Forget-Me-Not (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

(7) Casual Affair

The first thing that Nina did after Tom walked with her to her room - which was really sweet of him - was call Kyle, partly because she stayed true to her word, and partially because she wanted to know what on earth he was up to.

First attempt. There was no answer. Second attempt. Straight to voicemail again. Nina sat on the end of her plush bed, frustrated. Third attempt. If this didn't work, Nina would just give up.

"Hello?" The person with Kyle's phone answered, but the accent and the fact she could hear the gum being chewed indicated quite clearly that it wasn't Kyle answering his phone. Nina almost let out a strangled noise of shock and anger but it never left her throat.

"Hey, Marie." Nina said, as coldly as she could muster.

"Nina." Marie announced her name as if it were a swearword. The call ended abruptly and Nina threw her phone down onto the floor before bursting into tears. There was a soft knock on her room door, and Nina got up off of her bed, jumped over her case and answered it, rubbing at her eyes.

She was greeted by a tall figure in her doorway. Tom. He looked worried but as soon as he made eye contact with her he smiled slightly, only for that smile to disappear once he saw she was crying. "Nina, are you ok? I was on my way to get some food and I heard a thud. What's wrong, love?"

"Kyle...Marie...phone...gum..." She blurted before tears flooded her face again. Tom felt sorry for his new work colleague so he comforted her as best he could, pulling her in for a gentle hug, hoping that he wasn't being too forward.

"Shh, it's fine. Do you want to come and get some food with me?" She looked up and was met with his earnest eyes shining back at her. Anyone would have found it hard to say no to that face. So Nina just nodded, and he walked with her down to the lowest floor where the restaurant was.

"Oh no!" Nina groaned just after they'd ordered their food, realising that in her state she'd left her purse in her room. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going, love?" Love. Kyle barely called her love. "I don't smell bad, do I?"

"No, no..." A genuine smile flickered across Nina's lips. "I just left my money in my room, that's all."

"Don't stress. I'll pay." Tom smiled alluringly, but Nina wasn't charmed just yet.

"Tom, you barely know me! I can't let you pay for my dinner."

"Then I'll get to know you over dinner." He rested his chin on his hands, looking at her across the table. "And afterwards I'll pay."

"Fine." Nina relaxed in her seat, making eye contact with Tom and smiling again. "But I do have a boyfriend..." Her voice trailed off as she thought of Kyle and what - rather, who - he was doing. "At least, I think I do."

"You think you do?" Tom raised an eyebrow as he began to fiddle with a thread on his grey cotton shirt.

"It's a long story..." Nina shook her head, wanting to change the subject. "I don't want to bore you. You've got to save your energy for tomorrow. Cavalry scenes first, I hear?"

"Yeah, that's the one. I can't wait to see Benedict again." Nina resisted the urge to smack his hand away from the thread that only got bigger and bigger. "I haven't been told who my make up artist is yet. Guess I'll have to wait."

"I guess so." Nina took a fleeting glance out of the tall window across the room. Nothing interesting out there. "Then it's off to Devon. My parents and my, uh, brother live down there so I was hoping to go visit on a day off."

"That's cool. How old is your brother?"

"He's a bit older than me, but he's schizophrenic. I don't really see him much, so I preserve my childhood memories of him. Playing superheroes in the back garden, him teaching me how to play draughts and chess..." Nina sighed at the old memories, the ones that she hadn't thought of for a little while. "Those were the days."

"Your brother sounds like a lovely person. I'd love to meet him." Tom replied, genuinely looking interested. Usually when she told people her brother was schizophrenic she'd get something back along the lines of 'your poor parents, how do they cope?', but no matter how much Nina scrutinised Tom's face, there was no hint of sarcasm anywhere.

Their food arrived in that moment, and Nina's simple chicken and chips suddenly looked like the best thing since sliced bread. She wolfed it down, much to Tom's amusement. "What, have I got chicken stuck in my teeth?" She anxiously pressed her tongue around her teeth, searching for a trace of food stuck anywhere.

"Oh, sorry, was I staring?" Tom almost looked innocent. "I like to see a girl with a good appetite."

"Well, you'll be glad to meet me, then, because I have one heck of a sweet tooth."

"Ehehehe! That's brilliant, I simply adore puddings too." He glanced done at their empty plates. "Do you want some ice cream, then? And perhaps a little wine to wash it down?"

"I'm not letting you spend that much on me! You haven't even heard about most of my childhood." Nina protested again. He laughed that little laugh of his, that little 'ehehehehe' that made Nina want to burst into fits of laughter along with him.

"Come on, not even an ice cream?" His eyes were pleading once again, and she could say no.

"Fine, but then that's it." Tom ordered a 'supreme sundae' between them, and it was huge when it came out. Scoops upon scoops of vanilla and chocolate ice cream sat in a large bowl, covered in sprinkles and sauce with a single wafer perched on top.

"Go on, have the wafer. Wafers make everything better." Tom gestured towards the wafer and Nina took it, nibbling at it slowly.

"If only they did..." She mused quietly, eventually finishing it and moving on to the ice cream mountain which Tom had already started demolishing. Tom did most of the eating and Nina felt sure that his legs must have been hollow to incorporate the sheer amount of sugar that he'd just consumed.

Eventually they were both stuffed and Tom walked with Nina back to her room, being the gentleman that Nina had deduced him to be. As Nina stopped at the door, Tom picked up her still gloved hand and kissed the back of it softly.

"Until next time, Miss Ferguson." And with that, he sauntered down the hallway, leaving Nina to shake her head in disbelief over what had just happened.

She'd just had dinner with a film star, and barely even batted an eyelid. He seemed so sweet and Nina was taken aback by how down to earth he was.

Now it was time to trawl through her phone and answer as many of the texts as she could be bothered to.

[A/N] hooray! a tom chapter at last! ehhehe. drop a vote if you enjoyed, i suppose. until next time, mr/miss/mrs reader.
yours truly :) x