What good are wings without the courage to fly?
Thomas and Dorothy had both developed small habits with each other as of recent days.
For example; when the two greet each other, the following actions must occur:
1) Whoever spots the other first must make it their absolute mission to get their attention in the most subtle way possible.
2) If after three attempts to get the others attention continues to fail, that person is obligated to try and ram over the other person in a very tight hug and greeting.
3) Thomas learned the hard way that she is incredibly easy to topple over.
4) He will be more gentle next time.
Weather Thomas liked it or not (he really liked it) he always had to greet her with a hug, or at least hug her back when she initiated the embrace. No matter where or when.
Lucky for him, most of their encounters always seemed to occur in the early hours of the morning, or late nights when she'd be locking up.
There was one incident though, when Dorothy managed to catch him on the street and tackled him into a very sudden side hug. Thomas gripped her arms in what seemed a friendly way, but was really a ploy to try and move the two mid-hug into a side alley, away from public view.
Another habit they had developed was when Thomas realised that he no longer accepted only meeting her once or twice a week.
He'd never felt the need to be this close to someone as much as possible, he couldn't explain it, but he just knew he wanted it.
So it was this way that Thomas resolved to visiting her at her lunch breaks.
The first time he showed up nearly gave Ms. P
a heart attack as the Shelby man stepped through the door. She was all flustered and blubbering until Dorothy popped her head around the corner, clapping her hands as she rushed around the counter to greet him in a hug.
Ms. P was thoroughly confused when Dorothy wrapped her arms around the very dangerous man, she was even more confused and scared when he reciprocated the action.
Ms. P was perplexed, confused, bewildered, when the dangerous Shelby man rested his cheek on the top of her head as they greeted each other with names that DEFINITELY were not the correct ones.
If she furrowed her eyebrows anymore they probably would have popped off, until Thomas Shelby looked up and told Ms. P that he was going to whisk Dorothy away for the remainder of her hour and a bit long lunch break; to which Ms. P nodded, "Of course, Mr Shelby, go ahead!"
It was only moments like these when Dorothy remembered that her best friend was a very scary man and had a large amount of influence over the area she inhabited. But she did not dwell on those thoughts because she knew who he was, and that's all that mattered.
——
Thomas linked his arm with hers, something she understood he was more comfortable doing in public view.
He gently led her to the entrance of the bakery and pulled her down the streets and markets of Small Heath.
People stared, people always stared. But Thomas didn't care. Though this time he knew they'd go home and talk about it, making speculations what the two were doing together and what they were.
Dorothy knew people were watching, but she didn't particularly care. Dorothy once again forgot who the man she was walking with was. She figured they were just nice people who stayed out of the way or greeted them because they knew her and Thomas.
Thomas and Dorothy both knew most of Small Heath by name or face. Both for vastly different reasons, but it all the same, they were known for their own reasons.
People saw Thomas and they dipped their hats, muttering a quick, "Mr Shelby."
When their eyes followed on to Dorothy they'd narrows their eyes but smile a bit and say, "Miss Dotty-Anne."
This happened a few times, some people even tried to start a conversation with Dorothy, seemingly unaware of the dangerous presence of the Shelby man stood right next to her, who was desperate to whisk her away as quickly as possible to keep her to himself.
"Is Dotty-Anne your name or something?" Thomas leaned in a bit to mutter into her ear.
"No it's not. It's been my nickname for years now, though. I can't quite remember when it occurred, but I just remember Danny calling me that in school, and ever since then, it stuck... I woulda thought you would have worked it out by now with that name alone, Bubs."
"Danny Whizz-bang?"
"Is that the name he goes by now? I haven't seen him in a while, I would love to catch up."
Thomas neglected to tell her that he was 'dead' and decided now what not the time, "Miss Dotty-Anne. Can't say the name comes to mind..."
Dorothy only shrugged and leaned into him slightly, enjoying the warmth he provided.
"I prefer Bonny, though." Thomas smirked back.
She patted his arm,"Me too, Bubs, me too." That was not the answer he expected, but the one he got nonetheless.
——
As the two wondered further into the market place, they arrived at the chippy and cafes.
"What you eatin' then?" He gestured at the rows of market stalls and corner shops.
"What? Oh, sorry Bubs, I don't have any change on me. What you getting though?" She smiled up at him apologetically.
Thomas only shook his head at her and tutted lightly, "we can't have that, now can we? Tell you what, pick something and I'll buy it for you."
"No, Bubs, you can't do that! I've been around this area of the market, FAR too expensive." She waved her hands around trying her best to be serious, but that of course backfired miserably.
"I don't care. Pick something." His voice was a bit more stern and Dorothy wasn't really sure how she felt about it. She bowed her head a little and mumbled quietly.
"What was that, Bons, didn't quite catch that?" He patted his ear, teasingly.
"Never eaten at any of these, so I don't know which to pick." She looked down at her feet and swiped at a pebble as she deemed it far more interesting than whatever Thomas was trying at.
"Well I guess we'll just have to try all of them. Of course not at once. We'll work our way down the road, try and find the best one."
Dorothy perked up at the thought that there was going to be another time.
She sighed, knowing she won't get any say in trying to pay and only walked after Thomas as he made headway for the nearest shop that of which sold quiche.
——
In the end, the two, after much bickering, settled on one quiche as Thomas tried to get her a full one, but then decided he only wanted half of his one and Dorothy insisting she couldn't eat a whole one.
So now they were walking back to the bakery, a small quiche for them to share, "are we really going to make this into a habit?" He gestured at the pastry food, hinting at the fact it seemed that neither of them could eat a full meal, but demanded that the other ate a whole plate; this only resulted in them sharing one meal.
They walked to the small one way alley behind the bakery and sat on the crates again, this time Thomas sat on the opposite side of the same large crate as hers and put the quiche in between.
The two continued to bicker when Dorothy left half a slice and Thomas came an inch close to just picking it up and stuffing it in her mouth (he would have gently put it to her mouth, but the empty threat worked either way. (Yes he was slightly bummed he lost the chance to feed her, doing that thing that couples do when they're happy. Disgusting.))
The two found themselves in deep conversations about nothing and playfully fighting about mundane things like getting to the moon (Thomas was a non-believer) and weather the violin could really be considered an instrument, (Thomas, it turns out- has no ear for music, whatsoever).
Before Dorothy knew it, she had to rush back in to the bakery, giving Thomas a quick side hug and squeeze as she left. Leaving him pining for her touch one more time before he had to go back to the real world.
Her vanilla and Rose-water scent lingered beneath his nostrils as she left to go back to work.
Thomas often found himself thinking of her at night, whenever he couldn't sleep or when the mud woke him up. He thought about the idea of her curling into his side, he hoped that he could one day be that warm furnace that she always craved when she got cold. He so desperately wanted to be the thing that stopped her from practically breaking her neck as she tightened into what looked like a very uncomfortable ball. He wanted that.
Thomas quickly decided that these visits would be a daily encounter and NOTHING was going to stop him from seeing his Bonny.
With those thoughts, he went on his way.
——
This was a bit slow and kind of a filler, but I needed to write it anyway.
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