60s!tom & reader battling racism in a diner
i didn’t know if you wanted the reader to be of color or whatever, but that’s what i ended up doing bc i feel like we need more poc representation
disclaimer: i am literally as white as one can be (unfortunately), so i am not claiming i know what this is like and i’m really not trying to offend anybody
tom’s fingers were clenched tightly, the skin stretching over his knuckles almost turning as white as the table the two of you were seated at. your eyes darted between the way his tightened fist and his eyes, attempting to determine what was going through his mind. his focus was anywhere but on you, his eyes trained on the table of bikers a few feet away. with a sigh, you glanced down at the black and white checkered floorboards, pretending to count them. eventually, the staring got old and you smoothed your forest green corduroy overalls, placing your hands neatly in your lap.
“tom,” you whispered, just barely catching his attention. “let it go.”
“i- they-they don’t get to speak to you that way.”
“just, please, let it go. i don’t want to cause any trouble. i’m just trying to have a nice time with my boyfriend.”
tom hooked his index finger inside the hem of his mock neck sweater, moving it around as if to loosen the fabric. he sighed, averting his eyes from the middle-aged men already on their third round of beer. his dark orbs met yours and they looked even darker in the dim light of the diner. they were narrow and you easily recognized the frustration swimming within them. you glanced over at the group, briefly, their insults more than fresh enough in your mind. although not as frequent, you still received spiteful comments and sometimes even threats - all because of the color of your skin. it wasn’t fair; you knew that and so did tom, but there wasn’t really anything you could do about it - no matter how much tom wanted to.
he had been ready to fight the three men the second their slurred hate speech left their mouths, but you had immediately grabbed his hand and shook your head. not being able to coax out the reaction they wanted from you, the three men had continued further into the diner and you were able to relax the minute they had. you could tell by the way that tom’s eyes had flickered back and forth between the menu placed in front of him and the man who had looked at you like you were dressed in a trash bag that the comment had bothered him more than you. you had experienced this kind of treatment for years and tom had only been with you for one of those.
“i just don’t get it. you don’t deserve to be treated like that, darlin’.”
“it’s not fair, i know, but that’s just how it is. i’ve stopped caring. you don’t care about my skin color and that’s all that matters.”
“i would never,” he blurted immediately, his eyes widening. “i fell in love with you. your extremely good looks are just an added bonus.”
you cheeks warmed up immediately at his words. “i love you, tommy.”
“i love you, too, love. more than you’ll ever know.”
“although i don’t want you to beat them up on my behalf, i’m really happy you’re willing to. thank you.”
“no need to thank me. i just want you to be treated the same as any other woman, is all. you deserve that.”
cleaning out my inbox