VICES AND VIRTUES | Thomas Shelby

THIRTY SIX

"So you don't just want me there as a sweetener?" Florence remarked, a mug of tea in her hands as stood in the Shelby kitchen, leaning against the sideboard as Tommy sat at the table.

"I want you there to ensure I don't blindly put my trust in a man from Camden Town," Tommy quipped, comforted by the sound of Daisy, Oliver and Charles playing in the next room with their cousin Karl, overseen by Isiah and Finn.

"A man who you've known for what, four years?" Florence replied, assuming that Tommy would have a better chance of judging the man's integrity.

"It can be hard to predict Alfie Solomons' moves, you've always been good at gaging people," Tommy told her.

"That's it, is it?" Florence raised her eyebrows, "You want me there for my people reading skills? Why not just ask Polly?"

"Because she's not you," Tommy answered and Florence's blood ran cold, they had shared fleeting kisses since their reconciliation at Tommy's gin distillery, but nothing more, they'd not even dared to discuss what existed between them.

"That's not a reason, Thomas," Florence smirked, placing her mug on the sideboard and folding her arms across her chest.

Tommy sighed heavily, standing up from the dining table and approaching her with a slight grin, resting his hands on her jaw before he slowly kissed her, the taste of tea was sweet on her lips, while the remnants of smoke lingered on his, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, "Is that a good enough reason?"

"I'm not sure," She whispered, kissing him again, her hands intertwined at the back of his neck, until she pulled back again, "Seems good enough to me."

"Good," Tommy smiled, running his knuckles over her jaw, "Because there's no one I trust as much as you."

Florence remained quiet, and her silence didn't go unnoticed.

"What's the matter?" Tommy frowned, "Don't you trust me?"

"I do," Florence nodded, "Just perhaps not as much as I did before...well, everything went wrong."

"I thought we resolved that," Tommy stepped back, because he believed that he had dealt with it, that he had calmed Florence's doubts.

"Resolving it doesn't mean that I don't struggle with the concept of depending on you the way I once did," Florence admitted, "I may not need you the way I once did, but I want you as we are, I just need reassurance that you won't disappear at the first sign of trouble."

"What do you need me to do?" Tommy asked with complete integrity, because he knew how he had wronged her those years ago, the devastation he had caused her, the upheaval she had endured as a result of his actions.

"I want you to prove that you'll be there until the end," Florence answered honestly, "For Daisy, for me, for us."

"I promise you-"

"I don't want your promises, Tommy," Florence cut him off, because too many men in her life had failed to deliver on promises, "I want to see that you mean it, because we need stability."

"I'll do whatever it takes, Florence," Tommy assured her.

"I don't think I could survive losing you...again."

Florence's words stung, because Tommy knew that pain she had experienced the first time was of his making. The man he once was believed that he was protecting Florence by pushing her away, the man who now saw that she was resilient enough to hold her own, she didn't need him for protection, she wanted him for him.

"I don't intend on going anywhere," Tommy replied, "I'll take your lead."

"I thought Tommy Shelby made his own rules," Florence quipped.