NFL Imagines

/:/ Tom Brady \:\

Title: You Hold My Heart Always
Warnings: A bit of an age gap (about 10 years)

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Being in Tampa after what happened to you and Tom only a year ago was hard. But being there for Tom to win a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers; the reason the two of you had split up in the first place? That was harder. And damn did it hurt.

You remembered celebrating three Super Bowls with him and this was the first one you hadn't celebrated with him since the two of you had met. If you had been at home, it would have left you feeling many different emotions, but being there, standing in the wave of thousands of people in the stadium seats, you felt empty. You felt alone.

You would have stayed home, but it would have left a bad taste in your mouth, and you had found yourself calling Gronk to see if he could help you be there. Being there felt so right, but also so wrong at the same time. You had passed on every other game up until now, feeling far too overwhelmed to show up to one, but the thought of missing out on another one of his Super Bowls felt like a crime.

Gronk had greeted you when you arrived and he had wrapped you in a tight hug, going on about how much he missed you. He avoided talking much about Tom, but he couldn't let you go without throwing out how miserable his best friend had been without you.

You didn't say much after that, but you were very happy to see him. You hadn't seen the guy in forever, so you allowed yourself to feel genuine joy for a moment as the two of you spoke.

Before the two of you had parted, you asked him not to mention anything about you being there to Tom. He told you that he wouldn't tell, but during the game, you noticed Tom scanning across the thousands of people in the stadium like he was looking for someone; something he never did.

Now that the game was over, you quickly found yourself trying to get out. If Tom knew you were there, he couldn't see you at all. It would make what happened between you two worse; not to mention that it would be too much for you to handle. Your emotions couldn't take that much in one day.

The crowd ended up taking too long to get a move on, so you made yourself comfortable in your seat and waited until the crowd was mostly gone. You stared off and time got away from you. By the time you had come back to reality, the field was mostly empty and there was no one around you.

You were alone.

You realized this and for some reason, your hand drifted towards your phone. You pulled it from your pocket and unlocked it, only to find Tom's contact staring back at you.

You had almost called him. Right before you got out of your car, you almost called him. You didn't know why. Maybe to ramble, maybe to cry, maybe to tell him you were here, or maybe to tell him how proud of him you were. You didn't know why you had almost called him, but you almost had.

Your finger hovered over the call button, hesitating to press it or not now that you were alone. Finally, you pressed it and shakily brought the phone to your ear.

It rang, and you began to regret your decision. What were you even supposed to say if he picked up? Were you supposed to lie or tell the truth? Did he know you were there, and if he did, how did he feel about it? God, you were a wreck inside and out.

After a minute, it went to his voicemail. He hadn't answered, but hearing his voice was almost enough to satisfy you. If you would have been at home, you would have broken down as soon as you heard it, but since you were out in public, you couldn't do that.