A Stroll in the Park (Tom Hiddleston X Fem Reader)

His Decision

This chapter recaps the same few days as the last one but from Tom's POV- happy reading!

He'd always felt a slight pang of guilt every time he boarded a private flight, knowing just how many fumes were being pumped into the world just so he didn't have to keep up appearances. But right now he had other things on his mind. 

The flight was silent and solitary, something he frankly needed right now. Being the public version of himself was out of the question, he needed to be able to lie back and not worry about who was filming him, who was taking pictures of him, who was undressing him with their eyes. He needed to be able to finish a drink without having someone come up and strike up a conversation in the hopes of getting into bed with him, without looking for a picture or a signature. He needed to be able to snuggle into his oversized blanket without someone snapping a picture of 'How cute he was omg uwu' and to be able to undo his fly to allow for the bloating of eating too much without being judged by onlookers. 

The flight gave him all of that, it gave all he needed and all he wanted. Apart from the one thing he wanted more than anything else. 

As the flight landed he could already hear the extortionate crowds that had gathered in the airport awaiting his arrival. 

At least she didn't have to deal with this part 

 Before rounding the corner he took a few seconds to get into character, plastering on his award winning smile. The crowds erupted into varying shouts and screams of awe and adoration, paired with the blinding lights from countless cameras, each hoping to catch the best picture for their exclusive posts. 

Gracious as ever, he smiled and waved his way through the crowd that had been held back by dividers as three body guards walked him through the parting as others kept an eye on their allocated sections of the crowds. 

"Not stopping for pictures today Mr Hiddleston?" one of the guards asked, noticing that he wasn't breaking his pace like he usually did. 

"Not this time Mark" he admitted "Jet lag's hitting harder than usual, just looking forward to a nap"

"It's not good to take a nap right away, you're meant to stay awake till evening ish local time" he comments. 

"I'll bear that in mind" Tom humours him. 

***

Tom returns to his home, thanking the driver and collecting his bags to take back inside with him. The house seemed still and empty, it always did when it'd been a while since he'd been home anyways, just being left untouched for so long. 

In complete silence he clicks the kettle on and gets a cup ready with some instant coffee. He takes his cases and bags up to his room and decides that unpacking can wait till he was more settled. The kettle had barely just boiled when there was a knock at his door. He dropped the kettle to the worktop and rushed to the door, hoping and praying that it would be- 

"Hello dear! Nice trip?"

Being an actor came in useful in the real world too Tom had found. 

"Ah, yes Mrs Copper, it was lovely thank you"

They smile broadly at each other, only one of them being genuine. Another pang of guilt came at the knowledge that he was deceiving Mrs Copper of all people but there was no other choice. 

"Well I thought you'd be eager to get this little man back safe and sound" she comments, letting Bobby off his lead and up to Tom's leg, circling him happily as he was reunited.