Broken

Jade woke the next morning at 7am, positively glowing. Tommy slept soundly next to her, unconsciousness softening his usually hard features. Last night had been incredible, all things considered. He had definitely made her forget, pretty much everything but his name and her own.

She slid out from under his arm quietly, doing her best not to wake him. But he stirred anyway, his eyes opening as she pulled on some clothes. "Whatcha doin', beautiful?"

"Figured I'd give you breakfast in bed."

"Eggs?" She nodded. "Sounds fucking fantastic. C'mere first though," he coaxed, holding an arm out to her until she finally obliged with a sigh. Tommy pulled her on top of him, pulling her head down into a kiss. Her head was swimming when he released her, his hands tugging at the shirt she had just put on.

"Aren't you hungry, Tommy?"

"I am. So I'll be quick then." His smile was triumphant when she peeled her shirt off, tossing it into the corner as she leaned in to kiss him again.

-----

An hour later she was in the kitchen, scrambling eggs. Tommy came up behind her, hands on her hips as he planted a kiss to her neck, holding her as she cooked. He was freshly showered, a hint of her ivory soap in the air, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs and an undershirt.

"What happened to breakfast in bed?" she queried, spatula moving in the pan constantly so the eggs wouldn't burn.

"Couldn't wait." He watched silently as she worked, fingers skimming across her stomach, setting off nerve endings she didn't know she had. He was making it difficult to concentrate.

"If you don't go sit over there and knock it off," she motioned to the table in the corner. "I'm going to burn your fucking eggs." Tommy planted a single kiss behind her ear before moving out of her way. A minute later, she placed the plate in front of him, satisfied when he immediately dug in. "If you're going to be staying here-"

Tommy swallowed his eggs and interrupted her. "Does that mean-"

"Yeah, that's what it means. If you're staying here, the first rule is that you let me cook in peace."

"Didn't know there were going to be rules."

"I can't have you distracting me with a knife in my hand."

"Fair enough." Tommy resumed eating, so Jade went to work on her grandmother's breakfast. By the time she returned from helping Nanna, Tommy was finished with his plate, leaning back in his chair with his hands on his stomach and a toothpick in his mouth. Jade finally sat to eat, her legs surprisingly sore as she did.

"Well I got a rule for you too, doll," he spoke as if they had never stopped their previous conversation.

"Oh?"

"I don't want you going nowhere alone. Even work. You take me, or Brendan if you have to, with you. Always. Everywhere." His face was set, jaw clenched.

Jade shoveled some more eggs into her mouth, swallowing before speaking. "What about-"

"Everywhere."

She nodded in compliance, finishing her plate with a resigned sigh. It made sense. Jade looked over at the clock. Half an hour until they had to get ready to meet Brendan at the gym. Tommy cocked an eyebrow at her, removing the toothpick from his mouth before giving her a predatory smile.

"Tommy, at this rate, I won't be able to walk tomorrow, much less run with you."

"Worth it," he growled before chasing her into the bedroom, Jade squealing and laughing as she went.

-----

They walked into the gym twenty minutes late, Tommy jogging to the locker room to change into the spare clothes he kept there. They were going to have to make a trip to his place after training to pick up some stuff.

Brendan eyed them suspiciously, making Jade blush as memories of the last twelve hours flooded through her, spiking her heart rate.

Brendan seemed to put two and two together then. He opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him with a finger. "Not a fucking word, you hear?" He shrugged and smiled, looking quietly pleased.

"Just don't make me wait on you two again, okay?" Jade nodded. "Alright, let's go to work. We're doing burpees 'til you drop for being late though."

"But-"

"Throw some push-ups and a jump in between for good measure."

"Fuck." Her legs were already killing her from Tommy's attentions. Rule number two was going to have to be about morning sex before training, because this shit hurt.

-----

Jade was surprised when after a couple of weeks, no new rules were needed. Tommy respected her space when she needed it, made love to her when she didn't. He did his own laundry and even cooked them dinner on her nights off work. He helped out with Nanna, did dishes, kept the things they had gotten from his place neat and orderly. He accompanied her to work nightly, settling into a booth in the corner as he watched out for her. They trained, they fought. He reminded her of just how infuriating he could be, but surprised her with his sweetness too.

Andrew was keeping his head down, wherever he was. They hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since the one night he had made his presence known. The silence was unnerving. Jade was sure he was biding his time, wherever he was.

A gentle pop to the side of her head brought her back to reality. Brendan was staring at her, pissed that he didn't have her full attention. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Brendan raised the hit pads for her, nodding at her to continue the combinations they were practicing. "I asked if you had ever thought about doing this professionally. But now I'm not sure your attention span is there."

The smack of her legs and fists against the pads was satisfying, sweat dripping down her back as she continued to work. "My attention span is fine," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Does that mean you want to fight?"

"Not sure if Tommy-"

Brendan cut her off with a glare, dropping his arms down to indicate that she should stop. "This isn't about Tommy, Jade. This is about me, your trainer, asking you, my fighter, if you want to try this professionally."

Jade actually paused to think about it. After facing down Tommy, Jordan, and now Brendan in the ring, a girl might be easy. "What's it pay?"

"Not much at first. Maybe a couple of hundred a bout, not a lot of girls lining up to beat the shit out of each other right now. But I know someone who might be interested in you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, Jade." Brendan raised the pads up again. "Jab, cross, hook, go." Jade obliged, fists smacking the pads over and over as the idea rolled around in her head. "You're good, Jade. You're really good. You would kill this."

"Let me think about it."

Brendan nodded, satisfied for now. "Roundhouses, high as you can go."