.

Honestly, for Ted, it's even more enjoyable to watch her take it off herself. Just some kind of difference in mindset. He's not here to conquer her or anything along those lines. Seeing her take it off, like she wants him to see her, to be close to him without anything in between them, that's much better.

Her skin is so soft and lovely and warm, and when she presses up close to him like that, she can probably feel how aroused he already is.

She can feel his arousal, and as she continues kissing him, she runs one hand down his torso and very gently cups him through his trousers, paying attention to how he reacts. Joan finds herself wanting to be careful with him, to not move too fast. She doesn't want there to be any chance that he feels like she pushed him into something he wasn't ready for.

Ted gasps softly into her mouth, but he definitely isn't pulling away. Quite the opposite, he leans into her with a soft moan. Oh, it's been a while since he felt like this, and he's forgotten how good it feels.

It does fill him with a little bit more sense of urgency though, as he starts gently but a bit more firmly maneuvering them both towards the bed, kicking off his sneakers as he goes.

Joan lets him guide her back to the bed. When the back of her legs pump against the edge she sits down, her eyes still upturned to him as she reaches down and unzips her heeled boots, slipping them off and setting them aside. That done she stands again and reaches for his belt, leaning in to kiss him as she unbuckles it, then unbuttons and unzips his fly.

Ted's mostly been letting her take the lead, not wanting to rush things nor to push her, but she definitely wants this just as much as he does, and he's starting to get more confident and, well, enthusiastic.

As soon as his pants are opened, he pushes them to the floor and steps out of them, then wraps an arms around her back and climbs into bed, pulling her along with him. He returns to kissing her neck, though this time he's running his hands over her body, wanting to feel all of her, and more importantly, make her feel good.

She absolutely loves the confidence and enthusiasm, laughing again as he drags her into bed with him. As he kisses her and touches her, she does her best to wriggle out of her skirt and leggings, wanting to be naked for him, to give him her entire body to touch and kiss and taste.

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