Birmingham | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Part 13

Despite her several attempts, (Y/N) was unable to find the woman that she wanted to talk to for a handful of days following the incident that happened after John's wedding. All of her attempts turned up empty, and it seemed as though Grace had turned into a ghost; she was nowhere to be seen.

(Y/N) was working the late shift tonight. Harry had asked her to come back in and help with restocking and some inventorying, among other things. She didn't mind it. There was a strange sense of peace that overcame her as she watched the bar slowly empty as closing time grew nearer. She was going about filling shelves in the stockroom when she heard footsteps approaching her from behind. Her breath got stuck in her throat as she quickly whipped around, and she only let it out in a relieved sigh when she found that it was Harry.

"All good, (Y/N)?" he asked, noticing that he'd startled her.

"Yeah," she nodded, steadying her breathing, "I wasn't expecting you to come in here," she told him the reason why she'd reacted the way she did.

Harry nodded his head in understanding. "Would you be able to clean up the bar when you're finished here?" he asked her.

"Yeah, sure," she nodded her head, her answer making Harry nod as well.

"Thanks," he said to her before he turned and exited the stockroom.

(Y/N) went back to work on unpacking the box in front of her. It only took her a few minutes to empty it, and she made sure that it was discarded to the side before exiting the stockroom. She then got started with cleaning up the main room, first dealing with the floors, cleaning the tables and stacking the chairs. Then she moved to the bar and cleaned off the counter before making sure that the bottles shelved behind it were orderly and filled. She replaced those that weren't before she grabbed the broom and bucket and made her way over to the snug's door. She got a surprise upon opening it.

"Mr. Shelby. I'm sorry...I didn't know you'd be in here," she said, shock laced into her tone as she found Tommy sitting in his chair with a half empty bottle of whiskey and a glass sitting on the table in front of him.

Tommy looked up when he heard her voice, feeling slightly surprised by her sudden entrance. He didn't let that show though. "Mr. Shelby?" he instead questioned her, the slightest of grins appearing on his lips as he quirked an eyebrow upwards.

"It came out before I could catch it, Tommy," she responded, exaggerating her saying of his first name as a sheepish smile graced her features. "Harry told me to clean the bar up. I figured he meant in here too," she told him the reason behind her presence.

"Don't let me stop you then," he said to her, going about lighting a cigarette as he leaned back in the chair, watching her as she dropped the bucket to the ground and began sweeping.

(Y/N) was able to feel his gaze on her, and it was making her heat up more by the second. She carefully carried out her movements so that she wouldn't trip up and look like a dunce while doing it. "What are you doing here so late?" she asked, deciding to make conversation and break the silence when it became apparent to her that he had no intentions of leaving.

"Needed to clear me head," he answered her, stamping out his spent cigarette in the ashtray before he poured himself some more whiskey.

"Something troubling you?" the words left her mouth before she could stop them.

Tommy didn't seem to mind though. He just snorted and went about lighting himself another cigarette. "It's obvious?" he asked then, looking at her as he took a drag.

"You're in here...by yourself, with a half drank bottle of whiskey, and that's the second cigarette I've seen you light in the span of the five minutes I've been in here," (Y/N) pointed out what she'd observed, "and it seems as though they weren't your first two of the day," she then motioned to the ashtray that had a handful of cigarettes in it.