A/N: would you still be surprised if i said this was mostly smut. smut smut smutty smut smut, with just a hint of plot (just a hint since im a smut slut through and through). And i aint even the slightest bit ashamed. This lil piece (lel) features the great dommy tommy and if you got a dommy daddy fantasy then THIS ONE IS FOR YOUUU.
If you like (which i hope you doooo since i know i did) please lemme know, if you didnt….let me know that too but BE NICE THIS IS A RESPECTFUL FUCKING NEIGHBOURHOOD AND IM STILL SENSITIVE YA KNO?
Word Count: 6003!!!! 6003 words of mostly smut AND YES I KNOW ITS PROBABLY HELLA EXTRA @ nonnie SO DONT READ IF IT YOU DONT LIKE LONG AF SMUT PIECES (also who have noticed that my pieces get sunstantially longer and longer everydamn time i post?)
A/N: So maybe you have noticed a pattern, which is that I write a stupid amount of smut and 0 plot. Ya girl has no shame and i’m hella extra so here it goes. smutty smut smut smut smut featuring yo boii dommytommy (bonus of some fluff at the end <3) As always, please lemme know what you think. This is my first dommytommy so just shoot me a cheeky lil message if you think its shit and I will stick to subtommy (who i love in equal measure my lil boy) or just gimme some love SINCE WE ALL KNOW I HAVE A MASSIVE PRAISE KINK PLEASE AND THANKS I LOVE YOU ALL I HOPE YOU ENJOY
Word Count: 5027 words of SMUT! You’re welcome and I’m sorry
Warning: dommytommy, impactplay, breathplay, sacrilegious, blasphemous, i wrote this after going to church with my gma so i’ll see y’all in hell
He loved the game. The chase. The capture and the defeat.
The thrill as the hunt played out.
The way he never knew what to expect from you.
No game was ever the same. Each encounter a new puzzle to solve. And you were the greatest enigma of them all. The one he would spend his life trying to solve, without even the slightest hope in his success.
You were fire, but you were air—lighting him up without weighing him down. You carried him and you grounded him. You were his end, his beginning, and everything in between.
You were his.
Tommy watched you from across the room where he sat in his chair. The leather cool against the cloth of his suit, juxtaposing the heat that radiated off from where you stood in front of him. He brought his cigarette up to his mouth, inhaling the bitter smoke as he narrowed his eyes on you, trying in vain to decipher your mind.
He watched intently as you slinked your body around the room, your hand slowly moving to remove your dress, your shoes, your stockings, until you stood directly before him, naked—save for the necklace around your neck, a small emerald he said had reminded him of your eyes when he gave it to you. His eyes trailed your body, his eyebrows raised curiously as he sized you up. He started at your feet, dragging his eyes up to your naval, then your breasts, to finally your face.
Your lips were wearing a smirk, one that he knew all too well. This was you giving yourself over, daring him to take what you were willingly placing at his feet.
“Come ‘ere,” Tommy whispered, opening his arms, and guiding you toward his awaiting lap. Once you were seated, wrapped in his arm, pinned against the sculpted and taut muscles of his chest, he kissed along the side of your face, grazing his soft lips up your jaw, nibbling his teeth on the skin in his path.
“Tell me what you need princess,” he murmured against you, his breath hot on your ear.
“You.Sir.”
His hand came up under your chin, grasping it gingerly. “Kiss me”, he demanded, bringing your soft lips to his.
The passion in Tommy’s kiss built slowly. His lips starting off soft against yours, willing your body to ease further into his own before gradually becoming more intense. His hand fell from your face onto your breasts, his fingers grazing roughly along your nipples, his thumb and forefinger twisting and pinching them hard enough to make you writhe on top of him. Hands continued on your body downward, palms manipulating the supple flesh of your hips with a bruising force. The whimpers that escaped your lips turned to moans and turned to whimpers again as he worked your skin between his capable hands. Tommy pulled away his mouth from yours to attend to your open neck, attacking the flushed and heated skin with his teeth and tongue, his actions alternating between gentle and savage. With your mouth free from his you were breathlessly moaning his name, your body defenseless against the feeling on his hands on you, exploring you, possessing you. Lost in the moment, you didn’t even notice where his hand had moved until he slid his fingers along your slit, humming with pleasure into your collarbone.
“Princess,” he began, bringing his mouth back up to your awaiting lips. “Mmm… Already you’re such a mess.”
Tommy was ruthless as he shoved his fingers deep into your cunt, curling the tips upwards against your inner walls as his thumb circled your hardened clit. You could feel the metallic bands of his rings inside of you, the cold contrast against your heated center making you jump and twitch against him. Trapped between his chest and his free arm—which had found refuge on your thigh, spreading you open for him— you had nowhere to move or escape. Tommy was in total control over everything.
The hand that was once grasping open your thigh was now lost in your hair, Tommy bounding up the long tresses in his fist with a harsh pull, forcing your face back upwards to meet his, the jerking movement ever so slightly separating the space between your mouths, keeping your connection close enough that you could swallow the next words he spoke.
“Fuck yourself.” The phrase was bitter on your tongue but you gulped it down like it were wine, craving, and hungry for more of the biting taste to graze your lips.
Once the command rolled off his tongue, he kissed you again. Every action of his declaring the scene to be between more than just lovers. He was making a claim. Demanding possession over your body. Greedy for nothing more than to own your desire and sew it into his own. Your hips rolled onto his hand without any second thoughts, your body accepting his commandments as it sacrificed itself at his altar. With your arms around his neck, you brought him closer to you and buried your face into his skin as you gasped for breath. His smell and taste a delirium inducing mix of sandalwood, mint, earth, and tobacco and you drew it in eagerly, rocking your hips with more fervor against his fingers. Tommy thrusted up his hand to meet your body, his maneuvers sending violent shivers down your legs which began to twitch as they hung off the edge of the chair. Your muscles were clenching around his fingers, the heat and pressure slowly escalating to hit their crescendo.
“Shhh…Not yet princess,” he began to coo once you started calling out his name with each exhale of your lungs.
“I- I needa- Tommy…. God please!” you cried out, actual tears forming in your eyes from the exertion it took to stave off your orgasm and wait for his permission.
“No no no. You only need what I need now princess. Who’s in charge here little girl?” he quipped back, moving your face to face him yet again, willing your eyes to open to look at him as he stared you down hard.
“You sir! You’re in charge…but please,” you cried out breathlessly, struggling to form the words around the moans escaping of their own volition past your lips. Tommy only continued to shush you as he moved his fingers deep in your cunt, a licentious smile becoming a permanent fixture in his expression.
Your nails were dug deep into the side of his neck as you continued to rock your hips against his fingers. You were clinging to him, desperate to keep yourself grounded until he released you. But as Tommy moved his thumb once more against your aching clit, any chance of waiting for his verbal permission was lost.
It erupted from your core all at once, a primal and visceral cry escaping along with it. Tommy’s fingers stilled within you as you continue to rock against him, riding out the waves of your orgasm. You mind was a haze. Your consciousness consumed and overwhelmed with the thunderous electrons pulsating through your body. Tommy’s eyes were glued to your face, mesmerized with the way your body reacted to his touch, but frustrated over your lack of control.
Lightheaded and blissed out, you feared the come down, already picturing Tommy’s forlorn expression of disappointment from behind your eyelids. You felt a hand push away the tendrils of hair from your face, and wondered for a second if it were your own before you felt the wet rings that belonged to his fingers graze your skin. His slick thumb ghosted along your bottom lip, his forefinger forcing its way in to your mouth, demanding you to suck.
“Look at me Y/N,” he whispered gently, the softness in his voice coaxing you into thinking it would be all right. But as you opened your eyes to meet his, you knew it was a lie as good as any of the ones he had told his enemies who also shouldn’t have trusted him. His dilated pupils mocked you, the ice-blue irises held you frozen as his fingers grasped onto your face roughly. “Which one of us is in control eh? Must I remind you my little girl? Must I force you to submit to me?”
“Tommy-I-c-.” You tried to speak, explain, apologize, anything. An impossible feat with Tommy’s hand holding your jaw in place.
“You will get on my lap princess. You’ve disappointed me. Now if you’re sorry, you will have to show me. Go on kitten. Face down.”
You did as you were bid and climbed off Tommy’s lap with his help. He guided you how he pleased, your belly resting on his knees, your head hanging down by his calf, your arse in the air. The feel of the cool air against your still wet and hot cunt made you squirm. Your body relished in the feeling— the intensity of the orgasm still coursing in all your senses. As Tommy ran a hand down your back, you instinctually arched for him, a small moan escaping from your lips from the change in position between your thighs. Tommy’s hands stroked you lovingly, although the tender caresses lasted for only a few seconds.
You heard the ringing of his hand against your ass before you felt the sting of it on your cheek, your mind barely having enough time to react before his palm came down again on the other side, the wet rings on his hand hitting you with such force, you could feel the colour of your skin start to change from pink to red to purple.
The blows started coming too soon after the last, and not soon enough, Tommy keeping the rhythm erratic to keep your attention focused on him and him alone. If he had wanted you to keep track, you had lost count, his strategic and methodological strikes coming down on the same spot on each cheek. You whimpered out helplessly into his calf, knowing that nothing unless his own satisfaction would stop the blows.
“Why am I doing this?” he asked simply, after a particularly harsh blow that sent you lurching forward on your hands.
“Because…” you began, trying to regain your breath that he just knocked out of you a second ago. “Because I-I came without permission. Because you’re in control and I didn’t listen to you. Sir,” you rambled off, the sting in your cheeks making your eyes start to water and your legs tremble.
Tommy savoured the way your body reacted to every blow, the way your back curved with every grace of his hand, the way your skin changed colour under his touch. He took another minute’s pause, running his fingers gingerly along your mottled backside, sucking his breath between his clenched teeth as he felt you wiggle against his hardening erection.
His hand came down hard against yet again a couple more times before his gentle caresses soothed you once more. Humming as he trailed his fingers against your sopping cunt which was yet again yearning desperately for him.
“Think you’re ready to behave now my little princess? Or shall I continue?” A smile could be heard in his voice, the proof on his fingers already telling him that you would do or say anything to please him.
“You’re the boss, sir. If you think I’ve learned my lesson…” you trail off, your mind struggling to keep your wits about you as Tommy shoves his two fingers deep into your core, teasing you to cement his domination over you. You tried to remain as still as possible, letting him touch you as he pleased—this was his game now.
“You did well my girl. But you’re not done yet. Get on your knees and get ready to pleasure me. Maybe then I’ll forgive you for your insolence”
Tommy stood up quickly, the unexpected motion sending you falling onto the floor. You scrambled to your knees and waited for him as you watched him begin to undress himself. Tommy’s fingers expertly managed to untie his tie without looking, his eyes fixed on the drool escaping your lips. You were as eager as ever to touch him once he unbuttoned the front of his shirt and exposed his chiseled chest. You admired him like you would a god, his body was a sacred text that you would willingly study, read, and recite every night before bed.
His fingers beckoned you to finish the rest, which you did with great enthusiasm, desiring nothing more than to feel him, to taste him on your tongue as you prayed his scripture back onto his skin. You quickly unclasped his belt and trousers, ripping them down his leg with his minimal help. Tommy watched your eyes light up like a child on Christmas morning as you moved back to rid him of his shorts. An uncontrolled grunt moving past his tongue as he waited in anticipation.
With his cock free, you were suddenly ravenous, your tongue wetting your lips instinctually as you stared at his form. You approached him like a predator would its prey, an expression that made Tommy buck his hips when noticed, watching your face with his keen eye.
“Open your mouth for me princess…nice and wide,” he commanded, sitting forward in his seat closer to your face. Without hesitation you opened it for him, a smile wide on your face as waited for him to spit in. You were careful not to swallow, despite how badly you wanted to, but spread him along your lips. After-all this was technically a gift for him, not for you.
Parting your moistened lips, you licked the precum from the tip of his shaft down his length, swallowing the extra only once he was nice and wet. As you brought your mouth down against him, everything else ceased to be. All that existed was him. The soft and silky skin of his shaft as you took him in your mouth, his rough hands in your hair pushing you further down still, his enticingly bitter taste flowing down your tongue to the burning pit building in your stomach.
Him. Him. Him. It was all Tommy.
Tommy leaned back against the chair as you eagerly sucked him, his one hand behind his own head for support and the other atop of yours for control. He was shoving you down, slow, and deep—forcing you to take him down your throat, his strong grip on your hair squashing any chance you had at denying him— though the thought of doing so would never cross your mind. Your body tensed as you struggled to adjust your breathing against his relentless pace. But Tommy, wanting you to only act and not think, soon took mercy—bringing your mouth against the tip of his cock to allow you to catch your breath, before resuming his earlier rhythm.
Forcing your eyes open, you gazed up at him, staring at the small scar underneath his chin, making that your focus. Your vision was blurred from the runny black tears caused by your mascara but you could see him perfectly. His mussed up hair, his open mouth breathing in shallow breaths, the flush spreading up his clavicle and jaw. Tommy himself was also enthralled at the sight of you as he stared down past his cheekbones through his lashes, for someone usually also so composed and in control, you sure did know how to get wild. You were willingly choking around him as you began to swallow, massaging the tip of his cock with the muscles in the back of your throat.
“That’s it. God—that’s it my angel. Good girl,” he grunted out breathlessly, loosening the grip on his hand on your hair and closing his eyes, revelling in the way he felt in you..
After a few moments, you pull slightly away, bringing his tip back into your mouth and humming around him to get his attention back on you. When Tommy finally brought himself to look back at you, you pulled your mouth away from him, keeping him stimulated with your hands as you climbed up on your knees, bringing your open mouth closer to his face—begging.
“Please sir,” you begged, opening your mouth, keeping your eyes on his.
Tommy, wanting nothing more than your mouth back on him, was more that happy to fulfill your request, spitting once more into your mouth and face. His collapse back onto the back of the chair enough to get you back to your task. You continue the ministrations of your hands, alternating the firmness of your grip to keep things interesting and you sat back on your heels. When you sucked his balls into your mouth, Tommy moaned out with unabashed passion as his body twitched slightly beneath you. Switching the positions of your hands and mouth, you took Tommy deep once more, knowing that he wasn’t likely to last that much longer.
His hands returned to your hair as his need got more intense. His fingers wrapping around your dampened tendrils, simultaneously pulling, and pushing. You were moaning around him as you swallowed him back in your throat, the sight of him through your hazy eyes and the sounds of him roaring around the room enough to titillate excitement in your own core with an angry passion.
Desperately, you were seeking the deliverance he offered between his legs. Your mouth whispering prayers around his sculpted and veined skin, consecrating him as your divine. Tommy became your heaven, your hell; your master and prisoner; your salvation and damnation. When he came, he baptized you with his forgiveness and love. The salty and sweet taste of your redemption gushing past your lips and down your chin. Tommy let you pull off him, knowing you would you take great care in cleaning him up. As you were lapping what had spilled down his softening shaft, a few more pumps of his desire sputtered into your hair and jaw. You took him back into your mouth, coaxing the rest of his orgasm with your tongue, a smile trying to form around him as you moaned with glee and satisfaction. Tommy’s eyes were on you, watching as he once again disappeared down your throat, his attention forced solely on the sensation of your tongue on his undershaft. A devilishly handsome smirk on his face as you pulled him away from your mouth with a wet pop to rest your head on his strong thigh, sighing with unadulterated relief. He felt you shake against him where you sat next to his knee.
However, there is no rest for the wicked, and Tommy grabbed you by your hand and pulled you back onto his lap, cradling your tired body against his sweat sheened chest. You hardly even registered the movements as they happened, only focusing on the distance between you and him which closed at such a sluggish pace it felt like slow-motion. Before you were even seated on him, your hands were in his hair, your lips atop of his. You kissed him with a forceful sense of urgency, craving more from the man who was taking everything from you, but leaving you more fulfilled and liberated than ever before.
Tommy was murmuring praises between breaths, his cock firming up again already as you curled yourself further into him, begging him to take take take. He revelled in the taste of himself on your tongue and drank in the delicious flavour, kneading his hands into the softness of your skin. His breathing became shallow as he felt your right hand move down past his hair with a desperate tug, finding the scars on his left clavicle. He didn’t know why it soothed him so much to feel your touch there but it did and as he looked down at you with his heavy lidded and impossibly blue eyes he knew he had you.
Tommy’s hands were digging roughly into your hips as he pushed to get you to move off him. With the help of his strong arms, Tommy guided you around the back of the chair, bending you over, adjusting your knee so that it was angled above on the chairs armrest. Your back arched in preparation as you waited for him to position himself behind you. His hand trailed up and down your back as he assessed you, watching your body shiver and shake under the trail of his palms. A hard slap rang down once more on your bottom cheek, forcing a guttural cry from your lips.
“Tell me princess, should I fuck you now? Tell me how badly you want me to fuck you” he asked briskly, teasing your wanton cunt with his tip while he waited for your reply.
“Yes,my king. Please, please fuck me… I need it please. Fuck me!” pushing your hips back against him you were begging, your voice broken, your body writhing underneath his in pure desperation for relief…for him. “Oh god, fuck me!”
With hands digging hard enough onto your hips to leave bruises, Tommy pushed himself roughly into you, forcing a strangled groan from deep in your throat to escape as the sensation of his rigid cock appeased the aching need between your legs. Already wet, Tommy slid in almost effortlessly, his own control weakening from the intense feeling of being inside of you, from knowing that he owned you. With one hand still holding roughly onto your hip, his other hand travelled around your waist, searching for your clit. It all felt so right. The way his hot and thick cock felt inside of you. The way you fit against him like this. The way he claimed your body as his own. Nothing was there holding the two of you back. No barriers. No business. No family. Just a game between lovers. The thrill of the conquest. The high that came with total victory.
With each lustful, animalistic cry that escaped your lips, you were giving in, allowing him more and more space to go in for the kill, knowing the hunt was coming to an end.
“Tell me what you need princess,” he grunted into your ear as he moved his one hand from his hip to your throat, squeezing his fingers around you ever so slightly.
“You, sir,” you breathed back, struggling against his strength to reach his face with your own, wanting his lips on yours.
“Who do you belong to?” he growled again, circling your clit with even more fervor.
“You! I’m yours. This body is yours, please sir, uh god - fuck me, use me— I’m all for you!” you screamed, grinding yourself against his hand and hips. A litany of other words, some curses, some pleas, some incoherent ramblings, continued to spill out of your mouth as he fucked you.
“I want you to come all over my cock princess. You don’t need to wait— just give it to me. I want it all”
With Tommy giving as much permission as you needed, you came hard and fast around him. Your clenching inner walls tightened, providing him with even more pleasure as he continued to roughly thrust deeply into your now squelching cunt.
Under his hands, he could feel you quiver around him, knowing the pressure of both his cock and his hand would overstimulate you past the point you would be able to hold yourself up. Removing his hand from your mound, he found your supple breasts, greeting them with a savage squeeze before taking your nipples between his powerful fingers one at a time. The crude brutality with which he handled you was enough to ignite the fire within you yet again, as if your previous orgasm was nothing but foreplay.
Without even being aware of moving your body, your hands somehow found the back of Tommy’s neck. Using his longer hair as makeshift reigns, you pulled him closer to you, begging his lips to meet your open mouth. With his own hand still around your neck, Tommy chokes you closer to him still, feeding on the breaths and moans that fell from your tongue like they were to be his last meal. Your head felt as heavy as lead but as light as a feather as his fingers clenched around your throat.
You loved this feeling—the excitement of the capture, the exhilaration that came from being nothing but a tool for his pleasure, the liberation you felt from his domination.
By now Tommy was fucking without much rhythm, just mindlessly burying himself in you over and over again, staving off his own release until he had you screaming, crying, and pulsating wildly around him. Waiting until he had total victory. Until you gave him all that you had left of yourself.
Your open mouth was drooling around his, slinking down past his knuckles where they continued to hold you hostage by your throat. With your muscles choked under his hand, you could scarcely breathe let alone scream, the resistance only allowing for quiet, raspy moans to escape, which Tommy understood regardless.
As another orgasm roared through your body, you violently shuddered under him, your body going limp in his arms. Tommy watched your undoing, felt your usually composed body surrender to him, his cock seeming to swell even more powerfully inside you, gushing with such intensity, it felt as though a river was running through all of his veins and straight to where he met you.
When Tommy finally came inside you, your name was falling from his lips, the cries of his passion silencing when he sunk his teeth into your shoulder, his breath hot and sticky on your skin. You could feel the cum drip hot and slow down your thighs as Tommy continued to spill inside of you, the sensation warming you both physically and metaphysically as you thought of how much he filled you with his release.
With Tommy collapsing on top of you, your bodies fell limp on the back of the chair, his surrounding yours and melting them both down into one. His thrusts inside of you weakened as he finished riding his climax, until he finally pulled out of you, pulling more broken moans and whimpers from your lips.
As Tommy rolled your body over to face him as he stood up, he felt like he could come all over again just from the sight of your face. The unadulterated euphoria radiating from every pore, the tears of exaltation streaming down your face as you cried. Even though your eyes were open, you could not see a thing, your vision white and black and red all at the same time as your body continued to tremble on the chair. Tommy pushed the hair away from your face, humming softly to you as he watched you with your mind in a blurry haze. He could tell you were not registering anything that was happening just yet, the expression not changing in your face even as he picked you up and carried you to his bedroom.
Laying you down on the bed, Tommy sat close to you, continuing the gentle strokes on your face until you came back down to him. After a few moments, you did— your head turning into the feeling of his soft caresses until you could suck his thumb into your mouth, needing the comfort of the action to help ground you back to him. When he noticed the light in your eyes return, he finally spoke, his voice a soft whisper which still had the power to echo deep through your veins.
“How are you feeling?”
You tried your best to focus your eyes completely on him, hoping that if your words failed, he could still read your face to know how brilliant you were feeling right now.
“Mmm…’m okay,” your words were weak and shaky, but still audible and coherent. “‘Want you ,” you said as you smiled around the words, trying with all your might to move your leaden limbs to reach for him.
“Shhh… you already have me Y/N. You did so good for me princess, but anymore and you’ll be far too sore tomorrow. You need to rest now.”
“Mm, not like that…I just—I want you, come here…please? Hold me?” With your brain still fuzzy around the edges, you couldn’t be sure of the faint blush you thought you saw flash onto Tommy’s cheeks, but even thought that he might have blushed was enough to bring a dazzling smile onto your lips. A sight that made Tommy’s heart flutter against his ribs as he watched.
Acquiescing to your request, Tommy slid into bed next to you, carefully drawing you closer to him while minding your sensitive backside and thighs. His mouth found your hair, pressing gentle kissing to the top of your head as it rested against his chest. Your heart rate starts fluttering again over how soft he is in this moment. Holding your face in his lithe fingers, he brings your lips to his, beckoning them open with his velvety tongue against you bottom lip. The kiss was soft and slow, allowing you to savour the moment, to treasure the feeling of being all his.
The tenderness that Tommy exhibited toward you made your heart swell, the way he comforted and soothed you back down from your high brought silent tears to spill down your cheeks. Tommy was quick to catch them with his thumb, separating your mouths to murmur praises into your skin.
“Hey, shh shh princess, c’mere, I’ve got you—I’ve got you. You were so good for me today,” he began to say, smoothing his hands all over your body as gently as his voice. “Thank you, Y/N, thank you for giving yourself to me. You have no idea how proud it makes me to know that you’re mine. You’re my princess Y/N.”
Tommy had called you by name, and you were his. The hunt, the game, the capture, and defeat— none of it mattered anymore. You were in his arms, and he was in yours.
A/n: This took me forever to finish (b/c I forgot about it), but I love this idea. Tommy with animals and babies is always my weakness. And I love that a couple more of my requests involve Tommy and animals. I do have a few more headcanons I’m working on, I’m not sure when I’ll get those finished, but I’ll update the schedule when I get them in the queue.
“We should get a dog,” you asked one day, lounging on the sofa in his office while you waited for him to finish up with some paperwork.
Tommy grunted, too focused on what he was reading to register what you’d said.
You rolled your eyes, it would be ages before he’d be pulled away from his work. “Tommy,” you called. “Did you hear me?”
“Yes, love,” he grumbled.
“Then what did I say?”
He sighed, annoyed with all the talking. “I don’t know, I’m trying to get this finished up.”
“I said that we should get a dog,” you repeated, this time catching his full attention.
Tommy’s eyes shot up to you as he shook his head. “No.”
“No?”
“No dog. Not in my house, not now, not ever.”
“But why?” you whined. There was no reason not to get one.
He sighed. “Y/n, dogs are a lot of work and we just don’t have time for one.”
“But we can make time.”
Tommy didn’t crack and refused to even think about it, but you knew you’d be able to convince him.
You didn’t even bother being subtle about it.
Any chance you got, you’d mention a reason you should get a dog.
When you two would be walking around Arrow House, you’d say it would be something to protect you if you went without Tommy.
When Tommy would talk about going hunting you’d always bring up how he could get a hunting dog.
And you would never fail to mention that it would be great to have a dog around when he was on trips in London.
Tommy was annoyed with all the mention of a dog and did his best to avoid topics that could allow you to talk about it, but that never worked.
You always found a way.
And you’d managed to convince him to get one mainly because he was tired of hearing about it.
It was late when you slipped into his home office. You’d gone up to bed, hoping he would follow, but he hadn’t. So, you went in search of Tommy, knowing you’d find him in his usual spot.
And there he sat at his desk, nursing a glass of whiskey.
“Come to bed,” you said.
Glancing up at you, he nodded. “Once I’m finished with this. Go on, I’ll be up in a minute.”
“I’ll wait.” You took a seat on the sofa. There was silence for a few minutes before you said,” You know-”
“If you are about to mention a dog, I will sleep in here.”
Your shoulders fell at his words. “Oh, don’t act like a dog is the end of the world. Think about it, maybe the dog would love to sit in here with you. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
He didn’t answer, instead sipping on his whiskey, wishing he had locked the door.
“Oh, whatever,” you sighed dramaticly, irritated that he wouldn’t even respond. You knew it was a long shot to get him to agree, but you enjoyed the challenge. And being ignored took the fun out of it.
You ended up leaving Tommy in his office, going up to bed without him.
A little while later you felt the bed dip beside you as Tommy shuffled under the blankets. “We can get a dog,” he said, wrapping an arm around you. “If you really want one.”
You squealed, turning to face him. “Do you mean it?”
“Yes, I do.” There was no way he could take it back now, not with how happy you were about it.
Tommy still drug his feet about it.
He was open to the idea of getting a dog, but now he had begun to list off the various things that a dog could destroy.
They could destroy shoes
Eat socks
Chew on pens
List went on and on, but you didn’t care.
You would make sure the dog was well trained just so Tommy had nothing to complain about.
Eventually you were able to drag him away from the office to go look at dogs. You went to the pound, Tommy grumbling about how he could have just bought one and saved the time.
But once he saw all the dogs, he quickly quit his complaining, taking more interest in them than you.
“You poor thing,” he cooed to a small puppy. The puppy hesitantly crept forward, allowing Tommy to pet it. “Would you like to come home with us?”
Your heart melted as he picked up the puppy and continued talking to it. And he was very clear that this was the dog that would be coming home, so that was the dog you left with.
Though it was still a puppy, you knew it wouldn’t grow to be that big and you didn’t have the heart to mention that to Tommy. He probably thought the pup would grow to be some big guard dog.
Once that dog was brought home, you rarely got time alone with it. Tommy refused to call it his dog, it was always yours, but he always wanted it to be near.
If he was in his office, the dog would be on his lap or curled up on the sofa or hiding under his desk.
Any time he walked somewhere, the dog was right behind him and always chasing the birds on your walks.
And Tommy was the one to name it, too.
He liked the name Daisy since it was a girl.
You didn’t complain too much about Tommy stealing the dog. You wanted him to like the dog as much as you did.
And that meant it wouldn’t be too hard to convince him to get another. Especially if he took Daisy to work with him, leaving you all alone.
*~~*~~*
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Summary: After being told to rest by the doctor, Y/n worries about all the plants she bought. She’s afraid they’ll die, seeing as how she can’t take care of them. But Tommy eases her worries by planting them for her, which is something he never thought he’d agree to.
Thomas Shelby x Female!Reader
Word Count: 2.1k
Warnings: Fluff, Arranged Marriage Trope (warning for those who swoon over it), Tommy gardening (super shocking, I know)
A/n: This is another self indulgent fic. Like I didn’t need to write a second part, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Tommy gardening. And so I was bored and this just poured out of me. I also happened to think the relationship with his wife is cute cause he just doesn’t know what to do.
Y/n hummed, drumming her fingers along the edge of the banister impatiently. Tommy said he’d be right down, but for once he didn’t know how to tell time. It was still early morning and if he didn’t hurry up, it would soon be blazing outside. Floorboards creaked up stairs, Y/n’s eyes shooting to the top of the stairs as her lips spread into a smile.
“I’m ready,” Tommy announced, standing at the foot of the stairs. He wasn’t wearing a suit for once, which was a lovely change, instead wearing a thin button up shirt and tan trousers that had been lost in his closet.
His wife smiled, taking in his appearance. She liked the sight of him all dressed down, if only he dressed like that more often. “Wonderful. Are you sure you’re okay with getting those dirty?” she asked, pointing at his attire. He probably picked out clothes the moths hadn’t gotten too yet, but she still felt guilty about getting them dirty, even if he knew what he was volunteering to do.
Descending the stairs, he nodded. “I’m perfectly okay with it. Now, let’s go to the garden.”
Y/n squealed in delight and grasped Tommy’s hand, weaving their fingers together. The action sent sparks through his body. He never thought holding hands with his wife would be so… so exciting, but then again, most men did more with their wives than Tommy had with his. It would be slow going for them to get there, but he savored each touch, waiting for that time.
Leading him outside, Y/n stopped in front of a dug up flower bed. It looked empty and sad since all the weeds had been torn out. “This is where they will all go,” she told him. “And these are all the flowers I bought.” They walked over to a small table that held four trays of flowers. “Aren’t they pretty?”
“Oh, yeah,” Tommy nodded, he didn’t know the first thing about flowers, but he did know they were a beautiful sigt. “Did you need so many? Seems like you wiped the nursery out, eh?” he chuckled. He would certainly have his work cut out for him.
Y/n rolled her eyes with a smile. “I did not wipe them out, thank you very much. There were plenty left. And you can never have too many flowers.”
Tommy wasn’t going to argue with that. They made her happy and he was sure they would eventually make him happy as well. “Alright, go sit down and I’ll start with these,” he said, picking up a tray of orange and white flowers. “Someone should be bringing some water out shortly.”
Before taking a seat in one of the lawn chairs Tommy had placed in the shade for her, she kissed his cheek. “Thank you for doing this,” she whispered with a smile.
Tommy nodded, quickly turning away with the tray in hand as his cheeks burned. He hated how childish he felt around her. Every touch had his heart racing like he was some teenager crushing on a girl. He always tried to shake it off, but he couldn’t help how young he felt around her. She was nothing but warmth and happiness who was starting to melt his cold heart, leaving it to fall in love with her.
Setting the tray on the ground, he knelt in front of the flower bed, his hands quickly getting covered in dirt as he pulled the plants out. From her chair, Y/n would direct him to where she wanted them, asking his opinion when she was unsure. Tommy knew nothing of flowers or landscaping, so he didn’t feel like his answers held any weight, but Y/n seemed to like his way of thinking. When the first tray was empty and the flowers were placed where his wife wanted them, he wiped sweat off his forehead before reaching for the shovel. They should have started earlier in the day.
“Wait, wait,” Y/n called just when the tip of the shovel made contact with the dirt.
“What?” Tommy grunted, glancing over his shoulder at her.
She pursed her lips at his tone. “Take a step back.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
Reluctantly, he picked up the shovel and stepped back. “Now what?”
“I’m trying to teach you how to garden, Tommy, don’t give me that tone.” His face softened at her words. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but they had to work with it, so there was no use for any attitudes. “Just look at it. Are you happy with how it looks?”
He shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Well, that’s where they’ll be permanently, so you better be sure,” she said.
Tommy hummed, scratching his brow. Careful he picked up one of the plants, moving it over a tad bit. Straightening, he nodded, everything looked like it belonged. “Can I dig now?”
“Go ahead,” Y/n chuckled with an amused smile. He would probably never admit, no intimidating gangster would, but his wife could tell he was enjoying it about as much as he would allow himself to.
So he set to work digging small holes for the plants before placing them in them and covering their roots with dirt. Over and over, he repeated the action, hands black from the rich soil. He’d never gardened before, but it brought back memories of the few times Arthur and him tried to grow an apple tree in an old shoe. They weren’t successful, but their mother never stopped encouraging them. They would alway go tend to it, waiting for it to grow. They were both sour when it didn’t, but at least it kept them out of trouble.
Tommy was so immersed in his work that he failed to hear one of the maids approach, setting a tray with a pitcher of water and biscuits on the table with the rest of the flowers. Y/n thanked the girl and filled two glasses with water. Tommy had made sure they’d both gotten their share of water since the doctor visited. He didn’t want to give the doctor a reason to come back. Y/n was sure she’d be sick of water by the end of the week, more than happy when Tommy would be back at work and not depriving her of tea.
“Tommy,” she called and frowned when that didn’t capture his attention. “Oh, Mr. Shelby,” she sang loudly. This hit his ears, causing him to turn towards her. “Come drink some water.”
He stood, leaving brown streaks on his trousers as he wiped his hands off. Y/n couldn’t contain her smile as he approached. She quite liked the sight of him covered in dirt. Dare she say, it was attractive. “Thank you, love,” he said, gladly accepting the glass.
It was hotter than hell outside, nearing noon, and Tommy finished his glass, pouring himself another. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually drank plain water, but it tasted sweet on his tongue. Maybe he’d have to lay off some of the whiskey and throw some water into his diet.
“What are you staring at?” he questioned, glancing over at his wife, who’s eyes had been trained on him.
She shrugged. “Nothing,” she smirked before sipping on her water.
“Liar. Now, finish that glass up. There’s more in the pitcher for you.”
She huffed, drinking down what remained. There was no use arguing over it, Tommy would just stand in front of her like a mother hen until every last drop was gone. “There, it’s all gone. Are you happy now?”
“Very,” he said, setting his glass on the table and picked up another tray of flowers. This time it was full of pink and purple flowers, which he didn’t know the names of either. “Where do you want these?”
And so Tommy continued on with his work. He’d pick up a plant, holding it out for his wife to see as she’d think of a place to put it. He’d have to move it five or six times until she liked the placement and then she’d ask if he liked it. Tommy chose to agree with her each time she finally liked where it was placed, it would be more work if he didn’t. And once everything on the tray was sitting in the dirt, he’d get to work digging the holes and placing the flowers inside them before covering them in dirt. This same process continued until he was halfway through with the last tray. And by then he had decided maybe it was best to put a money limit on the flowers next time she went to get more.
“What about this one, love?” he asked, scanning the dirt for a spot. “Y/n?” He glanced over his shoulder as a soft smile spread across his lips. It seemed managing his work was rather exhausting as Y/n was fast asleep in her chair. She needed the rest, seeing as how she had not only dehydrated herself, but also exhausted herself from all the gardening she had been doing over the last week. Turning back to the flower bed, Tommy placed the flower between two others, a spot he’d been eyeing for sometime. He was sure Y/n would love how it turned out.
Once every last flower was planted, Tommy stood, brushing his hands off on his trousers and walked over to his wife. He drank the last of his water, glancing over at Y/n’s sleeping form. He may have been covered in dirt and hated the thought of ruining her new dress, but Tommy wasn’t about to leave her outside, not as the sun was encroaching on her shade. So, gently he picked her up, careful not to wake her, and carried her inside.
“Tommy,” she mumbled once they were inside, eyes barely open.
He smiled down at her, careful to watch his step on the stairs. “Yes, love?”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Taking you to your room,” he said softly as he neared her room. She nodded against his chest as they entered her room and he gently set her on the bed. Pulling the bedding over her, he smiled as she snuggled into the soft fabric. Tommy didn’t know what to say as she settled in and turned on his heels, ready to change out of his dirt stained clothes.
“Tommy,” she called him back, sleepy eyes watching his every move. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to go take a shower,” he told her, his hand resting on the doorknob. And probably a nice nap. Being out in the sun was starting to get to him as exhaustion started to set in.
She hummed, stifling a yawn. “Oh, okay.” She didn’t seem pleased with his answer as she turned away from him, burying her head in the pillow.
With a sigh, he let go of the door and approached the bed. “Would you like me to stay?” he asked.
“Only if you want to,” she mumbled into her pillow.
“Tell you what, I’ll go take a shower and then I’ll come join you. How does that sound?” he offered, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Turning to look at him, she nodded. “That sounds good.”
With a smile, he leaned over her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Get some sleep, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Leaving her to sleep, Tommy took a quick shower, surprised by all the places dirt could hide, and ten minutes later was back in her room. Staring at the empty side of the bed, Tommy stood frozen. They’d never shared a bed before and the idea of sleeping next to her, while comforting, seemed too intimate considering how new the physical aspect of their relationship was. He sucked in a breath, eyes tracing her sleeping form, and crawled under the covers.
He stared at the ceiling, tracing the decorative wall paper as he tried to relax. He didn’t deserve it, her kindness, those sweet smiles she always flashed him. He didn’t deserve any of it, not when he’d done his best to push her away in the beginning. He most certainly didn’t deserve to share a bed with her. But he felt her move closer, an arm reaching out for him, and against his better judgement he pulled her flush against his side.
And as she snuggled into him, Tommy thought, maybe he could earn it. He could earn her love and affection, earn a place in her bed and her soft kisses. They may not have wanted to marry each other, but Tommy was starting to think he couldn’t do without her.
*~~*~~*
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Summary: Tommy slowly begins to develop feelings for his wife, but does his best to keep it to himself. Then she goes and faints while gardening, leaving him to learn something new about her. And he may just have to take up the task of gardening while she rests.
Thomas Shelby x Female!Reader
Word Count:2k
Warnings: Arranged marriage (gotta warn those who swoon over that) fluff
A/n: Okay, this is super self indulgent, like I’ve been thinking about this for a couple days now and I knew I had to write it. And I’m liking the whole arranged marriage trope more and more. So this has just hit every mark for me and it makes me so happy. I’m so tempted to write a second part about Tommy actually gardening. Idk why, but I think it would just be hot seeing him covered in dirt, planting flowers. Like I want that! And I’m sure I’m not the only on.
“Y/n,” Tommy called as he walked out into the garden. It was early morning, but as it was summer, the morning air was starting to warm up, making it a perfect time to enjoy the outdoors. Rounding a hedge, a small smile crept across his face when his eyes landed on his wife, kneeling in the tug up soil with a lily in her hand. “How’s the garden going?”
She turned to him, flashing him a sweet smile. He loved that smile, but he would never admit it. “Good. I’m going to pick some more plants up today, if that’s okay?”
He nodded and stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets. “You know you don’t need to ask me that, love. My money is your money.”
Their marriage wasn’t the most conventional one, seeing as how it was arranged to create an alliance between Y/n’s family and the Peaky Blinders. It was better than expected, though. Tommy and Y/n managed to get along, mainly because Y/n didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body. She had been hesitant to trust him at first, but she was kind, always giving him a smile here and there. And they usually kept to themselves, at least Tommy made a point to in the beginning. He had a hard time with that after a while as he was always curious as to what she was getting up to. But Y/n was never bored, that he learned. If she wasn’t reading in the library, she was annoying the cook by baking in the kitchen, or trying to garden alongside the gardener. The only reason she was planting flowers was because the gardener had kicked her out of the greenhouse.
And as much as Tommy didn’t want to care about his wife, as much as he wanted it to just be a business arrangement, he could help but love seeing her doing the things she loved.
“Yeah, I know. Um, are you gonna be home for dinner?” she asked sheepishly, seeing he was dressed in a suit with one of his caps pulled lower over his forehead, ready to head to the office.
Tommy shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Tell Francis. That new cook gives her hell anytime he makes food for the both of us and I end up being the only one at diner.”
“I’ll let her know. Well, I gotta go,” he said, glancing down at his watch. “I’ll be home tonight.”
“Have a good day,’ she smiled before turning back to the plant in her hand.
Tommy turned on his heels, wishing he could kiss her goodby, but he’d never done that before. He hadn’t done anything with her, except kiss her on their wedding day months ago. They both slept in different rooms, drawing a clear line where their relationship stood. Tommy wished that line could be drawn in the sand and washed away. Glancing back at her form, he wished he hadn’t been so cold in the beginning because now all he wanted was her. A thought that he wished he could shake from his mind.
She would be the death of him, he was sure of it, as he hated leaving her each day.
*~~*~~*
A few hours later, in the afternoon, Tommy heard the phone ring out at Lizzie’s desk as he looked over one of the books. Polly swore the new employees were useless but Tommy wasn’t finding any of the mistakes she swore would be in there. If they kept up with the good work, Tommy would probably be able to leave on time for the first time in forever. His concentration was broken when the phone on his desk began to ring. He groaned before picking it up. “Hello,” he nearly barked with irritation.
“Mr. Shelby.” It was Francis and she sounded serious. He’d told her he wouldn’t be home for dinner, so there should have been no reason for the cook to bother her about it.
“Is something wrong, Francis?” He drummed the fingers of his free hand against his desk. With the large staff he had at the house, he was sure there was a number of things that could go wrong.
“Yes, it’s Mrs. Shelby, sir,” she said as Tommy sucked in a sharp breath. “She fainted out in the garden. She said not to worry you with it, but she looks clammy and probably should see a doctor, but she refuses to let me call one.”
Releasing a shaky breath, he swore under his breath. He should have brought her out some water or something. There was no shade where she had been working and if he wasn’t home, there probably wasn’t anyone who would try to get her to come in out of the heat.
“Mr. Shelby?”
“Um, I’ll be right there, Francis. Make her drink some water and I’ll talk to her about seeing a doctor,” he rushed, standing to fix the papers on his desk. When Francis agreed to the request, he hung up the phone, shoved a few papers under his arm before grabbing his coat off the rack.
“Where are you going?” Lizzie asked, startled, as he burst out of his office, fingers ceased on the typewriter in front of her as she stared up at him.
“Home. Tell Polly she’s in charge and the books have been looked over. They’re on my desk if she wants them,” he informed her, quickly descending the stairs before she could even get in a word.
*~~*~~*
Tommy arrived home in record time, aggressively navigating the streets. He didn’t want to know how many accidents he’d caused on the way home, but he was sure there were a couple. Jumping out of the car, quick strides carried him to the house as the door quickly opened, Francis appearing behind it.
“She’s in your office,” she said, shutting the door before leading the way.
He raised a brow, leaving his papers on a table in the hall. “Why isn’t she in bed?”
“It was closer, sir,” the maid shrugged and opened the door to his large office.
Y/n sat on the sofa with a cup of what he hoped was water in her hands. She glanced over at them, giving him a weak smile. “Thank you, Francis,” he said and turned to his wife once she’d left.
“I thought you weren’t going to be home until late,” she said when he fully entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Tommy didn’t respond, instead coming to stand in front of her. He rested the palm of his hand against her cheek, looking her over with concerned eyes.
He let out a sigh. “You know why I’m here, love. Wanna tell me what happened and why you didn’t want Francis to call me.”
She whined, falling back against the cushions. It was clear she thought the incident wouldn’t have to be mentioned to him if it weren’t for Francis. Tommy plucked the cup out of her hands, which happened to be full of tea, and placed it on the small coffee table beside the sofa. He walked over to his desk and leaned against it, eyes trained on her.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” she complained with a pout.
He folded his arms over his chest. “Then don’t act like a child. Now, spill it.”
“Nothing really happened. I was planting the new flowers I got. I stood to grab another tray and I fainted. That’s all there is to it.”
Tommy shook his head. “Then why wasn’t I supposed to know?”
Y/n groaned. “Oh, don’t act like I wasn’t going to tell you eventually. I… I just didn’t want to bother you at work,” she confessed. “You have more important things to deal with than this.”
“Excuse me,” he stared at her, eyes wide. “My wife collapsing in the heat is important. Don’t you ever go thinking my work is more important than you.” She nodded, eyes trained on the persian rug beneath her. “Now, I’m going to call a doctor.”
“No, no,” she waved him off, eyes darting up to meet his, and pushed herself off the soft cushions. She didn’t get very far before her legs started to shake.
“Hey.” Tommy rushed to her side and helped her back onto the sofa. “Just sit, would you?”
She huffed, glaring up at him. “I’m fine, Tommy. Really.”
But her husband wasn’t convinced as he shook his head. “No, you’re not. And even if you are, I would feel much better if a doctor was the one saying that.”
“Well, I don’t want to see a doctor,” she said firmly, folding her arms across her chest. “It would be a waste of money.”
Tommy clicked his tongue, looking her in the eye. A thought crossed his mind as he took in her posture. “Are… Are you afraid of doctors?”
Y/n looked at him with wide eyes before they sheepishly fell to the ground. “I wouldn’t say ‘afraid.’ I just don’t like them,” she whispered, hands falling into her lap.
Pushing himself off his desk, Tommy came over to her. Falling onto the sofa beside her, he grabbed one of her hands, giving it a squeeze. “You know you could have just said that,” he said, eyes trained on her face.
“But it’s silly.”
“It’s not silly to me, love,” he said softly. “Come here.” He gently pulled her into his lap. He’d never held her before, but it felt right as she rested her head against his shoulder. “Would it make you feel better if I stayed in the room?”
She hummed, before saying, “You won’t be lurking in the corner, will you?”
He chuckled, kissing her forehead. “Only if you want me to.”
“Okay,” she finally said, snuggling closer.
*~~*~~*
A little while later Tommy called the doctor, who had told him exactly what he expected, that she hadn’t been drinking enough water and had spent too much time in the heat. Y/n may have been right, it wasn’t worth the money, but he knew she would be more willing to listen to him if a doctor agreed. Once the doctor had left, Tommy handed her a warm cup of tea that Francis had brought in. Y/n happily accepted it, sipping on the warm liquid.
“Does this mean I can’t finish planting the rest of the flowers?” she asked, looking up at her husband who was sitting at his desk.
He nodded, a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other. “Yes, it does.”
Y/n frowned, staring at the leaves in her tea. “But they need to be planted!” she complained.
“Not by you,” Tommy pointed out. “You heard the doctor, you are to rest and drink lots of water. There will be no gardening for you.”
“Tommy!” she whined with pleading eyes, but he held his ground. “Oh, you’re just out to kill my flowers,” she mumbled.
He rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not. You won’t be planting them, I will.”
Y/n raised a brow, taking a sip of her tea. “You don’t garden.”
“It doesn’t look hard,” he said with a shrug, but he was sure he’d be proven wrong. “You can sit in a chair, in the shade-” He emphasized the last bit. “-and watch, while I plant them. You can tell me exactly how you want it done and all that, but you will keep your arse in that chair and be drinking water.”
She wasn’t too happy about that, but nodded. It would be interesting to see Tommy gardening, she’d need to get a picture of it. “Okay, okay, Mr. Shelby. Have it your way.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Shelby. And I will be working from home the rest of the week,” he stated with a small smile.
Y/n chuckled, “Don’t tell me it’s to make sure I follow doctor’s orders.”
Tommy shrugged with a smile. He was sure Y/n would be a pain in the arse the rest of the week, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world. It was about time he spent some quality time with his wife. He may be able to give her any material item she wanted, but she deserved better than that. And he would make sure she knew that. That was, of course, if he survived gardening.
*~~*~~*~~*
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Request: Hi, I love your writing! I’d like to request a luca changretta x reader based on 22. and 36. from the sad/angst prompts
Requested by Anonymous
Luca Changretta x Shelby!Reader
Word Count: 3k
Warnings: Language, mention of violence, mention of blood, pregnancy
A/n: This might seem a little all over the place and not well thought out, but that’s because I had to write it while it was still fresh in my mind. I did really enjoy writing this though b/c I’ve been thinking of writing something like this for a long time. And I have only written for Luca once before this and I really want to write for him more not. Good thing I have one more Luca request.
Walking down the hotel hallway, all Y/n could see was red as rage coursed through her body. She had a feeling it was a bad idea to accompany Luca to England, but she had been so excited to see her family again that she brushed it off. He didn’t even try to persuade her otherwise, not once he’d seen her bright smile at the idea. Now, she wished he had. She wished he would have done everything in his power to keep her in New York. But, no, he’d let her come along, lying to her the whole time about the true reason he had to come to England. And that pissed her off more than anything.
Y/n threw the door to their suite open, causing the two men Luca was talking to at the small desk to flinch. Her husband raised a brow, but made no move to do anything. “Out! Now!” she barked at the men. She felt guilty for yelling at them as they scurried out of the room, not even bothering to look at Luca, but at least they wouldn’t get the brunt of it. Once they were alone and the door was shut, Y/n glared at her husband. “What the fuck!”
“What’s wrong, my love?” he asked with concern, standing and slowly approaching her. There was only one thing he could think of that would upset her so much, but he’d made sure to keep that a tightly kept secret. And he wasn’t sure how she would find out as all the men were instructed not to say anything around her.
She rolled her eyes, walking away from him with a huff. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong, Luca? What’s wrong is you fucking lied to me! You lied to me! You lied about why we’re here and you keep lying about what you’re doing and where you’re going! And I just can’t fucking believe you right now,” she breathed, shaking her head.
“I know, I know, but can you just calm down? If not for me then for the baby?” he asked with pleading eyes as he took in her angry form. Y/n narrowed her eyes as she rested a hand against the growing bump. Their child would be lucky if they even knew their father at this point. Y/n was sure she’d end up killing him if he kept it up.
“Calm down, you want me to calm down? You’re trying to kill my fucking family and I’m supposed to be calm about it!?! Oh fuck you, Luca,” she seethed. She hadn’t even gotten the chance to go see them yet, any of them, always having to have lunch with one of Luca’s cousins or go shopping with a distant aunt, now she knew why.
Luca sighed, running a hand down his face. “Y/n, your brothers killed Angel! If I had done that they would be hunting me down! That’s how it is being a part of this life, you know that.”
She did know, she knew very well what it was like to be in that business, that was part of the reason she had moved to New York. And she should have known better than getting involved with the Changrettas, but Luca had promised to keep all of it out of the house and away from their growing family. And she should have known better when she was hesitant to even mention his name to her family. None of them even knew she was married, let alone to a Changretta. Had she mentioned it, she was sure it wouldn’t have changed anything. Her brothers were as thick as could be, always finding the stupidest ways to do things. And Luca, well, he was much the same. This would have probably happened anyway, but at least she would have been made aware of it.
“Why did you do it? Tell me,” Y/n demanded, taking a deep breath. She was starting to understand why her aunt hated men.
“Sit and I’ll explain it all.”
She shook her head. “No. I will stand right here while you fucking tell me or I’ll walk right out that door.”
“Where will you go?” Luca scoffed, hoping it was an empty threat. “I’m not sure your family will accept you with open arms right now. Not since you’re married to me.” He knew the words were sharp as knives, but she knew he had to follow through with this vendetta. It wasn’t the first one and it wouldn’t be the last. This was his job, his family, and he would do anything for them.
“Luca Changretta, I swear to god if you don’t tell me right now it won’t be my brothers that fucking kill. Tell me.” She glared at him. “Now!” she yelled when his lips refused to move.
He huffed, well aware that she would go through with her threat. “Okay, okay,” he started. Luca didn’t want to explain it all to his wife, he never liked talking about any of it with her, but she looked ready to kill, so he didn’t dare hold his tongue. And when he was done, she didn’t look any happier but she seemed to have calmed down. If that was as good as it was going to get, he was happy with it.
“That’s it?” she asked when he was finished.
“Yes, dear. That’s all of it,” he admitted, surprised she hadn’t ripped him a new one for trying to kill her brother and cousin.
Y/n hummed, taking a seat on the sofa. It was soft, probably full of down feathers or something, they’d have to get one for their house when they returned. That was if Luca returned at all. “Good. Now fix it,” she said, leaning against the soft cushions.
Luca looked at her with wide eyes. “Fix it? How do you expect me to do that? I’m not the only one in this family who wants to see the vendetta through.” He stared at her, waiting for a response. There was no way he could quit the job now, not with his family breathing down his neck.
“Well, that sounds more like your problem than mine.” She folded her hands across her chest. “And I’m family, aren’t I? I am your wife and these people you are trying to kill are my family. Don’t you think that’s wrong?”
“Yes, but they ki-”
“But nothing,” Y/n interrupted. “Angel wasn’t a good man, you know that and so do I. He would have died anyway, there is no doubt about that, and it would have likely been in prison.”
Luca sighed, going to sit across from her on the coffee table. She was right about that. Angel was lucky to have lived so long, but all the women in the family granted him mercy. There were plenty of times when an uncle or someone wanted to kill him for something he’d done. “Alright, alright. I can try, but that doesn’t mean anyone will listen to me. Okay? To them it is business and I don’t think they will just let it go,” he told her, hoping she would understand if things were out of his hands.
“Well, you can just remind them that the Shelbys are your wife’s family and that your wife happens to be pregnant,” she suggested with a smile. “I’m sure they’ll understand and maybe your family and mine can talk it out or some shit. I don’t know, but you will take care of it.”
Grumbling to himself, he nodded and stood. “I’ll see what I can do, okay?” he said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Stay here while I’m gone. I’ll try and sort things out.”
Y/n nodded as she watched him head toward the door.
*~~*~~*
Luca sighed as he approached the Garrison. He had decided against speaking with any of his family, they wouldn’t care since he had mentioned the Shelby’s were Y/n’s family before the vendetta had even been sent. That information hadn’t mattered to them, not when they knew she hadn’t spoken to them in a long time. Instead, he decided the best thing he could do was negotiate peace between the two families. His family trusted him and they would trust him to do this if that’s what they had decided. If anyone could manage peace between the two families, he assumed it would be him. His wife wouldn’t let him live if he didn’t.
The pub was empty when he entered except for a table in the middle of the room where Tommy, Arthur, and John sat. John looked all banged up from the attack on his house, but at least he was alive. He looked pissed, but alive. That was a blessing for both men. By the bar sat Y/n’s aunt, who Luca didn’t want to be left alone with. There was a young, tall man behind the bar, who was probably another brother, and a short one leaning against the counter with a cigarette between his lips.
“This is a very welcoming crowd,” Luca commented, his New York accent thick as he spoke. Taking a seat across from Tommy, he eyed the empty corners of the bar. He knew better than to trust a family like this. They would probably try and kill him as soon as he tried to blink. But it might be better than Y/n doing the same.
“It could be worse considering you’ve been trying to kill us,” John seethed, sounding just like his sister. Their angry faces looked eerily similar to the one he’d left in the hotel.
Luca sighed. He wasn’t sure how to apologize for that, but he was sure Y/n would make him do it later.
Tommy cocked his head, looking the man over. “Why did you want to meet with us?”
“As much as I’d like to kill you all, we are going to have to find a way to make peace,” he shrugged, flicking his eyes over each one. If any of them were shocked, they didn’t show it, probably thinking it was a bluff.
“Why? You tried to kill my brother and threatened my family,” Tommy shook his head.
Clenching his jaw, he hoped this was worth it as he tried to apologize. “Ah, yes, my apologies. But you know how it is. Family takes care of family. And Angel was my family.”
“And why are you wanting to end this now?” It was Polly who spoke, not buying a word of what he said. She didn’t see a reason to trust him, not when he’d threatened Michael.
He sighed, leaning against the back of his chair and took off his hat. “Because if I kill any of you my wife will kill me,” he confessed. The only reason he hadn’t mentioned the vendetta to her before was because he thought she’d kill him. “She’s very adamant that you all remain alive.”
Polly scoffed. “And why does she care?”
This was the moment Luca had been dreading. He knew the information would come out eventually, but he didn’t want to be in the room when it did. He wished he’d brought Y/n with him, it might not have made it all easier, but it would have saved him from having to explain himself once again.
“I’d rather not explain, but you can meet her if you’d like. It may help you understand,” he offered. That would probably be the easiest way to end all the blood shed, if they reunited with Y/n. “I’m unarmed and would rather not get blood on my new suit. There won’t be anyone else there but her, I swear.”
Tommy raised a brow, not thoroughly convinced, but they had more men than the Changrettas, so they would be fine if he was lying. “Fine, let’s go,” he said, standing. “Let’s hope this wife of yours is worth peace.”
Luca nodded. He hoped she would be to them because if not, he was sure he’d never know peace again. Not if he was married to a Shelby.
*~~*~~*
Luca didn’t bother to knock on the door before entering the suite, it was difficult for him to wait long enough for Y/n to respond when there was a gun against his ribs. He didn’t blame Tommy for not trusting him, he would have probably done the same, but it sent a little shock of panic through his body all the same. Scanning the sitting room, he found it empty and prayed that Y/n hadn’t gone out. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had, she was never one to listen to anything he said. His mother liked that about her, someone needed to go against Luca Changretta, it might teach him something, that’s what she thought. And boy, Luca sure was learning a lot.
“Y/n,” he called as Tommy shoved him further into the room to allow Arthur and John to slip in.
Shuffling came from the bedroom before he heard her sweet voice. “You better not be back prematurely. I swear to god, if you are-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he cut her off. “You’ll kill me. I haven’t forgotten about that.”
All three Shelbys froze at the exchange. They hadn’t expected Luca’s wife to have a Birmingham accent nor did they expect it to sound so familiar. Tommy loosened his grip on the gun, waiting for the door to open. He thought it was weird Luca wanted to end the vendetta, but apparently that wasn’t the weirdest thing that would happen that day.
“Then you talked to them,” Y/n said as the door clicked and slowly opened.
“My family, no. They will be dealt with later,” he said when she came into view, disappointed eyes landing on him. She opened her mouth to say something until she registered the three bodies behind him. Her eyes softened as she glanced between the three men. “I talked to your family instead.”
Tommy lowered the gun, placing it back in its holster. “What’s going on here?” he asked roughly. He didn’t mean to be rude about it, but he couldn’t quite fit the pieces together. Standing before him was his sister, who he hadn’t seen in years, clearly pregnant, and supposedly married to a Changretta. “What is this?” he demanded, confused.
Y/n rolled her eyes with a huff causing Luca to smile. He adored it when she was irritated, as long as she wasn’t irritated at him. “What does it fucking look like, Tommy?”
“You’re-” He gestured to her. In his mind she was still the little girl who liked to steal his shoes and throw pencils at John. The woman before him, she was something new to him.
“Pregnant?” She filled in the blanks. “Obviously.”
“And he’s your…” This time it was John who tried to ask a question but couldn’t find the words. This was the last thing any of them expected.
“Husband? Yes. And yes, he did try and kill you, which I only just found out about,” she said with a venomous smile directed towards her husband. “But he is very sorry about that. Aren’t you, Luca?”
He nodded, stepping away from the men. “Oh, yes, very sorry.”
Y/n rolled her eyes. “Right now he’s only sorry he got caught.” She glared at him. “But he’ll be very sorry later.”
“I’m confused,” Arthur spoke up. “How long have you two been married?”
“Two years,” Luca answered, falling into one of the arm chairs. He felt more at ease now that there wasn’t a gun pointed at him and the others were caught off guard. “Y/n.” He pointed at the chair. “Would you sit?” She wasn’t up for arguing about it and sat in the chair next to him. Ever since he found out she was pregnant, he was constantly on her about resting. “Let’s all just sit and talk this over.”
“Yes, because you just love talking things through,” Y/n remarked.
“Hey, that’s not fair. It was business and you don’t like hearing about it anyway.”
Tommy, Arthur, and John took a seat at the sofa as they watched the two bicker. They weren’t sure how to handle it, but it was interesting to watch. Y/n had always been one to pick fights and it seemed Luca was used to it and would fight back. Good for him, since her brothers usually just let her get her way, not wanting to fight too much.
“I wonder if they’re always like this,” John commented, nudging Arthur. His brother rolled his eyes, but it seemed like a much healthier relationship than he had with his wife. Y/n and Luca seemed to merely be teasing each other, nothing too harsh. If it were Linda and him, he was sure it would turn into a screaming match.
Y/n huffed at something Luca said, ignoring him as she turned to her brothers. “Why don’t we all have dinner tonight,” she emphasized the last bit as Luca tried to interject. “So, we can discuss this together.”
Tommy nodded. “That might be best,” he said, refusing to confess that he was left confused by the whole ordeal.
“Yes, how about 7? The hotel has a wonderful restaurant, we can eat there.”
The three nodded as they stood, still in shock from seeing their sister again. Each gave Y/n a hug before heading to the door. Luca made sure to walk them out as he wasn’t sure he wanted to be left alone with his wife for too long. He was sure she still wanted to kill him. He’d make sure to sleep with one eye open.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile when he returned. “Thank you for doing that, love. I know it hurt your pride, but I appreciate it.”
Luca shrugged, resting his hands on the arm of her chair as he leaned over her. “I’d do anything for you,” he said, kissing her. “Anything at all. Now, why don’t you take a bath before dinner?”
She smiled. “Only if you join me.”
*~~*~~*
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Requests: hiii, i’ve got a request. reader dating thomas shelby and she’s so much younger than him and she always feels a bit insecure and jealous when tommy is talking with these older women who are closer to his age (like maybe tommy is taking her to a party and tatiana is there) and tommy convinces her later after she told him what’s bothering her that he only wants her
can you write about the scene where tatiana tried to rile up the reader like she did with grace the charity event scene s3ep2? minus the “does your wife know the sapphire has been cursed by the gypsy”
Requested by Anonymous & Anonymous
Thomas Shelby x Female!Reader
Word Count: 2.4k
Warnings: Alcohol, language, jealousy, lil angst, nice fluff ending
A/n: I’m a little pissed since the second request was sent to one of my mutuals. We were both equally upset about it, but nonetheless I still accepted it. But please don’t send a request to me that you’ve also sent to other writers unless they have turned it down. On a different note, this isn’t my best work. I was struggling to write it and I’m not a huge fan of the beginning, but I do like the ending. So, enjoy.
With a room filled with chatter, Y/n felt out of place. There she stood, near the corner, lips sealed tightly together as she watched the party around her. It wasn’t usual for her to be in the corner like a wallflower, but it seemed that was to be her place for the night. It wasn’t a horrible thing, she could drink her wine in peace and not have to make small talk. But it allowed her mind to graze over things in a different, unpleasant view.
From across the room, she spied her date, who like always, had abandoned her. Usually, Y/n didn’t mind as she knew Tommy was simply in business mode. He sought out potential business partners like predators sought out prey. She never gave it much thought and would usually find someone to talk to. Normally it was Polly who would also come along to such events. But at this certain party, Polly was nowhere to be found, something Y/n was sure had to do with Michael. Tommy hadn’t gone into detail, but Polly was beyond furious at the boy and seemed ready to kill when she’d gone home. A charity event wasn’t the place for an angry mother.
Tonight was much different than any normal event. Y/n stood alone while Tommy stood around a group of men, with a woman nearly hanging off his arm. Sucking in a breath, she tried not to think too much into it. Women loved Thomas Shelby, that was old news, and it appeared Tommy wasn’t giving her any thought. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t…
Brushing it off, Y/n stood straight, sipping on her wine. She had nothing to fear, not when Tommy was too focused on the conversation he was having with some factory owner, and certainly not when he hadn’t even cast an eye at the woman standing beside him. But then the woman’s lips moved, turning Tommy’s attention toward her and a faint smile painted his lips, causing Y/n choke on her wine.
Dear god, the woman had managed to get Thomas Shelby to smile, that was even a rare feat for his own girlfriend to even do.
A shaky breath escaped Y/n’s lips. There was no need to be jealous, he was just being polite, that’s what she told herself over and over again. There was no need to worry or think too much into it, but she found herself doing just that.
Y/n knew it was normal to be jealous sometimes or insecure, but she felt ashamed for such feelings when it came to Tommy. He wasn’t property, he wasn’t her’s, and she had no right to be territorial over him. But sometimes she couldn’t help it. And the jealousy that erupted anytime a woman approached him with hopeful eyes came from the insecurities that she buried deep inside.
Y/n and Tommy never discussed the age gap between them. Tommy believed there was nothing to discuss, but Y/n often felt otherwise. She was young, far too young for some when she mentioned who her boyfriend was. When people looked at Tommy, they saw a mature, older woman by his side, someone like Grace or Lizzie. A young woman, naive to many of the evils of the world, was not someone they placed next to a man like him.
Beliefs like those dug at her, making her wonder if she even deserved that position. She was young and less experienced in so many different ways than Tommy’s previous girlfriends. She didn’t have a tough exterior or ideas that could change the world. She wasn’t anything special and, to many people, she shouldn’t have caught Thomas Shelby’s eye.
Y/n wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but she had managed to drink four glasses of wine and stare daggers in the direction of her boyfriend. More and more of his attention was being given to the brunette by his side as her smile grew bigger and she couldn’t keep her hands off him. Who she wished to take down with her daggers, Y/n couldn’t tell, but both would be in the cross fires.
Before she could make up her mind, the burnette detached herself from Tommy, causing Y/n to brighten up. Finally the woman was leaving him to find some other man to seduce. Oh, but Y/n couldn’t get that lucky, could she? Not when the woman was walking straight towards her.
“Are you enjoying the party?” the woman asked in a Russian accent, coming to stand in front of her.
Swallowing, Y/n searched for an escape but there were none to be had. “Um… yes. Are you?”
The woman smiled upon hearing the hesitation in her answer. “Oh, yes. Your boyfriend is wonderful company.”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Y/n stared at the woman with wide eyes. She hadn’t expected her to be so up front about it. “Oh, yes, he is. May I ask who you are?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but this woman seemed to know exactly who she was.
“Tatiana Petrovna. And it doesn’t seem to me like you’re wonderful company considering he practically fled as soon as he could get away.”
Tatiana was delighted to deliver the blow, Y/n could see it in her eyes, but did her best to avoid a reaction. Under her composed features, Y/n wasn’t sure if she wanted to slap the woman or applaud her for such forward words. “He’s a busy man, Tatiana, this is merely business to him.”
“I’m sure,” she hummed, turning her gaze toward the man in question. “I’m sure that’s what he’d like you to believe.”
“Excuse me?” Y/n asked, fingers tightening around her glass. If the woman kept it up, Y/n was sure the glass would end up in shards on the floor.
“Oh, you know how men are,” she said playfully, poking at any nerve she could find. “He probably makes everything seem like business, even when he’s fucking a whore. That’s all just business to him.”
She hummed, biting her tongue. Nothing good would come from making a scene. But maybe that’s what Tatiana wanted. Maybe she wanted to just get under Y/n’s skin in order to wiggle her way in between her and Tommy. Y/n couldn’t lie, this woman knew exactly what she was doing and Y/n feared that it would work. With her insecurities about their age gap and everyone’s expectations for Tommy’s love life, Y/n was already bottling up so much. This, whatever this was, might just be what would be enough to break the bottle.
“Don’t worry, though, I won’t fuck him if he asks. He’ll have to buy me a drink first.” Tatiana winked with a grin before walking away.
Y/n shook with anger as she sucked in a breath. Out of all the women she’d met, that one had to be the worst. Lizzie may have been jealous that Y/n was dating Tommy but she had never gone out of her way to say things such as that, and Y/n knew she had plenty of ammunition. Tatiana wasn’t a jealous woman after her man, that she could tell, she was a woman willing to play games to get what she wanted. She walked away like the world owed her something and she would trick it into giving it to her. That was a dangerous game, one Y/n didn’t want to play. Gulping the rest of her wine down, Y/n grabbed another off a platter as a waiter walked by, praying that Tommy would be ready to leave soon, fearing the woman would come back to torment her some more.
*~~*~~*
Tommy let out a tired sigh as soon as they reached the bedroom. It had been a long night and he was glad there was no reason for them to stay any longer than they had. He had also spied Y/n during the night with three different glasses of wine and had a feeling that she’d drank more than he’d seen. So, he decided it was best to go home before she drank too much and he’d have to carry her to the car. Undoing his tie, he glanced over at her sitting on the bed, struggling to undo her shoes. “Would you like some help with that, love?”
She shook her head, continuing to try and undo the strap. Eventually she got her shoes off and stood on shaky feet to go wash off her makeup.
“Y/n, sit down,” Tommy insisted, coming over to her side. All the wine she’d had was starting to get to her, making her eyelids heavy and her legs shaky. “I’ll get a washcloth.”
“No, no. I can do it,” she mumbled, not in the mood to talk to him. As much as she was glad to have left the party, that meant she would have to be alone with Tommy. After what Tatiana had said to her, she wasn’t so sure that was a good idea.
Shaking his head, he grabbed her elbow to help steady her. She’d fall on her face without his steady hand. “Let me help you then, I don’t want you to fall.” She didn’t argue as he led her to the bathroom or when he sat her on the toilet. Grabbing a washcloth, Tommy ran it under warm water before handing it to her. “Here.”
“Thank you,” she said, grabbing the cloth.
“Would you like a glass of water? It might make you feel better,” he suggested. “I’ll do it for you, love,” Tommy said gently, plucking the cloth from her hands when he saw her stare down at it without moving. She looked too tired to care who did it and he just wanted to get her to bed.
Gently, he ran the cloth over her face, making sure to get all of her makeup. When he was satisfied, he threw the rag in the sink and helped her to her feet. “Are you okay, Y/n?” It was a stupid question to ask taking into account she was clearly drunk. But behind the tired eyes and sluggish limbs, she looked sad, distant even.
She nodded, pushing past him, but didn’t get very far when he gently reached for her hand. “I’m fine, Tommy,” she insisted, slurring her words a bit.
Pulling her back to him, he shook his head. “No, you’re not. Please tell me what’s wrong,” he pleaded, caressing her cheek. “Please.”
Avoiding his gaze, Y/n fell into him, letting him wrap her in his safe embrace. “Can’t we just go to bed?” she asked, voice muffled by his shirt.
“Sleep won’t solve every problem. Could you just tell me what’s wrong? Then we can go to bed.”
Y/n sighed. She didn’t want to talk about it, she just wanted to go to bed and forget about the whole thing. It was silly, anyway. It was just some stupid comments that only held meaning to her. Tommy would shrug them off like he normally did and that would be the end of it. It wouldn’t be worth mentioning in the end. “Just leave it, Tom.”
“Tell me, I don’t care what it is, just tell me,” Tommy whispered, his breath tickling her ear.
“It’s silly,” she confessed, sounding like a child.
Tommy chuckled. “I don’t care if it’s silly. If it bothers you, I care about it.”
She huffed, giving in. “Sometimes I get a little self conscious about us- No, no,” she restarted, looking up and seeing her boyfriend’s hurt expression. “Oh, Tommy, no. I… oh, I don’t know how to say this. That woman, Tatiana, she said some nasty things to me at the party.” Every word was still fresh in her ears, playing over and over again at the mention of her name.
Tommy seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at the mention of the brunette. “Hey, don’t listen to her. She always tries to get a rise out of people,” he tried to assure her. Tatiana was a pain to deal with, he should have known that she would find her way over to Y/n.
“No.” She pushed herself away from him. “It’s not just what she said. It’s fucking everyone! Everyone thinks I’m too young for you, too immature, too this or too that! Just not good enough!” she yelled. Taking a deep breath, she turned away from him. “And I try to ignore it all like you do. I really do, but sometimes I can’t.” Tears pricked her eyes as she faced him and said, “Sometimes I believe what they say. I mean, how can I be good enough for you when I care too much about other people’s opinions.”
Taken back by her words, Tommy was frozen, eyes trained on her until a sob filled the bathroom and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Y/n, hey-” He approached her carefully, afraid of being shoved away once more. “-that’s okay. It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with that,” he cooed, cupping her face and wiping the tears away with the pads of his thumb. “Look at me, baby. Look at me.”
Y/n flicked her eyes up to his, sniffling.
“I don’t care how old or young you are, do you hear me?” He paused, only continuing when she nodded. “I don’t care what anyone else has to say about our relationship. It’s ours not theirs, they can all fuck off. They can all fuck off because you are the only one I want, okay?”
“Okay,” she mumbled, leaning into his touch.
“And if anyone says anything like that to you again, you tell me. You don’t keep that to yourself, you tell me and I’ll take care of it.”
Y/n hummed before a yawn escaped her lips. “I’m sorry for not mentioning it.”
“Don’t be,” Tommy said. “You’ve told me and that’s all that matters now. We can get past this. And no more talking to Tatiana, eh?”
Y/n let out a small laugh. “Yeah, she’s bitch.”
That they could both agree on. “Alright, let’s get you to bed now,” Tommy said with a laugh. “Come on.” He shooed her into the bedroom. “I’m tired and you’re still drunk, so let’s go to bed.”
There was no way Y/n was going to disagree with that. She was exhausted both mentally and physically. At the next party Tommy tried to drag her to, she would make sure he didn’t leave her side. There was no way in hell she was going to get caught alone with Tatiana once again.
*~~*~~*
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Request: Hello! Ok so could you maybe write a blurb for Finn x reader when he notices that reader really likes dogs so he wants to get one as a present. But Finn doesn’t know anything about dogs. So who does he know that does like dogs and could probably help him get one? ALFIE!! I really just kinda want more Finn - Alfie interaction because I feel like out of all the Shelby brothers Finn would be the one Alfie could stand most (b/c he’s a bean) and it could be funny ❤️❤️
Requested by Anonymous
Finn Shelby x Reader
Warnings:None? Not edited
A/n: We need more Finn/Alfie interaction. Like honestly, these two would be hilarious if they were left in the same room together. This doesn’t have the reader any where in it, but I like it better without. And I can just imagine that Alfie owns any book there is about dogs and thinks of himself as an expert. I want to go adopt a dog with Alfie now.
Finn knew your birthday was coming up and wanted to get you something you’d actually like.
He asked his family what he should get you just to get some kind of idea.
They weren’t helpful at all.
His brothers (read John) suggested sexual things, which Ada threw a fit over.
Polly told him to get you something simple, but meaningful.
And Michael ignored the question.
Finn was left with no straight answer and was quietly stressing over it. He wanted your gifted to be perfect, not something you’d pretend to be happy about.
Walking to your house one day, he walked past a kid with a dog in tow, which instantly sparked an idea.
There wasn’t a day that went by when you hadn’t mentioned that you wanted a dog. You always talked about it but had yet to get one.
Finn decided to change that.
He knew nothing about dogs, but he knew someone who did.
Asking Ada if he could stay at her house in London for a few days, Finn decided to go visit Alfie Solomons.
Alfie may have intimiated poor Finn, but he would at least be easier to deal with than his own family.
“There’s a kid here to see you,” Ollie informed Alfie, who was sitting at his desk.
“A kid?” Children rarely came around the bakery.
In shuffled Finn, redder than a tomato.
“That ain’t a kid, Ollie, that’s a Shelby.”
The two eyed each other, neither sure what to say, but Alfie finally broke the silence. “What does Tommy want?”
“Um… He doesn’t want anything.” There was silence. “I do.”
Alfie was a little taken back by that. He never expected to even have to deal with the youngest Shelby, let alone with it having nothing to do with Tommy.
“Why are you here then?” Alfie asked, stroking his beard.
Finn fidgeted a bit, feeling like he’d made a mistake. But he was already in London and already in front of Alfie, so there was no going back. “Tommy says you know a lot about dogs.” Alfie perked up when he heard that. “And I’m looking for a dog.”
“You? A dog?”
The Shelby family did not look like the type to put up with a dog or any animal for that matter.
“No,” he hesitated. “It’s for my girlfriend.”
“Oh,” Alfie drawled. He was a hopeless romantic at heart and loved the idea of giving someone a dog. “Okay, let’s go.”
Wide eyed, Finn followed right after him, unsure of where they were going. He followed Alfie all the way to some house on the other side of town.
“What is this place?” Finn asked, staring at the house.
“A place with dogs.”
“What does that mean?”
Alfie sighed. “It’s a rescue place. The woman here saves dogs from the bullet. She’s rather sweet and very protective over them, so don’t try anything.”
Finn was even more confused by that, but still followed him inside.
The woman showed them around, introducing them to a lot of well trained dogs as Alfie listed off the requirments. Finn wasn’t allowed to get a word out, but Alfie knew that they needed to find a dog that was sweet but could put up with the Shelbys.
“How about this one?”
A bit of humming. “No, no, it won’t do.”
What about-”
“Finn, your aunt may just eat that one alive.”
“Wh-”
“Labs are unacceptable. Don’t even look at them.”
It was a long process, one that Finn hated, but they did eventually find a dog that Alfie was satisfied with.
In the end, they walked out with a small lap dog that looked like a butterfly could push it over. But both were happy with it.
“If you need any help with the dog, training or supplies, just let me know. And don’t mention this to your brother.”
“Which one?”
“Any of them.”
*~~*~~*
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Request: Micheal gray finding out his so is pregnant
Requested by Anonymous
Michael Gray x Female!Reader
Warnings: pregnancy
A/n: This isn’t completely edited because my wifi has been weird and I don’t want to edit it too much just for it not to show up. I don’t know why I’ve never done a headcanon like this before for any of the characters, but I’m glad someone requested it for Michael. I have been wanting to write for Michael more, so I was so happy to write this.
Now, it would all depend on if the two of you are married or not.
If you were dating, that would make the news a little more difficult
You would try and delay telling him by at least a week or something just to mentally prepare for his reaction, whatever it may be.
That, of course, wouldn’t work.
There was no way you could step into Polly Gray’s house and her not know you were pregnant.
You tried to avoid her house because of that but Michael would always try and drag you there.
“Mum wants to know if you could come over for dinner.”
“We’ll have to stop by the house. I left my wallet.”
You could ave sworn he made up any excuse just to get you there, but in all honesty it was normal to have to stop by the house five times a day.
So, reluctantly, you walked right into his house and prayed that Polly was out for the day. She wasn’t.
Polly was sitting in the parlor when you walked in and couldn’t keep her eyes off of you as you waited for Michael to get whatever it was that he’d left.
You did your best not to make eye contact with her, but her gaze was steady and you knew she was going to say something regardless.
“Y/n.”
You hummed, finally looking at her. “Yes?”
“Have you told Michael yet?”
You shook your head. “No, I… um, haven’t yet.”
“You should.”
You knew she was right but the thought was terrifying.
Anytime after that that you saw his mother, she would always ask if you told him and push you to do so. That made it even more nerve racking.
But eventually, you found the courage to tell him.
And it went about how you expected.
Michael was frozen once you got the words out, just staring at you like the information couldn’t possibly be true.
“Michael,” you said after a few minutes of silence. “Please say something.”
Michael was slow to get his words out, it seemed he had to go over then again and again before saying them. “Do you want to keep it?”
“I suppose it depends on what you want,” you admitted. You didn’t want the answer to completely rest on you. You didn’t feel like you could make a decision like that.
Michael wasn’t sure if he was ready for a baby, but he knew he was ready to marry you. Just the week before he had bought a ring and was waiting for the right time to ask you.
“I don’t know if we’re ready for a baby, but I don’t think that matter,” he said with a small smile. “Not if I want to marry you anyway.”
Now if you guys were married, it would be a little different.
You would be oblivious to it for a while, brushing off the small symptoms because you had more important things to do than worry about being pregnant.
Because of that, you found out from Polly.
You were sitting at your desk when she walked in to put some files away. You could feel her eyes on you once her task was finished. “What is it, Polly?”
“How have you been feeling recently?” The question may have been innocent, but you knew better than to think it was.
You shrugged. “Fine, why?” You glanced up, waiting for her to spit it out.
“You’re pregnant.”
You raised a brow. “You can tell that just from looking at me?” you couldn’t help but ask. If she was right, you weren’t that far along and weren’t showing.
“Yes, I can,” she declared, hands on her hip. “If you doubt me, I’ll gladly take you to the doctor to prove it.”
So you dragged her to the doctor with you because you were curious to find out if she was correct. You’d heard Polly knew such things, but it wasn’t hard to assume any woman in the Shelby family was pregnant, especially Esme.
Polly was right, of course, and she couldn’t contain her happiness. She wasn’t sure how she’d feel about becoming a grandmother, but she was starting to like the idea.
As Polly already knew, you knew that you had to tell Michael sooner rather than later. With how excited Polly was, you were sure she would accidentally let the news slip.
You didn’t trust waiting until you got home because you guys lived with Polly and she hadn’t been able to keep her mouth shut about it, so you decided tell right after work.
Walking into his office, you couldn’t contain your smile and he had a feeling that you were up to something. “What?” he asked as he finished up writing in a ledger. “What do you want?”
“Who said I want anything?”
“You always smile like that when you want something,” he stated, matching your grin.
You sighed, that was true. There were many times you’d walked into his office with a similar grin because you were up to something. “Well, I don’t want anything from you today besides a ride home.”
“I thought you were going to head home with Polly.”
You shrugged. “That was the plan, but there was something I wanted to tell you and I’d rather not do that with your mother in the room.”
Michael shut the ledger, leaning against the back of his chair. “Alright, what is this thing you’d like to tell me.”
“Well, you don’t have to be so serious about it,” you teased. “But since I ave your attention, I’ll tell you anyway.” You paused for effect, knowing it would drive him crazy. “I’m pregnant.”
Michael sat there with wide eyes for a second. “You’re…”
“Yes,” you nodded.
Michael stood, rounding the desk to embrace you. “This is the best news I’ve heard all day,” he whispered before planting kisses all over your face.
“Okay, okay,” you giggled. “We should probably go home.”
“Why?” he asked.
You shook your head with a smile. “Your mother is very excited about the news and I think it’s best we hear all about her excitement instead of the whole street.”
He nodded, before frowning. “My mother found out before I did!”
“She was the one who told me,” you rolled your eyes.
*~~*~~*
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A/n: This is a little shorter than I expected it to be, but honestly I’m not sure what I expected of it. I wrote half of it and then realized it hadn’t turned out the way I wanted it to. It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened and it probably won’t be the last. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
Y/n yawned as she neatly stacked the paperwork she had just finished. It was nearing 8 o’clock and she should have left the betting shop ages ago, but a few new girls had been hired and Y/n found herself redoing their work. It was tedious work, scanning through the stacks of papers to double and triple check everything, but it needed to be done. She knew if it wasn’t Polly or Tommy would have a fit and the poor girls would have to endure their brutal words.Y/n had experienced that herself when she used to work at a laundromat, she never wished that on any new employee.
A shuffle by the front door caught her attention. Glancing up, she supposed it was a stray cat, a few had found their way into the shop before. But it didn’t end at the shuffling like it would had it been a cat, no, the door knob turned with a click and a lanky figure trudged into the shop. Y/n sat frozen at her desk, wide eyes trained on the figure. The candle at her desk barely gave off enough light for her to see the small print properly, let alone who the person was that had interrupted her.
“Fucking hell,” the person mumbled as they tripped over a chair. The voice was very distinct in Y/n’s mind as she stood to steady the man, no longer stunned with fear.
“Tommy,” she sighed, bringing him to a chair. “What have you done now?” Though the room was dim, she was sure the man was covered in cuts and bruises. A usual appearance for him.
He grunted, shedding his overcoat. “It’s only a scratch.”
“A scratch, eh? This scratch has got you tripping over chairs, has it?” Y/n turned the overhead light before returning to him. Eyes tracing his form, Y/n saw the dark bruises along his cheek and the cuts that covered his exposed skin. She didn’t want to know what he’d gotten himself into or how battered the skin under his clothes appeared.
“Don’t worry about it,” Tommy waved her off, trying to stand only for Y/n to push him back down.
“Don’t even think of it,” she warned before fetching the first aid kit and a wet rag. Polly had bought a few and placed them around the shop, likely knowing that her nephews would use up all the supplies. With the kit on the desk in front of her, Y/n searched through it for all the right supplies. She had patched up a Shelby before so she knew exactly what she’d be needing. “This may sting,” she commented, tabbing the rag against a cut above his eyebrow.
“You don’t need to do this,” he muttered, wincing as she ran the cloth against his skin. But he knew his words were no use. Everytime he showed up injured in any way, she always planted herself in front of him and refused to leave until he looked somewhat pieced back together. As irritating as it was, he’d grown quite fond of her gentle touches. It would be a lie if he said he hadn’t been hoping that she would still be at the shop. A silly thought, considering the late hour, but it had been a correct one.
Y/n shook her head. “Yes, I do. If I don’t, you’ll just crawl into bed and die of your wounds.”
Tommy grunted in response but allowed her to continue with her work, carefully watching her form.
Silence filled the shop as Y/n cleaned his wounds and patched him. He was in better shape than she thought as long as she didn’t take his bruises into consideration. And a lot of the blood appeared to be someone else’s. Such a horrid thing to be thankful for.
“There.” She took a step back, making sure she didn’t miss anything. “I think you are all mended.”
He nodded and watched as she packed everything away. “Why were you still here?” he asked as he searched for his cigarettes. The question had been lingering once he’d set eyes on her. Everyone, including her, should have gone home ages ago.
Y/n shrugged. “Just going over some paperwork that the new girls did. I would hate to see them tossed out over some stupid error.”
“It isn’t your job to make sure they do their job properly,” he mumbled with a cigarette between his lips.
That part was true, it wasn’t part of her job at all. Polly trained all the new employees, Y/n just had to put up with all their mistakes. “That might be true, but someone has to help them out. Or at least make sure I don’t have to hear about it later. And I’ll be stuck fixing it anyway.”
He hummed, mulling over her answer.
“Well, I should go now. I’m sure you’d like to be left alone,” she told him, arranging her desk and neatly stacking the papers for the morning. “Go-”
Tommy lightly grasped her wrist as she passed to fetch her coat. “Stay. Please.”
The last thing he wished was to be alone, not when she was such lovely company and he couldn’t stand to be alone with his own mind.
Glancing back at him, she relaxed under his soft eyes. “Are you sure?” One rule of the office was to always leave Tommy alone. Whether he was in a bad mood or not was never the point, everyone knew Tommy liked to sit by himself and stew.
“Yes.”
With a small smile, she fell into a chair beside him. “Could you spare a cigarette?” she asked. Tommy pulled one out of his pack and lit it for her once it was between her lips. “Thank you.”
The two spent the rest of the evening talking and drinking the cheap whiskey John kept in his desk. Neither thought it would be as enjoyable as it was, but neither wished to part with the other by the time midnight rolled around. And by the time they parted, Tommy wished to take her out on a date. Mending his wounds was no way to get close to her, at least not in his mind.
*~~*~~*
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Request: Hello! I’d like to request preferences for the oldest three Shelby brothers and maybe Alfie for how’d they do trying to feed their young child(ren) (like 1 or 2 yrs old) when their S/O is away for the first time and the kid just isn’t having it and tries to make a mess❤️
Requested by Anonymous
Characters: Alfie Solomons, Arthur Shelby, John Shelby, & Thomas Shelby
Warnings:None
A/n: I loved this! Idk what else to say, but I loved it and it was super easy to write. And now I have baby fever, which honestly I always do, but that doesn’t matter. I just thought this was super cute and I hope you guys do too.
Alfie Solomons: Alfie was a very hands on parent and would help you feed the kids. So he never had any issue when it came to watching them alone. It would get a little messy, yes, but that was also because Cyril wanted a taste of what they were having and would always try to get in the way. If the kids were fussy over their food and refused to eat, Alfie would usually taste, he’s that guy, and agree that it was horrible. Young children had taste buds too! And he would make them something else, praying that they would like it more.
Arthur Shelby: Arthur wouldn’t know what to do. You were usually the one to feed the small toddler that was wailing in his arms. He’d watch you do it plenty of times, but obviously Arthur couldn’t replicate that. He’d do his best though. He’d be very gentle and nearly cry if he couldn’t get the baby to stop fussing over it. But eventually he would win and the baby would actually eat the food, finally realizing that Arthur was the only one who was there to feed them. Arthur was very relieved when you came home, telling you all about how picky toddlers can be.
John Shelby: John would be clueless. Yes, he has tons of kids, but you can’t tell me he ever takes proper care of them. Anyway, he would be clueless and worried the whole time. He wasn’t sure what was baby food and what was adult food in the fridge, but he’d paw through everything. The older children would try and help but they didn’t know either. John eventually found what looked like mashed peas and tried to feed it to the little babe. That didn’t go over well. He’d handed the child the spoon, thinking it was old enough to use it, but instead mashed peas just got flung all over the place. John then took the spoon back, but not before the whole kitchen was covered in little green splotches.
Thomas Shelby: Tommy wasn’t too worried about having to take care of the children alone, they were his kids after all, but he was terrified of being left alone with them. He was always worried about doing the wrong thing and usually the led to over thinking. And that’s what happened when it came time to feed them lunch. You had told him what to feed them, but he honestly couldn’t remember a word of what you’d said. So he had to go through all the food in the kitchen to find what he thought would be suitable. The ended up with leftover potato soup and mashed sweet potatoes. They seemed to enjoy it as he watched them with hawk eyes and thought it wouldn’t be too hard to have to feed them dinner.
*~~*~~*
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Request: Hi! I was hoping I could request a one shot/or blurb with Finn x Shelby reader where they’re dating and reader works in a book/paper shot or something. And maybe she’s more quiet and passive But for some reason maybe a mean customer pours like a thing of blue ink on her head. And so while She goes to Finn to see if he can help her get it off she starts to worry because her hair is Turing kinda . And the Finn then makes his to make her feel better. they laugh see his family’s reactions:)
Requested by Anonymous
Finn Shelby x Reader
Warnings: None
A/n: Okay, I just realized that I should have just made this a blurb. Why does this always happen? I write headcanons and then I go back and read through them and the read like something that should have been a blurb! Whatever, if I had done it as a blurb I can tell you that it would have taken a lot longer to write. Any who, I just want to say that people need to love on Finn more, he’s a little bean. I also say this cause my favorite things that I have written are both Finn fics, so.
You ended up having to dye your hair simply because of an accident at work.
How it happened, you’re still not sure. But one moment you were looking through the supply closet for printer ink and the next you were covered in blue paint.
It seemed someone had used the paint, but was forgetful when it came to making sure the lid was on tight.
You were a blue mess by the time you had registered what had actually happened and there was no saving you. Your were covered in the stuff and it stained everything it touched.
You were able to go home and scrub it off your skin in the shower, but your clothes and hair weren’t as lucky. It didn’t matter how dark or light they were nor how much you washed them.
You washed your hair about five times in an attempt to get the color out, but that did nothing.
Eventually, you finally faced reality and were left with two options. Either dye your hair a different color or live with it.
You liked the first option.
But before you could do anything about it, Finn showed up at your door. You had completely forgotten he was supposed to come over, too busy trying to rid yourself of all the blue.
“Wow,” he mouthed, eyeing you up and down. There was still a faint stain of blue along the back of your arms, but he was much more interested in your hair. “You dyed it.”
“Not exactly,” you mumbled in defeat before telling him the story. “Now what do I do? I don’t want to go to the salon, but what choice do I have?”
“Hey, it’s not that bad. I actually like the blue,” he offered, taking your hand. “It suits you.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to deal with it.”
Finn shrugged, you had a point. His eyes widened as an idea came to him. “What if I dyed my hair blue too? We could match,” he said excitedly. “It’d be cute and you won’t be the only one who sticks out like a sore thumb.”
It was a wild suggestion, but you appreciated how willing he sounded. “I don’t want to make you do that.”
“Nonsense,” he waved it off. “You won’t be making me do a thing.”
Reluctantly, you agreed because it seemed like he would do it anyway. So the next day you went with him to go get his hair dyed, doing your best to keep your mouth shut. His family was going to kill him, especially Polly.
When he was all finished, he stood before you, waiting for your approval. “It looks good, a much better dye job than mine.”
“That doesn’t take much,” he laughed as the two of you headed out of the shop.
“Do you think your family will like it?” you asked, noticing that he was leading you in the direction of the Garrison.
He shrugged, but his face paled a little. It seemed he hadn’t brought them into the equation.
Turns out the whole Shelby family was in the Garrison when you entered, each with their own questions.
You had to make it very clear that you never intended to make your hair blue and you in no way encouraged Finn to do it.
Polly didn’t believe it, but she knew how Finn could be, so she didn’t give you any shit for it.
“Jesus, Finn!” she cried when she’d seen his hair. She had to take a deep breath before looking between the two of you. Your hair wasn’t that bad, but Finn’s was the brightest blue she’d ever seen.
They would never lose Finn in a crowd again.
John gave Finn a lot of shit, though. And Tommy made sure Finn knew he looked like a clown.
“We should get you an application to the circus,” Arthur laughed after Finn’s comment.
But no one outright was mad about it, mainly because they had a feeling Finn used what happen to you as an excuse to dye his hair. It was sweet, that’s for sure, but he’d been threatening to do it for ages.
“What if the blue comes out of my hair before it comes out of yours?” you asked.
“Then you’ll have to go get it dyed. It’s only fair that we both look like clowns to the Shelby family.”
*~~*~~*
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Summary: Michael decides to go see his adoptive family after his adoptive mother visits him in the hospital. He misses the happy home he grew up in and the people that he loved, especially the girl he left behind. Seeing Y/n again makes him wonder if he could leave the Peaky Blinders behind and have a normal life once again. But more importantly, he wonders if she would ever let him into her life again.
Michael Gray x Female!Reader
Word Count:2.5k
Warnings: Mention of cocaine, mention of alcohol
A/n: This takes place after the events of s4. I didn’t reference it much when I wrote it but I swear this took on a life of its own. Like the second part of it was not how I first imagined it going, it just did. But I did really enjoy this. I don’t write for Michael that often, but I always love it when I do. I can imagine him moving back to the village or at least moving to the countryside and leaving the Peaky Blinders. I can totally see it. Like you can’t tell me that his adoptive mother didn’t raise a gentleman, cause I know she did. So I feel like Michael would have resisted much harder to that whole life, but whatever, I didn’t write the show. Oh, speaking of, I had to name Michael’s adoptive brother and father because I couldn’t find out what their names were and they probably didn’t have any. So, yeah.
And now I’m tempted to write someone about Michael and his wife in the countryside. Maybe I’ll do that later…
Michael sucked in a breath as he stepped out of the recently polished Rolls Royce and stared at the small brick cottage. It had been years since he’d laid eyes on it, always telling himself that it would only ever be a memory. But nostalgia had won the battle in his heart that was pulling him home, turning it into reality. Polly would have a fit to find out that he had returned, but he hoped his mother would understand that it was only to give the place a proper goodbye. Yeah, that’s all he needed to do, give it a meaningful farewell. He’d been young and foolish when he left all those years ago, never once realizing that he’d never hop on a train to come back. Back then Michael hadn’t considered that his whole world would turn upside down once he was reunited with his mother.
Shaking out his nerves, he strode towards the front door. Even from the footpath, he could smell the blueberry pie that his adoptive mother was famous for. A fresh one was probably sitting in front of an open window to cool down. There had been countless times in his childhood where he’d gotten sick from eating too many slices. He’d yet to experience anything like that, anything that melted him into a puddle of warmth and happiness, in Small Heath. Cocaine and whiskey only numbed the pain of reality. Stopping in front of the wooden door, Michael glanced back at the car, giving himself one last moment to flee. But he turned his gaze back to the door he used to run through and let his knuckles rap against it.
A dog barked as his knocks echoed through the house followed by the sound of feet shuffling. “Matthew, sit and finish your lunch,” he heard Rosemary say before the door swung open. From the startled but warm glow of her eyes, it appeared she’d always hoped that this day would come. That her son would come back to her. “Henry,” she breathed.
“It’s Michael now,” he gave her a small smile, eyes scanning the room behind her. Little had changed since he’d lived there. The fireplace in the small parlor still had a photo of the family that was taken at a wedding and a few from when him and Matthew were younger. A painting of some mountain that none of them could name hung on the wall. And cracked tile peaked out of the kitchen, tile that Michael may have broken by dropping a full milk jug. He would never admit it, though.
The woman nodded with a sad smile. “Of course, of course. Please come in.” She opened the door wider, allowing him to step inside. “Your fath- I mean, Joseph is out delivering milk but he should be back in time for a late lunch.”
A bing of guilt crept into his heart at her words. It was no one’s fault, least not her’s, the situation that had fallen into their lap. “Is Matthew here?” he asked. That was who had wished to see the most.
Polly went on and on about Anna, about how important it was for them to remember her, but each time she mentioned it, Michael only ever thought of Matthew. Blood or not, Matthew would be his brother until the end. They had done everything together. From harassing the cows to falling into the fountain in the center of the village, they were inseparable. Then Michael left, never sparing his brother a second glance, an action that always haunted him.
“Oh, yes, yes. He’s having lunch in the kitchen, would you like some? You look like you could use a few hearty meals,” she said, eyeing him up and down. She wasn’t wrong, Michael couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a proper meal. Polly always saved diner for him, but his appetite withered the longer he worked for the company.
“I’d like that very much.”
“Come on then, let’s get you fed,” she announced as she walked into the kitchen. “Look who’s come to visit, Matthew, it’s your brother.”
A lanky boy turned in his seat with wide, hopeful eyes. He quickly set his sandwich down and raced to his brother, wrapping him in a hug. “I knew you’d come back, I knew you would,” Matthew muttered as Michael hugged him back.
“I had to come back to see you,” Michael said with a smile. God, he’d missed the boy. “Now sit and eat before mum yells at us.” From the counter, he could see Rosemary’s lips turn up in a smile. He knew he must have broken her heart by leaving.
The three sat at the table, eating their lunch, while Matthew asked questions and told stories in between chewing. Their mum tried to silence him, reminding him that it was improper, but he shrugged it off as he continued, informing her that he just wanted to fill Michael in on all that had happened while he was gone. Someone had to if she wouldn’t. Michael then told them all about his life in Birmingham, leaving out a few details here and there, doing his best not to mention his real family as he knew it was a sore subject.
“That’s so cool,” Matthew mused, when Michael mentioned his job.
Rosemary rolled her eyes. “Do you even know what an accountant is?” she asked her son.
He shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t cool.”
A laugh vibrated Michael’s chest. “It’s not as cool as you think.”
His brother shrugged, “I don’t know, sounds better than running a farm.”
“Are you going to visit Y/n while you’re here?” his mum asked, in need of a new subject.
Michael leaned back in his chair, wishing he had a cigarette between his lips, but he knew how Rosemary felt about such things. Last he’d hear, Y/n had moved to London, leaving her memories of him in the village. “I wasn’t aware she was back.”
She nodded. “Oh, yes, the poor girl had to come back to take care of her mother. I don’t think she liked London that much since she’s been dragging her feet about going back ever since her mum died.”
“Oh,” he mouthed. He hadn’t heard about that and he did his best to keep up with what was going on in the small village.
“Yeah, she claims that she’s just waiting for the house to sell, but I know she’s lying,” Rosemary said with a sad smile. “You should go see her if you have time. I’m sure it would mean a lot to her. She’s got no one now and I’m sure that gets lonely.”
*~~*~~*
Michael walked out of his childhood home an hour later. He wasn’t sure how long he’d meant to stay, but he had a hard time leaving. Everything there grabbed at him, reminding him of better times, happy times. He was happy to know his real family, happy to know Polly, but he was starting to question whether he was happy in Birmingham. He tried not to dwell too much on the subject as he walked toward the village, now wasn’t the time to rethink his life. Not when everything was at its brightest in the village. Spring days like that would make any man happy.
Nearling the center of the small village, Michael caught sight of a woman kneeled in front of a small garden bed outside a small brick house. Her back was turned to him, but he didn’t need to see her face to know it was Y/n. Her mother had always taken extra care of the flowers in that little bed, and with her gone, the job had fallen upon her daughter.
“Y/n,” he called, heart stopping as she turned toward him. He only had one photo of her, one he kept tucked away in his wallet. Seldom did he glance at it, but having it near never failed at reminding him of what was missing in his life.
Her lips twitch, suppressing a smile as she stood and wiped the dirt on her apron. “Um… It’s Michael now, right?”
“Yes, it is,” he nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “How have you been?”
Y/n shrugged, “Good, I suppose. Um, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?”
“I’d like that very much,” Michael said and followed her into the house. Y/n untied her apron, throwing it on a stool as she entered the kitchen. Taking a seat at the small table, Michael had nearly forgotten all the time he used to spend at her house. The two had been best friends growing up, always tagging along with Michael and Matthew. She would always get in trouble with her mother, coming home late and usually covered in mud.
“How is Birmingham?” she asked as she put the kettle on the stove.
He caught the bite in her words, she’d been deeply hurt by his departure, which Michael understood all too well. Before he’d left, the two had started courting and he swore to her that he’d marry her one day. But he left for Birmingham, only thinking of himself and leaving the people he loved in the dust. “It’s… good, but different.”
Y/n hummed and searched the cabinets for a couple cups. “Well, anywhere’s better than here, right?”
“You don’t seem to think so.”
“What does that mean?” she glared at him as she poured the steaming liquid into the two mugs. She wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but she’d heard enough from all the other women in town. They all cooked up their own little reasons as to why she had stayed so long. Each was as wild and untrue as the next. If she were to be honest, she couldn’t bear to part with home as it reminded her too much of how happy life used to be.
Michael shrugged. “Just that you don’t seem to be too keen on moving back to London.”
Y/n rolled her eyes, bringing the cups over to the table. “London hasn’t been as kind to me as Birmingham has to you.” She handed him his cup before taking a seat, keeping her eyes on the dark liquid in front of her.
“I’m sorry,” he confessed, knowing life hadn’t played out the way either of them had expected. He was sorry for leaving her behind, for never coming back, for her taking life on alone, and for taking care of her ailing mother all by herself. “I’m sorry about all of it.”
“Don’t be, it happens,” she shrugged and took a sip of tea.
“And Birmingham hasn’t been as grand as you think.”
She raised a brow, waiting for him to continue, but when he didn’t she said, “What do you mean? You have everything you didn’t here. A better, more exciting family, enough money to drown in, and I’m sure women lined up at your door. That is grand compared to here, compared to this.”
Michael let out a sigh. He wished to ignore the broken heart before him, but he knew Y/n would rip him a new one for it before he’d have a chance to leave. He wanted her to, he wanted her to let him know how deeply he’d hurted her. He wanted to hurt as deeply as the people he’d hurt, it would only be fair. “It’s not as grand as it sounds. All that doesn’t equal a happy life.”
“Is that why you’re here? To get a touch of everyone else’s happy life, stick around long enough to make everyone think you’ll be coming back, and then leave again?”
“Is that what you think?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, Michael,” she spat. “It seems it never has.”
“Now, don’t say that,” he urged. “I was a fool to not bring you with me, I know that now, but you can’t go thinking I still don’t care about you.”
“Oh please,” she mumbled. She shouldn’t have let him inside. It should have been a quick hello and goodbye, but no, she had to let him in. She had to ask all the questions, digging for all the answers she’d been wondering about since he left. “Don’t say that. If you cared about me you wouldn’t have come back here and make me think you might be back for good.”
“What if I was back for good?” Why he asked, Michael couldn’t say, but part of him knew he couldn’t stay in Birmingham forever. The family business was built for tougher men than him and everytime he picked up a gun, he was reminded of what Rosemary used to say. She always told her sons that violence wasn’t the answer and, usually, she was right.
Y/n was silent, staring out the small kitchen window. She didn’t want to think too deeply into the question. There were many days where she wished Michael would come back, he’d knock on her door and ask her to come back to Birmingham with him, but she wrote those off as dreams. They would never happen. Michael wasn’t the same man he used to be. He had rougher edges, a darker heart, and cold eyes. She knew he wouldn’t look at her the same as he had all those years ago.
“Y/n?” He traced the outline of her face, wishing she would look at him. “Y/n, would it be so bad if I came back?”
“I don’t know, I doubt you ever will,” she admitted. “So, let’s on dwell on ‘what if?’”
“But if I do come back, will you wait for me?” he asked.
She shrugged, running her finger over the rim of the cup. “I don’t know. I want to, but how can I be sure you won’t leave again?”
Michael flashed her a soft smile. “Will you let me prove it to you? That I won’t leave again? Can we try again?”
Y/n let out a sigh as a small smile snuck onto her face. She knew she was giving in far too early, he deserved to work much harder for her answer, but she had always hoped he’d come back to her. “Oh, I suppose we can… But you go and break my heart again, I will put you six feet under. You understand?”
He let out a laugh. “Oh, yes, I do. And I won’t hurt you again, I promise.”
“Alright then,” she nodded. “I look forward to your return.”
Michael couldn’t hold back his bright smile, finally feeling happy for the first time in a long time. And he made good on that promise to her. Every chance he got, he would come visit her and have dinner with his other family. When work kept him away, he’d write to her, informing Y/n of all the things that were going on in his life. Polly wasn’t too thrilled that he had returned to the village, but she saw how happy he’d become and chose not to say anything. And Michael was happy, he was happy to finally be in a place where happiness was allowed to grow. If only he could find the courage to tell Tommy that he was going to leave the company. That would certainly make him a happy man if he didn’t have the burden of that.
*~~*~~*
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A/n: I wasn’t sure I liked this that much when I read it and I nearly deleted it. But I loved the first couple paragraphs so I kept it and just fixed it to my liking. It’s short and sweet, but I would totally do a second part about how Tommy reacts to learning about what he said. I think it would be cute and I love the idea of Tommy having this tough extior but melts for his s/o. That thought just kills me.
With a huff, Y/n helped Tommy down the steps of the Garrison, one of his arms draped over her shoulders while she had an arm snaked around his waist to help prop him up. She wished Arthur or John was the one helping him home, but they were just as drunk, if not more than their brother. When Y/n was woken up by a call from Finn, the poor boy had been left to tend to his older brothers, she didn’t believe her boyfriend to be as drunk as Finn had said. Tommy was usually the most sober, or just could handle his whiskey better. She hadn’t been prepared to haul the man home.
“What am I going to do with you?” Y/n ask softly, doing her best to keep them on a straight path.
Tommy mumbled something before tripping over his feet. Y/n did her best to steady him, preventing him from falling face first on the pavement. If he did fall, it would be his fault without a doubt, but Y/n knew she would feel guilty about it. Especially if it left a scratch.
“I fucking love you,” Tommy confessed, slurring his words. His eyes were tracing the outline of her jaw. She’d felt his intense eye on her as she guided them to his flat, but thought it would be far too distracting if she met his eye.
A warm laugh vibrated her chest, “Shut up and tell me this when you’re sober.” She shook her head with a smile. Though she was happy to hear such words from him, she hated that it took liquor to get him to say it.
There was no doubt Tommy loved her. You’d have to be blind to not see the love that coursed through him even just thinking about his girlfriend. As nice as that was, Y/n wished she could get verbal confirmation from time to time.
“No, I mean it,” he said sternly, his business voice coming out. “I fucking love ya. Your smile, your kindness, your warmth. I love everything about ya.”
Y/n nodded, attempting to hide her smile. She would have to remind him of his confession in the morning. She was sure he’d do his best to brush it off as a blush would creep across his cheeks. That’s what she loved the most about him, how easy it was for her to make him blush.
“I love you so fucking much I can’t live without you. Yeah, I can’t do that. No, I won’t. I’m gonna make you my wife, yeah. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m gonna marry you!” he declared with a nod.
His girlfriend raised a brow as she listened to his little rant. She could tell Tommy was no longer talking to her and she had a feeling he’d forgotten she was the only thing holding him up. As Tommy went on and on about marriage and a wedding, Y/n couldn’t contain the bright smile that crept onto her face. She had no idea Tommy had thought so much about marrying her. Or that he wanted to have lilies in the flower arrangements. Weird.
“Tommy,” Y/n said, capturing his attention as they neared his flat. “How about you tell me all about this in the morning?” As much as she wanted him to continue, his excitement about it couldn’t be contained and Y/n was starting to struggle under his weight.
“Oh, yeah,” he breathed. “Maybe we can get married in the morning!”
“Yeah, maybe if you don’t have a killer hangover.”
*~~*~~*
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Request: Ok so this might sound weird but can you do preferences for the younger three Shelby brothers for how they would react to having an S/O having to help the with a bigger sunburn? Because I know just all of them would probably get ✨crispy✨ If there was more sun in the show except for maybe Arthur (idk why I just feel like he would burn for some reason, like he’d tab but the rest would just ) but you don’t have too if you’re not feeling it
Requested by Anonymous
Characters: Arthur Shelby, Thomas Shelby, John Shelby, & Finn Shelby
Warnings: Sunburns (they are the worst)
A/n: I added Arthur in here because you can’t tell me that man wouldn’t burn. Idk why, maybe because I get horrible sunburns, but I enjoyed writing this. Maybe because I’d like someone to take care of me when I’m all burnt. Someone that isn’t my mother who I swear does her best to make it worse. But one thing she had taught me is that vinegar will take the sting out of it. It hurts to put it on tho, so I’m not sure how willing I would be to do that.
Arthur Shelby: Arthur would come home after being outside all day, burnt to a crisp. He hated sunburns, having got them all the time as a child, and he wouldn’t fuss at you trying to help him. He just wanted the pain to go away. He’d let you help him out of his clothes and sit quietly while you rubbed his burns with aloe. He hated that you had to take care of him, but every time he winced, you would too. It was hard to see him in so much pain. He hated to admit it, but he loved it when you would take care of him, except when you’d scold him afterwards. “You know better Arthur Shelby. How many times do you have to burn before you’ll learn?” Even then, he did adore it when you’re get a little angry at him over it, it just showed how much you cared.
Finn Shelby: Finn would try and tough it out, mainly because he wouldn’t want to hear anything from you or Polly. But he is a ginger and you knew right away once you saw his once pale skin was as red as a tomato. Finn would do his best to shrug it off, but you would drag him into the kitchen, making him take his shirt off so you could have a proper look. He was crisp for sure and winced even with your fingers floating over the burnt skin. You’d click your tongue and set off to get the cream Polly had stashed away just for something like this. Finn would insist the whole time that you didn’t need to help him as you rubbed the cream into his back, but someone had to take care of him.
John Shelby: I have a feeling John would be whiney about sunburns. No matter how bad they were, he would always be dramatic about it. He did it mainly because he liked it when you’d take care of him. But the one time he came home with a really bad sunburn, he didn’t enjoy it at all. You were gentle with him as you helped him out of his clothes and rubbed aloe into it. He didn’t complain too much, which told you it must have hurt a lot to shut him up. But he was all smiles, loving how you were so willing to help him. That smile dropped, though, once all his kids came home and wanted to be all over their father. Maybe that would help him learn to stay out of the sun.
Thomas Shelby: Now, Tommy wouldn’t let on about it. He would only come to you when he needed someone to rub cream on his back. You glared at him when he handed you the container, but your eyes quickly softened when you saw how red he was everywhere. You didn’t know what he’d done to get all burnt, but you wished he’d mentioned it sooner. You were gentle with him as you rubbed the cream over his back and encouraged him to tell you next time. Tommy said nothing as you did it, but he appreciated how much you cared and knew he should have said something to begin with. He would next time, that’s for sure.
*~~*~~*
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author’s note: martha doesn’t exist here, so katie is the reader’s daughter. thought I’d let you know :)
“Promise me you will stay calm.”, John said to you while he walked inside your house, stopping right in front of you, his hands held up in a way of defence.
“What did you do this time?”, you questioned, your eyes wide open while you looked him up and down, trying to find out if there was anything wrong with him, hoping that he wasn’t hurt.
John noticed the way you were watching him hence he put his arms down and took your hands in his, pulling you even closer to him.
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with me. Katie has just -”
“Katie has just what, John? What has she done? What happened?”, you asked, getting more nervous by the second as you held his hands even tighter. Your husband quickly pulled his hands away, shaking away the pain before he put them on your shoulders, trying to calm you down.
“It’s nothing serious. She just had a little fight at school. That’s all.”
Your eyes were wide open, even wider than before as you looked into his blue eyes, a shocked expression gracing your face.
“A little fight? Are you serious? A little fight or a big fight, it doesn’t matter. She shouldn’t be fighting at all!”, you stated loudly, already stepping away from John to search for your purse.
“What are you doing?”
“Well, what does it look like? I will go to her school now and ask her teacher what happened.”
As soon as you found your purse, you turned around and started walking towards the front door however you didn’t get far. John pulled you back, not wanting you to leave right now.
“I already talked to her teacher and don’t worry, I talked to our daughter as well.”, he stated, already knowing what you were about to say.
“She knows that what she did was wrong and she won’t be doing it again … hopefully. But, love, who can blame her? She has your temper and my will to fight.”
You instantly punched his arm before playfully pushing him away from you and although you wanted to be mad at him, you couldn’t. You knew that he was right.
“Next time, I will talk to the teacher. And I hope Katie doesn’t think she already got away with it. Once she walks through that door, I will give her a piece of my mind.”, you stated, pressing a quick kiss on your husband’s lips before you turned around and started walking towards the kitchen.
John couldn’t help but chuckle as he lightly caressed the spot where you punched him. He already knew that Katie will be exactly like you in the future, maybe she already was.
Rushed. Quick as the orange leaves that fall from the oaks providing the caravan shelter from the autumn sun, she was pawned off to the tall shadow of a man at the altar of dried flowers. Barely enough time to fix her hair, a beige dress was thrown over her by her eager mother. If they had told her, she wouldn’t be getting mud all over her nice heels. There was no time to run, no time to argue, no time to see who her parents had given her to through the thick veil. Words slurred and commanded to be repeated without any thought, her voice was barely a whisper as she did what she was told. Her voice met with a husky response, her betrothed-to-be repeated the words robotically, said “I do”, and finally unveiled her. As per the theme of the day, she hadn’t time to even recognize the scarily beautiful blue eyes before he gave her a chaste, quick peck that was over before she even closed her eyes in an attempt to savor it. And so her fate was sealed. In the Autumn wind, she became Mrs. Shelby, if only by name, losing her life’s freedom as the last leaf fell.
The snow that covered their walkway was as cold as their love that had ceased to blossom since Autumn. She never imagined her bed being so cold, most nights Tommy’s back towards her, leaving a chill whenever he abandoned her in the morning or the night. And it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Though accustomed to speaking her mind as a gypsy, she knew she’d have to do what she could to keep him, so she never argued or picked a fight with him, hence it elect the silent treatment though that’s what she received on a daily basis. It was a muttered “thank you” when she poured him some whiskey before coming home, a hint of a smile when she asked something interesting in conversation, a kiss on the cheek when he wanted more. But he always went to someone other than his wife to satisfy his needs.
His wife. Not the love of his life. Not the women he cherishes. Not the mother of his son. A Lee, a placeholder, a trophy wife.
She had needs too, ones that she’d meet if he didn’t, though it brought along a blizzard.
Smiling, her arms outstretched, she couldn’t help but feel the warmth radiating from the one saving grace she’d had through the seasons. Charlie. A curious little boy of 3 now, it took him nearly no time at all to warm up to you. Eyes mirroring his fathers, at least when she looked into them they were full of life and hope and love. They spent most of their time together outside, her showing him the way to navigate using the sun, picking flowers and which ones to eat. It was as if Charlie had inherited all the parts of Thomas that were good, and all the parts of Thomas’s deceased wife, who he did not wish to speak of, ever. Though he wasn’t her blood, she felt like Charlie’s mother, and she’d continue to teach him everything she knew about the healing effects of herbs, the way the wind blows to signify the changing of the seasons. Among the budding flowers, out in the fields with Charlie’s little hand in hers, Tommy watched from the patio. He noticed things; the curves of her body, the bounce of her hair, the way the color of her dress matched her skin, the smile she had when she talked about her passions, the airiness with which she moved, bare feet running playfully through the grass. Maybe it was time Thomas shed his leaves and grow new ones.
Summer wasn’t just hot, it was oppressive, partly due to the extra attention from Thomas. Could she complain if her husband was finally taking an interest in her almost a year into the arranged marriage? Working his way up in the world, they spent many summer days apart, yet it was on those unnaturally muggy nights she found him turning towards her in bed or spending more time with them outside. His presence, unusual but not unwelcome, as he looked over the books on the patio as she and Charlie played in the lake on the estate, her husband taking extra interest in her as the bathing suit she wore hugged her curves tighter than anything else she wore. He was getting a little sample of all that he could have, though until now he’d never seemed to want a taste. Shy at first, she wore the longer of her suits, covering more of her body.
Except today. The little boy‘s love for swimming left her with nothing but a scandalous swimsuit, tight around her chest and midsection, and shorter than what was appropriate. Her cheeks burned red as she brought Charlie outside to find Thomas there at the table, conscious of his hungry eyes taking in the view.
“Oh, I thought you had left.”
“Thought I’d stay and enjoy the day, it’s nice, isn’t it?” Unsure of if he was talking about the weather or her, she found herself covering her body consciously. All she had wanted was for him to look at her this way, but now it was uncomfortable. Both turning towards the joyous sound of Charlie near the lake, she joined him in the cool water. It was just about sunset by the time she emerged from the water, pushing her hair back and puffing out her chest, knowing full well that Tommy’s eyes were not only one her, drinking in her silhouette, but they hadn’t left her all afternoon, the books laying empty and open in front of him.
The sun leaving them hot and sticky, Thomas agreed to put Charlie down allowing his wife the time to change and dry off. His lingering presence on the bedroom threshold made her flinch, instinctively covering her body from her husband’s lingering stare. It would be understandable if she had felt this shy when she was first betrothed to him, but even after nearly a year, it was as if they still barely knew one another.
“You don’t have to hide from me you know.”
“Sorry, a bit of a habit.” She shrugged her eyes on the colorful summer sun setting behind Thomas, slowly putting her hands down. More intimate than the act itself was standing there for all of him to see and allowing him to see it for as long as he liked. The gypsy in her had almost enough nerve to slap him as he looked, claim “she wasn’t some statute to admire like that” but perhaps being married nearly a year had changed the way she saw things. A husband was supposed to admire his wife.
“There’s another reason I didn’t go to work today, besides the nice weather that is.” It was a combination of the sultriness in his voice and what was still left to be said that made her hot all over.
“Yeah? And what was that?” Timid in response, it wasn’t like her, and yet it seemed this was the longest, most important, conversation they ever had.
“You. In that bathing suit.” He took a step across the room. “You. With Charlie, always so good with him.” The air thinned as he took another step towards her. “You. You’re the reason. And I’m sorry I didn’t see you sooner.”
There was something quite familiar about the chill in the breeze carrying a blaze of orange and gold leaves across the yard. The crispness in the air was reminiscent of their wedding day a year ago, the unlikely pair found themselves celebrating their anniversary by carrying out their vows. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish. Skin on skin, her laugh carried through the caravan as he placed kiss after kiss along her throat. Sweet nothings whispered in her ear bringing a rose blush to her cheeks.
“You look beautiful. You always do, love. You did on our wedding night. You did in that swimsuit.”
She rolled her eyes. He loved bringing up that core memory, the moment when they realized they were more than a husband and a wife in the eyes of the state, they were more than two people sharing a home and a bed. They were a man and a woman with wants and needs, pleasures and desires and whims of the heart.
She tangled her fingers in his hair, his lips leaving butterfly kisses along her throat. She turned so her lips met his, a kiss so deep she could feel the tingle in her toes. Undoing the buttons of his shirt before his pants, they had memorized every inch of each other, pushing their clothes onto the floor and letting hands roam, every scar, every freckle, every mark known and cherished.
“I love you my husband” the whispers of a romantic language grazing his ear like her petal-soft lips. “Make love to me.”
As every living thing around them prepared for winter by dying off, she was blossoming, legs pried open as he made himself comfortable between them. He kissed her long and deep, savoring her taste before hurrying himself in her. He began his thrusts long and slow, allowing her to stretch and fill with him, until she was ready for more. Thomas was always gentle, slow, saving the more intimate moments of sex for her and her alone.
“Are you alright? Do you want me to keep going?” She only laughed and kissed him deep, tongue exploring forgotten caverns to suggest that he needn’t ask anymore. Wrapping her legs around his waist, it allowed for deeper thrusts, quickened in pace but deep. They began moving in unison, their bodies no longer working as two but one. Each pull accompanied by a push, a moan accompanied by a gasp, an inhale, an exhale. She stretched to take him deeper still, the sensation of him in her sending her toes to curl, her breath to hitch in her throat before kissing him back. Pulling on his hair, nuzzling his neck, arching her hips up to meet his.
The pace quickened, her body begging for more, and Thomas could only oblige, his grip on her even tighter then. He couldn’t hold her close enough. They were a tangle of limbs, every thrust of his leaving her wanting more, gasping for more breath, leaving her shivering from the pleasure. It built, a small sensation growing from her core and spreading outwards. She retaliated the only way she knew how, caressing him, hands exploring every toned crevice and divet of his musical back, a roadmap permanently etched into her mind but one she’d never tire of exploring. Needy open-mouthed kisses peppered his skin along with sweet nothings. “That’s it,” “right there,” “Thomas,” “beautiful.” “Thomas.”
Though it had taken them long to connect this way, the bond between them was nearly unbreakable. They’d found their rhythm, releasing in sync once the pleasure had grown to an unbearable amount. He begged and she complied, opening and releasing around him as he did the same, pulling and holding her close. The heat that she felt was enough to convince her it was summer already, face resting on Thomas’s sticky skin, sweet with the scent of him. Running his hands through her hair they stewed in the comforting silence they provided each other after so long together. Sometimes love ales seasons to grow.
And the same could be said for that next summer. She had the pleasure of sitting on the patio furniture and smiling at the warm sounds of Tommy’s giggles and screams. He was back in that lake again but this year Tommy as buy his side, throwing him through the air and cooling him with a splash. She smiled at the scene, then couldn’t help gnawing on her bottom lip while admiring the sculpted physique of her husband in his bathing suit. She remembered how he commented on her loos whenever she donned her bathing suit, though now she feared the fabric would barely stretch to fit her and her overbearing bump nearly nine months-round. He still joked on occasion, telling her how wonderful she would look in her swimsuit, and regardless of how many times he uttered the same joke, it made her laugh. Hand resting on her bump, skin dewy with sweat from basking in the overly hot summer sun, she couldn’t believe how much could truly change in a year. Their love was like a wind, cold and brisk at first until it was barely strong enough to provide any relief from the heat.
Requested by anonymous: ‘Hi, I’ve been reading your works and really love your writing and would like to ask for one too Could you write Tommy Shelby x Reader who he’s known since childhood, basically his first love, an angel for him, they have a feeling for each other growing up but never said it out. Then there’s Grace and the story gets more complicated because she(reader) thought that Tommy is in love with Grace when actually he is in love with her, so he confessed his feeling.’
Characters:Thomas Shelby x Reader, mentions of other Shelby family
Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name
Warnings:Swearing, sexual themes, arguing, jealousy
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Here’s the papers you wanted, Tommy.”
Ah, there she was. Tommy waited to hear that voice every morning. He went to work desperate to just catch a glimpse of her before he had to get back to business. Looking up from his writings, he held back a smile as (Y/N) approached him, a stack of paper in her hands.
“Morning (Y/N), how come I didn’t get my usual welcome this morning?” he asked with a smirk.
(Y/N) had always made sure to have a hot cup of tea waiting on his desk, with her sat outside his office at her own secretary desk. They would greet each other before going over the agenda for the day and what needed to be done. However, (Y/N) couldn’t be found that morning.
“Oh, well, you would not believe the morning I’ve had.” her professionalism dropped as she perched on the edge of his desk, still angled towards him.
Tommy didn’t hesitate to look at her arse, and how accentuated it was with how she sat. His eyes quickly flicked back to her face as she started speaking again.
“So I came in early as I do, was going to help Pol set up like usual. Poor Sophie is also here, Pol said something about training her up to open so it’s not always us and she’s trustworthy. Anyway, I come in to find Sophie crying next to the safe because she forgot the code Polly gave her, and Pol was shouting orders left, right and centre. Basically, she couldn’t handle Polly’s wrath so I had to help, which took longer than expected.”
“You have had a busy morning.”
“Haven’t I just?”
“What would we do without you, eh?”
“Not much. Especially you.”
“Is that right?”
“You couldn’t even get these papers off my desk yourself. It’s only situated outside the door, Tommy.”
“Keep talking like that and you might just face the consequences.”
“Oh? You going to fire me?”
“No.”
“Then what are you going to do to me?”
Tommy leaned back in his seat, lighting up a cigarette.“You’d have to wait and see.”
(Y/N) couldn’t deny that this was getting her hot and bothered. She and Tommy always bantered and flirted like this, though over the past few years, their words had become more and more bold. They knew each other since they were children, growing up on the same street and playing together. Their friendship stayed strong as they grew up, everyone always teased the pair that they would get married one day, making the teenagers blush. It was as if they both knew about their feelings for one another, but neither wanted to act upon it, in fear that their assumptions were wrong and they would ruin the long friendship they had.
Tommy and (Y/N) would make a very attractive pair. Of course Tommy had the sharp Shelby look, a mysterious man that enticed women, he was confident, smart; he knew what he wanted and how to take charge. And (Y/N) was no doubt one of the most beautiful women in Small Heath. She stood out from the other workers, she had an aura about her, something that said I know my worth and you can’t tell me otherwise. It wasn’t arrogant, it was strong, yet she was also one of the sweetest people you could meet in a shit hole like this. It was a wonder why a man hadn’t married her yet…actually it wasn’t, it was because Thomas Shelby always scared them away.
“Still going for drinks at the Garrison tonight?” (Y/N) said as she got off the desk.
“If I must.”
She laughed, making her way to the door.“Oh come on Tommy, you love going really.”
“Only when you’re there.”
(Y/N) smiled at him one last time before leaving the room, her confident facade disappearing instantly. Tommy really made her nervous, in a good way. Although it frustrated her too; some mornings she would try to hype herself up, finally tell Tommy how she felt about him, hoping he felt the same. It had been going on for so long between them, it was agonising.
The work day went by as it always did, filled with flirty remarks between the two, lingering touches when passing things to one another, longing looks. Finally, it was time to head to the pub. (Y/N) was on Tommy’s arm as they walked, a normal sight. As they entered the pub, (Y/N) noticed Tommy’s attention fall on someone else, a blonde barmaid. She hadn’t seen this one before.
“Tommy? You coming?” (Y/N) tried to sound light, tugging on his arm towards the private room.
“I’ll meet you there.”
He didn’t even look at her as he spoke. Sadly she pulled away from him, following the rest of the Shelby’s. (Y/N) put on a smiling face, despite worrying about what Tommy was doing with that barmaid. She had no right to, they weren’t together. When the window to the bar opened, (Y/N) grabbed the drinks, wanting to peak through. As she slowly slid them towards herself, she saw them in deep conversation, Tommy casually leaning again the bar, the barmaid seemingly cool and collected as she spoke to Tommy; women were always flustered around him, which he didn’t care for, and this worried (Y/N), because what if he took an interest in her?
“Take your time love!” Arthur laughed.
Trying to distract herself by playing cards with the boys, (Y/N) found herself glancing up to the door every time a shadow passed it. She found herself losing every round, not being an amazing player anyway, though it was as if she had never played before. When Tommy did decide to join them, (Y/N) suddenly didn’t want to speak to him.
“What took you so long?” Arthur asked as his brother sat down next to (Y/N).
“Didn’t you see the new bird at the bar? Tommy wasn’t wasting any time.” John chuckled.
(Y/N) kept her eyes down on her cards. Tommy glanced at (Y/N)’s cards, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
“You’re doing terrible tonight.”
“Thanks.” It was blunt, it was rude.
“I can help you win.”
“I don’t need your help.”
Now Tommy could see the first reply wasn’t an accident, she had meant to snap at him.
“What’s up with you?”
“Oh, you’re actually paying attention now?”
“What?”
(Y/N) didn’t answer, continuing the game. Tommy remained silent, perplexed at the woman’s behaviour. What had he missed? He wondered if his brothers had said anything, but she wouldn’t be playing with them still if they had.
Luckily, the family didn’t stay for very long that night. They still had work the next day, and although that didn’t usually stop them, it was going to be a busy day, a big race was on, meaning lots of betters would swarm the shop. Although (Y/N) was still pissed at Tommy, she expected him to walk her home like he always did. Gathering her things and saying goodbye to everyone, she turned to see if Tommy was also ready to leave, frowning at the sight. There he was, leaning against the bar, talking to that barmaid again. (Y/N) made herself known as she walked over, letting her heels click loudly on the floor.
“Tommy, you coming?” she asked, using his nickname.
“I need to stay. Business.” he lazily replied.
“But, you always walk me home.”
“Not tonight. One of my brothers will.”
(Y/N) glared at the woman across the bar. Maybe it wasn’t her fault that Tommy was staying, but it didn’t annoy her any less. Whipping around, she quickly made her exit, slamming the door behind her before catching up to the other Shelby’s. John and Arthur walked (Y/N) back to her home, not taking any notice of her temper. She was quiet for the most part, only speaking when spoken to. Were all men so oblivious?
Once again, Tommy didn’t see (Y/N) at her desk, assuming she was already busy with work. She would pop in soon enough. Settling down in his seat, he noticed there was already two stacks of papers in front of him, before he had even asked to see them. Perhaps (Y/N) had to help the floor today, and made sure he was set up first. But as he sifted through them, he noticed they weren’t in categorical order, the dates were all mixed up, some things had been signed and others weren’t. Confused at her lack of organisation, Tommy headed towards the door, poking his head out of it.
“Where’s (Y/N)?” he asked an employee rushing by.
“Oh, she’s out on the floor, Mr Shelby. She offered to help seeing as it’s the big race today.”
Tommy just nodded, dismissing the man. Stepping out of his office, Tommy scanned the room for her, it was hard to see through the hoards of people in such a small space. As soon as he spotted her on the other side of the room, he made his way through, not caring if he had to push a few people away.
“Why aren’t you at your desk?”
(Y/N) was bending low over a table, scribbling down names and numbers.“Good morning, Mr Shelby.”
“Are you trying to play a game here?”
“I’m simply working, sir.”
That would have sounded a lot more pleasing to him if she wasn’t being so snappy with him.
“I appreciate that you’re helping but those papers you put on my desk are not up to standard.”
She still hadn’t looked at him.“I didn’t have time this morning. There were floods of people as soon as we opened. I assumed you could organise them yourself, you’re a clever man.”
“If you weren’t like a member of the family (Y/N), you could be fired for speaking to me like that.”
“That’s alright, I’ll get a job at the Garrison, like that pretty, little barmaid. Then you might actually notice me.”
“What?”
She sighed, standing up straight.“Would you like me to put those papers in order for you, Mr Shelby?”
“Why are you angry with me?”
“I’m not.”
“I don’t have time to argue about this. Return to your desk and get on with your usual work.”
They stared at each other, not wanting to be the first to fold. (Y/N) pouted, making a show of herself walking away from Tommy. He followed her a few steps behind, watching as she dropped into her seat, immediately getting on with work, and not looking at him once again.
“My usual tea would be nice.” he spat before disappearing back into his office.
The day went on like that. (Y/N) brought him a cup of tea but it wasn’t how he liked it, the second time she made it, she purposefully used like warm water so it was cold by the time she brought it to him. She gave him pens that were low on ink or just broken, stale biscuits to nibble on; it was all very petty but she didn’t care. It was the only way she could get back at him.
After a very long and busy day, the workers were excited to head home and put their feet up. (Y/N) always walked home with Tommy, or at least said bye to him if he could leave. But not tonight. She was making a run for it. Apparently she wasn’t running fast enough.
“(Y/N), a word.” Tommy ordered before she could even walk past his door.
Huffing, she slumped into his office, loudly closing the door. He held eye contact with her as she approached the desk, not offering her a seat.
“Yes, Mr Shelby?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you today?”
“The fact that I have to tell you annoys me even more.”
“So I’ve done something?”
“Yes.”
“And what did I do to upset you so much?”
“You…you didn’t walk me home last night.” she felt childish saying it out loud, even though that wasn’t the actual reason she was upset.
He scoffed.“That’s why you’ve been a bad secretary today, eh? And what the fuck is all this formality about?”
“It’s professional, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, fucking professional to bring me the wrong paperwork.”
“It’s not like you need me to figure out how to put papers in date order.”
“It’s your job, (Y/N). You make my job easier, that’s what you do. This isn’t just because I didn’t walk you home last night, what’s happened?”
She had no defence, she didn’t know what else to say. She couldn’t tell him the real reason, it would seem so foolish.
“It’s nothing.” she mumbled.
Tommy noticed the change in her demeanor.“(Y/N), has something happened that I don’t know about?”
Technically yes.
“I’m fine. Can I go home please?”
“No. You can’t go home.” he stood up, coming to stand in front of her.“I’m not letting you leave until you tell me what’s wrong.”
(Y/N) was silent.
“You said something about noticing you, earlier today. Why?”
“I think you’re looking too deep into-”
“Why?”
(Y/N) had to bite the bullet. She couldn’t come up with another bullshit story fast enough. Even it she did, it wouldn’t be believable.
“I was jealous.”
“Jealous about what?”
“You and the barmaid. As soon as we walked into the Garrison I was invisible. You wouldn’t even look at me. The way you looked at her, I wanted you to have that much attention for me. I want…I want something more Tommy.”
“I have never looked at another woman the way I look at you, let alone that barmaid.”
“Don’t lie. It was like you were infatuated with her.”
“I was interested because she’s not the regular type of person to work in that kind of place. She’s suspicious, I don’t trust her. I was trying to get information about her. And I couldn’t let thatvmoment go to waste, I stayed behind because she was more open with no one around.”
“So, you weren’t trying to sleep with her?”
“No.”
“But you-”
“(Y/N). I’m not interested in her, at all. Let’s be blunt, we both know we’ve been wasting time.”
“What?”
“Did you hear what I said? I can’t look at any other women and not compare them to you. You are above everyone and everything else in my life. I’ve never said any of this to you because of what I do. You were already in danger because of how close you were to the family. But I’ve realised I can’t keep using that as an excuse. I need you (Y/N), I want you.”
“You really mean it? You’re not just saying all these things? Because you have to mean it, Tommy. I…I’ve loved you for so long and waited, and waited, and waited for something to miraculously happen. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“You won’t.” he stepped closer to her.“I love you (Y/N), I fucking love you. I have to have you as mine.”
Both of their breaths were getting shallower, they were so close to one another. They had waited for this moment their entire lives. Although it was a sweet moment, the angst that had been building up all day turned into heavy lust. Tommy pulled her towards him by the collar of her coat, roughly smashing their lips together. She instantly gripped onto his waist coat, steadying herself from the sudden action. He turned her around in his grasp so she was against the desk, leaning her back on it. He leant over her as she laid down, kissing her neck.
“Tommy.” she half moaned as he sucked on her neck, her fingers gripping on the back of his head and neck.“We’re…we’re doing this here?”
“Yes.” he breathed out, hovering over her as he hand gripped her thigh. It slowly moved up under her skirt as he continued speaking.“I’ve imagined this scenario too many times. I’m going to fuck you on this desk like I’ve always dreamed of doing, and you’re going to take it.”
Requested by anonymous:‘Can you do a Bonnie gold fic where the reader is a Shelby and he has to marry her for a business deal and they end up getting to know each other even tho the reader is all shy and innocent and doesn’t really like anyone that isn’t family and the golds love her’
Characters: Bonnie Gold x Shelby!Reader, Shelby family x Shelby!Reader, Aberama Gold x Reader (in-laws), Esmeralda Gold x Shelby!Reader (in-laws)
As I returned home, I eyed up the beautiful dress hanging over the kitchen door, feeling the fabric and admiring it. I had never seen this dress before but it was gorgeous, an extravagant evening gown that every girl would be envious of. But why was it hanging up in Pol’s kitchen?
“Pol, who’s this dress for?” I asked.
“Would be nice if you greeted me first.”
“Sorry, got distracted.”
Polly smiled, but it didn’t seem genuine.“It’s for you actually. A gift from Tommy.”
“For me? Why is Tommy buying me dresses? He’s got good taste actually.”
“For a special occasion apparently. We’re going out somewhere this afternoon.”
“Oh, where?”
“I don’t know (Y/N).” there was a slight snap in her tone, but I assumed she was annoyed by my questions.“Sorry, just got a lot to do.”
“Need help with anything?”
“No, I can handle it. Why don’t you start getting ready?”
“Alright, as long as you’re sure.”
I brushed off Polly’s behaviour. My family could have terrible mood swings at times. I understood why, we were in a gang, life could never be simple and sweet. Taking the dress, I quietly squealed to myself, excited to try it on and get myself dolled up. We must have been going somewhere really fancy, probably just to show our faces, show that Tommy was a real family man to benefit the legitimate side of business, give him a good image.
Luckily I had shoes and accessories to match the dress, spending time on how to style my hair and what lipstick to wear. I was never one to boast, but I looked lovely in this outfit. I didn’t even question where we could be going or who we would be meeting, not if Tommy was going to buy me a special outfit for each occasion. Headed downstairs when I heard my brother’s voices, I was surprised to see them all waiting in the hallway, dressed in their finest suits, and Polly also in one or her best dresses.
“Oh, sorry, am I making us late?”
“No, not at all.” Tommy smiled, which was rare. It made me slightly nervous.
“Right. Um, when are we leaving?”
“Might as well head out now. Come on.”
Tommy took the lead, walking out of the door, Arthur followed with his head down, whereas John looked at me a little longer, seeming angry. Polly had to nudge him to make him move. Once he walked outside, she held her hand out to me, giving me the same smile from earlier. Either something was going on that I didn’t know about or they had just had an argument.
“Pol, me and (Y/N) are going to share a car. The rest of you in the other one.” Tommy informed her.
Pol didn’t even try arguing back. She squeezed my hand before getting into the car in front of us. Tommy had brought two chauffeurs, he didn’t drive as much as he used to now. I wondered why he didn’t just meet us at the place we were going to instead of driving all the way here, though I supposed it was for another photo opportunity.
Nothing was said as we set off, both of us just looking out of the window, watching the landscape around us change. My head turned to look at him as he started taking.
“(Y/N), do you know where we’re going?”
“No, Pol didn’t say anything.”
“Good. Right, uh…This is to do with business.”
“Oh, OK. Is it the usual, stay with you for a bit then mingle with Polly or the boys whilst you get on with business?”
“No, nothing like that. It actually involves you.”
My heart rate had already increased.“Me? What? Am I in danger?”
“You’re perfectly safe. You’re actually going to be even safer after today.”
“Can you just tell me what’s happening Tommy? The nerves are making me breathe funny.”
“I…I had to arrange something.”
“Arrange?” I let out a laugh as a thought came into my head.“You’re not marrying me off are you?”
He didn’t reply.
“Oh my god, you are marrying me off!”
“If I told you before, you wouldn’t have come.”
“Of course I wouldn’t! Who am I marrying? Why am I marrying them? Tommy, how could you do this to me?!”
I placed a hand over my chest, feeling like my heart was going to burst out of my chest, my lungs were so tight, I couldn’t breathe properly.
“(Y/N), calm down, breathe.”
“How can I? You’re selling me, you’re making me live the rest of my life with a stranger!”
“They’re not a stranger.”
“Who is it then?”
“It’s Bonnie Gold.”
“BONNIE GOLD?!”
This was so random. Why was I marrying him? I didn’t know him, all I knew about him was how he and his family were now helping protect ours. Tommy also got him a boxing deal, but what did that have to do with me? Why was I being forced to do something? It was just like John all over again.
“It was part of a deal.”
“A deal you didn’t think to ask my opinion on?”
“Would you have said yes?”
“No!” I tried to steady my breathing but nothing was working.“Oh my god, oh my god, I’m getting married to someone I don’t know.”
“You do know him.”
“Not well enough to marry him! We’ve never even said hello to each other! I think I’m going to be sick. Pull over, please!”
The driver did what I asked, and I immediately jumped out. My legs began walking along the road, I didn’t even think about it. Tears were welling up in my eyes over my brother’s betrayal. What had I done to deserve this? John needed a wife, he had loads of kids that needed looking after, they worked. What if me and Bonnie didn’t? What if he was actually a horrible person? Tommy didn’t know him as well as he thought he did, they could be hiding anything.
“(Y/N), get back in the car please.”
“No! Why am I getting married for a deal? I’m not out of control, I’m not rowdy, I do what I’m told all the time and I’m nice to everyone! And this is what I get for following the rules, your rules?”
“I wouldn’t let you two marry if I thought he would hurt you. Bonnie is going to treat you well (Y/N), I know he is.”
“Am I going to have to live in a wagon?!”
His head tilted back as he sighed.“Fuck me. No, you’re not, you’ll be living in a house.”
“I can’t do it, Tommy, I can’t, I really can’t do this.”
“You have to, I have to keep my end of the bargain.”
“Do you know how angry I am with you?!”
“I think so.”
There were so many things I wanted to scream at him. Who else knew? Why did they let him do it? Who’s idea was it in the first place? I couldn’t though. My breathing was out of control, my eyes were stinging with tears, and loud sobs were coming out of my mouth.
Tommy gently put his hands on my shoulders, making me stand up straight.“We do things for this family, yeah? We go through hardships to make our family stronger. And I’m asking you (Y/N), please go along with this. If we can keep an alliance with the Gold’s, it will only bring us good. I wouldn’t ask you if I was desperate or if I didn’t think you could do it.”
I contemplated running away there and then. However, I wasn’t going to get far in these shoes. Home was too far away by now, the roads weren’t clear and if anyone recognised me, I could be dead within hours.
“I really have to do this, don’t I?”
Tommy nodded, cautiously wrapping an arm around me to slowly take us back to the car. For the rest of the drive I hung my head, staring at the pretty shoes I had picked for today. This was it. I was getting married. Married to a man I had only seen but never talked to, married to a man to settle a deal. My brother, who I trusted and loved, had thrown me to the dogs, not even glancing back to face the consequences of his actions; it was all to benefit him.
We pulled up at Tommy’s house. He explained that since this was a quick arrangement it was easier to hold the ceremony there, it was more personal, they knew it was safe. My stomach cramped up as I stepped inside, spotting the bouquet of flowers everywhere. They even fucking decorated. Ada and Polly were at the entrance, both looking as pissed off as I was. Unfortunately, Ada held my own bouquet in her hands.
“You can’t do this Tom. Just cancel it, go in there and say the wedding is off. She’s just a girl.” Ada spat.
“Ada.” Polly warned.
“You can’t go along with this Pol. She’s being forced into a marriage!”
Tommy cleared his throat.“Ada, Pol, please take your seats.”
“Hold on,” Pol pulled out her powder box from her purse, dabbing the brush on my face,“need that beautiful face of yours back.”
I knew she was trying to cheer me up, and clean me up so I would look like such a mess. It would all just stream off my face later. My hands shook as I held the flowers, the petals and leaves slightly rustling. Polly and Ada left hesitantly, shushing everyone in the hall where I assumed the ceremony was taking place.
“Are you going to be sick?” Tommy asked.
“Not sure.” I whispered.
“Just know that I hate this too. I wouldn’t-”
“Shut up Tommy.”
I never snapped at Tommy, or anyone really. But this called for it. I could have called him every nasty name under the sun there and then. When he held out his arm for me, I reluctantly took it, wishing I could sprint to the stables to steal a horse, ride off into the sunset. But it was too late, because the doors to the hall opened, and there everyone stood, watching intently as I walked down the aisle. I didn’t even have a proper wedding dress.
It felt like I had never worn heels before, I was wobbling all over the place. Bonnie looked miles away, though I was beside him in seconds. His family were here, my family sat on the opposite side. Tommy gingerly pressed a kiss to my cheek before going to sit down. And here I was, stood next to my soon to be husband. He kindly smiled at me, though I couldn’t bear to even look at him, eyes flickering away. I stared at Jeremiah who was officiating the wedding, the poor man must have thought I was evil the way I was looking at him.
The ceremony felt muffled, as if I couldn’t hear anything properly. Jeremiah waffled on, until we had to say our vows and exchange the rings. I focused so much on his words to not get them wrong, only realising that after we had said them to each other, that was it, we were now married.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Jeremiah announced.
Both our families clapped to fill the silence. Bonnie leaned down but I retracted out of instinct. He halted before moving again, slower this time, to kiss my cheek. Taking my hand in his, he walked us out of the hall, the doors closing behind us. I let out a shocked breath, looking at the ring on my finger. Bonnie went to speak.
“So, I-”
I snatched my hand out of his, scurrying to the kitchen to find a bottle of wine. I needed a drink, and a lot of it. I also wanted to get out of any awkward conversations that were about to ensue. There was way too much going on right now to start small talk.
Unfortunately he had followed me, watching as I popped open a bottle. I glanced at the glass in my hand, deciding to set it down and drink from the bottle.
“I’m not that bad am I?” Bonnie tried to joke.
I didn’t say anything, leaning back against the counter.
“Look, I’m sorry this has happened. We don’t know each other, back in there was the first time we’ve spoken, it’s a lot. But I want you to know that I’m going to look after you. We’ll go at your pace, whatever you’re comfortable with. I want us to be friends at least.”
He sounds genuine. When Bonnie first joined the Peaky Blinders, he hadn’t been overly cocky like some of the others. Of course he was a bit more boastful when it came to the ring, though that was all part of his image. And he was the only peaky boy to not try it on with me. Ironic.
“Sorry for just going in for the kiss too. I thought a small peck wouldn’t hurt.”
“It’s fine.” I mumbled, casting my eyes to the floor.
He took a few seconds before speaking again.“Never been much of a wine person.”
I looked up at him as he stood opposite to me, also leaning back in a countertop.
“Suppose that could change.” he held out his hand for the bottle, indicating that I pass it over.
He took a swig, scrunching up his face and coughing after. The corner of my mouth twitched at how silly he looked, but didn’t show him that.
“God, that is so sweet. How do you chug it back?”
“I don’t usually.” I squeaked out.“Just…just flet like I needed to.”
He passed the bottle back to me.“I won’t lie, I don’t exactly want my new wife to be drunk on our first night together.”
My eyes widened.
“No, not like that! Nothing is going to happen. I just meant, I would like to use this time to get to know you.”
I was being stubborn. I wanted to go against him, just to spite Tommy. But I was too shy, I couldn’t even hold eye contact with him.
“I’ll leave you alone for a bit. But please come up to the party, my family can’t wait to meet you.” he made his way to the door, stopping and turning around.“You look beautiful tonight.”
I didn’t let him see me blush, turning away as I drank more from the bottle. I hated how easily I was embarrassed. Boys tried flirting with me, though I knew that was because they wanted to say they had shagged a Shelby girl. Of course I knew their intentions, hence why I was still a virgin.
After a few more swigs, I knew I had to go back upstairs. Setting the almost finished bottle aside, I took a deep breath, adjusting the bottom of my dress, checking my face in a mirror before heading to see my family and new in-laws.
When I returned, everyone was gathered in the lavish front room. Music was playing, champagne was being handed out, and everyone seemed relatively happy chatting with one another. Finn, John and Adawere the only ones not mingling, scowling faces on them as they observed the others.
“(Y/N),” a man caught my attention, it was Bonnie’s father,“welcome to the family.”
I politely smiled.“Thank you sir.”
“Call me Aberama. I appreciate the manners though. And I understand you’re not entirely happy with this marriage.”
I glanced away from him.“But believe me when I say that Bonnie has been just as nervous. Although he is also very determined to ensure you are comfortable and feel like a part of the family.”
That was nice, I guess.
“He has multiple sisters who you might find easier to talk to rather than an old man.”
He raised his drink to me, smiling as he walked away. I really didn’t want to talk to anyone, scurrying to my three siblings who were most against this arrangement.
“You alright?” Finn draped his arm around my shoulders, and I quickly hugged him, clinging on.
I shook my head no.
“Of course she isn’t. This is all a big mistake, we should have come up with a plan to get her out of here.” Ada huffed.
John scoffed.“Oh yeah, that would have gone down a treat with both families.”
“You were just as much against it all as we were.”
“No one was for this marriage, well, besides Tom. But it’s done now, innit? I’ll just have to keep a special eye on the new in-law.”
“Can we stop talking about it please? Just talk about anything else.” I asked quietly, realising some of the others were looking over at us, and that made me incredibly nervous.
Before we even had a chance to change the topic, someone from Bonnie’s side of the family made her way over. I looked anywhere but her, until she was stood beside me. She was beautiful, probably around the same age as myself, though her confidence gave her a more mature look.
“I thought I would come over and introduce myself. I’m Esmeralda, one of Bonnie’s sisters.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Get a grip woman.
“There’s actually three of us, sisters I mean. Poor Bonnie didn’t have any brothers to rough around with. Though I suppose it is only you and Ada amongst all these men.”
Ada smiled at her, though you could tell it was out of sarcasm. I cringed, hoping Esmeralda hadn’t seen that.
“I was wondering if you wanted to join us?” she gestured to where her other sisters were, who waved.
“Um, yes.”
It sounded more like a question, but Esmeralda took that answer. I worriedly looked back to my own siblings, annoyed at my politeness. Where was my Shelby fire?
I sat by Esmeralda, the others sitting across from us. She instantly started up a conversation, it was easy to see she was fine around strangers. I only wished to half as confident as her. Her sisters also chimed in now and then, trying to involve me in the conversation. There was no talk about the wedding, just typical girly things; dresses, makeup, dances, they even spoke about their traditions. It slowly moved onto the topic of Bonnie, though past stories about him, tales of how he was as a child. I even managed to break out a smile.
“And obviously we’ll all be getting to know each other a bit better once we’re all moved in together.” Esmeralda exclaimed.
“S-sorry?”
Esmeralda and her sisters held a serious look, bursting out laughing a second later. I was confused, had I missed a joke?
“Sorry, I was trying to lighten the mood. Of course we’re not living with you two!”
“I don’t even know where we’re living.”
“Well, neither do we, but I’m sure your brother has sorted it.”
“Yeah…”
“Sorry, have I upset you?”
“No! No, I’m fine.” I was tempted to excuse myself, but I went against that. I was going to be social.“So, is there abythibg else I should know about Bonnie?”
Perhaps this was my way of getting to know my husband without actually talking to him. Even if it was a subconscious thing, I was getting information about him. And there didn’t seem to be a bad bone in his body unless he was in the ring, or defending his sisters from a man who had disrespected them, though that was more chivalrous.
“Sorry ladies, may I borrow my sister?” Tommy asked, gesturing for me to follow him.
I smiled at the girls, catching up with my brother who was making his way to his office, grabbing Bonnie on the way. I faltered when he stepped in line with me, not used to having a boy so close to me. Bonnie let me go first into the office, closing the door behind him. Tom nodded his head towards the two chairs at the desk, sitting behind it. We sat down, waiting to hear why he had brought us here.
“So, seeing as you two are married now, you’ll be needing a place of your own.” Tommy started.“And I have provided that for you.”
“No, Tommy, we couldn’t accept that.” I protested, feeling awkward about situations involving money.
“I agree Mr Shelby, that’s way too generous. You already let us get married in your house.”
“It’s my fault you two are married right now. And I just hope that I can gain back some trust and…” he glanced at me,“love, by doing this.”
I picked at the skin around my nails, a bad habit.“Are you sure Tommy? Nothing too big right?”
“No. It’s a new build but out in the country. You also have a big patch of land, I thought you might appreciate that Bonnie. It’s secluded, like this. Three bedrooms, kitchen, front room, all the other shit.”
“Thank you very much Mr Shelby.” Bonnie stood, reaching out his hand.
Tommy shook it, no expression on his face.
“Thanks Tom. I guess it’s a start to your apology.”
I felt guilty for saying that, but I wanted it to sting. He had really hurt me today, I wasn’t going to fall to his feet because he bought me a house.
Tommy then informed us that it was time for us to leave. He had one of his chauffeurs waiting, and everyone had followed us outside. They had rice to throw at us as we went to the car. In a way, I appreciated the effort they were putting in to make it seem like a happy occasion, I also found it demeaning. You’re now being forced to marry a man you don’t know, but here’s a pretty dress and some champagne.
“I don’t have anything with me.” I pointed out before I got in the car.
Polly stepped forward, quietly speaking so no one else would hear.“Tommy made Ada pack some of your things before she came here. Obviously she didn’t want to, but you need your clothes at least. I’ll be round with the rest of it soon love.”
Wow, they weren’t waiting around to get rid of me. Sadly getting into the car, I didn’t even acknowledge Bonnie as he opened and closed the door for me. Once Bonnie was inside the car, the chauffeur drove off. I coukd hear our families cheering for us, I didn’t bother looking back, whereas Bonnie was waving.
“You alright?” he asked softly.
I nodded, pressing my lips together as I looked away, trying to hold back my tears. Thankfully he left it at that, he knew I needed time to process everything.
The house Tommy got us was no where near the size of his, though I didn’t want that. It was still big for two people, and despite it being a new house, it had an old fashioned look to it. It had the feel of a farm house without the barn, different stones making the structure with vines growing all over it. I loved it, which was irritating because Tommy knew me so well.
“This is going to be strange.” Bonnie said as he helped the chauffeur with the bags.“Never lived in a house before.”
“Oh…hope you like it.”
It was a wonder why I never had a boyfriend.
I had wished that the chaffuer had taken more time with the bags. Because Bonnie was a gentleman, he insisted helping, and the task was completed far too quickly. Now it was just me and Bonnie, in our house, our house we loved in together as a married couple.
“Shall we take a look around? See what’s actually in our house?”
Bless him, he was trying so hard. I agreed, letting him lead as we checked each room. It was all furnished, there was even some food in the kitchen, soap and towels in the bathroom, any little things we wouldn’t have packed with us were provided. He was in awe of the place, I knew he was used to travelling to different places, it was just strange to see his expressions over a house.
“Your brother is very generous.”
“Yes, though I know why he’s given this to us.”
“To make up for marrying me?”
“No, well yes, but not in the way you said. Sorry Bonnie, you must think I’m horrible. It’s just…I’m really shy around new people, it took so much energy out of me talking to everyone today, not to mention the actual ceremony itself. I probably would have fainted if I wasn’t concentrating on acting normal.”
“I didn’t think you were horrible. I knew you were scared. I’m afraid your acting skills need some work.”
We had walked into one of the bedrooms as we spoke, my stomach dropping again. Was I going to have to share a bed with him? I had never done that before.
“Choose which room you like. I’ll sleep in another.” he said.
“Hm?”
“I’m not going to sleep in the same room as you, I wouldn’t put you under that pressure.”
“Oh, thank you. Then, you should choose.”
He smiled at me.“Fine, then I choose you having the master bedroom, and I shall go see what other room I prefer.”
I managed to smile back, bashful over how sweet he was being. That was a huge relief lifted off my chest. If he hadn’t mentioned anything before bedtime, I wouldn’t have said anything, I didn’t want to bring up topic.
We both got changed (separately) into something comfier, weirdly emerging from our rooms at the same time. Deciding it was time to eat, we rummaged through the kitchen cabinets to see what we could muster up. I took charge, seeing as Bonnie had only ever cooked over a fireplace.
“Sorry it’s not much, it’s bits and pieces really.” I set his plate down in front of him, thinking how much of a wife I looked right now.
“Thank you. Don’t worry, I’m sure it will be delicious. We can go shopping for food tomorrow if you want?”
That’s what couples do.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
We kept to our food, eating in silence. I tried to eat as quickly as I could, wanting this dreadful tension to lift and be over with. I felt terrible because he was trying so hard to be a good husband to me already, or just a good friend really. And here I was, not even able to eat a meal with him, he must have been dreading the rest of his life with me.
As he finished, I quickly stood to clear everything away, already starting to clean up as he protested. We still had a whole evening ahead of us, what were we supposed to do? I caught him moving in my peripheral vision, grabbing two wine glasses and the bottle of champagne gifted to us. He held them up to me.
“Fancy sharing a bottle?”
We were sat in the front room on opposite ends of the sofa, the lit fireplace crackling in front of us. Bonnie was casually facing me whilst I stared into the flames.
“You surprised me you know, when I first saw you.” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“When I first joined the blinders, I remember seeing you, and I obviously thought 'wow, she’s gorgeous’, though I knew to stay away.”
There I went, blushing again.
“But you weren’t like your family. You weren’t harsh or outspoken, you were so quiet. I’ve seen you around your family, I know you are different with them, and I get that I’m a complete stranger to you so it will be different. I just hadn’t expected a Shelby to be so….reclusive.”
“A lot of people say that.”
“That wasn’t me saying it’s a bad thing by the way!”
“It is a bad thing when you’re a Shelby. I’m not trusted to do anything within the business. This is the first time they’ve used me. And they didn’t even ask.”
“That’s a good thing though, isn’t it? About not being involved in the business?”
“I guess.”
“Let’s talk about something else, eh? Uh, why don’t you tell me…your favourite colour?”
“Favourite colour? Really?”
He laughed.“I need to get to know my wife don’t I?”
Although I had been answering his basic questions terribly (and boringly, I was just giving one word answers), Bonnie somehow made me open up to him. Not about anything deep or meaningful, just generic facts about my life; what I enjoy doing, funny anecdotes from my childhood, what I liked to do when I went out with friends. In turn, I began asking him questions. We were talking for hours, but we didn’t realise that until I happened to glance at the clock on the mantelpiece.
The next week still felt awkward. We slept in our separate rooms, trying to work our different routines to fit each other. Although we were able to talk to each other for more than two minutes, I was always trying to figure out what to talk about next. I didn’t want to be in a situation where we were stuck on what to say, I hated that. Looking back on it, I had never spoken to someone so much or so freely besides my family and my small handful of friends.
Both of our families came to visit us. Polly and Ada stayed for a day, mostly catching up but also helping me make the house feel more homely. Aberama only came some mornings to get Bonnie, doing whatever work for my brother, though he always made sure to say hello. Bonnie was gone for a majority of the day, luckily I liked being by myself. Surprisingly, Esmeralda also came for a visit.
“Lovely flowers.” she pointed out as we sat in the kitchen, each with a cup of tea.
“Bonnie got them for me.”
“Did he?” she smirked.“He’s a sweetheart isn’t he?”
I couldn’t help but shyly smile.“Yes, it was a lovely gesture.”
“A romantic gesture. He may be a tough man and a fighter but he’s a big sofite really.”
I hummed in agreement.
“Are you alright? How have you two been over the last month?”
I wanted to say that although I did like Bonnie, I knew I was lucky to be in an arranged marriage with him and not some fifty year old, slimy man, I didn’t want her to get excited at the thought we might already be in love.
“I won’t lie, it’s been slow. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy Bonnie’s company, it’s just…everyday when I wake up, I still get a little confused at the ring on my finger, then in a second I remember I’m married.”
“Yeah, that’s never going to be something you can easily forget I guess.”
“And I’m not being rude about your brother. Bonnie has been amazing, he’s kept his boundaries, made sure I felt respected. But, your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. Choosing your dress, what hair and makeup you want, the venue, the cake, it’s all part of it. I didn’t even have a proposal.”
“Oh (Y/N).”
“And when those doors open, you’re supposed to look down the aisle and see your soul mate waiting for you. You both smile and start crying because the day has finally come. I had none of that. I’ll never have any of that.”
She placed her hand over mine.“I think over time, you and Bon will learn to love each other. And as frustrating as that is, I believe it will happen.”
Esmeralda was a huge comfort. I felt better after talking with her than I did my family. I guessed that it was because she was a new person to talk to, I didn’t know what she was going to say, so I wasn’t listening to the same dribble I was used to.
It was like any other evening when Bonnie came home. I was reading a book in the front room, sprawled out on the sofa. He called out as he entered the house, I replied but didn’t move. He was rustling around in the kitchen, things were being moved around, cupboards opening and closing. Perhaps he was hungry and needed a snack before dinner. I left him to it for a few more seconds, deciding to investigate when he didn’t stop.
Just as I was about to walk into the kitchen, Bonnie blocked the doorway, trying to use his whole body to limit my view.
“Hi.” he said breathless.
“Hello. Um, are you alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, just…just doing…something.”
Whenever I tried to look around him, he moved in my way.
“If you’ve broken something Bonnie, I don’t mind. I’d rather help clean it up.”
“No, nothing like that. Could you just…jist trust me?”
I looked up at him, thinking about it.
“Please?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Is it alright if you wait in front room? It’s nothing bad, I promise.”
I turned around, glancing back at Bonnie before I returned to the sofa and my book. What was he doing? Was he trying to cook? It was sweet if he was, though when we had cooked together before he was never this clumsy. I couldn’t ignore the racket coming from the kitchen, unable to concentrate on any of the words in my book.
“Bonnie? Are you sure you’re OK in there?” I shouted out to him.
“Yeah!” he quickly replied. Only moments later was he in the front room, a huge grin on his face.“If you would like to follow me to your surprise.”
“Surprise?”
He nodded, holding out his hand to me. I took it, letting him guide me back to the kitchen. The lights were off, the only source of light was coming from a few candles in the centre of the table, more dotted around the kitchen too. There were two plates with nothing in them, instead, there were different foods on scattered on the table like a picnic.
“Bonnie?”
He stood in front of the table.“I spoke with my sister the other day. I wasn’t snooping, I just wondered how you were with her, if you told her something about me that I needed to change. She told me how upset you were that you couldn’t experience your wedding day properly, and I thought I could help with that. So, I asked Ada and Pol what your favourite food was, all types, and I thought we could have a romantic dinner together. ”
I was gobsmacked. A man who was forced into marrying me, who didn’t know me, had put all this effort into a dinner together, something no other man would probably do.
“You did this for me?”
“Yeah. You deserve it. You deserve a lot more really, but I’m still learning to cook other recipes besides rabbit stew.”
I giggled.
“I hope you don’t mind, but they also told me how you’ve never been on a date before.”
That wasn’t embarrassing at all.
“And I want you to know, that’s because of you brothers. Men tremble at their feet, what do you think teenage boys are going to be like? But I am very honoured to be the first man to take you on a date.”
“This is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. I’m shocked, honestly.”
He pulled out a chair for me, and I sat, feeling giddy. Bonnie tucked me in, taking a seat beside me before pouring out a glass of wine for me. My mind argued with itself over my next choice, but I bit the bullet. I confidently leaned over, very quickly pecking his lips. I couldn’t look at him when I next spoke.
“Thank you Bonnie. And thank you for being the best husband.”
Requested by anonymous:'Hi! If you are taking requests can I ask for Finn Shelby and numbers 13, 18 and 19 from the prompt list? My mind went from wanting something romantic to let’s create chaos with Finn and try and fail to hide it from his family lol’
Characters: Finn Shelby x Reader, mentions of Shelby family
Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name
(Y/L/N)=Your last name
Warnings:Swearing, arguing, fluff
13) Well, this is romantic
18) Everyone is staring
19) They definitely heard us
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(Y/N) held back a sigh as she felt another large drop of water hit her head, shivering in the cold despite being wrapped up in a coat and having her boyfriend’s arms around her. She didn’t want to upset Finn, he had tried really heard, but she just wasn’t having a good time.
“Well, this romantic.” (Y/N) tried to lighten the mood.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about the weather.”
Finn had showed up at (Y/N)’s door that morning, having planned a spontaneous picnic date. She had been delighted, he was so cute with his basket of food and blanket wrapped under his arm. But only minutes after they found a spot, settling down and digging into the sandwiches, the rain started to pour. They haphazardly picked up the blanket with the food and basket inside, running for the shelter of the trees, which wasn’t doing much in keeping them dry.
“Finn, I don’t think the rain is going to stop.”
“It might. Let’s give it another five minutes.”
“You said that fifteen minutes ago.”
“Do you want to go home?”
She nodded.“I appreciate this my love, but I don’t think we should stay out in the rain, we’ll get cold.”
She didn’t like seeing how down he was about this. It wasn’t his fault that the rain came, he just hadn’t thought to check the weather. (Y/N) smiled up at him, pulling his face towards hers by the back of his neck, and kissing him. She was happy to see him smile back, standing up and offering a hand out to him before they ran back to the car.
It was almost as if the weather was mocking the couple, because when they returned to Small Heath the sun was shining. Finn whined and moaned, making his girlfriend laugh. Instead of heading home, Finn took a sharp turn, making (Y/N) grab onto the inside of the car. She had no idea where he was going, he wouldn’t tell her. He parked up by the side of the road by a field, getting out without a word.
“And what are we doing now?” (Y/N) asked as he opened her door.
“Well, we need to finish our picnic.”
“I suppose we do. You know what, Finn?”
“What?”
“You really are a hopeless romantic.”
Luckily the couple were able to spend the rest of the afternoon finishing their food in the sun. They were so incredibly loved up, and although you could say it was young love, there was definitely a slither of maturity in them both that reflected off of each other. They both found that they had been thinking more about their futures since they decided to become serious. Of course both had though about marriage, what sort of house they might want to live in, basic ideas of their future, but that was before they had each other. The couple had been so giddy and bashful the first time they spoke about the topic of their possible future; the idea of being with each other everyday was very exciting.
The only problem was that the rest of the Shelby’s didn’t actually know about (Y/N). This had nothing to do with Finn being ashamed of her, or wanting to hide what they had. They never asked for one, they never even asked Finn how his day was. And when he finally tried to speak up about it, his family only spat back at him, saying to marry a woman who didn’t like the life, or tease about how he was still a virgin and was making this up to make them think otherwise. He stopped trying, he was happy with his relationship as it was, why let his family ruin it?
(Y/N) had been hurt at first, for quite a while actually. She thought Finn was lying. Her friends had always said about how much boys lie just so they could have their way with you. But Finn wouldn’t be taking her out on dates, getting her presents or simply just talking to each other if he wanted a quick shag. He was a Shelby, it was easy for him. And that was another thing that worried (Y/N). If the family didn’t like her, and Finn chose them over her, he could easily have another girl on his arm within a day. She didn’t voice her opinion a lot (which she should have done), she knew it was hard being part of the Shelby family. However, her love for him was indescribable, (Y/N) had had silly crushes in the past, been out with a few boys but she never felt the way she did about Finn with any of them.
After Finn dropped (Y/N) home, the hardest part of any day, his whole demeanor changed. He didn’t want to see his moody family after such a pleasant day. He also wished he could boast about his gorgeous girlfriend. They would love her if they gave (Y/N) the chance.
“Where have you been?” Polly asked as soon as he stepped through the door.
Finn sighed as he took off his coat and hat.“Out with my mates.”
“A likely story. Come on, your brothers are waiting."ct4
Of course they were, it was no doubt a family meeting. He slumped towards the front room, falling back into the spare spot on the sofa.
"Here he is, fucking finally.” Arthur bellowed.
“No one told me there was a meeting.”
“You weren’t even nearby, no one could find you. Where were you?”
“I just told Pol, I was with my friends.”
Tommy huffed.“It doesn’t matter where he’s been. Let’s get on with it.”
As they began the meeting, Finn could feel and the doom and gloom seeping into himself. It was so depressing here sometimes. He knew he should he grateful for what his brothers provided them with but it didn’t come without danger. If he wasn’t so sure (Y/N) could handle herself (and his family) he wouldn’t have started dating her. He realised he had to keep her safe, teach her a few things about self defence, which he had prayed wouldn’t scare her off.
“Whatever girl you’re seeing, forget about her.” Polly told Finn after the meeting.
Not this again.
“Why don’t any of you ever believe what I say?”
“Because your smile wiped off your face as soon as you stepped into the house. And you don’t smile like that around your 'mates’.”
“Alright, so if I have a girl, why should I do what you say? What if we’re happy together?”
“She likes being with a Shelby, it’s the name, Finn.”
“So no one will like me for me, right?”
“No, Finn I didn’t mean-”
Finn brushed past her and headed upstairs.“Night Pol.”
He was restless that night, tossing and turning but finding no peace. He felt slightly bad for how he spoke to his aunt, but she could sometimes be just as bad as the others. All he wanted to do was see (Y/N), then he would be at comfort.
Finn wouldn’t have to wait as long as he thought. The next morning he was alone in the house until someone knocked on the door. Not a lot of people would have the nerve to knock on a Shelby’s door, making him cautious. When he slowly opened the door to see (Y/N) he was both surprised and ecstatic to see her.
“What are you doing here love?” he asked with a grin on his face.
“If you weren’t smiling, I would have been offended at that question.”
“Sorry, but you know you shouldn’t have come without telling me.”
It had become a rule to not meet at Finn’s house, in case his family saw her before him and scared her off, or were just plain rude to her.
“Well, I had to return this.” she held up his pocket watch.“Found in beside mum’s flower bed.”
Finn took it from her, he hadn’t even realised he lost it.“Oh, thanks. What would I do without you?”
He leaned down to peck her on the lips, noticing her smile dropped slightly when they pulled away.
“(Y/N), what’s wrong? I know when you’re sad.”
“I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Fuck, you’re not pregnant are you?”
“No! Can I please come inside?”
Finn glanced behind him, despite no one else being home. They wouldn’t be back for a few hours, he was safe. Standing back, he gestured for her to step inside, watching as she looked around the place. She had never seen the inside of Finn’s house before, trying to take it all in, in case the opportunity never came again.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Finn asked as they sat down in the front room.
She saw him clutching at the watch, bouncing his knee. He was nervous.
“I’ve just been thinking about a lot of things to do with us.”
Shit, was his worst fear coming true?
“Us? Has my family said something to you?”
“No, and that’s the problem.”
“What?”
“Finn, we’ve been together for a while now. And I understand I’ve not properly met your family due to some circumstances, but it’s not normal.”
“My family aren’t normal.”
“And I understand that, but…I feel like you’re trying to hint at something.”
“If you’re on about me not wanting you around anymore then you’re completely wrong. I don’t want to subject you to their nastiness. They literally don’t give two shits about me anymore, so they won’t care about you. I’m sorry (Y/N), that’s just the way my fucked up family is.”
“Maybe if we show them how serious we are, talk about our plans, they might listen. They’ll see you as a grown up.”
“And if they’re not? If they don’t care about us and are disrespectful to you?”
“I don’t care. We have to at least try.”
Finn ran a hand down his face, contemplating what she was saying. He knew what she meant, it wasn’t fair that he was hiding her away. It wasn’t fair that he had met her family and spent time with them and not even attempted to introduce her. He was just so scared of losing her, he could see his family ruining it all for him.
“I…I don’t know (Y/N).”
She stood out of frustration, raising her voice.“Why not? How would you feel if I hid you away from my family? I always have to lie when people ask have I met the famous Shelby family. My parents think I’ve met them too. I didn’t want them to get angry with you. But now, it’s starting to get to me, I just don’t think it’s fair.”
“You know the situation I’m in. And you’ve also got to think, do you really want this? Do you want to be stuck with a disfunctional family that are a ruthless gang, with enemies everywhere they step?”
“Yes! Because I have you, Finn! If I didn’t love you so much then I would have left a long time ago!”
Finn heard all too familiar voice outside, panic instantly setting it. Without a word, he grabbed (Y/N)’s hand, pulling her upstairs. She almost toppled over as she struggled to keep up with his long legs, stumbling through to Finn’s bedroom. He closed the door, not slamming in as to not alert his family. He was breathing heavily, listening to his family walking into the house, muffled voices telling him there were multiple people inside.
“What the hell Finn? You’re literally hiding me away from your family!”
“It’s a lot to think about!” he harshly whispered.
“Finn, if you loved me then none of this would matter. I understand you’re hesitant to tell your family-”
“Well clearly you don’t understand, because you wouldn’t keep nagging me about it.”
“Nagging you? Nagging you?! I’m asking for a simple thing Finn. If we’re going to have the future together that we planned, I’ll have to meet them at some point.”
“We’ll just leave, we won’t see them. It’s not like they’ll care.”
“I can’t make you do that Finn, as sweet as that is. I don’t want to run from them. I want them to be part of our lives.”
“You might change your mind after you meet them.”
“So I will be meeting them?”
“That’s all you took from that?”
“I’m actually getting angry Finn, I don’t want us to argue.”
“What have we been doing for the last ten minutes?”
“What if I told them myself? What if I go down there right now? And you can tell everyone how I’m just a girl you’re sleeping with, you can make up a lie because that’s what you would do. You wouldn’t even admit it!”
“I would never say that about you!”
“I’m going home, Finn. I’ll talk to you when you remember I’m your girlfriend who you’re supposed to love.”
Finn immediately blocked the door. (Y/N) huffed, frowning at him.
“You’re not just my girlfriend now.”
“What?”
Finn made a beeline for his bedside table, angrily opening the drawer and taking something out of it. (Y/N) couldn’t see what it was as he had his back to her. She watched as he took a deep breath, shoulders relaxing slightly before he turned around.
“This was supposed to be different. I know I’ve been a shit boyfriend. I know you’re upset about not meeting my family. I am not ashamed of you, I couldn’t be prouder of you and I love to show you off. You’re gorgeous, you’re perfect, I’m incredibly lucky to be able to call you mine. Not only that, but you’re so caring, you look after me, even after I come in after a stupid gun fight which I never tell you about, but that will change. I need to let you into my life more, you deserve to know what’s happening. And I’m sorry for making you upset, you have every right to be mad at me. I want to change all that, and to prove my love for you,” he lowered down onto one knee, producing a ring box from behind his back, opening it to reveal the engagement ring (Y/N) had desired,“I need to ask you something. (Y/N) (Y/L/N), will you marry me?”
(Y/N) had started crying as soon as he got down on one knee, overwhelmed with happiness. She was in hysterics as she screamed 'yes’ over and over, jumping up and down. He laughed as he slipped the ring on her finger, scooping her up into his arms. They hugged tightly, kissing each other multiple times and passionately. After a few minutes, he set her back down, sharing one last kiss.
“They definitely heard us.” (Y/N) giggled.
“They definitely heard you.”
They were both correct when they heard movement downstairs, soon after footsteps coming upstairs. Finn sighed, he had to face them now.
“Finn,” it was Tommy,“finish off with the girl, pay her dues and send her on her way.”
Finn was instantly fuming at his brother’s words. How dare he talk about (Y/N) in that way?! Without thinking, he threw open the door, Polly was also there.
“Don’t talk about (Y/N) like that ever again! She is not a whore, she is not having sex with me for money. (Y/N) is my fiance, and I am going to marry her. No, she’s not pregnant, I’ve proposed because I want to spend the rest of my life with her. So she’s going to be a Shelby, and you’re going to give her the respect she deserves. ”
Polly glanced back at the young girl, looking her up and down. She had to admit, the girl wasn’t backing down. She was looking strong, and not intimidated.
“Are you fucking serious?” Tommy mumbled.
“Yes. Meet (Y/N) (Y/L/N), soon to be (Y/N) Shelby, your sister-in-law.”
“Whatever. Bring her downstairs.”
Tommy turned around, Polly following after him, but not without another glance at the couple.
(Y/N) had appreciated Finn sticking up for her. It was so sweet, he had proven his love, though not exactly in the way they wanted; but they realised it didn’t really matter how he proposed, they just wanted to be together and that was enough.
“Shit, am I really going down there to meet them?” (Y/N) suddenly grew nervous.
“You had some big balls earlier, backing out now?” Finn teased.
“Stop, this is serious.”
“I’ll be beside you the whole time. You’re my girl, you always will be.”
Finn kept a tight hold of her hand as they made their way downstairs. He could feel her hands getting clammy, quickly placing a kiss on the back of it. He knew she would be fine, she was strong, but her being nervous meant she cared.
As they entered the front room, they saw Thomas, Polly, Arthur and John. God, it was all of them. They sat on the only sofa available.
“Everyone is staring.” (Y/N) subtly whispered.
“Let them. You’re a fucking Shelby now, you’re family and you’re mine.”
-when he find out that you’re pregnant, arthur is terrified
-there are so many reasons behind it, both underlying and obvious, including how old he is, the circumstances of his job, and his intense need to be certain that you are alright at every given moment
-he’s also so afraid of how many things could go wrong while you were pregnant, when you gave birth, and directly after
-but he’s also so thrilled he can barely contain it
-he loves you, loves the idea of being with you for the rest of forever, and loves the idea of having a child with you
-he also loves the idea of a mini you, a little girl he can hold and protect and teach how to fight and maybe teach a boyfriend or two a lesson
-and he has such a complex about himself, can’t ever really see himself as a positive role model, but maybe he could have a son
-and make sure his son stays off the drink, and stays on the straight and narrow, and finds himself someone to love, and treats them right
-so he decides to swallow his fear down and try not to distress you
-arthur tries to be home for as many nights as he can manage while you’re pregnant
-he helps to cook and clean and is constantly pestering you about being up and about too much
-you keep your personal annoyance tempered down because you know he really means well and he isn’t hiding his fears as well as he may wish
-and when it’s all over with and he’s standing there holding your daughter, tears streaming down his face, you have every faith in the world in his parenting abilities
-john has this whole, very well-constructed, image in his head wherein he is this big and tough protector of the innocent and of the downtrodden
-you’re not entirely certain how he manages to justify this to himself as if he isn’t entwines in the very highest levels of a criminal enterprise, but you let him tell himself whatever he wants to hear because it’s too much work to argue
-credit is due, though; despite living in a city which could not exactly be considered clean and safe, with john, you have never felt once that you’re in danger
-he’s made a habit of carrying a gun with him all the time, but when you’re with him, he’s a bit more on edge, one arm around you and the other hovering over the handle of the pistol in his pocket
-he bought you a pistol as a gift on the first anniversary of when you’d starting dating, and the frightened and uncertain look in your eyes when you tried shooting it for the first time only made him want to protect you more
-sometimes he just wanted to keep you to himself, keep you cooped up in the biggest house he could find, but he’d be damned if the second best option wasn’t making sure you can protect yourself
-speaking of being cooped up, though, john instinctively curls his whole body around you while you sleep, as if his body heat alone could save you from ever having a nightmare
-he also sleeps on the side of the bed that’s closest to the door, so that if someone were to manage to break into the house and get to your bedroom, they’d see john first, and hopefully you’d have time to escape
-you wear a thin chain around your neck, threaded through which is a ring that john used to wear when you first met him
-you tried to wear it, too, when he first gave it to you, but it kept falling off, so you wear it around your neck
-john worries about you, a lot, and if he’s away for a long while or if you’ve just returned from a potentially unsafe situation, the first thing he does is frantically grab at your collar to make sure the necklace is still there
-neither you nor he is sure why he has to do this, but you let him take his little comforts
-you’ll never quite get how he separates his violent side so completely from the parts of him that interact with you, but you’ll be damned if you don’t love him for it
Business is not an industry which lends itself to possessing an empathetic nature. Business is by design the striving to procure profits, and businesses which succeed do not do so through weaknesses and by making excuses for the shortcomings of themselves or of the various inferiors which make up their labor staff. Businessmen, then, as the main extension of this cognitive, innovative, cut-throat machine, are also not by nature kind-hearted or gentle. Choosing to enter into business means that one must be capable of making very calculated decisions with their own money and with the money of others. They also must see the parts of their company-and to many, employees often registered only as a moving part in a greater machine-as disposable when they are broken. Thus, although business does not generally allow for strong expressions of emotion, Tommy Shelby believed there were “no hard feelings” when he had to release a person from his employment. He held no personal vendetta against the ex-employee, and did even earnestly hope they would realize the error of their focused labor and once again find fruitful employment elsewhere. But conversely, he would note to himself the error of his ways in allowing an employee of less-than-acceptable caliber to be hired, and would remember what traits made that person useless in the future.
Tommy had to let people go and hire new people on a fairly regular basis. He generally believed in hiring younger people to do menial labor, on the idea that they would have more energy and thus be able to execute these tasks over a larger spread of hours. The past month, however, Tommy had fired two young men or about twenty, who had been hired for menial labor but had proven to be prone to slacking off on the job. He bore no ill will to them, and in parting mentioned a shipping company which operated out of dock forty-three which was hiring, in the genuine if not deeply-felt hope they would reform and become contributing members of society.
Besides, Tommy had larger things to worry about than the performance of workers who neared the bottom of the Shelby Company food chain. In merely three weeks, if all went well, he was going to recite his wedding vows to the love of his life in the full and unyielding gaze of their pastor and before the gentle eyes of God. Tommy and his soon-to-be wife endeavored to make their wedding as small an affair as was possible, only extending invitations to those who they actually, truly wanted to he there. Eliminating the menial made the whole thing blessedly easy to plan, and he found himself mainly concerned with planning out the right words to say to his life partner when she arrived at the altar.
—
Thankfully, the wedding went as smoothly as any Tommy had ever attended, and the flurry of the day seemed to end as quickly as it began. When he settled into bed next to his newly acquired wife that night, slipping a gentle arm around her waist, he even entertained the fantasy that the wedding had taken away so little of his concentration from work that he might be able to take a few days and have a honeymoon of sorts with her.
This was not the case, as both the legal and illegal enterprises of the Shelby Company were growing at a seemingly exponential rate. He was no sooner able to take a few days off without consequences as he was to grow wings. His wife, the young, pretty, tough creature she was, shrugged this slight off, and told her husband he had things he needed to do for the good of his family, and that said family also included her now, and so he had better get to work. Guilted by his inability to properly celebrate his wedding with his wife, but also emboldened by her strong words of encouragement, Tommy dove right back into the chaos of the Company, cutting deals on firearms and horse races in equal stride.
Unbeknownst to either man or wife, the two young men who had just a short while ago been terminated from Shelby company employment had not shrugged it off as a loss of low-level job of which there were plenty in Small Heath, but had instead chosen to interpret it as a personal slight and a middle finger directly from Tommy Shelby. As uneducated as their interpretation of a routine firing might have been, they were not so ignorant as to think they could exact revenge on their perceived enemy in a face to face interaction with him. They instead chose to focus on his weaknesses, and despite the whole thing being a low-level affair, there was no one in Birmingham who didn’t know Tommy Shelby had recently gotten married.
—
The two young men whom Tommy had fired were not in possession of any particularly great intellect, or capability to plan a complex kidnapping and ransom plot, but part of the reason they were hired initially was that they possessed plenty of brute strength. It would seem fairly reasonable that considering her relatively high profile relation to the Shelby family that there would be some type of protection for Tommy’s wife, but she had insisted on being allowed to live independently. As often occurs, there was no real hindsight considered with this decision until it had already generated negative consequences. Tommy’s wife did not work for the Company, and after their marriage continued her job as a secretary for the largest newspaper in the city. It was on a fairly cold morning, while she was walking to begin her shift, that the two ex-lackeys of the Company grabbed her and dragged her out of the sight of the few other passers-by that were on the street that early in the day.
On the days which Tommy was not able to finish his workload in time to be home for dinner (which were fairly plenty), he would just sleep in his office, wake up early, and continue. These were all circumstances which the two ex-lackeys were aware of; though the Company employed plenty people, most of them got their orders from Tommy or one of this brothers and were in and out of the office daily, and knew the movements of the main heads of the Company. They didn’t know exactly on that day that Tommy would work late and stay in the office, but they were willing to take their luck.
Due to the circumstances of their both being employed in highly demanding jobs, and sometimes not being able to wake up together or eat dinner together, Tommy and his wife always spent at least an hour on the phone each day. This usually happened around noon, which left the two wanna-be criminals four hours before Tommy Shelby discovered his wife was missing.
They had, it so happened, taken his suggestion, and sought employment at the loading station at dock forty-three. This particular dock mainly handled night time shipments coming in from the United States or Canada, and so the two decided that with a little duct tape over the face, and ropes holding her arms back, it would be as good a place as any to keep Mrs. Shelby.
—
As it happened, the two men, who were not exactly in possession of god-like intelligence, got the timing right. They had her for four hours before her husband realized something was wrong with her. He called her office at noon, and was received by the voice of her supervisor, who told him his wife had not come into work that day.
At the same moment as Tommy leaned back to yell for his brothers, Polly came into the room and absentmindedly remarked that the postman had left something for him as she dropped a letter onto his desk. Dread built up in his chest as he stared at the sloppily folded paper, and he grabbed hold of the letter and nearly tore it open in his haste. The would-be kidnappers were not elegant nor were they educated, and so their ransom note was not exactly a masterpiece of the English written word.
Tommy Shelby, it read,
We have your wife. Come to dock forty three as soon as you get this. Bring ten thousand pounds with you and you will get her back alive. If you call the police we will know. Don’t bring a gun.
The letter was not signed, and as Tommy’s two eldest brothers crowded their way into the room, the middle Shelby son swore loudly and launched an ink pot against the room, where it shattered against the window and left dark black tracks down the glass.
“Some fuckers took my wife,” he informed them in a violently calm voice. “Get your coats and your guns. We’re going now.”
—
Upon arrival at the specified dock, the faded painting sign reading “43” swinging violently in the sudden gust of wind that had arisen off the waters, Tommy gestured for John and Arthur to stand back.
“I’ll call you when I need you,” he spoke quickly, and indicated for them to stand just out of sight of the door of the loading area, still close enough by to be of immediate assistance if needed.
Tommy grabbed the handle of the door and launched it open, bursting into the large, open room with his gun pointed straight ahead. At the same time as he gained his bearings, he heard a pistol cocking, and found he was looking at a gun pressed to the side of his wife’s head.
Tommy had been in the war, and had seen more men die than he ever cared to speak about. He was used to carnage, and hadn’t flinched at the sight of blood in years. At the sight of his wife with a gun pressed to her head, however, his own blood ran cold.
He felt his breath coming in shorter and shorter intervals, and he had to control himself to keep from hyperventilating, as his wife, a gag stuffed in her mouth, started crying at the sight of him, and leaning towards him as if to beg him to get her out of here,only to be grabbed roughly by the neck and shoved back into her chair by another man, who stepped out of the corner only for that brief moment before vanishing from Tommy’s sight again.
Tommy stopped short, only about four feet from the door he had burst from, and was so dazed by the sight before him he had to force himself to focus as the man holding the gun began to speak.
“We told you specifically not to bring a gun. Didn’t you read the fucking letter? Put that shit down. Where’s my money?”
Tommy still found himself unable to fully compute the situation before him, and so fell back on his usual bravado, scoffing at the man’s question even while wildly searching for a plan.
“I didn’t bring your ten thousand pounds. What were you going to spend it on, whores and cocaine? You’re a piece of shit. You’re going to give me my wife back and you’re going to apologize for the trouble you’ve caused the Shelby Company.”
Another man stepped out of the shadows, loudly swearing at Tommy, and he couldn’t believe the sense of these two useless criminals as they both started walking towards him, leaving his wife unguarded and making it far too easy for him to raise his gun once again and expel a hail of bullets on them, aiming for the head and then adding ten more in just for good measure and as repayment for the insolence of daring to touch his wife.
As he turned to face her, still bound to her chair, tears rolling down her cheeks, he felt his heart stop again as he sprinted to her, pulling the gag out of her mouth and untying the ropes from her wrists all while speaking to her frantically, begging for forgiveness.
“I’m so damn sorry, my love, I should never have let you walk around alone, I should have had a man with you all the time, I should have known someone was going to try something with you, I’m so fucking sorry-“ and broke himself off with a sob, curling into her shoulder.
He felt her take a deep breath and wrap her arms around him, stroking his back as he cried like a child into her arms, terrified by the ease at which two bumbling idiots were able to endanger the person closest to his heart.
She began to console him quietly, his sobs still echoing around the empty room, and Tommy could almost feel her grow harder, more tough, more like a Shelby.
-on paper, despite his nervousness, tommy is incredibly excited to become a father
-deep down, he knows he wants a family, and he knows his wife will be an amazing mother
-he is, however, altogether unprepared for pregnancy
-somehow, despite ada having a son and john having a veritable country’s worth of children, poor tommy did not pick up on the fact that carrying and growing a child is no easy task
-the first morning when his wife woke up early and dashed to the bathroom to throw up, tommy was panic-stricken, assuming it was a symptom of a much larger problem with the baby and pacing the bedroom, trying to come up with some kind of “plan” to deal with this issue, as if tommy had ever come up with a plan that didn’t simply resolve itself into “shoot the fucker”
-his wife, despite feeling incredibly nauseous and having tossed and turned all night, simply unable to sleep, couldn’t contain her laughter at tommy running around in a blind panic
-“it’s going to happen most mornings, tommy,” she called out to him
-tommy turned around with the world’s most alarmed expression and his wife was barely able to contain her giggles, reaching out a hand and informing him it was a natural part of pregnancy
-tommy was predisposed to being hyper-vigilant and to anticipating problems before they occurred, and so even when he was reassured that no pregnancy went entirely smoothly, he would wince in empathetic pain every time the baby kicked his wife’s stomach a little too hard, or she told him with a sigh she barely slept the previous night
-he had a sort of childlike wonder for the whole process, and whenever his wife was settled next to him on the sofa, or lying next to him in bed, he would place a gentle hand over her baby bump and rub it softly with his thumb
-he’d rush to open doors and pull out chairs for his wife, and he wouldn’t dare move if she fell asleep on his shoulder, even if it happened very suddenly in the middle of the day
-he had always been a caring and attentive husband, and he was already exercising those qualities as a father-to-be
