T.H. Mini Series

For Sheena - Part 5.

For Sheena ❤️

"This is the final boarding call to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Will all passengers on flight DA257 to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania please present themselves to GATE 24"

You clutched your boarding pass, your hands clammy. The line of passengers moved slowly and you felt, not for the first time, a little nauseous.

"This is me" you said lamely, turning to Tom.

"Yeah. Guess so" Tom replied, his voice quiet. "You'll call me when you land?" he asked, reaching out to caress your cheek.

"Of course" you murmured, moving to embrace him, wanting to feel his arms around you once more. You breathed him in, reminding yourself for the millionth time that this was real and not an elaborate fantasy you'd imagined.

If it was an elaborate fantasy, then it had been the best, fantastical five weeks of your life. You didn't even feel remotely put out that you hadn't done everything that you'd wanted to do, your time so consumed with Tom. Besides, you had a perfectly good excuse to come back more often.

But now you were going back home. You hadn't want to cause a scene, insisting that you were fine with saying goodbye at his apartment. This was partly because you were emotionally stunted, and worried that you would pat his arm and say something carelessly heartless and cold before running away. The other fear you had was that if Scenario A didn't occur, then Scenario B would be you transforming into a wailing mess in the middle of Heathrow, and Tom would be the one to run away.

Not that he hadn't experienced some of your emotional mood swings over the last few weeks. You had rapidly and spectacularly fluctuated between being completely enamoured with him, unable to keep your hands to yourself, and then performing a complete 180 and suddenly becoming cold and distant, pushing him away vehemently.

One day, during a particularly brutal emotional down turn, you'd gone so far as to swear at him in Russian, telling him to fuck off and not come back. Fortunately for you, Tom didn't speak Russian and had flatly refused to go anywhere until you spoke in English. His perplexed expression and hands resting on his hips had made you burst into laughter, quickly followed by tears. He had spent the remainder of the day cuddling you on the couch as you wailed about how terrible you were as a person and how he shouldn't be wasting his time with someone like you. He'd calmly told you to shut up and that he'd made his mind up about you long before he realised you could swear at him in Russian.

Later that evening he'd even asked you to speak to him in Russian, your tears long gone, replaced by a more carnal sensation. You'd happily agreed, whispering and moaning to him in Russian as you rode him to a new level of ecstasy. Boy came and came hard that night.

Your hug with Tom was interrupted, a fan tapping on his shoulder. "Sorry, can I get a quick photo?"

"Yeah sure" Tom replied, his public persona jumping out as he posed with the fan. You stood awkwardly to the side, watching him interact with ease. The fan thanked him and left, already jumping onto her social media to post the photo. You felt a twinge of nerves as you thought about her mentioning you and you wondered what the other fans would think.

"I don't talk about my private life in public S" Tom murmured, eyes on you.

"Sorry, yes. I know. But um...sometimes fans can be...mean" you replied evasively.

"My disguise isn't very good is it"

"Scott Lang summed it up best when he said that baseball caps and sunglasses aren't a disguise" you jested playfully.

"Ha ha, you're so funny" he replied sardonically, rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses.

"I know I am!"

"This is the final boarding call for flight DA 257 to Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania"

You tried to swallow the growing lump in your throat. The fun banter from seconds ago seemed a trivial way to waste your precious final moments with him. Tom seemed to read your mind, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and walking you closer to the gate, stopping just short of the waiting flight attendants.

He hugged you tightly, and you returned the hug in kind. The lump in your throat was bigger, your vision blurring. He pulled away from you, brushing away a stray tear.

"I'll see you again before you know it. Я люблю тебя" he murmured, leaning in to kiss you. His pronunciation wasn't great but you understood him perfectly. "I love you". You hadn't taught him any Russian, let alone "I love you".You stood on your tip toes as you wrapped your arms around his neck, pressing yourself flush against him.

"Я люблю тебя" you repeated when you pulled apart, forehead resting against his.

"Mam, I'm sorry but we are boarding" a flight attendant said, her voice and face apologetic as she interrupted you.

"Yes, sorry. Right. Well, catch ya" you said, patting his arm.

Tom rolled his eyes, sweeping you into his arms for one final passionate kiss.

"Go and be amazing S. And call me!"

Dazed from his kiss, you nodded, handing your boarding pass to the flight attendant. As you wandered down the ramp you turned to glimpse him one final time. He blew you a kiss, mouthing "I love you". You blew him one back and mouthed "Me too" before turning.

He loves me.