Chapter Text
“Oh that dress looks wonderful on you” Amelia exclaimed, and she wasn’t lying, that dress looked beautiful on Grace.
“You think” Grace said shyly, she really hopes Tommy would like this dress.
“You fiancé is a lucky man, if I was into girls I would have married you myself” Amelia smirked slyly and winked at her. Grace just blushed, she wasn’t used to this kind of attention but she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Amelia has been her seamstress since she came back from America but she still didn’t get used to her wide mouth.
Grace met amelia by coincidence, she was staying in the hotel near her dress shop and one of her dresses had a hole in it and it was one of her favorites so when she was walking down the street to find any dress shop she found hers, Amelia even convinced her to buy some of her dresses and since then grace has been a loyal customer for almost a year.
“How about we find you another one?” Amelia swooped the dresses “I had just designed a new dress that I feel it would look amazing on you… but I don’t know where it is… fucking Henry” Henry was Amelia’s 18 years old son, when grace heard how old her son was her eyes almost popped out from how young Amelia looked and when she asked about her age.
“Oh I know it is weird I am actually just 30” was what she said.
“30?” Grace shrieked. Amelia just laughed at her.
“So you were what? 15? 16? When you had him "Grace curiously asked, but regretted it when Amelia eyes dropped slightly even if her face was still smiling.
“Yeah I was 16” grace steered clear of that topic after that conversation after she heard the tone she replied with.
“Oh how is Henry these days?” Grace hasn't seen her friend’s son In a while.
Amelia just shrugged as her eyes were scanning around the dress shops trying to find where the dress was. “He is everywhere at this point, I don’t even know what that boy does anymore, running around like he owns the place” Amelia sometimes reminded Grace of Tommy’s aunt, Polly. The way she talked, the way she treated Henry, the way she demanded respect without saying anything.
“He still hasn't found a job?”
“Oh he did” Amelia sighed as she pulled a green dress “oh finally there it is… he says he is working in a bakery in Camden town, but I know my boy he can’t do anything in the kitchen let alone bake” amelia went over to grace with a smile on her face as she put the green dress over grace’s body.
“Oh how gorgeous that would look on you” Amelia beamed. “ You have to try it, let’s go” she didn’t wait for Grace to say anything before she moved to the dressing room and hung the dress there waiting for Grace to follow.
“I feel whenever I come you make me go out penniless” Grace couldn’t put all the blame on Amelia though, she couldn’t stop herself from buying the beautiful dresses.
“Don’t you have a rich fiancé” Amelia smirked at her “it’s all his money!” Grace gaped at her.
“I am not marrying him because of his money” Grace scolded her. But it seems that Amelia didn’t believe her and just laughed at her “that’s we all say, love”
“Amelia! I am serious, I love him”
“I didn’t say anything” but Grace could clearly hear the teasing in her voice “now go one, try the dress for me” Amelia shut the blinds out and moved to the front disk waiting for her only friend to finish.
-----------------------
Tommy stepped out of his car as he moved slowly to the bakery. He loved and hated coming here, it was such a burden to him but he couldn’t never get Alfie to come to him instead, he always had to be the one going to him.
He couldn’t complain though, just earlier he had dropped Grace in the dress shop that she went to at least once a week with minimum three dresses, he had to meet the woman who owned that shop that made his fiancé take a lot of money from her while Grace visits her. He is rich now, but the numbers that grace spent on the dress per day would have been able to feed his family for two months before. But he can’t say anything when he sees the dresses, they truly deserve each penny spent on them.
“Tommy, Shalom” Alfie's loud voice shouted as he entered his office.
“Alfie” Tommy nodded to him and sat down on the chair he always sat on, that’s when he noticed a new lad standing behind Alfie in a dark corner. Tommy almost doubted himself that there was a person there and almost thought he was imagining things but if it was for the cigarette he was smoking he would have believed so himself.
Alfie noticed where his eyes went “ah my newest lad, let me tell you he is a prize that got dropped in my lap” Alfie said as he grabbed three glasses and poured some gin in all three glasses “Henry come out here let us introduce you to Tommy Shelby”
A young man stepped out then out of the corner, his cigarette was hanging out of his mouth with one of his hands in his dress pants, he was wearing a black dress shirt too, ironed well, he wasn't wearing a three piece suit but he could see a jacket on the racket that was probably his, he looked at his face to see dark eyes that Tommy couldn’t figure out the color off, he had a sharp face, sharp nose, his hair was a dark brown and one strand had fallen on his forehead. He was tall, taller than Tommy at least, but everyone was.
“Alight this Henry” Alfie roughly put his hand on Henry’s shoulder and shook it “ came all the way from fucking America can you believe it”
“America?” Now Tommy was interested, he lit up a cigarette and breathed the familiar stick.
“Aye” this time Henry replied, his voice was soothing and quiet yet raspy and deep.
“You came all the way all alone?” Tommy asked.
“No me mum and me” Tommy tried to hide his shock as he heard the familiar accent.
“You from Birmingham”
“Me mum was, I didn’t visit the city yet” Henry wanted to go but his mum wouldn’t let him, he could have gone without her knowing but he couldn’t let his mum down.
“What’s her name”
“I don’t see how that concerns you” Henry breathed out the smoke in his face. Tommy felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time, it had been a long time to find someone that young not scared of him, even his brother Finn gets scared sometimes and he can’t figure out if Henry was smart or just stupid.
“Oi!” They both turned to Alfie “Tommy what do you need” that’s when Tommy remembered why he came here.
“I need a few of your men” Tommy stated.
“The fuck for”
“New big shipment, I want them for protection” he gulped down the gin.
“Your boys aren’t enough, eh?”
“I have them somewhere else”
“Oh right the big wedding ain’t it, fucking didn’t get an invite”
“And you won’t get one” Tommy actually wanted to invite Alfie but with Grace's family there he felt like a big problem would rise and he didn’t want that on his wedding day.
“I feel offended Tommy, but I’ll give you 6 of my men. How about that? Tommy noticed how Henry tensed slightly and looked over his shoulder towards the door as if he was accepting someone, just then he heard loud boots moving towards the office and passed it.
“Do I get to pick them” Tommy knew he was pushing it but there was another thing that would make it fall over the age.
“You get to pick one” ah good thing, Tommy almost smiled.
“That’s enough, I want your new lad” he nodded towards Henry who was just observing them while brushing the glass that was in his hand. He barely even changed his expression about what Tommy said but obviously Alfie did.
“You fucking joking mate” alfie’s nose flared.
“You said I’ll get to chose one you didn’t cross anyone out”
“Well I am crossing him out”
“It will be only for a week, he hasn't gone to any missions yet eh? I’ll toughen him up for you” Henry snorted at that. Toughen him up. Funny wording.
“I am not one of your horses Mr Shelby” Henry spoke up, Henry had heard about Tommy before he came from Alfie and what Tommy does. Tommy just glanced at him before his gaze returned to Alfie waiting for him to say anything which he was considering his offer.
“One week shelby one week and i want him back in one piece” Tommy stood up and shook his hands with alfie before turning to Henry that was still sat on the chair with another cigarette in between his finger, Tommy extended his hand towards Henry but all Henry did was stare at it boringly.
“Who said I agreed to go with you? '' he brought the cigarette to his mouth as he stared into Tommy’s eyes.
“What’s your price” Tommy sighed of course, he should have known he probably wanted money.
“Not about the money”
“Then about what”
“Me mum” Tommy almost couldn’t believe his ears, this young man said no to a job because of his mum?
“Your mum” Tommy repeated slowly and Henry just nodded.
“Well good thing you're a man know you don’t need your mummy’s opinion” he clapped his shoulder before passing by him. “Tomorrow evening I’ll send a car to come get you, be armed” and with that Tommy got out of the car.
Henry just stared ahead with a clenched jaw before he slowly turned his gaze to alfie.
“It’s a good offer and you should take it” Alfie said but Henry just stared lost in thought before he opened his mouth slightly and breathed out.
“I’ll be going home” Henry stood up and moved to the door, didn’t wait for Alfie to dismiss him.
Alfie stared at Henry’s back as he walked out, he hoped that giving Henry to Tommy wouldn’t be a mistake, he really did like the kid.
Tommy Entered the cafa that Grace waited for him in while he finished the business, he looked around and found her sitting near a window with a plate of cake in front of her, his lips twitching at the familiar Bags next to her, her and her damn dresses.
“I see you got another dress” he said as he approached her and she looked up at him immediately smiling at seeing him, his heart warmed at the sight.
“Oh Tommy they are absolutely delightful I can’t wait to show you them” Grace smiled even wider as she remembered how each dress looked on her.
“Why don’t you show me now? '' Tommy leaned and pressed a kiss on her neck with his hand snaking up her thigh. Grace quickly pushed him but she couldn’t hide her blush.
“Tommy we are in public, behave yourself” her face was flushed.
“Even better” he leaned again to kiss her neck before she leaned away.
“Let’s go home, yeah?”
They left quickly with Tommy carrying her shopping bag and dumped them roughly in the back seat of the car as she opened the door for grace.
“Careful with the dresses” she scolded him as one of the dresses fell out of the bags.
“I’ll buy you another” he quickly made his way to the driver seat.
Graces laid her head in Tommy's chest as he smoked a cigarette with his arm around her.
“How was work today?” she whispered to him not feeling like raising her voice.
“Went fine” he mumbled. Even if they didn’t address the big elephant in the room it was still there, his trust in her had been broken to pieces, he could never trust her again about his business, and she knows that, her heart clenches each time remembering what she has done but she can’t change the past even if that’s what she wants to do. She tried to hide her hurt everytime it happened since it was her fault so she tried to talk about something else.
“Did you know my seamstress has a son”
“She does?” Tommy wasn’t surprised, obviously an old woman would, but he was confused on why Grace was telling him that.
“Yeah he is 18, imagine how old is she”
“60?” Grace slapped his chest. “Why would I be friends with a woman in her 60”
“Old women are good people” Tommy respects and adores two people, the young and the old.
“Well no she isn’t 60 much younger actually 30” now Tommy was surprised.
“30? She got pregnant when she was 14?”
“16 actually” Tommy mind flashed to when he was 16 laying in the same position but with another woman, he hasn’t thought of her for years but he will never forget her.
It seemed that Tommy got lost in his mind that grace poked his cheek. “Tommy”
“Eh”
“I was asking if you would give her son a job”
“He doesn’t have one?”
“No he does at a bakery… she gets real worried about him though”
“Well let him keep working at the bakery it will Be better than working with me "Grace thought about it for a moment before she signed and snuggled closer in his chest.
Tommy crushed his half smoked cigarette before turning off the lamp next to him trying to sleep but a certain woman wouldn’t leave his mind and it wasn't the one next to him. It had been years since he couldn’t keep her out of his mind, maybe seeing someone with her eye color made the memories return again. When he saw Henry up close he noticed that he had dark green eyes that would be lighter in the sun, which reminded him of his Melia.
Which reminded him of the new lad that he had to send a car to tomorrow, he was really excited to work with him and Tommy was rarely excited about. He just hopes nothing goes wrong because Alfie will have his neck if something happens to his lad.
Tommy tried again to clear his head and tightly shut his eyes.