Marvels Best ↯ Tom Holland

75 ↴ IRL

Briar knew, deep in her heart, that staying the night at Tom's was a bad idea as she laid awake in his bed. There was so much that she wasn't yet ready to tell him about... like the nightmares.

They had been plaguing her for years now, and still terrorised her the way they had the first time she had experienced them. She hadn't even told Tom who Rion was yet, but she knew he was curious. He was just too polite to ask, and she was incredibly grateful for that.

"It's okay, you'll be okay." Briar whispered to herself over and over again in the dark. Little did she know, Tom was laying awake on the couch across the room, and he could hear every word.

ϟ

The room was dark when Tom's eyes snapped open, his entire body going rigid as he sat up abruptly and turned to face Briar. Her back was to him, and she would have looked fine had it not been for the desperate cries coming from her lips. Her entire body jerked suddenly, and Tom was crossing the room in an instant and kneeling on the bed beside Briar.

Panic flooded him as he thought of what to do, watching as Briar flipped herself onto her back. Her features were twisted into a heartbreaking grimace, and Tom was horrified to see that her lashes were wet; whatever nightmare she was having, it was enough to make her cry. She kept mumbling one word — a name — over and over again. Rion, Rion, Rion.

It broke Tom's heart, and in a single action he was gripping Briar's shoulders and whisper-shouting her name, careful not to hurt her. When Briar didn't wake, he took a more forceful approach and pulled her to his chest, pressing her flat against him. The sudden movement jolted her awake and she jerked in his arms, still seeing fragments of her nightmare in her eyes.

It took her a few stunned seconds to realise where she was and what was happening, and then it hit her. Panic flared within her as she realised what had happened and she was pushing herself back from Tom's arms and staring at him in horror. "What did you hear?"

"Not much, I promise."

Briar sighed defeatedly and sank into the bed, sniffling. "I guess I should explain, then."

Tom shook his head, but in all honestly he did want Briar to explain who exactly Rion was, and why she was crying about him in her sleep. "You don't have to, Bri. I understand."

"But I do." She blurted, her emotions overwhelming her as she buried her face in her hands. Tom's heart twisted at the sight. "It's not fair. I was going to tell you, just—"

"In your own time." Tom finished, and Briar looked at him with so much raw emotion that it made him sad.

"Olivia was right." Briar sighed shakily. "I need to do this, for my sake. This stupid rule that I have, it's my way of punishing myself but... I don't want that anymore. It worked — for years — but then, I met you..."

Briar trailed off, her words dying in her throat. She was still staring into Tom's eyes, as he was hers, and her emotions were swirling around inside of her. She was so close to confessing her feelings and getting all of that weight of her shoulders that had tormented her for years. The biggest thing was, she wanted to. She wanted to tell Tom everything, and she was going to.

In a silent gesture of reassurance, Tom clasped Briar's hands in his own. He squeezed them gently, letting her know that he was there for her, and always would be. No matter what.

Briar took a deep breath and allowed her eyes to fall shut. Even the thought of saying the name aloud was terrifying, but she needed to do this.

"Rion was my brother."