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intheholler · 3 months

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Appalachia & Southeastern USA LGBTQ+ Resource Masterpost

Under the cut, you'll find queer-focused resources sorted by state.

I have a sister post with donation links for those outside of the region who'd like to help us grow.

If you aren't from the region, I encourage you to find the organization that speaks to you the most, put your money where your mouth is and help us be better.

If you are from the region, I sincerely hope this can help you or someone you know in some way.

This list is inexhaustive as Tumblr is only permitting 100 links (which is also what necessitates the sister post and is why you may not see your contribution unfortunately).

Disclaimer: I do not (necessarily) personally endorse these organizations, nor have I vetted them thoroughly. If I have included anything you know to be detrimental or harmful in any way, please DM immediately me so I can rectify it.

General Regional Resources

Appalachian Outreach organizes events and provides access to resources for the queer community all across Appalachia.

STAY (Central Appalachia) is a youth-led activist organization in central Appalachia.

Trans in the South is a directory for gender-affirming healthcare in the south.

Southerners on New Ground (SONG) is a queer liberation group funding projects, protests, and campaigns to build a queer-friendly south.

Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project (STYEP) connects trans youth affected by anti-trans legislation with gender-affirming healthcare providers in the southeast; they offer grants up to $500 to individuals for emergency support.

Trans Health Project helps trans folks understand, access and utilize their medical insurance. They provide grants for gender-affirming surgeries.

Campaign for Southern Equality provides funding, training and resources for/to queer individuals and activists.

Not region specific, but important all the same: Help suspected transgender John and Jane Does regain their identities.

Resources by State

Alabama

AIDS Alabama helps provide housing to vulnerable individual and families, including helping queer youth find housing.

ALTGO’s list of local resources for gender-affirming care, legal services and generally queer-friendly physical/mental healthcare.

The Knights & Orchids Society provides housing, healthcare, and general support to the Black queer community.

Based in Birmingham, Magic City Acceptance Center offers supportive safe spaces and direct support to 52 counties in Alabama.

Medical Advocacy and Outreach in southern Alabama provides HIV+ care, as well as HIV & hepatitis C testing.

Prism United funds free therapy and hosts gatherings for queer individuals along the Gulf Coast.

Shoals Diversity Center is a Florence-based group that offers mental health services, support groups and other resources for the queer community in the Shoals area.

T.A.K.E. Resource Center provides direct support, grants, housing advocacy and other services for trans women of color in Alabama.

Thrive Alabama facilitates access to queer-focused healthcare services in North Alabama.

Georgia

Carollton Rainbow organizes queer-focused social events in West Georgia and provides tools for advocacy in the community.

Emmaus House is a soup kitchen in Savannah also providing laundry and shower facilities.

Emory is an Atlanta-based, queer-focused law firm.

Feminist Women’s Health Center (I know the name isn’t necessarily ideal, sorry) in Atlanta offers trans-inclusive, affordable medical care. They also provide access to abortions.

First City Network in Savannah provides referral services for healthcare, advocacy, education and mutual aid for queer Georgians.

List of housing assistance in the Savannah area

Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia serves the queer community’s legal needs in Georgia.

Kentucky

AIDS Volunteers of Lexington (AVOL) provides housing and assistance to low-income people living with HIV/AIDS.

Arbor Youth Services provides emergency shelter to queer youth in Louisville, up to age 24.

Berea Human Rights Commission offers free investigations into claims of housing or employment discrimination with a focus on queer folks.

Kentucky Health Justice Network provides referrals to gender-affirming providers, as well as financial assistance for trans healthcare and abortions.

Kentucky Youth Law Project provides free representation to queer youth.

Massive Kentuckian LGBTQ resource list provided by Lexington Pride Center, broken down into easy-to-browse categories.

Louisville Youth Group strives to give queer youth the tools and skills they need to grow personally and facilitate positive change in their communities.

Sweet Evening Breeze helps queer young adults in Kentucky between the ages of 18-24 obtain emergency housing.

Trans Kentucky’s list of gender-affirming healthcare providers across the state

Guide on changing your name following gender-affirming surgeries in Kentucky, and a tool to help you do so.

Louisiana

AcadianaCares supports folks living with HIV/AIDS while providing support to houseless and impoverished individuals.

ACLU Louisiana website.

Community resources in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette (much of it only provides addresses and emails, so it’s hard to link individually here).

Directory of trans-focused healthcare providers

List of in-person and online queer support groups. In-person groups are based in Monroe, Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

Mutual aid in Shreveport

Out of the Closet provides clothing for the queer community with multiple locations throughout the state.

OUTnorthla is a queer film-festival hosted by PACE Louisiana.

Queer-forward healthcare in Louisiana.

QUEERPORT is a grassroots org offering a platform for queer creatives.

Tulane Drop-In Clinic provides free medical and social services to runaway and otherwise houseless youth.

Guides for legal name changes in Louisiana.

Mississippi

Capital City Pride hosts pride events, meet-ups and book clubs for the queer community around Jackson.

Gulf Coast Equality hosts drag shows, food drives and other events for the Gulf Coast area.

The Spectrum Center in Hattiesburg offers a community closet, short-term emergency housing, free HIV testing and scheduled support groups/events for the queer community in Hattiesburg.

Violet Valley Bookstore is a queer feminist bookshop owned by a published lesbian author in Water Valley.

Guide for name changes in Mississippi.

North Carolina

Charlotte Transgender Healthcare Group (CTHCG) connects trans folks with gender-affirming care.

Down Home NC helps rural working class communities organize to advocate for their rights.

Guilford Green Foundation & LGBTQ Center provides financial support to queer nonprofits and activist groups in NC to fight anti-queer legislation.

Ladies of the T is provides resources and support to trans and gender non-conforming women of color in the Tri-City area. .

North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Attorneys (NCPMB) provides attorney referrals, visibility, and support for the queer community.

Pitt County Aids Service Organization (PICASO) provides HIV prevention and testing services in Eastern NC, as well as support for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

Asheville-based Tranzmission’s compilation of trans-focused medical, social and legal resources in WNC.

Triad Health Project provides free HIV testing, contraceptives, prevention outreach, daycare and access to their food pantry in Guilford County.

Durham-based Triangle Empowerment Center provides the queer community with emergency housing, access to PrEP, as well as support groups and other events.

South Carolina

Harriet Hancock Center is a community center offering social support for queer individuals in the Midlands area.

Free gender-affirming gear to South Carolinians!!!

Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA), a queer-focused social justice group

List of queer-friendly medical providers across the state

Uplift Outreach provides safe spaces for queer youth in Spartanburg.

Charleston Black Pride serves the queer POC community in the low country area.

We are Family Charleston’s community center hosts support groups and provides direct support to the queer community around Charleston. They offer microgrants to trans individuals in the state as well as in-person support groups and aforementioned free stuff for trans folks.

Closet Case is a thrift store by and for queer individuals, operated by We Are family, offering safe and affordable clothes shopping.

T-Time holds support groups for trans individuals, based in Myrtle Beach.

Palmetto Community Care provides confidential HIV testing and support as well as free contraceptives.

South Carolina based community support network for the trans community

Legal assistance in Columbia, SC/Midlands area

Guide on changing your name in South Carolina

List of queer-safe, gender-affirming care providers in Columbia, SC

Tennessee

CHOICES provides low-cost LGBTQ healthcare, among other services, such as abortions.

Emergency housing in Tennessee for those living with AIDS

Launch Pad helps queer youth among others obtain emergency shelter in the Nashville area.

Metamorphosis provides transitional housing and other emergency support for queer youth between 18 - 24.

Mountain Access Brigade provides abortion funding across the state.

My Sistah’s House in Memphis provides emergency housing and support for queer people of color, as well as access to health services for sex workers.

The Seed Theatre in Chattanooga provides free resources such as binders for the trans community and hosts safe, social spaces.

Tennessee HIV Prevention & Care

Trans Empowerment Project provides support to trans and gender-nonconforming folks around Knoxville.

Youth Villages provides emergency housing for youth under 18.

List of trans-focused healthcare providers across the state.

Virginia

Counseling, free hygiene products, temporary housing and more provided by Side by Side VA

Virginia Home for Boys and Girls partners with Pride Place to provide temporary housing for queer young adults (18-25).

Side by Side VA provides temporary housing for queer youth for up to 6 months.

Nationz, based in Henrico, provides free STI/HIV testing, food pantry, PrEP, and notary services for the queer community.

Justice 4 All provides legal aid for low-income Virginians.

Virginia Rural health Association’s list of gender-affirming healthcare providers

General rural healthcare resources in Virginia

West Virginia

Dr. Rainbow connects folks with queer-friendly care in the state.

Fairness West Virginia’s list of gender-affirming care providers.

Harmony House West Virginia provides queer-friendly shelter for houseless people.

Holler Health Justice is a queer- and POC-led mutual aid organization based in WV, though they seem open to serving all Appalachians.

Holler Health Justice also provides financial/logistic support to West Virginians seeking abortions.

WVFREE connects West Virginians with birth control providers.

Nearby gender-affirming care for trans youth at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Transgender Health Center.

#appalachia #appalachian #anti-fascist south #queer #queer resources #alabama #georgia #kentucky #louisiana #mississippi #north carolina #south carolina #tennessee #virginia #west virginia

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jaegeraether · 5 months

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Sunsets and footballers (Part 21)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (21)

Masterlist (other parts here)

(*Mentions of mental health, suicide and domestic abuse. Take care with this chapter please x *)

Much to Lucy’s amusement, YFN was driving her car for the first time. YFN had first suggested that she drive to Birmingham to get used to the car and roads in the UK, and because Lucy had done all of the driving thus far. The first 20 minutes had been stressful, but eased with Lucy’s amused support.

“It’s just a car, little one. I don’t care what happens to it as long as you’re okay..” She’d said. That and how calm she was explaining the differences in the roads made YFN feel much, much more at ease.

When she was comfortable enough, Lucy insisted they ran through some of the information that was emailed through by Lumos, Lucy testing her knowledge.

“I only briefly skipped through that email, Luce.. it was our third date.” She groaned.

“Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been doing research since the girls first told you about this job..”

YFN looked guilty. “I like to be prepared.”

Lucy chuckled. “I know. It’s one of the things I love about you.. and you might as well use me while I’m here, right? We’ll start slow.”

YFN groaned. “Okay, I’ll try my best.”

“Okay, talk to me about the different tiers of women’s football in England.”

“Starting off slow, hey?” She pouted. Lucy was challenging her. “Okay… okay. There’s the top tier, Tier 1, the Barclay’s FA WSL. It has 12 teams, bottom team gets relegated to Tier 2 which is the FA Women’s Championship. Also 12 teams, the winners going into the WSL for the next season, while the bottom-placed team are relegated Tier 3, the FA Women’s Nation’s League. Then it gets a bit complicated because there’s the northern teams against each other and the southern teams against each other with the top northern and southern team in the final FA WNL Championship Play-Off, the winner moving up to Tier 2, FA Champions League.”

She looked over at Lucy who was grinning at her proudly. “I knew you’d been researching.”

YFN blushed under her gaze. “It’s important to you.. so it’s important to me. Regardless of the job.”

“God, you’re so cute.” She kissed her on her little cheek dimple, her face reddening further. “Try name the 12 teams in the WSL for me..”

“Okay… okay I can do it by location, might be easier. Around Manchester you have 2 teams, Man United and Man City. Around Liverpool there’s Liverpool and Everton. Around Birmingham there’s Aston Villa. Close to them there’s Leicester, in Leicester.. then there’s Bristol City by itself, and around London are the other 5 teams, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, West Ham United, Arsenal, and… Tottenham.”

“You’re so sexy when you’re talking football..” Lucy commented as she fed YFN a Malteser.

“Why do I feel like I’m being rewarded like a dog?”

“Who’s a good girl,” Lucy cooed and patted her head. YFN rolled her eyes. “Who are the current WSL Champions?”

“Chelsea, they beat Man United.”

“Do any WSL teams play for other titles?”

“Uh.. there’s the Continental Cup? Conti Cup.. it’s the Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams together, so WSL and The Championship.”

“And the current Conti Cup Champions?”

“Arsenal.. they beat Chelsea.”

“Any other titles?”

“The UEFA Women’s Champions League.. it’s basically the WSL of Europe. It’s where all the fun happens and there’s a chance for a team like Arsenal to go up against a team like Barcelona.” She turned to Lucy. “Is it your favourite?”

“My favourite is definitely playing for England… but when playing with Barca then yeah, I love playing against the UK teams.”

“Is it hard playing against friends?”

She shrugged. “It was at first.. but then I found it’s much easier if you just go at players like opposition and don’t look at who they are. Just do your thing. I always want to win so it’s easier for me, but I know some of the girls struggle with it.”

YFN nodded and stole another Malteser. “Barcelona are the current Champions, obviously because they have the best right-back in history… and it was against Wolfsburg. Aaaand I believe that was your… fourth Championship title? 3 with Lyon, 1 with Barca?”

Lucy looked impressed. “You really have been doing your research, you sneak. I’m really proud of that too. Almost missed the one with Barca though.. I had surgery on my knee about 5 weeks before the final.” She trailed off, getting a little into her own head.

YFN put her hand on her knee, stroking it to console her. She knew there wasn’t much to say about it. “I can’t wait to see you play for Barca.”

That worked. Lucy smiled. “Tell me again why you can’t live in Spain, if you already have a team for you to work with? And once you get a good schedule going, they’ll be going to the games for you.. There’s…” she took YFN’s phone to read the email. “…Samantha, Bridget and Emily, Ethan, Daniel, Ruby…” She trailed off as she kept reading. “Okay so they’ve hired 4 videographers and 4 photographers, then there’s your IT guy Noel who is an all-rounder..”

“Yes, love, but I need to make sure they’re all comfortable editing because a lot don’t have the experience. We also need a specific style to create so it helps to build our brand and keep it all homogenous almost.. and then what if someone is sick and can’t cover a game?”

“It’s only 2 hours from Barca to London.” She offered.

YFN let herself look at Lucy for a second. She needed to get her scepticism across. It worked. Lucy was intelligent, she knew that YFN would be busy in the UK for the next 6 months at the very least.

YFN patted the steering wheel. “I think we’re going to be doing a lot of driving! I should name him… any ideas.”

“Miles?”

“Ohhh.. like Miles Morales?”

She could tell from Lucy’s expression that she had no idea who that was. “Who?”

“Spiderman… never mind, I’ll add it to our movie list. Eminem? After Miles Morales? No… no I like Miles. Let’s keep it simple.”

“We have a movie list?” Lucy looked excited and longing, almost. “Miles it is. Also, Spiderman is Peter Parker.”

“How dare you.”

Lucy wiggled her eyebrows. “Well I still think when you get more comfortable and all fall into a good rhythm covering games.. you can maybe work from Spain…” She gave those big eyes of hers as she sat sideways in the seat, admiring her girlfriend.

“Well I am mainly working on my laptop. But it’s such a small company right now, so they’ll expand quickly with all of the coverage if we do it right. Plus, they have so much money. What they’re offering pay-wise and then expense-wise is ridiculous.” She stopped herself, realising she was getting excited about the job again, and eased Lucy’s worries. “I’m sorry.. I’ll let us live in a little happy bubble for now, hm? We don’t know what could happen.”

Lucy sighed and reached out, her hand finding YFN’s pocket. “Who knows, maybe I’ll end up back in the WSL.”

“Or maybe I’ll be fired on my first day.”

Lucy scoffed. “Not a chance. They’re lucky to have you.”

YFN could tell Lucy was struggling with her emotions a little. She assumed the dread for their goodbye tomorrow was creeping up on the footballer also. She saw her fall into that little Lucy space and she left her there for a few minutes before she spoke. “Tell me what you’re thinking. Right… there.” The took her hand off the steering wheel to poke her in the middle of the forehead. “I can see it sitting there.”

Lucy came back with a little smile. “I was trying to decide if I was a bad person or not by thinking that I’m partially hoping Martin can’t get that working Visa for you..”

YFN laughed. “You know he will have it approved by the end of the night. And also… no, it’s not a bad thing. It melts my heart because it makes me feel wanted and needed by you. So, thank you for the honesty. And I..” She stopped herself, eyes widening at the fact that three words almost rolled off of her tongue. Before Lucy could question it, YFN’s phone rang.

“It’s Ridley.” Lucy said, shaking the phone for her to see. Before YFN could say anything, Lucy answered on loudspeaker.

“Hey baby Blue, I miss you.” Ridley drawled, flirty as usual.

YFN looked over at Lucy, expecting her to be jealous and she wasn’t disappointed. She’d spoken to Lucy about Ridley before, but only the bare minimum, like she had with Jordan. Ridley was an enigma, and one of her favourite people on the planet. She knew it wouldn’t take long for Lucy to pick up her personality and understand.

“Hey Riddles, I miss you too. What’s happening?”

“Sitting in an airport, wishing it were a beach. Waiting for a man, as usual. I swear, you let men into your life, and you get this. Constant irritation. Must be so hard to drag your little dick around that you end up late for everything.”

Lucy chuckled beside her at that.

“I can guarantee you’re 15 minutes early. And by the sound of your irritation.. waiting for your coffee I’m assuming?”

“It tames my demons. And you are, as usual, correct on both counts.” She began speaking to who YFN assumed was the barista. “Thanks baby, I’ll definitely call you.”

YFN felt like she could hear the wink from across the phone. Lucy raised her eyebrows in question and YFN shrugged. This was normal.

“Okay I’m back. Fuuuck, that’s a good coffee.”

“Are you going to call her or were you just being polite again?”

“Did the ‘definitely’ give me away again?” She asked sheepishly. “She’s cute but very much the relationship type. You know I don’t do that.”

“Mmnhmn. Lucy’s here by the way, we’re just driving to Birmingham.”

“Ah, Lucia Roberta, we finally meet. Kind of. Hold up…” She switched to Facetime as she walked through the airport, coffee in hand. Ridley was drop-dead stunning. She was the only person who had more confidence than Lucy, and it was obvious with the way she spoke and carried herself. She liked to keep herself fit and tidy, besides the alcohol she always slammed when she was at a festival or picking up. Her jawline was godly, her hair was the perfect dark, dark brown shaggy bob, and she had a noticeable scar on her face that started on her cheek and rose to the bottom of her left eye. Typically, it made her even more attractive.

“Hey there, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Lucy said, trying to control her jealously that rose as she saw how fucking stunning she was.

“If any of it is good, then she was lying. She does that to be nice.” She chuckled and got a little closer to the camera. “But she wasn’t lying when she told me about you though. Fuck, you’re sexy.”

Lucy was caught off guard and looked at YFN. Yep, she understood now. Ridley was just… Ridley. Lucy grinned at the compliment and turned back to the camera, her cockiness coming out.

“What can I say… I’m built different.” Lucy quoted and Ridley got the reference, the two sharing a laugh and flexing biceps. YFN rolled her eyes. Of course they’d get along. She could only imagine what they’d be like in person together, egging each other on to do things.

“Little dick appears to be here and… lost.” She brought her fingers to her mouth, whistling loudly.

“Don’t scare the boys, Riddles.”

She grinned at her friend. “My therapist says I should do what makes me happy. Besides, I’ve already had two men tell me I’m intimidating today.. three for the hat-trick, right Bronze?”

Lucy chuckled. “I believe in you.”

“Anyways, I called to see when you’re coming to Spain.. I miss you.”

“I miss you more, and I’ll be there in 13 days. The day before Lucy’s Liga F match if that helps.”

Ridley liked specifics. “It does. Okay, Blue, I’ll see you then. Bronze, don’t be a stranger. Adiós!”

The call ended and there was silence for several seconds. YFN tried to hide her smile and looked at Lucy who was already looking at her.

“Well?”

“She seems fun. And…”

“…an aquired taste.”

“I like her. You weren’t lying about the flirting.”

“No, love. Luckily I’m already pretty obsessed with a woman anyways.”

“Did you two ever..?”

YFN knew it was coming. “No. Never. That was never us, our relationship is more like… shared trauma. I think she’s the best person, but we’ve both been through quite a bit.”

Lucy was silent and so she continued. “We were neighbours growing up. Her family was even more dysfunctional than mine, but instead of not having a mum, she didn’t have a dad. She grew up fast and took it upon herself to look after her mum, a bipolar, and her brother who was autistic who was always getting bullied… really badly. She took my brother and I under her wing also.” She choked, getting a little emotional, knowing what was coming. “One night after school her brother was… beaten to death. To be more specific, beaten and left for dead. He was supposed to be picked up by their mum who was ‘trying to get better’. She got drunk and forgot about him. Ridley found him and held him until the cops arrived. She begged them not to tell her mum, because she was so erratic when she wasn’t well, and especially worse when alcohol was mixed. They didn’t listen because she was only young, and they called her anyways. She’d killed herself by the time Ridley was dropped home. She’d expected it to be honest. I… Ridley and I used to sneak into each other’s rooms at night to hang out, play games, read books, talk. I snuck into her room and she wasn’t there. I found her in the bathroom with her mum.” YFN couldn’t help the tears streaming down her face as she remembered. “There was so much blood, Luce. And Riddles… it was almost like she didn’t feel the grief at all. She was so prepared for it. She was forced to grow up too young.”

She looked at Lucy who was also crying, eyes closed and shaking her head. She continued. “That scar on her face? From my dad. After what happened, her Aunt moved in and started taking care of her. They stayed in that house because they couldn’t afford to sell it with the debt they were left. She’d stay in my room as much as possible to avoid the memories in her own house. She’d usually already be in my room by the time I came up there. I told you my dad was abusive..”

“He didn’t… touch you, did he?” Her voice shook, nervous for the response.

“Not in the way you think. He hit us. He’d have good days and bad days. On one of his worst days, Ridley heard it from my room and came down. He was going at my brother with a knife and I was trying to stop him. Ridley saw red and jumped in to save us. We were only young and my dad was a lot stronger, so he’d managed to still cut her face as she fought him. She got it off of him eventually and knocked him on his ass. He left the next day and never came back. Nan looked after us from then on. She.. she probably saved our lives. He wanted to kill us. I could see it on his face.” She sniffed, wiping the tears away with the cuff of her shirt. “I remember holding her hand when she got her stitches.. so you see, she’s one of the most important people in my life, and she always will be. We grew into such different people after all of that. Both of us really haven’t dated much. Riddles has dated one person I think? And she sabotaged it. I let myself date a few but none of them have understood me or what I need.” She took a deep breath in. Might as well tell her everything, right? “One of the biggest changes we noticed as we grew up was sex. Riddles doesn’t have sex for love, she does it to hold some form of control. If she can control herself and somebody else, and especially their orgasm, then it satisfies her. She doesn’t let anyone close except me because I was there. We’ve had long conversations about this. Whereas me… I was so much of a passenger in my life, always scared of my dad that I just want to be loved. And protected. Supported. I want that unconditional fucking hopeless romantic, Heath Ledger love. And when it comes to sex… my body craves someone that I can put my absolute trust in. Someone who I can give all of my control, my thoughts, my opinions to. Someone who will literally hold me down and fuck me for both of our benefits. I don’t want a choice.” She was so far in, that her admission scared even her. “I’ve never had that before. Saying it out loud like that… scares me. I’ve never been so honest about it and I’ve definitely never let myself give up any of my trust until I met you.” She looked at Lucy who looked in awe. She reached a hand out as if to strangle her. “You, and your pretty fucking face. You, and your inability to pronounce ‘th’ in a sentence. You, and that fucking grin that lights up a room.”

Lucy pointed outside. “Pull over. Right there.”

YFN sighed as did as she was told, knowing that whatever came of her confession she’d accept. She pulled over and took her time, putting the car into park, handbrake on.

Lucy unclipped her seatbelt and leaned over the centre console, her hand finding YFN’s face as she pulled her towards her. Their lips met passionately. Then needily. Then desperately. Gasps for air and desperate breaths filling the air.

“Luce..” she whimpered against her lips in between the barrage of kisses she was receiving. Lucy took a little while to respond, distracting herself. “You’re mine. I will always keep you safe and make sure you’re loved. Do you understand?” She pulled YFN’s head to her collarbone and held her tight. Of course, the tears started up again. She can’t believe she’d told Lucy.

Lucy held her tightly, her hand stroking her hair, whispering sweet nothings, and reassuring her. Giving her everything she needed.

The emotions settled down eventually and YFN mumbled into Lucy’s shirt. “You know, I’m still really embarrassed about how forward I was when we started texting..”

Lucy vibrated under her, laughing softly. “Oh, I definitely encouraged that. It was perfect.”

YFN leaned back so she could see Lucy. She assumed her face reflected her girlfriends. Puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. She cheekily tapped her cheek and Lucy took the hint, leaning in and kissing it with lingering lips. She kissed it a few more times and sat back in her seat. And then, they were off again.

They arrived at Jordan’s after dark, the little blonde bouncing up and down in the driveway as they pulled up. Jordan jumped on the closest person, Lucy, her legs wrapping around her waist. Lucy wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Alright, Jords?”

“I missed you too!”

“We missed you more, mate.” YFN said as she rounded the car. Jordan dropped off of Lucy and tried to do the same to YFN, though they were both a similar height and weight and ended up sprawled on the ground laughing.

The house was a cute little stand alone and inside was modern and fresh. It was a wide open space with its kitchen, dining and living area all sharing the same room which led out to the patio. It was a 2 by 2, with a bedroom either side of the large entertainment area. YFN found her bedroom, it was much larger than she imagined and had an ensuite. She turned and glared at Jordan. “You didn’t.”

“You have Lucy.. and my bathroom is perfect.” Just as she saw YFN about to argue she continued. “I originally picked that room, I promise! It doesn’t get the morning light, and I like being on that side.”

YFN pouted, wanting to argue but knowing it would be useless.

“Yay, shower sex.” Lucy said as she opened YFN’s suitcase on the bed. It was the most unhinged thing she’d ever heard Lucy say and her mouth dropped open. This was obviously the same for Jordan who was caught off guard. “Joking.. but not really. Go and have your little chat, I’ll unpack.” She insisted as she pushed them both out the door.

“I can’t believe she never said that to me…” Jordan whined. She was getting teary eyed as she looked at YFN. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I think she was scared... and torn… and trying to justify the unjustifiable. She knows she messed up.” She hugged Jordan a little tighter.

“She’s coming tonight.”

“What?!”

“I think tonight has gotten just a little bit out of hand..”

“How out of hand are we talking about?”

“Um.. I don’t know the exact number but I know the restaurant had to order more chairs.”

YFN’s eyed widened. “Wait… what?” Lucy walked out of the bedroom then and she directed her next question at her. “What am I walking into?”

Lucy tilted her head with an innocent look and shrugged. “The girls love a catch up, and as far as I know, no one has organised anything like this before so I think word spread around pretty quickly. I think between me, Jords, Katie and Caitlin, we managed to get quite a few different nationalities interested… we have no idea how many are coming though. Katie was organising that.”

“Oh, they’ll be here soon actually. We should get ready.” Jordan said, wiping her eyes.

“What are you going to do about Leah tonight..?” YFN asked gently.

Jordan shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, this doesn’t change anything. She still hasn’t spoken to me. I need some time to process and maybe I’ll let her say what she needs to. I don’t want to talk to her tonight, though.”

"You know the safe word.."

#lucy bronze #jordan nobbs #lucy bronze x reader #woso #engwnt #lionesses #lucy bronze imagine #womens football #woso community #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso x reader #woso soccer #katie mccabe #caitlin foord #leah williamson

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futurefamousdeadmusician · 3 months

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Escape to the Eden Club - Sister! reader x Shelby Brothers

Summary; Emily Shelby wants to spend the night away from the confines of Small Heath and decides to head out to the famed Eden Club of London. All was well until a certain trio arrived and reigned havoc.

Author's Note; I took some liberties with the plot/ location of the Eden Club itself. That being said, this is still meant to be aligned closely with the fight scene from season 2. As always, let me know what you think.

Eager to escape into the cool evening air, Emily wrapped her shawl loosely around her shoulders and took stock of her purse. A small roll of bills, lipstick, a dainty opal hairbrush, and a shining Colt Pocket Hammerless Arthur had given her some time ago. With one last glance to the mirror, she smoothed out her dress and went for her bedroom door, shutting it softly behind her. Seeing as Polly would still be at the church for sometime, she decided it would be best to inform her brother on her intentions. Emily approached Thomas’ office and peered in to see the stout man sitting behind his modest desk. She rapped lightly on the door frame and was beckoned inside by just a flick of her brother’s eyes instead of a word. After only taking one step into the room she spoke in the most clear, confident tone she could muster.

“I’m going out with Ada this evening. I’ll be back by midnight.” Hoping the conversation would end there she turned to leave only to be stopped by her brothers words. Still not looking up from the papers spread across the wood before him he cleared his throat and said,

“Going out with Ada, eh? Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?” Emily rolled her eyes, hoping her brother didn’t see, and replied,

“Because I didn’t think there would be any issue.” Emily didn’t like lying, a quality instilled in her by her Aunt Polly since her youth. Though, as a Shelby, it came naturally. Exhausting Emily further, Thomas continued in his questioning.

“Where about are you two going?” Calmer this time, as to not arouse suspicion, the girl replied,

“Just to dinner, in Digbeth.”

“The name of the establishment?” With more attitude, she replied,

“The Carriage.” The man sat for a moment, only sparing her one more glance as he searched her face for deceit. He apparently found none.

“Be back by 11.” Emily offered a small smile and made her way out of the home on Watery Lane, calling over her shoulder,

“I’ll see you at 11:30, Tom.”

The night was still young and the chance for her to walk the streets of Birmingham alone and untethered was an excitement of a life time. She wouldn’t just be walking the streets of her hometown tonight, though. After meeting her friend Scarlett by the cut they hailed a cab and set out for London.

The passage was just under 2 hours before they arrived to the Eden Club just outside of the city. After tipping the cabman and exiting out into the brisk night they set for the front doors of the avant-garde establishment. Scarlet giggled with excitement as they approached the doorman who knew better than to question two striking young women trying to enter the club. The main hall filled was filled with the smell of smoke and sex and the band played on to ring in the young night. It wasn’t often that Emily got to leave the holdings of Small Health, let alone the claws of her brothers. After Ada’s departure, Thomas was more worried than ever about loosing his youngest sister. This fear often manifested into the overarching control of Emily’s every move. He felt it was both an act of love and an act of necessity. Emily knew she was deeply loved by her brother and cared for him in the same way. Yet, at the end of the day, if Tom could have his thumb on the pulse of every member of the family, only then could he ensure their safety, or so he believed.

“Isn’t this amazing!” Scarlett squealed in Emily’s ear. Scarlett was one of the few friends that Thomas approved of. She came from a respectable, working-class family who raised horses and often did work with the Shelby family.

“I know.” Emily said back, raising her voice to soar over the loud music. The pair approached the bar and beckoned the attendant for a drink. Soon after, two men approached the women introducing themselves as Paul, a tall man with short black hair in a pressed grey suit, and David, a slightly stout man with dusty blonde hair and rosy cheeks who’s slim black suit made him look taller than he was. Paul explained that Emily had caught his eye from the moment she had walked in and it would be a crime to let a woman like herself buy her own drinks. It was only out of the confines of Birmingham that handsome men would approach her, unafraid of people she was related to. She could speak freely and finally feel a sense of control she was never afforded at home.

“Would you care to dance?” Paul asked the young woman and carefully took her hand in his. They left their drinks at the table where David and Scarlett sat completely enthralled with one another. He led her to the dance floor just as a new song started over at the bands stage. Spinning around the floor Emily couldn’t help but laugh at the happiness she felt in Paul’s arms. He leaned in close to her face and breathed,

“You are absolutely stunning.” His breath smelled of bourbon and lust. This was Emily’s dream; to be young and free. Finally she was living it.

She only noticed the violent outburst taking place across the large room once she heard the crashing noise of a wooden table full of glassware hit the ground. The band cut to a halt and gasps filled the audience. Out of instinct, Paul shoved Emily behind him as he assessed the situation. When it became clear that the men dressed in black meant to do harm he ushered his date back to their table to collect their friends and make a run for the door. Through the crowd, Emily peered over the bobbing heads of patrons ducking and running at the chaos she noticed a familiar jacket fly up as one of the unknown assailants struck another man across the face. As he turned to face another man she saw the face of her brother adorned with a busted lip and small drops of another mans blood.

“Fuck.” She whispered and made a run for her table. Scarlett and her companion had already gathered their things and stood to meet the other couple. The four of them hid behind the large sofa they had once sat on while they waited for a path to clear to the main exit of the building. Emily grabbed her friend by the arm and swung the girl around to meet her scared face. The two men were conversing anxiously at the best plan of escape while the women spoke in hushed words.

“It my fucking brother!”

“What?” Scarlett gasped “Are you sure?” The two women peered over the couch to see the men still going at it near the center of the room. This time, Arthur’s face came into view through the madness.

“Fuck it’s the lot of them. We need to go. Now!” Emily shoved the other girl forward and the men followed suit. A gunshot rang out through the building and they all dropped to the floor covering their heads. Paul grabbed Emily’s shoulders hovered his body over hers to protect her. When the men quit fighting and stood to see where the shot had come from all became quiet. The four took this opportunity to head straight for the exit. Emily only heard the indistinct echo of Tommy’s voice before clearing the doorway.

Pouring into the street patrons ran every conceivable direction to vacate the path of anymore possible bullets. After reaching the end of the block Paul spoke, out of breath.

“Is everyone ok?” Each took their turn affirming that they were not hurt, just a bit shaken. Emily turned to her friend communicating with just their eyes that they all needed to get leave before her brothers had a chance to exit the building. “Alright, I need to get you home.” Paul said and took Emily’s shoulder and David followed suit with Scarlett.

“No!” Emily said too forcefully, “I - We will get home, I promise. You need to get on your way,” she explained gently. Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to go anywhere with Paul, that handsome, caring gentleman. He stood firm on his words and said again,

“Emily, really, I need to make sure you get home. I don’t know who the fuck those bastards were.” Scarlett let out a worried laugh at the irony of the situation and still couldn’t take her eyes off the doorway expecting any moment that the men would emerge and see them. Emily took her arm from him though it pained her to do so.

“Please, Paul, really. You need to get going.” She said urgently. He took a step back and dropped his eyes to the ground, looking hurt. Defeated, he touched David on the shoulder, prompting him to let go of Scarlett’s arm.

“It was lovely meeting you,” was all he spoke before turning and walking off into the dark alley way. Emily rifled around in her purse and pulled out some small bills shoving them into Scarlett’s hand.

“Go. Now!” She said before beginning to turn away.

“What? I’m not leaving you!” Her friend yelled back, grabbing onto her wrist, stopping her movement.

“Scarlett, go! Please. Before they come out.” She pleaded. Even her friend knew that there would be hell to pay if her family found out that she had been running around, getting into trouble with the Shelby girl. With eyes darting between the front door of the Eden Club and Emily’s worried expression Scarlett forced herself to embrace her friend.

“Please be safe.” Emily nodded in response and they both took off into opposite directions. After quickly crossing in front of the building, the younger Shelby tried her best to hail a cab as many former club goers tried to do the same. Every few seconds she found herself looking over her shoulder praying that she wouldn’t turn to find her brother’s red face looking back at her. After a few failed attempts she saw a empty taxi just across the way parked right next to the entrance of the club. If she hurried, she might just be able to make it before her brothers emerged. With a quick decision she bolted as fast as her heels would carry her across the street and made it just steps the the cab door before she felt the shoulder of a much larger man connect with her own. As she was shoved back onto the hood of the cab she couldn’t help but shout,

“watch where yer’ fucking goin!” Just as any other Shelby would. She watched in anger as that very man climbed into the cab himself and the car began to drive away forcing her to move back onto the side walk. Collecting herself and still cursing the man under her breath she only made it a few steps from her place in front of the club before she heard her name called from behind her.

It was John. The word pierced her soul like a knife. Without thinking, she swung around to see him standing only about 10 feet behind her as Thomas and Arthur filed out of the door. Without a second to reconsider, she ran. Though slowed down by her shoes and the lingering effects of alcohol, she carried herself briskly down the street.

“Emily Lenora Shelby!” She heard Arthur roar from behind her. Continuing down the sidewalk shoving between the still clearing crowd she did not stop. Just before she reached the nearest intersection a strong hand gripped her shoulder and spun her around causing her to stumble. She was caught by her oldest brother’s hands of either shoulder lightly shaking her to emphasize each word as they came from his red, blood splattered face.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Are you bloody mental?” She squinted to shield herself from the yelling as she put her hands to his chest to push him away. He wasn’t planning on letting her go lest she run again until he felt the hand of Tom guide him away from the younger girl. She almost preferred the outright rage of Arthur over the chilling coldness of Thomas, at least with the former, his true intentions were always clear. John soon arrived behind the men and took to consoling Arthur while Thomas pushed the girl to side of the road. Unwilling, she attempted to hold her ground against the man though a stronger grip on her upper arm and a stern look from his piercing eyes encouraged her to comply. She kept her head low has he was still catching his breath from the conflict and subsequent jog to catch his fleeing sister. Finally, in a low, gruff voice, he spoke.

“In the club, ye?” She nodded her head but still wouldn’t meet the man’s eyes. Instead, she peered past him to see John and Arthur leaned in close to one another talking. Arthur waving his hands around like a lunatic while John tries to calm him down. Out of all her brothers, her and John butted heads the most. Maybe it was the age difference, sitting at just enough years to give them not much in common but enough to argue about. Though, when it was all said and done, she knew John would have her back just as much, if not more, than anyone else. She met his eyes in a quick glance before turning back to Tom’s shoes. Now, the more pragmatic Shelby took in a deep breath to gather his thoughts before continuing the conversation with his sister.

“Why? Eh?” He said quieter this time. She couldn’t tell if his low voice was an attempt to deescalate the situation or to intimidate her into telling the truth. Well, the truth as it may be, wasn’t that interesting. Emily shrugged and only spared him a small glance up. She went to the Eden club that evening for the same reason as any other girl of her year would; to have fun.

“You have no business being at those clubs. Getting yourself fucking killed, right?” He said lowering himself to her level, even closer to her face. Her jaw tensed as she thought of a thousand words she could say back to him.

“Everything was fine until you bastards shot up the place.”

“Weren’t you just at the same club, Tom?”

“It’s none of your business what I do.”

Using her better judgment though, she held her tongue. The irony of the situation was not lost on Tommy. He knew that the standard he held for his sister was much different than he held for the men of the family, though he held it steadfast. At the end of the day, he knew Emily was a good girl. Smart, calculated, quick, and usually honest. When the silence hung in the air for too long, he took a gentle hand and guided her face to meet his eyes.

“Don’t scare me like that again.” He said pointedly with his finger pointed at her face. Emily pursed her lips and gave a curt nod before he pulled her in for a quick but firm hug and placed one kiss on the top of her head. Trying to break away from the clutches are her brother once more she took a step away from Thomas and said,

“I’ll see you at home,” before attempting to leave in the opposite direction. He let out a sigh once again and wrapped a strong, possessive hand around her arm once more. His lips parted and he eyebrow went up in astonishment, almost as if he was testing her to defy him once again. She looked in his eyes a moment longer, unwavering, before following him back to the other men. Thomas cleared his throat and released the grasp on the girl before speaking,

“Let’s just go home, shall we.” The four walked in uncomfortable silence back to the car, just over a block away from the fateful scene. As they walked, her oldest brother moved closer to her eventually putting a hand on her upper back and bending down to her level.

“You knows I just want to protect you, right, love?” He offered in a nicer tone than before. Emily knew and nodded a reply.

“I know.”

“It’s just you can’t go running around like that.” Before he could get another sentence out, Thomas called out from the front of the group.

“She knows, brother.” They eventually made it to the Bentley and it was John that opened the door for his sister to enter the back seat. As she took the less-than-sober step up into the vehicle her brother gently pushed her, just to see how unstable she was.

“Acting like a fuckin’ harlot,” John laughed quietly to chastise the younger girl. Quickly, Emily turned to face him hunched over in the car and raised her purse as if she was going to hit him.

“Oi, you fuckin’ bastard!” She seethed. Before the two could go at it Thomas darted a look at them in the rear view mirror and raised his voice in a menacing shout.

“Enough!” Was all it took for the pair to quiet down and sit silently for the rest of the ride home.

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prettypeppermint · 8 months

Text

the gift of silence. (how sweet the sound)

for t. shelby. a continuation of 'amazing grace.'

You weren't speaking to him. And it was slowly driving him up the wall.

Not that you were normally a chatterbox in the face of Thomas Shelby; you rarely spoke to him unless you needed something. You were always more of a looker; your eyes bore into his from across the room whenever you overheard something you shouldn't have; you studied his slight quirks and subtle movements and stared blankly at his handwriting when verifying papers; you looked when nobody else did. In a sea full of heads, your eyes were always turned against the tide--snowy sea glass amongst pebbles in a blinding summer's ocean. He noticed your gaze when you thought no one did.

Sometimes, wisdom lies in silence rather than words. You knew that above all others.

Come to think of it, that night was the most you had ever talked to him directly since he'd known you. It was the most candid he’d ever experienced you. And he was frightfully prepared.

It wasn't the fact you weren’t talking that bothered him--more so the absence of your voice--something he never thought to irk him until he realized just how much he wanted you to spare him a whisper. He wanted to see you all worked up the way women get sometimes; he wanted to watch you unravel. But you were always so tightly bound.

It's been days since he kissed you--touched you. Thomas was a man of self-control, and he knew it was both the first and the last time he'd ever be selfish with you again. He didn’t know it, but he yearned to wade a bit longer in the satisfaction of knowing you were at least a bit frazzled by him. But you seemed as much out of place as snow in December.

He didn't like how you were added to his long list of tasks and responsibilities. He didn't like how you weighed down his shoulders.

Even with all the help you gave around these parts, you were always just a burden to his mind--the way you smelled of a place far away, the coyly cold shoulders you gave and the moles on your hips. He didn’t like it one bit.

Because now he was the one staring at the back of your neck, at the way your ringlets bounced in a manner almost comical against your serious face. Everything about you seemed to be a paradoxical phenomenon: your coquettish features that rarely spared a smile for anyone, your soft eyes that revealed hardened thoughts, your bouncy curls and the ribbons that sometimes adorned your braids and the lacy little ensembles that complimented your loveliness.

You were so ironically unapproachable. You never missed the quips and spare jokes about it: that people could sense your presence because the room gets cold, that a smile would sit prettier on your mouth than all those cigarettes.

You appeared unperturbed by the smog-capped skylines and rubble-ruined streets of Birmingham; all the sins of the city never wore wrinkles between your brows or sowed smoky wisps along your hairline. It was almost as if you were preserved in that eternal Kilkee ruralness--as if you brought a piece of the Irish coast with you to this Godless city. Farmer's daughter. Fisherman's treasure. You were outlasting and evermore. You were something of the sea.

"I said I needed fifty hand-copies of last month's inventory on my desk by this morning," Thomas breathed matter-of-factly, leaning against the door frame as you indulged in your morning smoke, an old whiskey in his hand. He liked the way your bare shoulders looked as they reflected the breaking dawn--the way the sun collected in your collarbones and made your hair shiny.

It was his turn to stand at the doorway. It was his turn to bear his weight at the threshold.

"I put them on your desk two mornings ago," you responded, matter-of-fact, “Perhaps you forgot to look under your arse, Mr. Shelby.”

Where along the line had he become Mr. Shelby?When did plain, old Thomas leave your vocabulary? He liked it when you called him that--just Thomas.

You never intended to sound so coy all the time. Aunt Pol like to say you were just a pretty girl with a sharp tongue and a sharper mind--sometimes to your own doom.

At that, Thomas tossed a hefty stack of unsorted paperwork on the coffee table you were sat at. He watched as your rosy elbows wobbled under the wood and ash flitted from your slim cigarette.

"You forgot these, Ms. l/n." he rasped blankly, trying to see through to your eyes from the back of your head.

Without looking at him or the papers, you stood up and took your time neatening them up before heaving the stack into your arms. As you passed by his figure in the doorway, you discarded your cigarette in his whiskey glass.

He was left staring blankly at the empty scene before him--one that was once fulfilled with your presence--a sense of longing boiling up in his core. It was out of character to be so subconsciously infatuated with the idea of getting a rise out of you. It was almost ridiculous.

Mr. Shelby seemed to be a master at pushing good things--good women--away.

"A bit harsh on the girl, don’t you think?" Aunt Pol piped knowingly from behind him, emerging from her watchful shadows once you had retreated to Thomas's office.

"No different than I've always been," he said, eyes still trained on the spot at the chair that was once yours.

"Don't take women for the fool that you are, Tommy. I see the way you've been eyeing her--picking her apart. I'll have you fucking another whore before you sink your claws into another girl with a bright path ahead of her."

"Her path ends here, Pol. No girl who ever got tangled up in Shelby business ever makes it to London."

Aunt Pol glared at his nape before leaving him there, sinking in his own wallows.

~~~

"Where're my copies?"

"I threw 'em out."

A moment of silence pulsated through his blood and rose to his brain. He had found you sitting and smoking in your usual spot, merely thirty minutes after his most recent orders. He slowly walked up to your lax frame, still dawned in your silky, lacy little thing of a nightgown.

"I trust that you know those were Mr. Kimber's papers, Ms. l/n," he rumbled lowly--dangerously, "Papers I won't think twice about having you dig through the trash for on the street in nothing but your slip."

"You've done worse," you responded calmly, taking another draw of your cigarette. Recently, you've been blowing through more than your daily 6, and he never failed to notice the little things.

He stepped even closer, his hands buried adamantly in his pockets so they wouldn't reach out for you. Why was loving Grace so easy, and loving you felt like a sour seed in his stomach? As if it would burrow holes in his organs and infect his blood until you did something about it?

"You're gonna get me those papers or I'll have you thrown out to the streets after happy hour."

With that, you stood abruptly from your chair and walked with brisk strides toward the wastepaper bin at the leg of the center table. You plunged your hand into it and pulled from the depths of millions of cigarette butts Thomas's precious Kimber papers. You slapped them on the table riddled with ash and peanut shells and flipped through each page for him, fully filled out and stamped with fresh ink.

Then you climbed atop the table, standing precariously on the splintering wood in your dainty, red dance heels so you could have the upper hand for once.

"You don't get to disrespect me because of your fragile, faulty, little boy of a heart. You don't get to disrespect me because I have an ounce of self-preservation in the face of a man with the power you have. And you don't get to disrespect me, because I am y/n l/n, and I don't work for men who lead with the brain in their cocks." It came out eerily steady, unlike any rage he'd ever been at the receiving end of before.

It was like a flash of soundless lightning; you were gone as soon as it happened, having stepped down from the table to retreat to your sun-spotted, smoke-stained corner. And he was left with the storm that came afterward, soaked in an alien feeling that hadn't made itself quite known to his heart yet.

But much like how most things rear their ugly heads at night--drunkards emerging from their taverns and whores from their brothels--Thomas Shelby's ugly little things were no exception.

Night changes a man; it shrouds him in regret and urges forced down throughout the day and lust unravished.

Night made Thomas hungry.

And so he found himself watching over your sleeping form folded at the waist and draped across the table you've been sitting at the entire day, where you've done nothing but stare out the window and let the smoke abuse your lungs. Your cigarette, now a measly stub, was still haphazardly pinched between your tired fingers. He found that smoking didn't suit you--it tainted your rosy face that otherwise emulated an ethereal countryside purity. The Irish foreshore was still fresh on your cheeks.

In sleep, you reverted to the girl you were born as: simple and lovely and kind as a bird.

He felt the sour seed growing.

He slipped his hand around your wrist and maneuvered your body onto his back with ease before carrying you to his room where he set you down on his sheets. His hand instinctively reached for the pipe on the nightstand, but it trembled before tightening into a fist that fell limply at his side.

What he hadn’t known was that you both experienced night terrors, but as he lay awake on the floor next to his bed with your writhing and moaning frame, it became abundantly clear.

He wondered what was haunting your conscience and digging its way into your sleep. Maybe you've been through a few wars of your own. None that men would know, anyway.

As his mind continued shifting and shuffling, he felt a warmth press into his back; you had stepped off the bed and laid down on the cool, dry planks next to him--back to back and facing away from each other. He could feel your silk stick to your sweat. Time froze, and within that time, so did the nightmares.

Seconds drawled into minutes before it all became a blur as shadows morphed into stories on the moonlit wallpaper. It stretched and stretched.

"Do you want to know what I dream of at night?" you slurred, breaking the industrial silence. Your voice was thick with an unrestful break from the world.

When Thomas didn't respond, you continued: "I dream of my home in Ireland: its salty mist and green softness all around. I'm standing there, on a plain, looking out over the ocean. I'm smiling. And each time the tide hits the rocks and recedes back into its basin, I see something emerge from the salt onto the rocks. They're people--bodies--their skin so bloated and fermented from the salt I can't even recognize them, but it feels like I should. Like I know them. And I'm stuck on this plain, trying to make out the faces of my mother and sisters and brother as they keep piling up. Over and over and over. I can't stop it. Because the tide always ebbs. It gets closer and louder, and I'm still smiling. And I pray I wake up before it gets to me and I'm the one on the rocks, rotting and unrecognizable. And I feel awful for it."

Another silence spanned, and Thomas realized he was foolish to ever wish it away. Because silence was how you both communicated. Silence was the language only the two of you were fluent in. Silence bridged the gap that words created. Silence was what he wished for when he heard the shovels chipping at the wall night after night.

"Thomas, you love me." It was a mere whisper, as if you too were scared of ending the silence--the gift of time.

"I love you," echoed Thomas. It was so low and so guttural, as if sprouting from that very sour seed that--within the span of the night--had grown into something pulpy and bittersweet instead.

With that, you both dozed off. And Thomas woke up without the sound of the shovels.

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willsdreamgirl · 8 months

Text

off to the races — tommy shelby x reader ⋆｡˚

tommy x fem!reader

tommy and you are in rival gangs, and the peaky blinders interfere in your business. will you be able to let it rest? or will you give tommy the opportunity to realise his feelings for you through your conflicts with each other?

cw: mentions of guns, knives, hurt/comfort, fluff, angst, smut if you squint, arthur is an ass

a/n: you guys loved the first tommy fic i wrote, so here’s another one!! couldn’t do too much hardcore enemies to lovers bc i’m a big ol softie. anywho, don’t be a ghost reader and enjoy!! 💌

word count: 3.2k

“fuckin’ peaky scum.” “what’s up, johnny?” you asked quizzically. “what’s up? what’s fucking UP? look at this shit.” you leaned over his shoulder to find your crates of whiskey disguised as hardware empty. you sighed knowingly. “can’t even enter bloody small heath without having our shit raided.” “tell me about it.” johnny laughed humourlessly.

you sat in your office, making sure the books were in order. you listened to the silent ticking of the clock. but your peace didn’t last long. “they did it again, eh?!” an angry max entered your office. you took your glasses off and put down your pen. “maximillian, if you must enter my office, do not enter it screaming maybe?” your words fell on deaf ears, max already seemed blinded by rage. “honest to god, i’ll cut every single one of those bastards!” he yelled yet again. you stood up from your chair, clearing your throat. “no need for that, max boy.” “what? what the fuck do you mea-” “i’ve arranged a meeting with the big man.” “who? tommy fuckin’ shelby?” you threw on your coat and made your way to the exit. “yes max, tommy fuckin’ shelby.”

tommy shelby was, at this point, the most powerful man in all of small heath. every government official was on his payroll and he practically had the coppers eating out of his hand. after the sabini incident, rarely anyone decided to fuck with the peaky blinders. you’d known tommy in school, you were even friends with him, but that was before your parents decided small heath was no place for a growing lady and decided to move far away from small heath, far away from tommy. but they underestimated how much spending time with tommy’s family had affected you. your parents were good people, you knew that. tommy’s family got involved in all sorts of illegal shit but made tenfold the money yours made. eventually, you realized that the shelby way was the only way you could create wealth in dirty, old birmingham. no one takes a 13 year old girl seriously when she says she wants to start a gang. so you had to start taking extreme measures. stealing, lying and gambling, to name a few. but your weakness was also your strength. you were a woman. and men underestimated women. no one ever believed you to be a threat, so they let down their guards around you. (it usually only took a glass or two of whiskey anyway) when they were vulnerable, that’s when you struck. over time, you became feared in your city, the girl who fools the men. and here you were 12 years later, your gang, the bishop ryders, being the peaky blinders’ rival gang. now, you were open to forming an alliance with them, reminiscing your time with the shelby family, but you learnt fairly quickly that the tommy you knew before the war was not the tommy that you came to know after. he was bitter, and vengeful, and after an explosion at one of your warehouses where four of your men had died, the bishop ryders and peaky blinders became sworn enemies.

you entered small heath, coppers surrounding the car. you muttered under your breath, “must’ve recognized the damn license plate.” you stepped out of the car. “mornin’ coppers, what can i do for you today?” you said, a fake smile plastered across your face. one of them stepped close enough to you that you could smell his breath. they were trying to intimidate you, of course. “who the fuck are you here to see, eh? such a pretty lady shouldn’t be in these parts of birmingham.” he spoke, a disgustingly devilish glint in his eyes. you spat on the ground next to him and knee’d him in the crotch and you yelled. “i’m here to see your king, now FUCK OFF.” the coppers seemed to back away, the guy you kicked now crouched down in the middle of the road. you got back in your car and resumed driving.

you saw a building with a big sign on it. ‘shelby company limited’, it read. tommy was becoming a pompous arse, you thought. you walked in and took a moment to look around. they had definitely upgraded since the last time you were here. the woman at the desk spoke to you. “oi, do you have an appointment?” you scoffed, a secretary, how… civilized. “who might you be?” “i’m lizzie, mr. shelby’s secretary.” she spoke, proudly. you gasped in faux amusement. “oh! so can you tell your precious mr. shelby that y/n’s here to see him?” she rolled her eyes at your sarcasm. “can’t let random fucking people in without appointments. besides, he’s not here anyway.”

after a little probing, you found out that tommy was in his new mansion, grieving over the death of his wife. when did he get married? you went over to his house, pushing aside butlers and maids to get to his office. you scoffed, for what seemed like the hundredth time today, he really was the king of small heath, eh? you walked in, the sound of your hand on the wood echoing in the big office. he motioned for you to leave without even looking up. “fuck off.” he muttered in that deep voice of his. you cleared your throat so he’d look up. his hand stopped writing for a moment, but resumed writing when he didn’t get a reply from you. you sighed, realising you’d have to vocalize yourself. you took big, exaggerated steps towards his desk. “tommy bloody shelby, sulking in his big house bought with his huge stack of cash. never thought i’d see the day.” you said mockingly. he sighed when he recognized the voice. he looked up, setting the pen down. he spoke, resting his elbows on his desk. “what the fuck do you want?” you could taste the venom in his voice. you laughed dryly. “i should be the one asking you that.” tommy’s eyebrows furrowed. “what are you fucking talking about?” you took a deep breath, trying to keep your composure. the bloody nerve of this man. “don’t fucking play stupid with me, tommy. you don’t think i see how your men are raiding my whiskey crates every fucking day?” he looked ever more confused but spoke slowly, almost cautiously. “what do you mean ‘my men’?” “i mean your bloody men, tommy! fucking peaky blinders!” “my men did no such thing, i assure you. they only do what i order them to. and i have no reason to search or raid your crates.” you scoffed at him and mimicked the way his elbows were on the desk. “now, either you’re not very good at giving orders, or you don’t know what the fuck’s going on within your own organisation. whatever the fuck it is, you better fix it, and you better fix it fast tommy.” he looked at you in disbelief. “tommy shelby doesn’t take orders from anyone, especially not from a rival gang.” “i didn’t think tommy shelby sulked over a girl either, but here we are, eh? now pour me a fucking whiskey.” he got up, and poured you a glass. he looked down into your eyes as your hands brushed when he handed you the glass.

he downed the whiskey in one sip and immediately phoned the small heath shelby co. ltd. office. michael picked up the phone. “hello, tommy?” “tell polly, arthur and john bring their arses here in the next hour. family meeting.” 20 minutes later, the entire shelby family had assembled in tommy’s office. arthur was the first to speak. “what the fuck’s she doing here?” he motioned at you. “i have unnecessary business to deal with because of you fucks.” john stepped closer to you, sizing you up. “you don’t scare me, shelby. fuck off.” he looked at tommy in disbelief. “get off her, john.” tommy replied. “right, so one of you gave our men the order to raid every bishop ryder crate that comes into town. it sure as fuck wasn’t me, so who was it?” everyone looked at each other in confusion, except john and arthur. “you two. you did it, eh?” you looked at them. “we’re not tommy’s fucking guard dogs! we’re equal shareholders of the bloody company and we will do whatever the fuck we see fit!” john yelled. tommy slammed his fist on the table. “god fucking damn it! legitimate business is priority! when i say something there’s a fucking reason! when i tell you to do something, you fucking do it!” even though you’d known tommy for years, this rage was unfamiliar to you. you spoke assertively. “i have no idea how i got roped into this family drama, but it’s affecting my business. i will not have you fucking cunts pull this shit again. you try and i will cut each and every one of you.” you gave tommy a look that told him you meant every word of what you said, and with that, you left.

the next day, you were in your office, going over important paperwork. that’s when you heard commotion outside. you heard fighting, and then you heard a voice. arthur bloody shelby. he stormed in your office, going around your desk. you stood up. “what the fuck do you want, arthur?” he put his hand around your throat and slammed you against the wall. you had a tight grip around his wrist, trying to push him away. you struggled to speak. “insult the peaky blinders one more time and i’ll fucking kill ya.” when you looked in his eyes, you didn’t see arthur. you saw someone completely different. you reached into your coat pocket to pull out a gun, but arthur already had one next to your head. he pulled the trigger, the bullet grazing your ear and embedding itself into the wall. “next time, it’ll be your head, not the wall.” some of your security heard your conflict with arthur and barged into the office and pulled guns on him. arthur, in his rage, shot two of your men on sight. arthur let you go, and stormed out of your office. you’d had enough. enough disrespect. as if it wasn’t hard being a woman and running a gang in birmingham.

you went to speak to tommy. he was in his office this time, and you walked in to find lizzie typing something. “where is he?” you asked frantically. “not you again. like i said, you need to make an appointme-” “where. the FUCK IS TOMMY?” you yelled in her face. she looked at you for a moment, then spoke. “mr. shelby’s in the middle of a meeting.” “fuck his damn meeting.” you barged into his office, to find some copper sitting in front of him. you snapped your fingers to get his attention, even though you already had it. “we. need. to. talk.” is all you said. “get out.” he spoke, and you crossed your arms. the copper sitting in front of him looked at you, waiting for you to leave. “i was talking to you, dimwit. leave.” he said, pointing to the copper this time. he nodded and left quickly. “what brings you here, mis-” “your rabid dog of a brother shot at me yesterday and killed two of my men, in my office, in front of me.” you spoke, oddly calm. “what.” tommy was truly at a loss for words. “yeah. anyway, you’ll be at the epsom derby this year right? i’m gonna kill you tommy. it’ll be fun.” you said, laughing sarcastically. before he had a a chance to respond, you left his office. tommy was infuriated. not only had he lost his wife, he had gained a new enemy who now wanted to kill him, and his brothers couldn’t step up and do tommy’s job for two fucking days.

epsom rolled around, and you gathered all your men, and other men you borrowed from allies. you knew small heath men, so, you knew tommy’s men. you knew their vices: whores, whiskey and cocaine. you brought prostitutes with you, who had several bottles of alcohol and vials of ‘the snow’ on them, and had your men stationed everywhere. the plan was, distract tommy’s men, get him alone with you, and kill him.

as soon as the race started, you saw your plan unfold. all of tommy’s men were either fighting with yours, drunk and high in a corner somewhere or fucking a whore. you scoffed as you remembered aunt pol’s words. men and their cocks never cease to amaze me. truth be told, you missed that family. you missed going with the shelby brothers to steal whiskey from a pub as kids, and you missed aunt pol yelling at the boys, telling you how they were bad influences. and you missed tommy. your tommy. the tommy that would sit with you, talk to you for hours, the one you could laugh with endlessly. and here you were, plotting to kill him. how did it all get so fucked up?

while your men were distracted, you hunted tommy down. he was in the stables, alone, where they kept the racehorses. he turned around as he heard the familiar sound of a cocking gun. he raised his hands. “i’m unarmed.” you walked closer to him, gun still pointing to his forehead. “you and your stupid fucking gang have been doing so much damage to everything i’ve built all along. you got handed this tommy, you don’t know what it’s fucking like to build this from the ground up with your own hands.” you said, your hand on his shoulder. “someone has to pay, eh?” he said, take the hint and getting on his knees. you walked around him so that his back was facing you. you inhaled deeply. “ready?” you said. “give a man one last smoke?” he asked. “fine.” you turned around as he lit a cigarette. “this is the end of the line, eh? i was in this same position a year ago, maybe this is how it’s meant to be. tell arthur and john to stop fucking shit up, tell pol to take care of the boys, tell ada i love her and karl, and y/n? check in on charlie every once in a while? i don’t want him to feel like a lonely orphan, alright?” tommy spoke sombrely. you felt memories rushing back, memories of you and the boys playing with guns, getting drunk. you took a deep breath as you held back tears. tommy smiled when he felt the cold metal hit the back of his head. “don’t go soft on me now, love?” he spoke, you could hear the smile in his voice. your hand trembled as you put your finger on the trigger.

you pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit a hay bale somewhere in the corner. tommy exhaled and opened his eyes slowly. you kicked the back of his shoe, your voice wavering. “get the fuck up.” he stood up, turning around to face you. you hugged him tightly. “can’t bring myself to kill you.” you spoke, your head buried in the crook of his neck. “shh, i know sweetheart. i know.” you two always had an inextricable bond, and without either of you saying anything, both of you understood what the other felt. tommy cupped your cheek with his hand. you felt tears rolling down your cheek, tommy wiping them away. you leaned into his touch. “i fucking hate you, tommy.” he looked at you with adoration. “i love you too, y/n. it’s always been you.”

*a year later*

tommy carried you to your shared bed. you gasped as you felt him leaving kisses down your neck. “tommy-” “welcome to the family, mrs. shelby.” he said, smiling when he heard you giggle. “tonight’s gonna be a long night, eh?” he said, smirking. you smirked back. “oh, i’m counting on it.” you heard abrupt knocking, and then finn’s voice. “uh, tommy? i’m sorry- but um, it’s the russians?” you both looked at each other and instantly got out of bed. he groaned as he put his pants on and wore his gun holster under his blazer. “can’t catch a fucking break. not even on my bloody wedding night.” you rolled your eyes at him, as you wore your own holster, loading your gun and cocking it. “who told you to do business with the fucking russians?” he walked over and kissed you passionately, your tongues fighting for dominance. eventually, you pulled away for air, both panting, his forehead resting against yours. he looked you in the eye. “ready?” “always.”

“welcome to the family, mrs. shelby.”

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femftbllvr · 1 year

Text

#bcfc women #louise quinn #birmingham city women

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lavender-romancer · 8 months

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I'd Do Anything

Part Two

Tommy Shelby x Reader

You met when you were sixteen and from there, your lives ebbed and flowed closer and further away from one another but there was always something that brought you together.

”*°•.˜”*°•. ˜”*°•. ˜”*°••°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜.•°*”˜

Previous chapter

1911

Graduation was only slightly stressful. You and the other women in your college were in a small group together afterwards swapping stories about how daunting it was to stick out that much in a cohort. Looking past some of them you saw Tommy walking out of the cathedral with a cigarette in his mouth and you smiled before running over to him.

"How was I?" You asked as you hugged him.

"You looked beautiful." Tommy said with a smile, kissing you on the cheek.

"I'm so happy it's over now and I don't have to worry about it." You rubbed your hand up and down Tommy's arm.

"I can't believe I have a friend so insanely clever." Tommy gushed and you rolled your eyes to hide the pang in your stomach at the reminder that you were friends.

"If you focussed you'd be able to do the same thing with a scholarship. You're just too clever for your own good." You raised your eyebrow and Tommy laughed.

"I don't have enough interest in anything to do a degree in it. Three years on one thing sounds like a nightmare." Tommy took a drag of his cigarette.

"Let's go to the pub please!" You announced with a smile before walking down the cobblestones.

You and Tommy went to drop off your cap and gown before walking to the local pub together. It was bustling with students, alumni and lecturers lit by dingy candle light in each room giving it a guise of dark academia you quite liked. The two of you squeezed through the dense crowd near the bar before getting to the front and ordering two bitters. You were paying- Tommy had spent almost all his money on the return ticket to London- you didn't mind. Looking around and being surrounded by reminders of your time at university made you even more anxious for the future. Had this all been worth it? Would you actually get a job from this? It was ridiculous that you chose this time to worry about these things but you almost couldn't help it.

"Come on, let's go outside." Tommy said, snapping you outside of your own thoughts.

You both spilled a fair amount of your respective pint on the floor and some graduates shoes before getting outside, it was insanely busy. As you stood outside together for the first time in a while it felt awkward. A silence fell between the two of you and neither of you quite knew how to break it. Even at 21 the two of you still hadn't figured out what you were to one another, what the occasional drunk kisses or the longing looks meant.

"What will you do now?" Tommy asked and your eyes shot up from the floor to look at his.

"Get a job in banking or something I suppose. Really anything that will pay well and I'll succeed in." You took a sip of your pint which you couldn't say was your favourite drink you'd had recently.

"In London?" Tommy asked in a higher pitch than usual.

"Perhaps. I haven't decided if I want to go home yet. I have money saved from the part time work I had so I could afford to live down here after successful interviews but there's jobs in Birmingham city center. So I'm not sure." The coldness of the glass was particularly apparent at that very moment.

"Ah." Was all Thomas replied.

The two of you finished your drinks with intermittent conversations and smoking to break the awkwardness before heading to the train station to get your overnight. You were ridiculously happy it was an overnight so the lights were dimmed and you couldn't pretend you were asleep. You couldn't help but well up slightly, Tommy had never been good at hiding his emotions and you could tell how disappointed he was. All you had ever wanted was to be with him, but after you left for London three years ago nothing happened. Regardless of the kiss and the sex, nothing changed. And that made you angry, especially that now he could be so visibly upset that you would want to focus on your career when he made no attempt to solidify a relationship between the two of you.

The following day you woke up in the room you shared with Ada when you'd come home from university, after your parents practically disowned you. The sun shone a thin beam of light through the gap in the curtains, highlighting all the bits of dust kicked up when you got out of the bed. Ada was still snoring so you went downstairs and made a pot of tea. You sat down at the dining table and opened the newspaper from yesterday still sitting mostly untouched. Aside from the sports section, the Shelby boys rarely looked at the paper aside from Tommy. But his treatment of the pages was so immaculate you'd never know he'd even opened it.

"Morning." Tommy said walking into the kitchen and you involuntarily jumped, surprised that he was even speaking to you.

"Good morning." You returned and took a sip of your weak tea. "There's a pot of tea on the side if you want any." You told him without looking up and he grunted in response before pouring himself a cup and sitting adjacent to you.

"Have you looked in on Finn yet?" He asked in a matter of fact tone you couldn't stand.

"Not yet." You replied just as curtly, this situation would not be resolved by you saying sorry since you absolutely did not owe him an apology.

"I'll see if he wants any food." And with that Thomas was up and gone again, albeit for good reason but still, you expected some kind of communication from him.

When you were away at university the Shelby's had started an under the table bookkeeping business venture. After you left university you'd begun helping with the finances and organising every bet with corresponding funds etc. They were mostly just lucky when a large group of people made a terrible bet with awful odds to try and win big, but it hardly happened. So most of the finances were self-explanatory but either way you decided to take up some of your time looking over them.

You pushed back the curtain and opened the double doors, smelling the familiar scent of staleness and cigarette smoke. It was, in a strange way, extremely comforting and familiar. The Shelby house usually smelt of some kind of smoke whether it was from the coal fire or cigarettes but, regardless it was homely. The smell only reminded you of a situation that had happened two years prior when you were working for the Shelby's in the summer.

Walking into the sparsely covered room you saw someone drooping over a table, seemingly asleep. It was early so you weren't expecting any customers let alone someone who had possibly broken in.

"Hello?" You called out cautiously. Walking towards the stairs you saw the door was open. "We're not open yet," you called out again standing closer to the figure, a mass of tangled dark brown hair crowning their sleeping form. You picked up a pencil from one of the tables and gingerly poked the figure on what you thought was their arm. They suddenly woke up in a start making a strangled type of scream sound which surprised you, causing you to scream in turn.

"What happened!" Tommy exclaimed, running through the doors holding Finn in his arms. As the figure sat up you saw it was Polly.

"Pol?" You paused and sat across from her. "What are you doing here?" Tommy put Finn in Pol's arms and she had him sit on her knee, clutching him close. She began crying without explanation, Finn was fidgeting with a tassel on the edge of her coat.

"What's happened?" Tommy asked in a softer voice than you expected and Polly tried to compose herself but she was an absolute mess.

"They-they took them a-away." She stuttered through tears.

"Who took who away?" You asked, reaching across the table to hold her hand.

"The kids. They're gone." Polly held Finn closer and he didn't seem to mind, babbling to himself happily despite Pol's agony.

"Did someone snatch them?" Tommy asked in a voice of panic and Pol laughed.

"No. That bitch who lives in the house that's behind mine reported me to the police because she thought I'd stolen something and the parish took them away from me." Polly dried her eyes.

"What can we do?" You asked slowly, having no idea if anything could be done.

"We could appeal but they wouldn't touch g**sies with a ten foot pole. They need one excuse to take away our children and they took this one without a thought." Polly despaired and you couldn't help but think of how Finn was almost as old as Anna.

"We can try." Tommy sounded almost motivated.

"I can feel it. She's so far away I can feel the cord between the two of us snapping. She's never coming back and Michael… I can't find Michael in my meditation. They've both gone from me, they've been taken and they're never coming back." Was all Polly said.

That day had haunted you for years, unable to help a woman who had done so much for you in her one moment of despair. From that day on you had written to Polly at least twice a month and made sure Thomas was helping her heal by developing a motherly bond with Finn. It was the little you could do, but it couldn't fix what hurt there already was. Since you'd been back in Small Heath you hadn't seen that compassion from Tommy. He was jealous of your prospects or just too infantile to express that he was upset. Either way you didn't know this version of Tommy you'd come home too.

"The books are fine. I checked over them before I came to London." Tommy suddenly said as you walked over to the safe and it made you jump again.

"Tommy can we-" you started but he had already walked away.

Over the next few days you looked after Finn, had tea with Polly, taught Ada more advanced mathematics and tried to talk to Tommy. Only one of those activities was a complete failure. It was as if he had decided you were no longer part of his life and it was insanely hard to accept that eventuality when you simply didn't believe it could be true. Tommy was your person, romantic or not it didn't matter. You adored one another and the thought of him not always being in the sphere of your life was something you were not ready to accept.

"You are going to fucking talk to me." You said storming into Tommy's room and closing the door behind you, leaning against it so he couldn't leave.

"What is there to say?" Tommy asked, he genuinely didn't seem to care.

"Why the fuck are you being so childish and refusing to talk to me? Why are you shutting me out and honestly acting like a child whose mother has told them off? You're ignoring me and devaluing our bond." You yelled, Tommy wasn't too far away from you but he refused to raise his eyes from your shoes. It made you uncomfortable and you kept shifting your weight from one foot to the other.

"I don't want to talk about this." He said so quietly you almost didn't hear him and you scoffed.

"Well that's fucking convenient, Tommy. But we are talking about it. I will not leave this room without you talking about it." You stood your ground and balled some of your dress into your right hand.

The noise of John and Ada arguing downstairs was the only thing calming you down. Tommy mumbled something that you couldn't quite make out and you took a step closer to him. He pushed his fingers through his hair and still didn't look up.

"Say that again?" You said in a more encouraging tone, there was a long and heavily pregnant silence before Tommy finally spoke.

"I don't want you to leave." He said very calmly and you felt your stomach drop at that moment.

Could this be when he finally fucking admitted he wasn't happy with leaving things how they were? You never had been but this status quo had begun as soon as you started university, whilst your first few letters back home to him began with words of affection and adoration. Whilst the letters he wrote were more factual or friendly. He often updated you about the family which you loved but there was no feeling, no care behind the words. After a while you had followed suit.

You walked closer to Tommy at a quicker pace and wrapped your arms around him. The closest hug you had ever given him you were convinced he might throw up because of it. The two of you cling to one another in silence. Listening to the sound of your clothes rustling against one another when you moved slightly and the slight sound when you shuffled closer to him.

"I think I love you." You said into his shoulder and it sounded like Tommy half choked- half sobbed into your shoulder. It wasn't something that should have made you laugh but nevertheless it did. "Are you okay?" You asked cautiously with a slight giggle and he kneed you.

"You bastard." Tommy replied in a muffled voice. "I love you too."

next part

Peaky blinders taglist:

@queenofkings1212 @severewobblerlightdragon @cl5369 @fairypitou @stressedandbandobessed7771 @shadow-of-wonder @hipsternoionlylikeunicorns @curled-hair-red-lips @lucystivinsky1315

Series taglist:

@swordofawriter @jessimay89

#peaky blinders #tommy shelby #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby imagines #tommy shelby angst #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders imagine #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby x you #peaky blinders fiction #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders tommy shelby #bbc peaky blinders #peaky blinders fic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky fookin blinders #peaky blinders x y/n

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disasterofastory · 2 years

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Bookstore girl (Finn Shelby x Reader)

Bookstore girl

Finn Shelby x Reader

Warnings: none

Summary: Finn makes a fool out of himself and his brothers doesn’t help.

The store is old and dusty. No matter how many times you mop up the creaking floor or wipe down the shelves, your fingertips get black every day by the time you get home. It’s not a surprise, though. It often seems like Birmingham is nothing more than smoke and coal.

The rare sunlight which can fight its way through the blackness over the city is very appreciated and needed. Even if you sit at the window, enjoying the lukewarm sunlight, you feel cold. Your legs are on the window hill, and a worn book lays on your lap as you look out of the streets. People pass by, not even paying a glance to your small bookshop.

Your attention focused on a small group of young men across the road in front of you. You recognize them immediately by their newsboy cap and three-piece suits. They laugh at something every now and then while smoking and pushing each other playfully. You are so engrossed watching them you don’t even notice one of them staring at you until your gazes meet. You jump from the sudden contact, and you look away immediately. Grabbing the book on your lap, you try to stop yourself from glancing at him under your eyelashes. You definitely don’t want to anger the Peaky Blinders.

And it gets weirder and weirder with every passing week. He comes in, asking for a book and leaving much more money than needed. You aren’t even sure he reads them.

The following day the sunlight is nowhere to be found, so you busy yourself with cleaning and dusting. A few customers come in to ask for a book, but it’s nothing unusual. You put new books on the shelf, hoping the romance novels lure more women in the shop when you hear the door opening and closing.

“I will be with you in a minute,” you tell them, dusting off your dress before you appear from behind the shelves. Your smile falters as you see the young boy from yesterday, wearing the same cap and black coat over his suit.

“How can I help you?” You ask, trying to stay polite and calm.

He clears his throat, looking around the shop uncertainly.

“Could you recommend something?” He asks, still staring at the shelves behind you.

“Sure,” you nod. “What are you interested in? History? Adventure? Thriller?”

“Adventure sounds good,” he nods, stealing a glance at you when you turn your back to him. His hands are sweaty in the pockets of his coat, and he feels like a fool. He looks over at his shoulder, making sure nobody sees him before he follows you to hide behind the books.

“It’s about pirates and treasures,” you explain to him with the book in your hands, and you almost jump out of your skin when you turn around, and he is behind you. He looks at you, then down at the book.

“It’s good,” he nods, taking it away. His fingertips are cold as he touches your skin for a moment. “How much?”

“No,” you shake your head. You don’t know much about the Peaky Blinders, but even you know that they don’t pay for anything. “You shouldn’t…”

He doesn’t argue with you, reaching into his pocket and giving you much more money than the book is worth. You want to reject it, but he shoves the bill into your hand, and without a word, he turns around and leaves the shop in hurry.

“Weird,” you murmur, still squeezing the money in your hand.

The next time doesn’t come. Almost a whole month passes by when you start giving up on hope to see him again. And you are definitely angry at yourself. It’s crazy of you to wait for a gangster. You should be happy. It’s over, and your shop is still in one piece. At least the Peaky Blinders want nothing from you, even if it means that the young man neither.

“Do you like them?” You ask him suddenly one day before he can disappear from the shop. “The books, I mean. I can give you something different if you don’t…”

“No,” he shakes his head. “They are good.”

“Do you have a favorite?”

You should stop. Why would you want a Peaky Blinder to linger in your shop longer than necessary?

“The pirates with treasures,” he says a little bit too soon. “It was good.”

“I have more pirate books,” you point at the shelves over your shoulder.

“Next time, maybe,” he replies, and you nod. Despite his frequent visits, he still looks and acts like he is out of his comfort zone in your small bookstore.

He leaves once again, and you can’t help but wait for the next time.

You sit at the window once again with a new book in your hands, but you can’t help but steal a glance outside from time to time. You are halfway through the book, but you have no idea what it is about.

You look up again, hearing a young boy screaming and laughing, and soon your attention turns to the young Blinder who you didn’t see for weeks. He smiles at you when his eyes meet with yours as he walks to the entrance.

“Hey,” you greet him, standing up and putting your book on the chair behind you.

“Hey,” he replies. “I come for a new book.”

You want to ask him where he was, but you know better. It’s none of your business.

“Sure,” you nod rapidly. “Pirates?”

God, you shouldn’t be so excited.

“Sounds good.”

You barely make a step away from the window when a loud bang on the glass frightens you. You look back, meeting with three smirking men, and the boy beside you curses.

Okay, maybe you aren't sure who is the boy you think of so much lately, but you know the other three guys. You can’t live in Birmingham not knowing about the Shelbys.

“Could you find me the book?” He asks, trying to hurry you to hide you from his brothers, but it’s too late. The three men entered the shop already, shouting at their brother.

“What are you doin’ Finny?” The tallest asks, throwing his arm over the boy’s shoulders.

“So that’s why you have so many books under your bed, eh?” The other one continues, lighting a cigarette in his mouth, and you don’t have the courage to stop him.

“Shouldn't you be able to read for them?” The first one asks, shaking his brother under his arm.

Finn’s face is red from embarrassment, avoiding your shocked eyes as you watch the scene. The line of his jaw is tense.

“Who could blame him, though?” Arthur continues, turning his attention to you. “Maybe I would read too for a pretty lady.”

“Have you asked her out already?” John says, smirking.

“Could you fuck off already?” Finn snaps, shoving his oldest brother away from himself. “Why are you even ‘ere?”

“We were curious where you are disappearing lately.”

“Excuse him for his disappearance,” John says, looking at you slyly. “He was beaten up a little bit.”

Your eyes wander back to Finn. You can see a light scar on his face and a greenish bruise under his eye. A blush spreads across his face under your gaze.

“We should go, guys,” Tommy speaks up for the first time. “We should leave the love birds alone, eh?”

“Just fuck off,” Finn sighs resignedly, staring at his shoes.

“Get the girl, yeah?” John says lastly, jabbing his brother on the ribs before he turns around to follow the others, leaving you alone with Finn Shelby.

“So you can’t read?” You ask the first thing that runs through your mind. You bite into your lower lip, scared of his reaction, but his face is still red from embarrassment and frustration.

“It was the only way to meet with you,” he answers, not looking up from his freshly polished shoes. You find it cute, and after some thinking, you decide to be bold for the first time in your life.

“Um,” you hum, straightening yourself. “So you continue buying books, or you will ask me out properly?”

His head snaps up to you, finding you smiling at him hopefully, and it seems like it gives him some courage.

“Would you go out with me?” He asks. His expression is shocked but hopeful at the same time. His cheeks are still tinted with light pink, but he looks more confident.

“Yes,” you smile. “You can pick me up after work.”

“Okay,” he replies, nodding rapidly as he adjusts the coat on himself. “I will come back later then.”

“Okay,” you repeat his words, still smiling as you watch him leave the shop and disappear in the grey mist of Birmingham.

#finn shelby x reader #finn shelby imagine #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders x reader

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