A Shelby Mistress

Eggs

"You what?" Were the first words to slip from Tommy's lips, his stare wide in disbelief as he looked down at their clasped hands. In truth Aurora hadn't expected him to be so surprised, he was the one who'd surprised her by asking her Dad for his blessing.
"I want to be with you" Aurora started before sighing softly "It's not just because of what me Dad said but also because he made me realise somethin' and from comin' from your office to here helped assert that realisation"
"You've came here to be with me?" Tommy questioned and pulling her hand away, Aurora jumped up from the bed and began to pace, fiddling with her fingers as her mind began to spin in thought.
"No Tommy I came 'ere to watch you fuck someone for the good of my health" She remarked sarcastically, inwardly cursing herself for feeling so out of depths around him "Sorry, we've just had the conversation before but it's never normally me speaking from the other side, you're much better at it. I'm nervous, I know this is what we both want but what if you've changed your mind? We've been down this road so many times, I've constantly pushed you away and now here I am expecting you not to do the same to me"
"Aurora" Tommy called out, reaching for her hand and pulling her down until she was resting beside him again "Stop overthinking just say what you have to say"

"You went to my Dad for his blessing and I've came to tell you that my answer is no but I do want to be with you Tommy. I don't want us to start again, we can't leave things in the past. We have to keep moving with everythin' that happened before, good and bad. We've been trying to be as we were before by forgetting but we can be how we were without running. The night Grace died I was goin' to say yes to being with you because it didn't matter how much I hated the things you did, I still loved you just as much as I did before, I always have. You're an absolute bastards Thomas Shelby, you make me angrier than anyone has ever made me, you make me cry not always for the good and living in your world puts me in danger but you also make me feel loved, protected, happy, so happy and I love bein' with you and I love your little boy Charlie. Bein' away from you this time was harder because there wasn't just you I needed, I needed Charlie too. I don't want to be alone anymore Tommy, I don't want to keep pulling myself from you. I want to be with the man I love"

There, she'd done it. Aurora had poured her heart out unburdening her of the weight pressing down on her chest yet her fear continued to grow. She didn't want to be left heartbroken again. She didn't want to constantly try to get Tommy to open up to her until it was too late but Aurora also didn't want to leave herself too vulnerable to him this time. They needed to be equal, they both needed to be open, no longer guessing what the other was thinking and feeling.
"Say something Tommy" Aurora pleaded quietly, her stare never leaving him as she waited impatiently for his answer.
The wait was not long, feeling Tommy's arms wrap around her back she was quickly pulled into an embrace, his face burying itself into her hair, his lips pressed against her head with a smile. Bringing her arms up she returned his embrace and sank into him, her shoulders sagging in relief.
"I love you" He whispered with a long exhale, tightening his hold around, his heart fluttering gently at the sound of her sweet laughter in his ear.
"I love you too Tommy" Aurora replied praying she wasn't about to wake up and be back in Middlesbrough alone. For the first time in a while she felt like she had done something right. The consequences it would bring had drifted from her mind as she rested in Tommy's arms, her mind finally at peace. Pulling away from his embrace, Aurora grinned brightly up at him.
"So Thomas, what do we do now?"
Placing his hands on her face, tommy smiled back and began to lean in. Realising he was about to kiss her, Aurora lifted her hand and covered his mouth.
"Tommy you were just about to fuck someone else, I'm not kissing you yet" Aurora laughed again lighting pushing him away and leaning her head on his shoulder "I want us to take things slower, I don't want to jump straight into bed with you Tommy. It's goin' to take time for us to get back to where we were before Epsom but in the meantime I think we need to start getting to know each other again. I want us to go dancing like we used to, I want us to fall off the bar stools in The Garrison and ride the horses. Perhaps we can go on the road like we were goin' to do after London was finished, take Charlie with us he loves the outdoors. Then you may just get your yes"
"Dancing ey? I can do that" Tommy humoured, kissing the top of her head. It may have been selfish for him to feel this way but Tommy found himself glad that one part of his family had came back to him. Ada was in Boston and Finn although only young was in charge of the shop, having Aurora by his side was what he needed. Charlie was just a baby, he was too young to see the troubles that lay ahead. Tommy had always been the one to provide support and reassurance as head of the family but there were times when he also needed to feel supported and cared for. His mouse had always done that for him, she was his support, his head, his heart alongside Charlie.