[✔] The Both of You | Tom x Reader

Ch. 42 | Back to Square One

- "She's got to be here. Where else could she have gone?" 

I'M ESCALATING IT FAST BC I PLAN ON FINISHING BY CH.50

You ran down the street holding a baseball bat close to you. Zombies flooded the streets. "Tom!" You stretched out your hand to the sky, and it was almost immediately grabbed. "Y/N, thank god! Are you alright?" Tom asked, floating above the ground. "I'm fine, no bites! What about you?" You asked breathlessly. 

"Triple checked, I'm all good." His grip on your hand tightened. "Everyone's gone but us, so let's get a move on!" You nodded and let go of him, dropping onto solid ground again. "Why won't you let me carry you, Y/N?" He complained, floating above your head. "Because you  need to save your energy for more important things!" You answered, batting a zombie.

It flew back into the crowd behind you, buying you some time. You ran down the sidewalk, Tom close behind you. "You keep on stopping to catch your breath! Can't you let me carry you this once?" He begged. "Why?" You asked, staring at the horde of zombies in front of you. You jumped onto a mailbox and then above their heads.

Tom caught you, both hands underneath your arms, and you just flew over them. "Because you're purposefully giving me the worst jobs! Inventory check sucks, and you already know we have everything!" He snapped. "You need to save-" You began again. "Yeah, yeah! I need to save my energy! Save it for what if you're not letting me do anything?"

You sighed. "Alright, fine! But there are other people you can help," you gave in. "I want to help you," he insisted. "Alright, fine." You arrived at the house and shook yourself out of his grip. "Edd!" You banged on the door. Edd swung it open. "You're here!" He said, relieved. "Yeah, any word on my dad?" You asked.

"No, sorry..." He looked sideways for a brief moment before snapping out of it and dragging you and Tom inside. "Your mom is still here, though," Matt announced from the living room. Your mother had been attacked by zombies. She didn't have any bites, thankfully. "I'm glad," you sighed, walking into the living room.

There she was, laying on the couch. Her breathing looked incredibly choppy and she herself looked very clammy. "Mamma, are you there?" You bent down in front of her. "I'm right in front of you," she snorted. It sounded like it hurt for her to talk. You nuzzled your face against her side, inhaling through your nose. She was (probably) your only stable family member alive. Everyone else was gone.

At least you still had Tom. You glanced over your shoulder. He was standing in the doorway giving Edd a detailed report about what he had found. "Y/N?" You whipped your head around again. "Yes, mamma?" She smiled weakly. "Promise me that when I die, you won't stop fighting for everyone." Your breath hitched. 

"You're not going anywhere. Matt is gonna fix you up, right Matt?" You looked up at your friend. He was anxiously chewing on his lip. "I'm not a miracle worker," he muttered. You leaped up to your feet. "Matt, you told me she was gonna be alright!" You shouted, alarm rising. He flinched. "I didn't say that, I said she was still alive."

"Put your two brain cells together and think! There must be something you can do!" You begged. "She has internal bleeding. There's nothing I can do to stop it," he answered, trying to stay calm. Edd and Tom spread out behind you two, feuding whether to step in or let you fight. Tom finally settled behind you and placed his hands on your shoulders.

"Calm down," he muttered. "Calm down?" You repeated, shaking him off. "One of the only people I care about is about to die!" Your mother tried to sit in, but she winced and went back to her original position. "Let's not act irrational, honning," she warned. "But mamma- you're... You're dying!" You sobbed, collapsing at the foot of the couch.

"If I die, I die," she furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't turn on your friends for that. Don't turn on them now," she lifted her hand and stroked the top of your head. "If you think about me, I'll never truly be gone," she smiled. Tom, Matt, and Edd read the room and backed off. You swallowed back the lump in your throat and nestled your forehead into her side.

"Mamma..." You breathed. Hot tears stung your eyes. Her breath rattled above you as she shifted into a more comfortable position. The guys whispered frantically somewhere nearby, but you ignored them. All you wanted to do was stay here with your mother. 

~~

You opened your eyes, and she was gone.

Matt stood behind you. "Y-Y/N... I'm sorry," he said. "I wish I could've done more." You didn't acknowledge him, you just staggered past him blindly. Edd's hand brushed against yours as you walked out of the living room. You stopped and stared at him. "I'm here if you want someone to talk to," he reassured gently. You didn't say a word.

Then there was Tom. The guy of your dreams. He was sitting upstairs in your bedroom, hands cupping his own face. He looked up and stared at you quizzically as if he'd never comforted a grieving person in his life. You just stood in your doorway, fighting back your emotions. You needed to be strong for your friends.

"Y/N," he stood up sharply. You walked past him and settled down at the furthest corner of your bed. You were just about ready to start crying, and Tom would just make you feel even sadder. "Y/N, you can't just bottle up your feelings. Trust me, I've tried." He sat down next to you. "She's gone, Tom." You looked up at him. He was genuinely concerned.

"It's over," you buried your face in his chest. "No, it's not," he insisted. "She told you to keep on fighting. She believes in you, N/N. We all do." At those words, you burst into tears. "She's gone!" You cried. Tom wrapped an arm around your waist and stroked your head with his other hand. "Let it all out." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat.

And then you heard a helicopter outside. You swallowed the lump in your throat. The helicopter didn't pass. If anything, the sound of its spinning blades was getting louder. "What is that?" Matt asked from downstairs. "The sound of someone playing a game of monopoly, of course-" Edd snapped sarcastically. "It's a helicopter!"

You pulled away from Tom and wiped your face with your sleeve, hiccuping. "We're here, Y/N. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on," he pressed his forehead against yours. "Y-Yeah, thanks." You kissed his nose and stood up, walking downstairs. Just in time to see the front door being broken down. "Holy-!" Matt backed away from it and ran behind Edd.

And there was Tord Larsson. -