LITTLE JOANNA ( t hiddleston )

xxxvii.

it had been three days since joanna and tom had returned to new york. they'd arrived on different planes, joanna sticking with the original booking her manager had arranged as to not stir any unnecessary speculation. those 3 days in the city had been spent moving carefully between joanna and tom's respective apartments. evading paparazzi with caps and hoodies, they snuck around to spend evenings together cooking dinner and drinking wine.

"good morning, sweetheart." tom's clear voice cut through the morning air, snapping joanna out of her thoughts. she'd been gazing out of her window to the street below, cradling a mug of coffee.

turning to look at the man, she smiled, seeing him in a jumper, hair wet and fresh out of the shower. joanna got up from her perch by the window and padded over to him. she herself was wearing a yellow shirt of tom's and it fell to the bottom of her thighs as she walked.

"hi." she reached up to kiss him and smiled as tom dipped his head to meet her lips. "good shower?"

"lovely, yes." he smiled down at her and took the coffee cup from her hand, taking a sip himself. "thank you."

"hey!" she pouted, moving to snatch the cup back. "I would've poured you your own cup."

"well where's the fun in that?" he chuckled, drinking more of her coffee with mischief in his eyes. when joanna frowned at him in response, he immediately caved at the girl's pouty bottom lip. "don't look at me like that, sweetheart, I'll make us both another one, hey - I'll even froth the milk"

"thank you, baby." joanna giggled, moving back to her seat by the window. the upper west side was waking up below them.

"you've got me exactly where you want me, right sweetheart? this pretty privilege I've been hearing about is sounding quite plausible right now." tom commented, smirking as he moved over to the kitchen.

"yep - I just bat my eyelashes and the world falls to it's knees."

"I believe it." tom quipped, pouring two fresh cups of coffee. "y'know, I think I might prefer your apartment to mine."

"really?" joanna hummed, looking around at her place. in comparison to what would be expected of a popular young actor, it was quite small; one bedroom, one bathroom, with an open plan living and kitchen area.

"is this what your london place is like?"

"it's quite similar, yeah - only my london flat is more lived in. I feel bad about keeping an empty flat here so usually my friends stay here whenever they're in town. I've had this place for a year and I think izzy's stayed here twice as much as me." the apartment was furnished well and she did like it, but joanna just couldn't stay away from london for too long. tom had been listening intently while making the coffee and moved to sit down next to her, placing a cup in joanna's hand. "thank you." joanna smiled and placed her legs across his lap as they sat in the window seat together.

"you say that, but looking around this place it does seem unequivocally you, darling." tom hummed, especially appreciative of the various paintings and ceramics that littered the surfaces. "my flat here was furnished by someone my management hired, so this place feels lovely."

"really? because I think I like your place better, actually."

where joanna's apartment was smaller, light and airy, tom's was slightly bigger, warmer and mature. it had 2 bedrooms, one of which tom used as a study, complete with a desk and numerous bookshelves, a bathroom and large kitchen/dining room. the floor was a dark wood and joanna loved the leather furnishings of the sofa and chairs. tom's apartment reminded her of maple syrup, cigars and maturity.

"maybe we should switch."

"maybe! does that mean I get bobby too?"

"that might be pushing your luck, darling." tom chuckled, placing a hand across her thigh. "he's coming to new york with my assistant tomorrow, fancy taking him for a walk in the park with me?"

thus far, joanna had heard lots and lots about bobby, but only seen photos. he had stayed with tom's parents while they were filming all for you and was now coming to new york as tom would be here for the run of betrayal for six months.

"i'd love to tom - really would, but don't you think it would cause a lot of unnecessary talk?"

tom sighed and seemed to stop, thinking for a moment. joanna could almost see the cogs turning behind his eyes. she frowned, hoping to have not upset him. after a moment, he turned to her and pulled joanna by her calves completely into his lap. rubbing across her jaw with his thumb, he said "well i don't mind if you don't, sweetheart."

joanna grinned at his words and kissed the palm of his hand. "okay."

"good." he said and kissed her quickly before adding dramatically, "if a man can't take his dog for a walk with his girlfriend, then what's life worth living for?" 

joanna's eyes widened and she blushed at his choice of words. "girlfriend?" she asked shyly, taking tom's face in her smaller hands. always so tactile.

tom chuckled, now blushing himself. "well, er - i meant to ask you in a more proper way, but you are my girl, right lovey?"

joanna felt as if hit by a rush of warmth, not being able to help but pull tom in for a kiss, fighting a grin. she could almost feel her adoration for the man before her radiating off of her.  "yeah, yes tom  -  i'm your girl." 

"my girlfriend." he confirmed.