Rain walked through the corridors of Michael's loft. He owned a large space, not as grand as a his mother's, but there was no doubt it belonged to the Chief Accountant of Shelby Company Limited.

While she was in Mr. Shelby's office, Michael left Rain his address and spare key before leaving the Shelby Manor. She told him of her previously arranged meeting with Isiah and so she left the Manor on her own. It was unlike her to lack focus, but the meeting left her shaken.

Rain acknowledged that she was driving into the heart of Birmingham, then stopping by the office on Watery Lane to find Isiah. She remembered greeting her friend; when he told her all about Anna; and how he expressed his conflicting interest, yet distrust in the girl. Rain could recall the excitement in Isiah's eyes when he spoke of how Anna was just as much a mystery to him as she was to her, and as much as this information should've prompted her to investigate-Rain couldn't help but find herself making her way down to Michael's.

All of the thoughts in her head regarding Grace and Mr. Shelby painted the real world as an afterthought. Everything that was of importance to Rain that morning was no longer a priority. So she drove up to Michael's home, unlocked his door, and began roaming the halls to find him.

There was a simple elegance to the furnished home. Unlike Rain's loft in London, it held little of Michael's identity. There weren't any clocks, clothes, or crumbs scattered along the main entrance of his home, just beautiful furnishings and light decoration to make this place appear like a home. To Rain, it was a home without a heart.

From across the small corridor, Rain heard Michael in the washroom. She could detect the water running as Michael stepped into the bathtub. The girl was careful to tread along the wooden floors as she walked into his bedroom. The door to the washroom was left ajar, but the tub wasn't in view of the entrance, leaving Rain's presence unknown to Michael.

Rain took a moment to look upon Michael's private space. She felt an interloper, intruding his mind by the simple act of stepping into a room. It wouldn't take much intuition to notice the eerie symmetry of every detail that encompassed his room. Everything was in its place. Every shelf was tidy and every surface was polished and shining, even in the dim lighting. There wasn't a single wrinkle upon the covers of his bed and the curtains were strewn open just enough to let in a silky whisper of moonlight. The lamp next to his dresser displayed what had caught Rain's attention. Among the order was a whisper of chaos.

There was a drawer left slightly ajar.

The squeak of the faucet led Rain deeper into Michael's room. Her footsteps were more prominent once the running water dissipated into the mere drip of a faucet. The girl peered into the drawer and found a ray of color inside. Without thinking, she pulled it open and found a bow tie.

An orange bow tie.

Strange, Rain thought to herself. Of all the things Michael was to stow away, a bow tie was not the first object to come to mind.

"Rainy?" Michael called out from the washroom.

The fog in her mind cleared as soon as she heard his voice. "Is that you?"

Rain trailed inside, mindlessly bringing the bow tie with her, and found Michael sitting in the bathtub placed near the end of the spotless lavatory.

Oh, but he looked so tired.

She watched as his heavy eyes caught sight of what was in her hands, and almost shivered from the ice in his gaze.

Rain leaned against the threshold, dangling the orange cloth. "Why is it that the only interesting thing you own happens to be something you don't want anyone stumbling upon?" Rain said with a smile.

Michael didn't shift. Rain could only see his torso and bare arms, but they were covered in bruises. Old ones, but visible enough to send her heart pounding. She couldn't help but feel guilty that her prolonged absence led him into a series of reckless nights out in Birmingham, but what he said next led her to another kind of guilt.

"My mother gave that to me."

In other words, his mother that wasn't Polly.

Suddenly, Rain felt the weight of the bow tie. It was a piece of Michael before Birmingham, before Polly and Mr. Shelby-before the Peaky Blinders. It was the remaining piece of his life as Henry, not Michael Gray.

Rain gingerly placed it near the sink, her smile quickly faded.

"It's all right," Michael exhaled. "Frankly, I'm not quite sure as to why I'm so fond of it."

On the contrary, Rain did have a clue. She stepped forward, closer to the tub. With each second that passed, she undid the buttons of her shirt and reveled in the light that was Michael's piercing gaze.

"It's as simple as to why I keep my cap and trousers close by," Rain let her shirt drop to the floor. Though she was exposed to the brisk air, the heat rushed along her chest, then up to her ears once a subtle grin escaped Michael.

Rain spoke softly into the silence, her voice echoed along the walls. "It reminds you of what you used to be." Then it was her trousers she discarded, and on she went until she was completely bare. "It serves as a reminder of how far you've come and where you could've been."

The only sounds that manifested into the still silence came from Rain's steady submersion into the tub. She felt the warm water engulf her as she slid down with her legs on either side of Michael's body. Though, the heat of the water was no match for the look on Michael's face.

The fatigue was so clear, but the life in his eyes came only when they rested on Rain.

Michael traced his fingers along Rain's cheeks. They were more pronounced now, sharp enough to cut at Michael's attention. He slid one thumb along her full lips. Rain nestled her cheek into his hand. She closed her eyes.

When those ghoulish eyes were covered, Micheal remembered how young Rain really was. He sat up from against the tub. The water rippled around them, but he could hear Rain's breath hitch as he trailed his hands along the small of her back and pulled her close.

"I've missed you." Rain whispered in the silence, placing her arms over his shoulders. She inched closer to Michael, opening her eyes to meet his. She felt her body heat up. Her even breath slipped away as Michael leaned his forehead against hers and traced his tired eyes along her lips.

"You don't want to know how much I've missed you," he said, closing his eyes.

It was rare for Rain to see him so calm, without a sign of anger over his brows or on the edges of his lips.

Rain couldn't help but smile when she said, "Show me."

The look on his face said it all, another game?

And yet, when the boy kissed the ghost, what they shared was no longer an exciting ruse-but an honest craving for each other. The heaviness of the boy's woes vanished with the ghost's touch, dissipating with every breath she allowed him to take before coming back for more, relieving him of all that encumbered him.

She was real. She was there. His ghost . . . until she let go.

Rain pulled back in a daze, her lips tingling as Michael breathed against her cheek. His kisses hungrily found their way along her jaw then down her neck, conjuring a string of shocks along her chest until she let out a vocal string of sighs that grew more fervent as he pulled on her hair. The movements they made together created a current, the water was rapidly beginning to spill onto the floor. Rain clenched one hand on the edge of the tub while the other held desperately onto Michael, his hair, neck, and back.

There weren't any vocal or physical indications for him to stop-and yet, unbeknownst to Rain, Michael pulled away with one last heavy breath.

Rain's disoriented demeanor was enough to make him laugh.

When she came to her senses, Rain shoved herself away from Michael with a quick splash of the water that was meant for his face. Rain slid down into the tub, knowing she was probably red all over. Michael let out a low laugh, but he couldn't hide that smile.

It was more than enough for Rain to disregard his childish ways. She hadn't realized how much she missed the sound of his ever-fleeting laugh. A dying laugh that was in the early stages of diminishing into an amused grunt. An amused grunt similar to that of a slightly-less-than-normal discontent Thomas.

"You're wrong." Michael said.

Rain caught his eyes. They were locked on his bow tie upon the sink. "Even if I don't keep it. There's still a piece of Henry in me. Just as there's still a piece of Renée in you."

Still.

The chilling delivery made Rain wonder, in the deepest part of her mind, if he werecompelled to eradicate all of it.

The girl was quick to wash those intruding thoughts away along with the water as she neared Michael once more.

"I wouldn't mind seeing you in that bow tie every once in a while." she said with a smile, searching for something in Michael, something she didn't realize was missing since she'd come back.

Michael's attention found Rain once more. Before closing the space between them once more, he let out an amused grunt.

Apologies for the delay, but I'm BACK! 3 Thank you for all your kind words of encouragement while I was on a mental hiatus.

Let me know where you think we're headed with the story ;)

- Fia