Marvels Best ↯ Tom Holland

74 ↴ IRL

Briar's throat was warm as she finished another drink, pushing the straw around the empty glass with her finger and listening to Harrison and Tom bickering playfully, a soft smile on her face. They were in a random bar, filled with locals, and had been there for several hours. It had quietened down as it neared 1am, and now that it was almost 2am it wouldn't be long before the last few stragglers were urged to leave.

Briar had told herself that she wouldn't drink irresponsibly, as Tom was still technically her client and she needed to be able to do her job the next day, and it was the sole thought she kept chanting, over and over again. Tom hasn't drunken that much but it seemed he was a bit of a lightweight, surprisingly, and his cheeks had turned red as a result. He kept running his fingers through his hair, and it was sticking up in every direction.

It was hot.

The thought was only in Briar's mind for a few seconds before it melted away, but it was enough to make Briar blush in her place. Now that there was alcohol flowing through her veins, her inhibitions had begun to lessen. She was quite content, listening to Tom and Harrison as they shared stories about their childhood. It was endearing.

Harrison was particularly loud, having drunken the most out of the three of them, and he was waving his hands in the air animatedly. It was this action that drew the attention of a nearby bartender, who approached them and politely suggested they leave, but not before they had all had a glass of water.

Tom had been watching Briar for the past few hours out of the corner of his eye, inwardly sighing at how beautiful she was with a simple smile on her lips and her eyebrows quirking every time she heard something remotely funny. She was truly the most gorgeous woman Tom had seen, and everything about her only drew him in further. He hadn't drunken much, but what he had was making his head swim with words he knew he couldn't speak out loud — they would only ruin things.

The trio made their way out of the bar, Harrison whining only briefly, and into the cool air. Briar shivered noticeably and hunched her shoulders, not enjoying the cold temperature one bit. Tom saw the action and was already shrugging his jacket off his shoulders and around hers before he could think; it was just a natural reaction. Briar smiled widely at Tom as she slipped her arms into his warm jacket, loving the way his cologne tickled her nostrils. She pulled the coat tighter towards her.

"Look at this. How... how pretty? So pretty..."

Tom and Briar were drawn to Harrison, who had his phone out and was holding the screen out towards them. It took them a few moments to see the photo clearly, the screen being very bright, but both were enamoured to see a photo of Olivia on his screen. His lock screen, to be exact. Briar felt her heart swell and patted her friends shoulder softly. "Yeah, Haz, she's beautiful."

Tom nodded, but his eyes were glued to Briar's face. She noticed.

Harrison's face crumpled suddenly. "I miss her."

Tom threw an arm around his best friend. "Don't be sad, mate. She misses you too. How about we get you in bed, yeah? How does that sound?"

Harrison nodded, leaning into his friend. There wasn't much Briar could do, but she made herself feel useful by holding open doors and pressing the correct elevator buttons. When they reached Harrison's floor — and therefore Tom's floor — it was relatively easy to get Harrison settled into his room. He kicked his shoes off and practically fell into bed, his expression soft as he fell asleep almost instantly.

Briar and Tom crept out of the room and Tom pulled the door shut gently behind him, surprised when he turned around and saw Briar attempting to slip down the hallway. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my hotel."

Tom shook his head, reaching out and catching Briar's wrist. "It's late, and cold, and I'd never forgive myself if you walked back to your room alone. You can stay in my room tonight. I'll take the couch."

Briar almost melted at the feeling of Tom's hand around her wrist, and she made no move to free herself. Her heart was beating terribly fast, and she knew that staying at Tom's overnight would only cause complications down the track, but he was too convincing. The way he was watching her, with his lips tipped up in a crooked smile and his eyes encouraging but not demanding, made her nod her head almost too easily.

Im watching Infinity War for the first time since I saw in last year and I just watched Loki die and I'm already sad uWu don't know how I'm supposed to watch Peter crumble but oK