Life Is What You Make It (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfic)

Part 15: After It's All Done and Said

Don't Cry

I wake with a start from a very vivid dream. In it, I am being chased by a T-Rex, and Anna is with me. I know Tom is around somewhere, and if I could just find him he'd save us. When I start to look for him, Anna just drags me away and says, 'No! He'll just attract more of them!'

Apparently, I jumped enough to stir Tom from his sleep. "What is it, Love?" He asks groggily, tightening his arms around me as if to protect me.

"Just a dream," I say with a sigh as I snuggle in closer to him.

Right then, my stomach decides to make its presence known with a loud, 'Growl, gurgle, gurgle.'

Tom turns his face into the pillow and starts laughing uncontrollably.

"It's not that funny," I groan while pushing against him with my hands. Tom refuses to let go and pulls me close so I can feel the laughter through his chest.

As his chuckles subside, he looks at me but I can see the amusement in his eyes. "That wouldn't have happened if you had fed me like you promised," I say with a pout.

He kisses my nose, then whispers, "Feed me, Seymour." Suddenly, he rolls on to his back and pulls me on top of him. "It looks like I better get you something to eat. After all, we don't want your junk to shrink," he says playfully while smacking my butt.

As he starts laughing again at the indignant look I'm giving him, I manage to free myself from his grasp and roll out of bed. I stand there, with my hands on my hips, glowering at him.

Tom stops laughing, and his gaze becomes intense and slightly heavy-lidded as his eyes roam over my naked body. The desire to cover myself is strong, but I stand my ground.

Tom seems to read my look of determination, and he gives me a 'Oh, you think you are so sassy,' look. I reply with my own look which is, 'Yeah, I do. What're you gonna do about it?'

Suddenly, Tom's hand shoots out in a bid to grab me. I react quickly and jump back from his grasp. Unfortunately for Tom, his extended reach has put him out of balance and with a quick yelp, he tumbles from the bed into a tangle of limbs and sheets on the floor.

I laugh so hard that tears start streaming down my face. With my blurred vision, I don't see Tom's hand snake from the sheets to grab my ankle. I yelp an almost identical yelp to his and I start hopping on my free foot like Hoppy, the one-legged pirate.

Tom maintains his grip and I almost start dragging him like a two year old clutching his mother's leg. It's then that I lose my balance and end up sprawled on the floor away from Tom.

Tom seizes the moment and releases my ankle to crawl on top of me and pin me down with his hands and knees. Then the Tickle Fight starts.

Since Tom is on top, he has the advantage. However, I have 'girl power' which is essentially using my ability to cry at the drop of a hat to get what I want. It's the only way to survive when you have a big brother.

As Tom straddles me and starts to act like he may tickle me endlessly, I put on an expression like a bad country song: my dog just died, my truck broke down, and I don't have money to pay the rent. As the tears spring to my eyes, I can see Tom look at me suddenly, like he missed something on the uptake. For a moment, I see a look on his face like he should take pity upon me. And, for a minute, I'm trying to convince him that he should.