WARNINGS: LIGHT ANGST

1914

SMALL heath was home to many, the old, young, poor and greedy.

But to Eden, she was glad her closest friends were born there; Lorenzo Changretta and Dorris Martin.

Considering factories pushed more smoke into the air and the lungs of its people, finding a place of peace was challenging. But they found somewhere where they wouldn't be bothered. Near the tracks, where the trains passed at high speed, was the vast Moore, it was green despite the cold temperature and surprisingly silent. Of course, it was a place where people visited, but it was all about picking the right time of day.

That's why the three friends sat against a huge tree trunk, wrapped up in their coats and scarves overlooking the passing trains.

A poor man's peace, Lorenzo - also known as Enzo - loved to call their little hideout.

Ever since the raid a couple of days ago, the police shockingly didn't bother the streets as much as usual, for some reason which was unknown to the masses but not to a certain family. Although Isaiah was still up in arms over his favourite toy being snatched, Finn promised he would share his every other night. The two boys were closer than ever. Tommy made Eden a priority and continued to take her to his uncle's yard whenever they weren't at the Garrison or with his closest friends; Greta and Freddie. The calculating Shelby was angered and frustrated that he didn't prevent the raid from happening earlier and Eden could see he was overcompensating for that.

"Dotty why didn't you tell me what happened to your bed?" Eden suddenly asked, turning to the girl on her left.

"Enzo!?" Dorris snapped, leaning forward and shooting the biggest glare at the boy on the other side of Eden.

Enzo rolled his eyes, "What? The police, bastardi, fucked up your bed and everything. You've been sleepin' in your mum's bed, and you didn't want me to say shit? No way."

Eden kept looking at Dorris, "Why didn't you tell me? I went over yours a couple of days ago."

"I was embarrassed, y'know I never want to hassle you."

"Well tough," Eden playfully shoved her, "I'll get my dad to go over later."

Now, Dorris hated handouts or help of any kind, preferring to get on with things on her own, refusing to ask for anything at any time, unless it was a life or death situation or she was having troubles with a man.

"Edie..." she trailed off, grimacing as she turned back to the smokey view.

Eden shook her head, "Shut it, just accept the help. A broken bed, that explains why you're walking funny."

"You sure it ain't because of Angel?" Enzo asked, laughing at the shock on her face, Eden joined in.

"Shut up," Dorris groaned, "I don't wanna talk about your brother."

"There's a first. What did he do now?"

"I saw him talking to that whore," she spat, earning confused looks.

"Who?" Eden decided to ask, readjusting her hat.

"Lizzie Stark."

"Dotty, she ain't a whore. She's in a bad place... I think."

Eden sympathised with Lizzie Stark. Sure, they never spoke but Eden heard the whispers. The streets knew everything, and the eyes of small heath made sure to back up the stories. Lizzie was only a year or two older than Eden and left school early to help her mum, but the occasional odd jobs led her to take customers... clients of sorts.

Everyone had to make money somehow.

Enzo made a face, "And she only asked him to carry her bag. I don't know what you girls put into them — fuckin' broke my arm last time I carried yours."

"We all know carrying a bag is the first step to get him in her bed," Dorris was adamant her... lover? No, man, was led astray, despite having no proof whatsoever.

"Angel has only got eyes for you," Eden reassured, "only you."

"I suppose Luca told you that," Dorris said, with a wry smile, making her frown.

"I don't speak to Luca. Him and me are done. Finished."

Eden and Luca weren't even together for long, but she did feel a great deal for him, even believing that she was in love, but she was never sure. Luca never pressured her despite being four years older, their relationship started and ended during her eighteenth year on Earth. Why they broke up was because he wanted a wife and she didn't want to be one so young.

"Tell that to him," Enzo hissed when he received a pinch to the arm because of his chuckling.

"Angel told me that he wanted to talk to you," Dorris added, "to apologize about how shit went down."

"I bet that..." Enzo struggled not to speak ill about the Shelbys in front of Eden, but the pointed look on her told him to keep his mouth shut, "Shelby of yours ain't taking that too kindly."

Eden sighed, "Tommy knows all about me and Luca. And how it's in the past."

"The past doesn't always stay in the past for long," Dorris joked.

"Dotty don't you start, I already know Tommy has a jealous streak."

"I see it in his eyes, big blue beady fuckers. Hate them."

Enzo hastily agreed, "Yeah, Edie next time you see him, tell him to shut them while your at it."

The two started laughing at her, causing her face to settle in her hands.

Tommy did have the bluest eyes. The whole family did. But Tommy's were different, you could never really escape them.

Eden tossed her head back in annoyance, "Shut your traps, flies won't have a problem flyin' in with how wide yours are," they ceased their laughter, but couldn't stop their grins, "Now enough speaking about those brothers of yours, and Tommy. What about you? What did you want to tell us?"

Enzo grew silent at the question.

Eden and Dorris exchanged a confused look before turning back to him in curiosity.

He didn't speak, instead, he pulled out a few sandwiches and a flask full of tea that his mother provided him with. The girls were thankful because Mrs Changretta's sandwiches were world-class.

Audrey Changretta taught at the local school and was almost everyone's favourite teacher, even the Shelbys got along with her, which drove her sons up the wall, since they always fought and when her sons told their mum about it, she claimed they Arthur, Tommy and John were kind boys which only pissed them off more.

Eden cast Enzo a grateful smile, "Your mum made Sardolive sandwiches again."

Seeing the pout appearing on Dorris' face, he said, "And a tomato soup one for you Dotty, calm down, we all know how picky you are."

"I'm not apologising for havin' taste," Dorris said with a shrug, then took a bite of the well-made sandwich.

Enzo objected, "Can't have too much of it, your datin' my brother."

Eden snorted, almost choking on the tea she drank, gaining their attention.

"Oh, you can't talk, at least Angel ain't walking around with a razor in his cap," Dorris snapped, feeling the need to defend her choice in men.

Eden squinted, "No, Angel just loves to carry guns. – Wait we're getting off-topic, stop distracting us Enzo, but tell your mum thanks for the sandwiches —"

Trying to speak with her mouth full, Dorris' agreed, "—Yes, they're the best—"

"—But what did you want to tell us?" Eden pressed, patting Dorris' back when she started to choke.

Enzo checked over Dorris before throwing his hands up, "Christ, fine, remember when I told you I went to the market."

"There's many," the women deadpanned.

"You know the one, buon dio, by Little Italy."

Eden realised, "Near Digbeth?

"You spend enough time 'round there," Enzo said, shaking his head, "I was on an errand for Mum when I saw someone."

"Gotta be more clear than that," Dorris rolled her eyes, "he saw someone, in a market, did ya hear that Edie?"

"In the little Italy market," Eden feigned shock, all while Enzo wished he kept his mouth shut, "who would've thought."

"Remember Steven? Stevie Gallo from school?" he asked, ignoring their quips.

Furrowing her brows, Eden asked, "The one you always used to fight when you weren't fightin' John!"

Fighting off a smile, he nodded, "That one."

Dorris shrugged, "What about 'im?"

"Well, I saw him, saw him. Properly... all of him when he dragged me off behind one the market stalls he was working at."

And suddenly a light switched on in their heads.

"Oh... you saw 'im," Eden was the first to speak.

Dorris gasped, "All of 'im?"

Enzo nodded, "Sì." Then took a bite of his sandwich.

"And he saw... all of you?"

"Most of me, it's January, colder than ever y'know."

"Is that you're excuse? Look if you're small down there Enzo that's nothing to be ashamed of —"A scream escaped Eden when he tossed a rogue olive at her head, "what? Plenty of your lot like small tools don't they?"

"I'm not small! It's not small," he exclaimed, even sparing a glance at his trousers, while the girls giggled to themselves.

Eden leaned over to Dorris, "You hear that Dotty? It ain't small."

Dorris hummed, "Not small at all apparently."

Enzo sent glares their way, "I don't know why I tell you anything, dio santo. "

Recovering from her laughter, Eden asked, "Alright alright calm down, I have questions."

"When don't you," he received another pinch to the arm, "Go on then."

"Did you at least kiss?"

A blush crept onto his face, "...yeah, not for long, he was too busy talkin'."

"What, with his mouth full?" Dorris joked, with her mouth full of food.

"Oh fuck off," The girls waited for an answer, making him cave, "He preferred talkin' more than anythin'. He wanted to take me to his, he lives alone now y'know?"

Their eyes widened with intrigue, Dorris was taken aback, "He does?"

Eden excitedly nodded, "That's bostin'."

"A one-bedroom flat, everything was on top of everything. He said he took me there 'cause he didn't want Mrs Granberry peeping a thing."

They gagged at the mention of the woman.

That ruined Eden's thoughts completely, "She was there?"

"Nosy cow's everywhere, even at church last Sunday, tryna get me to dance with her, wasn't she dot?"

Dorris laughed at the memory, "Funniest thing."

"The cheek of that woman, always needin' to sing louder than the rest of us," Eden muttered, flinching at the memories.

Even after Eden stopped going to church, Dorris was still forced by her mum, similar to Enzo, since his family were Roman Catholics. Every inch of the Changretta house was decorated with some religious symbol, believing that the day Jesus returned to earth in his physical form they would be recognised as the most devout. Enzo thought it was a bunch of bullshit, since if he ever dared to admit he preferred the company of men, he would be crucified. Angel was a believer in his faith but not as much as his oldest brother Luca.

Enzo agreed, "I know. But after he took me back to his, he didn't want to do anything, not much 'part from talk and kiss sometimes..."

"And..." Eden motioned for him to go on.

"And what?" he didn't get what she was hinting at.

Dorris wondered, "Did you like it?"

"It was nice."

"Only nice?" she scrunched up her face, "When I give you information about my love life I give you details, everything, the whole nine yards."

"Too much considering it's my brother you're on about," he murmured just before taking a sip of the flask.

Eden put down the rest of her sandwich and said, "Come on Enzo, when I kiss Tommy, it feels right, slow, well whenever he ain't tryin' to get into my –."

"-- little garden of Eden?" he couldn't help but say, making Dorris fight off a smile. Both of them had to dodge the kicks she tried sending their way.

"Yeah yeah. And I hate saying it, but when we kiss, it makes me feel all funny inside."

"Sounds like you have wind."

Eden's face fell, "Come on! What does it feel when you kissed Stevie?"

Dorris asked, "He's a tall lad ain't he? Same height as you?"

"He is," Enzo nodded.

Enzo and his brothers were always the tallest around, it often intimidated everyone, despite them being friendly and their occasional outbursts, but what man didn't have them in this day and age?

"Then was he gentle?" Dorris worried that Enzo could get hurt with all his back-alley rendezvous with men.

They weren't safe in the slightest and it only took the wrong person to expose her friend or even beat him up.

"If he wasn't he's gonna hear it from me," Eden claimed.

Dorris nodded, "And me."

Enzo smiled at them, loving that they would stand up for him, but considering they were fairly small, he wouldn't let them ever get involved in his business.

He told them, "Girls he was nice. Just nice, but he wanted to get to know me, all we did at school was fight and he apologised for that."

"He did?" Dorris rose a brow.

Eden laughed, "No one apologises around here, must be true love."

Enzo didn't have a response to that which they took note of and shared a small smirk.

__

The trio laughed and sang down the road. Enzo had his best friends on either arm, leaving the watchers by to wonder how he did it. Two women and one man? Most believed that it was a sham, a facade that he was friends with two women they would classify as beautiful despite their darker skin, but they tried not to pay attention to all the talk, but it was pretty consuming.

Especially when Enzo turned his gaze to the man who stood in front of Eden's door.

Thomas Shelby.

Their smiles fell when they noticed the other.

Eden and Dorris' singing died down when they noticed Enzo's sudden change in mood.

"What–" Eden quickly followed his gaze, and Dorris soon followed.

When they ended up in front of each other, it was all a mess, a silent one, but a mess nonetheless.

Tommy didn't take his eyes off the embrace Enzo had Eden in.

Enzo was taller than Tommy, many were, but the look on Tommy's face was meaner.

"Shelby," Enzo spoke up first.

Tommy itched to put his cap to use but instead, he said, "Changretta. Martin." he sent Dorris a look, completely skipping over Eden which ruined her mood as she dropped Enzo's arm.

Dorris withheld a laugh, "Shelby."

Eden narrowed her eyes at him, "If you say my last name, Thomas..." Her warning fell on deaf ears.

"I was waitin', but I see you were busy today," he still hadn't glanced at her, his eyes stayed on Enzo which she took as disrespect.

"I told you that yesterday," she said, irritated by his attitude.

"You did."

Enzo decided to cock his head to the side and say, "Didn't realise spendin' time with friends was a problem."

Tommy's jaw clenched even more, "Did I say that?"

"You didn't have to."

The stare-down the men were having was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

"What's this? A staring contest," Eden snapped her fingers in their faces, only causing them to slightly glare at her and blink, "look at that, none of you won."

"I'll see you when I see you, Edie," Enzo made sure the kiss he pressed to Eden's cheek was loud enough for Tommy to hear, "Come on Dotty, let's get you home, wouldn't want to be prosecuted for spendin' time with another girl, would I?"

"Suppose not," Dorris couldn't suppress her giggling, "bye Edie," she waved at the girl then sent Tommy a stiff nod, that he didn't return since his impenetrable stare stayed on Enzo as he walked off with her.

"My god, you'd think you and him were having it off with each other by the way you stared at him, didn't even give me a kiss or anything," Eden muttered.

Tommy turned back to Eden, the woman he'd been waiting for about an hour. He'd knocked on her door a few times and no one came, meaning that her parents were working and she too was busy like she said. His brothers were out, no doubt causing havoc, Ada was off helping Polly with a task and he wanted to see his girl.

"Wow," she huffed out a humourless laugh, "nothing? Fine then, move aside so I can get into my house. Honestly, Thomas, the cold air is warmer than you."

"I was waitin' for you, wanted to take you out."

She feigned shock, "Oh you were? Too bad I'll be inside reading whilst you go off and glare at Enzo."

"Look -–"

"No," he was taken aback by her tone. Stepping forward, she jabbed a finger into his chest, "You don't get to act all entitled, the least you could've done was greeted me or kissed me, did you do any of that? No. hate my friends all you want, but respect them, respect me or get lost alright?"

"Alright," he played it cool, but internally he was panicking.

"Just alright?" she scoffed and went to move, "fuckin' joker if you think you can just stand here and not even compliment how beautiful I looked today..." he cracked a smile, "Oh now you wanna smile, when you were acting as if someone pissed in your cereal this morning, just go home Thomas.

"I'm sorry," he caught her hand before she could move around him, "I shouldn't have acted like a fool —"

"—Got that right—"

"—And I should've greeted you first because you're my priority. I said that didn't I? Besides saying you're beautiful is an understatement, possibly an insult," he stroked her cheek and lifted her chin, so she could look into his eyes, christ they were so fucking blue, she thought, "Look, see if I'm lyin', I can't be, you're more than beautiful. And if it's compliments you're after, you'll get 'em, you'll get more than that if you agree to let me take you out."

No one apologises around here, must be true love. She thought about her earlier words and sighed.

Still lost in her only mind, she stayed silent, resulting in him leaning down, trailing his lips down her ear, breathing against her neck and making her lose her train of thought.

"I'll give you something extra, so you can forgive me."

"And what's that?"

"You'll see...but then again, you can never keep your eyes from rolling back for too long can you darlin'? M'suppose it's my fault then ey?"

She gulped harshly, still struggling to find the right words, further amusing him.

The chuckle that escaped his lips, made her shiver.

"Is that a yes?" he alright knew her answer.

Eden found the courage to pull out of his hold and stare into his mirthful eyes to say...

"...when's the date?"

Tommy smirked.

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a/n:

someone tell edie to stand up. i can't because i wouldn't.

any thoughts on this chapter? and yes i decided to give you guys a double update so be grateful.