Forget-Me-Not (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

(9) The Mighty Fall

Nina's brief was 'tall, defined and rather handsome' so she set to work, starting off with Tom's unruly blonde curls. She pulled gently at his hair with a comb, adding the occasional bit of gel and wetting a few strands down here and there.

"I told you I'd do it." Nina hummed softly to herself as she worked, almost standing on her tiptoes to reach the top of Tom's head even though he was seated. "Your hair is beautiful, you know."

"What about the rest of me?" He teased lightly. "Just kidding, love. I know you've got a boyfriend."

"Well..." Nina sighed, falling silent. "It's complicated." Neither of them said any more and Nina quietly got to work on Tom's face, defining his cheekbones first, and after a while she eventually started humming again.

"You like Will Smith?" His face creased up into a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly again.

"Please, hold still." Nina felt like she should be annoyed yet her small smile gave her away.

"Sorry, sorry. But you do, right? You were humming Miami." He relaxes his face again, staring at nothing in particular. "So we sip a little something, lay to rest the spill, me an Charlie at the bar running up a high bill, nothing less than ill, when we dress to kill, everytime the ladies pass, they be like-"

"Hi Will!" Nina laughed softly. This was probably the most she'd laughed - well, more like smiled - in the space of a few hours. "Well, you're certainly more interesting than a lot of people I know..."

"Well, I'm glad I amuse you." He smirked back at his reflection in the mirror, watching his character slowly take shape. "So do I have to start speaking to you in my character, then?"

"If you want... Nicholls." She flashed him a wry smile and stood back, admiring her masterpiece. "Thank you for your time, Captain."

"No, thank you, ma'am." His British accent seemed even more prominent as he stood up, bowed slightly and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand. "My trusty steed awaits." And with that he'd gone, disappearing out of the cabin, leaving Nina wondering what on earth had just happened. Whatever it was...it was awesome.

*****

The weather was great outside, and Nina was so busy concentrating on the weather that she stepped right out of her trailer and into someone. She looked up past the smart uniform and noticed that she'd just faceplanted into none other than Benedict Cumberbatch. Turning bright red, she muttered her apologies, as did he, and scurried off in the direction of filming. Suddenly her pocket vibrated violently and she pulled her phone out. Kyle. She wasn't supposed to really be on her phone during breaks but god only knew what he wanted.

"Nina! Are you ok?" His tone was more demanding than anything. "Where are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm on set. How are you? How's Marie?" Nina said bitterly. She was slowly gaining more confidence and standing up a bit more to Kyle but it sometimes felt like it backfired slightly.

"What are you accusing me of, Nina?" He snapped, but his tone soon changed. "Skype me later, ok? Don't go running off with any movie stars. Promise."

"I'll try but I have to go now, ok? Love you." The last two words felt like a mere compulsory end to her short conversation with Kyle, as he soon hang up without another word. Nina sighed. She didn't want to lose him, yet she felt like he had been becoming distant from her, and her new job didn't help much.

A loud yell from further across set captured her attention and she looked up to see a wild looking horse backing away from someone sitting up on the floor that resembled Tom. "It's too dangerous for Tom to get on." Said one crew member, passing by Nina.

"But it needs to be disciplined!" Her friend replied. "The charge scene at least needs to be started today." Nina walked over to the concerned group of people including Tom and Steven.

"Someone needs to excersise it and get rid of some of its excess energy. Then it'll be safer to ride. Until then-" The handler clutching the stallion's reins was pulled backwards as the horse tried to escape. "I don't know what's wrong with it today."

"I'll get on it." Nina said softly, and only Tom registered her presence as he looked up and flashed her a heartbreaking smile. "I'll ride it."

Steven looked from the horse to her. "Are you sure?"

"I've ridden much worse." Nina shrugged, and it was true. She rode regularly in her teens but soon stopped due to family complications and moving houses and all that palaver. She internally thanked whatever god existed that she'd decided to wear her fashion boots that closely resembled her old riding boots. Nina walked over to the huge bay horse who still looked like he was trying to make a break for it. "Hey there, gorgeous." She ran a hand over its nose and then down its neck, eventually reaching it's saddle. "Someone give me a leg-up?"

A hand grabbed her ankle and knee, and after a count of three she jumped up with the support of what turned out to be Tom, still feeling a little achy after his fall although fortunately, he'd somehow landed on his knees on the grass with minimum damage to the costume, just a few pieces of grass sticking to it. She adjusted the stirrups quickly, her legs being nowhere near as long as Tom's, as the handler hung onto the reins until she grabbed a hold of them herself. "Be careful up there love, he's really jumpy."

"I said I've ridden worse." Nina shrugged, kicking the horse gently and keeping it in a slow, steady trot before it bucked, but Nina was prepared, keeping her shoulders back and the reins as short as possible. All the other horses looked like they were behaving perfectly - Benedict was on his horse now, the one she believed was called Topthorn. She took the horse in a circle, correcting it every time it tried to run off, and eventually managed to get a canter out of it. She circled it a few more times, keeping it in a trot before it suddenly bucked and went flying off at high speed.

Nina pulled back on the reins as hard as she could, pushing her heels down even further as she brought the overly-hyper horse to a halt in the middle of the field, patting his neck softly. "Who gave you too many sugar lumps, big boy?"

[A/N] if there's any horsey things in there that you don't understand please do let me know and myself and perhaps other horse enthusiasts will be happy to explain for you! other than that, drop a vote if you enjoyed, the usual...
also, i've noticed that some of the picture headers on the chapters aren't working. i am trying my best to keep them all in check but please do bear with!
yours truly :) x