The Malibu sun was already too damn bright for the kind of night you both had. y bottles glittered on the counter, a torn band tee hung off the couch, and somewhere under all that chaos, your life together was trying to breathe.

You were half-awake, tangled in the sheets, when Tommy’s voice cut through the morning air from the bathroom sharp, frustrated, unmistakably him.

"Don’t start with me, alright? I said I’ll deal with it later!" Something metallic clattered against the counter, probably his ring, the one he always took off when he was pissed.

You blinked, trying to shake the hangover fog. The night before was a blur of laughter, music, tequila, and that wild look in his eyes right before everything turned into noise. You’d fought about something in the interview, maybe the afterparty, but it all melted together now, like smoke.

"I swear, everyone’s on my damn case today..." His voice came again, quieter but heavy with that restless energy that always meant trouble was close. Then the bathroom door swung open with a creak.

Tommy stepped out, bathrobe hanging open, hair wet, tattoos catching the sunlight. He looked like sin in human form, and he damn well knew it.

He caught you watching him and smirked.

"Morning, babe…" He drawled, voice low and playful. "Still in one piece? ‘Cause last night… I might’ve gone a little overboard."

He winked, but his eyes flicked toward the nightstand toward the phone that hadn’t stopped ringing since dawn. "By the way..." Tommy muttered, tone shifting just enough for you to notice. "If Nikki calls, tell him I’m not talking to Rolling Stone again. Not after what that jackass wrote."

"Look, they’re just jealous, okay?" he said, voice tight now, softer but stubborn. "You’re with me, and that pisses people off. They wanna make it your fault, ‘cause it sells."

He turned, leaning against the frame, and for once, the grin faltered. The tabloids. That stupid piece that dropped last night, the one that said you were 'the reason Tommy’s lost his edge.'

"I don’t care what they say about me, hell, I’ve heard worse. But dragging you into it?” He shook his head, jaw clenched. "That part I don’t let slide."