Shields- A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction

Chapter 42

"When will you be back from the theater?" I pin the phone in between my ear and shoulder as I knead the dough. Maple meows at me from her perch on the bar counter.

"In about twenty minutes or so." God, he sounds exhausted.

"Okay. I'll have dinner ready for you when you get home."

"Alice, you don't have to do that."

"It's your birthday, Tom. It's the least I can do." Finished kneading the dough, I place a cloth over the bowel, letting it rise. "Besides, I've wanted to do this recipe for a while."

"What is it?"

"For that, you will have to wait and see. I think you'll like it. Ben liked it when Sophie made it for him."

I have put off making the sopapillas and bean-and-cheese tacos because as of late, I have been going through a rigorous diet and exercise routine to trim down on my stomach fat. Tom insists that I look amazing, but I want to feel it. Besides, the belly that shows when I put on the wedding dress makes me feel unattractive, no matter what other people say. Now, I am... mostly pleased with how I look. Tom has been disapproving the entire way, complaining that I am too self-conscious and that I am perfect just the way I am. He even managed to get his way in a few meals in which I would have normally gotten a salad but ended up with a carb-filled meal that made me want to run laps afterword.

"Well if Ben likes it, then I guess I will too. Besides that, I like everything you make for me."

"Awe, you're sweet." I sigh, a grin creeping up my face. "besides that, you'd better like it because it's absolutely loaded with fat and carbs."

"My favorite! I assume you will be eating the same as me?"

"Well..." I decide to string him along a bit to see how he will react. His mood shift is instantaneous.

"Alison, I am tired of all this dieting nonsense. I understand eating healthy, but this is getting absurd! You need to live life a little and realize that I love you just the way you are. In fact, it's unattractive when a woman is stick-thin. It looks unnatural. You are gorgeous in every sense of the word. You shouldn't feel the need to change yourself." He lets out a heavy breath as if to continue ranting, and I take the moment to cut him off.

"Yes, Tom, I know. I was joking. I will be sharing the same grease-covered, carb-filled meal as you. Calm down, honey."

"Oh." There is a long moment of silence, and I worry that I have hurt him.

"Tom? Are you okay?"

"You're going to pay for that joke when I get home." The statement sends thrills through me, and I can't help but giggle.

"Is that a promise?"

"You can count on it." He pauses. "How was your day?"

"It was good. Mr. Alexander invited me and you to lunch tomorrow at noon if you're available."

"That should be a good time for me. Mr. Alexander, the one who's walking you down the aisle?"

"Yeah. That's him." I turn to the oven to check on the tacos. "He is as much as a father to me as my own dad. I never really talked about him much, because at first, we were... you know, not a thing." I pick Maple up off of the counter and set her on the floor. "Shoo! Go play with Athena! Anyway, with everything that seemed to go wrong, I never really got to talk to you about him. He's married now to Mrs. Elizabeth. I told you about her; the one who bought all the books."