Always You Cill💙

She knocked on the door and sucked in a breath, hoping that the family and child that she was assigned to was normal. The last child she was tasked with absolutely hated learning and would constantly throw tantrums. Needless to say, they got nowhere.

The door opened moments later to a small child who was looking confusedly up at the woman. (Y/N) sent him a smile but nothing occurred until a woman, who looked to be around (Y/N)'s age, quickly approached the door. "Karl! I told you that you cannot be opening this door!" she hissed before sending (Y/N) a smile. "You must be (Y/N). Come in," she addressed the woman standing on the other side of the threshold, moving the child aside so that she could enter the grand foyer. "Come into the sitting room. We can talk."

Seconds later, the two women were sitting on opposite couches, and the little boy was on the floor playing with some blocks. "I've read in your file that you'd like for me to help teach Karl the basics so that he can be ready for placement into school," (Y/N) started off.

"That is correct," the woman, who introduced herself as Ada, nodded her head.

"Are there any specific areas you'd like me to focus on?" she checked then, a pen in hand as she was ready to write.

"Yes. He's no good at numbers, so I'd say arithmetic. Other than that you'll need to make sure that he's prepared for his entrance screening."

"Ok, and of course. Is there anything else I should know?" (Y/N) looked up at her then, waiting intently for what she had to say. She left the question vague enough so that Ada could answer it in whatever way she saw fit.

Ada pursed her lips, letting out a slight chuckle before she responded, "yes. As you've seen, Karl likes to rush to open the door. If you happen to be working with him and someone comes, please try to keep him in place."

(Y/N) nodded her head. "I will keep that in mind," she smiled, thinking back to the initial greeting she'd gotten from the child. "Is Mr. Thorne around?" she asked. Her stomach dropped when she saw Ada's face change and her eyes focus to the ground.

"Mr. Thorne's no longer with us," she informed the other woman.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I..."

"It's just me and Karl here now," Ada tried her best to put on a smile, though it was evident that her loss still affected her. Silence fell between the women. (Y/N) didn't know what to say. "When will you be starting?" Ada finally spoke up.

"Whenever you'd like," (Y/N) smiled.

"How does tomorrow sound?"

"Perfect," the two women stood and shook hands before (Y/N) was led back to the front door. She was excited that she was going to be working again.

——

"Ok, Karl...I'm going to need you to look at these two pictures very closely. There are some differences within them. Can you spot..." Knock! knock!

"The door!" the boy cheered, quickly standing from the floor and running to the hallway before (Y/N) could even process what was happening.

"Karl, wait!" she exclaimed, scrambling to chase after him as she remembered the specific instruction the child's mother had given her. Ada was gonna have her head for this. "Karl, please..." she got cut off when she entered the foyer to see that the door was already open.

"Uncle Tommy!" Karl exclaimed, a smile on his face as (Y/N)'s eyes fell on the man standing across from her. He wore a serious look and a nicely tailored suit, his blue eyes almost making (Y/N) shudder as they locked onto her.

"Come...uh, come in," she was hesitant in speaking, but guessed that the man was supposed to be here because Karl had just addressed him as uncle.

The man stepped forward, ruffling Karl's hair before the kid turned heel and ran off. (Y/N) kept her eyes locked with his. "And you are?" he questioned then, his deep voice almost as serious as his look.

"I'm (Y/N) (Y/L/N)," she attempted to smile, holding her hand out to the man. He just looked at it. She internally scoffed at his actions.

"Tommy! Tommy, I'm sorry that Karl answered the door...he's formed a habit of doing it," Ada's rushed voice came from behind (Y/N), and it finally made the man look past her.

"What about the staff I've hired you?" the man who was being referred to as Tommy questioned.

"I've sent them home. Doesn't sit right on my conscience," Ada responded. "Come into the sitting room," she beckoned then, moving to lead the others in. (Y/N) let Tommy step ahead of her before she followed with the intention of getting back to Karl because that's where they had set up their lesson.

"Another renter of yours, eh, Ada?" Tommy spoke then, motioning to the woman who was now sitting on the floor across from Karl. (Y/N)'s eyes flashed up to the man who was standing in the archway now, a look of shock on her features. She was surprised by the audacity he had.

"No, she's not," Ada muttered back, sending her brother a frown.

"One of your friends from the Party then?" he was grinning as he asked, pretty much going down the list of options now without any care for the woman's feelings.

"No, Tommy. She's Karl's bloody tutor," Ada hissed, becoming more angry by the second. She hated that her brother always had to engage in a game of twenty questions wherever he saw her.

"Oh. Qualified to teach children then, are you?" Tommy was now looking down at (Y/N) once more.

"I, uh, yes, I am," (Y/N) nodded, watching as a slight grin formed on Tommy's face. It was almost like he was enjoying this.

"Should be harmless...but you checked her just in case, eh?" he looked back over to his sister, who was currently biting on her cheek in order to contain her frustration. (Y/N) was completely lost at this point.

"No, I didn't check her because I don't believe that everyone's out to get me," Ada bit back, showing her brother that she was fed up with the conversation.

"Oh but it's the innocent ones that you've gotta be mindful of," he was wearing that grin again, and (Y/N) almost wanted to go over and slap it off of his face. She had to remain professional though.

"I think we're about done here. Tommy, come to the reading room, we'll talk about whatever it is that you came here for. (Y/N), I'm sorry that my brother's a brute who has no manners," Ada addressed both of the adults in the room before she bent down to talk to her son, "Karl, honey, listen to what (Y/N) says," she smiled at him, kissing his head before she stood back up and stepped over to Tommy. The glare was back on her face.

"Was nice meeting you, (Y/N)," Tommy sent her one last grin. She didn't respond, but it's not like she was given the chance to. As soon as Tommy finished speaking, he and Ada left the room. (Y/N) only sighed before she picked up her materials and continued on with the child.

——

"Hello, Mr. Shelby," (Y/N) greeted in a monotone voice as she pulled the door aside.

"I'm having doubts of what my sister's employed you to be," he didn't bother with a greeting as he stepped into the house.

"Excuse me?" (Y/N) rested her hands on her hips as her eyebrows furrowed together.

"It seems as if she's got you on staff as a maid, seeing how many times you've answered the door," he pointed out, the grin already present.

"I only answer the door so that Karl doesn't," she corrected him.

"Where's Ada anyway?" he asked, looking around as he chose to completely ignore what she had to say.

"Why should I know? I'm not her bloody maid," (Y/N) hissed back, making Tommy's surprised eyes fall onto her. (Y/N) willed herself not to shrink under his gaze.

"So maybe you're not as innocent as I thought," he pondered before stepping further into the house, leaving her standing there, confused by the deeper meaning of his statement. She let out a breath and shook her head after a moment, deciding to push all thoughts of the annoying Shelby man out of her head for now.

Although she couldn't shake how frustrated his teasing made her. It was commonplace now, and she expected it each time that he stepped through the door. It almost made her wish that she'd be allowed to work with Karl up in his room so that she wouldn't have to see him. That idea was quashed though - shot down by none other than Tommy Shelby himself. So she was stuck with seeing him.

She enjoyed being with Karl though. The kid was very bright, and he had been flying through the lessons (Y/N) had created for him. She also had laid the starting blocks of a friendship with Ada. The two women had found that they had several things in common, and would often spend nights chatting with a glass of whisky after the lesson with Karl finished. The only downside of this placement in (Y/N)'s eyes was Ada's older brother, who simply didn't know when to stop with his comments. She figured she could deal with him though.

——

"Seven!"

"Yes, very good, Karl!" (Y/N) clapped her hands together as the boy answered yet another question correctly. She started sorting through the flashcards to find the next problem when she heard a knock at the door. "Stay," she warned the child, who nodded and waited for the next question to be shown to him.

(Y/N) heard the footsteps of the maid who was actually here that afternoon before she heard the door open. She then went on with showing Karl the next math problem, watching as he thought about its answer. All was well until she heard the familiar sound of a person clearing their throat. Great. She prepared herself for the comments as she heard his footsteps approaching the sitting room they were in. "Finally doing what you've been hired on as, eh?" came his first statement.

(Y/N) sighed and dropped the flashcard to her lap. "Hello to you too, Thomas," she greeted him in a monotone voice, hoping that he'd go about whatever it was he'd stepped over to do.

"Ada around?" he asked for the woman of the house, "or wouldn't you know because that's not your place in this house," of course he had to get the dig in.

"She's actually stepped out for the afternoon," (Y/N) informed him, having remembered Ada telling her that she was going into the city. Tommy nodded at her statement before bringing a cigarette up to his lips. He lit it with a match before he exhaled the smoke that temporarily filled his lungs. He then made himself comfortable on one of the couches in the room. "You're staying?" she questioned his actions.

"I am. I have something she needs to see before it gets sent," Tommy responded, flicking the ash into the ashtray as a grin played on his lips, "that bother you?" he couldn't help but add.

"No," (Y/N) was curt with her response, her eyes going back to focus on Karl, who had been waiting for his next problem.

She worked with him on three more problems before the man sitting behind her cleared his throat once more. "You're a teacher, right?" he started off, making (Y/N) turn and send the 'you're shitting me' look in his direction. "Maybe you could help me with what I've gotta get done."

"And what's that, Mr. Shelby?" she questioned.

"I've got a letter that needs to be posted by the end of the day. I wanted Ada to look it over, but obviously, she's preoccupied," he explained, clearing his throat as he retrieved the piece of paper from the inner pockets of his suit coat.

"Never thought I'd see the day where you requested my assistance," (Y/N) couldn't help but comment as she stood from the floor to move over to where he was sitting.

"Yeah, well don't get used to it," he responded, making her snort as she took the letter from his hand, sitting down next to him on the couch.

"Karl, you're free to go play," she addressed the child, who didn't need to be told twice to stand from the floor and scurry off to his room.

"Just let me know what you think," Tommy instructed, watching her intently as she nodded her head and began reading.

She didn't get very far though. "Mr. Churchill? Are you sending this to Winston Churchill?" she asked, shock riddled in her words.

"You sound surprised," he stated, a grin playing on his lips.

"I am," (Y/N) confessed.

"You didn't think I'd be capable of having acquaintances of such high standing?"

"No...I just didn't think that you'd be writing to the bloody Prime Minister of England," she answered his teasing question honestly.

"You'd be surprised the people I have influence on, love," Tommy grinned and (Y/N) rolled her eyes, replying to his cheeky comment with indiscernible mumbles before she began to read the letter.

"Hand me that pen, please," she asked him after she'd been reading for a few moments.

"'S there a problem?" Tommy questioned as he reached over to the coffee table to get the pen she requested.

"No. I just want to have it on me in case there is," (Y/N) responded with a slight smile as she looked over at him. "You're ok with me writing on it?" she checked then, feeling guilty for just assuming.

Tommy didn't respond right away. He was too enthralled by the look she was giving him. She just looked so pure, the genuine interest in her eyes making his mind short-circuit. Something happened when his eyes met hers this time. He felt something. "Mr. Shelby?" she questioned when he didn't say anything in response.

"Yes. Yes, it's fine," he quickly answered her previous question, thankful that he'd been present enough to even hear it. "It's fine if you write on it."

"Ok. I just wanted to check," she smiled again, sending another wave of those cursed feelings crashing over him. He let out a huff and turned his eyes to the fireplace, trying to stop whatever it was that he was experiencing before it completely overtook him. But he couldn't keep his gaze away for long, and after a few moments, his eyes were back on her. He watched her intently as she read through his letter, finding the fact that her tongue was poking out from between her lips as she concentrated utterly adorable. Then he had to stop himself again, because why the hell was he having these thoughts?

"What did you think?" he questioned once he saw her check the back side for any more writing.

"It was good. Very well written. There's only a few minor changes that need to be made. I circled them for you," (Y/N) gave him her thoughts on his work.

"Ok. Thank you for reading it for me," Tommy nodded his head, accepting the letter from her before he stood from the couch.

(Y/N) laughed in disbelief as he simply started to walk out the room. "What? No witty comments now?" she questioned, half-expecting them at this point.

Tommy stopped walking and turned to face her. There it was again, that fucking look, and those fucking feelings that it ignited inside of him. "No," he shook his head, trying to avert his eyes but failing. "I'll be in the study. Making corrections," he said then, not giving her the opportunity to respond before he left the room. (Y/N) found his response odd but decided not to question it. She actually liked not being picked on by him. So she grabbed her supplies and packed up her bags, deciding to leave for the night.

—

Tommy was still in the study when Ada returned later that evening. He had his head perched on his hand as he mulled over the letter, thinking of every way possible to make it better. Ok, so maybe it wasn't the letter that his mind was occupied with, but rather the woman who helped him proofread it earlier. Then the door opened, making him look in its direction. His eyes dropped back to the letter when he saw it was only Ada.

"What're you doing in here?" his sister asked him as she advanced into the room to make herself comfortable on the chair sitting next to the window.

"I'm writing," he mumbled, his eyes focused on the paper still.

Then he heard her footsteps approaching the desk. "You've already signed it," she pointed out, making him sigh. "Something on your mind?" she asked, able to see the gears in his head turning. She moved back over to the chair and sat down before he said anything.

"You just have to go on hiring people for every little thing, eh? You couldn't have just taught your own fucking child what he needed to know," he stated, not noticing how rude his words sounded until after he'd said them.

Luckily, Ada was a Shelby too. "Excuse me? How I handle my son's schooling is of no importance to you. What is this about, Tommy?" she snapped right back at him, her eyes widened and eyebrows raised.

"I'm freaking out. In the beginning, it was fun to tease her, but now it's just scary. I'm feeling things when she looks at me," he admitted, a look of desperation on his face, like he'd been overthinking this for hours. Actually, he had been.

Ada digested his words, letting out a laugh when she realized what his problem was. "Oh, Tommy...for as smart of a man as you are, you're incredibly stupid when it comes to feelings and relationships."

"You don't think I fucking know that, Ada?" he didn't see the humor in her words.

"If you're feeling things, then tell her," she suggested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I...can't," he paused, trying to find the right words but then giving up with a sigh. "I fucking can't."

"Why? Is it because Tommy Shelby is afraid of being rejected? Or is it because he's spent months actively suppressing those feelings by using whores and his own secretary?" Ada didn't hold her feelings back, going the route of tough love on her older brother. She also didn't miss his eyes widening at the last bit of her statement, "and don't think I don't know about that."

"Well if you're the fucking relationship expert, what do I fucking do now, eh?" he asked her, his eyes wide. "Because I've made it a point to be unnecessarily abrupt with my thoughts on her up until this point."

"Exactly. Stop teasing her like a fucking school kid, grow some balls and ask her out," was her to the point advice. Tommy swallowed thickly at the suggestion.

"She'll never agree," he shook his head as he let out a sorry excuse of a laugh.

"Won't know until you do it, will ya?" Ada stated, standing from the chair before announcing that she was hungry and would be going into the kitchen.

——

"Hello," he made it a point to greet her when she opened the door.

"Hello, Mr. Shelby," she responded, finding his greeting odd, "come in," she stepped aside for him to enter the house then. "Ada's in the reading room," she made it a point to tell him before she walked back into the sitting room to continue on with Karl. To her surprise, there were no witty comments made, and he actually followed her into the room. "Do you need something, Mr. Shelby?" she asked, sending him another one of those looks. It made it that much harder for him to get his words out.

"Yeah, uh, I actually. Do you like to drink, (Y/N)?" was his first attempt. He could instantly tell by her facial expression that he'd fucked it up.

"Excuse me, Mr. Shelby?" she was taken back by his sudden question.

"I know a place that I could take you to, if you like to, uh...this isn't how I should be going about this, is it?" he cut himself off sheepishly before he began to think of the correct words.

"Goodness. What my incredibly uncultured brother is trying to say to you is that he wants to take you to dinner. For a man who has so much experience, he can really be so dense when it comes to actually engaging with a person he has feelings for," Ada's voice came from the other side of the room, ending Tommy's attempt at finding the right words. (Y/N) was confused as she looked between Ada and her brother, who was now studying the ground as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Mr. Shelby?" she decided to ask the man outright.

"Yeah," his voice wavered and he hated it, "yes. I'd like to take you out to dinner. If you're interested, that is.”

It took a moment for her to respond. She was thinking everything over and wondering just how the hell she wound up here. The pause she took was driving Tommy insane. Finally, she answered, “I’d like that,” she sent him a smile...one of those smiles. Tommy couldn’t help but smile also as he saw it grace her face. The hard part was over.

——

(Y/N) wasn’t quite sure how they’d ended up where they were currently, but she wasn’t about to question it. After a lovely dinner at a high-end restaurant, Tommy took her back to Ada’s. She was confused as to why Ada wasn’t around and that’s when Tommy told her that his name was actually on the deed to the property.

It felt different this time as they sat close to each other on the couch, a drink in hand; wine for her, whisky for him. They were laughing as they shared stories, clearly feeling the excitement of the night.

“She really did that?” (Y/N) asked in between her laughter, covering her mouth slightly so as not to look like a total idiot as she cackled at the story he was telling.

“She did. Told me to look in the opposite direction and then showed me the chunk of my hair she’d cut off,” Tommy grinned as he recounted the time where Ada decided to play barber with him. “Worst part was that she’d cut it down to the scalp and I had to shave me entire fucking head because it was right in the middle.”

“And I see you’ve kept some of that inspiration for your current hairstyle,” she pointed out, feeling bold as she reached over to run her hand along the shaven sides of his head. Tommy’s laughter softened as he looked at her. The look she was giving him put him in a trance.

“Guess so,” he mused, moving closer to her so that she wouldn’t have to strain her arm as her fingers traced over the arch of his ear and down his neck, the feeling of them as they scraped against his skin leaving goosebumps.

“What was with the sudden dinner offer, Tommy?” (Y/N) questioned after she’d been playing with the collar of his shirt. She was itching to unbutton it, but that would be too forward.

“Guess I had a change of heart,” he stated, making her eyes come up to meet his. She gave him that look again, the one that made his heart clench and his throat dry up. “You don’t know what you do to me when you look at me like that,” he finally commented on it.

“Like what?” she was confused.

Tommy chuckled softly, looking off before he spoke, “I don’t even know, honestly,” he shook his head before his eyes met hers once more. He searched them before he moved closer to her, his hand resting against her cheek. She leaned into his touch. “You just make me feel...things,” he couldn’t find the right word.

“Good things?” she checked, a smile playing on her lips.

“Great things,” he assured her, leaning in then to capture her lips with his.

———

Tagged: @alreadybroken-ts @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @golden-hoax @elenavampire21

"I need to go," Polly then stated, standing from her seat.

"Where are you going?" Celia asked for more details, really not wanting to be left alone at the moment.

"I have business I have to attend to," Polly was vague with her answer, and Celia sighed, knowing that this was all she'd be getting. "Stay here," Polly told her then. What else was she going to do though? So Celia watched as Polly moved through the row and walked up the steps to the concourse, leaving her sitting by herself. She couldn't help but feel tears prick her eyes, and she got a feeling down deep in her gut that something wasn't right.

Tommy looked about finished with everything as two coppers dragged him out of the building and to a truck, one leading them with a pistol pointed back at his arrestee. He didn't know why they were making such a big deal out of this...it wasn't like he was resisting.

"Take his hat and gun," the man with the weapon ordered, now standing in the back of the truck. "Get in then," he then ordered Tommy once said things had been taken, and Tommy listened, no emotion on his face as he heaved himself in and sat down, his own revolver, the one that didn't fucking work, being pointed at him now. One of the remaining men got into the back, and both guns were still aimed in Tommy's direction as the doors to the truck shut and everything went black. The engine started up then, and the truck began moving to who the hell knows where.

Celia had had enough of waiting. She needed to find someone she knew, and she needed to do it fast. So she stood from her seat and moved throughout the concourse in hopes that a familiar face would pop up. It didn't take long for her to hear Arthur's distinct voice coming from one of the bar areas. So she stepped in, seeing John in the middle of hugging Lizzie, who looked like she had been put through hell. Arthur was sitting at one of the tables, a drink in his hand as he grinned. "Oi, Celia! Have you seen Tom anywhere?" he asked once he saw her approaching.

"No. I was wondering if you did," she shook her head, sending a look of concern in Lizzie's direction, "are you ok, Lizzie?" she asked.

"Things didn't go quite as planned. Tommy got to me late and then struggled with the soldier because his gun didn't go off. They fought and he killed the Field Marshal with his own gun," Lizzie gave them a rundown of what had happened, her voice shaky. "I don't know where he went afterwards. He told me to leave."

"Things went off without a hitch for us. We took Sabini's lisences and burned them. All bets made on these races will now go to the Peaky Blinders," Arthur reported on how him and his men got on with their assignment, a proud smile on his face.

The conversation was cut short before anyone could respond by Polly walking into the room then. Celia's eyes widened when she noticed a circle of red in the middle of her white, striped coat. "Are you ok, Pol?! Are you bleeding?" she frantically asked as she moved to the older woman’s side.

"No, I'm not bleeding. We need to go, Celia," she answered, her voice bare of emotion. Celia furrowed her brows, almost wanting to dispute the statement and wait for Tommy, but the look in Polly's eyes told her that her argument would be wasted. So she nodded and followed the other woman out of the grounds and to the car. The others were left there with confused expressions on their faces, but nobody said anything as they surely also heard in Polly's voice that her statement wasn't up for contention.

"I killed the inspector," Polly stated the second they were in the car. Her voice still held no emotion, and she stared straight out in front of her as she spoke. Celia looked at her with wide eyes, not knowing what she was to say.

"No one knows where Tommy is," she decided to tell the woman sitting to her left then, tears brimming her eyes for the umpteenth time today. She didn't know why this was affecting her so much emotionally.

"He'll be fine," Polly assured her, sending a nod and a comforting look in Celia's direction. She may have just killed a man herself, but she knew that Celia was still new to this. She hadn't been around for one of Tommy's plans to go awry. And she knew how much Celia cared for him.

"I hope so," Celia said, wiping her tears as she nodded her head along with Polly, hoping that doing so would make her believe more.

"You're pregnant," Polly said then, making Celia look in her direction with widened eyes. This statement had came out of left field, and it was the last thing Celia was expecting her to say. "I can tell in how you've been holding yourself these past few months." So she'd known all along? If so, why didn't she approach Celia sooner?

"I am," Celia nodded, her voice coming out as a whisper. There was no use in lying about it now.

"And it's a girl," was Polly's next statement.

"It is," Celia nodded once more, trying so hard to smile. Her mind was focused solely on Tommy and his well-being at the moment. Although she did wonder how Polly knew that without any background knowledge.

"Tommy'll get out of it," Polly assured her, knowing exactly what was on the younger woman's mind. "He'll be home before the end of the day."

"I hope so," Celia whispered, staring out the window then as she tried so hard to hold on the tears that were threatening to fall.

—

"...nearly got fucking everything!" Tommy yelled into the emptiness of the fields around him, his back turned to the three men who would be executing and burying him in a matter of seconds. All he had on his mind at that moment was Celia. How he was never going to see her again, touch her again...be with her again. He wasn't afraid to die, but he felt terrible that he would be leaving her in his wake.

"Ah, what the fuck...get it done, boys," he sighed, throwing his cigarette to the ground before he moved to the hole, kneeling in front of it as he threw his valuables that he had on him in. He closed his eyes and said his final words then, imagining Celia as he waited for his end to come.

But it didn't. He fell into the grave, but he was still alive, and now there was a man yelling at him to get up and get out of there. So he did just that, only half-concentrating on the orders that the remaining man was barking at him. He stumbled as he walked through the fields, falling down onto the dirt at one point, before his feet were taking him to the place he knew she'd be. Right now he only needed to see her.

——

Celia went back to Tommy's house in hopes that he'd show up there when he finally came back. She almost got tired of waiting and wanted desperately to go to sleep. But her desire to see him again outweighed her desire to get some rest. So she sat on the couch in his living room, staring at the fire as she tried to keep the terrible thoughts in her mind at bay. Her hand was subconsciously rested upon her stomach, her baby girl not leaving her mind also. Her baby girl who she didn't tell him about. Who she kept a secret from him for way too fucking long. Who she may never get to tell him about now. No...don't think like that, Celia.

Polly's words kept going through her head...'he'll be home by the end of the day'...it was night now, and Celia had wished that she had asked for some clarification before leaving the woman who had spoken the statement. Did she mean by the end of daylight or the end of the calander day? Either way it was coming to an end, and Tommy hadn't come back yet.

Then she heard someone knocking on the door. She gasped at the sudden sound, sitting frozen in her spot on the couch as she looked over to it. Could her prayers have finally been answered? There was only one way to find out.

The knocking came again as she stood from the couch and moved to the door, her hand gripping the knob tightly before she turned it and slowly pulled the door open. Another gasp left her mouth as her eyes fell upon the person now standing across from her. "T...Tommy," she breathed, her eyes already filling with tears. Was this real right now? Or was she dreaming?

The man in front of her confirmed his realness when he stepped forward into the house and took her into his arms, hugging her frame tightly to his body. He didn't want to let go, because this time he wasn't so sure that he was going to get out of the predicament he was in and find his way back to her arms.

"Tommy...what happened to you?" she asked him after they finally pulled away. She stepped back to look him over, cringing slightly when she took in his appearance. His clothing was disheveled and dirty, his hair was a mess, there was a cut by his right eyebrow that had a trail of blood dried to his skin directly under it, the bright red necktie was now missing and his once white collar had red splattered over it. He looked like he'd been to war. The worst of it for Celia though was his eyes. They simultaneously held no emotion and all of the emotions in the world in them, and it was making it hard for Celia to really discern what he was feeling at the moment.

"I was brought to my grave and then I was able to walk out of it," Tommy responded, his voice flat as he spoke.

Celia's eyes widened at his statement, "they were going to kill you?!" she just about shrieked, tears filling her eyes once again. You'd think by now that she'd have none left to cry.

"It was a set up. Winston Churchill wants me to work for him...is going to be contacting me in the near future," Tommy told her then.

"Dammit, Tommy!" she exclaimed, hitting his chest with both of her hands out of impulse. It wasn't hard, and Tommy understood why she did it - being that she was so close to losing him, so he wasn't mad at her. He could never be mad at her. "You could've been killed," she said then, tears falling freely now as she collapsed against his chest. He held her in his arms, stroking her back soothingly in hopes to get her to calm down. "I could have lost you...we could have lost you," she cried into the material of his coat.

"Shh, love...I'm here. I'm still here with you," he assured her, kissing her hair after he spoke.

"Tommy..." she paused, pulling back from him then to wipe the tears that had fell from her eyes, "I need to tell you something, and I need to tell you now. I've been holding this in for too long, and it can't wait another second," she said, preparing herself for her secret to be let out to probably the last person to know about it...the person who really should have been the second person to know.

"What is it, Celia?"

"No, let me speak, please," she stressed her words, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to regain her composure.

"Go on then, love," there was a slight smile in Tommy's words, and it was then that she realized she'd yet to tell him. That she was just standing in front of him.

"I'm pregnant, Tommy." There. It was out. Finally Tommy knew that she was pregnant. All was right in the world. Well it would be right the second that he responded to her announcement.

She locked her eyes with him as she watched him digest the news. He hadn't screamed in her face and told her to get out of his life, so that was a good sign, right? "How...how far are you?" he finally asked then, his voice soft as he spoke.

"I'm four months as of about a week ago," she told him, letting out the breath she was holding in anticipation of his response.

He was shocked now more than anything. How could he go from almost being executed to finding out that he was going to have a child in five months...that he was a father now. "Four months?" he repeated her answer, his hands going to run over her stomach as he peered down slightly, "love, your stomach's still flat," he commented on his findings then, making Celia laugh slightly.

"The midwife said that I've been carrying back, like more internally, but that she's growing perfectly and that she should be making her first appearances within the next few weeks," Celia explained the reason behind her lack of a baby bump, her hand dropping to rest upon Tommy's that was still against her stomach.

Tommy's eyes were wide again with the next bit of news that was shared with him. "She? It's a girl?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper.

"Yes, she," Celia confirmed that he heard right, "I just found out today."

"You didn't tell me," was what he said next, now racking his brain to try to think of a time where Celia had told him that she was pregnant. He did this for a few moments, but came up blank.

"I said just about everything except 'I'm pregnant' to you, Tommy. You were too caught up in business to catch on," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “And I know I should have just said ‘I’m pregnant’, but still.”

"I'll give it up," he said out of nowhere then, making her brows furrow.

"What?" she asked for clarification.

"I'll give the business up. I'll give everything up...the races, the deals, the killing. I'll give it up." She did not expect this to come from him. But he sounded so serious at the moment.

"No, Tommy, I can't expect you..."

"You deserve it, Celia," he cut her off. His hands fumbling through his pockets then. "You deserve a steady, normal life with me...with our child," he continued on, his fingers finally finding what he was looking for.

"Tommy..."

The breath got caught in Celia's throat as she watched him drop down on his one knee, the gold plated ring that he wore on his right ring finger daily sitting in between his fingers as he looked up at her. "Will you marry me, Celia Rose Farraday?" he asked, his eyes full of hope.

"Darling, are you joking?" was the first thing that came out of Celia's mouth before she could stop it, making her mentally kick herself for not keeping her mouth shut and instead giving him the answer he was looking for.

"Please?" Tommy didn't let her statement deter him, practically pleading with her to agree to him.

"Yes, Tommy. I'll marry you," she nodded her head then, tears starting to fall again, though this time they were happy ones.

A wide smile broke onto Tommy's features as he stood from the floor and grabbed her left hand, sliding the ring, that was a bit too big for her, onto her ring finger before he took her cheeks into his hands and kissed her passionately. The kiss felt just like it was their first. Celia's mind swirled as her emotions overtook her. She was full on crying when they pulled away from each other, and Tommy couldn't stop from smiling as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. Hell, he was crying to. "I'll get you a ring soon. A beautiful ring, like you deserve," he promised her, his hands finding hers again. "This is what I had right now. I couldn't wait though," he told her, his fingers spinning the ring of his that she was now wearing.

"This is fine, Tommy," she told him, laughing softly between her tears. She looked down at the ring then. Sure, it was like a size and a half too big, and nearly slid off of her finger when she held her arm downwards, but it was perfect. It fit this moment, this proposal, so well.

"I'm getting you a ring, Celia," he remained steadfast on his statement, and Celia wasn't going to argue, "I'm getting you a ring, and I'm getting you a house...a bloody mansion that is so far away from this city that we're going to have to take the day if we want to drive back into it."

He'd just professed this grand plan for their future, and Celia...oh, sweet, Celia...said the first thing that came to her mind: “but what about my jobs, Tommy?"

"If I have my way with these betting posts, you won't be working another day in your life, love," he told her, and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was being serious about this, that he wouldn't stop at anything until he made that a reality.

"I love you, Tommy," was all she could say then, more tears streaming down her cheeks as she pictured their future together, one in a beautiful home with their baby girl, and then maybe a few more kids, by their side. "I love you so much," she breathed, holding his face in her hands and staring right into his eyes. The smallest smile formed on his lips as he closed the space between them, his lips meeting hers in a passionate kiss. "We're gonna have to tell your family," Celia stated after they pulled apart to rest their foreheads together.

"Fuck my family," Tommy breathed, not really thinking straight at the moment. Celia couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm sure they'd be happy to know," she said then, toying with the dirty collar of his shirt. He really needed to change out of these clothes. "They all pretty much already know about me being pregnant."

"So I was the last fucking one to know?" he questioned, his eyebrows playfully raised at her statement. He wasn’t angry. He couldn’t be. Celia fell into more giggles as his face softened and he chuckled.

"I'm not sure if Arthur knows, because he's just as dense as you are. John only knows because I told Esme and those two have no filter whatsoever. I thought that Polly didn't know, but she sprung her knowledge on me during the car ride home."

"So I was the last fucking one to know," Tommy repeated himself, nodding his head and pointing to himself as he spoke for dramatic effect.

Celia tried to hold a straight face, but it soon dissolved into a grin as she nodded her head. "Yeah, I think you are," she admitted. Tommy shook his head as he tried hard to hold his smile back. God, she had him grinning like an idiot.

"Never again, C. Next time you have something important to tell me, tell me, please," he stressed his words, and Celia nodded, telling him that she'd do whatever it took from now on to get the message through to him when she had something important.

Celia then stepped back slightly from him, taking in his full appearance once more now that her emotions had calmed down. "You look filthy, Thomas," she stated then, her eyebrows scrunched together in a look of displeasure. "Do you want me to run you a bath?"

"Depends. Are you planning on joining me in said bath?" he raised his eyebrows suggestively as he looked down at her.

She couldn't stop the smirk from forming on her face. "If you play your cards right..." she told him, trailing off as she bit her bottom lip.

"When have I ever played them wrong when it comes to you?" Tommy grinned. He did have a point. Celia wasn't going to let him know that though.

"Do you really want to open that can of worms?" she asked, her hands on her hips as she looked up at him. The smile still on her face let him know that she was joking, and that he was safe from any lectures for the night.

"Save it for another day, love," Tommy responded, taking hold of her hand then before he led her up the steps and to his room. She then got the bath ready, and they shared the tub together, talking about what was to come as they washed the stresses and remnants of the day from their bodies.

——

"Oi, Tommy! You're still alive!" Arthur cheered as he walked into the office at the betting shop. "Nice of you to come tell us as soon as you got back," he chided as the rest of his family members filed in behind him. Soon enough, Arthur, John, Esme, Polly, Michael, Finn, Ada, and Lizzie were all standing in the open space of the office while Tommy and Celia were situated behind his desk. Tommy was sitting, and Celia was stood behind his chair, her hands rested on his shoulders as she stood sort of to the side of him.

"I had more important matters to attend to," Tommy answered, slightly glancing over to Celia, who couldn't hold back her smile. "How did the posts fair out?" he asked then.

"Really good, Tom. We burned all of Sabini's lisences, and all earnings from Espom came directly to us," Arthur reported, a proud smile on his face, because it was him who was leading the group.

"That's good," Tommy stated, nodding his head. "I have some ideas for the future of the company..." he trailed off, tapping the ash of the cigarette he was smoking into the ashtray that sat on his desk. "And...I'm planning on getting married," he told them as if it was any other sentence. Celia's smile only widened, her heart swelling as she watched his family (which was soon to be hers) for their reactions. The women's eyes immediately widened. A smug grin took up John's face, Michael and Finn were saying something to each other, and Arthur just looked on with a smile. Celia could have swore that she saw a tear fall from his eyes.

Tommy turned slightly in his chair to look up at Celia, who was looking down at him. They both shared a smile before Tommy nodded his head towards the other people in the room, as if he was telling her to go accept their congratulations'. So she went into the small crowd, immediately getting hugs from everyone. Her favorite hug though, had to be when Tommy came up to her from behind. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to him, his head moving to fit between her neck and shoulder. The boys were immediately hollering about how there was no doubt now that Tommy had gotten soft, and that they couldn't believe that he'd actually got a woman to willingly settle down with him. Tommy ignored them, pressing his lips to Celia's neck. She felt him smile against her skin, and it only made hers widen. At that moment, everything was the way it was supposed to be.

———

She knew he had to go. Knew that he was needed by the group of men that he'd be taking to the races in order to take charge of Sabini's posts. She knew that she'd be arriving at the derby with Polly, but that still didn't make her not want to see him one last time. To kiss him and tell him that she loved him...to wish him luck. But she knew he didn't need it. He was Tommy Shelby. He'd get through this.

So she got out of bed, finding some clothes for herself to wear before she took off to the hospital. She had a check-up appointment for her and the baby today, and despite the major events that would be happening later, she knew that she couldn't put this off. She was pleased to hear that things were ok all around, and that everything was going swimmingly with her pregnancy. She even got to learn some more details about her baby that made her even more excited to tell the news to Tommy when she first saw him. Because she couldn't keep it to herself for one moment longer.

The next order of business was for her to go to Polly's home. She thanked the driver who brought her there before she grabbed the garment bag that held her dress and accessories. She let herself into the woman's home and found her sitting on one of the chairs with a cigarette between her fingers. "Something wrong, Pol?" Celia questioned hesitantly.

"He didn't listen to me," she said with a sigh, putting out the cigarette in the ashtray in front of her.

Celia furrowed her eyebrows, "who?" She immediately thought about Tommy, and wondered what he could be up to.

"Michael. He won't leave. He wants to stay...with the company," she answered, making the younger woman breathe a sigh of relief.

"Maybe it'll pan out well for him," Celia tried to look on the brighter side of things.

Polly laughed slightly while shaking her head, "he'll never understand. He's just blinded by the novelty of it all," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Most men are like that," Celia commented, both women laughing before Polly stood.

"We should get ready now. I've hired a man to take us to the derby and it's not a short ride," she stated, making Celia nod before she grabbed her garment bag and moved to the same room Polly was heading into.

Once she was dressed in her rose-colored dress and overcoat of the same color, she put the white hat she intended on wearing with it on her head. She felt extremely regal, and it made her forget about the real reason why she was attending the races for a moment. The outfit gave her the look and appeal that she was attending this event for the horses. Polly smiled at her as they met up again, the both women grabbing their purses before they stepped outside and greeted the man that would be driving them to Epsom.

——

The first thing Celia saw as they approached the derby grounds was the crowd. It was enormous and not like one she'd ever seen before. Polly walked her into the event like it was exactly where they were supposed to be...like they were two women there to enjoy the fan fair of the day. They locked their arms together before they moved to where they would be sitting for the event.

"This is amazing," Celia stated as she took in the controlled chaos that was happening around her.

"It gets pretty crazy once the races begin," Polly commented, a smile on her face as she watched the younger woman take in her surroundings. It was obvious that this was her first time at one of these events. "People can hardly contain their excitement."

Then a familiar face walked into view, making Celia's eyes light up. "Thomas!" she exclaimed, standing from her seat as the man approached her.

"Why so serious?" he questioned lightheartedly, a smile on his face as he came to a stop in front of her. She couldn't resist, leaning forward to kiss his lips quickly before she pulled away to smile at him.

"Because today is a serious matter," she told him, absentmindedly adjusting the red tie that he had around his neck.

He looked rather dashing, his black suit that had gray pinstripes contrasting starkly with the white button down he wore underneath and the red tie wrapped around his neck. She could also see his peaked cap of the same material sticking out from the pocket of the overcoat he was wearing. Mr. Robinson sure outdid himself with this one.

He just grinned, moving his head down to the left side of her face to kiss her cheek before he brought his lips to her ear, "you look beautiful," he told her, pulling back to watch her cheeks tint a darker shade of pink.

"Thanks, Tommy," she said, wanting to look away to hide her blush, but his eyes were just calling for her. Her gaze wouldn't leave them. "I wore the necklace," she told him, referring to the necklace he had given her the day before. It had a gold chain and a small diamond that was encased in gold. The diamond was surrounded by smaller, blue gems. Celia was hesitant to accept it at first, but Tommy insisted, telling her that he was going to spoil her with more things like this when he succeeded today. She knew that she needed to get used to it, because he wasn't going to accept 'no' for an answer.

"Now I know today's going to go well," he said, his eyes full of confidence. "You look rather nice as well, Pol," Tommy then peered over Celia's shoulder to see his aunt, sending a nod her way.

"Is everything squared away, Thomas?" she questioned, her eyebrows raised as she waited intently for the answer.

"Yes, it is. The boys are in their places, with specific instructions to go to work on my cue. I've briefed Lizzie on what needs to be done, and now we just need to wait for things to be started," Tommy nodded in her direction, his airtight plan (or what seemed to be one in his head) had been set up, and now all that had to happen was the races needed to begin.

"I hope you will be able to pull it off," Polly stated, a knowing glint in her eye.

"And Michael?" Tommy asked her with raised eyebrows then.

"Decided to stay. Doesn't know what's good for him," she responded with a defeated shake of her head.

"He'll only be part of this company's financial side. I'll see to it that it goes that way," he assured her before looking at Celia, who was just kind of standing in the middle of their conversation. "Do you want to come down with me to see the horse before she goes? May's waiting down with her," Tommy asked Celia then, who almost immediately nodded her head. But then she remembered Polly, realizing that she'd be left alone if she went with him.

As if she knew Celia's thoughts, Polly spoke before the younger woman had a chance to, "I'll be fine up here, love. Things won't be getting started for some time yet. Besides, it's not every day you get a chance to go behind the scenes at the races."

Celia then turned to look at the grinning woman, sending her a smile of her own before she responded, "thanks, Pol." Polly just nodded her head towards Tommy, her non verbal way of signaling for Celia to follow him.

So she did, taking Tommy's hand and letting him lead her to wherever the horses were being stabled. Celia's smile only widened as her eyes fell on May, who was currently waving at them. Tommy let go of her hand then, letting her go forward to greet the horse trainer while he stayed back to smoke a cigarette, desperately needing one at this point.

"It's so good to see that you came!" May smiled at Celia when the women were finally in front of each other.

"Yes! I wanted to cheer on Tommy's horse. Show my support for everything," Celia responded, being very vague on the 'support' because she didn't know how much May had been clued into.

"Hello, Thomas," May then looked past Celia to Tommy, who was approaching them now.

"Is she ready for today?" he asked, nodding his head towards the horse before he went over to pet the animal.

"I think so. My training team seems pretty confident," May nodded her head, both women watching as Tommy kept his eyes fixated on the horse. He spoke to it in a low voice for a moment before running his hand over its nose once more.

"I need to go see Lizzie. Make sure she knows what needs to be done," he told the women then, each of them nodding before he stepped away from the conversation.

"Is he ok?" May asked Celia once Tommy was out of earshot, her eyebrows furrowed as she watched him walk away.

"Yeah," Celia nodded with a smile sigh, "he's just got a lot riding on today," she told her the abridged version of what would be happening, not wanting to give away too much.

"Fair enough," May nodded, deciding to end the conversation at that. "Do you want to go up to the bar and get a drink? It'll be a good way to calm the nerves," she suggested then.

"I'll come up with you, but I won't drink," Celia answered, making May furrow her eyebrows.

"Why?" she asked, voicing her curiosity as the women worked their way to the event's bar. The barkeep, knowing who May was, allowed for her to order without questions being asked.

"I'm pregnant," she responded, wondering at the moment how she could be so blatant about it with everyone except Tommy. Why couldn't she just come out and say it to him? Why did she feel the need to tell him in a memorable way?

Celia watched as a myriad of expressions flashed across May's face before she ended on a mildly shocked one, "oh," was all the woman said, and Celia couldn't discern if it was a good 'oh' or a bad 'oh', or a somewhere in the middle 'oh'. "Well congrats on that," she added, a smile forming on her features.

"Thank you," Celia took it for what it was, deciding not to read too far into her facial expressions.

"My husband and I couldn't get pregnant," the older woman then confessed. Celia saw this to be ok, as it was a family member talking to a family member at the moment. That still didn't mean that she wasn't shocked when she heard the sentence.

"Oh," it was Celia's turn to give the one word response.

"Yeah..." she trailed off, nodding as she took a sip of her drink, "we so desperately wanted kids, but it just never happened," she looked sad as she reflected on past memories.

"I'm sorry to hear that, May, I..."

"It's in the past now," May brushed her off, her fingers tapping against her glass as she looked to where the clock was hung on the wall. "Final checks should be happening soon. I need to be down with the rest of my team," she stated then, putting money down for her drink before she stood from the stool she was occupying.

Celia followed her, a smile forming on her face, "best of luck, May. I know she'll do good," she offered the older woman some encouraging words, to which she got a smile in response.

"Wish Tommy luck for me if you see him," were her parting words before they separated at the steps, May going down and Celia starting to walk up.

Her eyes fell on the very person that was on her mind when she got to the landing. His eyes were currently darting in every direction, and he seemed to be coming towards her at a quickened pace. She wondered if his plan had been put into action. Her heart dropped immediately. "Tommy," she called out to him, making his frantic eyes fall on her. For a second, he felt grounded.

"Celia..." he started, trying to slow down his panting, "shouldn't you be with Polly at the seats? The race's about to begin," he said, eyes flickering elsewhere to see who was surrounding him. He needed to get where Lizzie surely was with the Field Marshal before anything went too far wrong.

"I'm heading back now. May just left to go with the horse," Celia responded, her brows furrowing. "What's wrong, Tommy?" she questioned, noticing his frantic state hadn't dissipated yet.

"Nothing, love. I just need to go have that conversation now," he told her, using the slightly less gruesome wording for the scenario he was about to carry out. He couldn't flat out say he was going to go kill someone with people walking this close to him.

"Please be careful, Thomas," she told him, using his full name to show the amount of sincerity that was held in her words.

"I will love. I...I've gotta go now," he was looking around once more, starting to get fidgety where he stood.

"Tommy. Tommy, I'm..." Celia started off then, finally getting up the confidence to tell him. To just blurt it out like she did with May.

"I have to go, C. Whatever it is can wait 'till I come back, eh?" he stopped her before she was able to get the word out, both of his hands grabbing hold of her shoulders so that he could lean in and press his lips to her forehead. "I love you. I will be ok," he promised her once he pulled away, locking his eyes with hers to show his sincerity.

She didn't know why, but she had tears brimming her eyes now, and all she could do was nod her head and let him go, watching him practically run down the steps and out of sight to get to where he needed to go. She tried to collect herself, his final statement replaying over again in her head as she found her way back to her seat.

"You ok, love?" Polly questioned with confusion once Celia sat down beside her.

"Yes," Celia nodded, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief she had in her purse before she put it away and looked straight down at the race track. She could feel Polly's eyes on her as she held her gaze, but she decided not to comment on it, hoping that she would let her go and turn her attention back to what it had been on prior to her showing up. "Tommy's going to have that conversation now," her voice came out broken and in a whisper, and it made Polly give her a knowing look. She sat and listened to the announcers begin to call out the horses that would be racing first, while silently praying that Tommy would be ok.

—

Tommy wasn't doing so good. He was rushing to get back to where Lizzie had taken the Field Marshal. The first way he tried was blocked by a group of three coppers who refused to let him through despite his attempts. He then ran around to the other entrance, his gun out and ready as he made his way closer to where he knew she would be. After hitting the copper blocking the way with the butt-end of his revolver, he continued back to where the two were, calling out to the soldier while pointing his weapon at him. When a click sounded instead of a shot, he knew he was in trouble.

Meanwhile, Celia was sitting and watching as the opening introductions and speeches dragged on longer than she expected. Ok, maybe it just felt like that because she was waiting on bated breath for the sound of a gunshot, that would signify that Tommy had put the plan into place.

She only released the breath when she finally heard it, the first initial one being followed by three more. People around her started to panic slightly, but she and Polly stayed still. They knew what was going on. Word got through the crowd rather quickly of there being suspected IRA members at the event, and that they had just killed Field Marshal Russell. Celia sighed in relief again, knowing that (so far) Tommy hadn't been caught. She hoped that soon enough, he'd show up at her seat and everything would be alright.

Tommy had one more thing to deal with before he returned to where he knew Celia was sitting. He made his way to one of the banquet rooms that held several tables in it. He knew that Darby Sabini would be in there, and that this would be his time to explain to his enemy how things would be working from here on out. He found the man he was looking for and sat down with him, casually smoking a cigarette as he told him that his men were currently rounding up Sabini's licenses with intent to burn them, and that he was once again working with Alfie Solomons since he found out that Sabini had betrayed him by speaking lies about Epsom. He thought he had it. Thought that this plan of his would work out, that he would get away without a trace. That was until Sabini broke a bottle of wine, making the glass shatter everywhere and the coppers standing outside barge in through the door the second it occurred. Tommy didn't plan for this, so he tried to talk his way out of it.

Things clearly didn't pan out for him when the coppers immediately took him into their hold, not listening to a single word he was saying. He tried to fight them as they started pulling him in the opposite direction of Sabini, who was currently yelling that 'he had fucking lost'...whatever that meant. He wished he would have put a bullet between that man's eyes when he got the chance.

This was not part of the plan. He wasn't supposed to be captured, and all he could think of as he was being dragged to wherever the hell these men were taking him was: what is going through Celia's mind right now?

———

It had begun steadily, after her death he had been consoled by her but ever since then her presence had changed.

Whilst she had been kind and caring towards him at first she still behaved the way, but her intentions weren’t pure anymore.

Tommy didn’t know if he actually saw her ghost or if it was his subconscious playing tricks on him.

All he knew was that seeing her had helped him a little, but recently it only made him feel worse.

Even when she was alive Grace had always been there to soothe his nerves, to help him overcome his problems or just to simply be there for him when he needed her, and ghost Grace had adapted these tasks.

She was always there, if he didn’t see her he could feel her presence beside him, sometimes calming and sometimes pressuring him, but she was there every waking minute.

Whether he was feeling miserable or less so, she was always on his mind, hiding in the shadows or just lurking in his heart.

It was during the mundane things or the important ones, the love for Charlie and the guilt he felt when he spent time with Ruby.

Every single feeling had Grace’s opinion and presence written over it but Tommy liked it that way, it was his way of reminding himself of his failures and his love for Grace.

She was with him in his dreams as well, back with him in the tunnels in France but she never spoke a word, neither in dreaming nor conscious state.

When he saw her he knew how she felt through her expressions and when he didn’t he felt her feelings as if they were his own, overshadowing and often replacing them, but Tommy didn’t mind.

All he cared for was that she was there, that she didn’t leave him on his own like his mother had, so he was grateful for every second he felt her by his side.

Grace’s presence had at first felt like a comforting embrace, a sense of security at having her with him, but the more he seemed to move on the worse it got.

She was always kind to him in her actions or expressions, always comforting, smiling at him or holding him but with time she appeared less, the more he spent his time with other people, which he tried to minimize.

He tried to hold onto her by shutting himself off from his family but when Lizzie told him about the pregnancy there was nothing he could do but marry her.

As soon as he had made that decision Grace was merely a feeling of guilt in the back of his heart, but a prominent one.

It prompted him to spend fewer time with his wife and daughter but it wasn’t just Grace’s influence that made him feel guilty, he was sure that he would have felt guilty even without her presence.

When the time came and he started to spend more time with Lizzie and Ruby against his guilt Grace started to appear again, after years of physical absence.

It shocked him and he embraced it at the same time, his heart leaping at the sight of her while he ached for the love he didn’t allow himself because of her.

He didn’t see it that way though, he was right to refrain from the love he knew he didn’t deserve, and his family was better off not feeling the loss of him once his fight was over.

Grace grew more active now that he saw her again as well, she was less stagnant, showing herself to him in moments that mattered, during business or family meetings as if to watch over him.

It was a relief to see her again just as much as it wasn’t, he felt like giving up some of his control unburdened him in a way, having Grace making decisions for him, which he carried out.

His new favourite place became the lake at the edge of his estate, the fact that no one ever came there and that it was dead quiet giving him some peace of mind.

It was his place of comfort, his refuge from busy days and exhausting interactions, the only one he ever saw there was Grace, his solace.

When Grace started talking to him she often called him to the lake, her voice was clearer there, not drowned out by the busy existence he was leading.

Her presence brought him peace simply because he allowed himself not to think for a while, just focusing on what he felt with her and what she had to say.

He was almost delirious whenever he didn’t see her in the room, working as fast as he could to get back to her lifeless but yet still somehow eternalised embrace.

When Tommy started to allow himself to see more of his family even though she was there Grace became more vocal, not aggressive but louder and all encompassing.

She was his first and last thought while he tried to concentrate on other things until he gave up and simply let it happen.

It was comforting, Grace was quiet, caring and loving, giving up control had never felt that good.

He let her hold the reins for longer then, not just for a few fleeting moments of peace, he needed more of it.

When that wasn’t enough anymore Grace started talking to him again, soothing him, calming him, reassuring him.

When he heard her voice in his head he knew that everything would be alright and that she was right, she always was.

She had asked him to the lake once again and he followed her without a doubt in his mind.

He trusted Grace just as much as he loved her, blindly, carelessly and recklessly so.

Grace was less loving that evening even if she was still his place of comfort when he saw her standing in the lake.

He could see her upper body coming out of the water but she wasn’t swimming, she was hovering motionlessly with her hands stretched out towards him.

“Don’t worry, the water is much less scary once you dive in”, she said with a voice that was kind but certain, loving and unforgiving all at once.

Tommy’s face showed no emotion as he stumbled forwards to follow her, to rush into her outstretched arms.

He had learned to swim but the cold of the water and his own lifelessness enabled him to let go, letting him sink into the icy embrace of the water and his love.

His family could mess with the bullets in his gun, but the depth of the lake was consolingly irreversible to him.

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She descended the stairs, coming face to face with Arthur, who was just about to start climbing them. He looked surprised when his eyes fell on her. "(Y/N). You're still up," he voiced his surprise then.

"Yeah. And you're just coming home now," she pointed out, "what is this, Arthur? Where were you?" she dropped her hands to her hips as she looked at him expectantly.

"Tommy had a job for me to complete," he answered, looking guiltily to the floor.

"A job? What kind of job?"

"Had me runnin' errands over at the Garrison," he told her, but with one look into his eyes, she could tell that he was lying.

"The Garrison, huh? If you were at the Garrison, why do you smell like ash and smoke?" she questioned after she'd stepped forward slightly to smell his suit jacket. "You were at the yard, weren't you?" she raised her eyebrows as she hoped he'd come clean.

"I was," he nodded.

"And what were you doing at Charlie's yard?"

"I was...er, helping him with...disposal," he was hesitant to answer. (Y/N) almost let off of him because she saw how guilty he looked, but she knew she couldn't. They'd agreed that he'd go straight from this type of work. That it was dragging him down mentally and that it was no longer good for him to keep up. But here he was again, standing in front of her like a child that had just been called down to the headmaster's.

"Disposal, eh? And I can only imagine what type of things you were disposing of," she nodded her head, sarcasm seeping into her words. "You know, you make me sick, Arthur," she told him then, a look of disapproval on her face before she spun around to walk back up the steps.

"Well what the fuck am I supposed to say to me own brother then? I can't just tell him that he can't count on me to do any of that work anymore," Arthur countered as he also ascended the steps, following her right into their bedroom.

"Yes, you can! You can and you said you were going to!" (Y/N) exclaimed in response, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "You know how doing these kinds of things makes you, Arthur. That's why you said you'd step away from it."

"(Y/N)..." he trailed off with a sigh, watching as she scrambled around the room to get some normal clothes on once more. "Come on, (Y/N), what are you doing?"

"I'm getting out of here," she answered as she grabbed her purse from the vanity it was sitting on. "I can't stand to be around you when you've done such things," she hissed as she tried to step past him. He stayed in the middle of the doorway.

"Come on, (Y/N)...love, we can work this out," he tried, reaching out to take hold of her, but she just flinched away from him.

"No. Don't touch me. Don't touch me with those...devilish hands and tell me we can work this out," she snapped at him, "the only way this will work out is if you get out of that life completely, Arthur Shelby!" she exclaimed, finally pushing past him to exit the house.

She had one place in mind as she took off down the street. One place where she knew she'd be able to go, whose occupants she knew would be up at a time as late as this.

—

"(Y/N)!" Darcy cheered as she opened the door. "(Y/N), come in!" she almost immediately stepped aside so that the woman standing at the front porch could enter the house. "Liz! Come see who's here!" she then called to her sister before leading (Y/N) into the kitchen.

"(Y/N)!" Elizabeth, Darcy's sister, greeted (Y/N) in the same manner as she threw her arms around her in a hug almost immediately. (Y/N) accepted it with a soft smile.

She knew she could count on Darcy and Elizabeth, regardless of the time of day. They were the two, crazy sisters who lived down the street from her and Arthur's house, and she had befriended them quite quickly after they'd moved to where they were currently living. Surprisingly enough, they didn't know of the Shelby name or the things it was tied to. So when (Y/N) went to them to vent about what was happening with Arthur, she was able to do so freely.

"Having troubles again, deary?" Darcy questioned as she noticed the darker circles around the other woman's eyes.

"Is it that obvious?" (Y/N) laughed in spite of herself, shaking her head slightly before she answered the question, "yeah. And I bet you can guess with what," she sighed.

"Oh I know already," Darcy nodded her head before she stepped over to her pantry, "and you know how to help with those problems, right?" she stated with a grin before she produced an unopened bottle of wine.

"Oh, Darc...I'm not sure if I should be drinking any of that tonight," (Y/N) was hesitant on the idea.

"Nonsense," Elizabeth was the one to wave her off, already coming over to the table with three glasses in her hands. She set them on the table, and as Darcy began pouring the wine between them, (Y/N) thought: why not?

—

Three hours and a bottle of wine later, (Y/N) was in a much better mood. She, Darcy, and Elizabeth were laughing up a storm about whatever nonsense came into their minds. Half of the topics weren't even relevant at this point.

"So you still haven't told us about your man problems yet, (Y/N)," Elizabeth was the one to point out once their laughter had died down.

"Didn't have enough wine in me yet," (Y/N) responded, tipping her glass to them before she took another sip.

"So you'll tell us now?" Darcy looked on eagerly, curling her legs up next to her on the couch.

(Y/N) sighed, deciding that it might make her feel better if she got it off of her chest. "It's Arthur..." she trailed off, trying to think of the right words before she continued, "he's went and has again done the thing he swore he wouldn't."

"The thing that screws him up...in the head?" Elizabeth checked before she said any more.

"Yes," (Y/N) nodded, another sigh escaping her lips.

"And why does he do it?" Darcy was the one asking now.

"Because of his family. It has a lot to do with the company his family runs, and the types of business they're involved in," (Y/N) tried to explain it more without giving many details away.

"If it's work then why can't he just leave it?" Darcy asked as if it was a no-brainer.

"See that's what I think, but it's the loyalty to his brother that he can't get past. That's what keeps him going back."

"Then to hell with him!" Elizabeth cheered out of nowhere, bubbly giggles escaping her lips afterwards because she'd just realized what she'd said. The other two ladies burst into giggles as well, and the topic of Arthur was dropped for a riveting discussion on when the best time to plant perennials is.

—

"Ok, ladies. I think I'm about ready to go home," (Y/N) stated as she stood from the couch she'd been perched on for who knows how long. Trusting her legs too much, she immediately buckled under her weight. Luckily she managed to catch herself on the arm of the sofa. And of course, this was funny. So the three spent about another minute giggling about it. "Ok. Now I'm really ready to go home," she stated once her laughter had subsided.

"Be safe on the walk home!" Darcy chirped as she led (Y/N) to the door.

"Yeah! Don't get jumped by a rabbit!" Elizabeth called from where she was still sitting in the living room, giggling to herself.

"I hope your problems with Arthur get sorted out," Darcy told her as they stopped at the door. For once that evening, Darcy's laughter had been completely put aside. She was all seriousness now.

"Thanks, Darc. I hope it does too," (Y/N) pouted slightly as she responded to her friend. She really hoped that Arthur wouldn't be mad at her and that he'd still be at the house when she returned. "Also thanks for opening your home to me...again," she smiled as she leaned in for a hug.

"It's always open," the other woman assured her, "especially when men are being pains," now the giggles were back. (Y/N) didn't let herself get sucked into them, because if she did, she'd be there for at least another hour. She knew she needed to get home.

"I'll be going now," she stated, turning the knob on the door so that she could exit the house. After saying her final goodbyes to the two ladies that were currently screaming them back at her, she started her walk down the street to where she and Arthur lived.

It wasn't until she stepped through the front door of her house that she felt her stomach turn. Guessing it was just the change from the cold of the outside to the warmth of the inside, she stepped further into the house and shut the door. Then, she felt everything she'd eaten and drank that night start to rise. Covering her mouth with her hand, she made a dash to the washroom, thankful that they had one downstairs. She just made it to the toilet when she started to throw up, hating the burning feeling it left in her throat.

Arthur was upstairs sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there. The drink didn't help, the snow didn't help, and smoking never did. He knew what the only thing that could make him feel better was...and she was currently out of the house. So he stayed seated, rubbing his temples in attempts to calm himself down.

Then he heard the front door shut. Knowing that was (Y/N) returning from wherever she'd been, he lifted his head to listen for her footsteps to ascend the stairs. Scenarios immediately started running through his mind as he thought of ways to make it up to her. But he never got to act on any of them because shortly after the door shut, he heard the sound of someone retching. That had to be her.

So he rushed down the steps and into the washroom to find her curled over the toilet, throwing up the contents of her stomach. "Oh, love..." he spoke softly so as not to scare her with his sudden presence. She looked over at him as she heard him speak and immediately felt self conscious. She didn't want him to see her like this. "What's happened here?" he asked as he moved to her side.

"I guess I drank too much," (Y/N) admitted with a sigh, wiping the tears that escaped her eyes with the back of her hand as she looked over at him bashfully. "Wine never mixes with an empty stomach...excuse me!" she rushed the end of her sentence as she started to vomit again. Arthur was quick to grab the sides of her hair that had fallen with her head, making sure that they wouldn't get puked on. He rested his hand on the middle of her back and began to rub it softly, hoping that it would soothe her. "I hate that you have to see me like this," she sighed, wiping her mouth as she finished once again.

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle at her words. "You've seen me at my worst, (Y/N). Which is...much worse than this," he reminded her.

She laughed slightly, "you're right," she agreed with him. They'd been through some tough times throughout their three year long relationship.

"So this is the least that I can do for you," he told her, kissing the side of her head. His lips only stayed for a quarter of a second because (Y/N) was pushing him far away from her as she started vomiting again. Again, Arthur started rubbing circles into her back.

"Ugh, I'm never drinking again," she groaned as she stopped throwing up. Her eyes were feeling heavy as she looked over to Arthur. "Which means you've gotta give up the things that drive me to this," she told him, the alcohol still present in her system giving her no filter.

"I'll try, love," he gave her the best response that he could. He knew he couldn't promise her that he'd give it up completely. He had to remain loyal to his brother and to his family's business. "You think you're about done?" he asked after she hadn't thrown up in a few minutes.

"I think maybe," she nodded her head, sighing as she stood up slowly with his help. She then moved over to the sink and took in a couple mouthfuls of water so that she could rinse the disgusting taste out of her mouth. "I wanna go to bed now," she said then, and Arthur nodded, helping her up the stairs to their room.

(Y/N) got changed out of her clothing and back into her nightgown before she moved to her side of the bed. Slipping under the covers, she smiled as Arthur turned off the light and joined her on his side of the bed. She closed her eyes as he draped his arm over her stomach and pulled her into him. She didn't last long laying there though, because in a matter of minutes, she was up and dashing to the washroom to vomit again. It was certainly going to be a long night.

———

Tagged: @alreadybroken-ts @magicalxdaydream @the-anxious-youth @look-at-the-soul

🌿 rules 🌿

- deadline for sending these in is tentatively 21st march :) spam all you'd like til' then

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- i'll do this for basically any character i've written about/mentioned/reblogged, if you want to request someone you're not sure about just dm me/send me an ask to check :)

i'm going to tag my beloved moots i love you all so much and can't thank you enough you're so great <3 i want to give all of u a great big hug

There was a lot riding on the work that she did this year. Getting good grades would help her a great deal in getting into the universities that she wanted to study at. And, of course, no one would question her desire to pursue a higher education because she was a Shelby. That was one thing that her surname was good for.

At least she had a good group of friends at her school that helped to ease the stress and pressure. And she had a boyfriend. Damien Weis. He was good to her and made her immensely happy. He also served as a great helper on her science homework, which is what the two were working on at the moment.

"How are you so good at this?" (Y/N) questioned in shock as she looked between her book and the boy sitting to her right. "I have no clue what they're even saying here."

"It's Latin, (Y/N). Once you understand the meanings of the root words, it gets easier," Damien told her.

"Well I don't speak Latin," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone before allowing him to, yet again, go on explaining the differences in the classifying of organisms.

Many more sighs were exhaled, along with chuckles from Damien as they continued with their homework until a car came to a screeching halt outside. Damien paused his explanation and looked towards the window, a puzzled expression on his face.

"That's just my dad. Don't pay any attention to it," (Y/N) waved the sound of the slamming car door off as she focused her attention on the text in front of her. She just hoped that her father would make a b-line to his office like he normally did. The last thing she wanted was for him to stumble across her boyfriend because she hadn't exactly told him about the boy.

Her hopes were shattered as his thudding footsteps were heard coming in the direction of the reading room. Before she was able to even prepare the poor boy, her father was walking through the archway. "Hello, (Y/N)," he greeted her without slowing his stride.

"Hi, dad," she tried to respond nonchalantly in hopes that he wouldn't even glance over at her.

But, once again, her hopes were shattered. Tommy stopped in his tracks when he noticed that his daughter was not alone. And that the company that she was keeping was an unfamiliar boy. "Who are you?" he didn't hesitate in asking, his eyes zeroed in on Damien. (Y/N) sighed. This poor boy was in for it now.

Damien thought nothing of it. He stood up from the couch and put a polite smile on his face as he stepped over to the man who asked the question. You see, he didn't know what this man was involved in. He just knew that he was (Y/N)'s father. And he wanted to make a good first impression. "Hello, sir. My name's Damien Weis. I'm (Y/N)'s boyfriend," he introduced himself as he offered his hand to shake.

Tommy didn't accept it. Instead he glanced over the boy standing in front of him. "Get out of my house," he blatantly stated before turning back to the door he was about to open.

"Dad!" (Y/N) called after him, shocked that he'd been so abrupt, "dad, that's really rude. He was just trying to introduce himself to you."

Tommy turned to his daughter, completely disregarding the boy who was still standing in front of him, who had his hand still outstretched and shock etched into his facial features. "Yeah, he did. And I want him out of my house," he was also blatant with his daughter as he tried to hold his anger in. This was the last thing he needed after the day he'd had. (Y/N)'s jaw dropped at his response.

Luckily Lizzie entered the reading room before anything else could be said, "Tommy, good, you're home. I wanted to tell you that Damien's going to be staying to eat dinner with us," she announced, noticing the tenseness of her husband but choosing to ignore it completely.

Tommy spun to face her, sending her a raised eyebrow expression before he glanced over at his daughter and finally to the boy who'd now be eating at his table. "Fucking great," he mumbled before he turned again and finally opened the door to the room he intended on going into.

Damien took a deep breath and finally dropped his hand before he moved back over to where (Y/N) was sitting. The girl sighed as he sat down next to her. "Well that didn't go as expected," he commented, running his sweaty palms over the material of his trousers.

"Don't mind him. He's just a miserable, old man. He's rarely happy about anything " (Y/N) brushed him off, although she couldn't shake the anger that she felt in regards to her father. Damien was a nice boy. She wished that he had given him the time of the day.

About a half hour later, the entire Shelby family, along with Damien, were sitting at the long dining table. The others were eating, but Tommy was just sat at the head of the table, smoking a cigarette. His eyes hadn't left Damien, who was sitting stiffly under the gaze of the intimidating man. It was quiet until Tommy decided to speak up, "so, Damien. How long have you been seeing my daughter?" he asked, his question, not surprisingly, directed at the boy.

Damien took a drink from the glass of water he had before clearing his throat and speaking what he hoped was confidently, "for a few months, sir."

"How many months?" Tommy asked, narrowing his eyes at the boy. Damien looked to (Y/N) then because he hadn't known the answer. They never really started counting how many. They just enjoyed hanging out with each other and did it often, even before they started dating. Tommy took the silence as a go ahead to speak again, "because I need to know how many months this has been hid from me."

"Tommy..." Lizzie sent him a warning glance almost immediately after he finished speaking.

"Dad..." (Y/N) called out in the same tone just as Lizzie was done speaking.

"I...I don't know, sir. Four...maybe five?" Damien's answer came out more as a question than as a statement.

"So you don't even know how long?" Tommy's eyebrows were raised, "how am I supposed to trust a boy with my daughter if he doesn't even remember how many months he's been with her for, eh?"

"Dad..." (Y/N) tried again, but his gaze was unwavering from the boy in the hot seat. The boy who now looked like he was trying to stop himself from shaking.

"I...I don't know, sir, but I like your daughter. I like her very much, and I don't mean any harm to her. I wouldn't think of doing anything of the sort," he rambled out, hoping to fill in some of the hole that had been dug.

"Oh, good. Cuz we'd have some real problems if harming her was the sole reason of you being here," Tommy drawled out, flicking the ash of the cigarette before he took another drag. "I'll be in me office," he announced without warning before he stood and exited the dining room.

(Y/N) sighed as she looked across the table at Lizzie, who had a sorry expression on her face. "I'm sorry," she mumbled to Damien who only nodded his head before he placed his napkin on the table and stood from the chair.

"I think I need to be going, (Y/N)," he stated as he pushed the chair away from the table, "Mrs. Shelby...the meal was lovely," he smiled over at Lizzie, who only nodded her head. Sending what looked to be a forced smile to (Y/N), Damien then left the dining room to, most likely, go get his things and exit the house.

Lizzie then left the table and walked out of the room, leaving (Y/N) with Charlie and Ruby. With a sigh, she also stood and told the kids that they could be excused also - dinner was pretty much finished at this point. The two younger children listened and went to their playroom before (Y/N) exited the dining hall and ascended the stairs to her room for the night. She didn't miss the sound of her father and Lizzie fighting two rooms down, but she blocked it out. She was able to fall asleep easier than she thought she would.

——

Surprisingly to (Y/N), Damien actually wanted to see her again. Although he swore that he'd never step foot into Arrow House again. (Y/N) was fine with that though. She wouldn't be letting him anywhere near her father again. For both of their sakes.

Today, Damien had suggested that they go out to see a film. (Y/N) happily agreed and dashed out of the house to Damien's car as soon as he pulled into the estate's driveway.

There was only one flaw to this entire day that (Y/N) had planned out. She hadn't told her father about it. So when Tommy arrived home to a quiet house later in the day, he obviously went to the first person he could question on it. "Where is everyone, Frances?" he asked as he shrugged off the coat he was wearing.

"Mrs. Shelby is in the sitting room, Charles and Ruby are in the playroom, and (Y/N) is..." Frances stopped herself from finishing the sentence, the breath catching in her throat.

"(Y/N) is where, Frances?" Tommy insisted that she tell him, looking at her intently.

"She told me not to tell you, Mr. Shelby," the older woman was hesitant to give any more details.

"So she's not in the house?" Tommy was able to infer that much.

"No," Frances shook her head, and that was all Tommy needed to go stomping into the sitting room where Lizzie was sitting.

"Where's (Y/N), Lizzie?" he asked as soon as he entered the room.

"Good afternoon, Tommy. I'm doing fine, thanks for asking," Lizzie said spitefully as she raised her eyes from the paper she was reading.

"Cut the bullshit and tell me where my daughter is, Lizzie," Tommy's temper was rising with each second.

Lizzie pursed her lips, debating whether or not she should give up (Y/N)'s secret. "She's gone out with Damien," she finally responded, figuring that being on (Y/N)'s bad side for a bit was better than being on Tommy's.

Tommy ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Fuck," he breathed, shaking his head as he glared at the floor, his hands on his hips, "I tell her to stay away from that boy and now she's fucking out with him."

"He's a nice boy, Tommy," Lizzie stuck up for her step-daugther's relationship.

"He couldn't even tell me how many months he's been seeing her!" he pointed out, his angered eyes flicking over to his wife.

"And can you tell me how many months you've been seeing me?" Lizzie flipped the statement on him, her eyebrows raised as she crossed her arms over her chest. Tommy only glared at her, pursing his lips because he certainly didn't know the answer to that question. "Exactly," she nodded, quite happy that her point had been proved. Tommy only held her stare for a few more moments before he abruptly turned and exited the sitting room. "Where are you going, Tommy?!" she called after him, standing from the couch and moving to the foyer where he was already taking his coat from Frances.

"To find my fucking daughter," he answered her without so much as looking at her before he exited the house. He stormed down the driveway and onto his property down to the edge of the trees where Johnny Dogs and his kin were camped. "Johnny!" he called out as he entered the camp.

"Tom! What do you need?" the man asked, standing from the fire he was tending as Tommy came to a stop in front of him.

"I need you to take me into town. I have business I have to attend to," Tommy was vague with his ask, but Johnny didn't need much more information. Moments later, they were in a truck heading for town.

Meanwhile, (Y/N) was having the time of her life. She and Damien went to see the picture that was playing in the theatre and then he'd taken her out to eat a late lunch. It was only when they'd gotten back to his car to her spirits dampened.

"What's wrong, (Y/N)?" Damien questioned, his eyebrows furrowed as he noticed the slight frown on her face.

"I don't wanna go home, D," she sighed, looking at her lap, "my dad's probably gonna bombard me with questions."

"We don't have to go home yet," he stated, a smile playing on his lips.

"No?" some hope returned to (Y/N) as she looked over at her boyfriend, "where else could we go?" she asked him.

"We don't have to go anywhere. We could stay right here."

"And do what?" she was still oblivious to what he was suggesting. Sitting in his car parked on a side street sure did sound boring, but it was better than going home and facing her father.

Damien chuckled, "do I have to spell it out to you, love?" he questioned.

"I guess so...I'm drawing a blank," (Y/N) laughed shyly.

"Come to the back seat with me," he told her, stepping out of the car then before he offered her his hand. She was still confused, but followed her, stepping out of the front of the car just to go into the back of it.

"And now what?" she couldn't stop herself from asking, making him chuckle again. Was she really his naïve?

"Now I kiss you," he told her, leaning in and matching his lips with hers. She was surprised at first but accepted the kiss, matching it with one of her own as he took her into his arms. She got pressed up against the window of the car by this, but she couldn't care. She was quite enjoying the position she'd now found herself in.

Tommy had Johnny Dogs slowly driving down each of Birmingham's streets, his eyes peeled for anyone who looked like his daughter or her boyfriend. They turned onto another one of the side streets and drove down it. In one of the cars they drove past, he'd seen what looked to be a couple, making out. It was only when Johnny turned back onto the main road that something clicked in Tommy's head. "Go down that street again, Johnny," he ordered, tapping his hand against the dash to show the urgency.

"Why, Tom?" Johnny questioned his intentions but listened anyway.

"Because one of the cars back there looked like the one that was in the driveway the night I came home and met Damien," he explained, ready to take a closer look as they approached the street. Sure enough, realization flashed through Tommy's eyes as they got to that car. The same car that the couple was making out in. "I fuckin' knew it. Stop the car, Johnny!" Tommy ordered through gritted teeth, already opening the door. The tires screeched as the car came to a halt, but Tommy was already walking in the direction of the parked car by that point.

"Where're you goin', Tom? What are you doing?" Johnny asked as he also exited the car, following hot on the other man's heels.

By the time he'd caught up with him, Tommy was already banging on the fogged window of the car incessantly. "What the fuck are you doing in there, eh?!" he yelled to the couple, who had now frozen in their place.

"What the fuck?" Damien breathlessly questioned as he moved away from (Y/N).

"Shit. That's my dad," (Y/N) sighed, straightening out her blouse before Damien moved more so that she could sit up.

"Open this fucking door!" Tommy hadn't stopped his banging, and it looked like he wouldn't be until the door was opened.

Gritting her teeth, (Y/N) flung the door opened to see her angry father. "What the hell, dad?!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"What are you doing with this boy, (Y/N)?" he asked her, frantic eyes bouncing from his daughter to the boy he'd caught her with.

"He's my boyfriend, dad. I'm spending time with him," she answered him, still absolutely shocked that he'd have the audacity to just come up to the car and insert himself into their space.

"Get out of the fucking car, (Y/N). I'm taking you home," Tommy tried to keep his voice level. It wouldn't be good if the MP for this city flipped out on his daughter in public. He kept reminding himself that.

"No."

"We're going to go home and you're going to...what?" Tommy stopped his originally planned sentence when what (Y/N) said registered in his mind. His eyes widened slightly as he craned his neck forward to look at her. "What did you say?" he asked for her to repeat it.

"I said no, dad. I'm not coming home with you. I'm staying with Damien because I am eighteen years old and you cannot tell me what to do," she held her ground, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Get out of the car, (Y/N)," he spoke in a low voice through gritted teeth. She was really testing him.

"No," she repeated her sentiment, "and you really need to back off, dad."

"Back off?" he asked incredulously, "I'm doing what's good for you here, (Y/N)."

"Then do what's good for me and back off," she waved him away, "back off and go home."

"(Y/N)..." the anger was rising inside of him.

"Let it be, Tom," Johnny's voice of reason came from Tommy's left before he was able to blow up on his daughter. "Come on. Leave her with him. She'll be fine," he tried to physically pull him away from the confrontation.

Tommy's eyes darted between the three other people before he took a deep breath and nodded his head. "Yeah. Let it be..." he trailed off, exhaling a breath before his eyes fell on (Y/N) for the last time, "I want to talk to you when you come home tonight," he told her, keeping his voice low so that his anger wouldn't show.

"Ok, dad," she nodded as Johnny then placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder so that he could lead him back to the truck. She mouthed a thank you to the other man, who just nodded and managed to turn Tommy away from the scene in front of him.

Then she turned back to Damien, who surprisingly didn't look too mortified at what had happened. "Where do you want to go now? Because I sure as hell ain't going home any time soon," she stated, a smile back on her face as a similar expression formed on the face of her boyfriend. She'd be ready for whatever her father had planned for her at home, but now all she wanted to do was enjoy herself. Even if it was in spite of him.

———

Tagged: @alreadybroken-ts @magicalxdaydream @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @golden-hoax @elenavampire21

THE DEVIL OF SMALL HEATH

Never in your life you had expected to love someone so much to be ready to sacrifice your own life for them. You had never expected to be ready for doing literally everything to save the one you loved. Looking for solutions in all the wrong, forbidden places, taking desperate steps…

When your quite old mother had become pregnant, you actually had been preparing yourself for the possibility of taking care of the child alone and raising your sibling like your own offspring. But nothing of this sort had happened – your mother was well and so was your baby sister. At least for the first few weeks.

Now little Poppy’s fever was only rising instead of finally letting her go. Your mother had spent her last money for the Doctor and all he did was shake his head. He didn’t even take those coins.

When the Doctor doesn’t take the money, it means only one thing.

That night it was a full moon and you went outside, leaving your crying mother at home. What you were about to do was stupid and desperate but there was nothing else you could do.

You took a look at your pocket watch and it showed you almost midnight so you hurried to the crossroads nearby The Garrison Pub. You weren’t even scared of any drunkard on the street, too stressed and worried about Poppy’s state.

You sighed and looked around but there was absolutely no one. Muffled voices of the men inside The Garrison were the only human sounds surrounding you and the sound of rain landing softly on the pavement wasn’t as comforting as it usually had been.

Then, you heard someone lighting up a match behind you. You froze and turned around to stare at the darkness behind the street lamp. After a short while a man emerged from it – he looked plain, like every other man in Small Heath. He had a peaky cap on and he was smoking a cigarette, leaning on the street lamp nonchalantly. You swallowed thickly at the sight. It wasn’t safe for a woman to be left alone with a man in the middle of the dark street.

“You’re lost, lass?” he asked in a deep voice suddenly and you could hear the smirk on his lips.

“N-no,” you explained and fixed your jacket. “I’m waiting for someone.”

“Who are you waiting for so late at night? You’re not a whore,” he stated like he had known you already.

“It doesn’t matter who I’m waiting for,” you were too ashamed to tell him the truth.

“Well, maybe I can help you,” he teased and you squinted your eyes at his statue before approaching him.

“I’m waiting for the Devil of Small Heath,” you confessed, embarrassed and pursed your lips.

He chuckled and shook his head. You noticed his prominent cheekbones and sharp jawline, his piercing blue eyes… So odd and out of place like they belonged to an animal and not a human. They were cold, distant, observing. Those were the eyes of a predator but they were also a very pretty, tempting shade of blue.

“Why would you want to deal with the devil, love? You’re such a pretty little thing, so young and innocent. Why would you want to ruin it, eh?” he asked and took a drag of his cigarette.

“I am in need. Please, don’t laugh at me, kind sir, because you might find yourself in trouble one day as well.”

“Has someone broken your heart? Or perhaps it's the fame that you want? Money? Ethereal beauty?” he whispered maliciously and furrowed his brow as the shiver travelled down your spine.

“I am no fool to deal with the devil for such trivial things!” you snapped at him. “My sister is dying.”

He froze for a second and simply nodded his head.

“And what are you doing here, sir?” you asked, suspiciously.

“I’m waiting for Miss (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” the look he gave you was stern and your heart froze in your chest.

“E-excuse me?” you blinked a few times and took a step back. “I don’t know you.”

“Yes, you do, little dove. You came here to see me,” he smiled kindly but there was something sinister behind that smile. He threw his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it.

“You’re the Devil of Small Heath?!” you gasped and your eyes widened.

“I really like that name,” he chuckled and nodded but your reaction remained the same. “What? Did you expect horns and a tail?”

“Well, actually…”

“I don’t have a human form,” he confessed. “I liked that lad, though. He wanted to kill himself anyway so I did it for him and took over his body a few months ago. I like his face, it’s so… oddly shaped,” he grinned and took a step forward.

“Please, save my sister’s life,” you pleaded after the first shock wave had left your body. “Please, I’m begging you, please…”

“Little Poppy (Y/L/N) will die tonight, love. She will die right before dawn,” he informed you. “Won’t even see tomorrow’s sunlight.”

“Please… She’s so little, so small… She hasn’t done anything wrong yet, she hasn’t sinned…” you burst into tears. “I want her to learn words, I want her to laugh, to have friends, to be excited for the spring and to play in the summer. I want her to go to school and travel, see places and know all those things I will never do,” you sobbed. “My life… It doesn’t matter much. You said I was young but I feel like this life is already lost anyway, already wasted. But hers is not… So take me and let her live, please…” you sniffled.

“What makes you think her life is worth more than yours?”

“She’s innocent.”

“In my eyes, so are you.”

“I am a sinner,” you tried to convince him.

“Everyone sins from time to time. You’re not a murderer, not even a proper thief,” he chuckled and you felt ashamed of the memory of stealing an apple or two as a child. “But I’ll tell you a little secret, love.”

“Y-yes?” you looked up to meet his piercing gaze.

“Souls like yours… They’re very valuable. Sweet,” he smirked.

“Then be greedy and take it… Save my sister,” you clenched your jaw and swallowed thickly before straightening your back. “Do it.”

“Gladly,” his eyes sparkled.

As a human he was introducing himself as Thomas Shelby. And although your life went on, you could see him creeping around. Sometimes you noticed a glimpse of him from the corner of your eye, sometimes he visited you for a small talk. He always looked and acted the same, checking on his victim, making sure you weren’t trying to find the ways to save your soul and get out of the deal unharmed.

But you weren’t the same as you used to be. Damn, you weren’t even the same as others. Not only had you been getting older much slower than your friends but you had been also growing… colder. Year by year you had been losing more and more of your soul.

The most important thing was your sister, though. Little Poppy was a healthy, cheerful child, soon to be eight years old. Seeing her playing with her dolls, collecting flowers, running around and laughing was only assuring you that your decision had been right.

The problem was that you couldn’t love. You couldn’t even connect with your friends anymore. Your own mother felt like a stranger and despite your efforts, little Poppy did as well. All the things that had used to make you cry or laugh, now were making you shrug your arms.

Tommy’s presence was ominous when he was lurking in the shadows but it was also somehow comforting. He was the one owning your soul so whenever he was around, you could feel more like your old self again. And it kind of felt like he was protecting you.

“What will happen to me after I die?” you asked him one night when he visited you.

You lived alone in a small flat above the pub where you were a barmaid. He would sometimes visit in the evenings and stay for the night in your bed. For you it was convenient because there had been no connection between you and men anymore. He probably just enjoyed fucking and you were sure he was doing it every night with someone else. You weren’t the only woman who’s soul he had owned after all.

“Why are you asking about such things?” he furrowed his brow and smirked while reaching for a cigarette.

“Why are you smoking? I didn’t know demons could get addicted,” you changed the subject.

“The body is addicted,” he explained and lit the cigarette before taking the first drag. “Why are you thinking of death now?”

“Will I be in pain?” you swallowed thickly.

“No, not at all. I like you,” he smiled and caressed your ruffled hair. “In fact, I might like you so much that I’ll never let you die.”

“What do you mean?” you gasped.

“Well, technically, I own you, (Y/N). Your fate depends on me and I can keep you alive forever. Haven’t you noticed how slowly you age?”

“You can’t stop the body from falling apart and rotting. You only own my soul,” you pointed out and left the bed carefully. For some reason his words were creeping you out more than usual and you didn’t want to be in his presence anymore.

“A demon’s power is strong enough to keep the vessel from dying or getting old,” Thomas explained. He was calm but you could hear that he was starting to get suspicious.

“I am not a demon. I’m just a cursed human,” you turned around to look at his face but he just smirked.

“I told you… I like you very much,” he only said.

That was when you realised that he had been turning you into a creature like him. And although it was comforting to know you’d live forever and unharmed, you didn’t like the fact it had been made without your consent. Not to mention… who the hell would ever want to become a demon?!

You nodded and cracked a smile, faking kindness and courtesy. You didn’t want to anger him or make him suspicious even more.

“I’ll be going now,” he left the bed as well and collected his clothes lying on the floor. “Got some business to do.”

“Ah yes, all the other devil’s whores that you visit to fuck,” you snorted. Despite the resentment and fear you had for him, you still were jealous. It was a wicked game you couldn’t quite understand.

“Don’t be like that, dove,” he approached you to raise your chin. “You’re my special little thing. My favourite. Tonight some man wants to deal with me so I gotta go to the crossroads.”

You nodded and let him peck your lips. Then he put his clothes on and left you alone in your flat.

At first you felt the urge to run to the local church and beg the priest to help you. To research every book in every library in the world and find a way to get rid of his presence but then you realised that angering Thomas would probably mean your sister’s death. You had to do whatever he told you to do. At least for now.

You sighed and crouched down to touch the words engraved on a marble grave.

Poppy Brenson. 1919 – 2008.

On the inside, you were as cold as that marble and as dead as your sister but it still hurt to see her being buried.

“She had a good life,” you heard his deep voice and felt his hand on your shoulder.

“Long and happy,” you nodded. “Married a good man, saw the world, had children and grandchildren. She didn’t even remember me much when she was old, which is also good. I’m a cursed thing,” you sniffled and stood up to look into his eyes.

“She had two guardian devils to look after her,” he chuckled.

Despite the years, he still had the same body – it was his favourite and he knew that you liked it, too. He was even still wearing the same old-fashioned clothes and a peaky cap as its shadow was always mysteriously covering his beautiful blue eyes.

“She’s dead now and she’s in heaven. You can no longer keep me hostage. I will find a way to leave you,” you informed him but your voice didn’t sound as convinced as you wanted it to be.

After all those years you weren’t even sure if you had truly wanted it – freedom.

“Sinners go to hell after they die,” Thomas raised his hand to caress your cheek gently. You flinched but allowed him to continue. “I own your soul, therefore I decide what is your punishment.”

“So I’ll have to deal with you forever?” you sighed.

“Perhaps this is your hell,” he smirked as your eyes widened.

“Why me? Out of all the people whose souls you own and have ever owned. Why me?” you swallowed thickly and took a step back, almost tripping and falling down on your sister’s grave. But your body was still young, therefore you kept your balance. You had lost count a long time ago but your body was thirty years old maximum. Since it all had depended on him, you guessed that was the way he liked you the most.

“I’ve never liked anyone as much as you,” he confessed. “I don’t own as many souls as you think I do. They’re all so terrible, so rotten, so poisonous. Your soul was like a breath of spring. It was pure, it was cleansing… And I’m awfully lonely.”

“I thought demons couldn’t feel,” you didn’t want to get deceived so easily.

“You know perfectly well that we do, love,” Thomas chuckled.

And he was right. With time you had realised that there was a wall between you and other people indeed but you still could feel. You couldn’t express your feelings and you tended to shut yourself out often but the feelings had always been there, buried deep inside. Only around him you could catch a breath and experience emotions properly because around him you were a whole person and not just a soulless vessel.

In fact, if you were supposed to live forever, it could only be bearable in his presence. You had to spend your eternity with him as he was the master of your destiny and a condition of your sanity.

“The Devil of Small Heath,” you chuckled. “Nowadays no one believes in him anymore. They made a statue of you and they take pictures there but no one actually wants to deal,” you started and he furrowed his brow. “My sister passed away, too. I assume we are free now to do whatever the fuck we want,” you pointed out.

“I guess,” he shrugged his arms. “What is it that you want to do, my little dove?”

“I’ve always wanted to see Italy,” you cracked a smile and Thomas blinked a few times like he was surprised to hear such an answer.

“I need to get new clothes then.”

"Thank you for all coming tonight," Tommy began after clearing his throat. His voice made all of the side conversations quiet down, everyone's attention on him. "Now you know that we've got an important day for us that is fastly approaching. The derby is in one week, and we are going to take Darby Sabini's posts from him and turn them into our own," he explained the major feat that they would be engaging in, "we are going to be doing this with as little violence as possible. We don't need a show, we just need to take the bets from Sabini and his men."

Tommy took a deep breath and looked at each of his family members before he continued, "I have also been entrusted with another task. Mr. Winston Churchill has asked me to pull a very influential man that will be in attendance at the races off to the side and get him to change his standpoint on a few issues. Lizzie...this is where you will be coming in," he paused yet again, looking over to the woman who was sitting and taking notes. She nodded before he continued. "Now I know that the Field Marshal likes his share of women, so you, Lizzie, will lure him to the spot in which I will have this conversation with him. Major Campbell will also be joining us at the races to make sure that this conversation gets had. We will do all of this without firing a shot. Am I clear?" Tommy ended his monologue by asking the room a question, earning agreements in response. "Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, Tom. Exactly who are we bringing with us to collect these licenses and take the posts from Sabini?" it was Michael who spoke up first. Celia sucked in a breath as she awaited the response. In the past few weeks, Polly and Michael have sort of been on the fringe, because Polly so desperately wanted Micheal to stay out of the dealings of the gang. Tommy had put him on different jobs back in the office, but Michael had shown time and time again that he would much rather be a Blinder out on the front lines.

"Only the men we can trust will be coming. That way we can make sure that the job is done, and it's done right," Tommy responded to him, then addressing the elephant in the room, "Michael, you will not be joining us. Pol has been adamant that she doesn't want you to be a part of this."

Michael's face scrunched up, almost in confusion, "you said that I was a part of this company...of this family," he tried to argue Tommy's decision, but the older man seemed to be remaining steadfast on his point.

"You are. You're part of the financial side of this company. This is not a financial matter."

Polly also decided to chime before Michael could counter, "I do not want you to get wrapped up into the other half of what this family does, Michael. You could make more of yourself. You should take those tickets...make a life," she was almost pleading with him. It hurt Celia's heart, because Michael did not seem to be listening. This whole problem had started when Polly tried to give Michael tickets to leave Birmingham and try to make better of himself. To say that the young man was appalled was an understatement.

"I told you that I can handle myself, mum," Michael sounded just like any other child fighting with their parent over whose idea was best. Except most ideas that children and parents argued over did not involve the possibility of the child dying. Celia was siding with Polly on this one.

"Listen to your mother, Michael," Tommy spoke up, his voice flat, showing him that the statement was not up for discussion. Michael shook his head, mumbling something that couldn't be discerned as he stared at the wall with a glare on his face. "Anything else?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, actually...Polly's birthday's coming up in two days," Celia was the one to point out, a grin on her face. She was the one who remembered the birthdays, because it seemed to be a thing in the Shelby family that they carried on like nothing happened. If it was up to her, she would never let that happen.

"It is," Polly smiled in the younger woman's direction. Polly, of course, knew when her birthday was, and was happy that someone was finally going to the lengths of acknowledging it fully...instead of just mumbling a happy birthday while passing by at the shop.

"Yeah, we knew that too, Pol!" John chimed in from where he sat, a grin on his face. Polly just shook her head at him.

"What do you propose, Celia?" Tommy asked her then, not caring if she was his partner, the family meeting was always run more so like a business engagement.

"I think we should throw a party. Maybe at the Garrison. To celebrate Polly, obviously. But also to celebrate the success this company's had so far, as well as the success it's surely going to have in a week," she proposed, looking around at all of the members of the family before she looked up to Tommy.

"You'll have to ask Arthur. He is the owner of the Garrison," Tommy pointed out a technicality, though his expression showed that he was on board with the idea.

"Arthur?" Celia questioned, putting on a slight pout. She knew he had a soft spot when it came to her.

"I suppose," he nodded his head, trying not to let a smile form on his features. "You fuckers still need to make sure people pay for the booze though. I'm not running a complete open bar," he added then.

"So it's settled. We'll throw a party at the Garrison two days from now. Celebrating Polly," Tommy announced, sending Polly, who had a content smile on her face, a smile then. "Any other matters?" he continued on with the meeting. The room stayed quiet, letting him know that there was nothing more to be discussed. "The family meeting is over then," he nodded firmly, giving the people around the room the ok to talk.

Celia immediately went over to Polly, who was still smiling from the younger woman's suggestion that was made a short bit ago. "So would you like a cake, Pol? I could bake you a cake," she asked then, intently waiting for an answer.

"If you want to bake one, then by all means, go for it," Polly smiled at the woman in front of her, feeling so consumed with love at the moment.

"I'll also have to ring Ada to tell her what's going on. She'll surely be thrilled to come down because she hardly gets out," Celia disclosed then, making Polly nod her head.

"I need to talk to Michael now. Thanks for thinking of me, Celia," she sincerely told her before she moved from her seat to go talk to her son.

——

The two days passed by quickly, and soon enough, it was time for Polly's party at the Garrison. Celia was currently busting her butt to get the cake she promised Polly finished. It looked like a warzone in her kitchen, and it was the first thing that Tommy commented on when he stepped into her apartment.

"I was coming to check to see if you were ready, but I guess I have my answer here," Tommy stated, making Celia spin on her heels, the mixing bowl still grasped in her hands. Tommy couldn't help but chuckle at her appearance. She was practically covered in flour.

"Is it time to go already? I thought I had much more time," she pretty much whined, a pout on her face as she continued to stir the contents of the bowl together. "And why are you laughing at me, Tommy Shelby?" she sent him a playful glare then.

"Well you look rather funny, love," he commented, not trying to hold his thoughts back, a smile on his face. "Do you need help, darling?" he asked then.

"Does it look like it?" she questioned incredulously, clearly under stress at the moment. "I'd love your help, but I'm not sure you know the first thing about baking."

"I'll have you know that I make a pretty good banana bread," he stated, already in the process of discarding his coat and rolling up his sleeves so that he could go to stand next to her.

"You're lying," she called his bluff.

"I am," he nodded, a grin on his face as she laughed at his admission. "Tell me how I can help and I will," he told her then, ready to take orders from her. So she told him what still needed to be done, and he dove right in. She couldn't stop her heart from swooning at the sight of him being so domestic, and for a moment she wished that she could keep him locked in her apartment so that they could be like this forever.

"And it's done," Celia announced after she finished putting the final touches on the cake. Tommy was now sitting on one of the dining chairs with a cigarette between his lips.

"Pol's gonna love it," Tommy told her, watching as she looked up at him with a smile before moving to where he was sitting.

"You think?" she asked as she found her seat on his lap, a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"She will," he nodded, "and if not, it'll still taste good," he said then, letting her place her hands on his cheeks and kiss him. "Why're you laughing?" he asked as they pulled away.

Celia was now riddled with giggles as she took in his appearance. "You've got handprints on your face now, love," she told him, her eyes taking in the two large, white marks that she had left with her hands. "I guess I didn't completely clean myself off."

"Guess you didn't," he chuckled, shaking his head as he grabbed a rag that was sitting on the table which he had used to clean his hands off to now clean the handprints off his face. "I get it all?" he asked then.

"Yes. You look handsome," she grinned, taking in his appearance.

"You're covered in flour," he stated matter-of-factly, and she couldn't be mad because she knew it was true. "Clean yourself and we'll go," he said then, making her nod and lean in for another kiss. This time she made sure she didn't touch him. They shared a smile as she stood from his lap and moved into her bedroom to get herself cleaned up and changed.

Tommy was in the same place she left him when Celia returned to the main room of the apartment. "Better?" she questioned him while motioning to the outfit she now had on.

"Beautiful," he grinned, making her blush as she busied herself with transferring the cake to a carrier. "Although you looked beautiful before, even with the flour," Tommy's voice came from behind her as he spoke quietly, his hands fastening to her waist.

She shook her head with a smile as she let out a soft laugh, sinking back into his embrace slightly. "They're probably expecting us," she stated, abandoning the cake tray as she turned in his arms, her hands pressed against his chest.

"They probably are," he agreed, resting his forehead against hers then. She smiled up at him before her eyes fluttered shut and she pressed her lips to his. She only wanted it to be one kiss, but he held her tight in place so that she couldn't move away. Not that she was complaining though.

"We should probably leave," she stated then, her words coming out in a breathy tone in between the kisses he was giving her.

"We probably should," he agreed once more, his actions not letting up though. She let out a giggle as he kissed from her lips to her neck, only then pushing against his chest so that he would break away from her.

"Let's go," she said then, moving from his arms to grab the cake and take it with her to the dining table, where she sat it down so that she could put her coat over her dress. "Thomas," she said then, turning to face him where he was still standing, his hands now resting on his hips. He let out a sigh, clearing his throat before he ran a hand through his hair and then walked over to grab his overcoat and shrug it onto his body.

She smiled as he came to her side, opening the door for her because she had her hands full with the cake. The couple then walked down to his car, him taking the tray for her to get in before he handed back to her and moved around to his side so that they could make their way to the Garrison.

—

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Arthur was the first one to comment on Tommy and Celia's arrival, some cheers following his words.

Celia blushed as she walked to the bar with the tray in her hands, letting Tommy be the one to respond to his brother's statement. "She was a little behind on the cake. Needed some help," he stated, accepting the glass of whisky that was already being offered to him.

"What I'd give to see Tommy Shelby baking," Lizzie said with a laugh from the table she was sitting at.

Celia turned to face her, seeing that she was sitting with Esme, Ada, and the birthday lady herself, Ms. Polly Gray. So she immediately abandoned her partner's side and went to the ladies, giving them all hugs before she sat in one of the empty seats. "Oh it was a sight for sure," Celia grinned, finally commenting on Lizzie's statement as the women all laughed. Conversation flowed naturally from that point, the women talking about whatever came to mind.

"You know we could be celebrating something else here, Cel," Esme stated, speaking into to the brunette woman's ear after she pulled her closer to her.

"We could, but I still haven't told him, and this is meant to be Polly's birthday," Celia responded. Somehow, some way, she had yet to get it into Tommy's head that she was pregnant. She was already about to be approaching the four month mark, and it was still a secret that she was keeping from the person she loved most...the person who had a hand in making the baby. It irked her slightly that he hadn't caught on to her statements, or that she didn't have enough confidence to straight up tell him. You were only meant to have to tell your partner once, not x-amount of times over a stretch of three months. Celia had lost count of how many it was at this point.

"At this rate, the bloody baby's gonna be here before he catches on that you're pregnant," Ada commented, making Celia realize that she had spoken louder than she thought. Luckily it was only Ada, Esme, and Lizzie at the table and they all knew about her predicament.

"The jig'll be up once you start showing," Lizzie stated matter-of-factly, the women all nodding in agreement before that conversation topic was dropped for the latest gossip of what Ada was getting up to in London.

—

"Can I have your attention?!" Arthur called out, making the music that was being played come to a halt. Celia and Esme stopped their dancing, tapping Ada on the shoulder then because she was in her own world and still moving to the beat that wasn't being played anymore. "Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to say a few words about my Aunt Pol," he continued once he held the room's attention. "I know not many women who hold themselves the way Polly does. She is the gears that keep this family turning, and she manages to level us men out when we lose our wits and want to act on impulse. She's been our mother-figure for the longest time, and now she's got her own son back in her life. I don't think half of us in here would still be alive if it weren't for you, Pol," Arthur spoke sincerely, looking over at his aunt, who you could tell was trying to stop the tears from welling up. Hell, Celia had tears brimming her eyes too, but she blamed them on her heightened hormones. "Happy birthday, Polly," he said then, raising his glass as everyone else followed in a toast to the birthday woman.

Polly said a quick thank you to everyone for the warm wishes and being in the room tonight before she ordered for the music to be played once more, letting the party commence as it once was. Celia continued to dance with the other ladies, a wide smile on her face as she had fun with them. The events happening in the near future were far from her thoughts as she focused on the night and the people that surrounded her.

Soon enough, she felt a hand on her waist, and she slowed her movements down to see that Tommy had taken the spot next to her. "Come with me," he said, bending down to speak next to her ear. Celia just nodded and allowed him to walk her over to the snug. She spun around to face him as he shut and locked the door behind him, her eyebrow raising at his actions. "I need you, love," he breathed, his hands holding firmly onto her hips as he broke the distance and dropped his lips on hers.

His kiss took her breath away, leaving her with not much else to do but take his face into her hands, pulling him even closer to her and holding him in place. Their mouths met in a few seering kisses before Celia pulled away to catch her breath, "why here, Tommy? There's so many people on the other side of the wall," she asked, looking up at his darkening eyes through her eyelashes.

"Something about you is pulling me to you...like you're fucking glowing or something. I couldn't keep my hands off you a minute longer. You're driving me crazy and I fucking need you," he breathed against her lips, his words driving her crazy. "I really can't wait any longer," he added, his words coming out in a groan as she pressed her body against his. "Fuck, Celia," he kissed her lips again, spinning them and moving so that he could sit in his usual chair with her straddling his lap. Hands were roaming as they kissed more, and Celia was too dizzy from his kisses to even care that there was a full-fledged party going on just outside the room.

"Tommy..." she breathed, her hands fumbling with the buttons on his waistcoat, wanting so desperately to feel more of his skin. She got it open, whining slightly when she realized she still had to deal with his button down and undershirt. Damn these men and their many layers of clothing.

Tommy, on the other hand, had very little to move to get what he needed from her. His lips were pressed to her chest as he grabbed hold of her dress' ends and started to bring them up to sit by her waist. His hands then moved to her garters, where he had full intentions of unhooking them to make her stockings fall limp on her legs. He stopped his motions, however, when the doorknob to the snug started jiggling. Celia also froze her fumbling on the buttons of his trousers, her head turning fast to the door. "It's locked, love. We're fine," he assured her, using his one hand to turn her head and bring her mouth back to his.

They didn't get much further than a few more kisses before the sound of the small doors perched to the right of them, that Tommy forgot to lock, squeaked open, and Arthur's voice was heard, "that's the second fucking time, you two. A second later and I might've been scarred for life," there was an evident grin in his words. Celia was too embarrassed to look up and confirm though, so she kept her head buried in Tommy's neck.

"Fuck off, Arthur, what do you want?" Tommy questioned, frustration in his voice. Why didn't he think of locking those doors? "You've embarrassed her now, eh," he then commented on the woman who was meekly sitting on his lap.

"Well don't bring her into the snug of me fucking bar, during a party nonetheless, to fuck her and I won't embarrass her," Arthur responded, still thinking this whole situation was hilarious. "We're giving Pol the cake now. I thought you two might want to join us," he said then, abruptly closing the doors and leaving them be.

The moment was ruined now, and Tommy sighed as he helped Celia off of his lap, making sure she looked presentable before he stood up himself. "I'm sorry about that, love," he mumbled as he peered down at her, watching as she buttoned his clothing back up.

"We'll just have to continue at home is all," she told him innocently. She was frustrated that things didn't go further now, but she knew she didn't have long to wait before they were alone again. Tommy just shook his head and sent a grin in her direction. Sometimes he couldn't handle the things that this woman did to him. They unlocked the door to the snug and joined back into the party like nothing happened, although some of the members of the family had some things to say about that.

——

Celia had just finished washing up from the day's events when she moved back into Tommy's bedroom. A few days had passed since Polly's birthday party, and now it was the night before the derby. He didn't notice she'd walked in. His back was turned to the door and he was gazing out the window. Celia smiled softly and moved over to where he was, her arms encircling his bare stomach before she pressed her face against his back.

"What's on your mind, Tommy?" she questioned after they had been standing quietly for a few moments. "Hmm?" she asked softly after several beats had passed without his response.

"Just thinking about tomorrow, love," he responded with a sigh, deciding to let her into his mind.

"It will go well," she assured him as he turned in her arms, his hands grabbing hers that were now on his back, his fingers intertwining with hers once he brought them up between them.

"I'm going to kill a man tomorrow," he admitted then, as if it was weighing heavy on his conscience.

"I know," she nodded softly, the breath getting caught in her throat. "You have to," this sentence was her moreso trying to convince herself instead of him. "I'll still be beside you," she assured him.

"I love you," he whispered then, his eyes searching hers before he pressed their lips together.

They moved to the bed then, Tommy falling on top of Celia before they parted for a moment. "I have something to tell you, Tommy," she said to him then.

"Not tonight, love. Tell me when this is all over," he breathed against her lips, his eyes immediately telling her that he already had too much on his mind. She didn't want to overload him with the news that he was on his way to becoming a father.

So she listened to him and matched her lips with his once more, hoping that she'd be able to finally share her news with him tomorrow...when this all would be done.

———