Just Like That

Part 6

cgfan0820

Let's try this again. I'm Y/N. I'm a thirty-one year old teacher from Georgia with a rather extensive collection of witty t-shirts. And you are?

twhiddleston

I'm Tom. I'm a forty year old actor who calls London home. I've recently taken up admiring said witty t-shirts.

"Oh fuck. Oh, fuck," chanting to yourself as you had haphazardly dropped your work items off in the livingroom and were currently laying in the middle of the floor. You had perfectly good chairs. You had a plush loveseat that an ex-boyfriend had given you (best thing to come out of that relationship). You ignored all forms of comfort and chose to have your panic moment on the overly Febreezed carpet.

This wasn't a joke. This wasn't a prank. You had been chatting with a man who you literally spent money to watch on the big screen in the first Avengers movie (that was a date with another boyfriend). A man who won awards, attended premieres, dated—well, your list may not have been as noteworthy, but you'd venture that he had dated just as many people as you had in recent years...

cgfan0820

What in the world have we gotten ourselves into?

A better person would have had a far more witty reply. Or perhaps maybe gush a bit more in the man's presence. That's really what you should have done. Your colleagues had done a spectacular job being excited for you once they had a chance to see the Loki video. The questions were endless. How long had you two been speaking? How did you know each other? What do you mean you sent him a picture of your boobs? There were a lot of ins and a lot of outs to the conversation—and one of the reasons you no longer had the brain power to come up with something clever.

The lack of gushing? You wished it was because you were a calm, cool, and collected individual. The numerous 'fucks' you shouted on the commute home definitely demonstrated that there was nothing calm about this experience. So, what kept you from throwing yourself at the man?

Wasn't it obvious?

He was out of your league. A moviestar. A gorgeous moviestar. An accomplished, gorgeous moviestar. In what realm would you ever be more than a funny story to him? Your life was about helping people see the best in themselves (even if they were nine), yet you were so blinded by your own insecurities—there was no way you'd be able to think of these conversations as a glimpse into what could be...

twhiddleston

I have to commend you. How you aren't absolutely drained by the end of the day is beyond me. You were spectacular.

It was comical that he spoke of not being drained as you mentally noted your positioning. Adjusting until you were laying on your stomach, legs kicking back and forth in a stereotypical pose of a teenage girl, messaging a crush—you had to keep your cool. However, that certainly didn't stop you from beaming from ear to ear. Hell, your neighbors were lucky that you weren't yelling out shocked obscenities.

cgfan0820

Says the man who literally became a God to impress one of my kids. How am I supposed to beat that?

The typing sign popped up, but then stopped abruptly. You wondered what Tom had originally wanted to say—did he always second guess himself? Or did he simply master the art of thinking before speaking? My, what it must be like to have your life together...

twhiddleston

Your kids.

The smile faded, but the warmth in your chest never did leave. It was such a force of habit referring to your students as 'my kids', you barely noticed it anymore. For whatever reason, perhaps his pause...the simple two word answer...you did not feel as though your word choice was being attacked, but rather complimented. How could the man portray such compassion from a simple message? Were you reading too much into it all?