Work Text:
C.
Tom sat there, uncomprehending eyes staring at the small, black text proclaiming his test grade.
C. Not even an A.
It didn't- he- Tom- Tom couldn't have-
This was a mistake, right? The teacher had- had messed up his and someone else's grade somehow, had emailed the wrong student?
Except Merrythought never messed up on things like this.
So then, Tom- Tom was the one who messed up.
Tom Marvolo Riddle never messed up.
"Tom," Harry pouted, barrelling his way into their room without knocking as per usual. "I called you literally ten times! What wer-"
Harry stared at his boyfriend wide-eyed, processing the sight of Tom Riddle curled in on himself, eyes looking forward unseeingly. And- are those tears?
"Hey," he attempted to approach the shaking teen slowly, like the latter was a small, injured creature. "What's wrong?"
Harry had to repeat the question several times for his boyfriend to finally blink up and gesture minutely to the screen, still lit up with the tiny 'C'.
"C is average, Tom. Hell, I get Fs sometimes on History tests, but it's not that big of a deal!" Harry bit his lip, hoping that it would mollify the other.
Fuck. He just looked enraged.
"You don't understand," Tom seethed. "I'm supposed to be special.
I don't get Cs. All my grades need to be A+s, they have to. For a fucking 'genius' a C isn't-
I'm not average. I can't be. I have to be special. I have to be- be better, superior, I-
Who am I if not for my grades?"
Tom knew he was smart. He just needed- he just needed to prove it. To constantly show the world that he wasn't broken or battered, that he would rise above them and-
And he got a C.
Fucking idiot. Nobody wants you, nobody loves you. Why do you even bother? Stupid. Devil spawn. Good for nothing brat. Nobody wants you, nobody loves you. Why are you even here? Waste of space, Mrs. Cole, that Tom kid. He's too rude to the other children, not bright enough either to keep. Oh, we'd really love to adopt him, but he's just too- too much. Maybe the blonde girl? I heard that she sings amazingly. A talented child. Special. Nobody wants you, nobody loves you. This one is... fine, I suppose, but we want a child we would actually- well- want. Did you hear that? Tommy is too stupid! Nobody wants you, nobody loves you. Nobody-
Tom didn't even notice that he was hyperventilating until he blinked and realized that he was nestled between blankets on the bed, hands squeezing the life out of the soft pillows Harry had insisted on buying and throat so restricted he couldn't speak.
"Tom-" Harry started. The imbecile was probably about to sprout off some romantic bullshit about loving - nobody wants you - Tom no matter what grade he got - nobody loves you - but Tom didn't want to hear it.
He didn't deserve it, after all. It's not like anybody cared about him. Anybody but Harry, but surely Harry would know how ridiculous he sounded proclaiming his love for Tom, surely Harry would leave and not stay anymore and Tom wouldn't be able to snuggle closer in the middle of night to feel his heartbeat, to assure himself that Harry was there and never leaving and and and nobody had ever wanted Tom, loved Tom, and Harry-
"Tom," Harry winced, and Tom stilled, not having noticed that he had clutched his boyfriend's hands too tight for it to be comfortable.
A hand brushed over his face, fingers entangling themselves in Tom's soft locks. As the two of them lay down, Tom slowly started to feel himself melting, relaxing in the arms of his boyfriend as his head got massaged slowly.
Harry pulled his hand away, and the panic threatened to overwhelm him again, but it was chased off from Harry closing the gap between their bodies. The tension thawed and Tom softened, comforted by the contact.
He didn't think. He just lay there, listening to Harry's slow breaths and unconsciously mimicking them, enjoying his boyfriend's company.
"Hey, Tom?" Harry murmured as they lay in a tangle of limbs, watching the sun. A small affirmative was whispered into his neck as Tom burrowed closer to his boyfriend.
"Please don't kill our English teacher. I can't help you hide another body."