— 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 —
⁰⁰⁹

"This is perfect— thank you." Cecilia ran her hands over the dark red fabric. She placed it back in the box and took a deep breath. "Send the bill to my father, he'll sort it." She nodded. The lady at the desk smiled with appreciation and watched Cecilia walk out with one of her men, the dress neatly wrapped box. "Will you be attending the races this weekend?" She asked him.

"I believe the majority of us will be by your father's side. An extra set of hands."

"Good." She hummed. "You're good men for the most part." She sighed.

"Your father waits for you at the hotel." He said as they began driving. She stared out the window. Rain was beginning to fall lightly from the dark clouds that hung above them. She loved the rain. She loved the winter and the dark weather.

Spring was creeping up on them as the days passed and winter was slowly fading away.

Cecilia had a brief idea of the plan set for Derby day. She hadn't been told everything but it was enough. She wouldn't take part, she was just a set of eyes. A pretty distraction if needed.

Cecilia knew her worth, though. She was not going to be used as some whore on behalf of some bastard's business. No way.

The hotel Rafael and Cecilia planned to stay at was not too far from Small Heath. A half hour drive if that.

And, by no surprise, it was Thomas himself who suggested that very hotel.

He wanted to be able to have watchful eyes on the two before the big day. The last thing the blinders needed was to have something go wrong... again. Tommy was sure to be more careful about who he shared his plans with after what happened two years prior.

He was not going to be betrayed again. Not by somebody he trusted.

That is why only the people close to him knew the ins and outs of his plan. All his men would find out on the day whilst travelling to the races.

—

Cecilia, despite her father's argument to stay at the hotel, was wandering Small Heath. But not for any reason, of course. She wanted to bump into a certain someone. She told herself she was just curious and that it was only right to see her business partner after so long. 

With the evening hours approaching, she chose to go to the Garrison. And if he was not there, it was a perfect time to have a few drinks.

When opening the door, Cecilia was greeted with the noise of many cheery people who were stood around drinking. She weaved between the crowd and sat at the bar. "Evening, love." The barman said, "what can I get for you?"

"Gin, please." She flashed him a smile and looked over her shoulder cautiously.

The barman turned away to pour some of their finest gin into a glass. When he slid it to her, a voice spoke. "On the house." It was a familiar voice. A some sort of relief washed over her. "Thank you, Harry. Cecilia, would you join me?"

She looked up to see Tommy towering over her. She raised her brows and hummed. "I'm not sure," she pulled his pocket watch from his suit, "hm, I suppose I can make time for you." She grinned teasingly and got down from the bar stool, taking her drink and following him inside the snug.

It was empty, to her surprise.

"My brothers plan on joining me later on." He told her as he closed the door behind him.

Cecilia nodded and took a seat. "What brings you back to Small Heath, Cecilia?" Tommy cleared his throat. "I'm joining my father to go to the races." She spoke.

Tommy nodded and took out a cigarette. "Do you mind if I smoke?"

She nodded once and he lit it, offering her one and she accepted, waiting for him to light it. "You seem to have quite the plan for Sabini." She said when blowing out smoke.

Tommy hummed. "Yes. Yes, it's quite the plan." he said.

"Your face seems to have healed well." He noticed, not wanting to speak of his plans for the derby. Cecilia touched her lip. "It wasn't all that bad. Just a few cuts here and there." She said.

"I don't think i've ever met somebody who denies pain as much as yourself." Tommy laughed dryly. Cecilia said nothing. She just scowled. "It is not a bad thing, I assure you." He added.

Cecilia sipped her gin.

"Do you plan on staying here for a while?" He referred to the Garrison. "Until I find the hour is too late for a lady to be wandering." She said smoothly. Tommy watched her as she sipped the drink. "What?" She asked when realising he was staring.

Tommy raised his brows and shook his head slightly. "Nothing."

She frowned and put her drink down. "The woman you were in love with—" his fist tightened at the mention of her, "did you kill her?"

Tommy scoffed. "No— no, I didn't kill her." He said whilst looking down. "She sailed away." He said, tapping his cigarette on the ashtray. "Went to America and now she's married to a banker."

"Would you see her again— if she asked?" Cecilia wondered.

Tommy thought for a few seconds before answering with a firm, "no."

"Really? But if you loved her—"

"I don't love her no more." Tommy cut her off. "She is in the past and the past is not my concern." He spoke. Cecilia listened carefully. "You speak with regret." She examined, "do you regret her?"

"And here I was thinking we were at a stage where questions were no longer needed." he mumbled.

"I'm simply just curious." She snapped back. Tommy locked eyes with her. "I do not regret her because if she had not happened, I wouldn't have learnt the lesson that I did." He said truthfully. "But I do know that I would not allow her to come back— not in my city."

"Your city?"

"Yes. This is my city." He said. "And nobody who betrays me comes back to my city. At least not alive." He laughed to himself.

Cecilia looked down.

"And my love is for somebody else now. She is forgotten." He twirled the cigarette between his fingers. Cecilia tilted her head. "Who is the unlucky woman?" She joked, completely unaware. Tommy locked eyes with her again. "If you deem yourself unlucky then I feel insulted."

"What?" Her face relaxed as she tried to understand what he said. Then her eyes widened slightly. "I feel like a fool." She said, "I do not understand—"

"Don't trouble yourself." He said, sounding annoyed.

Tommy Shelby was questionably in love, again. And he hated it. She was just.. perfect in her many ways. He hated yet loved her at the same time. They had known each other for seven months. Seven months and at the start she despised him— maybe still does. He did not know. But he knew that at the start, he was weary of her but now... now he was infatuated by her.

But he would never dream of allowing that wall to fall again. He could never be vulnerable again, not at the hands of a woman.

—

Tommy had offered to walk Cecilia to her hotel after many hours of drinking. Neither of them were drunk but rather tipsy. They didn't speak. There was tension lingering between them. Tommy kept his head tilted down, his cap covering his eyes.

They stopped outside the hotel and Cecilia paused. "Would you care to join me— I've had the finest whiskey ordered." She said nervously, hands behind her back.

Nerves were not something she had often.

Tommy swallowed hard. He wanted to say no and just go home, be rid of any thought of her that consumed him. But he couldn't say no.

"A drink or two wouldn't hurt." He said roughly, placing a hand on her back as they stepped inside the fairly nice hotel. They walked to her room and Cecilia unlocked it.

After stepping in, the first thing his eyes laid on was the dark red dress that hung beside the window. "Is that yours?" He asked, placing his cap on the table and fixing his hair. She followed his eyes and nodded. "It is. Do you like it?" She asked as she began pouring two glasses of whiskey.

Tommy hummed.

"One of my father's men reported us to him that night you took me to see Charlie Chaplin." She handed him the glass, their fingers briefly brushing against each others. "I told him they were lying and he shouldn't trust everybody."

Tommy grinned. "So you lied to your father?"

"Indeed. But I have my father wrapped around my finger," she said as she sat, crossing one leg over the other, "in his eyes i'm still his little girl. He loves me too much to scold me." She said with a smile.

"I think you have the half of London wrapped around your finger, Cecilia." He spoke. "And most probably Small Heath too."

"How so?" She asked.

"My brother John and half of my men didn't fail to speak of you when we returned here." He said, "and anytime I have walked through London, at least one person has muttered the name of a blonde girl named Cecilia. And I dont think many girls are named Cecilia." He chuckled.

Cecilia smiled. A wave of confidence washed over her. "And you?" She asked.

Tommy looked at her. "Me?"

"Are you apart of that half of Small Heath that I have wrapped around my finger?" She clarified. Tommy held his glass firmly. "Worse." He said. Cecilia tilted her head when he walked to her, placing his whiskey down and looking down at her. She swallowed hard and he placed his hands on her upper arms, pulling her to her feet. "You're my first and last thought of the day." He whispered.

Her heart was pounding. Their faces were inches apart. Tommy looked down at her lips then at her eyes.

"You appear in my dreams, Cecilia." He whispered. "Did you know that?"

She shook her head and he leaned in, pausing for a moment before placing a kiss on her lips. She was taken aback but kissed him nevertheless. Tommy cupped her jaw and her hand was on his chest for stability.

"My father said he would kill any blinder I was with—"

"It's a risk worth taking." Tommy breathed. Her heart jumped. She walked backward, pulling him along. The back of her knees hit the mattress and they fell backward onto it. Tommy was sure not to put his whole weight on her as they did so.

He pulled back to look her in the eye. "What?" She asked with panic.

"Before we do this—" he breathed, "I want you to be certain this is what you want."

Cecilia nodded almost automatically.

—

Cecilia and Tommy lay with the sheets draped over them. Her head was on his chest and his arm was around her bare shoulders. She was drifting to sleep. "Are you okay?" She whispered.

"It's gone quiet." He said. "For the first time in years, my head is quiet." He admitted. She kept her eyes closed. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Is this... normal? To feel like this." She asked. Tommy looked down at her although he couldn't see her face. "To feel so— safe but.. weak at the same time?"

There it was. That was the feeling. For people like themselves, the feeling of safeness and weakness was just the beginning. Cecilia Abbott had fell in love for the first time.

"I've never felt this way." She said.

"I have." He said. "It isn't nice at first but you grow to enjoy that feeling." He said. "It's the worst yet the best feeling to ever experience." He said.

"Is this how you felt?" She asked.

Tommy knew what she meant. "It's how I feel." He corrected.

After Midnight
Chapter 009
[gracessecretshelby]