Cross my heart - Tommy Shelby

•2•

Warnings: swearing

"Ugh, why do I drink with you again El?" The grunting moans of John were muffled into his pillow.

"Because," Eliza replied from the other end of the bed, "You're a borderline alcoholic."

The night before was a bit blurry, but nothing she wasn't used to already. Eliza would be lying if she said she hadn't had her fair share of drunken nights over the years.

To be honest, the night before was relatively tame for her. John and Arthur, however, were a fucking nightmare.

They most definitely were in over their heads in an alcoholic daze.

Which left Tommy and Eliza to heard them back to 6 watery lane.

They'd all fought in the war, seen terrible things no human should have to see. But dear lord- A completely pissed John and Arthur were a completely different type of battle.

Eliza knew from her time in France, that John was difficult to order around when he was completely sober- let alone when he had drunk his body weight in gin.

It took them 35 minutes to get back to the Shelby residence. A trip that would normally take 10 at the very most according to Tommy.

It was awkward to say the least, especially considering their history (of which Tommy couldn't particularly recall.)

It got worse after that, especially since Eliza followed John to bed.

Now that she thought about it, it looked wrong- going into John's room while both pair were experiencing an alcohol buzz.

Eliza always assumed that alcohol made the body bolder and flirty. That wasn't the bloody case though, especially not for John and herself.

Liza had always been told by Harry that she could be wild while drunk, but would end up crashing within 15 minutes.

John on the other hand- questioned everything. From philosophy to why he had to follow Eliza and his brothers back to watery lane. It drove her insane.

So no doubt while Thomas Shelby assumed that his younger brother and the Fenton sister staying up all night fucking- it was actually the opposite, As John asked inquisitive questions through the night and Eliza desperately tried to ignore him as sleep beckoned her on.

"Oi!" John's voice pulled the girl out of her thoughts about the previous night, "Watch it! Yer' nearly fuckin' kicked me in the face."

Eliza rolled her eyes, and playfully kicked her legs in the direction of John's face.

John who was taken aback by the quick flick to his face and rolled off the side of the bed with a thump. He groaned as he massaged his bottom.

Eliza sat up laughing heartily and threw a pillow at her friend, "You fucking deserve that yer' daft cunt."

John threw the pillow back and it hit her square in the face.
The pair locked eye contact for a second before they both bolted.

John clambering down the banister despite his hangover and Eliza with a pillow in hand ready to strike and get her own back.

However, the one thing John had that she lacked, was knowledge of his childhood home.

Eliza rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairwell and SMACK

She had run head-on into an unimpressed Thomas Shelby.

Eliza let out a gasp.

"Shit."

"Mornin'," Tommy spoke deeply, he could see the tinted blush spread rapidly across the younger girl's face.

"Good Morning." She replied timidly.

"Would you care to explain why you were running in the house- not that eager to escape are yer'?"

"No!" She quickly tried to justify her actions, "I was just erm- running after your brother so I could..." another look of embarrassment flashed across her features, "So I could hit him." She said lamely.

"Such a ladylike thing to do, aye love."

That had obviously struck a nerve with Eliza as she raised an eyebrow in retaliation, "Well, it's a good fuckin' thing that Small Heath doesn't raise polite ladies then, aye Thomas."

And with that, she turned on her heel and exited the house.

~

By the time Eliza had left watery lane, it was already 9 o'clock. Her body was still drained and Eliza wanted nothing more than to fall back into her own bed and sleep properly (without John pestering her all night).

When the Garrison came into sight again, she rummaged through her coat pocket to find a key for the door.

When she reached it, however, she was surprised to find the main door unlocked.

Odd she thought to herself, Harry always locks the door before opening hours

Eliza opened the door, creeping through as she kept her guard up. She hadn't made that much noise- hoping to keep her position secret.

What Eliza hadn't expected to hear when she entered the pub was a female voice on the telephone.

It was the Irish barmaid, the recipient was talking in the same accent as the blonde- only it sounded like a male.

Eliza craned her head, trying to listen to what was being said.

The pilot never particularly had a reason to listen to someone's phone call before, but she got a bad feeling from this 'Grace' girl.

"No sir, they don't suspect anything."

The gruff man on the other end spoke something back.

"Yes- They're beginning to trust me more. It's becoming an advantage point."

Eliza could practically feel the smirk that was no doubt planted on Grace's face. It disgusted her.

"Yes sir, Thomas Shelby knows where they are- Hopefully, he'll engage with me more if he's vulnerable."

There was more diluted talkback from the other line.

"Yes sir, I'll meet you there on Sunday."

The sound of the receiver was put down, and Eliza straightened her composure as she heard footsteps.

"Harry?" Eliza called out, acting as if she'd only just arrived, "Hello?"

She walked through to the bar.

Grace was stiff behind the bar, wiping the surface slowly.

"Oh- G'Morning...Greta?"

"It's Grace." The Irishwoman hissed.

"Hm, Sorry Grace." She replied with just as much hostility.

Eliza began to make her way to the stairwell in the corridor before she turned back to look at the golden-haired girl.

"Enjoy your weekend plans, and next time if you plan to use the garrison phone for private uses and personal schemes- you may want to lock the bloody door."