Truly Yours (TomxLilith)

24

Third POV:

The café was quiet, with the soft hum of conversation floating around them. Outside, winter snowflakes drifted lazily past the window. Tom sat across from Lilith, stirring his tea with slow, deliberate movements. His expression was neutral, but his eyes flickered with faint traces of irritation—mostly at her, though she wasn't fazed in the slightest.

Lilith, with her legs tucked under the chair and a grin she didn't bother hiding, leaned forward as she spread jam on her toast. "So," she began, "do you always drink tea like it's a strategy meeting, or is that just for me?"

Tom gave her a flat look. "Is there a point to that question?"

She shrugged. "Just curious. You're very... intense."

"I'm not intense," he replied, deadpan, taking a sip from his cup.

"You definitely are," Lilith countered, resting her chin in her hand. "But I mean that in a good way. Like, if tea-drinking were a competition, you'd win. Gold medal."

Tom huffed quietly, though it was hard to tell if it was amusement or annoyance. "Winning implies there's someone worth competing against."

Lilith grinned. "You've got me there, Riddle."

He shook his head, cutting into his toast with surgical precision, as if even breakfast had to meet his exacting standards. For a moment, the only sound between them was the clink of his knife against the plate and the occasional sip from her cup.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Tom asked, not unkindly, though his gaze didn't lift from his plate.

"Nope." She smiled brightly, unfazed. "You'll just have to get used to it."

Lilith tapped her spoon against the edge of her teacup, studying him thoughtfully. "You know," she said after a moment, "you should smile more."

Tom shot her a look, one brow arched. "I have no reason to."

"Sure you do. You just refuse to see it."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you always this irritating?"

Lilith beamed. "Only with people I like."

"You're exhausting," he muttered, but there was no bite to it.

Lilith laughed, light and easy. "And yet, here you are, still sitting with me."

Tom didn't respond. He just picked up his teacup again, taking a slow sip as if that would drown out the strange warmth settling in the back of his mind.

They fell into a comfortable quiet after that, finishing their breakfast as the morning light poured in, soft and unhurried.

~~~~

Lilith sprawled across her bed, propping herself up on her elbows as she called Pansy. The familiar voice was heard from the other side.

"Hey, Lilith! How are you enjoying the trip? I heard you got the wrong train, you okay?"

Lilith rolled her eyes dramatically. "You won't believe who I'm stuck with."

Pansy spoke, intrigued. "Do tell."

"Tom Riddle," Lilith said, her voice dripping with mock horror.

Pansy burst into laughter. "No way! The Tom Riddle? The one who can't stop studying long enough to socialize?"

"Exactly! We took the wrong train, and now I'm stuck here for two weeks," Lilith groaned, flopping back onto the bed. "It's like a bad rom-com without the romance. Just me, him, and a lot of silence."