Riding My (t.h. x female reader)

Ten - Away (T) - part 2/2

6.8k, warnings: fluff; angst: longing

summary: Tom tries to find a way to cope with distance (part 2)

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Tom???

Tom smiles at his phone while reading the message you just sent.

A while back, he had borrowed your phone when you said you had saved something in your camera roll to show him. It wasn't like he spent a long time with it, but he must have hit some button wrong because the next thing he knew, all the info in your phone had been synced into his. At the time, Harry said it had happened because, one, they're both in the same Wi-Fi network and, two, "because you always find a way to fuck things up, mate."

Tom couldn't even pretend to be offended. He knew that was true. So then everyone in the house spent the next couple of days trying to figure it out and how to undo it. Harrison eventually got it done, but the info didn't miraculously disappear from Tom's phone. And he had yet to remove a few things. And who knew what kind of stuff he had never found out lost in his device.

Nevertheless, he decided to use some of it to his benefit. Namely your calendar. He told you he was going to keep that, which you had no problem with, but it's been so long that you may not remember that it even happened.

He still has — and used — the info he kept. Especially knowing that you'd be down in your feelings the same way he is right now. So on the first day he was back, Tom spent any little break he had to arrange a special surprise.

A care package to be delivered at your address today, the first day of your period as per your calendar. The small basket included things he knew you would appreciate during the next few days, namely your comfort brand of chocolate, extra candy that you usually saved for the worst days, your favorite tea because you once said it helped you manage the pain, a brand new hot water bottle in a cute sloth design, a couple of your favorite films in case you took a day or two off and of course, extra pain relievers, tissues, and hygiene products in case you ran out and didn't feel like going shopping.

Right in the middle of the package, he had requested the store clerk to put a vase with any sort of cactus they deemed easy enough for a beginner, something that didn't require a lot of work. The clerk had sent him a photo to confirm if the package looked like what he had imagined, and Tom was not disappointed. It had a little white vase in the center with two green mouse-like ears with tiny spines all over, and the items were neatly organized around it.

"Looks perfect," he said into the receiver that day and proceeded with his order.

Tom smiles down at his phone at the same time as it vibrates with another message.

Tom wtf 😭 [sobbing emoji]

The crying emoji makes him panic. He sets both feet hard on the floor and jams his elbows over his knees, ready to start typing, but he sees that you're typing too and decides to wait.

His heart is pounding in his chest when the three dots on the screen disappear, and it doesn't slow down until a new message pops up.

How did you know I needed this today 😭 [sobbing emoji]

The second message worries him even more, so he hits the camera icon before anything else.

His heart finally stops pounding when your beautiful, tired eyes come up on his screen.

"Hey, babe, how you feelin'?" he asks, though the haggard look on your face says it all.

You're lying on your side on what looks like a pillow, so Tom assumes you're in bed already. And when you shake your head and take a bite of what he thinks is one of the three chocolate bars he sent, he gets it.