humble beginnings pt. 1 | tom holland
inspiration: my love for the “best friends turned to lovers” cliche & @hufflepuffholland for encouraging me through the humble beginnings of my own relationship
summary: since when did being best friends stop being enough?
a/n: for all intents and purposes, you’re from where tom is :)
It’s been two months since you’ve last seen Tom in person, and his absence is hitting you harder than you thought. At first, your sudden relocation to Southern California felt like a vacation, but as the weeks dragged on, reality began to set in.
You grew up with Tom by your side; ever since you met in the sandbox on the first day of your first year of primary school, the two of you were inseparable. He was there for everything - the ups, the downs, the laughter, the tears - and now that you’re thousands of miles apart, you realize just how much you took him for granted. You never knew how much you needed Tom with you until you left.
It’s a funny thing, how you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.
Even now, as you’re looking at him through the camera on your laptop, it isn’t enough. You can’t help but feel like your relationship is morphing into something you don’t recognize, like you’re drifting in the most inscrutable way possible and no amount of Skype calls, text messages, or Snapchats can change that.
The inevitability of losing Tom to distance sends a dull ache through your chest.
“Hello? Earth to [Name],” Tom’s chuckle filters through your laptop’s speakers and you’re pulled back to the present, where you decide not to worry about the what ifs and to focus on what’s in front of you.
Which is Tom, and he’s itching for attention.
Your gaze meets his and your eyebrows shoot up, “Sorry, what?”
He sighs overdramatically and rolls his eyes, pretending to sulk, “No, nothing. I can see you have more important things to think about, now that you’re in San Diego.”
He says the last part with a terrible valley girl accent and you can’t help the laughter that bubbles past your lips, “Shut up, you nob, I’m tired. I can’t help it if someone wants to Skype at such an ungodly hour.”
“Ungodly? Darling, it’s two in the afternoon.”
You scoff, “Yeah, for you! It’s six in the morning here in San Diego.” You mimic Tom’s godawful accent, and in the haze of your tiredness, his laugh is more contagious than usual and a weird feeling of fondness squeezes your chest.
There’s a lull in your conversation, but you’re not willing to log off yet, despite your ever-growing tiredness, so you tell him you miss him. A sad smile pulls at Tom’s lips and he shifts to rest his chin in his palm, undeniable charm making an appearance as his cheek smushes against his cheek. His voice is a little muffled when he says, “I miss you, too. But it’s fine because you’re coming to visit me in a few days. I’m going to spend so much time with you that you’ll wish you were back in America.”
Your chest fills with a strange sense of affection, but you ignore it and quip, “Hit me with your best shot, Holland. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Good.” He says, grin plastered on his face.
The rest of the conversation proceeds normally, but you can’t shake the weird feeling stirring in your chest and you don’t realize why you’re so desperate to hold on to your relationship with Tom until you hang up.
Leaning back against your pillows after you close your laptop you sigh, closing your eyes. Mentally berating yourself for not realizing your feelings for your best friend earlier, you groan as you think about the past two months and realize that everything you were and are feeling makes sense.
You hate the fact that it took 5,000 miles and two months for you to realize that you’re love for Tom transcends that of a best friend. You guess what they say is true:
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
There’s a fine line between best friends and lovers and you belatedly realize that you crossed that line a long time ago.
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