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

The After

Five years later 

"And the winner for Best hair and makeup is... Cruella!"

Crowds erupt into cheers, mixes of enthusiastic and polite clapping mixed in the large auditorium. The cameras move quickly, the operators trying their best to get everyone that was going up in a shot. 

Tom has to give you a little nudge to go up as you sit entirely frozen in your seat staring at him. 

"...that's me."

"That's you!" he exclaims, squeezing your hands in excitement  "Go up for gods sake!"

You slowly rise from tour seat, eyes and mouth gaped open while you wander in part haze to the stairs. The two other attending team members were already on stage, patiently waiting for you to join them. 

As you start up the stairs, you turn round to look back at Tom who was clapping away quite happily, bouncing his legs and grinning as he did so, encouraging you to keep going. While lost in a bit of a trance, your legs seemed to halt suddenly as the rest of you carried on trying to move, resulting in your dress getting tangled in your feet and you ending up on your hands and knees. 

The clatter brings you  back to your senses as the room seems less fuzzy, suddenly too clear as you realise that you had fallen down going going up the stairs for an Oscar. Your face starts to heat up immensely as the room fills with scattered gasps and confused, stunted applause. 

Pulling yourself together, and up, as fast you can, you feel a hand rest gingerly on your back within seconds paired with a friendly voice. 

"Pick up your dress sweetheart, it'll get less tangled." She whispers, taking the hand of yours closest to her as well to help you up. 

"OK, OK, thank you..." you whisper back, turning to find that it was Olivia Coleman, smiling down at you. If it were any other day you guessed you would've crumbled, but you'd just won an Oscar and fallen going up the stairs so you found yourself  as stunned as one could be in one day. 

"Don't worry darling, you still look fabulous, well done!" she assures you, letting go of you once you were stood again, allowing you to make the remainder of the walk alone. 

"Thank you!" you whisper back again, taking her advice and holding the dress slightly above the tops of your feet until you got to the stage and give a meek wave to the audience. 

Speeches were made, hugs were exchanged, colleagues that you now classed as friends were stood with you on stage, looking out to the admittedly thinned out crowd, another thing to thank Corona for. 

Honestly, while your colleagues made their speeches, tearful or funny, you weren't paying attention. Rather you were in a world of your won, looking out around the crowd, your focus on the sea of cameras bleary, your legs feeling slightly shaky again. 

Given that there were only three of you there, you were each given a short chance to say something, which you only realised when one of them nudged you for your turn at the microphone. 

You step forwards, still staring wide-eyed out into the auditorium, not too sure what to say as you hadn't thought to prepare a speech. After all, only the winners make speeches!

"Well, it certainly wasn't as good as Jennifer Lawrence's fall but I think I gave it a fair shot, no?"

The crowd lets out a knowing laugh, a few scattered claps here and there sounding out as well. 

"While on that note I would like to thank my darling Tom for telling me that this dress was the best out of the options as it gave me 'an air or elegance', and Olivia Coleman for helping me with the aftermath of his poor judgement."