"I'm home!"
It was awkwardly weird without Jason in his flat, alone. So Tom had decided to walk over to his mum's and pack a few things before he would call Jason to fetch him there.
"Hello sweetheart," his mother greeted him, "How are you? Is everything going fine with the flat?"
He pressed a kiss to her cheek as they hugged, and even though he was a bit nervous, he couldn't stop smiling.
"Yeah, everything's ready so far. We bought the bed yesterday. Only a few tiny things that's left to do."
"Oh, and I get the bed is really comfy, more so than in our guest room so you decided to stay another night," Mum replied with a raised eyebrow in mock jealousy.
"Yeah, I... I feel very comfortable there," Tom nodded and rubbed his neck a bit sheepishly. "Listen, Mum, there's... actually something I'd like to talk to you about."
"Oh," she made and looked a bit surprised. "Then, er... Just a moment, I've got the kettle on the stove. Let's go to the kitchen, hm?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Tom nodded and followed her to the kitchen.
"Thanks," he smiled once he had sat done and she had poured him a cup of tea.
"Oh god," his mum laughed nervously as she sat down with him. "You're not telling me I overdid it and you're already annoyed by me mothering you and want to go back to the states, are you?"
"What? No – no, Mum, of course not. I love being home. I'm glad we get to spend more time together and I've also really missed Johnny and Chris and Ash. I don't regret that decision at all. Not, it's... actually, there's another person because of whom I wouldn't want to leave again. I'm... in a new relationship, Mum."
His mother clasped her hands together and beamed at him. "Oh, finally! I was praying for that to happen, dear! Well, not that I was actually praying, but..." She chuckled. "You so deserve to be happy, Tom. Who is it? Do I know her?"
"Er...," Tom made and smiled a bit sheepishly. "It's... not a woman actually..."
His mum looked surprised, but not... affronted or anything like that, only surprised. "Oh. Really? Well, so it's a man?"
"Yes."
She nodded with a smile. "Do I know him or will you introduce us?"
"You... you know him actually," Tom replied and couldn't help but smile when he thought about his boyfriend. "It's Jason, Mum."
Oh, okay. Now she looked really surprised, bordering on shock. "W-what? Jason? Which Jason? Isaacs?"
"Yeah," Tom nodded and bit his lip. He didn't really think that his mum would react badly, she knew Jason well after all, but he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous now. "Jason Isaacs."
She still looked surprised and confused. "But isn't he a kind of dad to you? I always thought he sees you as his son."
"Yeah, well I... there was a time when I thought so too, but it... it turned out that I had different feelings towards him. I... hope you're okay with us, Mum, because I really, really love him. And I hope that this time, it'll work out because I... I think he's the one for me. He's always been. I just didn't always realise he was."
Finally, his mum smiled and reached out to gently squeeze his hand. "Of course I'm okay with you if you're sure he's the one that makes you happy."
"He really is," Tom assured her with a relieved grin.
"Good," she sighed. "Then of course I hope it'll work out this time. Just don't give too much about what other people say, alright, dear?"
"Yeah," Tom nodded, "I don't intent to. I don't really care what other people might think about us."
