cara mia || tommyinnit

xxvii

Time always seems to slow down when you're in the moment of something important. Whether it's with friends, family, or a partner, one doesn't realize how much time has passed before it dawns on them in an unlikely way.

Tommy and Chiara felt like they'd been dating for months, if not decades. When their one month anniversary came around, they realized how new their relationship really was.

The pair were nearly 6,500 kilometers away from each other and they had never felt so bored.

Chiara was sitting by her desk when she received a discord message from her boyfriend asking her to hop on a private voice call.

She did as told, immediately turning on her camera and microphone as Tommy called her. Instantly, a blonde-headed boy was smiling on her screen, covering every inch of her PC.

"Hey, Sunbeam," he greeted as he ran his hands through his hair. "It's been a month."

"Happy one month, loser," she replied, leaning back into her chair. His grin grew wider once he realized she was wearing one of his hoodies he had left behind for her to keep. "I wish we were doing something much bigger than a simple FaceTime."

"Yeah," Tommy sighed. "We FaceTime nearly everyday. I tried to fly back, but someone refused to house me upon my arrival..."

"I'm not letting you come back that early, Simons," Chiara interjected, laughing at the knowing that the someone was, in fact, her. "What will people think?"

Tommy only scoffed. "I don't give two shits about other people-"

"Play nice."

"-I care about you and only you. I miss you, darling." He leaned forward towards the camera and Chiara could see the iris of his eyes.

The smirk on her face was not discreet. "Simp."

He deadpanned as he rolled his eyes, sulking back. "I retract my sappy-ness." His eyes trailed to the notebook in front of the girl's hand. "Transcribing music again?"

Chiara's eyes furrowed before she followed his eyes and slightly jumped. "Oh! No, actually. I picked up drawing recently."

"Drawing?" his voiced piqued. "Can I see?"

Her grip around the book tightened. "God, no. They're terrible."

"C'mon, nothing you do is terrible," he edged on.

She shook her head once more. "They're stupid sketches, I promise."

He rolled his eyes. "You should draw me. Make me as stupid as it can be, if you must." She rolled her eyes before agreeing. He watched as her pencil moved to a clean age and he smiled. A beat went by before they decided on watching a movie.

Chiara screen-shared her Netflix as they scrolled through various movies and shows, deciding on what to watch. Tommy stared at her recently watched and analyzed them carefully.

"You only watch Italian movies?" he curiously asked. "And the occasional... period piece?" She nodded. "God, you're the embodiment of an old woman."

"Aye, you're dating this old woman, y'know." She clicked on different shows to read the previews before declining them and moving to the next. Tommy noticed a strange pattern as she clicked on each show.

"Why does it say you've never watched any first episode of all these shows?" he inquired. He was right. While most of the episodes had a red line under the image, each first episode lacked the indication.

Chiara's cheeks turned a shade of red at the discovery. "Oh, it's 'cause I hate character building in any form of media. It's so boring," she confessed as she scrolled some more. "Like, I don't care about finding out the main character's left toe is bigger than the other, just, get to the plot, y'know? By the time the pilot episode's done they usually get into the plot, so, I've learned to just skip that episode entirely." When she realized how fast she was talking she instantly shut up, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he quickly replied. Chiara looked up to see him absolutely mesmerized. "I like this side of you. The honest one."

Her head tilted. "I have a non-honest side of me?"

Tommy shrugged, leaning far into his chair. "You have been living a double life for a few years now. And you haven't streamed in over a month since you're face reveal. I like the idea that I see you over anyone else."

"Yeah, well, you see me better than everyone else too," she grumbled. "Now shut up and let's watch."

The two decided on the new season of Black Mirror and they both got a blanket and relaxed into their chair.

One thing that Tommy always did when they watched a movie together was he would explain in depth parts that he knew Chiara didn't understand. He liked feeling smart with the girl that was good at science and math because she wanted to. It was one thing to be naturally smart but to enjoy what you learn is a different level of intelligence that Chiara had earned. If Tommy couldn't be smarter academically, he liked knowing film was where his intelligence soared.

He explained the meaning behind the title, how each episode was set in a different universe, and more niche facts about the film. Chiara always replied with more questions, interest seeping into her with each episode and fact passing by. Their dynamic was perfect.

"See based on the duration of that seen, that mean's the sequence was entirely shot all at once-" he turned to the bottom of his screen to see Chiara passed out in her chair, hugging her legs as she rested her head on the back. A blanket covered up to her neck as her chest rose and fell. He smiled as he watched her eyes twitch a bit.

She looked so peaceful. He'd never seen someone look so pretty, even covered from toe to neck. A strand of hair fell in front of Chiara's face and his hand twitched, wishing he could tuck it behind her ear in person.

"Ara?" he whispered before softly laughing at her who didn't even move an inch. "God, I've literally only meet you once in real life and I already miss you. The idea that the girl I fancy lives on the other side of the bloody world terrifies me but for you, Ara, I'd do anything. Maybe one day I can prove that to you." Once the Netflix idle notification popped up, Tommy took it as a sign to log off. He hadn't realized how late it had gotten until he saw that it went dark for the both of them. "Goodnight, love," he whispered before falling asleep in his chair, staying on the voice call with Chiara until he felt himself growing drowsy.

Tommy swore he heard a "Goodnight" back but fell fast asleep in his chair before he could fully comprehend, with a smile on both of their faces.

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i usually solve writers block with angst so lets see how this goes