Steamy Love (Tom Hiddleston x Reader)

Chapter 15: Louder

As expected, after you finished one of the cups, Tom picked up the 2nd controller. He's played some of the much older Mario Karts before, but this one was much different.
"So, did you play the first one?" You asked, picking your character.
"I did, and I...cannot say I recognize many of the characters.." Tom admitted with a soft chuckle.
"Well, who do you recognize?" You asked, leaning back against your chair.
Tom took a moment to think. "Well, there's Mario, obviously.." He spoke, pronouncing it as 'Mare-io' and not 'Mar-io'.
"And his brother...uhh.." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Don't tell me...L-Luigi?.." He looked at you for approval, smiling when you gave him a nod. "Okay, and then that's the princess...who's that red princess?"
"That's Daisy." You replied.
"Daisy? Is she from a Mario game?" He asked, smiling a bit when he noticed some people in the chat making fun of him. "Chat, I know I'm old. I'm very sorry."
"You're not old." You chuckled.
"I'm almost 40, (Y/N)."
"You're not even turning 38 for a couple months. You're..." You almost complimented him. God, the last thing you want is for your fans to ship you two together, especially since your...growing relationship is supposed to be on the down low. If your fans start shipping you, the press will start shipping you, only they wouldn't call it shipping.
"You're not old. That's all I'm sayin'.."
The chat agreed with you, being flooded with compliments on Tom's appearance. Now that it's been about a half an hour, people on Tumblr and such have probably been linking the stream on a bunch of Tom fan pages, so most of the people in chat are more so fans of him rather than of you. You were getting a lot more subs today, though. Maybe his fans were becoming yours, too!

"Daisy is from Super Mario Land." You replied. "Princess of Sarasaland."
"That does not sound like a place in Mario.." Tom chuckled. "And who's this blue princess?"
"That's Rosalina. She's, like, Princess of the Galaxy."
"Is she from Mario as well?"
"Yeah. She's from Super Mario Galaxy."
"Is everyone here from a Mario game?"
"No, a couple people on the bottom row aren't. Like Link and the Villager.."
"Why are they in the game?"
"Cause they're Nintendo characters."
"And this is a Nintendo game?"
"Yes, on the Nintendo Switch."
"Okay. That..." He chuckled. "That makes sense, I suppose.."
Your little banter there was cute to the chat. You saw them talk about it as Tom picked his own character.

You helped him customize his Kart and such and let him pick the stage. He wasn't too bad at the game, but he definitely wasn't any closer to getting to 1st, like you easily could. He was pretty helpful up around in 8th place, though, and he learned a lot from you and from the chat. He really liked talking to the chat. Streaming was a whole new experience for him and he was having an absolute blast. He could probably read faster than you, as he pointed out certain chats that you didn't even catch. You enjoyed watching him talk with not just his fans, but yours as well. Your audience. They could tell he enjoyed your company, and you definitely enjoyed his.

You streamed for a couple hours into the night, switching from Mario Kart to a different Switch game before ending the stream. Tom showed clear interest in joining you on your next stream. Maybe having him along would make it a little easier to stream at a reasonable time. You know you wouldn't want him awake past 4am, like you have in the past.
After all of the equipment had been turned off, you turned to Tom with a soft smile.
"Have fun?" You ask, getting up from your seat. "I really did. That was a lot of fun.." Tom grinned, getting up and putting his chair away. He noticed the time, and was pretty surprised to see that it was already 2am. He doesn't normally stay up this late, at least not willingly.
"I didn't even realize how late it was.."
"Yeah. It's about time to get ready for bed.." You replied with a little stretch. You moved to your drawers to get your pajamas out, expecting to hear him leave, but instead you heard him approach you. You turned around after closing the cupboard, smiling at Tom.

"I suppose I should be heading back to my room.." Tom spoke to you. Before you could say anything, you heard the sound of rain outside your open window, and a slight cold chill. The rain sounded thick, rather suddenly. It surprised you and Tom. Tom found the rain relaxing, but when the sound of thunder came shortly after, you got visibly anxious, and he noticed.
"Does the thunder scare you?.." Tom asked you, taking a step close to take your hand.
You blushed shyly. "I know, what kind of adult is scared of a little lightning, right?.." You joked, trying to make light of the situation. You visibly flinched when the lightning crashed hard outside, his hand holding yours slightly tighter.
"Do you wish to sleep with me in my bed tonight?" He asked you.
"Me? I-I don't want to i-invade your personal space.." You admitted, trying your best to appear calm, but he could tell how you were really feeling, how anxious the sudden weather change had made you.
"You won't be invading my personal space. Besides, gives me an excuse to ask you to join me for bed.." He gave you a soft, comforting smile, a little sigh escaping you. He made you smile.
"Okay..." You nodded with a shaky smile. He let go of your hand.
"I'll let you get some jammies on.." He spoke, gently kissing your hand before stepping out of the room.

You let out another little sigh, this time one of relief and calmness. You didn't necessarily fear thunder and lightning, but when it gets really loud like this, you can't help but feel really uneasy and anxious, unable to sleep whatsoever. You felt relieved you'd be able to spend the night in Tom's arms. Maybe that would help. You were sure it would.
You got into some of your comfiest pajamas before moving into Tom's room, seeing him already sat up in his own bed. He didn't have a shirt on, but you assumed he had pajama pants on. You closed his door and joined him under the covers, frowning when you heard more thunder.
"I'm right here.." Tom reassured you, resting his hand on yours.
"I'm sorry you have to keep checking up on me all the time.." You frowned a bit. Tom tilted his head. "Checking up on you?" He repeated. "I like taking care of you."
"You don't think it's, y'know...pathetic?" You asked, flinching with a slight shaky breath when lighting crashed down louder. You immedietly curled up to Tom, feeling his strong arms wrap around you warmly, securely.
"It's not pathetic to need comfort every now and again.." Tom replied. "You could go to anyone for said comfort, but I'm glad you choose to let me. I really do like helping you."
You blushed a bit, looking up to look at him. He gazed back at you with a warm smile, gently kissing you forehead.
"I prefer having you here, anyways.." Tom admitted. "When we're tired and the day is done, we fall asleep together, and wake up together. It's...nice."
"Hey, I prefer your bed over mine.." You admitted with a soft smile, getting a little chuckle from Tom.
"Then I suppose I'll have to make it our bed." Tom added.
"I suppose you would.." You gave a friendly smirk, getting another little peck on the forehead before you two cuddled close.

Whether or not this is just a beneficial thing, you truly enjoy his company. You're really starting to feel a change between you two. A good change. A warm change, yet it's unclear if Tom is prepared for it.