Tommy takes Y/N’s hand and pulls her up the stairs behind him. They make their way down the hall to his room, when Tommy suddenly stops. Y/N frowns and moves a little closer, but Tommy pulls his hand away from hers and gestures for her to stay where she is. She then hears something in Tommy’s room and now understands why he suddenly stopped, so she stays still and watches as he pulls his gun out and makes his way to the door.
He pulls it open in one swift motion and points the gun at what he assumes is an intruder, but turns out to be his younger brother. “What the hell, John.” Tommy says as he puts his gun away. He takes a moment to calm himself down and is about to speak up again when he feels Y/N’s hand slip back into his as she joins him in the doorway.
“I couldn’t get it lit.” John says as he fiddles with Tommy’s opium pipe. “Couldn’t even do that.” He adds and Y/N watches him with sad eyes. She knows Tommy told him about Lizzie accepting the money he offered her and she knows John must be hurting.
Tommy steps further into the room, Y/N follows him and he’s a little ashamed that she now knows he uses opium. “What do you want to be smoking that for?” He asks John.
“Same reason as you.” John says as he moves towards Tommy’s bed and sits down. “Pain in the head.” He adds. “I spoke to Lizzie.” He explains that Lizzie tried to tell him Tommy lied but that he checked with her sister and her cousin and he now knows she still sees a few regulars. “You must think I’m an idiot.” He sounds slightly angry.
Tommy lets go of Y/N’s hand and sits down next to John. “I think you’re the first Shelby in history with a legal licence for anything.” Tommy says and John scoffs as he turns his face the other way. “What would our granddad say, eh?” Tommy goes on and John faces him again. “He’d be turning in his grave. ‘Honest bloody money? In this house? Here?’” Tommy puts on a voice. Y/N remains silent as she watches the two men.
John snorts. “You always used to do voices when we were kids.”
Tommy gets serious again. “Well we’re not kids now John.”
John looks at him. “But we still have to look out for each other, right?”
Tommy nods slightly before turning his head to look at John again. “Yeah.” He tells him as he places a hand on John’s head for a moment. “Come on. Go home. Get some sleep.” Tommy says as he stands up. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
John stands up with a confused look on his face. Y/N’s eyebrows furrow in confusion as well as she looks at Tommy. “We have?” He asks as he fiddles with his cap in his hands.
“Tomorrow we finish the war with the Lees once and for all.” Tommy tells him as he puts his hands in his pockets.
“Since when?” John asks. Meanwhile, Y/N tries to catch Tommy’s eye but he avoids looking at her.
“Since just now.” They look at each other for a moment. “Ten o’clock tomorrow.” Tommy adds as he places a hand on John’s shoulder to lead him to the door while John’s puts his cap on. “Be ready for anything.” He says as he watches John walk away for a moment before closing the door.
Y/N waits for Tommy to turn to her before she speaks up. “Do I want to know what’s happening tomorrow?” She asks, her arms crossed over her chest as she waits for Tommy to let her in on his plan.
“It’s nothing bad.” He tells her as he slips his hand into his jacket pocket to pull out a cigarette. “John will be getting married to a girl from the Lee family.” He sees Y/N’s eyes widen at his words and quickly goes on. “He needs a wife and his kids need a mother, he said so himself. This girl needs a husband and I need an alliance with the Lee’s.” He explains before he runs the cigarette across his lip and lights it.
Y/N remains silent for a moment as she lets Tommy’s plan sink in. John and his kids do need someone and options in Small Heath are limited, but is this really the way? “Are you sure it’s a good idea to marry him off to someone he’s never met before?” She asks Tommy as she reaches out to take the cigarette from his lips and places it between her own.
Tommy’s eyes linger on Y/N’s lips as they wrap around the cigarette. “To be completely honest, I don’t know.” He admits with a sigh as he moves to his bed and sits down. “But it’s the only plan I could come up with, that will solve multiple problems at once.” Y/N holds the cigarette out to him and he takes it from her. He looks up at her as he inhales and sees the somewhat tense look on her face. “What is it?” He asks as he holds out a hand to her.
Y/N sighs and takes hold of his outstretched hand. “It might be nothing.” She says as she lets him pull her closer. “But it could be another problem.” She adds as she sits down next to him and cradles his hand between both of hers in her lap. Tommy gives her hand a soft squeeze to urge her to keep talking. “Grace is asking a lot of questions. Questions about things that definitely don’t concern her, not even now that you’ve hired her.”
Tommy frowns as he lets the smoke drift from his mouth. “Questions about what exactly?” He asks as his thumb brushes over the back of Y/N’s hand.
“About stolen goods and your warehouses. She asks about locations and about the workings of the illegal parts of the business.” Y/N tells him. She had kept it to herself for a while, thinking Grace might just be curious because she had just started working for them and that the questions would die down soon enough. But the questions keep coming and they get more and more detailed. “Arthus tries to brush her off, but he’s not smart or sober enough to realise when she’s playing him. She tries to make it seem like she’s doing him a favour and he tells her everything she wants to know.”
Tommy nods slowly and lets the smoke drift out of his mouth as he takes in Y/N’s words. “Thank you for letting me know.” He mutters as he lets go of her hand to wrap it around her shoulders and pull her into his side. He feels her nod against his shoulder as she relaxes into him. He still can’t quite believe that they’re back together, he fears that he’ll wake up any second now and find himself alone in his bed. “It’s late, do you want to spend the night here?” He asks softly as he trails his fingers up and down her arm.
Y/N smiles and nods again. “I’d like that.” She all but whispers before she sits up to put out the cigarette that has been dangling between her fingers. They’re still getting used to being together again. It’s different from before, they’re different than before, and she can tell that Tommy still finds it difficult to open up to her but she appreciates that he’s trying.
Queen Mary looks John up and down and a tense silence forms between the two groups. “He’ll do.” She smiles and the men around John cheer while Tommy smiles as he watches on with his hands in his pockets.
“Here she is.” Tommy nods as Queen Mary leads the bride forward so the ceremony can start.
“She better be under fifty.” John mutters.
“Come here.” Tommy says and he taps John’s cheek to get him to look at him. He pulls the toothpick from John’s mouth. “Go on.” He adds and watches John with a slight smile.
As the ceremony starts Polly and Y/N arrive with Ada. They stop next to Tommy and Polly leaves Ada and Y/N with him. Y/N slips away from Ada and moves to Tommy’s other side hoping it will give the two a chance to talk. “You look well.” Tommy tells Ada a slight smile still lingering on his face as he offers Y/N his arm.
They watch the ceremony and see John smile as the girl from the Lee family lifts the veil from her face. He turns around slightly to smirk at his brothers, who exchange an amused look. Y/N shakes her head with a smile as she leans into Tommy’s side.
“You got my invitation?” Tommy asks Ada as the ceremony continued. He hopes to burry the hatchet today.
“Grace said there’s a truce.” Ada says. She doesn’t want to forgive him, but he seems different. More like the Tommy from before and she’s pretty sure Y/N had a hand in that.
Tommy nods in response. “Family day.” He says and Ada smiles slightly as she turns her head to look at him. Her smile widens a little when she sees her brother’s arm linked with Y/N’s. “Your husband couldn’t make it?” Tommy asks.
“He’s not speaking to me.” Ada says and Tommy nods slightly. “And when he does he calls me a fucking Shelby, even though I’m a Thorne now.”
“A thorn in my side, that’s for sure.” Tommy mutters as he continues to watch John and his soon to be wife Esme. Y/N squeezes his arm slightly in warning but when he glances at her she’s smiling.
The party goes on as it gets dark and everyone is dancing and drinking. Tommy and Y/N sit at a table smoking a cigarette as they watch the others have fun. Tommy’s cap is gone by now, he looks relaxed, and if she’s completely honest Y/N has to suppress the urge to climb into his lap. Their peaceful moment is broken when Polly approaches. “You should tell Ada to slow down.”
Ada has been on her feet all night. Dancing and running around with the Lee’s. Y/N had tried to get her to sit down, but the Shelby sister had ignored her advice. Tommy scoffs. “Think she’d listen to me?”
“Tried stopping her but she’s been drinking.” Polly tells him. “Been stuck in that little basement for weeks what do we expect. She’s going of like a firecracker.” Polly’s eyes widen slightly as Ada spins around. “Oh Christ, Tommy, please.”
Tommy reluctantly gets up and squeezes Y/N’s shoulder before he makes his way to Ada and Arthur. Arthur is trying to get her to calm down as well. “Ada, come on, have a rest. Sit down.” He says as he approaches her.
“Come and look Esme.” Ada says as she steps back to Tommy can’t reach her. “Come and look at the family you’ve joined.” She continues to spew out her grief with Tommy and the family as everyone tries to calm her down. Tommy sends Y/N a pleading look and she stands up to make her way to Ada.
As Y/N and Polly try to calm her down, they see that Ada’s water just broke. Tommy’s eyes widen as he realises what’s happening. “Bloody hell, Ada. You do pick your times.” Arthur says once he catches on. Tommy takes off his coat and wraps it around Ada’s shoulder as Polly leads her away.
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