The Light Inside Is Broken But I Still Work (sike)
Author’s Note: Hello! This isn’t my first one shot, but it the first one in a while. I’m in love with my man Tom Hardy, and I’m such a big fan of all his characters. I’ve noticed there’s not as much love as I’d like to see for him, so I decided to make a reader insert with Tommy Riordan, seeing as I’ve just watched Warrior. Please please PLEASE let me know if you like this, and let me know if you don’t. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. <3
Prompt: My chocolate bar hasn’t fallen down from the vending machine and you’ve come along and shook it so that it does, and I am eternally in your debt because that was my last $1.
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You could feel the tears welling up behind your eyes. This couldn’t be happening. You’ve just had the worst day, and now this. This was enough to break a man’s entire being, let alone your tiny fragile soul. You could feel the tension of the day reaching it’s boiling point, and you just barely resisted stomping your foot against the ground like a child. But really, this was ridiculous.
You felt your breath hitch as you stared at the candy bar trapped behind the hazy glass of the vending machine. You had put your last dollar and 10 cents in that wretched thing, and it had valiantly tried to give you the one thing that could possibly lift your spirits from this awful day. And then the machine groaned and made a kind of stuttering humming noise, and took the last sliver of sanity you had been holding onto throughout the day.
The candy bar had swayed to the sides before it decided that the inside of the vending machine was much more cozy, and was hanging on from just the bottom corner of it’s package.
An idea surfaced through the swirling depressive thoughts you had sunk into. You hesitantly lifted your arm and pressed your palm to the glass.
You pushed experimentally. It didn’t budge. A whimper escaped your lips. You pushed a little harder, shoving your shoulder to the side of the vending machine to see if it would rock. It stayed stubbornly still, determined to keep your day as shit as possible. A sob racked your body.
It wasn’t like you could even help it. You had just gone through so much today, and you had just wanted a little bit of comfort. Just something to take the edge off of a rotten day, and chocolate had seemed like your alleviation. And now... well now you were crying your heart out to an evil vending machine.
“Oh. OH! Oh, hey! Oh don’t cry, are you alright.” A man’s gentle voice spoke out. White hot embarrassment raced up your spine, spilling across your cheeks. You tried to nod, but another choked sound came up. Fantastic. Just fantastic. Now you were having a break down in front of a stranger.
You looked up to the man, and immediately wanted to crawl in a hole and die, effective immediately. The guy was sex on legs. You pushed down another wave of strangled sobs. Of course the dude was hot. And ripped, holy shit. He was wearing an oversized hoodie, but the suggestion of packed muscle underneath was undeniable. The guy looked like he could break another man in two, or at least knock one out in a single hit. When your eyes flitted to his own, you were floored to see the sheer amount of kindness in them. You could probably get lost in those eyes. Except the eyes were getting closer, and oh hey, so was the man attached to them.
“Are you, are you hurt?” His eyes tracked down your form, and when he didn’t find what he was looking for, immediately looked back to your eyes. His head gave a little tilt. “What’s the matter, what’s with the water-works?”
He looked very genuine, and very big, and boy was he very close. You swallowed and opened your mouth, but immediately snapped it shut. What were you gonna tell this man? This kind man who was prepared to help you through whatever potential world shattering problem you were facing. He would absolutely laugh when he found out this was all over a bad day and a lack of sugar.
You sniffled and jerked your head to the vending machine. Let him laugh. It would be the perfect ending to the perfect day. You waited for him to catch on and wrapped your arms around your self, trying to disappear from under this beautiful being’s gaze.
The man looked to the vending machine, then back to you with furrowed brows. Then he took a closer look inside the machine and spotted the candy bar. The corners of his mouth briefly lifted before falling down again. He then bit his lower lip to try and hide the clear smile that was spreading across his face. Even through the embarrassment, you could tell it was a nice smile. It didn’t look like he used it very often, but with the way it instantly brightened his eyes, you knew he should.
“Sorry for the loud crying.” You rasped out. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I’m fine, as you can see. Thank you for the assistance.” You took a step away from the man, only to stumble through the retreat. You cleared your throat. “Th-thank you. Again. So, have a good one. Thank you. For the... for bothering to come-” Heat flooded to your cheeks once more. You couldn’t wait to walk home after this and throw yourself into on-coming traffic, because that’s exactly what you were gonna do after this mess.
The man allowed the smile to completely overtake his face. He let out a breathy laugh and shook his head, making his way to the side of the vending machine. You only realized what he was doing when he made sure his shoulder was firmly against the side of the machine.
“Uh, I kind of already tried that. It’s... well it’s pretty sturdy and I don’t think you’ll make a differ-” You were cut off as the man slammed himself into the vending machine once, rocking the object up and off the ground. The man stepped back and allowed the machine to slam back down onto the pavement. Something sounded like it broke off deep inside the beast, but what really mattered was the candy bar that slipped off the hook inside, plummeting to the bottom of the machine with a satisfying smack. The man smiled that same tiny smile he had made the first time, and reached down to grab it. The shift of his hoodie, revealing a sliver of skin did not go unnoticed by you.
He straightened up while holding out the candy bar victoriously. “That wasn’t so hard. Now, of course I’ll give it to you, but you have to give me something in return-”
The man was cut off by the force of you throwing yourself at his body. You couldn’t quite tell if you were laughing or crying, but reminded yourself that you didn't care.
He let out a startled “Whoa,” and caught you, resting his arms under your back thighs as you shook with relief and warbled thank you’s.
“You’ve no idea the kind of day I had... and what that did to me. You, God thank you-” You stopped, waiting for a name.
“Tommy, my name is-”
“Tommy! Tommy you’re my hero!” You continued your crying in his hoodie somewhere below his neck. You felt him tense at the title, but he just let out a nervous laugh. You remembered why he was probably nervous and let out a tiny “oh.”
You let your legs drop from his waist and instantly blushed. His hands left your thighs, but only so that they could come up to rest at your sides. He was still very close. You could feel his breath on your face. His smile slid back into place.
“Hi. There you are, much better without all that wetness, isn’t it.” He gently rubbed a thumb across your cheek. You felt your cheek burn from where his touch brushed against your skin, but you didn’t think it was from embarrassment. You absentmindedly nodded. He withdrew from your space but only a little bit. The hand that had been holding the candy bar left your waist and was held up once more for you to take. You bit your lip against a smile and began to reach up to take it, more gratitude about to spill from your lips, when he raised the candy bar just out of your reach. You’re eyebrows surged up.
“Uh-uh, not yet.” His laugh ghosted over your face, moving your baby hairs gently. “I was going to give this to you in exchange for a reward, sweetheart.”
Your heart immediately sank. You didn’t have any money left on you at all. You began to shake your head.
“Um, I’m really sorry, T-Tommy. I don’t really have anything to give you... I could probably pay you back tomorrow...” You trailed off, hoping that would be enough. He gave you a teasing smile.
“What was your name?” He asked
“Y-Y/N.” You exhaled. He nodded and repeated your name back. You couldn’t help but love how your name rolled out of his mouth.
“Y/N. I’m afraid I won’t be here tomorrow.” Your heart stuttered for a beat. “But I’m perfectly wiling to take something else... let’s say, like maybe your number?” By the end of his sentence, a bashful lilt had entered his voice. You remained silent.
Panic flashed across his eyes. “Not that I expect that. I really don’t. I was just, well, shit, I don’t really know what I was doing but I was going for smooth.” He let out a sharp laugh and went to step back. Your hand squeezed the front of his Hoodie. That never would have been enough to stop him, but he stopped dead in his tracks anyway.
“No, I... Well it’s only fair isn’t it?” You allowed him a sweet smile. He answered yours with his own.
“Only if you want to.” He shrugged his shoulder like it wasn’t a big deal, but he shuffled through his pockets for his phone like it was one. When he finally found it, he slipped it into your hands and allowed you to program your number into his phone. You immediately texted yourself, waiting for the vibration to announce to the both of you that you had each others numbers.
You hugged him one last time as a parting thank you, and he wiped the last of your tears with his thumb again. You both backed away from each other, smiling. It wasn’t until the third time you looked back that you caught him looking right back at you over his shoulder.
That night, your phone endlessly buzzed softly, and your smile never quite left.
