Forget-Me-Not (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

(22) Irresistible

After they got back to the hotel that evening, Nina's sides were hurting from laughter. All day, Tom had been doing random, exaggerated dance moves when he thought the other actors weren't looking on set, due to Nina's little show that morning. He'd been in the process of doing Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' dance when Steven had turned around and caught him mid-shuffle. Nina was laughing so hard there were tears streaming from her eyes.

Afterwards, Tom had hinted about trying to go jogging again so Nina just got dressed in comfortable clothes; sweatpants, her sports bra and a thin jumper. She lay half asleep on the couch, flicking through the channels, trying to find something that wasn't crappy music or a shopping channel.

Nina soon heard footfall outside her room and then there was a soft knock on the door. She jumped up, desperately wanting to be put out of her boredom, and opened the door to see Tom's lean frame in the doorway. This was becoming a regular thing but Nina wasn't about to complain.

"Evening." Tom smiled. He was wearing the same jogging clothes as he'd had on before, and they showed off his toned muscles just as Nina had remembered them. She quickly snapped herself out of her odd little daydream and returned his smile. "How are your knees holding out?"

"Oh, so this is just a check up?" Nina laughed softly. "Come in, Doctor Hiddleston."

"Well, actually, I was rather hoping we could get started as soon as possible. I may or may not have a dinner reservation for two tonight..." He looked at her warily, as if she were a creature about to bite off his head. "Is that ok? That's what friends do, isn't it?"

"I suppose so." Nina shrugged weakly. She sounded so unenthusiastic but really what she needed was a good meal and a little more laughter. "I mean, yeah, that'd be great, not like, as a date but as friends, and..." She sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I should probably be quiet now..."

*****

Their jog together was short but sweet, taking in the sights that the local area had to offer. But on the way back, Nina's legs near enough gave way and she collapsed in a grassy field, looking up at the slightly dimming sky.

"I can't go on!" She groaned, rolling onto her side to see that Tom had stopped a little way down the path and was now grinning at her. "Man down, man down!" With Tom, Nina felt like she could be just that little bit more childish without being judged. Just that little bit more carefree.

"Ohana!" Tom cried, jogging back over to where she lay and dropping down beside her, eventually laying next to her.

"Oha-what?"

"Ohana. Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten." Tom turned his head and stared at Nina, not making her uncomfortable but rather the opposite. "Your eyes are quite beautiful, Nina. I never really noticed before."

"They're nothing special." Nina twisted fully onto her back and stared up at the sky, her chest still heaving slightly.

"Oh, do hush and just accept the compliment." Tom nudged her playfully in the ribs and she flinched- she was still as ticklish as ever.

"I've accepted too much in the past, and now I have to be careful what I let myself accept." Nina sighed, speaking so softly that her words were almost inaudible. "Sorry, I'm being such a buzzkill..."

"No, no..." Tom laid on his back too and raised his arm, pointing up at the soft white shapes floating past above them. "See that? It looks like a horse's head."

Nina turned her head to look around, the grass tickling her neck as she searched for another recognisable shape. "Um...that one looks like a, uh...a football?"

"And that one is a house."

"Which one? That one?" Nina pointed to one, stretching out her right arm as far as it would go, her muscles aching.

"No, no..." Tom lifted his left arm and his hand guided Nina's until it was pointing at the right cloud. "That one." His hand was warm, but not sweaty, and Nina's palm tingled slightly at the contact he made.

"Ugh, I'm so bad at this." Nina let her arm drop back down and it landed with a thud on the soft ground beside her. Then she gasped suddenly, recognising a shape. "That one looks like a willy!" She blurted.

Tom looked at her, startled slightly by her sudden outburst. Oh great, now he thinks I'm mental, Nina thought to herself. But he began to laugh, going from a soft chuckle to a full blown 'ehehehe', and Nina eventually joined in, not being able to resist his addictive, catchy laugh. It would probably be the death of her and many fangirls to come.

They lay in a comfortable silence for a little while, recharging their batteries, so to speak, and eventually Tom pushed himself to his feet, doing a little jump as he got up. "Are you sleeping there tonight then, darling?" He looked down at her, a somewhat angelic smirk on his face. She never knew something generally so mischievous could be so...so...perfect.

"I'd rather not, Tommy boy..." She sat up and held out her arm towards Tom. He grabbed her outstretched hand, knowing instantly what she wanted to do, and she tried to pull herself up but instead, in a cliché film moment, she pulled Tom over instead and he landed awkwardly, bracing himself with one hand ending up on the ground on either side of Nina's waist, his body somewhat at an angle in which his long legs curved away from her.

He turned bright red and laughed softly, quickly averting his eyes and rolling to the side. "Perhaps we should try that again?"

"Perhaps. Let's try for a more...er...successful outcome..." Nina was even redder than Tom, but she was less amused. What would happen if Kyle knew about how well Tom and her had gotten along since they'd met? Every time she thought of Kyle she just began to question herself, so she pushed all thoughts of him to the back of her head, buried under her grudges again.

This time, they didn't make the same mistake twice. Both of them got back to their feet without any more awkward situations or injuries and they set off at a steady pace back to the hotel, making occasional conversation but eventually lapsing into a comfortable silence once more.

[A/N] can we all just take another moment to appreciate tom in running shorts. like oh my dear lord. almost as good as tom wearing a white shirt for his ice bucket challenge. drop a vote if you're still enjoying, i suppose...?
yours truly :) x