NEW REIGN || Tommy Shelby

XI. ASK AND RECEIVE

- ASK AND RECEIVE -

October 12th, 1921

The bell above the clinic door jingled and Rose called out from the back room, wiping her hands on her apron.

"I'll be right there!"

"Oh, don't rush on my account, Nurse King."

She sighed, rolling her eyes, walking out into the main room. Tommy was leaning on the doorframe, smiling at her, his chin lifted defiantly.

"You weren't there when I woke up," he said, taking a step towards where she had perched on the edge of her wooden desk.

She laughed. "Well, some of us have day jobs, Thomas."

He leaned in to kiss her, but she swerved, pushing off her desk with a small smile and making her way to the back room again.

"I have tools to clean and paperwork to do, my love," she said, turning the sink back on and grabbing a cloth to scrub the pair of scissors she had used earlier that morning. "What are you really doing here?"

She listened to him cross the room, his footsteps heavy on the hardwood. Before she could stop him, he reached around her and turned off the faucet. She turned to him but he didn't move, his hands still leaning on the sink, trapping her close to his chest. Close enough she could smell the smoke and deep amber of his cologne. Close enough she could see the dark blue veins of colour mixing with the ice of his eyes, the light freckles across the bridge of his nose.

"I don't like waking up alone," he said, his lips close enough that if she just leaned forward-

"What, does poor Thomas Shelby get cold?" she said with a mocking pout and a smile. The corner of his mouth lifted.

"I don't want to wake up alone anymore."

Her breath caught in her throat. She tried to just smile, ignoring the pull of nerves in her stomach.

She let out a breathy laugh. "What are you trying to say, Tommy?"

He waited a breath and part of her wanted to grab him and shake the answer out of him.

"Move in with me."

"What?"

His mouth curled into another small smile and he leaned back, letting go of the sink and pulling a cigarette from the case in his pocket. He rubbed it once on his bottom lip, a small
and constant gesture, before he put it between his lips.

"I said-"

"Oh bloody hell, Tom, I heard what you said," she laughed. He moved to light the cigarette but she grabbed it from his mouth and tucked it in the pocket of her apron, giving him a stern look.

"I heard what you said, but-"

He smiled, walking back over to her with a long sigh.

"Roseanne King-" he chuckled, the low sound vibrating through her as he snaked his arms around her waist, "are you lost for words?"

She slapped his shoulder and laughed, heat rising to her cheeks as his gaze met hers, silently asking the question once again.

"What do ya say, Rosie?" he asked, taking off his hat and placing it on her head, tugging it over her eyes. She shoved him with no success, pulling the hat up and looking at him from under the brim.

"You know," she cooed, placing her hands on his chest, "most couples get married before they move in together."

It was his turn to fall silent, his mouth opening once before he closed it. She threw he head back as she laughed, grabbing onto his collar and pulling him down to meet her. She kissed him once, twice, before letting go.