Life in New York became routine, but a wonderful routine. Daria wrote more, and got very good reception. She also went on quite few more dates with Thomas, and even took him to see the Spirals at the little club. It seemed like an odd place for someone as refined as Thomas to be in, but he was somewhat impressed. Jane was skeptical when she saw them together, as a couple, but at the end of the night she pulled Daria aside and voiced her approval. Trent spent most of his time dancing with Robin when not onstage, and otherwise was indifferent. Though things between Jane and Trent had cooled down; they always made up fairly quickly after fights.

"It's because we don't have anyone else. I mean, Trent's got his band boys and I've got you but...it's a sibling thing." Jane explained. Daria understood.

One night, Daria and Thomas were taking a walk back to his apartment (which she still hadn't seen yet), he laced her fingers with his. It wasn't the first time he had done that, but now it made her wonder. "Thomas?"

"Tom. Yes?"

"Are we...um...together?"

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Together?"

"Like...are we in a committed romantic relationship?" she wished she could speak better around him, that she could word things like she could on paper.

He chuckled and squeezed her hand a little. "Do you...want to be?"

"Do you?"

They stopped walking. "Don't answer my question with a question."

"Well...I do," she replied honestly. "But...do you?"

He smiled, running his fingers through her hair briefly. "I do. I like you very much, Daria." She blushed, looking down at her (well, their, they were standing so close together) feet. They both wore brown loafers.

"We match," she said quietly. He gave her a confused look. "Our shoes."

He acknowledged them, briefly, then looked back up into her eyes. "So...what does that mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything, I just think it's funny we have matching-"

"No, not about our shoes. About...us. What does it mean, what we said?"

"I...I want this. I want...us." As she spoke, an uneasiness filled her stomach as if she wasn't completely sure. She brought her hand to her mouth, chewing her nails, an awful habit that her mother was constantly on her back about. Tom gently pulled her hand away, kissing her lips. It was a long, breathless kiss, and when they pulled apart, Daria let go of a breath she felt she had been holding in forever. "I'm a little tired," she admitted when they got there. "I think I'm going to go home."

"Oh, well, alright," he replied. "I'll talk to you soon." They shared another kiss and said goodbye.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Daria took a cab home, her thoughts a tangled web of confusion. She liked Tom. She liked talking to him-he was intelligent and they had very good discussions. She liked that he liked her writing, and that he gave her very good constructive criticism. She liked that they had the same taste in several things. She liked kissing him, and she liked his appearance, and she just...liked him. She knew that. And yet she didn't know if she really did want this. She didn't know if it would last, if it would go anywhere. She didn't know how anyone would react to it. She didn't know a lot. That didn't bother her usually, she liked learning new things. But this was too much.

Once she got home, she stepped into the elevator, running into Trent. "Hey," he said.

"What happened?" He looked very tired. (More than usual.)

He groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Breaking up with Robin."

"Oh," Daria replied quietly.

"What's going on with you?"

"Tom's my steady now." God, I hate that word. Steady sounded so...high school.

Trent looked surprised. "That's...great."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure myself."

"Don't you..want to be with him?"

She chewed her lip, and even though the elevator door opened, they stayed inside it. "I do. But...I guess I'm thinking too much and things moved a bit fast."

"It's up to you, Daria, but...be happy, okay? You really deserve it." He leaned down and gave her a quick embrace, then waved and walked into his apartment. Daria sighed and walked into hers. She was welcomed by quiet, by the familiar coolness her apartment had. She slipped into pajamas then crawled into bed, but didn't fall asleep for several more hours.

Goddammit Morgendorffer, do you always have to think so much?

A/N: I don't like fics that use the "evil" Tom thing. Tom was a good character, I think, and it was obvious him and Daria were not perfect for each other-they were in high school, relationships don't usually last and especially since it was Daria's first, things weren't going to end perfectly. I like to think they'd remain friends, and I'm just trying to figure out where this fic is going, really. Sorry if I'm upsetting anyone by putting them together. But things will change.

-Lulamae