CHAPTER TWO
Garrison Night
1914.

     Wendy looked out the window, holding a cigarette between her fingers as she stared at the moon—at least tried to perceive the moon behind all this smoke. Thomas was right, she was smoking too much but she couldn't help it. She was a nerve wreck because of Tommy and everything else, her job and her non-existent family. Wendy hated the fact that he'd leave soon for the War, and she wasn't even sure he would make his way back to Small Heath or her. What if he fell in love with some french woman? Or just forget about his sweet Gwendolyn?

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around her neck as she recognized Tommy's hands, he put his head in the crock on her neck, pecking it softly and the brunette found herself smiling hard at the gesture. She leaned down, kissing his hands in the sweetest way possible, making him secretly grin. He took the cigarette out of between her lips and held it between his own fingers as he inhaled the toxic smoke. Her hands were around his forearms, keeping them close to her, knowing she would soon forget how his embrace felt.

"Have been lookin' for you," he whispered. "What did I tell you?" He added throwing the cigarette out of the window.

She rolled her eyes with a laugh, "To quit smoking."

He kissed her neck, humming against her skin, "That's right."

The way his arms tightened around her made her feel at home. For a long time, Gwendolyn had no place to call home, not even that little flat near the Garrison. It never truly felt like home to her. But in Thomas' arms, she felt it. There wasn't a day where she was not smiling when she woke up to his sleeping face with his lips slightly parted.

He proved her that it was okay to love and to be loved.

"What do you think of big houses?" Thomas queried, pulling her out of her thoughts.

They now laid in bed, their clothes scattered all around the room. Thomas had his head on her stomach as she ran her hands through his hair.

Wendy shrugged, "Like them, why's that?"

His head rested on the palm of his head as he drew circles on her bare stomach, she chuckled softly pushing him away, "When I come back I want to buy one for us. Somewhere you can cook, read, have that weird garden of yours," he laughed as she hit his arm. "I'm being serious, Wendy. We could have the life we always dreamt of."

"Sounds perfect," Gwendolyn whispered, leaning down meeting his lips. "Are we still going to the Garrison tonight?" She then queried, rising to her feet as Thomas groaned, watching her from the bed. He never liked it too much when she left.

"Of course," he replied with a sheepish smile. "You look gorgeous."

Gwendolyn smiled as she continued to dress, and tried her best to ignore Thomas' attempts at making her lose her clothes one more time but she managed to get dressed after a while. Thomas rose to his feet with a sigh and begun to dress, earning a few laughs from Gwendolyn.

Before they knew, Gwendolyn and Thomas had a glass of gin their hands with a cigarette in the other. Arthur, John and Ada sat on the booth in front of Thomas and Wendy. Unsurprisingly, the pub was crowded. Men and women were drunk, singing, yelling, laughing and smashing glasses to Harry's dismay.

"So when are you two lovebirds gonna get married, eh?" Arthur asked as Thomas chuckled, clasping his free hand on Gwendolyn's shoulder and rubbing it up and down. "John and I think you'd be a great married couple. Isn't that right, Johnny boy?" Arthur told his brother.

John nodded, putting his glass down, "Fuck yes! Would be perfect for each other."

Ada sighed, sitting back down and handing another drink to Wendy, "Oi, let them alone! They'll marry if they fucking want."

"Thank you, Ada," Wendy smiled.

Arthur groaned, clearly not agreeing with his little sister's words, "Look at 'em, Ada! Tommy is so fucking in love that it makes everyone sick at the betting shop. And Wendy--well, it's Wendy. She's meant to be one of us, eh! I say they married before we leave!"

Thomas stayed silent and chuckled but Gwendolyn knew he wanted to, she recalled very well what he had told her before the family meeting. She knew him well to know that he would ask again sooner or later. Besides, she did want to marry him and have children. As the conversation went on, she rested her head on his shoulder and let her thoughts consume her brain. Soon enough, the noise became a mere buzz and she tried to reach for another cigarette, but Thomas was quick to grab the silver box from her.

"I need to go outside for a moment," she told him as he hummed. Wendy kissed his cheek as she stood up, using her hands to straighten the folds on her dress. Walking outside, she scanned around the pub in hope to find someone smoking. Bingo! "Can I borrow you a cigarette, please?"

The stranger smiled and handed her one. Wendy thanked him quietly, though she could tell that his smile was not genuine and it made her feel uncomfortable for a moment. Gwendolyn had heard stories about men trying to rape women in dark and quiet alleys when everyone was away.

As she placed the cigarette between her two fingers, he moved closer to her and put his hand up in order to protect it from the wind as he lit it. Gwendolyn took a step back, keeping an eye on him and at the same time, trying to catch the blue ocean eyes of her lover through the window.

"I never saw you around 'ere," he finally spoke, breaking the silence as a cloud was starting to surround them. "You new, miss?"

"Am not," she replied. "Been here for ages. Gwendolyn Boswell," she introduced herself, hoping that he wouldn't ask questions anymore.

"Aye, you a Boswell. All right," he said, blowing the smoke away. "You're here alone?"

Before she could answer, he moved towards her and her breath caught in her throat as she felt his hand on her lower back. Throwing her cigarette on the ground, she spun on her heels in hope to call for Thomas but he pressed the palm of his hand on her mouth preventing any sound to escape. As he dragged her in a dark alley, all they could hear was muffled screams. His dirty hands sneaked under a dress and her eyes became teary at the thought of being damaged.

"Let me fucking go!" She shouted as soon as his hand left her mouth. Wendy breathed out, trying to calm herself and hoped to reach the little pocket knife she had hidden in her shoe. "Let me fucking go or I'll cut you."

He let out a laugh at her miserable attempt at trying to scare him away, "And with what, eh?"

His laugh faded away as an arm wrapped around his throat, his face turned red as he tried his best to catch some air. Gwendolyn hurried to stand back on her feet and immediately spotted Thomas' face. The man fell to the floor and Thomas didn't hesitate punching him in the stomach.

Once she felt a bitter better, a bit more composed, she knelt next to him and mumbled, "Beg for your fucking life."

Gwendolyn found it all so funny—funny how she was the one crying out loud for help minutes ago and now he was curling up in the mud.

"You—" Thomas started but she cut him off.

"Come on, on you go. I want to hear you beg for your life."

"Please," he cried quietly. "Please, I'm sorry," he whispered, watching her lit a cigarette she had stolen from his pocket. Wendy blew the smoke on his face until she couldn't see him anymore.

"Tommy, have you seen him before?" Wendy queried but he shook his head quietly, clenching his jaw tightly. Wendy knew he was waiting to beat him up for what he had tried to do but she wouldn't let him. "What's your name, sir?"

So fucking polite, Thomas thought.

"Alfred Griffiths."

"Alfred," she repeated as if she was trying to see if it sounded good or not. Clapping her hands together, she smiled softly. "Alright, Alfie, I know you won't do it again because I am going to make sure you won't."

Puffing the last bit of smoke she had, she crashed the cigarette onto his cheek as he screamed loudly. But she could not care less, instead it made her press it harder against his skin. When she concluded it was enough, she rose to her feet and grabbed Thomas' hand in hers.

"Goodnight."

Tommy didn't waste a second and wrapped an arm around her while they walked back into the pub. He pushed some people out of their way and dragged her to the bathroom to take a good look at her. Once the door was locked, he held her head in his hands and examined her features. Gwendolyn watched him turn on the tap, he used the water to splash it on her face so he could take the dirt out.

Gwendolyn couldn't help but think of what would have happened if he hadn't walked out of the pub to look for her. It was such a relief to see his face behind the stranger in that dark alley. She could recognise him anywhere.

Wendy grinned softly while the pad of his thumbs caressed her cheekbones, "You all right, Wendy?"

"Just fine, Tom," Wendy replied and he stared at her, trying to find an ounce of lie behind her brown eyes but she was perfectly fine. "You found me, I'm alright," she reassured. "And I hope I won't see that Griffiths fucker again."

"I'll cut him if I ever see his face again, Wendy," Tom warned her. "I'll cut his balls off, eh? How does that sound?"

"Pig," Gwendolyn snorted.

Thomas chuckled, kissing the side of her head, "I didn't know you could do that."

"Tommy, I'm gypsy too," Wendy said with a proud smile. "We both grew up 'round guns and violence," she added. "Besides, I don't know how we've never met before."

"You said it yourself, love. We're gypsies," he replied. "If we weren't in Charlie's yard by the cut, we would be with our father in the forest."

Gwendolyn hummed, hopping off the counter and fixing her dress. She was about to leave but Tommy grabbed her wrist to bring her closer and cupped her face to sail their lips together. Wendy kissed him tenderly but they were pulling back by force as Arthur pounded at the door, calling for them from the other side of the door.

"One fucking second, Arthur!" Thomas yelled, making Gwendolyn laugh. "What's so funny, eh?"

Wendy shook her head while he tried his best to styler her hair once again, hide her rebel locks that threatened to show because of the accident. Thomas kissed her one more time and Wendy melted in his embrace. Before turning the doorknob, she took a big inhale and soon they were submerged back into the chaotic atmosphere of the night. The voices, laughters and screams that sounded so far away in the bathroom were now louder than before.

When they sat back down, Ada was the one noticing something was wrong, "Arthur, give her your glass of gin," Ada spoke, eyeing Wendy. "What happened?"

Arthur frowned but slid his glass across the table, and Wendy was quick to drink the whole beverage, "Alfred fucking Griffiths tried to rape me."

The table fell silent and Wendy turned her head to see John with a woman. He felt Wendy's eyes on him and looked up at her, doing thumbs up and despite the situation, she found herself laughing. Arthur's fist against the table was what brought her back to the moment. When she looked at him, she noticed how his features were stern and his fist tighter than usual.

"Where is that fucker, tom?" He groaned, breathing hard. "No one touches Ada or you. No one," he mumbled to himself.

Tommy cleared his throat, "It's alright, brother. Wendy took care of him."

"I crushed a cigarette on his fucking cheek. It even left a scar," Gwendolyn explained. "I made him beg for his life."

"Good, good," Arthur said a bit more relaxed.

"He almost died on the spot, brother," Thomas said with a snort and kissed the side of her head. "If you want to go home, we can," he then whispered in her ear.

"Please."

Thomas stood first, offering his hand to Gwendolyn as they said their goodbyes to the siblings. As soon as they stepped outside, Gwendolyn found herself shivering because of the temperature difference from inside of the pub to outside at night. Thomas intertwined their hands together while they walked back to her flat--even though everything was oddly quiet, they were both met with a comfort that brought them warmth. As if nothing else mattered.

When she unlocked the flat, Thomas was instantly met with the odor of lavender that she had all over the place, on her clothes and bedsheets.

"Tom?" Wendy called out for him as he followed her voice to the bathroom. "Help me, please?" She queried as his right hand clasped her shoulder while the other one untied the dress she was wearing.

"I love this fucking dress," he whispered, kissing her shoulder fondly.

Wendy chuckled her head with a little laugh and minutes later, they were laying in bed. Thomas had a cigarette perched between his lips as she moved her head on his chest, while he rubbed her back softly. Those were the kind of moments that Wendy cherished so and would come to miss them sooner than she thought.

"Tom," her voice was barely above a whisper and she didn't even know if it was audible. "I think I want to get married before you leave for France. I just want family and Jeremiah there. Arthur was right, we love each other, don't we?"

"We do," he replied quietly. "Alright, we'll get married. I'll tell them tomorrow, yes?"

"Perfect."

—————
authors note, gwendolyn already has a special place in my heart...tommy and her are going to hurt so much, ugh.

also the bathroom scene??? MORE PLEASE

thank you for 300+ reads already, the support means so much <333 i love you