Been obsessed with merman Alfie since @comebackjessicawrotethis amazing fic. So here is a lil merman Alfie taking a bath in the cabin like the king he is.
OH MY GOD BESTIE THIS IS EVERYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGG and the tail colours are so perfecttttt, look at my handsome merman
Summary: You were Alfie Solomons little sister and Tommy Shelby’s ex girlfriend.
It had been three years since you last saw your ex. Until your brother sent you on a mission to kill Father Hughes and you came face to face with Thomas Shelby, causing old feelings to resurface again.
“Good morning, Miss Solomons.” Anna greeted as you walked downstairs.
You looked up to find the housekeeper currently dusting one of the many bookshelves in the house, giving you a friendly smile.
“Good morning, Anna. And please, we’ve been over this. Call me, Y/N.”
Anna just smiled like she always did and you knew she was still going to refer to you as Miss Solomons. She had been doing it for the few last few years, you doubted you could change it any time soon.
“Has the morning paper come in?” You asked, making your way to the kitchen.
She didn’t reply straight away as you opened the fridge and grabbed the milk.
“No.” She finally answered.
Her voice seemed a little off, almost uncertain causing you to look back over at her as she followed you into the kitchen.
“Are you okay?”
Anna simply nodded, but refused to look at you which was setting off alarm bells in your head.
She walked over to the kitchen table, grabbing a tea towel and subtly moving it to cover something on the table. Frowning in confusion, you put the milk down on the bench and walked across the room towards her, reaching for the tea towel.
“Wait, Miss Solomons.” Anna quickly said, grabbing your hand to stop you.
“Anna, what are you hiding?”
She didn’t say anything for a moment as she stared at you before looking down at the towel on the table and sighed, letting go of your hand.
“It’s this mornings newspaper.”
“I thought you said that it hadn’t come yet.” You responded sceptically.
“I lied.”
Why would she lie about the newspaper? If she wanted to read it first, that wasn’t an issue. It was just the newspaper, you didn’t give a shit.
“Why did you lie?” You asked, looking at her, but she was just staring at the tea towel, not wanting to meet your eyes. “Anna?”
“Because of the front page.” She answered.
“What’s on the front page?”
“Not what. Who.”
Okay, now you were even more confused. Why did it matter who was on the front page?
You didn’t bother asking, you just grabbed the tea towel, shifting it off the paper, but stopped when you saw who was on it.
Tommy Shelby.
You stared at the photo for a moment, hating that it was actually a nice photo. Of course it was a nice photo, it was Tommy. He always looked good.
He was standing behind a podium, obviously giving some kind of speech with the headline 'Birmingham’s newest Labor MP’ written below it.
“I know you and Mr Shelby have a complicated history. I just didn’t want you to see it and get upset.” Anna said gently from beside you.
She was trying to look out for you. She didn’t want to lie, she was just trying to protect you.
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you, but I’m okay.” You reassured, walking back over to the milk to make your morning coffee.
Anna didn’t say anything else after that, disappearing out the kitchen to continue her dusting.
You poured yourself a cup of coffee and grabbed the newspaper off the table before you made your way back up stairs to the main living room. Cyril was fast asleep on the couch, snoring softly as you walked past, opening the doors to the small balcony before taking a seat outside.
You stared out at the ocean, the sun slowly getting higher in the sky as the smell of salt water filled the air. It smelt like home.
Grabbing your coffee you took a sip before looking back at the newspaper, ignoring the front page as you started to flick through. Most of it was boring stuff that you skimmed over, leaving the crossword for your brother which he would end up just asking you to help him with anyway.
By the time you got halfway through the paper, you had forgotten all about the front cover until you turned to the next page and came face to face with Tommy once again.
‘Bookmaker from Birmingham turned MP overnight’
Underneath the headline was a close up shot of, Tommy. Even in black and white he was stunning.
However, it was the next photo further down that caught your attention.
It was of the whole Shelby clan. The photo taken as the group were walking down the stairs of Parliament House.
They all had bright big smiles plastered on their faces. Charlie was in Polly’s arms, smiling happily despite not knowing what was happening, but it was the baby girl in Tommy’s arms that made you stop.
Lizzie Stark had her baby.
Tommy had a daughter now… he had a baby girl.
You couldn’t stop yourself from thinking that it could have been you standing beside him. It could’ve been you with a baby, but it wasn’t.
It wasn’t you because once again, Tommy, chose the other girl. And it wasn’t you because you couldn’t keep your own baby alive.
The one thing your body was designed for and you couldn’t do it. You couldn’t fucking do it. Lizzie got her baby and she got, Tommy. You lost your baby and you lost, Tommy.
How was that even remotely fair?
You didn’t even realise that you were crying until your tears dripped onto the paper in your lap, staining the photo.
“Shit.” You whispered to yourself, wiping the tears from your eyes.
You sat there, looking down at the paper in your lap. Your coffee now long forgotten as you stared at the baby in Tommy’s arms. The tears you had just wiped away were instantly replaced with fresh ones.
Suddenly, a hand reached over your shoulder, taking the newspaper away without a word.
You didn’t need to turn around to know that the hand belonged to Alfie. His rings and hairy arm were enough of a give away, but you didn’t turn to face him, not wanting him to see the tears in your eyes.
“Anna told me to check on ya. She was worried about you.” He said after a few seconds of silence. “Seems like she was right to worry, eh?”
“Anna should mind her own business.” You mumbled, staring out at the ocean. “I’m fine.”
“Now we both know that ain’t true.”
You wanted to argue with him, but you knew that it was pointless. Your brother knew you well enough to know that you weren’t okay, but you should be.
It had been over a year since you last saw, Tommy. A year since he had tried to kill your fucking brother, a whole year. But, it was even longer since the miscarriage. You should be fine, but it was clear now that you weren’t fine.
“How did I ever give someone the power to fuck me up this badly?” You asked, hating how fragile your voice sounded.
Alfie sighed and walked over to the edge of the balcony, leaning against the railing and staring out at the ocean.
“You still love him, right?” He asked, but it sounded like he already knew the answer.
You wanted to say no.
It should be a no.
After everything that had happened between the two of you and after nearly killing your brother, you should fucking hate him… but you couldn’t.
You still loved him and you hated yourself for it.
“You’re human, kid. Ain’t no shame in loving someone.” Your brother added.
“I should hate him. Not love him.”
“Yeah, maybe. But, those damn blue eyes are hard to resist, ain’t they?” Alfie responded, glancing over his shoulder at you as you tried to stop the tears from falling down your face. “Stop.”
“Stop what?” You asked, forcing your voice to come out casual.
“That.” He said motioning towards your face. “I know you’re strong, but you don’t gotta pretend to be okay. Not in front of me, kid. Not me.”
You didn’t say anything to that as you looked down at your hands in your lap. Fiddling with one of your rings before your brother pushed himself away from the railing and walked over to you.
“It’s okay to not be okay, Y/N.” He said softly, grabbing your shoulder and squeezing it gently.
-
1929-
It had now been over three years since you and Alfie had moved to Margate.
Your brother for the most part, seemed to be enjoying retirement, but you knew he was getting restless and missed being back in London working.
You missed the life too, but at the same time, living on the beach with nobody trying to kill you was a nice change.
“Cyril, c'mon.” You called out, whistling as you walked along the beach.
The whistled seemed to catch the dogs attention, his head shooting up and looking over at you before he ran out the water in your direction.
You held your shoes in your hand, towel wrapped around your body while walking bare foot through the sand, Cyril now walking beside you as you made your way back the house.
By the time you got back home, your body was practically dry from the water, although the dog was still soaking wet. You let Cyril through the front door wincing at the pawprints he left behind on the carpet before making your way to your bedroom, changing out of your bikinis and into your usual neat suit.
You finished brushing the knots out your hair and looked at yourself in the mirror. The scar over your left eye always more prominent after being in the salt water.
For a while, you hated the scar.
Your brother always teased that you were just trying to be like him with a scar on your face, but over time, you began to get used to it. It was a part of you now and although it was a reminder of that day in Birmingham, back when Luca’s men were trying to kill Arthur, it was also a reminder of how far you’ve come.
From being that scared little girl in the orphanage to being who you were today. You had come a long way, even if sometimes you couldn’t see it.
Suddenly, your bedroom door opened and you spun around, expecting it to be Alfie, although he always knocked so it seemed weird that he just barged straight in. What if you were still changing?
“Miss Solomons.” Anna’s voice quickly said as you turned to find her in the doorway.
You opened your mouth to greet the housekeeper, but quickly closed it when you saw the panicked expression on her face.
Shit. What had happened? You were only gone for an hour, what could have possibly happened in that time?
“We, uh, we have a guest.”
Okay, you were not expecting that.
A guest? You guys rarely had any guests, who the hell could it be? And why did Anna seem worried about said guest?
“Who is-” You began to say before she cut you off.
“Thomas Shelby.”
Suddenly, your entire world came to a screaming halt and you had to grab hold of the wall beside as the name hit you like a train.
Tommy was here.
Why the fuck was he here? He tried to kill your brother last time you saw him… shit, Alfie.
“Where are they?” You questioned, hating how strained your voice now sounded as you pulled your handgun from your shoulder holster inside your suit.
“Upstairs, main room.”
You didn’t wait for her to say anything else before you rushed out the bedroom and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time, your fingers tightening around the gun.
