#thank u so much for the prompt!!! loved writing this much needed after villa today🙏🏻

[hendolish]

stonesford ficlet where John takes care of Jordan after bad results with Everton???

btw I love your writing so much 😭❤️

john stones/jordan pickford | comfort ♡

“C’mon, it wasn’t that bad.”

Jordan pauses arranging the pillows on the couch then to stare at him.

“It was four-nil, John. Four-nil. What’s worse than that?”

“Five-nil?”

John quips with a grin on his face that suggests he didn’t want to make the joke but had felt compelled to. Admittedly, it does make Jordan’s lips twitch as he chucks one of the cushions at him.

“It was shit. We were a mess,” He rakes his hands through his hair as he finally takes a seat. It’s still slightly damp from where he’d just gotten out of the shower, “I was a mess. Didn’t feel in control at all and I hated it.”

John watches him with a frown, lips pressed together. He hates seeing Jordan like this. Especially when anger and frustration usually seems to fuel him rather than pull him down.

The plan was to watch the Arsenal game together, John wants to be up to date with everything for when he’s fit again, but with Jordan’s brows pulling into an ever deeper frown every time one of the keepers makes a save, John is quick to flip the channel over. He can go over the game later himself.

As expected, Jordan’s wallowing so deep in his own thoughts that it takes him a couple of seconds to even turn to John and ask what he’s doing.

“C’mon, let’s put on a film and I’ll make you a cuppa.”

Jordan’s frown neutralises mildly at the suggestion, but remains because it’s pretty obvious that John’s attempting to cheer him up. Either way, he agrees with a weak nod as he rubs at his eyes. Red and tired from where he hadn’t slept a wink last night thinking about what he should have done. Which way he should’ve dived.

John’s determined to fill his mind with anything but.

“You choose,” He says over his shoulder as he extracts what has become Jordan’s mug out of the cupboard. Evertonian blue, of course.

“I’ll even watch one of those terrible action films with you,” Jordan picks up the remote, his left eyebrow quirked upwards, “You know. The ones with the cars and the semi-naked girls.”

That seems to do the trick, Jordan soon rising to the defence of his favourite film series, which may or may not have been John’s plan all along as he distributes the teabags.

Jordan still looks a little put out once he returns to the couch with two mugs in hand, balancing them carefully until they’re safely on the coffee table, so John plants a kiss to the top of his head as he passes by. Once he’s sat down again, he grins at the grimace on Jordan’s face because he knows he loves it really. Just far too stubborn to show it.

“You picked one?” John asks as he arranges himself on the couch; aesthetics and long limbs really don’t match.

Jordan doesn’t reply, instead gesturing to the TV with the remote still in hand where a title screen is blinking back at him. John still thinks he looks distracted though, and so adds, “We’ll smash ‘em for you. You’ll see.”

The other hums in agreement, but the noise soon turns into Jordan’s sniggering. John can’t help but grin back at him, “What?”

“Pretty sure you don’t play them ‘til, like, December or summit.”

John’s still smiling at Jordan because his face looks far less grim glancing over at him; he doesn’t even realise the other’s hit ‘play’ until a car screeches to a halt through the TV’s speakers.

“I know,” He says, just to keep Jordan looking at him, grinning, “But does it make you feel better?”

John holds his breath as he watches Jordan move closer to him on the couch until he’s lowering his head down into his lap, eyes still traced on the TV. He daren’t move in case the other man changes his mind, but slowly lowers a hand to land in his hair once Jordan seems set on staying where he is.

“It does.”

Jordan murmurs as he buries his face into John’s thigh and pushes into the hand playing with his hair. Soft for once and not slicked with product. John grins to himself.

“Good.”

♡