ｒｅａｌ ｌｉｆｅ:

If there was one thing Elijah loved the most, it would be fast food. Because of that reason, he sat in Tom's black SUV with a content grin on his face as he played around with a particularly curly fry in his hand, which had already become greasy and stained with bits of salt.

Tom sat beside him as he sipped from his drink, glancing at the brunette next to him, watching how he fiddled with the fry and cocking his head slightly

"What are you doing?"

The American brunette looked up and dropped the fry out of his hand in an instant, "What?"

Tom shook his head in amusement, "Nothing."

The Brit looked down at the little clock that was installed in his car; 7:44pm, and a small hint of panic overtook his face,

"Shit."

The brunette next to him, who had by now finished the last few fries that laid in the little tray on his lap, looked up in confusion, "What? Do you need to go?"

A confused frown grew present on Tom's face as he shook his head, "What- no, of course not. It's 7:44pm, we're late for the movie."

It would be at least a ten minute ride to the cinema from the parking lot the two young adults found themselves in. Tom wanted to take Elijah to a restaurant at first, but when they got recognised there, they decided to just go to a drive-thru and eat in the car. The Brit had felt pretty bad about the matter, but the American seemed to love it a lot.

"Well drive then," said American spoke before an amused laugh escaped his mouth.

"That's a smart idea."

It had only taken exactly two and a half minutes before the two were struck in busy traffic of New York City. As the minutes ticked away, they decided to just park the car and walk to the cinema, since it would probably take twice as long to drive.

"You sure you don't mind to walk?" Tom asked while he pushed the button of a small remote that locked his car.

Elijah shook his head, "Not at all, I need to walk more anyway. You know, YouTuber life and all that."

He spoke the last sentence with his hands making gestures in the air, something that he seemed to do a lot when he was with Tom.

Tom couldn't help but laugh at the strange motions of the boy. He was thoroughly amused by all the little things he did. By the way he always pushes that one strand of hair behind his ear, because it keeps falling in his face, to the way his nose scrunches up when he frowns.

"What are you looking at?" Elijah asked as he tried to meet the gaze of the Brit behind him, trying to figure out what he was doing.

"You."

"Ha, real smooth, Holland." The brunette joked as he waited for said boy to catch up with him. Elijah was quite fortunate with his longer legs, that made him walk a bit faster than most people.

"Good thing that's my second name then," the Brit replied, earning an honest chuckle from the brunette next to him, "God, this is going to take forever.."

"Alright, let's play twenty-one questions then," The American said, like it was the most obvious thing to do.

A shrug in agreement came from his right and so he thought of a question to ask, "Do you believe in aliens?"

A chuckle escaped Tom's mouth at the specific question, but frowned for in thought for a moment, "I don't know, to be honest. I mean maybe? How about you?"

Elijah scoffed, "Absolutely- yes, they exist. Get this right, I was eleven and had gotten this new headphone that was like-, really cool.

"So what happened was that I hid the headphone under the covers on my bed because my dad came in, but I forgot that I put them there, so when my dad left I jumped on the bed and broke them.."

Tom let out a wholehearted laugh at the story, "Wow."

"That's not all," the American said, shushing the brunette who walked beside him, "So I didn't want to be the one that had to pay for it, so I hid them in Mallory's room so my dad would think she broke it."

"That's evil man."

"Shut up, I was eleven."

"Alright, continue."

"So a day later, I walk back into Mall's room because nobody had said anything about it, but then-, I found them in the exact place I put them, but they were fixed again!"

A confused look appeared on Tom's face and an equally confused chuckle left his lips, "What- how?"

"Aliens man, aliens.." Elijah answered coolly, putting his hands up in a way of confirmation.

"Alright, my turn."

The questions kept on going as they made their way to the cinema. As time went on, the questions got more personal and deeper, but always stayed on the positive side, something Elijah was quite grateful with. He didn't really feel like thinking about sad things at that moment, not when he was with him.

It had taken the two around thirty minutes to walk, so they were obviously too late to the film they were supposed to go to. But luckily for them, another film was about to start, so the two quickly bought some snacks and made their way into the big room, where they were about to see some obscure film.

"What are we watching anyways, Elijah?" Tom started, carrying the tray of drinks and popcorn.

"How am I supposed to know? I got here the same way you did."

The two sat down pretty far back, making sure they'd have a lot of room for themselves, and also to make sure that Tom wouldn't be recognised.

They talked some more, which consisted of Elijah giggling like a three year old the most of the time, before the film started.

It turned out that it was quite the depressing film. It was about a father, who was left by his wife as she was a drug addict, leaving him alone with his young daughter and how they would years later try to find her back, only to realise that she had died a long time ago. It was something that felt a little too familiar to him, so when it was revealed to the daughter that her mother wasn't alive anymore, Elijah had a lot of trouble holding back his tears.

As his lip quivered ever so slightly, he looked at the screen. The emotions displayed on the girl's face seemed so raw and authentic, that it really tugged on his heartstrings.

A moment later, a hand was placed on his and Elijah looked to his left, giving Tom a pouty look, mockingly showing how much the film affected him.

The two continued to hold hands after that, but still watching the film. The touch made Elijah feel a little giddy on the inside, and he wished that the film would never end.

But unfortunately, all films end. By the end of it, Elijah was wiping away tears from his eyes, caused by the incredible film. He made a mental note to himself, to check out the crew's other works, as he really wanted to see more.

"Man, I didn't expect that, to be honest." The American brunette sighed as the two walked out of the theatre, still firmly holding onto Tom's hand, who really didn't seem to mind.

"Didn't know you cried during films." Tom joked, giving Elijah a mischievous look.

"Okay, but in my defence; that was really sad."

The Brit nodded in compliance and the two set off to his car. This time it was a little quieter between the two, but a lot more meaningful.

Their hands were still intertwined as they strolled across the streets of New York, feeling like there wasn't a worry in the world.

Around half an hour later, the two found Tom's car and made their way back to hazel eyed American's apartment, where the Brit would drop him off.

Once arrived, the two stepped out and walked up to said American's apartment, which was on the third floor.

An amused grin formed on Elijah's lips as he reached into his pocket to take out the keys to the small apartment, while listening to Tom, who was telling a story about something that had happened to him while filming for an Avengers film.

"Hey, I'm sorry for tonight." The brit started after he finished his story, "This wasn't how I planned it to go, with the getting recognised and missing the film and all.."

Elijah frowned and quickly shushed the Brit, "Wow- hold up. I had an amazing time, Tom. I wouldn't want anything else."

"You mean that?"

"A one-hundred percent positive." The American replied as he placed his hand on his heart, while a small smirk appeared on his face.

A grin appeared on the Brit's face as well, "Well, I had a really amazing time too."

The two smiled at each other for a moment, both in hesitation, while a blush started to form on Elijah's cheeks.

A small frown appeared on Tom's face as he seemed to contemplate something before he spoke up, "Elijah, can I-"

"Yeah?" The brunette replied in slight confusion at the way he cut himself off.

The Brit looked at the ground for a moment before looking back up again, "Is it-, is it okay if I kiss you?"

Elijah was stunned by the question to say the least, not that he didn't really expected it, but he was still stunned.

He nodded slowly, as words didn't seem to be able to leave his mouth.

A smile appeared on Tom's face and slowly closed the gap that was still present between the two young adults.

The moment their lips met, an explosion of butterflies exploded in Elijah's stomach, as he never held it possible to kiss somebody like him. His skin tingled at the way he touched his cheek and he felt like firework that was about to set off.

That firework set off when Tom pulled back and a stupid grin appeared on both the brunettes' faces.

It was a short and gentle kiss, something romantic and full of affection. Something that was all that Elijah needed. But his heart yearned for more, he loved the way it made him feel, he loved the way it made him feel loved.

But he knew that there would be time for that, that the two had all the time in the world.

All the time to explore what they have and who they are.

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[ 5 - 7 - 19 ]

ahh apologies for the extremely long chapter- i'm just in love and i couldn't stop,,

gUYS IT HAPPENED #TOMAH / #ELIOM / #TOMIJAH (i still haven't settled on a shipname 'cause they're all so cute) IS OFFICIALY A THING--- AH

also good news, my summer break is about to start so be prepared for daily updates my dudes