𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐃𝐔 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐎 ; 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓈 , 𝒻𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 ; 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐘 & 𝐌𝐀𝐋 .
the problem with being in love with a boy from england was the three thousand , one hundred and seventy - seven miles that separated them most months out of a very long year . sure , tommy had come to visit when he was able , and she’d caught more than one flight back to larnswick , but they were both students . they were both busy ; even as her first year of med school began to wind down , she found herself in a RUSH to catch a flight from the states to make it back just in time for his commencement . things only slowed down when the familiar streets of larnswick were replaced by historic neighborhoods of paris . PARIS , just the two of them . it was just about the best surprise tommy had ever pulled off , and they spent the entire first day in a hotel room with soft sheets and a beautiful view of the city , surviving on room service and ignoring their phone . the whole thing was so intoxicatingly perfect , she wondered if she’d ever have the STRENGTH to get back on a plane back to boston when the time came . wonderings like that were fleeting , few and far between , though because she was caught up in being in a new city with THOMAS . it was a feat in itself to quiet the anxious wandering of her mind , but he had a knack of making things quiet and calm . mal was the kind of person that planned things to the minute , stressed over small details , and wanted to create PERFECTION in everything she did . . . but a year of loving him , even if it was often from a distance , built a kind of trust that felt infallible . the question of ‘ what comes next ’ for them had been answered before , a YEAR before when she left larnswick , and they’d find the answer again now that it was tommy’s turn to find HIS next step . so she didn’t worry over it . instead , she focused on him . and the way the louvre was magical even when it was crowded , the way parisian carbs tasted ten times better than boston carbs , and the way everything in paris seemed to sparkle with a sheen of romance . especially when darkness fell on their last late night in the city and the world around them lit up in warm , sparkling lights . the eiffel tower stretched up into the sky , across the siene but bigger than ever as it twinkled against a velvety backdrop . there were fewer people wandering about the trocadéro than there would’ve been during the day , and the air was filled with the sound of light traffic , grand fountains , and a distant street busker with a violin . mal tilted her chin up towards the sky ; the city’s lights hid the stars , but the moon was as bright as ever , casting a silvery glow over everything . her heels made quiet clicking sounds on the concrete , and a jacket that smelled like tommy’s cologne rested over her shoulders , fending off a cool breeze . it was one of those moments , mal thought , that seemed almost too good to be true ; something like a scene written into the pages of one of her favorite books where she was the main character in a pretty dress wandering a fantastical city holding the hand of a beautiful boy who loved her back . “ thomas connelley , ” she sighed , the dancing lights of the eiffel tower reflected in her eyes , “ i have to say , you’ve outdone yourself with this whole . . . paris trip . ” disbelief and admiration filled the spaces of her words . her hand shifted in his just slightly , middle finger running over the silver band that always wrapped around his . she pulled away from him a little bit before , like a well practiced dance move , lifting their intertwined hands over her head and tucking herself into his side as they neared steps that led to a square of fresh grass and bubbling fountains . “ did you ever think back when we took that very first day trip to brighton that one day , ” her gaze finally drifted from the landmark and up to him , “ we’d have travelled with or TO each other enough to wrap around the world at least once ? this year alone , even . ”
it hadn’t be a day he EVER thought would have come to be . to be fair , his whole FUTURE wasn’t something he ever thought would have ever come to be . but somehow he’d done it . against all odds & expectations he’d DONE it . he'd graduated . he’d made light of the whole thing , short comments come after he'd stared down at the solid piece of paper with his family & MAL surrounding him — it’s an expensive as fuck piece of paper . i could have forged it & no one would be any wiser — but that piece of paper had meant more to him than he ever thought was possible . it was a stark reminder of just how FAR he'd come . not that he really needed to look all that far for reminders . all he had to do was look up & he'd get the BIGGEST reminder of just how far he’d come . malia schafer was ALL he needed . the girl that he’d broken up with but still gave him a second chance . the girl that he'd seen through a screen of some sort for the past year more than he'd seen her in person . the girl that had somehow finished up HER finals & made it to his graduation . the girl that helped showed him that there WAS a future for him — a future bigger than she knew to be for now . the girl that he LOVED . it was why , after the MONTHS spent apart & for all the hard work , he’d wanted to do give her something . something that could bring this chapter of their lives to an end . grand gestures weren’t his strong suit — not that showing his REAL feelings were a strong suit at all — he preferred to keep things simple & he knew she'd be more than happy to spend a whole week just tucked away in some airbnb only a few hours drive from larnswick but this felt as if it deserved MORE . & with a little help from amelia , his mother & his grandparents , he’d managed to scrap together just enough to slip a ticket to paris in between a card that boasted artwork he’d drawn himself of a FAR too studious malia schafer surrounded by medical textbooks . a sight he'd seen a handful of times when he'd made it over to boston . it was RIGHT . not only because she deserved a break after all her hard work , or because it was the first time they’d been together in MONTHS & it meant they’d be together without ANY interruptions , but because PARIS — the city of love — felt like the perfect place to tell her just how MUCH she'd influenced his future . it was just finding the right time to tell her that was the tricky part . he wanted to give them enough time to settle back into one another , to allow the EXCITEMENT of being back together soften , before he brought up the future . but he didn't want to take TOO long & wait until the final moment they had in paris before he told her what was NEXT for him — for them . & with their last day turning into their last night in paris , he was beginning to encroach into too long territory . finding words had always been HARD for him , even in moments when he shouldn't have find it hard . but A LOT hung on the announcement he had to make & it seemed as their last night dragged on , it was getting harder to foucs on anything other than the nagging just do it that pushed into what should have been a peaceful walk back through place du trocadéro to their hotel . & if it wasn’t for mal's hand tucked safely into his own , fingers winding a silver band around his middle finger would have given away the nagging . but the warmth of her hand within his & the steady beat of her heels against the ground that matched his own slowed steps , kept him just present enough to take some of the admiration present in her voice as her voice filled the air — how he'd missed the clearness of her voice right beside him — & allow a quiet curve to pull the corners of his lips upwards . “ i can't take all the credit . you'll have to thank amelia & the rest of my family — i couldn’t have done this without the GRADUATION money they all slipped my way . ” & as she tucked herself under an arm , he instinctively lent down to press a kiss against the top of her head without break a step , “ felt like we both deserved something after the year we just had . ” it wasn’t the HARDEST year of his life but it wasn't something he'd sign himself up for to go through again willingly . he'd had enough distance from her to last him a lifetime . he’d righted himself as her ocean gaze found his , a gaze that softened every sharp edge & allowed a gentle twinkle spark in the depths of deep blue , “ if i'm HONEST ? ” a pause came as the smile grew a little upon his features , “ seeing i broke up with you not all that long after , i would NEVER thought we'd be here now . ” it was something he could joke about now . the heartbreak had long since vanished . but that wasn't the reason his smile slowly faded as his tone grew quiet & thoughtful once more , “ then again , back then i would have never guessed i'd have a degree either . EVERYTHING'S a bit unbelievable if you ask me . but if you really ask me , i’m glad i'm not the guy that went to brighton with you that day . doubt he'd be here . not just in paris but with YOU in paris . he'd never have survived as many plane rides as i have — too much time to think . ”