Banana Pancakes • Tom Holland

83 [Phone Call]

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"Hello? Claire?"

"Hi Tom," Claire replied softly. After a full day of travel, she was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was fall into bed with Tom's arms around her, but that wasn't possible.

"I miss you," Tom said. Time apart never got easier.

"I miss you too Tom,"

There was a pause and the couple stayed silent, just listening to each other breathe. Suddenly, tears began to roll down Tom's cheeks, his breaths growing shorter as he began to sob. Claire's heart started to break. She hated being so far away from him. Hated it.

"I'm just so tired Claire," Tom said between sobs, "I'm so tired." Claire knew this. It wasn't the first time Tom had had a breakdown. They were usually from exhaustion or from the two of them being separated, and she knew this one would be worse since it was caused by both.

"I know, sweetheart, I know," Claire tried to console him. Tom's sobs were growing stronger.

"It's too much Claire," Tom cried. He was just so tired. He hadn't stopped working for almost four years, with just a few weeks here and there in between projects. It wasn't supposed to be like this, but with all the Chaos Walking and Avengers reshoots, and the fact that the people at Marvel seemed to want Tom for every aspect of the films — the acting, motion capture, and with that, extra training in weights and stunts — Tom was at his wit's end. He just needed a few months off, then he'd be okay.

"I know it is Tom, I know, but it's just a couple months left, and then you have almost four months here with me." Claire wished more than anything now that she'd stayed in Atlanta with Tom. But of course, she couldn't. She was just as exhausted as Tom, because in addition to all her work with Marvel, she was also now a soloist at San Francisco Ballet. How she got the promotion what with all the rehearsals and performances she had missed for her acting, she had no idea. Juggling two careers as a 20-year-old was hard, and she had had her fair share of meltdowns as well. Her heart ached for Tom. He was under so much pressure, from Marvel, from his fans, from every other movie director whose project he was currently a part of. He still hadn't even had a chance to figure out when he was going to be able to film Uncharted, though since they hadn't yet picked a release date, or year, there was a little less pressure on that one. The Doctor Dolittle film, on the other hand, was worrying him.

"Yeah but I'm still working most of that time," Tom sighed, his sobs slowing down to just a few hiccups.

"Yes, but at least you'll be home, and you can go to the recording studio in your pajamas every day." Tom was lending his voice to a second animated film, Spies in Disguise, and the people in charge had graciously allowed him to do his part at a studio in San Francisco, so that he could go home.

"Yeah," Tom agreed sleepily, "I'll be home with you."

Claire glanced at the clock. It read 9:32 pm.

"Tom," Claire coaxed quietly,

"Hmm?" Tom's eyes were closed and he was focusing on evening out his breathing.

"It's late...it's almost midnight for you."

Tom looked over at the alarm clock next to his small trailer bed. It was almost midnight.

"Oh. Oh FUCK I have to be up in seven hours!"

Claire would have laughed at his reaction if not for the fact that it was because he was now going to be more sleep-deprived than he already was.

"Go to sleep love, you can call me whenever you can."

"You'll text me your rehearsal schedule?"

"Of course."

"Ok. Goodnight love," Tom breathed.

"Goodnight Tom. I love you," Claire replied.

"I love you too," and the line went dead.