Darling (a Tom Hiddleston fanfic)

7: a hug, plasters and an urge

Tom sprinted out of the bar, glancing up toward the beach and then back toward the main road.  He wasn't sure which way Billie had gone, but he guessed she'd gone to the main road.  Easier to navigate and a faster route back to the houses.  Less likelihood of seeing people as well. He moved quickly, maneuvering around a small group of people trying to come into the building, as he set off in what he hoped was the right direction.  

He felt sick to his stomach for her.  A combination of anger, and disgust at what that guy had said to her, making Tom go into high alert mode.  Didn’t people like that have sisters? Mothers? Hell, even women friends?! Most likely not.  And he didn’t know Billie well, but he knew she was struggling, and trying hard to keep her head above water.  The last thing she needed was that sort of confrontation.  Not that anyone deserved something like that.

Tom started jogging, determined to catch up with her.  Surprisingly, it didn't take him too long.  She'd left the bar at a run, but must have slowed down after she'd made it to the safety and relative darkness of the main road.  The white stripes on her dress reflected brightly off the light from the just barely risen moon, and Billie looks like some sort of strange, night zebra.

"Billie." He called after her.  She spun around quickly, startled, probably not sure at first who was coming after her.  He saw her shoulders noticeably relax when she recognized it was him.

"I'm fine." She called out over her shoulder, then turned back around and kept walking. He felt his chest tighten, hearing her stilted voice.  She was either crying, or very close to it.  

Tom stayed back a bit, giving her a minute, not wanting to intrude on a woman who obviously already felt violated.  

"May I walk with you?" He asked after a minute, stopping where he was and waiting.  Billie kept walking for a few seconds, before slowing down and stopping as well.  She didn’t turn around, but she waited for him, and he took that as a 'yes'.  Tom silently jogged up next to her, and they resumed the short trek toward the houses.

He didn't say anything.  He wasn't sure what to say. He just didn't want to make it worse for her.

"I'm sorry.  I'm so...humiliated. And angry." Billie spoke after a moment.  She was looking straight forward, refusing to look at him.  She walked with her arms at her sides, rigid and tense, her shoulders bunched up, as if trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Billie." Tom said her name quietly, gently.  It took her a minute but she finally looked at him.  Even in the dim light, he could see her eyes were glassy, her face tense.  So, she hadn't been crying, but he had a feeling her anger, an almost venomous thing, was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.  It could be an interesting thing—anger—sometimes like a glue that could hold someone together.  All for the wrong reasons, but sometimes it was a necessary bandage.

"You forgot your wine." He said after a beat with a slight lift of his shoulders, and with that, something switched in her eyes.  Billie laughed, shaking her head, and Tom watched as she blinked and a fat, lazy tear fell from her eye.  He held his breath, wanting to laugh with her if it in anyway eased her pain, but he was finding it hard to breathe properly.  He stopped then and, somehow, managed to pull her to him. 

She moved easily, as if she was made of vapor--something light and barely solid.  He pulled her against his chest, hugging her tightly, fiercely.  Billie tensed for barely a moment before crushing herself against the solid wall of him, pushing her face into his chest, and wrapping her arms tight around his waist.  She sobbed then, for a just moment.  He felt her allow herself to give in, and then just as quickly she pulled herself together. 

Tom could feel her wracked breath against him.  She felt small in his arms, and far too fragile for a woman he knew had to be strong.  They stood like that for some time, Tom holding her in his arms.  They only broke apart when a car drove by them, illuminating their embracing figures and breaking any illusion of privacy that the dark had afforded them.  Billie took a step away, wiping quickly at her eyes.