Requested by 1jhonyx

I thought the song Wait For Me from hadestown fit this couple really well so I used it as the inspiration for this piece.

Flashbacks are in italics, lyrics are italicized and in bold.

Tbh I can't recommend hadestown enough just listen to the song as you read and see if you can tell why.

Anyway, enjoy!

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Time was meaningless in this hell he was trapped in. All he had left of his former self was a few scattered memories, mostly of his work on the machine and a woman who had a smile that swept him off of his feet.

Who had she been? Where was she now? Some questions, he had learned, never got an answer. Maybe they never would.

Sometimes, though, if he closed his eyes, he could picture what she must have been like all those years ago.

"Hey Tom! Did you get in trouble with Lawrence again?" Allison asked, giggling. "I heard him from the recording booth.

"He's just upset that the pump switch is located inside his office, despite that being the optimal location for it," he responded, wrapping his arms around her.

"If he's that upset, he should try doing your job!"

Tom chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Of course."

Today was another meaningless day. Why did they bother establishing any form of sleeping pattern if they didn't even know if the sun still rose.

Yet, he couldn't deny that the first moments of being awake were some of the best times of his existence. At that time, he'd stretch, and, when his mechanical arm caught the light just right, he'd notice how an etched pattern on his ring finger seemed to be imitating a ring of some kind.

But he never could piece together why that was. Perhaps the mystery woman in his memories? But it didn't explain why Allison seemed to keep a band of some kind around her finger.

"Okay...Tom where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise; you'll see when we get there."

In all honesty, if Allison had been able to see how nervous Tom was, he wasn't sure if he could pull it off. Even so, worst-case scenarios refused to give him peace of mind.

The evening, in the end, went better than he could ever dream. The champagne, the food, the setting, all of it came together in the best possible ways.

And when he went down on one knee, what else could she say but yes?

The stranger was here, now, in this strange place. Something about him was....hauntingly familiar.

How? Why? It must not be anything good. Not the sense of recognition Tom felt when he saw how Henry twisted a wedding band around his finger before tying it as a necklace. Not how his gaze softened whenever he seemed to look at the dirty band.

But then what else could it be?

"Ah, Mister Connor. Congratulations! I heard about the proposal," Henry chuckled, shaking the mechanic's hand. "News spread around this place fast. It was like this when I proposed to Linda."

"It'll die down soon, right?" Thomas asked, watching as another stranger came up to offer congratulations. He just wanted all of this to be over with so that he could enjoy a long life with the woman he loved.

A shadow fell over Henry's face. "Sure...it'll die down. Look, I might not be around soon. Make sure to keep things going smoothly, yeah?" He asked.

The comment had been shocking at the time. But, the more Thomas thought it over, the more sense it made.

Henry's been drafted, he realized. Naturally he won't be able to be back until the war is over.

Promises never held up. The studio fell apart after Henry left, he remembered. Now it was like this.

But he hadn't been one of Joey's employees. Not exactly- he'd only been a representative from a company of some kind. Why would he be trapped here?

His sleep hosted a nightmare.

The same woman whom he'd only seen flashes before in her smile, her blonde hair, and her habits, the same woman who had once said yes to his proposal was screaming. A hand at her throat, the abomination that HE HAD BROUGHT INTO EXISTENCE waiting, with the input shut open like a gaping maw.

And he was watching. He was helpless, bound by something as the woman fell limp and unconscious within the machine. He didn't stick around to see what happened, slipping away as soon as the coast was clear.

But he was determined to take the machine apart. Armed with a pipe, and intimate knowledge of the machine's mechanisms inside and out, he was determined to break it apart to bring Allison back.

...Allison? Was that her name? It suited her.

Right now, he had to save her. Navigating the studio at night was always risky, but tonight he had to try.

I'm coming, wait for me.

The parts gave way for his pipe, striking right where it would do the most damage.

I hear the walls repeating

Tunnel vision blinded him from the figures watching in the shadows. Cradled in their arms was the unconscious form of an Angel, although she had no halo or wings to speak of.

"You wish to follow her?"

The falling of my feet and it sounds like drumming

Tom wasn't afraid. He knew that he'd go wherever Allison went, no matter how painful or dangerous the path was going to be.

And I am not alone; I hear the rocks and stones

The pain was brief, but agonizing. The arm that had wielded the pipe was smashed with the blunt side of an axe, shattered beyond recognition. But he refused to cry out in pain.

He was doing this for his gal, after all.

Echoing my song

The world went dark around him.

I'm comin

Cold, dark ink cradled his limp body.

Comin

His mind went blank, wiping all memory of the girl. Of his gal.

Comin

After an eternity, Tom opened his eyes to see an angel watching over him.