At Your Service [Tommy Shelby]

Picnic - Part 1

After the promise he made her, they both went their separate ways to try and get some last hours of sleep before the trip. Well, Vivian tried. Thomas couldn't even bother to. Sleep is not something that comes easy for him and he had some work to do anyways. He actually felt some slither of excitement burning in his chest, that's quite uncommon he thought to himself. And something else that was quite uncommon for him, were his nerves. He made this promise in a moment of passion, and to be honest, it was quite worth it, seeing the excitement on her face. Yet, he does not know how to handle this situation. He feels there is something extraordinary about this girl and it was almost an adventure to get to know her. He does however have a wife, two children, and a criminal empire. So what's the end game here, hey? He shakes his head as he tries to wave the thoughts away. The last couple of weeks he had this urge to go out on the field, get lost, like he used to. It's his roots that let him yearn for that particular freedom, not being trapped in a house, no matter how big it is. Maybe he needs to listen to that yearning for once, let his heart dominate instead of his head.

In the meantime Vivian also had a head full of contradicting thoughts and feelings and she too did not know what to do with the situation. She is very excited and actually wonders how it will be with the stoic mister Shelby, or Thomas now.. People have said the most awful things about him, warning her to not get closer to him than she needs to. And a week ago she pretty much agreed with those things, seeing that he dismissed her so rudely before. He redeemed himself however and now, like an eager teenage girl she wants to get to know this mysterious man. His eyes never drop a secret, his mouth doesn't either, or at least not without his permission. He is such an intriguing man, yet she already figured out that the war has left scars which are perhaps even bigger than hers. And it is the topic of war that scares her the most about this man. It's a sensitive topic, every time someone mentions it she can't help but feel panic rise in her chest. Not only because of what she has been through as a nurse, but also because of what it did to her family. Her father.. her brothers.. She has seen firsthand how it absolutely destroyed them. And to now have someone else in front of her, slowly showing the scars, terrifies her. She did decide to let him speak if the topic were to introduce itself. Perhaps it's a good thing, sharing some of those demons?

~

While the sun rose and the birds started to chirp, Vivian slowly woke up. She's actually surprised that she managed to get in a few hours of sleep. She did not know how late Thomas would be ready, so it would be best to just get ready right away. It was a good thing that she did, because she has never spent this long getting ready. Not that she was doing anything over the top with her looks, but every little detail had to be just right. She put on a dress and an overcoat seeing that it was still spring and not that warm yet. She rouged her cheeks, put some light lipstick and let her hair down. Perhaps that's one of her most favorite parts of her free day, she doesn't need to put her hair up.
She stands in front of the mirror, twirling around, seeing if her dress was not too frumpy. But it was honestly just right. She had had some breakfast downstairs and she is now ready to go out. It's actually  a bit annoying that he didn't give a time estimate, afternoon is a big time span. She decides to go downstairs already and just wait for any sign of life from Thomas.

After a final look in the mirror she hops downstairs, barely containing her excitement. She had already brought her bag just to be sure. She doesn't really know where to look for him, and she doesn't know if it would be annoying if she went and asked him when they would go. When she walked in the hall there was no sign of him anywhere, in the foyer however, she was greeted by the happy face of Johnny Dogs.
"Ah, Vivian! I was looking fer ye!" Vivian flashes him a smile, "For me?"
"Aye, orders from the boss to take ye where we gypsies love to go." She frowns, what is that supposed to mean? She wanted to start asking questions but he already started walking, gesturing to her that she needs to follow him. They walked to the front entrance where a car was parked. He opened the door for her and she stepped in, still confused about the whereabouts of Thomas Shelby. Is he not coming anymore? She did ask whether he would not have work, he answered with probably, was that sarcastic, or..?

It's like Johnny is absolutely oblivious to the fact that this is quite confusing for Vivian. After a couple of minutes of Johnny babbling on about the geese he loves to shoot Vivian interrupts him with the question she wanted to ask right away. "Johnny, where is mister Shelby?" He looks at her for a second, still not realizing how nothing of this makes sense, "Well, he's out of course. I thought you knew that.." She blinks her eyes a couple of seconds to let the information sink in. Out? So he is working? She can't help but feel her mood drop. "right.." she mumbles. Johnny keeps babbling on about his daily catches.

After a few minutes of Vivian marinating in her own disappointment she decides she would not let it ruin her first free day. She wanted to go out anyways and if Thomas didn't ask her, she would have asked Johnny. So nothing changed... or so she keeps telling herself. "So.. Johnny where are you taking me?"
He laughs with excitement, "Ohoh, Vivian, I am taking you to a lovely piece of nature. You're going to love it!" A twinge of excitement grows inside of her chest. She doesn't know how long the ride takes, it isn't too far away before she sees a gypsy wagon parked with two horses in front of it. 'Oh my.. would that be for us?' Vivian thinks to herself. Her suspicion is confirmed when Johnny seems to slow down the closer they get. Eventually they stop in front of the wagon, Vivian flashes a smile, "yeah, see, I thought you would like that." Johnny says proudly. They get out and when they walk around the wagon, in there she sees the man that was 'out' today. 

"Thank you Johnny, I'll take it from here." He turns his head towards Vivian and gives one of his well-known slight nods. "My pleasure, Tom, she's great company." Vivian can't help but blush and while she thought she couldn't get anymore flustered Tommy says, "That she is, Johnny. That she is." He can't help but show a little smile at the way her cheeks flush at the slightest of compliments. Johnny starts the car up again and leaves the two alone. This was probably the best case scenario Vivian thinks to herself.

Tommy stands up and walks her to the front of the wagon where they both take place. With a click of his tongue the horses start to move. She can barely contain her excitement. She loves horses so much, even though she has never driven one herself. She would love to learn it. "I hope Johnny treated you well." Tommy begins.
"Oh yes, he was a real gentleman." She hears Tommy let out a slight chuckle, "Johnny a gentleman? The wonders haven't left the world." She playfully slaps his arm as she says, "he really was!" Even Tommy can't help but laugh now, while he is embarrassingly aware of her touching his arm. She immediately notices how laid back he is now, especially compared to the times she met him at his house. She doesn't know if she has ever seen him laugh, and now she has, twice even!
"He did say you were 'out' today.. I thought you stood me up." Tommy raises an eyebrow as he looks at her cheeky face. "Hmm.." he responds "must be quite a disappointment to notice me being here after all." He is actually teasing her back, and she is loving every second of it. "hmm, very." She tries to sound as sarcastic as she can, to not somehow give him the wrong idea. He lets out a sarcastic sigh, saying: "Well, that's too bad, cause I had quite the trip planned out. Perhaps I should turn this arou-." When Vivian felt the horses suddenly make a turn as to turn back she almost shouted a resounding "No!" Which made Tommy chuckle for the third time today. He actually feels somewhat okay today he notices as Vivian shyly scoffs at him. It all just feels so natural with her, there is no tough façade, or at least not today.