Oneshots by worldoftom [t.h. x female]

A Cookie For All [ta au]

Summary: "Hey, you guys promised me a cookie!"

Words: 2.1k

Warnings: pure fluff, activities with children, play fighting, cookies

Co-written for Tumblr with @glowunderthemoon

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Tom never thought he'd find himself here again. In his grandmother's back garden, with all the memories stirring in his head. The long-forgotten hours on the swings. The family barbecues in the summer. The young, forbidden kisses behind the blossoming plum tree. These were buried in his mind for several years, but it's all coming back to him in a sudden rush of nostalgia.

It doesn't help that he's watching the kids - his kids, as he sometimes says - playing around in the yard like he used to with his brothers and cousins. Pushing each other on the swings. Sitting at the old wooden table. Running around the aged tree. Nevertheless, it's one beautiful scene, and he doesn't regret every difficulty he had to go through to get back here.

He's been a teaching assistant for seven months, having applied for a job for his placement year to gain some actual experience before finishing his degree. Yet since he reported to the primary school that hired him, things haven't been as easy to navigate as he'd expected.

The first few days were incredible. Not only was he back in his old school, he also had the chance to rekindle a friendship he had lost over time with his old mate Harrison, who was now Mr. Osterfield, or Mr. O, the revered year one teacher. There were many other people to meet, teachers and assistants alike, and Tom got to introduce himself to some of the classes, too, sharing with the kids his expectations for this year and how he wanted it to be the best one yet.

Unluckily, though, there was also you. The year four teacher he'd be assisting. The overachiever. The perfectionist. The only person in the whole school convinced that they could do everything by their own hands.

Harrison told Tom that the last assistant had quit after only the first few months, but Tom wasn't that type of person. He was determined to make you see that he could help more than you thought. And that's how he ended up dealing with your angry outbursts, bitter comebacks and even your arrogance and stubbornness when you insisted that he didn't have to do anything for you.

Things had definitely been challenging in the first weeks. You didn't want to open up to him, you'd refuse to cooperate and when he made the effort to lend you a hand with the simplest of tasks, instead of thanking him you'd only get angry. Yet unlike you, Tom could see that you were overwhelmed with work. He just didn't understand why you didn't let him help.

It took him weeks upon weeks of good deeds before you saw how useful his job could be. Tom had no problem in showing you just that, being able to see how your mood changed as each day went by, how obsessed with detail you were on Wednesdays, how exhausted you looked by Thursdays, and how close to unbearable you became on Fridays. He was also able to see how much you cared for the children and their development, which motivated him to keep trying.

He's probably never going to admit it to your face, but Tom started picking up on the little things that slowly made you smile and appreciate his presence.

Things like turning the electric kettle on every morning before you arrived, or pouring your afternoon tea into your favourite mug just as you walked into your office after the last class. Or things like leaving a few pieces of different types of candy on your desk after your lunch break, then figuring out which one you liked the most and keeping a whole box in one of his desk drawers to surprise you on the really bad days.

Sometimes he went as far as suggesting activities you could do the next day, or if you were feeling under the weather for any reason, he would tell you to give the kids a longer assignment so you could take a break as he watched over the class.