Save him

Chapter 7

The bonfire had been a success. Tommy had put his trust in Lana and was rewarded. The fond smiles that Tommy and Lana shared from separate sides of the bonfire had not gone unnoticed by the other Shelby brothers.

Tommy and Lana both made their way home, arm in arm.

"You did good today Lana." Tommy said, offering her a drag of his cigarette.

"Why thank you Tommy, but I just came up with the idea of the bonfire, you executed it." Tommy shook his head, why didn't Lana just take the credit for it?

They had both been enjoying each other's company too much to realise that they had made it home from the short walk it took to get there.

Tommy stopped Lana before she could walk through the door. He looked down at his feet. "Lana...would you mind staying in my room again tonight."

Lana smiled to herself, loving the fact that the Tommy Shelby was getting shy. She reached forward and placed her hand on his arm, making him look up at her.

"Of course I will."

They both smiled at each other before Tommy nodded his head towards the door. "Come on, I'll make us a drink."

The house was considerably warmer than outside and Lana loved it. She settled down on the sofa whilst Tommy boiled some water for Lana's tea. Tommy had learnt over the past couple of days that Lana would drink whiskey only if it was put in her tea. She told him that from when she was from, she was used to drinking very sugary alcohol which didn't taste of alcohol at all really. Lana liked her drinks sweet, so Tommy's solution for that was mixing her whiskey with a very sweet tea. And for that Lana was grateful. It was the smallest and most stupidest thing to be grateful over but she felt that drinking whiskey with his family was something that she could do to fit in, and none of them made fun of the fact that she couldn't handle the hard liquor on its own.

They both settled down on the same sofa, knees brushing against each other's. They didn't mind though, both being too touch starved to care. Lana sat sipping her alcoholic tea whilst Tommy watched her, cradling his own glass of whiskey.

"I haven't really said this properly yet Tommy and for that I'm sorry. I just want to say how thankful I am for you and your family. Before I actually knew any of you, you were painted out as very harsh and I'm grateful that I'm not treated with any hostility. It means a lot to someone whose never really had anybody there for them in their life." Lana said all of this whilst avoiding eye contact with Tommy, not sure if he would be comfortable with the emotional conversation. Although they had already had quite an emotional conversation before, she still couldn't read Thomas very well.

"We trust you Lana, not sure why but you soon learn in this business to trust your gut feeling. And mines screaming that you're on our side."

Lana smiled, "of course I am."

Before the two could say anything else, the door opened. Finn walked through in his pyjamas, looking very tired and rubbing his eyes. "I can't sleep."

Lana immediately got up, followed by Tommy. Tommy walked towards Finn, intending on tucking him back into bed. Lana grabbed his hand and stopped him. "I've got this, you can head upstairs if you want." Tommy nodded before looking at Finn and saying goodnight.

Lana took Finns hand and led him towards his room which was on the ground floor next to the kitchen. Tommy grabbed the cups that were just being used and took them to the sink. He stared out of the small window and tapped his fingers on the counter top. Before he knew what was happening he heard Lana singing.

"You're just too good to be true,
Can't take my eyes off of you,
You'd be like heaven to touch,
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived,
And I thank God I'm alive,
You're just too good to be true,
Can't take my eyes off of you."

Tommy wasn't surprised that Lana's voice sounded beautiful. He could tell just looking at her. The lyrics were something he had never heard before but he liked it. It reminded him very strongly of her. Little did he know, she was thinking of him whilst singing the lyrics.

Tommy didn't have anymore time to think before he could hear the soft closing of Finns bedroom door and the even softer footsteps making their way back into the kitchen. Lana was expecting Tommy to have already gone upstairs so was a bit shocked to still see him in the kitchen.

"Are you okay Thomas?" Tommy didn't usually like it when people called him Thomas, but coming from her he didn't mind.

Tommy's face fell into a smirk, "I couldn't move, I thought I heard the sound of an angel singing."

Lana immediately blushed pink and giggled. Tommy loved it.

"Come on you big softie." Lana grabbed his hand, intending to drag him up the stairs, she'd had an exciting day and was starting to feel sleepy. Tommy held onto her hand but slowly pulled her back into him. Lana not expecting this tripped over her own feet and landed in the arms of Tommy.

Tommy immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, still being respectful of her boundaries. Lana didn't care though, she wanted his arms wrapped around her waist properly. Lana looked up at him, being shorter than him she fit against him perfectly, being just the perfect height to rest her head against his chest right at his heart.

Lana returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Tommy's back tightly. She rested her cheek against his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat under her ear. Tommy rested his head on hers, giving her a kiss on her hair before doing so. Lana closed her eyes, she has never felt so calm and relaxed in her life. She deeply inhaled, smelling Tommy's distinctive smell of cigarettes and whiskey, something that in her early life she would have been disgusted by. But now it was a sign of comfort, of love.

"Are you okay Tommy?" Lana asked, not removing herself from the hug.

Tommy didn't verbally answer, just humming. Lana slowly lifted her head off of his chest, prompting Tommy to look at her.

Both stared at each other, taking in the others eyes. Lana lifted one hand from around Tommy and brought it to his face. She cupped his cheek, stroking her thumb over his skin. Tommy moved his head slightly to place a small kiss on her thumb.

To anybody looking in on this, it would look like they had been a couple for years. They were both extremely close and intimate, yet they had never even kissed. Yes there was the odd flirting every now and then but Lana didn't think anything of it.

Lana had realised on the night that she had the panic attack, the night she went to Tommy's room and he laid with her, comforting her, she liked him more than she could ever have imagined. This was crazy to Lana, she wasn't sure she had ever loved anyone in her life, not even her family. So to have so quickly fallen for someone she had known for only a short time was scary. But she loved it.

Little did Lana know, Tommy was in the same boat. Tommy had felt what he thought was love. Of course he loved his family, but this was different. He felt complete with Lana, like he didn't have to put a tough act on and he could completely be himself. Normally Tommy would have been afraid to have fallen so deeply, but with Lana it felt right. It felt like it was meant to be.

And in the second after Tommy had kissed Lana's thumb so gently and so softly, they both knew something. They both knew that they never wanted this feeling to end.

They both meant forward, testing the waters with each other. Their lips met in the middle.

It was Lana's first kiss. It wasn't Tommy's but this felt like a breath of fresh air. Her lips were so soft and sweet, and to Lana Tommy felt heavenly. They both broke apart, needing air.

Tommy rested his forehead on hers, taking some deep breaths. Lana smiled at him.

"You're an angel Lana, my angel."