Always Been You | Tom Holland

TWENTY-THREE

Tom

Y/N's office is actually quite big. She has enough space for a small seating area for the kids next to her desk. She's been in almost a trance since we got started on organizing everything – she put music on and has been sitting cross-legged on her floor trying to perfect the toy set up in her cabinets. I have reminded her many times that the kids will probably just come in and create a mess, but she doesn't seem to care.

I've been tasked with hanging up shelves and going on dumpster runs because I "made too many jokes about putting pictures of me everywhere." I thought it was quite funny. When in doubt, throw up a picture of me. Clearly, she didn't find it so funny. Who knew she'd be so uptight about the vibe of her office setup? That's a joke, obviously.

I'm just fine with being put on shelving duty. I've always been good at this kind of stuff, so I don't mind doing this for her. Plus, I feel like I'm getting brownie points for being shelf-hanging-boyfriend material. Any way for me to gain brownie points with her is good with me.

"What do you think of this, Tom?" I look over from my tool station and see Y/N sitting next to her cabinets and bookshelves, arms outstretched. She's very proud of her organizational work. "I have a section for fidgets, social-emotional toys, crafts, puzzles, and books!" Adorable.

"Looks great, darling. I'm sure the kids will love it." She stands and nods her head. "Are the shelves to your liking?"

"They're great," she stands next to me and crosses her arms. "Perfect for my Tom shrine."

"See, I knew you'd come around." I don't have to look at her to know she's rolling her eyes.

I now know what she meant when she was telling me about seeing me interact with my fan earlier today. Seeing someone so genuinely happy to be doing their job is amazing. Y/N is so excited to be making a happy space for her students to come to. It makes the coil-pulled-taut tension inside of me even more intense.

"Um, Miss Walker?" I hear a tiny voice in the doorway behind us. We both turn to see a tiny human standing just outside her office without an adult.

"Lucy! Where are your dads?" Y/N rushes over to Lucy and kneels down with her, looking around the hallway behind her for an adult. "How did you get inside, sweetie?"

"Um, I came in here with them but I lost them." She looks up at me and her eyes get so big, they look like they may fall out of her head. "Miss Walker... is that Spider-Man?"

"That sure is Spider-Man!" I kneel down next to Y/N and am back in Peter mode.

"Hi, Lucy. Do ya think we can take you back to your dads? They're probably missing you right now." She smiles and nods.

Y/N somehow knows exactly where to go to find my new friend Lucy's dads. Lucy is gripping onto my neck – she insisted I carry her – and is throwing about 100 questions at me about Spider-Man and how I got here and where my suit is. The typical questions I get asked when I'm not in my Spidey suit. She's very cute. It seems like she and Y/N have a close relationship.

"Lucy! There you are. Thank you, Y/N." One of Lucy's dads pulls her out of my arms and hugs Y/N with his free arm. "Baby, you can't run off like that!"

"But I found Spider-Man!" She points right to me and her dad's eyebrows shoot up. "He can't swing us around. He doesn't have web fluid. But he told me next time he'd bring extra." She smiles so wide I can see her missing teeth.

"Did he, now?"

"She came right to my office, Martin. No issues because Spider-Man taught her how to be a superhero. Her words." Y/N smiles.

"Amazing. Thank you, Spider-Man." Martin smiles at me.

"Of course, it's my job!" I fist-bump Lucy and she squeals into her dad's neck.

"Thanks again, guys. And, uh, it seems like we have some catching up to do when we come back." Martin winks at Y/N and walks over to who I assume is his husband.

"We sure are popular today, aren't we?" Y/N shakes her head and begins the walk back to her office.

"She was adorable."

"Yeah, we're friends," she jokes. "Martin works as a teacher here. Lucy is going into first grade. A lot of anxiety with making friends and knowing she was adopted." She sounds sad.

"I'm glad you were here today to get her back with her dads."

"Me, too. You really helped ease her anxiety, too. You'd be a great children's therapist."

"Maybe when I retire from acting."

--

She drives me home and I'm itching to ask her to go out with me again. I have an event I want to bring her to later this week, but I'm not sure she'd want to go. I don't want to push things too far. This has been going fairly well and I don't want to fuck it up.

"Thanks for helping today, and for giving two kids something to talk about for the rest of their lives," Y/N says as we pull up to my house.

"It's what I'm here for!"

"Now I know who to call to put up my shelves for me," she smiles. "And my shrines."

"Absolutely," I wink. I'm actively fighting my urge to kiss her. "Can I, uh, ask you something?"

"Uh oh." She flicks her hair behind her shoulder and sends a wave of her perfume into my nostrils. "Shoot."

"I have the GQ Man of the Year party at the end of the week... would you, I mean you don't have to, I just thought, maybe you'd be interested in being my date."

She's quiet for a moment.

"You want me to be your date after you told everyone nothing was going on between us?"

"Yes."

"Will I have to like... answer questions?" 

I can't help but chuckle. "Not if you don't want to."

"Then yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Perfect. I'll send you the info when I get settled inside. Let me know when you're home."

"I will. Thank you." She smiles. I grab my gym bag and open my door.

"Bye, darling. Love you."

I don't realize I've said it until my door is closed and I'm walking up to my house. God, my filter is nonexistent sometimes. It's incredible that I literally get paid to keep secrets for Marvel, but I can't keep myself from backing Y/N into a corner by reminding her, "Hey, by the way, the dude you can't seem to get along with is also in love with you. Don't forget!" I'm a knob.