The Secret (A Tom Hiddleston Fan Fic)

Seven

His name is Frank Fraser, but his friends call him Frankie. He's Scottish, and I met him at a bar. No, it's not like that. I was there with my friends, and he was there with his. It seemed that some of my friends knew some of his, so we started talking. This all began before Tom and I... well, before our relationship went to shit.

Don't get me wrong - nothing happened between Frankie and me. We just found we get along, and well... we both have our secrets. It just felt good to be able to be completely honest with someone other than Stella about my secret life, and it also helped to have the opinion of a man from time to time.

Tom does not know about Frankie. I don't know why I felt the need to keep him a secret. I think it's just that so many aspects of Tom's life seemed closed to me that I needed something that was just mine.

I've talked about the situation with Frankie... well, more like cried on his shoulder. He was the one that suggested this solution. After all, he's not married and, as he said, being so could be a real boost to his career. I don't know why I agreed. It's probably because it feels good to be a help to someone's career instead of a hindrance.

"We don't have to have sex, Ash. Of course you know that," Frankie had said when he came by my house to make sure I was getting enough sleep and eating properly, and the topic had first come up.

"I know, Frankie. It's just... are you sure you want to do this? I mean, don't you want to hold out for, I don't know... true love?"

I looked Frankie over as I said this, and I had to admit he's a good looking man. His soft brown almost reddish hair and light blue eyes give him a boyish air, but his athletic physique says nothing but man. Why he's not found the one so far is beyond me. I mean, I knew his secret, but that didn't mean he couldn't fall in love and have a family of his own.

"Who says I haven't found my true love?" he asked with a grin. I punched Frankie lightly in the shoulder, knowing he couldn't possibly mean me. Besides, there was just a bit of sadness in his eyes telling me that he may have found the one and, like me, true love slipped through his fingers.

"It's okay, you know... that you use me like this. After all, you're one of my best friends," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in for a tight hug. It was then that I realized Frankie and I had a special friendship, the likes of which I'd never had before.

So we'd devised a plan. I would tell my boss on a Friday, explain that the pregnancy was an oops, but that the man I'd been seeing for a short time wanted to make it work between us. I told her we were going to have a quick wedding at the registrar's office on Saturday and then move on with married life. As Frankie is extremely busy, we'd have no time for a honeymoon. The memory of my first honeymoon had been ripped away from me when Tom and Jordan traveled to Vietnam, so I was in no great hurry to repeat that mistake.

"Can we get into legal trouble for pretending to be married?" Frankie had asked. I thought for a moment before responding.

"I suppose we could. Me more than you since I'm actually married. I'm sure we'll be fine, though," I said, either because I wasn't truly worried or I just didn't care anymore.

"I'll get you a ring," he said, smiling brightly at me. Fuck... another ring with strings attached, I thought.

"It's not necessary. I'll pick one up when I'm out and about," I said, and his smile dropped a bit.