What's Past is Prologue (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight

AN: Hey, guys! I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far, so feel free to leave comments! Thank you for reading!

After we finished breakfast, which was wonderful by the way, Tom and I argued over who would shower first. I had forgotten what it was like to live with another person, and I did not miss it. Apparently Tom had brought clean clothes from home when he'd gone back this morning.

"So, you just assumed you could use my shower?" I teased. I didn't really care, I just liked to make things difficult for him sometimes.

I expected to hear a nice-guy Tom response, but all I got was the bathroom door shut in my face with a "Yes," followed by a "Hehehe!"

A few minutes later, as I was picking out my outfit, I heard a loud crash come from the bathroom and some choice expletives coming after. I rushed to the door and knocked. "Tom? You okay?" No response. "Tom?"

I cracked the door open and peeked in. Oh my lord. Tom had turned off the water and opened the curtain, and was trying to fix my shower caddy that was barely hanging on. I tried and failed to ignore the fact that Tom was standing before me in all his glory. I couldn't move.

Finally noticing me, Tom quickly covered his manly bits. "Shit! Sorry. I knocked it off with my elbow. I think I broke it."

Once he'd covered himself up, the air returned to the room. "Your elbow?" I looked at his arm and noticed a small trickle of blood.

"No, the... thing! I'm sorry. I'll buy you a new one."

I ignored him and handed him the towel I had given him earlier. He took it and wrapped it around his waist. "Here. Now, let me see your elbow."

"I'm fine, El," he said, but grimaced when I grabbed his arm. He only had a small cut, thankfully, but it was pretty swollen.

"Geez. Were you trying to kill it? Or was it self defense?" I teased.

"Ha ha. Funny. Really though, I'm fine. I'll just rinse it off."

"Stay here." I went to the kitchen to retrieve my small first aid kit and found a bandage and then grabbed a bag of frozen vegetables from my freezer. When I got back to the bathroom, Tom was sitting on the toilet in his boxer briefs, and only his boxer briefs. You can do this, I told myself. It's just Tom. Your friend Tom. So what if he has the body of a Greek god? So what if I wanted to kiss the small water droplets all over his chest and lower abdomen. Oh god. I thought about what he was hiding beneath his boxers, and now that I had a mental image of it, I knew it would be harder for me to ignore. This needs to stop.

"You alright over there?" Tom asked. Crap. I had been caught staring.

"Yeah," I shook my head, "Sorry." I kneeled by his side in order to put the band-aid on his arm. He sucked in his breath when I pressed it on. "Sorry." Next, I placed the vegetables on his arm and gave him a small smile. "These expired months ago, but I knew they'd come in handy eventually."

"You never have been big on frozen peas, have you?" he asked. His voice was soft and tender.

"And carrots," I emphasized, tapping the bag I was still pressing against his arm.

He chuckled. "My mistake."

Tom continued to look at me, and for the first time, I saw something in his eyes I had never noticed before. Something that scared me and made me incredibly happy all at the same time.

Tom glanced down and my free hand and scooped it up in his. "El, I-"

"We should get going," I said, cutting him off. I had a feeling I knew where the conversation was heading, and I wasn't sure I was ready to hear it. I placed his hand on the bag and stood. "I want to get there before it gets too busy." And with a small smile, I fled to my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I wasn't ready to lose my best friend.