The Assistant (Boss!Tom AU)

No Going Back

You had spent a whole day with Tom, which wasn't unusual since it was your job, but this day had consisted of nothing work related. You couldn't help but think about how nice this was and how much you wish that you could be with Tom and his family all the time, but not just as his assistant. The thoughts you had worked so hard to suppress in the last week were bubbling to the surface and you couldn't help but glance his way every so often throughout the day.

After a few hours at his parent's house, you, Tom and Haz walked back to his apartment. The walk was full of conversation, unlike the one earlier in the day.

"I can't believe you're that good at football. You sure you never played?" Haz teased, hitting you playfully on the shoulder.

"I swear, I used to mess around in the garden with a couple of my friends, but I never played a real game," you responded, smiling back at him. The sun was getting low and the sky was colored a periwinkle blue as you drew closer to his place. You walked with your arms to the side, occasionally brushing your skin against Tom's as you walked side by side, unintentionally of course. You let your mind wonder as the boys got lost in their own conversation. You imagined what it would be like just to reach over and intertwine your fingers with his, but it wasn't that easy.

Soon enough you were at the apartment. You stood back as Tom and Haz went towards the door, pulling out your phone to call yourself an Uber.

"What're you doing, love?" Tom asked, quirking his brow as your head snapped up.

"Oh, I was going to call an Uber to take me home?" you stated, framing it as a bit of a question.

"Did you want to come up? We can watch a movie or something," Tom asked, sending you a genuine smile, before grabbing your phone from your hands and locking it, basically giving you only one choice. You nodded, trying to hide the small grin that pulled at your lips as you followed them into the apartment.

Once inside, you sat back on the couch and waited as Tom ran to his room to change into some sweats. You had learned over the last week that he is perpetually cold when he's indoors. He always has to have on long pants and a sweatshirt on some days. The lights in the apartment warmed the atmosphere with a dull yellow as you settled in. Haz handed you the remote, signalling that you were going to be the one to pick the movie. Tom came back as you were scrolling through Netflix and he plopped down on the couch between you and Haz.

"Did you pick something?" He asked. You weren't sure if it was intentional or not, but as he spoke to you, he scooted closer to you on the couch. Your cheeks heated up and you kept your eyes on the screen, landing on Back to the Future and clicking it. As the beginning credits rolled, Tom pulled a blanket over his lap and held one end up, offering you a spot underneath it with him. It took you a second before you realized that you were in shorts and your skin was a bit cold to the touch. You accepted, scooting closer to him, embracing his body heat and the heat from the navy blue blanket.

The movie was playing on the screen, but you couldn't really focus on it. Your mind was hyper-aware that Tom's thigh was touching yours and that he was as close as he could have been without full on cuddling. You thought about how you smelled, hoping you didn't smell like sweat from the activities earlier that day.

George was just about to punch Biff on the screen when you glanced over to the other side of the couch to see Harrison fast asleep with Tessa on his lap. You smiled, nudging Tom and nodding over to them. Tom shook his head, his brown eyes glancing back at you as he leaned over and clicked off the light on the side table so Harrison wouldn't wake up. The room was now illuminated by only the TV screen and when Tom leaned back over, his side was now fully flushed with yous. Your heart was beating so loud that you could have sworn he could hear it, but he didn't seemed fazed. His focus was completely on the movie while you just couldn't help your wondering thoughts. His fingers were only inches from yours, and his smell was making you light headed in the best way.