Chapter Text
“Hello love, I’d like to have a…”
“Sorry sir, but you are going to have to wait your turn.”
“Can’t you make an exception for once?”
Sophie slowly lowered the book she was reading, just enough to look over it. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help herself. The words at the counter got her interest. And when she recognized the man standing there, pleading with the barista, her book was forgotten all of a sudden. Instead, her full attention was on the scene unfolding at the counter.
“I’m sorry sir, but you are going to have to wait your turn.”
The barista repeated her statement, arguing with the customer in a polite manner. But Sophie could tell that her stance was crumbling. Katherine, as the girl was named, was her friend. They had known each other since they were both in diapers and they knew everything about each other. They knew which books the other one was currently reading and what they liked and disliked about being at university. They talked about what movie they had last watched and discussed every detail about their latest crush. You name it, they had talked about it.
So when Sophie recognized the man as Tom Hiddleston, she knew that Katherine had trouble focusing. Chances are that she had forgotten about the world around her. And she wouldn't be able to focus on whatever arguments she usually had in store for annoying customers.
And Tom wasn’t making it any easier on her. She watched him place his hand gently on top of Katherine’s where it was lying on the counter. At the same time he shot her a bright toothy smile. “I’m sorry to be bothering you like this, love,” he pleaded. “But I definitely would appreciate it if you can let me skip my turn just this once. You see, I have an appointment shortly, so I’m in quite a hurry and … I’m sorry, is there anything you would like to add to the conversation?”
Sophie’s eyes grew big when Tom all of a sudden whipped his head around to address her. A blush immediately colored her cheeks as she realized why he seemed annoyed with her. His piercing gaze left her speechless for a moment. When she found her tongue again, she almost started apologizing. Almost. Because she locked eyes with Katherine when she opened her mouth to speak. In a flash she remembered of a promise made long ago. To always help each other out, no matter what. So, determined to stand her ground and stick up for Katherine, she said, “I didn’t mean to laugh out loud. It’s just… Well, that’s the most pathetic excuse ever, don’t you think? I’m in a hurry. Like all these other people don’t have places to go and people to meet.”
And just like that, the annoyed stare disappeared. In a flash, as if it had never really been there. Tom shot her the same bright smile he had given Katherine just moments ago. “Oh, I’m sure they do. But this meeting I’m having is very important. I just hoped that maybe because…”
He was working his boyish charm on her. But Sophie didn’t fall for it. “What, because you have a famous face you figured that people should jump on the spot for you? Not going to happen, pretty boy,” she interrupted him.
The offensive way the words left her mouth caused Sophie to cringe internally. It seemed like Tom’s presence had a strange effect on her brain-mouth filter. She nervously bit her lip while she gauged Tom’s reaction. Much to her relief, he didn’t look mad or annoyed. But at the same time he didn’t look particularly happy about it either. For a moment she figured he was indifferent to the opinion of a stranger like herself. But then she realized he just looked surprised. Like he was not used to people speaking up to him. It caused her to wonder how many people were normally hanging on his lips, breathing in his every word.
It was only when Katherine coughed rather loudly, that Sophie realized that the entire bakery had gone silent. All the customers and staff were staring at her. She felt awkward and out of place all of a sudden. She hated being the center of attention and at this moment she wished she would just be swallowed by the floor.
Thank god for Katherine, her wonderful friend. Before things got a chance to get any more awkward, she turned to the woman in front of her, asking. “Right, worry about that ma’am. How can I help you this afternoon?”
And just like that, the whole store seemed to come back to life again. Sophie barely noticed it. Her eyes were on Tom again and he was still staring back at her. They were caught in their own little world for a few moments. Him still at the counter and her at a nearby table.
In the end, Tom was the one to break eye contact. Sophie kept watching to see what his next move would be. With the way he had behaved just minutes ago, she almost expected his ego to play up again. She was willing to bet he was either going to demand Katherine’s attention again or walk out the door empty-handed.
It surprised Sophie that he didn’t cause anymore drama. Instead, he retreated in silence. All the way to the end of the line. Even though it had gotten longer since the beginning of his little cry for attention, as Sophie called it in her mind. The perfect polite gentleman, just as the world knew him.
Now that the excitement had died down, Sophie’s attention shifted to the book in her hands again. She only got to read a couple of pages before a person sat down in the chair next to hers. Without averting her eyes from her book, she knew it was him. The famous actor felt the need to make his presence known again. “Hi darling, would you mind if I take this seat?” he questioned.
Sophie waited a moment to see what his next move would be. After his previous behavior, it surprised her that he seemed to be patiently waiting for her to answer her question.
She gave him an honest answer without averting her eyes from her book. “I wouldn’t mind.” In the same breath she added, “But I can imagine a few other people that would. Since you are supposed to go to this big ass important meeting.”
“Not sugarcoating anything, I like that.” Sophie could almost hear the smile in his voice. A small screech could be heard as Tom pulled back the chair he had been holding with one hand and took a seat across from Sophie. “Let me let you in on a secret, darling. I lied.”
Tom’s words definitely caught Sophie’s attention enough to make her look up from her book. She didn’t say anything, just raised her eyebrow in a questioning motion.
“I have nowhere to be today,” Tom confessed with an easy shrug. “I’m not here for work. Just a holiday, I have all the time in the world.”
“Then why all the fuss?”
Sophie had to bite her lip to contain the smile that was threatening to form on her lips. She couldn’t help it, it just happened as the blush appeared on Tom’s face. She hadn’t expected him to be embarrassed easily.
Tom stared at the steaming hot cup of tea in his hands when he spoke again. “Sometimes I forget. It’s like ever since Thor came out people recognize me anywhere. And at set people seem to jump at my every move. So sometimes I’m having a bad day and I want a nice cuppa and expect people to get that for me. And I’ll forget that not everybody knows how I am. Or cares, for that matter.”
“Oh, Kat knows who you are,” Sophie said with a glance towards the counter. Katherine shot her a smile and winked. “And she cares. But she also cares about her job. That is why she did what is customary in those kinds of situations: she told you to bugger off in the most polite way possible.”
The words caused Tom to laugh out loud. That laugh that Sophie knew many fan girls swooned over. And as he sat here in front of her, she had no problem understanding why they did.
“How about you?”
“What about me?”
“Well, it is obvious that know who I am. But do you care as well?”
“Meh, not that much I guess,” Sophie told him with a shrug. She did her best to sound as casual as possible. “I mean, I’ve seen Thor and I liked you in War Horse. But those are just two movies. You need more than two good performances to become a star in my book.”
“Fair enough, fair enough.” Tom nodded. “But enough about me. How about you, darling, what brings you here, to this bakery shop when it’s such a beautiful day outside?”
“It’s cozy here. Familiar. I spend half of my childhood here. Kat's parents own this place. We used to come here every day after school and try to help her mom with the baking. Try being the keyword there.” The joke earned another laugh from Tom. Sophie let out a chuckle herself, thinking back to all the afternoons she spend there as a child. “So yeah, I like it here, even if it’s such a wonderful day outside. I don’t have any classes at Uni on Thursday, so I like to come here in the afternoon to relax and spend some time with Kat. Also, my shift starts in 30 minutes and I like to be on time. I like to warm up with a nice cup of coffee.”
“Ah, I see. So that means that you wouldn’t have time to show me around town a bit?” Tom inquired.
The question caught Sophie by surprise. She choked a bit on her drink and only just managed to get out a strangled “What?” in between coughs.
Tom patiently waited until she had collected herself again. “Well, I’m here for the week and I was hoping to find someone to show me around town a bit.”
“Why me?” Sophie blurted out her response. Having Tom around really wasn’t healthy for her brain-mouth filter.
Tom smiled at her in response. “You intrigue me,” he confessed. “I’d like to spend some more time with you.”
The look he gave her made Sophie’s heart do a double take. She didn’t understand it; she had never been much of a fan girl. She liked actors for their acting skills, not their looks. Yet the way Tom looked at her, as if he genuinely wanted to find out more about her, it made her heart speed up.
As calmly as possible, she answered, “Tell you what. I need to be at Uni tomorrow, but I’m free in the early afternoon. If you’re up for it, I’ll show you around then.”
“Sounds like a date,” Tom agreed with a smile. Sophie tried her hardest not to blush at his words.