Since Last Christmas doesn’t have a category on FFN, I’m posting a fic directly to Tumblr for once! A fluffy little Kate/Tom one-shot, Merry Christmas everyone~!
[Wattpad]
@the-duke-remus
Kate assumed Tom would pass on and vanish, for good this time, once she got her life sorted out. Just because he can pass on, though, doesn't mean he has to. Or wants to.
Christmas Eve. The show at the homeless shelter had probably been Kate’s greatest achievement, all things considered, but now she was exhausted (and surprisingly sober, for her) and ready to go home. She was untangling the lights she had wrapped around herself the second she walked through the front door, after proudly strutting from her dad’s cab to the house with the colours glowing bright. She quickly said goodnight to her family (and Alba, who was spending the night) and headed right to her room.
“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the dah-dah-dah dah...” she closed the door behind her with a quick hip-check while her hands were busy untying the bow around her neck, “Hmm-hmm-mm-mm...”
She was still facing the door as she tossed her tinsel crown aside and was just starting to unbutton the dress so she could finally crawl into bed and get some sleep when-
“This year, to save me from tears...”
Kate stopped short at the second button; another voice had joined her. A male voice. One that she would recognise anywhere, but thought for sure she wouldn’t ever hear again.
He couldn’t be, could he? Surely not.
With a small frown, Kate slowly turned around and as soon as she did, she screamed.
Then immediately clamped her hands over her mouth.
“To-” she realised she was shouting and cut herself off.
Her mother’s concerned voice came from down the hall, “Katarina?”
For a second, Kate wasn’t sure what to do. Because there was Tom, dressed as he always was, looking as relaxed and sure of himself as he always did, just... sitting there. On her bed. As if it was totally normal for him to be there. She stared wide-eyed at him while he shrugged and pulled a face that said ‘Well, I came all this way. I couldn’t possibly leave now’. Kate, at a complete loss for words, hissed under her breath, “Tom...!”
But before she could figure out what to say, her mum appeared at the door.
“Katarina? Are you alright? I heard scream, is something-”
“Nope! No! Everything’s fine!” Kate plastered on a way-too-cheerful smile. The one she had often worn at work.
“If everything is fine, why the screaming?”
“You do realise she can’t see me, don’t you?” Tom piped up from the bed and Kate realised she was trying to block her mum’s view of the room and she quickly straightened up, forcing herself not to glance back at the man – the ghost – who was casually leaning back against the headboard.
“The scream. Right. Um...” Kate cleared her throat in an attempt to stall for time. She glanced down at the single undone button on her dress, “I... M-my hair, it got caught on the button, so...”
“On the button?” her mum echoed and Kate nodded, “But your hair is so short now, it does not reach the button-”
“And it got caught anyway!” Kate said, throwing her arms up in an exaggerated shrug. She heard Tom snort and laugh, assumedly behind his hand, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “Thanks for the concern, Mum, but I am absolutely fine, you go head off to bed. I’m sure you’re tired after the show and all that, and it is Christmas tomorrow, so goodnight!”
She didn’t let her get so much as one word in as she gently coaxed (or more like shoved) her mother out the door then closed it and turned back to Tom. By now, he was sitting up, his feet flat on the floor, leaning slightly forward with his elbows propped up on his knees and his chin rested on his clasped hands. And he was grinning at her with that same old sparkle in his eye.
“I quite like your Mum,” he stated in the most matter-of-fact way, emphasising it with a short nod and a satisfied smile, “Can’t wait to hear the lullabies.”
Kate couldn’t do much but nod back awkwardly at first, but after a moment, she found her voice.
“How did you even find me?”
“Easy. Followed my heart.”
She sucked in a breath and looked down, but there was no hiding the smile that was tugging on her lips, “Very funny.”
“I thought so.”
“Did you?” Kate jeered, then went quiet, cocking her head to one side, “What are you still doing here? I got the closure I needed, my life’s getting better, I’m... I’m looking after your heart. Haven’t you, you know, fulfilled your purpose? Shouldn’t you be gone?”
“Apparently not,” Tom shook his head, “Still a ghost. Still in your head. Still Tom, last I checked.”
“But aren’t ghosts supposed to, like,” she gestured vaguely, “Pass on or something?”
“I mean, I could. But that doesn’t stop me from visiting,” he pointed out as she sat down beside him, “I’m quite literally a part of you, remember? Besides, I can’t exactly just let you run wild with my heart.”
“Maybe this time you could actually keep in touch, though, yeah?”
He sighed, leaning back again and letting her lean against him, “Still no phone, remember?”
Kate hummed in response, only to suddenly sit up a moment later, startling Tom, “Oh! That reminds me,” she slid off the bed again and over to her dresser, “I found it. They were selling your flat and I went looking for you and the guy obviously thought I was there looking to buy. But anyway, I found your phone in the cupboard,” she opened a drawer and started rummaging around, “Not there,” she shut it and opened another, “Nope. Hold on...” her face lit up when she opened the last drawer, “Ah! Got it!” She joined him back on the bed, old iPhone in hand, “I charged it up for you. Can’t unlock it though.”
She held it out to him, but he just shrugged.
“I can’t do anything with it now.”
Kate dropped her eyes to the screen and she ran her thumbs down the edges. Of course he couldn’t. He was a ghost. He couldn’t truly interact with the living world. Apart from her, at least. She leaned on his shoulder and tipped her head back, “Can you remember the passcode? Then I could open it. Unless you’ve got some kind of secret hidden in it?” she smirked, raising an eyebrow.
“Is there a reason you want to get in there?” Tom raised an eyebrow back.
She shrugged, avoiding eye contact now, “Oh, you know, just to have something of yours I can hold on to. And... learn a little bit about your what your life was like,” she finally looked back at him, her expression somewhat sombre, “You can learn a lot about someone from what’s on their phone.”
He did remember it. Roughly. It took a couple of incorrect inputs but they got in on the third try, and once they did, it didn’t take long for them to lose track of time as Kate scrolled through photos and contacts and saved dates. Tom didn’t seem to have many secrets, and what use was there in keeping the ones he used to have now that he was dead?
Soon, the two of them had sunk a little lower onto the bed, Tom still partially propped up while Kate lay nestled in the crook of his neck. They had been silent for some time now, relaxing in each other’s company. The phone was still in her hand, but she wasn’t paying much attention to it anymore.
The man lying beside her was dead. And he was the reason she was alive. The invitations to go on walks, the concern over her unhealthy eating habits, the way he always encouraged her to slow down, observe her surroundings, avoid stress... at first, it had all just been to make sure his heart was taken care of but somewhere along the way, it turned into caring for her. Maybe even loving her. Of course, a normal relationship wasn’t exactly an option under the circumstances they found themselves in. But Tom was still there. She knew now she really didn’t have to depend on him. That she shouldn’t. But having him around, having someone she could open up to, was just what she needed. Her guardian angel. Her very own, year-round, Christmas angel.
She put the phone aside and hesitantly tilted her head to look up at him.
“... Tom?”
“Yeah?”
“... I can’t feel your heartbeat.”
Their eyes met for a short moment and Tom smiled sadly at her. He then took her hand in his and guided it to her own chest.
“There. That’s our heartbeat.”
Her eyes scanned his face. He stared back at her.
Kate cracked in a matter of seconds, struggling to muffle her laughter.
“Is it possible for you to go five minutes without sounding so poetic?”
