I. AM. SO. SORRY.
It has been an unacceptably long time. I moved to Philadelphia, had two apartments at once, my life was a mess. I wanted to upload an A/N but I figured a chapterless update notification was worse than silence. But I am back with a disgustingly fluffy chapter that hopefully makes you all nauseous with love, and will be updating far more often again. Happy reading, please let me know what you think, and forgive any mistakes! Love you all, and thank you for your patience xx
Delicious Hotel Goodness & Car Music:
There Is a Cure - Timber Timbre
The Black Keys - Oceans & Streams
Interpol - Slow Hands
The playlist for our favorite couples engagement isn't really in much of an order, so I put the three songs I mentioned first, just imagine the rest playing gloriously throughout the night
Tame Impala - Half Full Glass of Wine
White Stripes - Fell in Love with a Girl
No. 1 Party Anthem - Arctic Monkeys (Harry's secret favorite because it means he gets to go home soon ;) )
/
Bad Habits - The Last Shadow Puppets
Fright Lined Dining Room - Arctic Monkeys
Tongue Tied - Grouplove
Yeah, I Know - Otherkin
Dirty Love - Gin Wigmore
Flashed Junk Mind - Milky Chance
Flower - Moby
Ceremony - New Order
Handshake - Two Door Cinema Club
Heart of Glass - Blondie
Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys
The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
I'm Shakin' - Jack White
Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys
Riptide (FlicFlac Remix) - Vance Joy
/
Sleeping music
Fighter Pilots - Sanders Bohike
2016
"Don't stop Thomas," Grace gasped, the hand in her hair tightening as the man it belonged to definitely did not stop. "Jesus Christ,"
Tommy rocked into her harder from behind, and Grace heard her nails carve marks in the headboard. She yelped as he pulled her backwards to him by her hair, his chest hard against her arching back. A tongue slipped around her earlobe and her eyes rolled back, a Gaelic curse her mother taught her falling through her lips as Tommy's voice rasped in her ear, "Say please."
"Please don't st-"
"Room service!"
A cockney accent crashed into their room, the muffling of the door doing nothing to mute it's interrupting harshness.
"Go away," Tommy growled, staying deep inside of a now-laughing Grace as he pushed her upper-body forward onto the down pillows, attempting to quiet her.
"But Sir-"
"I said go away, fuck," Tommy eased down to where Grace lay and let out a low, reluctant, laugh, unable to resist her unceasingly warm giggle. Their bodies shook as they heard the disgruntled bellhop wheel the cart away.
"I'm hungry." Whined Grace in mock desperation, sliding her arms back to grip Tommy's forearms, now on either side of her face.
"Oh trust me, so am I," He whispered, rolling his hips against her so deliciously that Grace forgot about, well, everything else. But the interruption had soothed Tommy's devil slightly, and with one arm he rolled her over to face him, not sliding out of her the slightest, "Look at me. Hey, look at me."
Grace raised her suddenly shy blues to his burning ones, and sighed into his mouth when he placed his hands carefully on her flushed cheeks.
"I love you, Gracie" Tommy murmured onto her lips as he resumed his rocking, gently working his way in and out of her, "I love you,"
"I love you Thomas," Grace breathed, tangling her fingers in the longer hair on top of his head. She crossed her ankles at the small of Tommy's rippling back and tightened herself around him. "I love you, I love you, I love you Tommy,"
"Fuck," Tommy swore and ducked his head into the crook of Grace's neck, quickening and strengthening his strokes into her. He wrapped one of her blonde curls around his finger softly, breathing in the scent of it as he groaned, "Come for me, love, come for me,"
Grace could have slapped herself for how those words made her dissolve around him in less than twenty seconds. Tommy leaned up on his elbows to watch her finish before tumbling over the edge himself. Grace left scratches on his back from her lust as he left finger-shaped bruises on her upper-arms from his.
They slowed their breathing in unison as Tommy rocked Grace slower and slower, undone but unwilling to part from her. Grace cradled his head against her chest as he moved to a stop and lay still for a few minutes, tracing patterns into each other's skin. Grace gasped as Tommy eventually slid out of her, his fingertips drifting across her ribs and leaving goosebumps in their wake.
"Shh, come here," Tommy pulled her to him, and Grace settled with her ear on his heart, matching her breathing with the thumping of his pulse beneath her. The twisted skin of his bullet wound was smooth but noticeable against her cheek, and she slid her head back to his steady shoulder so she could trace the starburst-shaped mark. Kisses were planted on her forehead, and Grace's eyes eventually fluttered shut.
"Gracie, wake up." Tommy murmured, his lips sleepy on hers. "Food."
"Feed me." Grace groaned, feeling reluctant as Tommy untangled himself from her limbs and the Ritz's sheets.
Unfortunately for her, Tommy had already turned his attention to his email, mindlessly flicking through his iPhone's business demands with his thumb while he picked at the food that had been wheeled in.
"What time is it?" Grace asked, draping a forearm over her eyes in protest of having to leave their hotel room, which she knew was soon.
"14:36. Our little party is at 19:00. We have a two-hour drive back to Birmingham, on top of somewhere to go first."
Grace peeked out from under her arm to see Tommy winking at her. "What is it? Tell me!"
"Never. As much as it tortures me to say this: get dressed please. We have an appointment." Tommy smirked, and Grace got worked up again just from his cocky half-smile.
"Thomas Michael tell me right now," Grace said, throwing a pillow at her fiancé.
"Mm," Tommy squinted in mock contemplation before tilting his head at her "Definitely not. Now up with you. Eat the rest of this, I'm going to shower."
"No!" Grace launched forward and grasped Tommy's wrist as he headed towards the bathroom. "Can we skip our own party?"
"Do you want to see Meghan and Ada cry?"
Grace sighed, she knew the two women were probably running all over her & Tommy's house, throwing flowers everywhere and stress-drinking, yelling at the boys. Slinking the rest of her body across the all-white bed so her head was at the foot of it, Grace pressed her lips to the pulse of Tommy's wrist and sighed. He was probably looking forward to this party less than she was and she felt a pang of sympathy for all four of them. "No, I do not."
"Well, then," Tommy leaned down and kissed her, upside down, his nose on her chin. He pulled one of her curls playfully before breaking away for the shower. "Eat please,"
"Fine, fine," Grace said, her words drowned out by the influx of rushing water & Black Keys from the bathroom. She pushed herself up to pick at the array of platters on the white tablecloth, flicking on the TV to see nothing but Brexit business, which she swore at and turned off before getting up to dress herself.
Twenty minutes later the couple moved through the lobby hand-in-hand, knowing smiles from their afternoon tryst. Tommy didn't let go of her hand until she was settled in the passenger seat of his Bentley, and he shut the door gently behind her. Grace watched him tip the valet, money sliding out of his wool coat with ease. She snorted as Tommy gave the terrified man what looked like a warning, and raised an eyebrow at him when he climbed into the black leather seat, "What, exactly, were you warning him about?"
"Oh, not much. Shall we?" Tommy winked without a smile as he shifted the Bentley's gears, lighting their cigarette he'd placed between his lips.
"Tommy," Grace laughed, "He looks scared half to death. Give me this,"
Tommy relented the cigarette, French inhaling before blowing the smoke out of the tinted car window, "He'll be alright. Nor will he forget us. Text everyone and tell them we're going to be late."
"Oh, honestly, Thomas. Poor boy," Grace took a drag of Tommy's Parliament and handed it back to him before pulling out her phone.
GRACE: We're going to be late :( Sorry!
MICHAEL: 50 quid I know why. Gross. I can't believe you would do this to us. And to Harambe.
FINN: Harambe is in a better place now #DICKSOUT
ISIAH: #DICKSOUT
GRACE: You boys are drunk already aren't you?
FINN: Never
MICHAEL: We don't sin like you two do, Grace
ADA: And you boys wonder why the good girls aren't interested in you
ISIAH: I hope they never are, tbh
JOHN: How did things go with Alfie?
GRACE: Ask Polly.
JOHN: Right.
ARTHUR: Right.
FINN: Am I supposed to say right?
JOHN: Shut up Finn. See you two whenever you decide to show.
"Tommy," Grace said, bristled with annoyance, "Are you planning on telling your brothers anything, anytime soon?"
"Pol told them."
"First of all, she hasn't yet," Grace retorted, "And second of all, I'm not just talking about the Fairchild's. John and Arthur are the last to know everything these days. You know it, I know it, they definitely know it."
Tommy cleared his throat after throwing Grace a glance, "They don't handle information well,"
"You deliver it to them terribly, late, and usually half-assed, if it's even you that delivers it."
They'd come to a stoplight, and Tommy shifted in his seat to face Grace after turning down the Interpol he had put on, his eyes managing to be blank, annoyed, and amused all at the same time, "Do you have something to say, Grace?"
"I'm saying it, darling," Grace replied, holding back no sass as she took his hand from the gearshift to kiss it, flashing him the toothy sarcastic smile she saved for their arguments.
Tommy grumbled to himself and turned forward as the light turned green, taking Grace's hand and putting it on the gear shift under his own. "They don't understand what's about to happen. They want different things now. Arthur's at the Garrison all the time. He wants full-time custody of Lily now, too. John is busy being domesticated by Meghan-"
"Don't talk shit, Thomas Michael, it's their right to want a baby. We want them too, remember? Is that little bit o' plan still relevant in your endless pile?"
Tommy ignored her passive-aggression and squeezed her hand, eyes steely on the wet road ahead of him, "-Meghan is busy domesticating John. Me & you are different. Their ambition is gone. It's you, me, Polly, and Michael carrying this forward. If they want to be a part of it, they can bloody act like it."
"They're trying to act like it; you won't let them,"
"Gracie, what is this? Off my side now, eh? I'm not going to fuckin' spoon-feed them Grace. I expect more." Tommy shifted the gear too hard, his hand powerful over hers, missing it and swearing as the engine of the Bentley whirred.
Grace crossed her legs and leaned across her black leather armrest to put her chin on Tommy's shoulder, looking up at him, "I'm sorry. Your side is my side. I trust you. I'm only trying to speak for them. They're my brothers. They're frustrated."
Tommy was silent and they stayed that way for a while as they drove slowly through the relentless weather. Grace kept her head on his shoulder despite the ache in her neck, not regretting what she said. Keeping Tommy accountable was one of Grace's many talents, but she knew it stirred him. Part of her was unbothered; his stress was his own and most of the time it was his own stubborn doing. But nonetheless she reached up after a while and ran her index finger along his jaw, watching it finally unclench under her touch.
Tommy turned and pressed his lips to her hairline, and they stayed like that as the London rain pounded on the top of the black car, a soothing violence.
"I'm sorry, Gracie. You're right. I don't feel like dealing with this," Tommy murmured. His hand started for the bridge of his nose to pinch it but chose to bury his face in Grace's neck instead, breathing in the scent of her Aveda shampoo.
"I know. I'm sorry. You deal with more than enough," Grace squeezed his knee as he grumbled, her sympathy for him was almost too much to take.
Tommy pulled away slightly and lifted Grace's chin as he pressed his forehead to hers, voice soft, "So do you. I'll handle it, Gracie, I promise. You and me, eh?"
"Me and you." Grace kissed him with an exaggerated fervor and Tommy laughed through her lips. Blessedly.
"Now, speaking of which: I have a surprise for you," Tommy wrapped his hand lightly around Grace's jaw and turned her head to the left out of her passenger window.
Grace hadn't even noticed they'd stopped, she'd practically forgotten she was even in a car. Her blue eyes registered the white buildings quickly, observations as strong as ever, and realized they were in Kensington.
"Still in London, Tommy? Are we moving here and skipping our party after all?" Grace asked, turning to her fiancé and taking one of his fingers into her mouth, drawing out a low rumble from his chest.
"Christ. No. Don't distract me. To the right, woman, look to the right," Tommy turned her head away from him once again, and Grace found herself more directly staring a bridal shop. Before she could say anything, Tommy was opening his door with a commanding, "Wait,"
Tommy got out of the car into the rain, unphased by the droplets falling around him. Grace watched him walk around the car, if she hadn't believed in science she would have thought the raindrops were moving out of his way as he strode to her door and opened it. An umbrella appeared from seemingly nowhere and loomed over her as he took her hand to help her from the car.
"You don't get to see my wedding dress yet, Thomas," Grace said, leaning into him.
"Only in my dreams," He replied, squinting at her, "This is for tonight."
Grace punched him lightly in the chest, giggling, "I already have a dress for tonight, it's been in our closet hidden from your vision for two weeks."
"I know you do, I found it already and looked at it. Lovely choice by the way, wear it soon." Tommy tilted his head, ignoring Grace's exasperation, "But I have a connection here and I want you to have a new one. I gave them your measurements and they made you twenty custom dresses to try on-"
"Thomas Michael that is the most Kardashian thi-"
"No, we actually work, very hard, for our money Gracie. That being said, carry your little feet forward please, I'd very much like to see the selection. On you, I mean."
"Tommy!" Grace squealed as Tommy threw her over his shoulder and handed her the black umbrella to cover herself, giving her no chance to carry her feet forward after all.
Tommy walked them to the door way and haphazardly fit them both inside after Grace forgot to shut the umbrella and got them stuck, the couple laughing harder than apparently the posh employees found acceptable. Classical music played overhead, going well with the blatant clucking of tongues and judgmental glances that fell upon the dripping couple as Tommy attempted to announce himself with a straight face. "Yes, Mr. Thomas Shelby. This is Mrs. Grace Shelby-I mean, Burgess. Fuck. No, actually, sounded right the first time, you know? Anyway, we have an appointment," He snorted with laughter like a boy and Grace lost her composure again.
"Yes, of course. I'm Beth, I have you all set up. Can we, erm, have Ms. Burgess-Shelby for a few moments?" The assistant that approached them was thankfully much kinder looking, smiling warmly. Her accent was crisp compared to Tommy's Brummie, and Grace knew the older ladies working in the shop added that to their growing list of disparagement. Tommy set her down in a fit, both of them laughing like children as he placed Grace's hands in Beth's very ceremoniously, to which Beth responded "I'll give her right back, I promise,"
Grace had almost reigned herself in as she rounded the corner to the plush dressing rooms, but snorted into the champagne Beth offered her when she heard Tommy's sarcastic and loaded voice directed at the condescending older women, "I hate millennials, too. Loud, entitled, in love, still have their youth, you know. Those kids and their damn phones. I heard Thomas Edison was a witch. Can we smoke in here?"
But despite Grace lacking all composure, Beth easily finessed her in and out of twenty perfect silk, satin, lace, and velvet dresses. Tommy was attentive and gave the feedback of a man with a good taste in clothing, but wasn't much help as he loved them all. Eventually Grace picked a floor-length silk that was a blush with cut-outs around her sides, an elegant bow in the back that Tommy tied for her as they stood in the alcove of the three-sided mirror.
"Excellent choice," Tommy said, spinning Grace around while a dutiful but exhausted Beth rang them up in the front of the store. Pulling Grace in close, his arm snaked around her waist and held tight. "It's perfect,"
"You're perfect," Grace muttered against Tommy's lips.
"Mm, I hope you told Saint Peter that when you were up there at the pearly gates; no thanks to me. I'd like to go to the same place as you when I die,"
"Jokes on you, I don't think heaven is where I'm going, love," Grace said, grateful to hear Tommy joking about her almost-sacrifice, for possibly the first time ever. "Remember the first dress you bought for me?"
"I do. You still have it. Fifty pounds, you made me pay for that," Tommy said, pinching the bare skin that peeked through the cut-outs of her dress.
"Oh yes, what a loss. However did you manage?" Grace rolled her eyes and pushed Tommy away before he yanked her back into his chest, nestling her against him.
"I didn't. All my crops died. We couldn't feed Arthur for two weeks thanks to that dress, that's why he's so skinny still. His metabolism never bounced back, you know." His serious face would have been taken for its value if it weren't for his old-man voice that was Grace's favorite. Shaking with laughter, she grabbed Tommy by his lapels and dragged him into a dressing room, knowing full-well Beth would come by any second.
"Tommy, wait," Grace said, pushing him away from kissing her neck, although it pained her to do so, "I know we talked in Alfie's office this morning but, everything is okay? Right? Is everything as you said?"
Rough palms came to the side of her face as Tommy caressed her, kissing her gently as Beth's heels clicked around the corner, approaching quickly. "Yes. Exactly as I said. This year is the last push Grace. After that no documents will show illegality, the Fairchild's will be irrelevant. It'll be just us. My brothers will be fine. I promise."
Grace pressed her lips back to Tommy's as Beth sheepishly interrupted and handed Tommy his receipt.
After some extravagant tip-giving and an exit much smoother than their entrance, Tommy and Grace were back in their Bentley and speeding towards Birmingham. They rode in a happy silence, holding hands and getting lost in their own thoughts. Tommy was the one person that didn't demand anything of Grace, and she to him. Most of the time, at least. Tommy took a phone call in Romany that snapped Grace out of her trance, and looking around she realized they were in Small Heath.
Grace left Tommy to his phone call, assuming he had business. She pulled out her phone, smiling at Arthur's Snapchat of Lily. The jubilant red-headed four-year-old ran around in Grace's backyard, laughing hysterically while Arthur chased her.
A poke to her cheek broke Grace out of her social media trance, and with a mock-scowl she grabbed for Tommy's finger, who was too quick and pulled away faster than she could grab him. Grace looked past Tommy out the window, and saw they were parked outside the Garrison. She was mildly alarmed at herself. Today had been long, but she'd never felt less aware of her surroundings than she had all day, Tommy's sudden change of mood had kept her in some kind of dazed bliss.
"Garrison first, three drinks each, home, party?" Tommy asked.
"Thomas. Three drinks? I know you hate surprises, but honestly. Coping skills, Tommy, coping skills."
"It's not a surprise anymore, Grace, and most importantly I know how you get after three bourbons. Distract me, please. With all luck, we'll never make it home to our guests. What I actually warned that hotel boy about was keeping our room open in case we wanted to come back, I kept the keys," Tommy winked, and his devilishness almost made Grace stay in the car and drive them back to London herself.
"You're the one that made me get up, I hope you remember that when you're breaking up the Lee's fights later," She shoved him playfully, letting him escort her now out of the car and towards the pub, and Grace's heart warmed as Tommy held the first wooden door open for her like he had so many times, "Ada and Meghan won't forgive you, you know-"
Grace swore loudly and fell into Tommy as almost 50 voices shouted 'surprise' at the couple, some in English, some in Romany. Tommy shook with laughter beside her, and as Grace looked up at him for mild reassurance she was met with a mischievous smile. She pressed her hand to his chest as she rested her head on it, catching her breath as the room laughed around them and continued to congratulate them.
"Surprised?" Tommy asked, leaning down to press his lips to her ear as he twisted her ponytail around his fingers.
"You're not?"
"Not much. You see…" Tommy cleared his throat while he simultaneously took his coat off and threw it over the bar, which for some reason caused his families to yell all over again before resuming the drinking it appeared they'd already done a fair amount of. Holding Grace close with one hand and pulling out a cigarette from his vest with the other, he continued, "I hate surprises. But you don't. Although you tried to hide your disappointment about our ruined surprise for my sake, which is truly endearing. But yes, I suppose it would appear that Johnny's accidental Facebook reveal may or may not have been all my doing. I had a plan, see."
Grace thought she was going to explode, registering the fact that Tommy did this all for her. "You didn't-"
"For you? Anything." Tommy gave a tick of a nod in greeting to someone Grace couldn't see before lighting their cigarette, giving her a drag, and taking it back.
Before Grace could speak or her tears could form, she was all but tackled to the ground by Meghan, who squeezed her and kissed her cheek. Their guests could resist them no more and they were soon surrounded by various Shelbys, Lees, and Peaky Blinders. Tommy's hand never left hers as they were hugged by anyone and everyone, the room spinning. When Grace had a second to breathe, she looked around and took in Ada and Meghan's handiwork. They'd covered the old bar in strings of lights, white flowers hung upside-down, and polaroids of Tommy and Grace over the years. The playlist was perfect, handpicked by Michael, most likely. All the windows had been swung open, and a thick but pleasant end-of-summer breeze filled the bar, even if it was a Small Heath breeze. Tommy was right, the surprise made it even better for Grace, and she felt drunk even though she hadn't had a drink yet.
Although the brothers were actually drunk, their hugs & kisses were Grace's favorite, their familial warmth comforting to her in the crowd. John messed up Grace's hair with his usual affectionate ruffle but Ada swore at her older brother before fixing it, placing a flower crown of white roses around Grace's head. The Peaky Blinders stayed close, eyes on the room, watching for fights. Curly came over quickly and handed Grace a card, over-explaining himself before Grace kissed his cheek, making him blush and run away.
"Are you happy?" Tommy whispered to Grace as one of the Lee's handed her one of Tommy's young cousins to hold who hugged Grace's neck fiercely with his little arms.
"The happiest," Grace said, smiling wide to kiss Tommy before a different person than who'd handed her the child took him back. "Wildly overstimulated, your family is mildly ridiculous, but the happiest,"
"Ain't that the fuckin' truth," Tommy muttered before leaning down to pick up Arthur's daughter, Lily, before Arthur came over himself.
"There she is, Jesus Christ. C'mere, you," Arthur growled in jest, the red-headed child squealing with joy as Arthur took her from Tommy, "Thought I'd lost her for a bit there. Oi, Michael…"
Arthur walked away and Grace rolled her eyes before being pulled into a bear-hug by Harry, who was working but looked happy to be doing so, congratulating them with his steady smile.
Grace and Tommy handled the cordial socializing of their party with ease, treating it like they did their various functions and charity dinners: say hi to everyone, move quickly, never let go of each other. Grace was happy to see most of Tommy's family, who were loving people if not a bit rough around the edges. Every child had gotten a little bigger, everyone had gotten a little older, and Grace couldn't help but reminisce on the days that Tommy and Grace had stayed and travelled with them, both of them technically on the run.
Tommy was side-eyeing the snug, where the Shelby's had gathered, and Grace squeezed his side, nabbing him another drink off of a passing tray. "Here, love"
Tommy said nothing, his social exhaustion apparent as he threw the whiskey back and grabbed another one off of another waiter.
"Are we allowed to ignore our guests to sit in the snug?" Grace asked, although she didn't actually care very much.
Tommy nodded his head around the room and Grace followed his eyes. The party was getting far more raucous, and between the drinking games, groups of men betting and throwing their dice on the floor, and exuberant yelling in Romany that was getting increasingly louder, Grace knew the party would be fine without them.
With one last glance over her shoulder towards the larger group of Lee's, she caught Tommy's cousin Eliza's icy glare, which Grace answered with an obnoxious smile and exaggerated wave. The rest of the Lee girls sitting at Eliza's feet scowled at her and returned to talking amongst themselves, their gossip twisting their faces into ugliness.
"Don't bother with them," Tommy said, expression now dark as he walked Grace towards their family, "They weren't supposed to come,"
"Oh now, it'd be no fun if they didn't," Grace said, stealing Tommy's drink. She knew more than well that a fair amount of Lee's didn't care for her, but she didn't care. The one's that did had been there for her, hidden them both in their camps without question, and Grace was grateful for what she had. Loyalty ran deep in these families, and she hadn't exactly played that card well at first, so she expected no less from the snotty girls, "Now I get to be sassy to someone other than you,"
Tommy rolled his eyes but laughed in spite of himself, pulling Grace's hand down to her side as she raised it to wave at the Lee girls again. They were almost in the safety of the snug when Grace heard a familiar crackly voice boom to their right.
"Now see, I'm really happy I didn't kill you all those fuckin' times mate, I would've missed this party wouldn't I have? You would've been dead. Get it?"
"Fuck you," Tommy snorted before shaking Alfie's outstretched hand, who quickly pulled him into a hug, clapping his back.
"May!" Grace squealed, ducking around the men deep in their bromance as they critiqued each other's suits, and tried to hug the brunette as gingerly as possible due to her massive pregnant stomach. Grace groaned as they gave each other a squeeze, "I'm so happy to see you, you have no idea."
"You too, I've missed you. I'm so sorry we're late, it took me forever to get him out of the house, you know how he is," May flicked her hand in Alfie's direction, the other on her stomach, and the two women laughed.
"I definitely know how he is," Grace replied while taking her turn to hug Alfie, his compliments making her laugh, while Tommy greeted May and dragged her into talk of his horses, which she looked more than happy to do anyway.
They spent the next happy hour in the snug, listening to Alfie tell stories and drinking faster than they maybe should have. But it had been a long eight years, and Grace felt like she was in a dream as Tommy pulled her into his lap while their family laughed around them.
"Now it's my turn to ask: are you happy?" Grace asked, her arms around Tommy's neck.
"The happiest," He replied, echoing her answer of before. A glass breaking stole their attention, and Grace quickly realized it had been Finn, who had tapped a knife on it far too hard in an attempt to quiet the room.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Tommy muttered, pulling a cigarette out.
Grace put two-and-two together and realized Finn was probably about to make a speech, which Tommy despised, "Oh, hush. It's for us, remember?"
"That's the problem," Tommy grumbled to himself, putting his lighter back into his vest pocket while clearing his throat and shifting Grace closer to him than she already was.
The room settled slowly when Finn climbed on top of the bar and tapped his knife more lightly against a fresh glass someone had handed him. The chiming echoed off the walls as the room settled and the music was turned down. Grace smiled encouragingly at Finn's anxious face. He was still little to her, sometimes. After an overly-aggressive nudge to the ankle from Arthur which sloshed some of his champagne onto the floor, Finn spoke.
"So most of you know me," Finn started, his voice shaking slightly, but less than it used to at his first family meetings.
"You're related to almost everyone in this room, Finn," John said, him and Arthur snickering.
"That's why I fuckin' said most of you," Finn hissed and cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyway, we're here tonight to celebrate our favorite sinner and our favorite snitch falling into undying love,"
Finn got louder over the room's booming laughter, Grace along with it, and although Tommy tensed underneath her she felt him relax after she pressed her lips to his temple "It's true, grumpy."
"Yeah, yeah." Tommy grumbled, but it was with a smile as he squeezed Grace's waist and slid her from one knee to another, letting her flower crown brush the top of his hair.
Finn laughed through the first part of his sentence, but the room settled down as he did, even with an obnoxious iPhone tone ringing out, "No, no, come off it, in all seriousness…oi, turn your fuckin' phones off assholes…in all seriousness, most of us in this family weren't sure if we would see this day, for one reason or another,"
"I don't remember much of my mother, but I do remember that my brother Tommy wasn't the same after she passed. I remember missing my mother, but I remember missing my brother too." The youngest Shelby paused as various Shelby's, Lee's, and Gray's crossed their hearts and murmured wishings of the holy type. "I don't remember much of my mother, but I do remember Grace."
"Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry," Tommy made fun of Grace in an affectionate whisper in her ear, knowing she was going to dissolve into tears soon enough. She poked him in the side and laughed, her eyes vacant of liquid so far. But she knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.
"I remember Grace helping me with my homework and having never-ending patience with my shite numbers, I remember her quiet smile in loud rooms, I remember her ruffling my hair every time she passed me. I remember her reminding me of what little I knew of my mother. And at least to me, that's quickly what she became," Finn had turned a little red, and Grace fought back the tears pricking her eyes.
"I remember Grace teaching me to drive, because when Tommy tried to teach me we ended up punching each other in the face," Finn said with a chuckle, and Tommy tipped his glass towards Finn, "I remember her helping me with my applications to uni, giving girls I brought home a thorough questioning, and bailing me out of jail secretly all those times, because, ahem, my brothers refused to."
Tommy leaned back in their chair with one eyebrow raised and a smirk. "What's that now?"
"Oh, like you didn't know," Grace smiled her innocent smile at him and took their cigarette, putting it out after she took the last drag. He grabbed her face and pressed his lips to hers, running his whiskey'd tongue across her lower lip.
"Alright, gross, seriously? This speech is for you, fuck's sake. I remember far enough of that, by the way" Finn groaned and the room tittered. Grace pulled away with a smile and put her hands up in mock surrender to allow Finn to carry on. "I also remember when everyone hated her but Tommy and I,"
People in the room, the same ones that had hated her (and still did), exchanged nervous glances but Graced dismissed them with a happy giggle, the only sound in a heavy silence.
"I remember the determination on her face when she walked into the Garrison every day after she quit the Irish Intelligence. Regardless of the threats, names, and drinks that were thrown on her, she stayed anyway. She stayed to love my brother, and she stayed because we were her family. Even if John did slash her tires." Finn's composure broke as he collapsed into his signature mischievous snicker.
"That was you?" Grace yelled towards John over the guffawing crowd, throwing a balled-up napkin that fell short of his lounging body, resting on Meghan across the snug's bench.
John threw his hands up in the air and laughed with the rest of the Garrison, cigar muffling his statement, "Don't get your Irish up; I cannot confirm or deny that it was me."
Tommy was shaking beneath her with suppressed laughter and Grace swiveled on his lap to look at him, "Did you know?"
He squinted with a look of deep thought, but his icy eyes were playful, "I, too, cannot confirm or deny."
Grace shoved him and tried to stop her laughter before resigning, "Fine, fine, I deserved it. Finn please continue,"
Finn looked at Tommy quickly with apprehension and scratched his temple, looking at his wrinkled speech with hesitation. "I remember when my brother stopped laughing, and I remember when he started laughing again. To me, that is the only measurement of Grace's time with us that matters. I remember when I was scared of being around my brother, and I remember when I wasn't anymore. I remember that after Grace showed up, no matter what happened or who she was, my brother was softened, in a good way, forever. I look up to my brother more than anyone-"
John and Arthur dissolved into almost-identical brotherly laughter, and Grace thought she heard something about 'ten-out-of-ten role model content' said before Ada reached over and yanked their ears, nodding at Finn to continue.
"I, uh, look up to my brother more than anyone, and he and Grace were decent enough to let me live with them over the past eight years. I saw a lot of things over those years, but what I remember the most is watching my brother laugh with Grace. And it was like watching a ship I'd thought to be sunk, rise to the surface." Finn fidgeted again with a nervousness, fearing Tommy's hatred of speeches about him, before shoving his speech into his pocket, raising his glass with a shaking confidence, "There's more I want to say, but anyone who knows these two can see what I'm talking about anyway, so I'll end with this: I don't know why God took my mother away. But I do know why God gave us Grace. And tonight is for that fact. So to the happy couple…"
Grace's tears spilled over in an embarrassing mess as the rest of the room joined Finn in his toast, and she caught Tommy looking at his younger brother with a quiet pride. But it disappeared as he lifted his face to meet Grace's, smiling at her tears before kissing them off her rosy cheeks.
Finn came back into the snug and Grace stood up to hug him, pinching his cheeks in the way she knew he hated. He shied away from her with his still boy-ish smile, "Oi, fuckin' stop, Christ. It was nothing,"
"It was definitely not nothing," Grace said, her voice cracking from her crying, yelling at John and Arthur to stop laughing at her with a "Shut up!", which only made them laugh harder.
Grace watched Tommy shake Finn's hand out of the corner of her blurry eye, muttering something to him that Grace couldn't hear. But whatever Tommy said made Finn shine with pride, and as much as she missed her little Finn, she was happy that he'd grown into the man he was.
"Now Tommy," Arthur said, standing with Alfie as the party picked back up, "We got you a little present. From your future groomsmen,"
"Did you?" Tommy said, cocking a brow. If he'd been hoping to make it through the night without his hatred of surprises being exploited, he was apparently wrong.
"We did. Outside with you, let's go junior," Alfie stepped around the table, pushing Tommy's shoulder.
Grace turned to May with her familiar dread of 'the boys getting drunk and doing dumb things', "Do you know what this is?"
May shook her head slowly as she sipped her tea, all-knowingly, "Definitely not,"
"Bitch," Grace laughed, turning to kneel on the bench of the snug where Ada and Meghan already were, leaning out of the window that looked upon Watery Lane.
Grace let her eyes adjust to the dark and saw a massive pile that consisted of wood, what looked like a sofa, and a huge portrait of David Cameron.
"Dear God," Ada groaned, "You cannot do whatever this is in the middle of the street, you fucking idiots,"
The girls started complaining out of the window as the boys gathered outside, Arthur and Alfie dragging a huge box out from under a tarp. Before opening the box Alfie turned to Tommy, who was already looking mischievous as he assumed what was in the case, apparently correctly.
"So I don't know if anyone was aware, but I have friends in Jerusalem, right? Yeah, they're pretty well stocked over there for their fuckin' wars and whatnot, so I called in a little favor. Boys?"
Arthur, John, and Michael all whooped loudly as they opened the case, revealing what Grace prayed wasn't some kind of missile, which it clearly was.
"Thomas Michael, what is that," Grace yelled.
Unfortunately, Tommy was too busy laughing, his hand covering his mouth that appeared to be smiling in some boyish glee, so John answered as they hauled the gun out of it's case, "A fuckin' bazooka is what it is,"
"Yeah, that's about right, luv. Bazooka. Yeah." Alfie confirmed, taking the gun from the brothers carefully and getting down on one knee dramatically to hand the gun to Tommy, "For you, sweetie,"
Tommy said nothing but took the gun with a comfortable ease, eyes devilish as he lifted it to his shoulder.
"And you're planning on firing that, an illegal weapon of fucking war, in the middle of Watery Lane?" Polly had joined them from inside, leaving the Lee's behind for the first time since the party began.
"Let the man concentrate, Mum, this is serious business," Michael said, wiggling his eyebrows at his mother, who rolled her eyes in return.
The boys gathered and yelled in anticipation, pulling their phones out to record while they shouted out where to aim.
"The bottom!"
"Nah bruv, the sofa"
"Shut up," Tommy said, aiming carefully yet joyfully, if that was possible. Silence had fallen in the Garrison as everyone had gathered to watch inside the doorway, the only sounds being the Tame Impala from inside and the brother's anticipatory laughter.
"Fuck it Tom, hit that motherfucker right in the face," Yelled Arthur.
And that's precisely what Tommy did, aiming the gun (sensually, Grace thought) in silence for a few more seconds before pulling the trigger. The small missile hit David Cameron right between the eyes, and the pyre engulfed itself in a small explosion as the surrounding Peaky Blinders hollered in raucous approval.
Tommy bent over in laugher, high-fiving Alfie, his destructive joy contagious to Grace and apparently everyone else, as their party exploded in agreement.
Grace turned away and slid down the back of the bench, leaving Tommy to his celebrating, celebrating well-deserved. Polly had joined them, and with her voice low so their conversation was their own, she leaned in to Grace, "Still not laughing as hard as he does with you, you know. Thank you,"
Shock came and went quickly, Grace instead choosing to pass Polly a shot of rum as thanks with a nod and a smile. It was returned, and the women fell into their chat as the boys did god-only-knew-what outside, the stress of years passed falling away as they freely acted like children again, cheering in the fire lit street.
Grace, Ada, Meghan, and May's laughter turned heads towards the snug as it became louder than the White Stripes crashing riffs overhead, their 'ugly face' selfie making Meghan spit out her drink at Grace's multiple chins that she had made on purpose.
"If you put that on Instagram and I'll kill you," May gasped through her laugher, holding her extremely pregnant stomach as she handed Ada's phone back to her, "Alfie might divorce me if he sees that cross-eye,"
"Please, Alfie would stay with you even if you had no legs," Snorted Ada, swiping a piece of cheese off of one of the caterers Arthur had hired to work the Garrison for the evening.
"I second that," Grace said, watching Alfie talk animatedly across the bar, swinging his arms around as he told a story, making Tommy laugh along with everyone else. Grace didn't even know what the story was, and she laughed along with Alfie's crowd. "That man loves you more than I think he's loved anything, ever,"
"He better. Drives me insane." May joked, the pretty brunette watching her husband affectionately, "He's started talking to the baby in the middle of the night, wakes me up, halfway down the bed, ranting about various topics to our unborn child," May rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.
Grace laughed hard, her whiskey's hitting her as she gripped Meghan's arm, who was now deep in conversation with her husband, "I'd expect no less, honestly,"
"We have an interesting pair of men, don't we?" May asked, resting her head on Grace's shoulder, Grace reaching behind to lay her arm across May's shoulders.
"We certainly do,"
The two women watched their loves, Grace's eyes falling to Tommy. She watched him laugh hard as Alfie jumped off a chair onto the floor, his back clearly feeling better as he reenacted some event of his past, enrapturing enough to draw in even the Lee's that didn't like him.
Grace watched Tommy lean back in his chair with his hands behind his head, jacket off, not having anything to worry about. Her heart almost exploded and Tommy must have felt it, looking towards her to catch her eye. Beckoning her over with a finger, Grace helped May up as they left the snug to rejoin the group that was now dispersing, it was past midnight.
Settling into Tommy's lap easily, she buried her head in the crook of his neck as he bid farewell to some of his cousin's in Romany, his smile back to it's usual barely-there status.
"Tired?" He asked quietly, lips on Grace's ear.
"Mm, yes. And drunk. Quite drunk,"
Tommy smirked, "I can tell. That's good,"
Tommy motioned quickly to Scudboat, who crouched to Tommy's side and listened to his whispered orders. Scud nodded started walking around the room and less-than-politely telling anyone that wasn't a Peaky Blinder that it was time to go.
Tommy and Grace stood reluctantly to hug people goodbye as they trickled out slowly. Eventually it was just Peaky Blinders in the pub, and Grace watched Alfie put May's coat on her carefully across the room. Grace didn't protest, the fact that a nine-months-pregnant May had made it this late was impressive. The couples hugged and promised to see each other soon after making Finn take a picture of the four of them. Alfie pointed to Tommy and winked before ushering his wife out the door.
"Are you going to leave me for Alfie? I think you two love each other more than you love us women," Grace said, Tommy pulling her into his lap once more, refusing to let her sit anywhere else.
"Probably someday," Tommy joked, throwing his whiskey back before stating, "Alright. That's my last one,"
"Right," Grace chuckled. Looking around, the warmth of her family filled her up, and she curled her legs underneath her as Tommy held her tighter. They sat like that by themselves for a while, watching Harry sweep while the remaining Peaky's played a loud and mostly incorrect game of Heads Up on Meghan's phone.
"I'm sorry your family wasn't here," Tommy said, his lips brushing the words across her shoulder.
"I'm not," Grace sighed, "It wouldn't have been the same,"
"I know. But still." Tommy was looking at her now, but Grace didn't meet his eyes. Part of him was right, but Grace buried it deep. "I'll be right back, I want air,"
Tommy nodded silently, giving her space as she ducked out the backdoor to the alley behind the Garrison, where Michael already was standing, smoking silently, wanting the same space she'd been seeking.
"So are you going to be my 'Man-of-Honor' or what?" Grace asked after a while, breaking their peaceful silence.
"Your fucking what?"
"It's 2016. Gender roles are dead, Michael,"
"What about Ada?" Michael asked, a raised brow looking frighteningly like Tommy's.
"Pfft," Grace made a sound as she exhaled, "Ada doesn't care. You know her. She's my sister. You're the evil-twin-best-friend I never had,"
"Oh, well, when you say it like that," Michael laughed, eyes scanning the street, "Yes, Grace. I will be your 'Man-of-Honor-' whatever the fuck that entails. As long as I don't have to work on your wedding day. I might have an appointment. I'll put it on your schedule instead, hope you don't mind,"
Grace laughed, "Fuck you,"
They stood in silence outside, listening to the Shelby's get more and more raucous inside. They were somehow capable of making just as much noise between their group as the entire party of fifty people had.
Michael stood still as a statue and spoke with a hushed voice, "Can I ask you something?"
"Always," Grace replied, staring ahead with glazed eyes, thinking about how she should probably start drinking water if she wanted to be something more than a corpse tomorrow.
"Do you trust Tommy knows what he's doing with this Fairchild business?"
Grace swiveled her head to stare at Michael, expecting to see the side of his face but meeting his cold eyes instead. "Always,"
Michael nodded slowly, turning forward before pulling out his phone and answering a text, cigar hanging from his mouth loosely, "Good. Me too. But the tides are changing, Grace. The tides are changing."
"Mine aren't," Grace replied sharply, her eyes still fixed on Michael's face, "Are yours?"
Michael scoffed, slipping his phone back into his pocket, "Please. No. It's not our tides we need to worry about."
"What do you know that I don't, Michael?"
He didn't answer, and the sound of a glass breaking inside made Grace jump, and she suddenly wanted Tommy again. Running her hands through her hair with a sigh, she picked a piece of lint off of Michael's suit before turning to go back into the Garrison. "I don't know what you're getting at but I'm too drunk for this. We'll talk on Monday. With Tommy present."
"Yeah, that we will. We need to. I'm off," He nodded, giving Grace's shoulder a squeeze before heading out towards the street, his cryptic comment hanging with a coldness that made Grace shiver.
"Grace, this one is for Ireland, and for you, because it made you or fuckin' whatever" John slurred, spilling some of his Guinness onto the floor as he raised his glass very unevenly. The bar had emptied out even more, no one left but the Shelby's, Grace, and Polly.
"Fuckin' right," Arthur echoed, his raised glass slightly more steady than John's. Linda had picked Lily up an hour ago, and Arthur was busy catching up on his drinking.
"How many car-bombs has he taken?" Grace cringed with a laugh, watching the two brothers drop their shots into the dark beer.
Finn looked up from his phone, "I think he's trying to take one for every year you and Tommy have been together. He's on like, five, I think,"
"Fuck's sake," Polly muttered next to Grace, feet up on a chair, Ada's sleeping head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry not all of the Lee's were their kindest to you tonight,"
Grace shrugged as she lazily watched Tommy and Arthur try to shove John through the window into the snug to see if he would fit, "But you were. Thank you,"
Polly turned to her slowly, blowing out a thing stream of smoke with a knowing yet dismissive look, "Yes, well. What's done is done. I'm off. Have fun tonight, make sure none of them bloody kill themselves, will you?"
Grace snorted and passed Polly her long coat, "I'll try,"
Ada woke up and stood as well, eyes half-shut. Grace reached her arms out and took Ada into a hug, "Tonight was perfect. Thank you. Thank Meghan, too, I don't know where she went."
Yawning, Ada pulled away and stretched with a groan, "Passed out in the snug, lush bitch. And don't thank me. It was worth watching you two all night. You've been through enough,"
Grace took Ada's hand and squeezed as her eyes fell on the blood spot on the Garrison's floor, conveniently covered with a table, as always. Ada squeezed back, seeing the same. "Call me tomorrow,"
"I will."
The slow Arctic Monkey's ballad that Harry used to signal the night ending rang out as the lights turned up, and the boys complained loudly as they wandered to the bar for their last drinks, but Tommy sauntered over to Grace instead.
Tommy was drunk, although no one could tell but Grace. He picked her up easily and sat in the chair she'd occupied, cradling her to him and breathing deeply. Grace rubbed the back of his neck as he hummed to himself.
"Do you want to go?"
"With you, yes," Grace said, words slurring more than before, making Tommy smile.
"Then let's go." Tommy stood up, not putting Grace down, and strolled into the back room of the Garrison, out the back door.
"We should say goodbye Tommy!" Grace laughed, thrown over Tommy's shoulder.
"Don't feel like it. I have an idea" Tommy said blankly, the same voice he had when he was determined about something. What it was, the devil could only guess.
Tommy walked them silently through Small Heath, the streets quiet, stores closed. It had cleaned up slightly over the years, but not by much. Grace knew she was safe with Tommy, but she kept her wits about her nonetheless.
Grace figured out where Tommy was taking her right before they got there, the familiar fence of Charlie's yard giving her a form of comfort she couldn't put her finger on. A subtly-drunk Tommy fidgeted with the gate, swearing to himself for not having the key before picking it with criminal ease and swinging it open anyway.
"We haven't been here in a long time." Grace said, her tone hushed as Tommy slid her onto her feet. The yard had a reverence to it, for whatever reason. She took her heels off drunkenly as she looked around, feet killing her no thanks to her Manolos. The moon shimmered on the canal, and Grace remembered the nights they would sit on the edge of it with a bottle of the Garrison's whiskey, feet dangling in the water while they talked.
"I know. C'mon," Tommy took her hand and led her forward, sneaking towards the boats like they used to, making fast breaks for London or elsewhere in the middle of the night, "Wait. I went the wrong way. Fuck. This way,"
They whispered in drunken laughter as they crossed the yard the way they came, Grace's dress bunched in her hand and her bare feet muddy. She smirked at the thought of her mother seeing her now.
Tommy led her into the darkened stables, no sounds but the water from the canal and the horse's breathing. Tommy's hand slacked in hers as he felt at home, finally around the only creatures he preferred. Grace included.
He walked her to the ladder that ascended to the hay-loft, taking her heels when she held them out to him. Grace climbed the ladder easily, memory telling her just where to place her feet without having to look.
"I'm loving the view, by the way," Tommy said below her, following her up, his hand brushing her ass under her dress before she slapped it away
"You'll have a better one in a few minutes," Grace said breathlessly, pulling herself up into the loft, the hay under her hands old but familiar.
She sat and rested her head on her bent knees while Tommy swore to himself in the dark, fiddling with the flashlight on his iPhone as he looked for the old quilts Grace hoped were still there. That they were, and Tommy shook them out, the smell of the old Watery Lane house making Grace drunker with nostalgia.
Tommy laid them down in the spot he always used to, one for underneath them and one for over them. Pulling Grace to him, they laughed for a bit while they listened to the Shelby's voices echo from the street. Almost a whole block away Grace could hear them arguing obnoxiously loud about who was getting in which Uber and who was sleeping where. But they faded away quickly, and Tommy's breathing pulled her back to him as his lips found hers in the dark.
They kissed quietly for a while before Tommy reached above his head to turn their sleeping music on. Grace rolled to her other side and slid back against him, letting him spoon her as his breathing slowed in time to the song.
"Did you have fun today?" Grace mumbled, reaching down to hold the hand that was on her hip.
"Well," Tommy whispered, "Patrick Fairchild is getting shot in the face, I got to have sex with you all afternoon, I got to buy you a dress, and I got to blow something up a bazooka. So yes, today was good,"
"Somehow I knew that's what you were going to say," Grace rolled her eyes, pulling his hand up to kiss it, "I love you, Thomas."
"As I love you," Tommy murmured, half-asleep already under his mother's quilt.
Grace forced her eyes to stay open to watch the sun appear over the horizon, succumbing to sleep as the morning's blackbirds began to sing.