Aurora laid still on her side, her head firmly on the pillow as she watched Tommy across the room. She had been watching him for quite a while, daring not to move and bother him. It was plain to see that while Aurora had been sleeping, Tommy had tasked himself with a small bit of snooping around Aurora's room, perhaps even the whole house. The empty side of her bed had not been slept in which meant Tommy had ample amount of time to complete his search quest. Aurora didn't mind, her house was open to him, she had nothing to hide within these walls. If truth be told, it made her happy to see him take such interest.
Tommy was now resting on the chair in the corner of the room, his feet up on her small desk. Something within his hand had taken his interest and to Aurora's surprise his eyes filled with such raw emotion, one she had never seen the likes of before. He appeared, sad, disgusted, furious and agitated all at once, it was overwhelming and the more time that passed the more thick the air around them became. Aurora could see that Tommy was offended by what was in his hands yet he made no move to take it from his sight
Pulling herself into a sitting position, Aurora swallowed harshly as she finally recognised the small box he had found.
She began cursing herself internally for not hiding them better but how was she to know that Tommy of all people would find them. Tommy's eyes flickered to hers momentarily, acknowledging that he knew she was awake before turning back to the box. With a small yawn, Aurora slipped out of bed and approached Tommy, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a soft reassuring squeeze. She smiled slightly as he reached up and took her hand. Without uttering a single word she bent down until their ears lined up and stared down into the box with him.
Aurora had never seen David's war medals up close before. When he had handed her the box and told her to take them away she had done so. Never had she gotten the urge to open it up and look inside. Now as Aurora came face to face with them she couldn't find the words to describe just how haunting they appeared. They were nicely decorative medals, glimmering in the morning sunlight and yet Aurora was terrified. Flashbacks of the war erupted within her mind, the smell, the fear, the loss, the pain from the aftermath. Aurora then felt guilty, she couldn't possibly fathom what Tommy was thinking as he looked down at these small pieces of torment, the shiny little medals that came with a life filled with nightmares, suffering and anguish.
"I remember me Dad destroying his, I think Chris did too but David was different. One day he came to me, demanding I take the medals far away from him, somewhere that he'll never see them again, couldn't destroy them you see, said he tried yet couldn't tear them away from his hand. Suppose everyone felt differently about them. Henry never got any medals, to them bastards in power he was just another nameless solider who had fallen into the mud. Why would they give a solider medals when he had failed at his job. You were all sent away to do the worst possible task and what did you get in return for the trauma, a bunch of fucking shiny medals, worth nothing but painful memories" Aurora explained, a tear dripping onto Tommy's shirt as her thoughts shifted to Henry.
Feeling her tears drip on to his shirt, Tommy snapped out his trance and hastily placed the lid on top of the box. Turning to face Aurora, he gave her a pointed look, one that told her to dry her tears and pull through the sadness. Bringing her hand away from Tommy's shoulder, Aurora quickly wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
"The War is over mouse, let's not look into the past ey? It's time for everyone to fuckin' move on"
Putting the box back into the draw he got it from, he slammed it and rubbed a hand over his face. Bending down, Aurora placed a kiss on his head, letting her lips linger against his hair for a moment.
"It's not over, not for you and that's ok to admit. You don't have to pretend with me Tommy, just know I'm here, always" Aurora cooed gently running her fingers through his hair before caressing his cheek.
Bringing his hand away from his eyes, Tommy leaned up and pressed his lips softly against Aurora's. Pulling her into his lap, he held her close, craving her touch in a desperation he had never experienced before. Tommy felt his mind beginning to settle slightly as her warmth seeped into his skin, dragging those cold, damp tunnels from head and replacing them with a set of golden eyes.
Detangling herself free, Aurora stood up and offered her hand out with a smile.
"Come on, breakfast and then office"
"You get dressed mouse, I'll start the cups of tea"
Looking down, Aurora noticed she was still in yesterday's clothes and suddenly she felt exceedingly dirty. It was best Tommy started breakfast without her, Aurora was in serious need of a wash and new clothes that didn't smell like rain and stables.
"Good idea Tommy, I won't be long" Aurora reassured already heading towards her wardrobe as Tommy gave her a slight nod and headed out the room.
Noting that she hadn't heard his footsteps on the stairs, Aurora closed one of the wardrobe doors and frowned, waiting for him to speak up or make an appearance.
"Aurora" Tommy finally called out and tugging on a light yellow dress, Aurora threw it on the bed and walked out the room.
Tommy was stood looking up at a painting, his head to the side as he looked on in wonder. The painting showed a beauteous horse, gracefully sprinting through a field of wild flowers, an angry scar running down its side. It was a exquisite but harrowing piece of art.
"Yes Tommy?" Aurora enquired appearing beside him, waiting patiently for him to bring his eyes away from the painting.
"This piece.......who painted it?" Tommy wondered, admiring the work while resisting the urge to pull it from the wall and place it within his own home.
"I did, I thought adding me own work to the house would be a nice touch, make it more personal to me. All the paintings you see on the wall are mine" Aurora confessed with a shrug.
She had never been proud of her work but it did make her happy to see people's reaction to it whether they liked it or not.
"Now tell me mouse why would you be working in a fuckin' office when you could be charging toffs for your work. Robbing them out of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of pounds. You have a skill mouse, why not use it?" Tommy frowned before throwing her a wink.
"It's more of a hobby Tommy, something I do for fun, not to rob people" Aurora laughed, rolling her eyes at him.
Did Tommy ever stop thinking of ways to swipe coin from underneath people?
"Well if business ever fails, you could prostitute your work" Tommy offered seriously causing Aurora to scoff and slap his shoulder.
"Thomas!... just go downstairs and get breakfast going" Aurora shook her head, grabbing him and pushing him towards the stairs.
Turning to walk in the direction of the bathroom, Aurora found herself giggling at how peculiar Tommy Shelby was.
What had she gotten herself into?
To Aurora's disappointment, breakfast passed fast. She had wanted to enjoy his company more but they had already been pushing for time. Knowing she couldn't keep him within her home forever, Aurora had reluctantly followed him out to the car and there they began the drive to the office. Arriving at work, Aurora took Tommy's hand and held it tightly, ignoring the shocked stares from workers as they walked through the doors. Holding her head up, Aurora focused her attention on her Dads office. She could see him watching them through the door but it did not deter Aurora from dropping Tommy's hand, it was time everyone got used to seeing them together.
"Morning William" Tommy announced heading into the office first.
William noticing the happiness in his daughters eyes placed a large smile on his face and relaxed in his chair knowing the troubles from yesterday had gone. William also wasn't cretinous, he knew the two had spent the night together. He had been informed by one of the workers of Tommy's appearance the evening before and now he was grateful for it, being that Tommy was the one who had made his child smile once more.
"Morning Tommy, Aurora" William greeted, giving Aurora a knowing look.
"Ok Dad, I will leave you men to your business but I'm going to need something to do"
Letting go of Tommy's hand she stared at her Dad expectantly, still not feeling too happy about being left out of business and kept in the dark.
"I have no work for you today Aurora so do as will but be back for 3, I shall be done with your Tommy by then" William smirked humorously trying to tease his daughter and watching her face go red, he let out a laugh.
"Fine suppose I'll head to the Golden Lion, see you two in a bit"
Leaning up Aurora placed her lips on Tommy's cheek and slipping her hand into his pocket, she removed his car keys and headed for the door.
"Try not to get drunk mouse, we don't want a repeat of last time!"
The atmosphere in the pub was tense and oppressive. Aurora had walked in, a wide smile on her face ready to greet the locals but upon entering that smile had immediately dropped. Looking around she saw every man sat in silence, staring down at their drinks in sadness and pity. Their hats were firmly removed from their heads in a sign of respect and to Aurora's horror she noticed that she was the only one dressed in yellow, everyone else wore black. There was no laughter, no playfulness, the room had been stripped from joy.
Instead of leaving the door to slam behind her, Aurora gripped the handle and slowly closed it trying not to make a sound. She cursed herself for wearing heels as they echoed painfully throughout the pub with each step she took towards the bar. Watching her approach with caution, Keith sent her the tiniest smile, the poor girl didn't know.
"Keith what's happened?" Aurora whispered, leaning over the bar.
Nodding his head over to the corner of the room, Aurora turned around and saw George sat by himself looking like the world had shattered around at his wife.
"George's wife died" Keith announced and with a small gasp, Aurora turned back to him with wide sad eyes.
"No! When? What happened?" She begged, her hand coming to her mouth.
Her poor George!
"Five days ago, poor woman died in her sleep. Doctor said there was nothing that could be done, it was her age that took her. The funeral was earlier at dawn, her favourite time of the day" Keith explained mournfully sending a burst of guilt through Aurora.
George had lost the woman he loved, he had lost everything and she didn't even know. He was her friend and she hadn't the faintest clue of what was happening in his life. Giving Keith her thanks, Aurora took a deep breath and slowly began to approach George.
"Hey there" she managed to croak out, not knowing what to say to the broken hearted man.
To her surprise George looked up with tired sleepless eyes and managed to grace her with a smile.
"Here she is! My little ray of sunshine, came to cheer an old guy up. You look beautiful may I say" George greeted her, taking the time to admire the burst of yellow. He was tired of seeing black everywhere he went.
"Oh George! I'm so sorry, had I know...I.." Aurora pleaded coming to sit beside him only to be cut off as George took her hand and shushed her.
"You weren't to know Darling, I didn't expect it myself....it should of been me first"
Aurora felt her nose beginning to tingle watching George tear up and let out a sob of anguish. She was helpless. There was absolutely nothing she could do to help him, all she could do was offer her upmost comfort.
Wrapping her arm around him, Aurora allowed George to weep on her shoulder. She softly began to hum, hoping she could at least soothe him for the moment.
"Aurora will you help me?" George whispered, wiping his tears away with shaky hands.
"Yeah of course George, what is it?"
"Maddison's things.....I can't bring myself to go through them" George admitted, replaying the times he had tried to pack up her clothes and proceeded to cry over them each time.
"I'll help you George, come on me ole fool!" Aurora smile gently helping him up from his seat and feeling grateful to escape the pub, George hurried Aurora along to his house.
His bedroom smelt sweet with hints of floral, Aurora imagined George had been spraying his wife's perfume each day. In the corner of the room were empty boxes, waiting for her things to be placed inside and put away. It wasn't that George was trying to remove her from memory but seeing her things caused his heart to shatter over and over each day. He still wasn't sure how he was going to live without her.
Aurora who had been waiting in the doorway, slowly began making her way into the room trying her hardest not to overstep her boundaries or do anything to cause further upset.
"Thank you Aurora, you're a good child" George nodded sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Do you not have any children George?" Aurora enquired heading over the boxes and getting down on her knees.
Turning around she waited until George give her a nod of approval before she started her task.
"Oh god no! Maddison was very firm with her no children rule. She wanted to travel, explore! She didn't want to be sat at home, surrounded by children. That would of been her worst nightmare!" George chuckled slapping his knee, remembering how Maddison had pulled him to one side on their wedding day and demand that he didn't plant no children in her.
"And how did you meet her?" Aurora continued, slowly beginning to fold the clothes she had found on the floor.
She wanted to pull happy memories from George, she wanted him to remember his wife and cherish his time with her instead of constantly remembering her death.
"We met in 1868, I was very young in fact I had just turned sixteen. I remember my friend Sam bringing this beautiful woman to the house. Her hair was a golden dream, it fell down her back in stunning waves and her eyes.....oh her eyes I had never seen a green so vibrant. She was with my friend but I knew right there and then that she was the woman I wanted to marry. I quickly fell deeply in love with her. I would have done anything to make her happy. We began sneaking around soon after meeting, we didn't want to hurt Sam yet our selfish needs came first. He was angry of course but even he could see just how much we had fallen for each other and with his blessing we continued our courting. You know we got married after five months, there was no waiting around. I can't remember if I asked her father for her hand either" George revealed, a loving look in his eyes, his heart swelling painfully.
He missed her dearly.
Aurora listened on with a smile, she could only dream of having a love as strong as George's and Maddison's. Maddison was a lucky woman, they were both lucky to have each other and to have the undying love.
"I wish I could of met her" Aurora remarked thinking about the remarkable woman who had captured the heart of her favourite fool.
"I told her all about you, talked her head off all night about how funny you were. She wanted me to bring you home, help you recover from your upset at the hands of 'these stupid men' as she put it"
Maddison had been irate that day, wondering why he had spent so much time at the pub, missing his tea. When he had explained the story and how sad Aurora had been, his wife had immediately went into protective mode and begged him to go find the girl he had so carelessly let go out the pub with a stranger.
"May I ask how is that stupid man that hurt you so?" George grinned already knowing the answer.
He could see from the redness in her cheeks and the sparkle in her golden eyes that Aurora had fallen deeply for someone and he imagined that someone was the man who had came into the pub to collect her.
"He's.....great! We're great" Aurora chirped shyly hiding her face with her hair.
"Just great?"
"Ok fine George! It's amazing! I'm so happy but m'terrified! M'terrified I have fallen too quickly, m'terrified that I am growing to love him and that just maybe he doesn't feel the same. He loved someone before her met me! What if she comes and he leaves?" Aurora felt like she was bursting from the seams as words tumbled from her mouth.
"If he leaves, he's a brainless bastard! You are, my dear, a fine beautiful smart young woman and if you can't capture that mans heart then no one can. Forgot this other woman she is nothing to you and soon with your help she will slip from his mind too. Never doubt yourself sweetheart, you are worthy of everything and anything! If you ever need this ole fool to roughen him up I will, I still have some fight left!"
At his words, Aurora let out a small laugh, swallowing the lump in her throat as she overcame the urge to cry. Standing up, she approached George and threw her arms around him.
"Thank you George" Aurora sniffled, the ole fool had a way with words and without truly knowing it, he had helped Aurora greatly.
Patting her back, George rose from the bed and sighed with a smile.
"Let's continue packing up, I think I'm ready to face it"
It was just past two in the afternoon when Aurora finished putting the last box gently in the loft and feeling a sense of accomplishment she joined George downstairs. She would have to leave soon but she needed to make sure George was as good as he could possibly be and that she would see him again this week. Aurora wanted to look after George, she never wanted him to ever feel alone especially during his time of grieving.
"I'll be sure to make you one of my cakes for our next meeting George" Aurora beamed sitting on the arm of George's chair.
He was resting by the fire now, his body aching from the heaviness he had been carrying around in his heart.
"Before you leave I want to give you something" George announced reaching into his pocket and handing Aurora a small blue box.
"I don't need anything George, I just wanted to help" Aurora protested, not wanting to be taking advantage of his generosity. She had done this to help him and didn't expect to receive anything in return.
"Please I insist!"
Reluctantly taking the box from his hand, Aurora slowly lifted the lid and felt her mouth go dry.
Inside was the most elegant and mesmerising brooch Aurora had laid eyes on. It was a small flower made up of pearls and small diamonds. Inside the flower was a larger diamond that had silver vines decorated with foliage which warped their way around the flower. Aurora was lost for words and lifting her hand, she hesitantly touched it.
"It was one of the gifts I gave to Maddison on our wedding day, I want you to have it, Maddison wants you to have it" George informed Aurora staring at the brooch with her.
He could feel his wife in the room with him, he knew Maddison was telling him it was the right thing to do.
"George I....couldn't...possibly!....I can't" Aurora stuttered over her words with wide eyes, she couldn't take something this important, she couldn't take anything.
"Please Aurora, this is our gift to you. Treasure it and one day will you promise to wear it at your own wedding? I hope I get to see it but I am old now Aurora and if I die before then I will die happily knowing you wore it to marry the man you love" George requested, happy tears in his eyes as he stared up at the woman he saw as a daughter.
"I promise George. I will keep it safe and when I get married I will wear it proudly, close to me heart where it belongs"
Satisfied and overjoyed by her answer, George felt himself relax and taking his hand Aurora relaxed along side him. She couldn't wait to see Tommy and appreciate him being here, safe and alive but for now her ole fool would receive Aurora's attention.
She stayed until he had fallen asleep, finally resting after the hellish week he had been through and placing a blanket over his frame, Aurora kissed his head and quietly slipped from the house.
A/n
Hey guys! So I've had someone confused as to why I always put me instead of my. Here I am to explain to my lovelies.
If you're from the north of England or other certain areas you tend to say me a lot, I don't know why it's just one of those things. I always have to correct myself when I'm around other people. You'll also notice Tommy has done it quite a bit when you watch Peaky Blinders. We're strange humans that's all it is 😂😂