Heaven ── TOM HOLLAND

33. Good Times

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The next few weeks were a changing period for everybody.

They never thought Clover brought so much change to their lives in such a short time, and yet a life without her in it seemed completely different.

Orion no longer had to keep a close eye on her phone in case she was summoned, which also meant no longer having to abandon her boyfriend in all hours of the night because Clover wanted to know what the best snack was from the local grocery store. In fact, she didn't have to worry about being summoned by anyone. Baxter was right when he insisted on Orion taking a break, because boy did she need it. It's been years of back to back clients for her, and now that she actually had somebody she wanted to spend time with more often than others, the clients were seen as a burden rather than a job.

In the past weeks, Orion and Tom spent time doing what they've been wanting to do for ages now.

Be a real couple.

No more sneaking around at night in fear that someone influential will see them. No more calling off date nights because Clover demanded something at 1am. No more lying to friends about the status of their relationship.

They were Tom and Orion now, a happy couple.

And they loved it.

Orion didn't realize what she was missing out on when her relationship was kept a secret. She didn't know she'd be getting random, unprompted forehead kisses from Tom while examining the bread aisle at the grocery store. She didn't know she'd get to see Tom's proud smile when he introduced her to a group of his friends. And she most certainly didn't know she'd get so nervous over a simple dinner with Baxter, yet, here she was.

She heaved out a sigh for the thousandth time that night, a dress draped over her front as she sampled it in front of the mirror. "What if he hates you?"

Tom looked up from his spot on her bed, meeting her worry-filled gaze in the mirror. "Shouldn't I be the one worrying about that, not you?" Orion shot him an exasperated look before lowering the dress and turning to him. Tom sat up as she approached the bed, eventually sinking down into the spot beside him, a deep frown tugging at her lips. "Why are you so stressed? Is there something else to this dinner that you're not telling me?"

"No! Not at all. It's just..." She trailed off, diverting her gaze to her fingers, where she twirled the ring around her middle finger.

Tom followed her gaze, glancing at the ring before looking back up to her face. Slowly, he took the hand that the ring rested on, trailing his thumb over the engraved metal. "Tell me about this." Orion met his eyes at that, brows pinched together in question. "This ring. It holds meaning to you, right?" She nodded. "Tell me about it, if you're comfortable."