Dear Starboy {TomTord Neighbourhood AU, COMPLETE REUPLOAD}

heartbreak habits

the letters kept coming. never stopping. each admiration was paired with a piece of advice of a compliment. like:

12. how you get huffy when you're
wrong. lighten up.

or

8. how you stare at birds when you're
lonely. just ask for company sometime.

tom had began collecting them in a
pastel blue star patterned shoebox that tord generously donated. the whole thing was what tord had suggested.

"keep them as a memento. maybe one
of the only keepsakes you'll ever have
left of your admirer."

tom nudged the box under his bed with the toe of his shoe. tord was slumped by his window, folding sticks of gum into his mouth and whimsically blowing large neon pink bubbles.

his cherry blossom crown was tilted sideways, gravity was the only thing
balancing it on tord's head.

tom was sidetracked. he let his gaze fall onto a nearby sparrow, hopping silently from the branches of the tree separating both houses.

"hey!"

tom fell out his trance, drowsily
blinking at the suddenly noisy norwegian.

"what?"
"you weren't listening were you?"
"i was."
"liar. i saw you watching that bird."

tom guiltily looked down at his lap,
absentmindedly twiddling his thumbs. tord cleared his throat.

"what i was announcing was the fact
my tutor is wanting me to choose a
career course and i've chosen two. so i need your help deciding."
"hit me."
"astrologist or therapist?"
"therapy? i didn't know you were into that."
"i just like the thought of helping troubled kids."
"well. astrology seems to be your calling."

tord nodded in agreement before
picking up his mug. a small porcelain
mint green mug, with small white
dots patterned in vertical lines. wisps
of steam poured over the edges and
spiralled into the air.

tom nuzzled into his scarf as tord cautiously blew into the cup, watching the white swirls.

tord looked at tom hopefully.

"would you like some?"
"what even is it?"
"hot chocolate. i still have a lot more."

tom nodded as tord held out his steaming cup of hot chocolate. tom accepted it and carefully brought it up to his lips.

the sweetness of it was almost sickly.
obviously tord would've loved it.

he seemed to have a strict diet of sugary foods, snacks and candy. nonetheless, tom continued to sip the
rich beverage as he resurrected the
subiect of a bucket list.

"so. our bucket list."
"ah. how foolish of me to forget."

tord peeled a yellow, flower shaped
sticky note from a stack, and retrieved
a pink pen with a fluffy feather topper
from his desk.

he jotted a quick title and continued
to bullet point their first quest, second, then finally all ten.

tom + tord's bucket list

1. first kiss
2. get drunk
3.waltz with somebody in the rain
4. first heartbreak
5. visit the stars
6. get married /propose
7. fall in love
8. adopt a pet
9. raise a tree sapling
10. change someone's life

tord threw his pen back into it's metal
pot before spitting out his gum.

"we have our finalised list."
"how many of these do you think
we'll get done?"
"i think i could complete them all
this year."

tord jutted his jaw out matter-of-factly, his flower crown falling into his line of vision.

tom snorted and jabbed a finger into the air near tord.

"you think you can fall in love, get
married, and have a heartbreak
this year?"
"i do."
"it's october."
"well then let's start the things we can accomplish together!"

tom handed back the cup and crossed
his legs. tord adjusted his flower crown and whistled like a cartoon bird.

"let's see. things to do together."
"we can adopt a pet."

tord snapped his fingers and smiled
a 100 watt smile. he scanned his
surroundings and made a tutting noise.

tom looked painfully confused.

"what are you doing?"
"finding that stray cat."
"the one that made us meet?"
"yes!"

after a few minutes of tutting and kissy noises, the midnight black cat finally hopped onto the ochre branch of the large chestnut tree.

tord beckoned it with his finger, almost hypnotically drawing it in. she curled onto his lap, raking her sharp claws over his shorts a few times.

"she's beautiful, kittyboy."
"i suppose."
"do you have a name in mind?'"
"definitely."

at the same time tord and tom unfolded their fingers in a countdown motion.

once, one one, the boys both blurted out their chosen names.

"shadow!"
"star!"

silence. then laughter. the merry
laughter of two boys enjoying the
bittersweet sharing process.

tord cut his chuckles so he could gently peck the cats ear.

"her name is star."
"well i'm calling her shadow."
"star doesn't appreciate your tone."
"shadow doesn't appreciate your kisses."

tord's hand flew to his chest as if he has been tragically offended, his mismatched eyes sank at the creased edges as he sucked in an exasperated gasp.

"i am offended."
"so you should be."
"despite our small bicker this is a big
occasion. our first score on the list."
"huh. so it is."
"do you want to mark off another
tomorrow?"
"depends what you mean."
"i was thinking we could plant a sapling at our place."
"sure. you got a sapling?"
"blossom."
"well let's do it tomorrow."
"let's."

"night kittyboy."
"night starboy."