Title: The Only One Allowed To Call Me Tommy
Author: Ashley (Who else really)
Rating: M, just because I'm paranoid. And maybe a little bit of Almost-Smut
Summary: Angel is the only one who is allowed to call him Tommy. Thomas' and Angel's POV Sadness in the beginning, but lots and lots of Angel/Collins fluff near the end. Story is better than the summary.
Disclaimer:Do I look like Jonathan. NO! That's what I thought!
Fandom: Rent
Author's notes: This was supposed to be a cute little fluff, about Angel and Collins joking about her allowability to call him Tommy in public, but I decided to give it a little more meaning. It just sort of wrote itself from there . AU, Because of mentions of High school, Collin's and Angel's teenage years. No AIDS! A few sexual references, and it's full of bad language. All mistakes are mine! I finished the story and realized that the flashbacks could be a story of their on. Haha, oh god.
Thomas' POV
Angel sat on my lap at the loft making funny faces at Maureen as she talked about ideas for a new protest. She was running it by Angel and I because we were her "inspiration" for a gay rights protest. I laughed and buried my face in her neck. "Damn Ang, I don't know how you take it, and smile... Kind of."
I could tell she was trying hard not to move her lips as she responded, for fear of hurting Maureen's feelings. "Me either..." Maureen looked over at me and Angel, I knew she could tell I was totally exasperated.
"I'm kind of annoying you two huh?" I laughed, and it shook my body.
"Yes, as a matter of fact," She smiled but continued talking anyway. All of a sudden she stopped, "MARKY! POOKIE! ROGGY!" She squealed loudly as three of our best friends walked in. Mimi came in the room, with Roger supporting her, pregnancy was taking a toll on her. "MEEMS-MIE!" Maureen and her pet names for people, it drove me absolutely crazy.
"Tommy are you tired?" Angel turned slightly on my lap and kissed my cheek. Now Angel's pet names were my favorite. Tommy, Tom, Col, and a few other that just didn't leave the bedroom.
"A little bit, you want to put me to bed?" I looked at her and smiled slyly, knowing she could never resist me when I stared into her eyes like that. Angel smiled and bit and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Maureen laughed rather loudly. I rolled my eyes.
"Hey Tommy can you come here and help me reach the glass on top of the fridge? I'm not tall enough to reach." I instantly felt my face redden with anger as I stood up, all but picking Angel up with me.
"Do. Not. Call. Me. That." I glared at the diva from my spot across the room from her. I set Angel on her feet, and she grasped my hand tightly.
"What's the matter Tommy?" Mark looked up from the sofa across me, and glared at Roger.
"Oh, I don't know! What the fuck is the matter with you?" I spit at him, my face bright red. He blushed and turned to face Mimi who was no longer smiling. She had seen me go off about the name Tommy, the first time it had happened. He knew why I hated that name, he was there too. I didn't know why he was being so fucking stupid.
Angel's POV
I closed my eyes and squeezed Thomas' hand softly. I know he was about to blow up at Roger. I don't think anyone really remembered the date. Maureen and Joanne hadn't even been around til roughly a year after it happened. It was eleven years ago today.
Flashback
Tom panted heavily as I straddled him on his bed. It was his eighteenth birthday yesterday and we were at his house, my mother was home, so we decided to come here to celebrate instead. Tom's mother was working, but she wasn't due home late that night. He ran his hands up and down my sides and I shuddered under his touch, but as he reached my belt I froze.
"Shit! Thomas, I hear someone downstairs, what time was your mom supposed to be home?" Tom closed his eyes tightly and opened them again.
"Ten thirty." He muttered and pulled me closer, out bare chests touching. I smiled when I didn't hear the noise again, and pressed my lips to his again. "Please, Ang, I need you." He ground his hips into mine. I smiled and slipped my hands in between us, unbuttoning and unzipping the faded jeans I got him for his birthday. I pulled them down around his ankles and slipped them off, tossing them to the floor. I took his hardened cock in my hands and stroked him softly. He moaned loudly into my mouth and pushed himself into my grip. I froze once more.
"Col, Baby, some one is here. I heard someone in the hallway." Tom straightened up. "Oh shit!" His doorknob started to turn, and there was nothing to do but pull the blankets up over our waists and hope his mother thought I got kicked out again. But it was too late, I knew she had heard Tom's moan, and we were both breathing too hard to be asleep.
"What the fuck is going on here?!" I closed my eyes hard and buried my face against Tom's chest. "What the fuck is this?!" Tom pulled something over his legs and I guessed he was pulling pajama pants on, there were always two pairs under the sheets, just in case.
"Tommy, I said what is going on here?" He sat up, and pulled his arms around me protectively.
"What do you think is going on mom? You aren't stupid." I opened my eyes and wrapped my arm's around him, I was so scared.I shivered from his mothers glare at me. He put a hand on my arm, squeezing it gently.
"It looks like you were fucking a god damn faggot!" She spat the last word and I immediately got defensive. I glared at her and Tom and I both slid off the bed at the same time. I was right, he was wearing a pair of Simpson's pajama pants, he took my hand.
"Who exactly were you talking to?" Tom stared her hard in the eye.
"You, Tommy, you were going to sleep with the fucking cross dressing faggot." I cringed and Tom looked at me.
"DON"T FUCKING CALL HER THAT!" Tom's face was red with shame, as he held me closer still. "Don't you dare treat my Angel that way." Tom stared his mother down.
"S'what then Tommy, are you a fucking faggot too? You gonna run off with that dumb ass fuck you're protecting?" Siobhan Collins' stared at me with cold hate in her eyes. "You going to fuck it? You going to treat it like a real fucking person?" She sneered, "I thought you were smarter than that Tommy, now I see you are just a dumb shit." She walked out of the room. Tom stooped breifly and tipped his head so he could whisper in my ear.
"In the deflated football and in the stuffed rainbow in my closet is like a thousand dollars, grab the big duffel bag and put clothes in it. Throw me the black bag too." He nudged me and I did as I was told. I threw the bag to him and he rifled through his drawers and grabbed a pocket knife out of his underwear drawer. He slipped it in his back pocket and shoved four or five pairs of boxers into the bag. All of his undershirts followed, a square black box was next, he toyed with it for a moment the tossed it to me. I wondered what it was but i shoved it, his jeans, and shirts into the bag. A few outfits of mine that were here, a few of the sentimental things that I knew he would miss if he left behind, his beanie, the picture Mark took of our first kiss got shoved into the duffel bag too. I shoved a few books in to it along with a photo album. He came out of the bathroom and silently shoved his bathroom necessities.
"I'm sorry about her." I bit the inside of my bottom lip and sniffled, grabbing the jeans I bought him off the floor. Shoving them into the bag i sighed, it was full of Tom's shit. I shoved a few more things that I knew he would want later, but maybe not right now. He took the bag from me and zipped it up, threw it over his shoulder, and handed me the smaller one. "Will you leave with me?" I nod, "no, I mean really leave, I have a little money, an early PhD, and Mimi, Roger, and Mark could help us get a flat. We could live together." I nodded again, willing to go to the ends of the world with him.
"C'mon," I grab his hand and head down the stairs in front of him, our hands joined. I'm stopped by Siobhan, who is standing at the bottom of the stair well with a handgun cradled in the crook of her arm. "Ohhhh, Shit. Col, I think your mom is going to be a problem." He wasn't looking at me though, he was going through the side pockets of the duffel bag making sure he had grabbed all of his important documents.
"Why's that Lover?" I stop, and my whole body stiffened, I didn't like where the whole situation is going. And there is no way I was letting Tom go any further.
"The gun." That got his attention and he stared at his silent mother.
"Oh, fuck." I nodded and pressed into him, for what might very well be the last time. He whispered in my ear "I love you Angel..." He seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me.
"I love you too." I whispered back, to afraid to speak.
"You fucking queers are disgusting." His mother shoved off the wall, cocked the gun and aimed it at my head, I closed my eyes, but held my ground, I knew what Tom would do if I let him get past me. She pulled the trigger right after Tom shoved me harshly and we fell down the steps. I sighed in relief and touched his face. He stood up and charged her. She put the gun to her own forehead and looked at Tom right before she pulled the trigger.
"Tommy, you choose this, it's your fault. You are a disgusting fucking faggot." I knew she kept using that word because of the way it hurt Tom. "I hate you," and with that she pulled the trigger. I called 911, and sat on the floor of the landing, gathering him in my arms. I didn't notice until after the cops arrived that she had shot me in the arm.
End Flashback (Finally)
Roger looked at Tom apologetically, he must've remembered the whole thing in the silence. Tom and I had told the whole story to them once, right after it happened, then never again. Then the night we moved into this very loft, Roger and Tom got in a fight. Because they had been messing around, and Roger had said "Tommy, you're such a dumb shit." He hadn't been thinking, but it hurt all the same.
My hand strayed to the thick, rough scar that was the only blemish on my body. Six pairs of eyes were instantly on my hand as though they too were remembering the pain of being shot. Tom's hand moved on top of mine and he kissed my neck softly. "Baby, we should go to sleep... They didn't mean it, they weren't even thinking." I tried very hard to soothe him, as I clasped my other hand over his.
"I know, But not thinking is how people get fucking hurt!" He glared at Roger, I shuddered, I hated the look on his face. "That's how Angel got hurt. Because we weren't thinking." Roger nodded and I could hear the tears in Tom's eyes.
"Man, I'm really sorry." This is bad, I know Tom is going to go off in a minute or two. "Collin's man," Tom ducked his head, as if in defeat.
"I forgive you," Whoa, back the hell up! This isn't Tom, Tom would've flipped. "I really do, it's time to put it in the past. It still hurts but I'm moving on." He dropped my hand and walked to our bedroom. I stared at Roger and Mimi. Roger looked just as shocked as I was, Mimi was rubbing her stomach gently.
"That was weird." Maureen muttered. "Angel, what's that scar from? I've never really noticed it before." That's because Tom almost always had his hand over it, or I was wearing a T-shirt. It was high enough up to be easily hidden, but this new dress I made had a tank top like top and the blemish on my shoulder was clearly visible without Tom's hand.
"Roger, you tell them, I'm going to bed Sugar." I stood up and stretched, turned and walked to the bedroom I shared with Tom. I pushed the door open and held my breath. This should be interesting.
Tom's POV
I rubbed my fists against my eyes, rubbing the tears away. It wasn't Roger's fault I was so touchy about that name. Only Angel could call me that, not that she did much anymore. I was surprised she had today of all days. My hand went to my face and I felt like I was once again wiping my lovers blood from my body. It was a deep wound, nicking bones and arteries. When I pushed her my mother's aim wet askew and She shot deep into Angel's upper arm. When we both fell, her blood was all over me. My hands, my face, my shirt, everything. I shuddered at the memory, I thought she was going to die by my mothers hand. All my fault.
"Baby?" Angel climbed into the little full sized bed, not really big enough for me, let alone two people, but we managed. It just meant we got to cuddle more. It was just big enough for us to sleep on and not touch if we felt like it. It wasn't long enough for me though, so I always had to bend my knees. She put her hands on my bare chest and pulled my back against her. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, you know you're the only one allowed to call me Tommy though, right?" She nodded into the crook of my neck.
"I know, I was just sort of surprised, I was expecting the worst, like the night you punched him in the face for calling you a dumb shit." I could feel her giggling at the memory that definitely wasn't funny at the time. I sighed and turned in the bed, pulling Angel closer to me.
"It was a long time ago Love." She nodded and I stroked her back softly, her breath was warm against my chest. "I almost lost you that day. I almost lost my only reason to live." She tried to speak but I hushed her. "You were the first person besides my mother to call me Tommy. Then the others. I lost it that day. When I realized she had shot you, I was going to kill her myself."
She pulled way from me and threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, hard. I smiled into our kiss and tightened my hold on her. "The last thing she ever called me, besides a faggot, was Tommy. When realized I couldn't take it away from you, I took it away from everyone else. I never liked it when she called me Tommy." I sighed and cuddled Angel under the covers. The love of my life, the only reason for existence. "I love you Angel." Angel smiled and kissed me again, softer this time, I ran my hand up her arm and squeezed.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" She looked into my eyes as she pulled away from the kiss. I squeezed her scarred arm gently and pulled her back in for a long kiss. "I love you," she mumbled against my lips. I rolled over on my back, pulling her over on top of me, not an easy feat in our bed. I planted kisses along every inch of her that I could reach, and she cuddled softly into me, our favorite sleeping position. I smoothed her short curls over her head, and kissed her forehead. She played with the almost non-existent hair on my smooth chest. I rubbed her bare back. We lay like that for a half hour. I thought she was asleep when I leaned my head to the left and kissed her head again.
"I love you my beautiful Angel, sleep tight Lover." I kissed her head and shifted her again so I could be sure she would be comfortable.
"You never answered my question Col," she pressed her cute little nose in to my chest.
"Well," I thought for a moment and then placed my hand under her chin to lift her face up. "First of all, you are the most beautiful person in the world, you have the most adorable facial expressions, you have the greatest personality in the world and you are the most gentle person I know. I should be asking you what I did to deserve such a wonderful person like you." Angel screwed her eyes up and looked like she was going to cry.
"And, you called me Tommy." Angel put her face back down on my chest and sniffled a few times. I wrapped my arms around her. It was true though, I loved her more than anything, anyone, and not one moment passed in my life that didn't make her a more significant part.
She was my life, my love, my heart, my soul, my world, the one person my universe revolved around (she was my soul), and the only person allowed to call me Tommy.
A/N2: