tom holland + peter parker

angels T.H.

request: can you do Tom and little scarlet doing skin to skin contact 🥺😭

—

As a new parent, Tom thought it best to spend as most time as he could with his child. He wanted to bond, wanted to click, and most importantly, he wanted to be there. So, as things like this go, he took a year long break from his career, starting from the beginning of your second trimester and through to the end, where your baby girl would start sleeping through the night.

He's about seventy-five percent through this break, but he reckons he might stay just a bit longer, or even halt his work until Scarlet turns two. It's a long time, he realizes, and sure, maybe Hollywood won't want him anymore, but he doesn't want to miss these key moments. Not when he's missed so much with you, and with his brothers and his family. Not when he has a family, now.

It's been two months since the three of you finally returned from the hospital, exhausted and overworked, but still thrilled with a happiness neither of you could explain. It was like the start of a new era, a step towards a different future. And Tom's been here for it all, to watch it in front of his very eyes, to experience it up close, personally, in the front row. To be a part of it all at once — it's emotional, the way everything changes overnight.

Right now, it's a lovely Friday night, and you've just fallen asleep a little past eleven o'clock. Tom is splayed out beside you, holding you close and protectively, as he's done for all the years he's been with you — from best friend to boyfriend to fiance to husband and now, to dad. His hands are warm and his curls are messy and strewn in every direction, arranged by sleep.

A crying wail, a beg for attention, interrupts the once peaceful night, and the two of you start to shift in your sleep. Quickly, Tom awakens, wanting to get to the baby so you could have the chance to sleep more. He glances at the clock for a moment — the time reads 1:37, in bold letters, flaunting the information at him — before hastily yet carefully rising from the bed. He slips from the covers coolly, kissing your forehead before tiptoeing down the hall.

The room is dimly lit, and through his tired eyes, he realizes he hasn't put in the effort to wear a shirt or socks. He's not cold, no, but as he picks Scarlet up & out from her crib, he finds this as a good bonding moment.

He coos at her in their first moments, holding her against him while he bounces her lightly, trying to get her to settle down. The door is only open a sliver, allowing a bit of noise, and Tom turns the baby monitor off.

He offers Scarlet his finger, and she wraps her entire tiny hand around it. The reaction causes goosebumps to arrive on his skin; it causes his heart to flutter in a way it never has before. He feels so whole in these moments, so wanted and welcomed and important.

Tom checks her diaper, and after discovering it to be clean and as fresh as when he went to sleep, he doesn't bother putting her small blue onesie back on. Instead, he takes a seat in the soft rocking chair located in the corner of the room. He slants a bit so she can lay comfortably on his chest, and as he exhales, she does the same.

She giggles when his chest rises and falls, causing her to go up and down gently and slowly. She gurgles at it, enjoying the feeling, and Tom chuckles.

"Like that, baby angel? Feels funny?" She giggles again and Tom coos, lip jutting out in a pout at her adorableness.

He can't form into words how much he loves her, how much he loves having her close, secure and safe in his arms. He can't help but feel like the protector of the house, the one to keep both of his girls away from danger. He can't help how much he loves you, and the life you two created together — not just a literal baby, but this life that's formed as a result of his relationship with you. It's completely changed the dynamic of how he lives, and he doesn't know how he ever went a day without you and Scarlet.

Scarlet settles down, and eventually, her chubby arms give out, stopping their small pats of approval. She's tuckered out, and she craves Tom's warmth, the one you've come to love so much. Her chest rises and falls, like the tide, against his own moving chest, and suddenly, the two of them are moving in sync, peacefully and sleepily. Tom keeps a hand on her at all times, and eventually, his eyelids flutter shut.

When you wake just past nine o'clock, you're shooting upright in bed, realizing it's daytime and the baby monitor is turned off from the most important side. You reach out for Tom, but you're met with a cold empty bedside. Quickly, you throw the covers off, grabbing Tom's shirt and throwing it over your head as you make your way to Scarlet's room.

The door is open by a slit, and you already know Tom is in there. You can't remember if he came back to bed last night, but now you realize he's been in here with his babygirl the entire time.

You're in awe at the sight of them, chest to chest and sleeping harmonically. Tom's head is thrown back while he sleeps, and you kiss each of their foreheads. It wakes Tom, and he smiles at the sight of waking up to you.

"Morning, love."

"G'morning."

"Sleep well?"

"Mhm." You smile softly. "And you?"

He nods bashfully, both hands coming up to hold Scarlet, and he carefully maneuvers her back into the crib, allowing her to rest just a bit longer. "She's an angel, y'know."

You wrap your arms around his middle, chin to his chest while you look at him. "You're an angel," You whisper. "She gets it from you."