TAKE A SECOND - tom holland

an alternate ending. ✓

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

THREE YEARS LATER.

Harper could not open her car door. She had been struggling to get it open for about ten minutes now, to no avail. It was one of those handles that had a keypad, and she was not used to it one bit. She pulled out her phone, pressing her favorited number. As soon as the line clicked, she began talking.

"Frankie, you would not believe what is fucking happening right now. I'm trying to open my car and I can't remember the password and I'm going to be fucking late for my first fucking day at work and I'm sorry I'm using the word 'fuck' so much but I am SO fucking stressed and —"

"I need you to take at least eight melatonin's before you keep talking."

"You are incredibly funny."

"I love being complemented, keep them going. Look, you just have to remember how you got here. It's not even really your first day, you've been working at Marvel since graduation, Harps. You've got absolutely nothing to worry about, you're mildly good at you job."

"Thank you so very much for your support."

"C'mon, Harper, you know you're going to be just fine."

"Eat my ass, Frankie. What time does your fancy art work thingy open tonight?"

"Ah, yes, alternatively known as my first official curation at The Getty? It starts at 6, but all the cool people won't get there until 7."

"So, around 7 then."

"Well, you're a fucking noob so I would even go to say as early as 5:30. Have a great day!"

The line clicked dead as Harper rolled her eyes at her phone. She stared daggers at her car, flipping off the keypad.

"How the fuck can I not remember my password?" Harper grumbled to herself. She opened up her notes app, and scrolled for hints until finally, she found the number she was looking for.

His birthday. Obviously.

On the way to work, she quickly pulled up her favorite podcast, her mood brightening as she listened to Simu Liu discuss his new role as Shang-Chi. Around 30 minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of the Marvel Entertainment complex, her face still pulled into a smile as her heart began to race.

There really was no reason to be nervous. She had spent her entire life leading up to this type of moment. She had worked for it, and she knew that; but it didn't stop her from feeling the need to vomit into the artistically designed plant pot sitting outside of the building.

Harper pushed through the double doors, stepping quickly onto the elevator she stepped into the elevator, pressing the '8' button, the floor where her new office, and new team was located.

Her stomach was already in a knot when she saw his poster. She had elected to ignore every sight or thought of him this morning; so she pulled out her phone, and opened up the News app to distract herself. She didn't notice when the elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and didn't notice that the fifth floor was where casting took place. It was only when the doors opened that she looked up from her phone.

"H-Harper?"

"Hey Tommy!" Harper felt herself surprisingly relax as she saw her boyfriend standing in front of her, a large stack of paper tucked under his arm, his mouth agape. He had changed a lot since the premiere four years ago: his hair was long and curly, a single piece cutting down his forehead, and a pair of rounded glasses perched perfectly on his face.

Tom quickly pulled her into a side hug as he stepped onto the elevator, and she would be blind not to notice how fidgety he was.

Harper let out a huff of air. "Tom, I told you to not freak out today. I even put decaf on this morning."

"I'm just nervous for you, you know?" Tom gave her a haphazard smile. "They better treat you with the utmost respect. Or else I will go Spider-Man on their ass."

Harper let out a snort as Tom's face burned red. "Tommy, promise me, please, that you will never go "Spider-Man" on their ass. Last time you tried to go "Spider-Man", we needed a new coffee table."

"But our new coffee table is blue. I saw that as an opportunity to spice up the place." Tom's eyebrow raised as his girlfriend let out a airy laugh.

"Oh!" Harper said suddenly, beginning to dig through her enormous bag. "I told you I would bring you a copy of the portfolio I put together for production design for Moon Knight! I'm glad I remembered, because — wait, what the fuck?"

Harper's rambling was quickly ceased by her boyfriend, who at this moment, had gotten down on one knee. Her mouth felt as if it was filled with sawdust as he pulled out a small, forest green box, and carefully opened it to reveal a yellow-tinted stone atop a gold band. It felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her, in the weirdest way possible.

"I've waited a while to do this, probably because every time I want to I almost shit myself, but —"

"Tom, what? T-there is no way this is happening right now." Harper stuttered out as Tom's grin widened. "We're in the elevator. I hate elevators. They're practically modern murder traps. I mean, we could die any second, you know? What if we get stuck in here? We would have to pee ourselves in here, which would just suck. I love you, so you can't die while in an elevator, that would be—"

"Harper," Tom's exasperated tone cut across her words. "Can you take a second and let me profess my love to you as my knee goes numb?"

Her heart felt as if it was bursting at his words, and she hope that the smile that spread across her face as she looked at him would never, in a million years, dissipate.

"Sure, Tommy. Carry on."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

a nicer ending this time around :)

i know it's short, but after watching no way home i knew i wanted to publish the short alternate ending. obviously i edited to include recent marvel developments, but it's been written for quite a while.

i hope you guys are enjoying phase 4 as much as i am! i am so proud of tom, his acting was just phenomenal and i'm just so fucking happy that we got the spider-man movie we deserved.

this is the last installment i will be making in harper and tom's story. they are so close to my heart, and i hope you've connected with them as much as i do. you guys have made a three year journey more than worth it. i couldn't be more thankful.

i love you guys <3