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Years ago, there were two lovers. At fifteen, they went on their first date, holding hands gently, swinging their arms and laughing. There were feeling shared between small glances and small blushes. The first kiss was tense and awkward, but the second was comfortable and sweet. It was like a perfect fairytale, but one without the trials and triumphs. There were no slaying dragons, but they managed to slay any issues coming their way. The relationship was soft, sweet and irreplaceable.

These sweethearts believed they would live a long life together, but of course, the inevitable happened and an issue came between them. They split paths, went their own ways and left history behind them. Years passed and all feelings had been left behind... right?

You were spending your life as a writer while getting an English degree. Life couldn't be better for you. You had a new boyfriend, and you were living your best life. Everything seemed perfect and was turning out perfectly. You and your boyfriend Marc were on a date going to your favorite cafe in London.

As you stepped in, you gripped Marc's hand, smiling to yourself as the aroma of the coffee, tea, and other delicacies flooded the air. You were quick to get in line to order your drinks, still holding hands and standing close to each other.

"I'll order for us, your usual right?" Marc smiled.

"Yep! I'll grab us a table."

You headed off to the corner booth, taking your seat and your phone out of your pocket, rereading an email your professor sent to you about your most recent essay before you heard a voice you hadn't heard in a million years.

"Y/n, hey."

You looked up, setting your phone down only to meet the eyes of your former lover. Tom. Tom stood there in all his glory, his normal stupid smile on his face. it was the same smile and pair of eyes you fell in love with so long ago. You wanted to tear your eyes away from his, but something prevented you. It was like you dove right back into the past, the one where you loved Tom until he moved away so suddenly. You were glad you didn't hold him back though because he accomplished so much without you there. A tap on your shoulder broke you from your trance, turning to look over at Marc.

"Who is this?" Marc asked, eying Tom.

"Oh," you paused, standing up by your chair. "Marc, this is Tom my ex-boyfriend and Tom this is Marc, my boyfriend."

A flash of hurt and heartbreak was seen in Tom's hazel brown eyes. He should have expected it. You both had been told to move on after you break up and that's what you did. Tom didn't though. He's turned girls down and said he only went on a date with said girls because they reminded him of you and your beautiful face. Tom was still holding onto your hand in his head, but you started holding someone else's.

"Good to meet you, Marc," Tom smiled, shaking your boyfriend's hand politely. "I see you're treating her very well, you guys look great together. " Tom prevented his voice from cracking during those sentences.

"Thanks, we've been very happy this past year and we just got a flat together," Marc smiled. "Join us for coffee will you?"

Tom nodded and you and Marc sat across from him in the booth. The conversation was slightly awkward and tense, so you all worked around it instead of making it more comfortable. That was until Marc got a call from his office. "Be right there," he hung up, kissing your cheek. "I've got to go, there were some issues at the office."

"Bye, love."

You sighed, watching him walk off and then looking back to Tom.

"I didn't expect you to move on, to be honest," Tom sighed, looking down shamefully. "I never did after all. "

"Tom, I didn't want to hold you back from such an amazing opportunity. You know there would have been issues if we stayed together all that time. I didn't want to face those issues at the time," you explained, looking to Tom with a sad expression. "I didn't want to stay so attached to a past lover, so I started going out with a few guys, none of them seemed to fit my expectations until I met Marc."

Tom took a sip of his tea, frowning to himself. He knew it was stupid to think you still loved him the way you used to. He wasn't going to say anything about it though.

"Can we still be friends, Tom? I missed you and I want to spend time with you still."

Tom nodded, taking a deep breath to concentrate. "Let me walk you home."

After finishing your drinks, you walked side by side to the direction of your apartment. You were talking about your jobs and how you've made your successes.

"I actually wrote a novel which is published." You smiled to yourself. Tom gave a look of amazement, his jaw dropping only slightly.

"Y/n, that's amazing. I'll have to read it soon."

"Well, I'll have to watch your superhero movies soon, I haven't been able to see them yet because of how busy me and Marc have been."

Tom nodded before a light bulb appeared over his head and he had an amazing idea. "How about tomorrow night I bring the movies over and we could have a marathon?" He pleaded in his head for you to say yes. He was trying to find excuses to spend more time with you."

"Of course, would you want to have more coffee tomorrow beforehand? I don't have work tomorrow so my whole day is free." They stopped outside the flat building and Tom eagerly nodded.

After parting ways, you headed inside, changing into more comfortable clothes as you started to make dinner for that night. When Marc arrived home, you quickly told him you'd be going to the cafe again with Tom just to catch up and that Tom would be coming over as well afterward. It was clear Marc seemed a bit tense over the situation.

"Don't you think it is a little weird for you to be hanging out with your ex?" Marc asked, raising an eyebrow at you. "I mean, everyone usually hates their ex after dating. I mean I do. The girl was a psycho."

"Marc, she wasn't a psycho, you were expecting too much from her while she was trying to help her family," you explained. "I'm not going to go back to Tom because I love you. My feelings for him are long gone."

Right?

The next day, you and Tom enjoyed yourselves at the cafe, chatting and talking about your accomplishments and other dreams. It was a fun and light conversation filled with old inside jokes and stories. Every now and then silence would fall and a look of regret would be on your faces. Part of you regretted breaking up with Tom and going separate ways, but the other part of you knew it had been for the best and would have avoided any conflicts. Tom, on the other hand, wanted you back more than anything. You were still the angelic, funny, sweet young woman he used to know and he missed those days where you were his and he was yours. It was over now. Marc was now yours and you were now Marc's. Tom couldn't take that away.

The movie marathon was filled with laughs and funny comments until Marc got home. "Marc, come watch the movies with us?" You grinned, waving for him to come to sit with you. Tom scooted over away from you both slightly as Marc sat next to you, allowing you to rest against him for the movies. Those moments were tense for Tom. He wanted to be the one holding you. He wanted to keep you close and kiss your forehead sweetly. It was too bad Marc was there instead.

The next few weeks were filled with meetings at the coffee shop, hanging out together and more. You and Tom were close again. Close friends though. You'd never cheat on Marc or anyone for that matter. Marc didn't seem to take it very well though. He was not trustful and was getting more possessive and controlling even. One day, you were going to the coffee shop to work on your next novel since Tom was too busy to hang out, but Marc had other plans.

"Y/n, are you going to hang out with Tom?" He asked you, standing in front of the door.

"No, I've got my novel to work on, Marc. I need to finish this chapter," you explained, putting your laptop into your bag carefully and making sure you had the charger.

"You're lying, aren't you."

"No..." you responded, eyeing Marc suspiciously. "I'm not. I have to work on my novel, Tom is busy today, he's got a family thing." You tried moving past Marc to get to the door but then he did something shocking. Grabbing your shoulders, he shoved you against the door forcefully. "Marc!"

"You're not to see him again, Y/n, I won't allow it," Marc practically growled, eyes dark as if his soul had left his body. You stared into his eyes with fear and helplessness.

"You are not to decide who I am to be friends with or not," you shouted at him, trying to shove him off of you. Marc lost it then. His rage encompassed him and he didn't hold back. He threw a punch straight at your face, your nose breaking under the pressure. You fell to the ground, eyes widening in horror and wincing from the pain. "What the hell, Marc?!" He didn't stop at that though. He punched you again, this time hitting your eye. You didn't pause for a second, grabbing your bag and running out of the flat and out of the building. Tears brimmed in the corners of your eyes as you ran away from the madman still standing in your flat.

You ran and ran and ran and ran. It was a nightmare. This wasn't what you needed. Your nose was still bleeding and eye bruising quickly but you had to get to the safest place you knew of, even if you were intruding on a family dinner. Once you arrived at the nice house, you knocked on the door urgently, wiping blood onto your sleeve from your nose.

Luckily it was Tom there to greet you.

"Y/n? Oh my god, come inside," he ushered you in, your tears still falling as you sniffled a little. "What happened?"

Your bottom lip wobbled uncontrollably as you tried to speak. "Marc- I was going to the cafe to work on my next book and Marc, he thought I was seeing you again and he didn't want me to go. He didn't- want me to see you even as friends. I tried going past him and he-" you broke into a fit of sobs before Tom's arms wrapped around you as he pulled you into his chest, not caring if blood from your broken nose was getting on his shirt.

"I'm so sorry, Y/n. You can stay here the night, I don't want you going back there without me." He rubbed the small of your back gently before pulling out of the hug. "Let's get your nose cleaned up."

Leading you to the kitchen, he quickly grabbed a wet washcloth and started cleaning the blood off of your nose and around it. He was very gentle with you, eyes filled with a certain kind of worry as he held his hand against your cheek and pressed the wet cloth against the side of your nose, trying to clean up the blood. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped and you were finally cleaned up.

"Tom," you began, gently grabbing onto his other hand. "I've been thinking, a lot recently. We've become so close again and I started enjoying your company more than I did Marc's. I didn't- I didn't feel the same about being with Marc after seeing you again."

"Y/n..."

"Tom, I love you," you finally stated, staring into his honey brown eyes. "I always have. I could never turn you down again. I still care for you, I miss you when you aren't around. I feel so empty without you. I loved you then, I loved you now. I'll love you forever."

Tom bit his lip, staring at you with his loving eyes with the most adoring expression. "I love you more than you could ever, know, Y/n. When I look at you, I can feel it. I look at you and I'm home. You've always been home to me, Y/n. When I saw you again I told myself, This is the universe saying you are the most important thing in my life, but when I saw Marc with you, I almost gave up hope until we kept talking. I love you so much. Marc doesn't deserve someone as kind and trustworthy and loyal as you. "

You smiled lightly, looking up at Tom with love. You leaned closer and pressed your lips to his, noses brushing and smiling into the kiss. Your arms wrapped around him as his arms wrapped around your shoulders. Passion, love, and adoration were all poured into the kiss. The love you shared was unmatchable and the bond was unbreakable. You would both take things step by step into the future.

Tom was your home and you were Tom's home. Your hearts would lay with each other forever.