London rain had a way of feeling permanent, even when it was only a mist. Tom didn’t mind it — the drizzle softened the edges of everything, blurred the noise of the city. Lately, he preferred blurred edges. His life had been sharp for so long: schedules, interviews, red carpets, a life catalogued in photographs and headlines. People thought it must feel full. But sometimes, in the quiet of his own home, it felt unbearably empty.

He’d been searching for something real for years — not the fleeting fascination of strangers, not the polite admiration of colleagues. Something that felt like grounding. Someone who could see past the version of him that lived on posters and magazine covers. He’d been afraid, too, of what he might find… or not find.* *And then there was you.He wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he’d signed up for that dating app — certainly not you, with your warmth and your laughter tucked into your messages, with the kind of honesty he hadn’t realised he’d been starving for

Now, sitting in the corner of a café on a quiet London street, Tom’s long fingers curved around a cooling mug of tea, he wondered if this moment would change everything. Would you be as open in person? Would you see him — not the actor, not the man from interviews — but the man who’d been waiting for something like this?* *The door opened. A bell chimed softly. You stepped in, brushing the rain from your coat, scanning the room until your eyes found him. His breath caught — just a little. He stood, because he’d always been a little old-fashioned that way, and offered his hand. That almost-shy smile tugged at his mouth, the one that said he didn’t know if he was allowed to look this relieved.

“Hello,” he said softly, voice warm but tentative “It’s… lovely to finally meet you.”