killing time 𖥻 TOMMYINNIT

XXVIII. on strike

tommy didn't really know what to do in this situation, and it was such a relief. iris was leaning over her vanity applying mascara with one hand while adjusting the bottom of her dress with another hand. tommy was overjoyed to know that the jacket thrown over her shoulders was because it was cold and no other reason.

she was chatting excitedly while he sat on her bed, watching her get ready. it felt so painfully domestic that for a moment his heart ached, but seeing her so happy made up for it.

this was the first time that iris had plans to meet one of tommy's streamer friends where she didn't seem even the littlest bit nervous. he'd been watching her get ready in her room for the past twenty minutes (ranboo was hogging the bathroom, something about needing to brush his teeth or whatever, tommy didn't really care), and the entire time she'd had a beaming smile on her face.

"alright, i'm ready to go when you guys are!" the whole gang was there, tubbo was downstairs getting himself a glass of water and ranboo was in the bathroom, the four of them making plans to take the train to london. 

"i think me and toby are all good we're just waiting for-"

ranboo knocked gently on the door. "you guys all ready? train leaves in 20."

tommy's mum dropped them to the train station so they didn't have to take an uber, and they were eventually on their way to the city. "can't believe the train we were going to catch was cancelled," iris said. 

"i can." tommy and tubbo chorused. 

"google maps says they're on strike," ranboo said, holding out their phone. 

iris brightened at that. "good for them! i call window seat!" she always got the window seat, cause it was easier to hide that way. this was the first time all four of them had been out in public, and even masked it was pretty obvious who they were. she didn't mind though, found that her usual public anxiety was mostly replaced by excitement. 

"she's gonna love you." tommy held her hand, reassuring her softly. "she's really sweet, and you guys have a lot in common."

"i know, tom," iris squeezed his fingers gently. "i'm alright. more eager than nervous."

the train ride took nearly two hours, which wasn't that much longer than the one they were originally meant to take. tommy brought his ds and iris had her journal, ranboo and tubbo were chatting quietly, and as far as train rides went it was pretty relaxing. 

they caught an uber from the staion and soon enough they were inside the apartment of tommy's friend, gemma. "it's so wonderful to meet you," gemma had hugged iris tightly after asking if she was okay with it, and iris had felt at ease immediately. 

gemma's apartment was small, but cozy, and one wall in her living room was filled with movie posters, little women, mean girls, lady bird, she even had pitch perfect on there, which was one of iris's guilty pleasure movies. what really sealed the deal even more, though, was the miss americana poster she had pride of place in the middle of the wall. 

"yeah, i'm not like a massive fan of the music, it's a bit loud for me, i prefer softer stuff, but it's definitely good." gemma had nodded. "but i watched miss americana, and i loved it, so i made a little poster for it."

"you made all these?" tommy was no longer iris's best friend, it was gemma now.

the rest of them had plans to stream together, which normally would have left iris with nothing to do while they did that, but she also had plans in london. eloise had an art show in the city, and elijah and cara were also going to be there. she was still yet to tell them about her song coming out next week, but she didn't want to steal lou's thunder. 

she caught a quick bus, leaving the four streamers to do their thing, before meeting up with her friends further into the city. "iris!" cara wrapped her in a hug. "you made it! you've been super busy lately!" 

elijah tugged lovingly on the end of her braid and eloise gave her the biggest smile iris had ever seen her make. "my piece is back here, c'mon." they spent a few hours wandering through the museum, critiquing the art pieces like any of them aside from eloise actually knew anything about art. it was probably the longest that iris had been both social and outside of her house, and for the first time in months she didn't want to cry. 

when ranboo finally called her to say they were leaving, she was tired but happy. she held tommy's hand on the way back, and she didn't even care if anyone saw them. 

— AUTHOR'S NOTE
thank you guys for 10k!! i love u all mwah i hope you enjoyed this chapter! <3333