When Y/N came home from her shopping trip, she didn't hesitate to call Tom to help her assemble the beautiful oak wood coffee table she bought from IKEA. Of course, being the gracious boyfriend he was; he didn't hesitate to make his way over to his girlfriend's apartment, with the handy toolbox that he uses for only special circumstances.
Waltzing right into her apartment without forwarning, as usual, Tom placed a loving kiss on his girlfriend's cheek, clapping his hands together enthusiastically, and glanced at the box that contained the deconstructed coffee table, ready for a new challenge.
"Is that the table love?" He walked into the kitchen, immediately taking a seat on the ground. Y/N nodded, holding a hot cup of coffee, taking a couple of sips sometimes in between.
"You know Tom, I could help you?" she suggested softly, a hint of nervousness in her voice. She couldn't even remember the last time Tom actually built something. I mean sure he knows how to use a hammer and a screwdriver, but maybe building an entire coffee table was a different game than he's used to.
Tom scoffed, waving his hand in the air, beginning to open the box and dump out the contents onto the soft, plush rug, "Babe, it's easy all I have to do is read the instructions," he said easily, grabbing the folded paper that laid beside large pieces of polished wood.
"Okay, I'm just going to leave you to it," she smiled, "I have other chores to do anyways." She called out to him, already making her way out of the living room. She heard a small hum from her boyfriend, causing her to chuckle to herself. Surely, assembling a coffee table shouldn't be that hard, right?
Wrong. It's been two hours, Y/N finished all of her chores for the day, tidying up the house and making it look nice and pretty again. In those two hours, she hadn't heard a single peep from Tom, her anxiousness starting to grow into worry. She walked into the living room to see him working hard. She observed how his curl fell in front of his forehead, his eyes glued on the various pieces and screws. He bit his lip, slowing screwing in a couple of pieces before cursing under his breath. It honestly looked a little... rough.
"Tom, you okay? We can take a break and I can order some food-"
"I got it, Y/N," he replied quickly, not tearing a single glance away from his girlfriend. She giggled quietly causing Tom to look up and take in her appearance. She changed from her previous outfit to comfortable loungewear. He recognized she was wearing his shirt, as well as his gray sweatpants.
'What's so funny?" He sighed, placing the screwdriver down on the carpet. She held up her hands in defense quickly, walking towards him, lowering herself to the ground to meet his level.
"Nothing, it just seems like you don't know how to build a coffee table," She teased, a smirk playing on her lips. Tom scoffed, turning away from her.
"Oh bugger off! Of course, I know how to build a table," He retaliated, holding up the screwdriver in her face for emphasis.
"Maybe you don't remember Y/N, but I went to carpentry school," he said, matter-of-factly, causing his girlfriend to let out a howl of laughter. He watched as she burst into a fit of giggles. As much as he didn't want to admit it in this current moment, but her laughter was always infectious. She looked so beautiful when she would laugh, her nose scrunching up, as her dimples made an appearance on her smiling face.
"Tom, you went for like a week," She mentioned, in between giggles. He rolled his eyes, pretending to look over the instructions once more, but in reality, he still glanced over at his beautiful girlfriend.
"But I'm Spiderman!"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
To Y/N, chatting with him was a sort of verbal dance, one beautifully chaotic, one that makes her laugh out loud and almost feel her heart switching on. It was banter, she guessed, but Y/N lived for it, looked forward to it, and would have spent any amount of time in his company that she could have. They were funny together, not so much with others...they just brought that sense of playfulness out of one another.
She placed her head on his shoulder, looking at him as he glanced over the instructions once more, he watched out of the corner of his eye, seeing her eyes trained on the pieces of paper he held in his hand. She looked around the pile of materials, picking up a single screw, holding it up to him.
"You're missing this part," She said observingly, causing him to grab it out of her hand, giving her a playful look.
"Love, I can do this by myself, I don't need your help," He sighed, picking up some more tools he needed and continued t work where he left off. She rolled her eyes at his childish antics; clearly, his ego got in the way and it was evident that he wanted to prove himself.
"Fine, I guess just go do something," she huffed, standing up from her spot on the floor. She walked into the kitchen to make herself a quick snack. Once she finished, she answered some emails on her computer, all while Tom continued to work.
It wasn't until she finished a chapter in her book when she heard Tom's voice call out to her. She closed her book and tucked it under her arm, walking back into the living space. Tom stood proudly, pointing to the coffee table that stood upright without any support. It looked really good. She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck, placing a soft kiss on his lips.
"Thank you, it looks great," she whispered, smiling at his cheesy smile. He placed another kiss on her lips before looking back at his work.
"Okay, we should test it out," he suggested, grabbing the book that was still in Y/N grasp, plopping it down on the coffee table. The coffee table stood firmly as it held up the book, causing Tom to do a small victory lap around the living room. Y/N laughed at his childish antics opening her arms out towards him.
He didn't hesitate to scoop her into his arms placing a long kiss on her cheek, causing Y/N to blush. He smiled at her with a smirk tugging at his lips.
"See? Carpentry school did pay off."
