Thomas Shelby never saw her coming.
With her quick wit and scary silences, Leilani Solomons was a vision to the eyes of any man. He wanted her. But she didn't want anyone. Betrayed by most men in her life Leilani wasn't ready to trust anyone. Not...
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THOMAS AND ANI HAD BEEN DANCING FOR HOURS. So much so that it was just the two of them and the staff left in the club. Ani didn't know if it was because Thomas had told everyone else to leave discreetly, threatening or frightening them. Or if they had just left because it was two o'clock in the morning. Either way, she was happy not knowing. She was happy.
An emotion which Ani was rather unfamiliar with. Of course she felt warmth towards her friends and family when they came around. They would make her laugh, have uplifting conversations with Ada and reflect on her childhood with her siblings. But if this moment with Thomas is what happiness felt like, then she had never felt it. Not like this.
Their bodies had been pressed against eachovers for hours. They gave up on any of the fast moving steps. It seemed as though they both wanted to be as close to eachover as possible. Instead, they slow-danced to the sound of beautiful but plain music. Played by a single musician. All the others had gone home.
Lani had a suspicion that Thomas had paid the musician to stay longer as he saw the colour leap in her eyes as she heard him play.
It was true.
Thomas just wanted to make Ani happy. He wouldn't admit it, maybe that was a bad thing. But for now, he just wanted to see the smile on her face stay there for however long he can. Thomas was astounded at the fact that they weren't tired of eachovers company.
He watched as Ani's eyes began to flutter close every now and again, showing her tiredness. Not that she said anything. The light flow of her dress occasionally brushed against Thomas's leg, reminding him of his luck. His luck to be here with this woman. This beautiful woman who, for some crazy reason wanted to spend time with him.
Thomas slowly moved his hand from the small of Ani's back to her arm. Slowly moving away from her, leaving her cold in the places where he once was.
"Let's get you home" he says, almost as a whisper.
Ani nods, not ready to spoil this evening with words. Thomas had left Ani's side to go and speak to the violinist. Making Ani smile at the fact that her suspicions were correct. She decided to let Thomas keep up the charade. He didn't need to know that she knew of his sneaky romantic persona.
Instead, Ani turned around, beginning to walk slowly to the door, knowing that Thomas would be slowly following.
Ani knew of his presence because he wouldn't let her open the door. He opened it himself, surprising Ani again of the romance he hid so well. Thomas noticed the smile growing on her face when he did this. He'd have to open doors more often.
The cold breeze hit Ani hard. After being in the warmth of the club for hours on end she had become accustomed to not wearing a coat. This thought quickly stemmed her memory. She forgot her coat at home. She was too nervous to register that she was cold on the way to the club. Now, however, she was happy and full of butterflies, minus heat.
The only heat she felt was Thomas by her side, who seemed to be amused at her.
"What?" Ani questions at his smirk.
"Ask" Thomas says, not looking at her.
"A gentleman wouldn't make me ask" Ani replies. Indicating to his coat.
"Alright" he mumbles, obviously a bit thrown off by the statement, he shrugs off his coat and comes to a halt. Ani follows suit and stops. He holds his coat for a moment. Clearly not knowing what to do now.
"Thomas" Ani whispers, trying not to laugh at his incompetence.
Finally, he cloaks the coat over Ani's shoulders. A small huff escaping him, causing Ani to giggle slightly.
"There we go" she says smugly.
"Ah, you keep me young" Thomas teases.
"Someone has to" she whispered, trying her best to keep her laugh in.
"Oh that's it" Thomas says, turning to Ani. In one quick motion Ani is over Thomas's shoulder being held upside down. "Put me down" she shrieks happily.
He does not listen. Instead he carries her, literally kicking and screaming.
"Are you ready to apologise" he asks, trying to sound serious, but quickly failing.
"Never!" Ani laughs, hitting Thomas's back lightly.
In that moment, the whole world was silent. It was just the two of them. The random drunkards walking past laughed at them. Not that either of them noticed.
Finally Thomas lowers Ani to the ground. Both out of breath from laughing so much. The smile on Thomas's face looked unfamiliar. He obviously didn't smile often, let alone laugh. It looked good on him.
"I haven't done something like that since I was a child" Ani laughs, regaining her breath.
"I can't imagine Alfie as the big brother who did that" Thomas mocks. Picking up his jacket which had fallen on the floor and placing it back over Ani's shoulders. It was hers now. It suited her better.
"Well, he's changed a lot. But he did play. In fact, my first memory was playing with Alfie and Dot in our little garden in Russia. I must have only been about two or three" Ani reminisced, floating into her own world.
She had lived many different lives. But her first was in Russia. Only for three years of her life, she barely remembered it, therefore she made it a mission to learn Russian from her siblings. She wanted to make her mother proud. Alfie taught her daily after school. Dot seemed to want to forget everything about Russia. Including the language. Including their mother.
"You're Russian?" Thomas inquires, suddenly interested. "Partially. My mother was Russian. My father is Welsh" Ani says. Not that she ever saw her Father. He didn't even know she existed. Well, that's what she told herself.
"How old was Alfie when you left?" Thomas asks, beginning to shift the light conversation to an interrogation.
"Probably about 8 or so before we went to italy, why?" Ani snaps back, obviously irritated at the shift of tone.
"I just want to learn more about you and your family, you went to italy?" Thomas says casually, almost as a mumble, as he places a cigarette between his lips.
"Why, Thomas?" Ani asks, coming to a halt.
"Why what?" Thomas answers, seeming to have lost his romantic edge.
"Why do you want to know?" Ani answers with another question.
Thomas had angered her. He was lying to her she knew he was lying. How? Because she studied him. They had only seen eachover for the past week or so, but Thomas had became her friend. She examined the way his body tensed at certain words or phrases. And she examined the way that he smoked whenever he was nervous or hiding something.
