Y/N's in the kitchen, heating up some leftover spaghetti in the microwave when her doorbell rings. She calls out for the guest to hold on a second, checking the time on her phone. With a welcoming smile, she slings the door open. Her happy demeanor quickly falters when she meets Tom's eyes.
"Can we talk?" Tom asks quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.
She nods silently, stepping aside so he can enter her apartment. She can feel her heartbeat increase, and for a second, she's nervous to look at her boyfriend of a year. Had there ever been a situation where 'can we talk' meant something good?
Her boyfriend clears his throat as she takes her place in front of the microwave. Tom pulls out a chair from the kitchen table, the legs scraping along the wooden floors. Pursing her lips, she looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain.
"There's no easy way to say this," he begins, and Y/N swears her heart drops. "I-I- shit."
Although her previous relationships had been few, she knew when she was about to be broken up with. She could sense it in the air. It was tense. Tom hadn't even kissed her yet, and that was the first red flag. He always kissed her; sometimes even too much.
The two of them had been dating for over a year, but they had known each other for almost two. When they first met at the set of Avengers: Infinity War, they instantly clicked. They would talk, text, call and FaceTime. It didn't take long for them to develop feelings for each other.
Pursuing those feelings was a whole other story. Tom's publicist told him it would look better for him to be single. He also already had two new movies in the works, one of them being the upcoming Spider-Man sequel. She had just landed a great job, so constant traveling was not an option. Then, a little over a year ago, he had kissed her. It was spontaneous but so perfect.
"If you're gonna break up with me- just," she bites her bottom lip, pulling her hair into a messy bun. "No. No. You know what? You don't get to this."
"Darling," he trails off, the endearing nickname escapes his lips before he can stop it. "I... This isn't your fault, okay? I need you to know that."
He ignores her, going through with the speech he had been planning in his head for the past few hours. Going through with it was a lot easier said than done when he was facing her like this. She looked absolutely stunning; in nothing but an oversized t-shirt, fuzzy socks and her hair in a messy bun. The sight of her was almost enough for him to rethink it all.
He notices her blinking, and he knows that she's willing her tears away. Y/N licks her bottom lip, inwardly scolding herself for being so weak. She was usually able to hold her own, but Tom, Tom was her rock. She had grown closer to him in the past two years than any other man she had ever known.
"What's not my fault?" she inquires, her voice slightly raspy from swallowing her tears.
Tom glances at her in admiration. If the tables were turned, if she was breaking up with him, he knew he would already be crying. She's strong, though, he knows that. It's one of the things he loves about her. She's looking at him intently, waiting for him to elaborate.
"I don't want to hurt you," he admits, feeling the lump in his throat grow larger. "This isn't easy for me, Y/N. I need you to know that this isn't your fault and it's hurting me just as much - if not more - than it's hurting you."
In fact, it's killing him. He has to physically force the words out of his mouth. When they had started dating, Tom never pictured a day where he would be in this situation. He pictured watching Y/N walk down the aisle in a beautiful white dress. He pictured himself becoming a parent with her. He pictured himself growing old with her.
