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anonymooseforever007 · 1 year

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The Proposal

(Technically Pre!Luca Changretta x female Shelby reader)

Summery: Despite the assumption of many others Thomas Shelby didn't like unnecessary bloodshed and neither did Luca Changretta. So before a full out gang war could begin, they came up with a plan to make peace between the families.....And obviously the best plan they could come up with was an arranged marriage. And even more obviously not everyone one was pleased....namely the bride.

A/N: Hi Y'all! No trigger warnings other than usually Peaky Language and discussion of arranged marriage. Y/N is furious. Luca isn't in this one but he's technically the groom so....I wrote this purely to prequel another part I'm still writing! Also this is technically S4ish but it breaks away from cannon and is my idea of how a Shelby sister may react if Tommy tried to marry her off to prevent the vendetta! Enjoy❤️!

WC- 1.5k

Main Masterlist Part 2

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You walked into the Shelby Company Limited, waving and exchanging happy greetings with those who offered them. Lizzie looked at you as you approached her desk.

"Hi Lizzie! How have you been today? I absolutely love your dress today, the color is brilliant! You wouldn't happen to know if my brothers are in would you?"

Lizzie smiled, "Hello Y/N. Thanks, I got it at this new shop. I can give you the address of the store later if you'd like. I've been alright, your brothers are planning something though. Been in since this morning I've got no clue what it is though."

"Ohh that would be perfect! Thanks. It was, as always, nice seeing you," you nodded pleasantly to your friend as you started to move to the private office. "Oh and Lizzie? I'm sorry about the noise,"

"Wha..."

"THOMAS MICHAEL SHELBY!!! I WILL STRIP YOUR FUCKING BALLS AND USE THEM AS SKIPPING STONES!!"

The entire betting shop went deathly silent as the you stormed in, heading straight into your brother's office. Slamming the door behind, you ignored everyone else in the room and went directly for your target, grabbing him by his collar to bring his face closer to your attacking fist.

Unfortunately you, and luckily for him, Arthur and John had just barely managed to grab you by the waist and drag you back a few steps before your fist could make contact. Unluckily for them, you turned your wrath another way, practically jumping in the air to land a foot of yours on each of theirs, before dragging them both forward so their heads collided with a hard thud. Both men groaned while you made another break for your older brother. This time he was expecting it and grabbed you in a hold that would be harder to escape. Your hands were trapped between your two bodies and Tommy had one arm around your back, preventing you from pulling back. He'd even managed to wrap one on his legs tightly around the back of yours to prevent any attacks aimed in "softer areas". If someone hadn't heard your words previously, it may have even looked like he was hugging you. And not just that, but hugging the way Charlie liked to do whenever you saw him, wrapped as tightly around you as possibly, keeping you from moving away. And while you absolutely adored such cuddles with your young nephew, this was most certainly not like those times.

The entire company seemed to be frozen in silence waiting for what would happen next. Those outside the office listened for the sounds of more yelling of even the possible shot of a gun. And those in the office looked on at the brother and sister locked tensely together, seeming to have a ferocious conversation without a single word. The furious glare you were giving Tommy would make any man question himself, but your brother only met your glare with an equally strong stare of his own.

Then with an annoyed sigh you finally relaxed in your brother's arms. You looked at your captor with a raised eyebrow signalling to him that this is the part where he lets you go. Tightening his grip slightly, Tommy raised an eyebrow of his own.

"Are you done?"

".....Yes."

"Really?"

".....Yes."

"You're not gonna shout anymore?"

"....Yes."

"You won't punch me?"

".....Yes."

"You gonna apologize to John and Arthur?"

"No."

"Alright," he concluded, finally relaxing enough to let you step back from his grip.

...

You lied...

It was mere seconds later when Tommy's head was turned to the side with an echoing smack. His glasses cracked when they hit the other side of the room. You started to bat your hands at any brother trying to approach you.

"How fucking dare you!!! FIRST of all: sending Finn, FUCKING FINN, OUR BABY BROTHER, MY FINN to tell me because you don't have the balls to do it yourself! I was so worried when he came looking like he was going to throw up, you fucking bastards!! I thought he was hurt or someone died because he was so FUCKING anxious. But NO! He thought that I was going to STOP LOVING HIM because he was the one who had to tell me about your little WEDDING PLAN! DING DONG RING THE FUCKING WEDDING BELLS," you spat venomously, thinking of the absolutely miserable look on your youngest brother's face as he came to see you only an hour ago. Apparently, your other brothers thought if he was the only to break the news of your impending engagement you'd take it willingly, maybe even happily if it came from your favorite sibling. And to be fair, from him you had. You knew it wasn't his idea and given the fact he honesty looked like he was going to cry possibly, thinking you'd hate him forever because of his message. Like it was him who signed your death warrant. No, for Finn and only him you'd taken the news calmly, telling him it was alright and you'd didn't hate him. Reassuring him once again you loved him, and that he could come to you for anything at all anytime and that you also wanted him home by midnight; you'd left him with a tight hug, quick kiss on the side of his head, and some money to take the sweet girl he'd been talking with to the movies....

Then you set out for your older brothers....

Now here you were, giving them your real opinions which they hoped Finn would soften the brute of.

"AND on that note! Who THE FUCK are you? THINKING YOU THINK YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING RIGHT TO MARRY ME OFF FOR YOUR LITTLE PISSING PARTY," your volume increasing as you raged, while dodging around your brothers to climb on Tommy's' desk so you could yell at them without being cut off as easily. "JUST BECAUSE YOUR LITTLE BIRD BRAINS ONLY UNDERSTANDS PLANS INVOLVING FIGHTING AND FUCKING DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE WHAT YOU SHOULD USE!!," John yelped as you stomped on his hand trying to grab your ankle to pull you off the desk. "I!! I WILL NOT BE USED IN ONE OF YOUR SHITTY LITTLE SCHEMES TO MAKE PEACE BECAUSE YOU MEN FUCKED SOMETHING UP AGAIN!! DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME! I AM NOT SOME BARGAINING CHIP TO BE BET IN YOUR GAMBLING GAME," you kicked Tommy's stapler backwards towards Arthur's head as he tried to grab you from behind. "I WILL WORK WHERE I WANT. I WILL LIVE WHERE I WANT. MEET WHO I WANT. FIGHT WHO I WANT. AND FUCK WHO I WANT!! DO YOU YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?!"

Again the room was silent as you and Tommy stared at each other. You from on top of his desk holding his empty whiskey glass, ready to throw, and him right in front, a bright red handprint blooming in his pale skin. Tommy opened his mouth to speak and you opened yours, still angry and ready to refute whatever he said. But then Tommy raised his arms in peace and took a few steps back slowly, keeping his eyes on yours in a show of surrender.

"Alright. Alright Y/N we've heard what you have to say..."

"Don't fucking patronize me Tommy. I'm not a fucking horse you can calm or sell on a whim," you refuted, sighing as the fight finally left you. You were still furious yes, but you were tired of yelling. It wasn't something you did often and even now you were really only doing it to keep yourself from hitting your brother again. He couldn't listen to you if he was unconscious. Still moving forward with his arms slightly raised Tommy tried again.

"Alright," Tommy repeated raising one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose like he did when he was stressed. Sure he expected you to be mad, you had even been pissed when he arranged John's marriage with Esme, and you adored the women as much if not more than John himself did. He knew your feelings on marrying for Love and not business and to be fair he didn't disagree. And even if it made him slightly sick to think of having to do this, a pact bound with marriage was the only was Luca would agree to reconsider the black hands.

'A bond thorough blood bound or blood spilled' those were his words.

"I get you're angry Y/N. And I'm sorry it had to be this way," Tommy spoke firmly but vaguely, and there was almost a slight pleading there, ask if he was asking you to let it go just this once. As if he was asking you to grab his jacket instead of tie yourself to a man you'd never met. "But you don't understand the situation we're in." Tommy moved to grab one of the papers you'd knocked off the desk in your ranting. He reached up to hand it to and you grabbed it before staring at it for a moment processing what was before you. And for some reason you couldn't explain but that paper was all it took for your anger to return full force. Who at kind of death threat even was this?

"YOU EXPECT ME TO GET MARRIED TO A STRANGER BECAUSE OF A FUCKING FINGER PAINTING?!"

....

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Part 2

Main Masterlist

#Peaky Blinders #Peaky blinders imagine #luca changretta #luca changretta x reader #luca changretta imagine #peaky blinders x reader #shelby!reader #shelby!sister

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pandoraslove · 2 years

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Chocolate Cures

you were the quietest out of all your siblings, always observing everyone and everything around you. You were also the hardest one to provoke, both a blessing and a curse. a blessing for Polly who had one less person to worry about getting into fights everyday and a curse for you since your brothers liked to poke and prod at you until you exploded. They’d succeeded only a few times. John and Arthur being the culprits nearly every time. Despite being the youngest and a girl, you fought well enough that you left a tiny mark at least once. They’d both gotten back on your good graces by giving you chocolate.

There’s only been two instances where you’ve lost your temper with someone who wasn’t family. Two years ago with a dumb blonde bimbo who wouldn’t leave Finn alone and started talking about you and spreading rumors, and Now. In this moment, in the Garrison. You were on the verge of exploding and everyone could tell.

It was a slow day, the shop was pretty empty with the exception of you, your brothers, your aunt and sister, and a few of the blinders. Isiah, Finn Best friend, brought a girl with him. Now, that’s not what bothered you. You could care less who he brought around, what bothered you was who this girl was. The dumb blonde bimbo from two years ago was now a brunette. She’s still a dumb bimbo though. That hasn’t changed.

Today was hard enough for you since, you’d gotten into an argument with Thomas about me arguing with the teachers at school- it’s a long story. But the fact was that you’d started the day off on the wrong foot. after your argument with Tommy, you’d gone up to your room and dropped your ceramic jewelry holder and it completely shattered. it was one that you’d gotten from a market years ago and very much liked. And then to make matters worse the floor was still wet from the shower you’d taken earlier leading you to slip and fall onto a large shard of the broken jewelry holder. the piece went into your lower thigh, Ada helped you close it up and wrap the wound but you were still reminded of it nearly every step you took. The odds were just against you today.

It was a little after your usual lunch time, so now you were hungry, annoyed, hurting, and being tempted all at once. The bimbo kept bringing up old fake rumors she thought I didn’t know she started.

“Is it true that you were insane which is why you stopped going to school?” She asks.

“no, I just switched schools.”

“What about that rumor that said you slept with almost every guy in our class?”

“They were all imbeciles why would I want to get with them?”

“Well I’m sure you helping your family murder people is true.” you roll your eyes and clench your fist behind your back, a failed attempt at calming yourself.

“I mean those rumors about you killing your father are pretty convincing.” She says softly only loud enough that Finn and I hear. “Did you murder your mother too? I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up murdering your entire family, your the most psychotic of them all, Isn’t that right, Crazy y/n?” the nickname was what did it for you.

You got up at the same time she did, she was too slow to avoid you grabbing her throat. “say again, Princess?”

“Let go of me.”

“Not so bold now, are we?” I chastise.

“Y/n.” Thomas says from behind me.

“Listen very carefully, keep trying me and you end up just like your uncle, dead in an alley. I wonder who the person behind his murder was. Don’t you, bimbo?” You whispered every word into her ear so only she could hear.

“Y/n, let go of her.” Arthur said from behind you.

Your hand remained around her throat, but you pulled away from her ear. there were tears in her eyes and true fear, her face had gone pale.

“You’re only showing that you really are insane, you bitch.” She breathes out. you laugh at her feeble attempt to hurt you.

“Of course they’re true, I’m a Shelby. You have three seconds to leave.” You let her go and turn your back. You felt her hand on your shoulder and back handed her. you knew what she was going to do. She wanted to prove something. You grabbed her head and brought it down to your knee causing her to fall to the ground.

“Get her the fuck out of my sight.” some of the blinders help her up and lead her out. you sit back down next to Finn.

“That wasn’t very nice, Y/n.” John says trying to annoy you.

“John. You’re next.” You glare at him.

“Will chocolate make you feel better?” He says pulling out a small bar from his jacket pocket. You let out a sigh and take it from him.

“feel better now?” Arthur asks.

“Yes, a lot.”

“Why were you so moody anyways?” John asks.

“Ask your brother.”

“Finn? What did you do?” Arthur asks, narrowing his eyes. Finn puts his hands up in surrender.

“Not that one.”

“Thomas?” John asks.

“Bingo.”

“Thomas. What did you do?” Ada asks.

“Nothing.” He says reading his newspaper and drinking his stupid whiskey.

“He woke me up at the ass crack of dawn and started an argument because I started an argument with a teacher about him grading my test wrong. Three fucking week ago!” you say glaring at Thomas, who was staring at you. John, Arthur, and Finn all start laughing while Ada and Polly shake their heads in amusement.

“It was six a.m.” Thomas justifies.

“I. Don’t. Care. IT’S A SATURDAY.”

“Remind me never to wake her up early on the weekend.” Arthur says.

“If I get you more chocolate, will you forgive me?” Thomas asks.

“Maybe.” He sighs and walks out of the Garrison for chocolate. Ada and Polly laugh at the fact that you have your older brother wrapped around your finger.

A few minutes later he walks in with a bag filled with chocolates.

#shelby!sister #shelby!reader #thomas shelby #tommy shelby #polly grey #Ada Thorne #finn shelby #Arthur Shelby #John Shelby #isiah jesus #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky fucking blinders #peaky fookin blinders

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theshelbyclan · 1 year

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Getting away with murder

Summary: Teddy knows she can get away with murder when it comes to her brothers, but maybe she really did go too far this time

A/N: I have no idea how this one started, where the idea came from, but I had a vision and couldn’t let the idea go... enjoy!

Words: 3324

*****

“Oh,” John took a deep breath and turned to his sister. Then he whispered again, “Oh, Teddy... oh, you didn’t...”

“I didn’t mean to!” she hissed back, “Obviously, this is not what I had in mind either!”

John looked at Arthur again, who had just walked into the shop. It was still early, so only the Shelby’s were present. Thank God. Suddenly, John burst out laughing, but luckily he was too far away for Arthur to hear. To Teddy he said, “Well, it was nice knowing you.”

Teddy fidgeted nervously, “What do I do? Do you think I can fix it?”

“That?” Giggles erupted from John now, “Absolutely not.”

“Fuck...” Teddy sighed deeply, “Tommy’s going to kill me too.”

“Look at your oldest brother, fucking look at him! Look at what you’ve done to the poor man!” John pointed, his voice nearing hysterics now, “And you’re afraid of Tommy?”

The truth was, Teddy wasn’t quite sure who to be more afraid of. On the one hand there was Arthur, who would indeed explode, but his temper was like dynamite and therefore short-lived. Then there was Aunt Polly, who raised her with an iron fist and seemed to have a wide variety of punishments at her disposal when needed, all of them horrible. And lastly, Tommy, feared by all and with good reason. Just the thought of his piercing eyes made Teddy knees wobble.

“Stop laughing!” she hissed, “I’m going to get killed no matter what, so what the fuck do I do now? Maybe I can, you know, make it a little less bloody?”

He looked down at his youngest sister and John could feel a little pang of sympathy for her. In many ways, the two of them were alike: they often didn’t think their actions through. And here she was again, finding herself in serious trouble, as she so often did. He did want to help, mainly because he liked her too much to be killed this young, “Maybe if you tell Tommy what happened. He always likes that, when you’re honest, you know? Just tell him you made a small mistake.”

“Mistake?” Teddy spun around to face him, “a fucking small mistake? How in the hell am I going to pass that off as a small mistake?!”

“Tell him you had a seizure?” John giggled.

Teddy rolled her eyes, “Perhaps they won’t think it’s me.”

“Oh, they will. This has ‘Theodora Shelby’ written all over it.”

“Fuck.”

John looked at his sister again, who was biting at her nails nervously. People often thought she sought out trouble, and they were right, but not as often as everyone thought. Sometimes, bad things just seemed to happen to her as a result of some very bad judgement. But she didn’t mean for it to happen, not really... “Come on,” he grabbed Teddy and dragged her towards Tommy’s office, “It’s like a bandaid, alright? Just rip it off and do it quick!”

“No! John, no seriously I can’t...” Teddy protested, but he had his hand firmly on the cuff of her shirt and there was no escaping him. And before she could protest again, he’d pushed her into Tommy’s office.

Stumbling in, Teddy almost tripped over her own two feet. As soon as she met Tommy’s eyes, she turned around again, but there was John blocking her exit and he pushed her closer to him at once. Trapped between two brothers, Teddy couldn’t see a way out.

A massive toothy grin was plastered all over John’s face as he said, “Tom? Teddy here has something to tell you.”

“You fucking prick,” Teddy hissed at him, but that only caused him to laugh more.

But Tommy was busy, he was always busy, and whatever it was, he wasn’t in the mood for it. Still, he was the first one responsible for Teddy and he never tried to evade that responsibility. So, he demanded in a very strict and brotherly fashion, “And what exactly is John talking about, Teddy?”

“I don’t have a clue...”

Icy-blue eyes glared at her and Teddy gulped. Then he demanded, “Did John, by any chance, tell you I’d go easier on you if you told me yourself?”

Teddy’s jaw dropped. How the fuck did he work all of that out in just under a minute? How in the hell was Thomas Shelby, her brother, practically clairvoyant when it came to her mischief? And again, he could read her mind, “Gypsy witchcraft.”

So Teddy conceded, “Yes, he did.” She looked over at John, who was standing in the corner now, chewing his toothpick. It was like he was watching a film and enjoying every second of it. Silently, Teddy cursed him, even though she knew she’d gotten herself into this mess in the first place.

“Sit.” Tommy demanded, “Explain.”

Teddy sat down carefully and tried to find the best words she could, just to make this a little bit easier on herself. But there were no right words. “I wanted to help Arthur.”

As soon as she mentioned the word ‘help’, John burst out laughing again. Tommy held up a hand to silence him and narrowed his eyes at Teddy, “Help him with what exactly.”

“I thought... maybe he wanted to look a bit more like us?”

“In what way,” Tommy sighed and lit a cigarette. He’d spend twelve long years with his sister already, and still she managed to surprise him every day. So, he was mentally preparing himself for the worst, just in case.

“You know,” Teddy still tried to evade the question, “we’re dark and he’s... ginger?”

“Not anymore, he’s not...” John sniggered in the corner.

Tommy raised his eyebrows in question and waited for his sister to continue. As he waited, he tried to think like Teddy and imagine what she’d gone and done now, but for all his gypsy witchcraft, he still couldn’t worm his way into his sister’s crazy mind.

“I might have made a small mistake, Tommy,” Teddy finally confessed, echoing John, “when trying to fix Arthur’s hair.”

Tommy turned to John abruptly and he spoke to him like Teddy wasn’t even there anymore, “What the fuck has happened to Arthur’s hair?”

“Tommy, listen...” John held up his hands like he wanted to make clear he had nothing to do with this whatsoever, “I don’t know what she did to him, but the poor bastard looks fucking terrible.”

The older brother frowned again and leaned over his desk to study the guilty party’s face up close. She, in turn, tried to curl up in her chair, praying to God she could just disappear. But just as Tommy was about to open his mouth, a knock on the door sounded.

“What!” he barked.

“It’s me, Tom. I’ve got these papers for you to sign. Can’t work them out. Some boy dropped them off for you...” a familiar voice stumbled on the other side.

Tommy shot John a strict look and Teddy an absolutely lethal one. Then he called out, “Come in, Arthur.” And he quickly poured himself a drink, preparing himself for whatever the fuck was to come.

But he wasn’t prepared. As soon as Arthur stepped into the office and Tommy took one look at him, he spit out part of his whiskey across the table. Teddy wiped it gingerly off her face and tried to make herself even smaller. John, meanwhile, was dying.

Arthur, however, didn’t seem to have the vaguest idea what was going on. “You alright, brother?” he asked Tommy, as he handed over the papers.

Tommy managed to stumble, “Yeah, bad quality, that’s all... I’ll, Uhm, I’ll take a look at these, eh?”

“Right, well...” Arthur pointed at John suddenly, “What the fuck is wrong with him?”

“You dropped him as a baby, remember?” Tommy waved a dismissive hand, “He’s mad, ignore him. I’ll get these papers back to you as soon as I can, alright?” Teddy had to admire his ability to adapt.

“Yeah...” Arthur shot another look at John, who had his mouth covered with a hand now and appeared to be either laughing or choking, it was hard to tell. But he decided to just leave it be and left the office soon after.

Apart from the occasion snort from the corner, the office was dead silent once again. Finally Tommy spoke, “You fucked up his hair and he has no idea.”

Teddy quickly started, “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear, Tommy! I just made a small mistake!”

“A small mistake is when you accidentally drop a plate or lose a fucking button, Teddy, but that,” he pointed, “is something else entirely.”

“It’s not that bad, though, is it?” Teddy whimpered.

Tommy raised his eyebrows and sighed. Then he decided, “You’re on your own. You’ve officially gone too fucking far now and I’m not helping you.”

“But Tommy...”

“Nope! You’ve made your bed. I’ve told you again and again, Teddy, one of these days you’re going to get yourself killed and you’ve done it now. Congratulations.”

“Please, Tommy!” she pleaded, “It was an accident! I’ll do anything, I swear!”

“It was an accident, eh?”

“Yes! Well... sort of.”

“Oh, sort of...” he coughed a laugh, “So not really.”

Teddy sighed theatrically and was completely desperate now, “Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it, alright?”

Tommy tried to do everything in his power to keep himself from smiling and he had managed so far. He slowly lifted his cigarette up to his lips and mused, “You’ll do anything?”

“Yes.”

“Without protesting or scheming? And without one fucking question in the fucking process?”

“Yes, fine.” Teddy sulked a little.

“Good!” Tommy stubbed out his cigarette and allowed some mirth to find its way onto his features, “Well in that case, you can start by telling me how exactly you managed to dye your eldest brother’s hair green!”

*****

Arthur Shelby sat in his office, surrounded by books and papers. He’d recently gotten into business with a local breeder and it had proven profitable, but there was a lot of paperwork involved.

“I need a drink,” he mumbled to himself.

As he crossed the betting shop, he saw no one because it was still early, only his youngest brother Finn. “Morning,” he greeted him, “Did you get the papers?”

Finn nodded wordlessly, with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“What?” Arthur demanded.

His brother pointed slowly at his head.

“Oh, right,” he nodded in reply while opening the door to go outside, “Almost forgot my cap. Thanks, Finn.”

After a few moments, Finn moved and muttered to himself, “Fuck. Teddy’s really done it now...” And he quickly went on his way to try and find her.

“So that’s why!” Finn burst into Tommy’s office as soon as he had spotted his youngest sister sitting there. “I knew you weren’t buying it for yourself! You hardly even bother to wash, let alone be pretty...”

“Thanks for that, Finn,” Teddy grumbled.

“I don’t mean that,” he protested, “I mean, you’re not like the other girls, who brush their hair and...”

Tommy held up a hand to silence him, “Bought what?”

“I think you’re very pretty, Teddy,” John smiled at his sister.

“I do too!” Finn sighed, “I just meant...”

“For fuck’s sake!” Tommy called out, “Teddy, you are beautiful and anyone who tells you different can fuck off. Now, back to the fucking business at hand: buy what?”

“Hair dye.”

A long sigh followed.

Teddy tried her best not to meet his eye, “I bought some black hair dye for Arthur. How was I supposed to know it would turn his hair green?”

“Because his hair is ginger, that’s why,” he replied darkly, “You really should have more girls as friends, Teddy, they probably could’ve told you this.”

“Oh...”

John swallowed some more laughs and asked, “What do we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do. We just have to make sure he doesn’t go out like this or we’ll lose all the respect we’ve earned around here.”

Finn dragged his feet across the floor a little, “Tommy, he just went out.”

“Fucking hell.”

“I made sure he wore a hat, so that’s something?”

“Right,” Tommy slammed a hand down on the table and decided he’d spend enough time on this nonsense, “Teddy, you are going to find your brother and you’re going to tell him what you did to the poor bastard.”

Teddy protested, “Tommy, I...”

“Nope!” he interrupted, “No more fucking excuses from you. Now, either you find a way to fix his hair or you convince him to cut it all off. I don’t give a fuck what you do, but you are going to repair whatever damage has been done to the good Shelby name, alright?”

“Yes, Tommy,” Teddy gave in, and with a heavy heart she stood up and left the room, with Finn in tow.

Only after she’d closed the door behind her, Tommy allowed himself to smile.

“Arthur is going to go mental,” John commented dryly.

“Just go and make sure that he hits a hole in some wall and not our beloved sister, eh?”

John turned around and just as he opened the door, said, “You know, if this was anyone else, you would’ve cut her.”

“Yes,” Tommy sighed, “but it’s Teddy and she can get away with murder with me and she fucking knows it.”

John turned smirked and turned to leave. But Tommy added, “So do you.”

“You’re going soft, big brother!” John called down the hall as he walked away.

“Am I?” Tommy muttered to himself, “Maybe I just have too many fucking younger siblings... Fuck, I am going soft.”

But the truth was, he’d always been soft for them. And he knew it.

*****

Flitting from corner to corner on the streets of Small Heath, Teddy shadowed her big brother Arthur. He’d gone down to the Garrison to pick up another bottle of rum, but luckily he hadn’t taken off his cap inside. Now, he was making his way back to Watery Lane.

“What are you going to tell him?” Finn whispered.

“Anything but the truth,” Teddy mused, but she hadn’t decided on a strategy just yet.

Carefully, the two siblings followed their brother inside. But their stomachs dropped when they realised Arthur was talking to Aunt Polly and as he did, he reached upwards to take off his cap.

“No, no, no, no!” Teddy called out, but it was too late.

Polly’s mouth fell open at the sight of his green hair, but quickly narrowed her eyes at her niece, sensing the culprit at once.

“What?” Arthur asked, completely oblivious.

“You may want to sit down for this one...” Polly told him in a low voice.

“Someone tell me what the fuck has been going on!”

Suddenly, Teddy had a thought and exclaimed, “Can I cut your hair, Arthur?”

He took a swig from the bottle of rum, “Why the fuck do you want to cut my hair?”

“I want to be a hairdresser someday!” Teddy tried her most angelic smile.

“Theodora...” her aunt warned darkly, but Teddy ignored her, praying to God she’d survive both Arthur and Polly’s potential wrath.

“Please, Arthur? It’s been getting way too long and Tommy tells me we have to protect the good Shelby name.”

He reached up and felt at his hair. Nobody dared breathe. “Alright,” Arthur finally agreed, “but don’t fuck it up! I don’t want to walk around Birmingham looking like some bloody circus act.”

Finn almost choked.

“Great!” the twelve-year-old devil beamed, “I’ll get the scissors.”

But in the kitchen, Aunt Polly hissed at her, “You are going to explain this to me and it better be good, or I’ll make you regret even getting up this morning.”

She gulped, grabbed the scissors and took a deep breath. Then she draped a cloth around Arthur’s neck and started snipping. “Not too short!” he warned, but it had to be. Luckily, the roots were still ginger, so she didn’t have to go completely bald to save him, but long tufts started falling down all around him.

Pretty soon, all the green was gone and somehow, Arthur looked more like John than he’d ever had done.

But he wasn’t satisfied and as he felt at his head, he bellowed, “What the fuck did I tell you! Fucking hell, Teddy, you’ve probably made me look like some fucking choir boy!

“Just wear your cap,” Finn offered. “You look a lot better, Arthur.”

“Do I?”

Teddy grabbed the mirror off the wall and showed him. Arthur sighed deeply: he hated it. Still, he didn’t want his little sister to be hurt, so he said, “Maybe hairdressing’s not for you, Teddy. Or maybe you just need to practice some more, but not on me! But I can live with this...”

“Thanks, Arthur,” Teddy smiled and he had to smile back at her.

“Right!” Finn concluded, “Guess that’s that! Remember Teddy, Tommy wanted you to do that thing?”

“What thing?”

Finn eyed the green hair scattered around on the kitchen floor. It was only a matter of time before Arthur would notice. “You know,” he stumbled, “that thing... at the Garrison?”

Teddy suddenly understood her brother was trying to save her, once again, and nodded slowly. But one strict matriarch demanded, “What thing?”

She turned on her heels and lied, “Oh, nothing really. But Tommy wanted me to gather some of the betting slips and make sure the Garrison books are all in order, because I’m good with numbers, you know?”

“And what are the odds?” her aunt narrowed her eyes again.

“They’re not good.”

Polly nodded, “I’d say they’re looking very bad.”

Teddy sighed, “I agree.”

Arthur frowned, “Are we still talking about horses?”

“Yes,” both women replied in unison, even though they weren’t.

“Right,” Arthur shrugged, “Then fuck off, Teddy, and go and do as Tommy told you. Finn, clear up this mess.”

Quick as a flash, Teddy was out the door and Finn immediately gathered as much of the hair as he could, suddenly hopeful that Teddy was actually going to get away with it. Then he left as well.

Polly was left in the small kitchen with Arthur. As he felt at his hair again carefully, he muttered something about getting back to work. Polly meanwhile noticed just one tuft of hair still lying on the floor and she picked it up and stuffed it down the pocket of her skirt. She had no idea why she was even protecting her niece, but she was.

“Give me that.”

Polly looked up questioningly at Arthur, who had turned around again.

He held out a hand, “I’ll keep that.”

“So you did see.”

“As soon as she made the first cut.”

His aunt handed him the bit of hair and carefully Arthur tied a piece of string around it.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked.

He shrugged, “The damage was already done.”

Polly smiled. In many ways, Arthur was the one that did surprise her the most.

“Are you going to tell her?”

“No,” he decided. “Let her think she got away with it.”

“She already thinks she’s brilliant,” Polly huffed, “That one always seems to think she can plan and talk her way out of anything.”

“And she’s bloody right, isn’t she?” he affirmed affectionately, before walking away.

“She has to learn some time!” Polly called after him, even though she knew it was no use. They worshipped the ground she walked on and nothing was going to change that, not even one harsh and determined aunt who sometimes feared the moment Teddy would have to venture out into the real world, where things weren’t so easily fixed. But let her keep her innocence just a little while longer, that’s what Arthur had meant and she knew it. She understood it even.

She would have to learn eventually, but evidently, not today.

*****

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895 notes · View notes

mindful-of-ideas · 1 year

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A/N: Finn and Polly aren’t in the gif, but they’re there, I promise!

You couldn’t remember the last time you were here. It felt like years since you last saw Birmingham, and even longer since you set foot in the betting shop. You would’ve gone home first, but you knew you had better chances of finding your family here. As you walked down the street, the shop in sight, memories flooded in.

Ever since you were little, you knew you wouldn’t stay here. You were too different, too clever and too kind to ever be a real Peaky Blinder. And well, you were a girl. But that never stopped you from trying your best… and getting up to no good. Growing up, you and Finn, your twin brother, were ruling the neighbourhood. You would do anything to annoy people. Parents were often mad at the both of you, but you still kept doing it. But as you grew up, you started getting a lot of praise from teachers and adults for doing good at school. The only way to get further was to stay in line though. So you kept your mouth shut. Slowly, you drifted away from your family destiny, focusing on your study. With help from your aunt Polly, you managed to get into a college in London and find a safe place to stay. And you had been there ever since. You found a job working as a secretary for one of the researchers to pay for school, which meant working even when the semester was over. But the researcher had fallen ill and you had enough money on the side to allow yourself a visit to your family.

You stepped into the betting shop. And it was empty.

“Well…” you said quietly.

You were about to turn around when you heard muffled voices. That ought to be them. They were probably having a meeting in the parlour. You looked around the room, trying to find a place to sit when someone cleared their throat.

“Who are you?” asked a man, stepping out of the shadow.

“Who are you?” you asked in return.

“I’m not telling you my name until you tell me yours.”

“And I’m not telling you my name until you tell me yours.”

“You think this is funny?”

This was definitely funny.

“I’m not here to play games with little girls.”

“And you think I am? I was about to step out when a little girl asked me my name,” you replied, looking the man up and down.

Man was a strong word. He was more of a boy pretending to be a man. You hated that type of guys, always thinking they were above everyone when they actually knew nothing about anything.

“No one talks to me like that, you understand!” he said, suddenly walking towards you.

“And who would you be?” you asked, hoping to trick him while he was angry.

“Michael Gray”

Oh shit, was that Polly’s…

“Well, Michael, unlike what you might believe, I am not here to start a fight. So you can just take a step back and a deep breath.”

“The shop is off limits today, what kind of idiot doesn’t know that,” he said, taking a step forward.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” you said, also taking a step forward.

“Are you calling me an idiot?”

Another step.

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

Another step.

“What even is your name?”

Another step.

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

Another step.

“Not this again! You better shut up before things get bad,” he said.

He was close, too close now. Yes, you were a Shelby but if this man was Polly’s son, then chances are he could match you in a fight. He looked you straight in the eyes and with a single finger lifted your chin.

“Are you scared yet, little girl?”

You smiled. The voices in the other room had stopped.

“Are you scared yet, little girl?” you finally replied.

“That’s it!”

He pulled back his fist, ready to punch you and the face. Before he could even reconsider, Tommy grabbed his arm from behind. You dashed between the two and jumped into Finn’s arms.

“Finny!” you said, hugging him tightly.

“Y/N, how did you… when did you…” he tried to ask, hugging you back.

“Well, if it isn’t the child wonder,” said Arthur, putting his hand on your head.

You flashed him a smile before hugging him too.

“Hi,” you mumbled, your face buried in his shoulder.

“What, how… who is that?” asked Michael, his expression a mix of disbelief and disgust.

“Michael, meet Y/N Shelby,” Tommy said, as you made your way over to John.

You hugged him too, but he quickly pushed you back. You and John had always gotten along well, sometimes even more than you and Finn. You knew he was worried that seeing you here meant you had to quit college.

“I’m on break and my boss is ill,” you whispered to him.

“That’s amazing then,” he said, pulling you in for a second hug.

Your aunt then made her way to you hugging you and kissing the top of your head. She knew you were coming, so this wasn’t really a surprise for her.

“How was your trip?” she asked.

“Great, it was him that was the worst part,” you said, pointing at Michael, “No offence.”

“None taken,” she said, smiling at you, “In the future, Michael, don’t hit people.”

“She started it,” he replied.

“He started it,” you said back.

“Alright, stop it!” said Tommy.

All you wanted to do was walk up to him and hug him. It was his turn after all. But his eyes were so cold. He didn’t even smile when he saw you. It’s been so long since you last saw him, how much could he have changed?

“Where’s Ada?” you asked.

“Home,” Tommy replied, looking straight at you.

“Oh…”

“I’m glad to see you Y/N.”

“Are you? You should tell it to your face.”

You gasped, putting both hands on your mouth. You had fucked up. Michael had gotten you all riled up. Being on a break surely didn’t help either. You had fallen back into old habits of pushing people’s buttons until they snapped. But this wasn’t someone you wanted to snap.

“Sorry…” you said, lowering your hands.

Tommy didn’t say anything then suddenly started laughing.

“It’s good to see you Y/N. Seems like things don’t really change, um?” he said, opening his arms to you.

You went in for the hug, still shocked by his reaction.

“It’s good to be home,” you finally said.

#mindful-of-ideas #peaky blinders imagine #shelby!sister #shelby!reader #peaky blinders #tommy shelby #john shelby #arthur shelby #finn shelby #polly gray #aunt polly #micheal gray #fem!reader

566 notes · View notes

captaincvans · 2 years

Text

Title: Not a Burden

Characters: Shelby Brothers x Shelby!Sister; Alfie Solomons

Summary: Y/N Shelby is starting to feel a burden to her family, and wanted to do her part in helping the family- except she decided to work with another gangster to help her with her cause.

Warnings: A rotten dude exposing himself to a minor. Please do not continue/read if that bothers you.

Word Count: 5.8k

Author’s Note: This was way longer than I expected, but I'm glad to be able to post it finally. I hope you enjoy a longer fluffy little sister Shelby fic! Also comments/reblogs feeds a writer's soul!

Y/N wasn’t usually an eavesdropper, but her family was so loud it didn’t really matter if she was trying to or not. She heard only pieces of what they were talking about, but it was clear on what the problem was. The Shelby family was running short on money. With their reputation, there wasn’t much that they needed to pay for, but maintaining that power requires people to be bought.

“We still need to buy Y/N’s medicine and school supplies,” Polly reminded the boys.

“She’s all better- does she still need medicine?” John asked.

“Yes,” Tommy answered shortly. He wasn’t going to let his younger sister suffer just because they hadn’t managed their money well this month.

“If you boys hadn’t put business before her as usual, she wouldn’t have gotten sick.”

Y/N felt her heart sink as she heard her name being mentioned as one of the reason they were short on the money. A few weeks ago, she caught pneumonia after walking home from school. Usually, one of the brothers would drop her off, but they were called away and she insisted that she would be fine. Tommy left a few Peaky boys around the city to keep an eye on her while having her believe that she was walking home independently. When it started raining, she thought nothing of it as she enjoyed the rain and didn’t find it as an inconvenience. That night as the boys got home, she couldn’t greet them with her usual energy as she felt ill. She skipped dinner and went to bed early, and by the next morning her fever almost overtook her. It was an awful few days, and she had to be hospitalized immediately. Tommy paid to make sure she was getting the best treatment, and as she realized, it must have costed the family a fortune. Her lips started wobbling at the thought that she was the reason her family was struggling, but she soon wiped away the tears, knowing it wouldn’t do anything. She made a promise to do her best to help the family. She started with eating less, skipping a few meals here and there to make sure the food can at least be stretched out without her eating it. Next was her school supplies, she was usually a meticulous scholar, having all her notes organized but she now made it a point to make sure she didn’t need to replace her items as quickly. Her final idea was to use some of her old clothes, and turn them into handkerchiefs to sell on the streets. She was a great seamstress for her age, and knew that this was something she would be able to do easily. With a new found resolve, she took a deep breath and got to work.

Y/N has been selling her handkerchiefs for a couple of days now, not earning as much as she wanted to, but at least it was something. She mostly sold them after school under the guise of playing, and would end up staying up to do her homework. This worked out in her favour as she can skip breakfast the next day for more sleep. She was getting quite tired, but her love for her family overpowered her desire to rest and sleep. It was a cold foggy day in Small Heath and Y/N was standing at a different street to attract new customers. She was trying to get the attention of the people walking by, but to no avail. Finally, she saw a man approach.

“Hi mister! Would you like to buy a handkerchief for a lovely lady in your life?” she asked with a huge smile. As the man got closer, her smile drop as she saw his intoxicated state and leery grin.

“Hey there little girl. It’s not safe for you to be out here all alone.”

“I-I’m not alone,” she lied. “My brothers are just at that shop.” She pointed to somewhere behind her, hoping her lie was believable enough.

“Uh huh.” The man got closer, close enough that she could smell the alcohol off him. “That’s a nice hankerchief you have there. Mind if I grab one-“ He plucked it out of her hand without hearing her answer, and stuffed it down his pants.

“Wh-What are you doing, mister?” she asked, as she saw his hand move inside his pants. He was moaning as if in pain, eyes closed. “Mister?”

“Fuck,” he cursed, shoulders dropping in relief. He took out the handkerchief, a white sticky substance staining the once floral pattern. With an evil grin, he grabbed the back of Y/N’s head, trying to stuff the handkerchief in her mouth. She squirmed against his grip.

“No! What are you doing?!” She was pushing his arm away but he was much stronger. He was able to smear the cloth against her cheek before he was pulled off her by another stranger.

“Now that’s not a very nice thing to do,” the man started. “Taking advantage of little girls.” He nodded towards someone behind him, and placed a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Are you okay, dove?”

She shook her head, unsure of what just happened.

He took another one of her handkerchief peaking out of her bag, and poured what smells like alcohol from the flask in his pocket. He gently rubbed the white substance off her face, making sure there were no traces left behind. “Make sure you clean your little face real good when you get home, okay dove?”

She ignored his suggestion, staring up at his somewhat familiar face. “Who are you?”

“Name’s Alfie Solomons. We’ve met before but you were just a little babe- about yeah high.” He motioned to a little lower than his knee. “You’re Y/N Shelby. Your brothers and I are business partners.”

At the mention of her brothers she lit up, trusting the man immediately.

“Now what is the likes of yourself doing on the streets? Don’t tell me that stubborn brother of yours cut you off from their money.”

She shook her head vehemently. “Tommy would never do that!” She stared at her shuffling feet, ashamed. “I made my family spend too much money so I want to pay them back. They’re not financially in a good spot.”

Alfie raised an eyebrow, unsure that the little Shelby knows what she just did by telling him that. Any of the Shelby’s enemy would yell in glee by that information, knowing that the mob family was vulnerable to attacks because of their lack of funding. Luckily, Alfie was quite fond of the Shelby family, and his new favourite was the one standing in front of him. His cold heart warmed at the thought that she was so worried for her family that she would go all the way to selling her stuff on the street as if there wasn’t a mark on her back because of her last name. “Well then today is your lucky day. I was looking for a little assistant to help me with things as I settle into me temporary home here.”

“Really? What kinda things?” she asked, eyes wide with hope.

The man was surprised at her eagerness, realizing that her siblings must’ve done a great job at protecting her from their world as she was still able to put her faith in people like that. “Just small things- picking up my groceries from the market, and maybe a prescription here and there from the pharmacy for me eye. I can pay you,” he paused, playing with his beard for the extra suspense. “Ten shillings a week.”

“Wow! That’s so much!” She agreed happily to his terms.

“Every Monday I will give you a list of what I need for the week, and I will pay you every week when you make your deliveries.”

“Thank you thank you!”

“Though before I hire you, you need to be better at indiscretion.”

“What does that mean?”

“You can’t go around telling people that your brothers don’t have money- your brother’s got enemies that could take him down with that information.”

Her eyes widened as she realized the severity of what she had done. “I’m so stupid!” she cried, hitting her head with her balled up fists.

“Hey, hey, there's no need for that now.” Alfie has seen grown men with less guilt for putting their family in danger with the information they divulged. “Lucky for you- you just told lil' old me, and I’m harmless.”

Y/N looked up to the London gangster with tears still lining her eyes.

“Don’t cry, dove. I’m sure even if you spent all of your brother’s money, they wouldn’t have the heart to be mad at ya.”

“I would never do that!” she said, taking his jokes quite seriously. “My family means everything to me.”

Alfie nodded, confirming that he made the right decision in hiring and caring for her. He walked her back to the outskirt of Shelby territory, knowing that her brothers would have people around to look out for her.

It’s been a few weeks since Y/N started her job as Alfie’s errand girl. Both her and the gangster was surprised that her brothers hadn’t caught wind of their relation. Though the two didn't spend more time than necessary together, they became quite close. Alfie was busy with running an organization, and Y/N was busy trying to get her homework finished. She also kept up with selling her handkerchief when she had time between running errands for Alfie, schoolwork, and pretending to be a normal kid in front of her family. She was upset that she couldn’t spend as much time with her siblings as before, but she knew she has to in order to make up for being a burden.

“Y/N,” Finn called, seeing his sister walking to their home after school. “Tommy’s called for a family meeting.”

Her eyes widened, and her heart started thundering with excitement. She raised a good amount of money, and felt like she could share with her family what she’s been up to. “Okay, Finn. I’ll be right there!” She ran to her room, grabbing her shoulder bag full of money and was basically vibrating with excitement while they waited for the entire family to trickle in. She sat in the middle of Arthur and John, ignoring their chuckles at her gleaming eyes.

“Sounds like it’ll be a breezy meeting if you’re letting Y/N sit this one in,” John commented towards Tommy who was lighting a cigarette.

“Let’s begin,” the older brother ignored the comment and started the meeting. “As you know-”

The youngest Shelby’s hand shot out in the air as if she was at school.

Tommy raised an eyebrow, trying not to show any indication of annoyance at his sister’s behaviour. The second oldest brother was too soft when it comes to matter to sister, and he would rather blind himself than purposely hurt her. “What is it?”

“I have something to share with you guys.” She pulled her out her messenger bag that she carries her handkerchief and the money she collected thus far with.

“What you got for us, girlie?” Arthur asked, peering into her bag to catch a glimpse of her gift to them.

She took her bag off, and emptied the contents on the table. The Shelby clan’s jaw dropped in shock. They weren’t expecting their youngest sibling to be emptying almost 100 shillings in cash on their table.

“How in the hell did you get that much money?” John asked.

“Girl, you better not be stealing,” Polly chastised, eyes narrowing.

“I’m not! I swear it.” She looked around for her family’s approving faces, but was just met with surprised and curious looks.

“Then you better explain yourself.”

“I overheard you guys talking a few weeks ago about being short, and I know it was my fault. I stupidly got sick so you guys had to spend money on me, and I felt really bad so I decided to help. I cut my old clothes and sewed them into handkerchiefs- I’ve been selling them on the streets to make the money.”

“You made this much selling handkerchiefs?” Tommy asked, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“Well… no… I wasn’t making much- just a few shillings here and there, but someone hired me!”

“Who?” Arthur asked.

“Mr. Solomons.”

“Y/N!” Polly berated. “Do you know who that is?”

“At first I didn’t, but he said he knew me since I was little. He was a really nice man, and he gave me 10 shillings every week to run some errands for him.”

“What kind of errands?”

“Just picking up groceries and prescription- that’s all!”

“I don’t want you seeing him again,” Tommy said sternly.

“But Tommy- he’s a real nice man.”

“Yea you said that already,” Arthur muttered, unamused by his sister’s connection.

“How did you even meet with the likes of him?” John asked, wondering how his sister got into contact with the mobster.

“Well… one day when I was selling my stuff, this man took my handkerchief and he stuffed it down his pants. I’m not sure what he was doing but he was rubbing it a lot in his pants, and making a lot of weird noises. When he was done there was this white icky stuff, and he wanted to put it in my mouth. I was so scared but Mr. Solomons came and saved me!”

“What the fuck?!” Arthur roared with fury. He jumped out of his seat, John following with him. “Who was this man? What did he look like?”

Y/N’s eyes widened in surprise at her brother’s reaction. “I-I don’t know. Mr. Solomons pulled the man away, and next thing I know the man was gone.” She turned to Tommy who’s jaw was clenched, and his knuckles were white from gripping his the edge of the table. “Am I in trouble, Tommy?” she asked quietly, head bowing down in shame.

“No.” He pushed himself off the table and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You did nothing wrong, but we are going to pay a visit to Mr. Solomons.”

She nodded, following her brothers who were hastily putting on their jackets. She usually held on to Tommy’s hand when they were out for safety, but he had both fists clenched the entire time, making her her believe that she was in trouble. Arthur and John were no different. She thought if they were cartoon characters they would have steam coming out of their ears. It didn’t take them long to get to Alfie's temporary lodging.

“Well well well… if it isn’t the Shelby boys, and the little princess.”

“Hi, Mr. Solomons!” she greeted with a wave and a smile.

“Hello, little one.”

Tommy moved to cover Y/N from Alfie’s gaze which did not go unnoticed.

“Oh relax, would you? I would never hurt a hair on little Y/N’s head. Didn’t you hear? I saved her from an unsightly perv-”

“Did you skin him alive?” Arthur growled. “Did you tear him apart and burn him to ashes?”

“Actually, I’m sure you’d be happy to know, but I have kept the lad barely alive. I figured once the littlest Shelby told you guys what she’s been up to, you lot would pay me a visit.”

“Where is he?!” Arthur grabbed Alfie’s collar, pushing him against the wall.

“Arthur-“ John placed a hand on his oldest brother’s shoulder. “Take it easy.”

“He’s in the barn by the outskirt of town. My men have been keeping him barely alive, but I’m not sure how much longer he’ll have.”

“Tommy-“ Arthur turned to his brother, a short silent conversation happening.

“Go.” Arthur and John didn’t waste another minute and left for the man.

“What are you trying to do, Alfie?”

“What?”

“Why are you helping us?”

“Correction. I’m helping Y/N. What she chooses to do with the money I give her is her choice. If she decides to spend all that money on the sweet ice cream shop across the street then that’s her choice, and if she decides to spend the money on helping her family, then I really can’t say anything, can I?”

Tommy’s eyes narrowed, and then flickered when Y/N wrapped her hand around his, seeing it was finally unclenched. “You hurt her in any way, and I will end you.”

“Despite your very hurtful assumptions of me, I would never hurt Y/N.”

She smiled at the older man, already considering him another kind uncle.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, little Shelby?”

“8am sharp!” she responded with a little salute.

“Alfie-“

“You can have your men escort her here or I can have my men pick her up and drop her off at your residence. She’s never been alone while running errands-“

“What?!” Y/N exclaimed, surprised at the revelation.

“You think I would let a little Shelby running around associating with me unattended, child? That’s as good as a death wish. I had my men following you to make sure no one would mess with ya.”

The girl pouted, thinking of the bodyguards as babysitters. “I’m not a baby.”

“No, you’re not,” Tommy started, ignoring Alfie’s raised eyebrow, “but you are still a child, and we are not going to take that risk of you running around by yourself.” Not with a target on your back, Tommy added in his thoughts.

As they were heading out, Alfie put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, stopping the man in his tracks and leaned near his ear. “Girl’s too hard on herself. Now, I don’t what you Shelby boys have been filling her head with but she’s got more loyalty than the lot of you. Make sure you pay her the same respect. She don’t need to be skipping meals trying save y’alls money, but she does it anyways.”

Tommy’s jaw clenched, nodding sharply. “See you around.”

“See you later, brother.”

As they walked out, Y/N tugged on her older brother’s hand. “Tommy, where are we going?”

“We’re gonna make sure Arthur and John do their job,” Tommy simply replied.

“I-I have to see the man again?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“No,” he answered right away. “This man will never bother you again.”

Tommy said nothing as they continued their journey to the barn. In truth he wanted a piece of action in giving the man what he deserved, and he knew he shouldn’t take her with them because this was what he wanted to protect her from, but at the same time he needed her to be physically with him to make sure she was safe. He couldn’t believe in his stress he didn’t check up on her like he should- he didn’t make sure she was safe. The fact that this man was able to even approach her like that was something he thought should’ve never happened. He knew now that she needed more protection- more people to watch out for her. He was more than disgusted at what that piece of garbage did, and he wanted to make sure he paid for his crimes. His sister is pure in every way, and he wasn’t going to let anyone make her feel uncomfortable like that again. He made sure she wasn’t exposed to the dirty life they lead, and if it was up to him he would make sure she never would.

Tommy made sure Y/N stayed in the car, telling her that one of the brothers would be out in a bit to keep her company. He entered the barn, hand already on his gun. He wasn’t surprised that Arthur was still beating the bloodied man up while John leaned on the wall, his fists equally bloodied.

“John, go keep Y/N company outside. Arthur,” Tommy called for his brother’s attention. “Is the man dead?”

“Not yet. I want the fucker to suffer as much as I could,” the oldest Shelby said, spitting at the barely alive man.

Tommy stepped closer, hearing his raspy breathing from the beating he took. He took out his gun, pointing to the man’s crotch. “There’s a special place in hell for people like you.” The Shelby leader kept his voice low, making sure the man wait in anticipation at what he was going to do. He shot the first bullet, the man howling in pain. The two ruthless brothers watched him writhe around before he passed out, then Tommy shot the final bullet to his temple.

Arthur pulled out his lighter from his pocket, dropping it on the man before leaving the burning barn with his brother. Outside, John had Y/N in his arms, the little girl laughing at his animated stories. The two older brothers got in the car and drove away.

When dinner came around, Tommy watched as Y/N serve the kitchen staff heaping of food on their plate, but only put barely any on her plate. He was reminded of Alfie’s words, and stepped behind Y/N. He grabbed the spoon she was serving herself with and the plate, putting more food on it.

“To-Tommy, I’m not that hungry!”

“There’s plenty of food, so eat.”

“I was planning to eat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch.”

“There’ll be food tomorrow for your breakfast and lunch.” He didn’t miss the fact that she purposely skipped breakfast.

“Bu-“

“You haven’t been eating,” he said, and the little girl froze.

She lowered her head, and Tommy’s heart dropped to his stomach when he caught her glistening eyes, and the reflection of her tears on her cheeks. He immediately put the food down, going down on one knee to see her face. “Why are you crying, love?”

“Tommy, I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for, love? I told you nothing was your fault.”

“Everything is my fault though! I can’t do anything right!” she exclaimed, tears running down her face. He pulled her up, carrying her to his office for more privacy and sat down on his couch with her on his lap.

“What’s this all about- why aren’t you eating?”

“I just feel awful,” she wailed finally, her eyes never meeting her brother’s in shame. “I got sick and you all had to pay so much for my medicine! I tried to eat less to make up the money you guys spent on me, but it didn’t feel like enough-“

“No,” he said sternly. “You are not missing meals or eating less because you feel guilty. You will eat the proper amount, got it?”

“But-“

“Don’t make me tell Polly to monitor your meals.”

“I just wanted to do my part in helping with the family. You guys do so much for me, and I haven’t done anything.”

“Y/N, you are a child. You don’t need to worry yourself with these things. Your big brothers are gonna take care of everything for you.”

“But you’re already so stressed out, and I feel like I’m causing so much trouble. I’m not even worth it-“

“Y/N M/N Shelby,” Tommy hissed. Despite his tone, he gently grabbed her chin with his index finger, forcing her to look at him. With tears lining her eyes, she finally met his soft blue eyes, finding no trace of resentment but only love. “You will never say those words again.”

“Tommy-“

“You are worth everything and more than what we have. If I have to lose everything we own and burn down this whole city for you, I will. You are the most important thing in my life, and I will not hear you say those words again.”

“‘m sorry, Tommy.”

“Stop apologizing. You have done nothing wrong.” She leaned back down, her tears stopping to a few sniffles. “So here’s what we’re gonna do. You will eat to your fill, and tomorrow we will get ice cream after you’ve finished your errands.”

Her head snapped back up at the mention of her favourite treat. “Ice cream?”

“Yes, but you have to finish the food on your plate.”

With a wide grin she nodded, jumping out of his lap to get started on her food. He went over to the family room, finding his family getting read to head to the kitchen.

“Why has no one noticed Y/N hasn’t been eating?” he thundered, glaring at his family members for not noticing her lack of proper care.

“She’s not?” John asked, thinking back to his encounters with her.

“I thought she was just getting conscious about her body,” Polly shrugged. “You know how girls that age are, but I always made sure to put more food on her plate.”

“She has been skipping meals because she feels bad that we’re spending money on her, and I will not let that happen ever again. If anyone sees anything amiss- anything at all, you come straight to me.”

“Y’know,” Arthur started, scratching the ends of his moustache. “When I checked her homework the other day, I noticed that she was writing extra small. Me thinks she’s trying to extend her school supplies as well.” The brothers had long stopped making fun of Arthur for insisting on checking her homework. Everyone knew Y/N was the most educated on paper, but Arthur felt it was his obligation as her oldest brother to see that her homework was done and done well.

Tommy placed a hand on his forehead, wondering how much he’s missed in the last few months. “Fuck,” he cursed.

When the family went to the kitchen, they frowned when they saw Y/N staring at her food without eating a single bite. When she saw them come in, she burst into a huge smile. “I was waiting for you to eat together!”

“Oh silly girl. Your food’s all cold now,” Polly chided.

“It’s okay!” she shook her head. Arthur took the plate in front of her while Polly prepared another plate fresh from the stove, adding a bit more food than what initially had. “Arthur no! You can’t have my cold food.”

“D’n worry, love. It’ll get warm in my belly anyways!” He put both hands on his belly, patting it.

She giggled at the sight, and her eyes twinkled at the sight of her family around her. They all made jokes with her whilst still making sure she was eating so when she cleared her plate, Polly sneakily grabbed her plate while Arthur was distracting her and put a little more food in front of her. To everyone’s delight she ate it all, yawning after all the food was gone and the laughters died down.

“Tommy, can everyone come get ice cream with me tomorrow?”

“You were gonna get ice cream without us?” John asked, hand on his chest as if the thought offended him.

"Never!" she shook her head. "We're all going, right Tommy?" Her brother could only nod at her request with a small smile.

Arthur cleared his throat and got up. “Now before you go to bed, love, we need to check your homework. Perhaps we can clean your backpack as well.”

“Okay, Arthur.” She hopped off her chair, grabbing his hand and leading him to her room where she does all her homework. She took out her notebook, and Arthur immediately noticed the worn out pages from how little she had written in the notebook- it was barely legible.

“Love, I can barely read your writing!” he exclaimed. “You need to write bigger next time- for your dear old brother’s sake, eh?”

“Sorry, Arthur.” She looked down at her shoes. “I was trying to make my notebooks last longer so you wouldn’t have to buy me more.”

“None of that. You’re our little scholar- we need you to be studying hard with all the right supplies or else who’s gonna be keeping Tommy in line?”

She giggled at his jokes, and nodded, relieved that she didn’t have to lie to her brothers anymore.

“Now, read me your answers so your dear old brother doesn’t have to strain his eyes.” He sat on her chair, picking her up to put on his lap just like when she was smaller.

She read him the questions and her answers, pointing them out so there were no spelling errors either.

“Well, we got ourselves a little Shelby genius here!” he kissed her cheek, and she flinched away from his moustache, giggling all the way.

“It tickles!” she shrieked as he continued to rub his cheeks against her soft ones.

“Alright, love. Good job on your homework.”

“Can I go to bed not, Artie? I’m feeling kinda tired?” the littlest Shelby yawned to prove her point, already almost dozing off.

“Tired, eh? What have you been doing to be so tired?” Arthur asked it as a joke, but Y/N avoided his eyes as she thought he was being serious.

“I’ve been staying up late making the handkerchief, and waking up early to sell it so I can do errands for Alfie after school and still do my chores when I get home.”

Arthur’s heart broke hearing how much his youngest sister has been working, and he immediately gave her a hug. “You don’t need to do that anymore, love. Tommy’s got a plan- kid like you don’t need to be working so hard, eh?”

She nodded, almost already dozing off in her brother’s embrace.

“Go get ready for bed, and I’ll come back to tuck you in.”

“Okay!” She left for the bathroom, and Arthur went back to the kitchen where his family had stayed to grab her a glass of water for the night.

He gave a deep sigh, rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes tightly.

“Is Y/N okay?” John asked, his oldest brother’s state putting him on alert.

“Girl’s been working herself to the bone for the last month- staying up late, not eating, and still trying to run everyone’s errands. She’s fucking exhausted and it’s not even 8pm yet where before she would be begging us to play with her until midnight.” Arthur shook his head, filling up the water in the cup and leaving again.

“You tucking her in?” Tommy asked.

“Yea. She asked if she could sleep early- nearly fell asleep on me.”

Tommy nodded, following his older brother to her room. Y/N was brushing her hair, lighting up when she saw her brothers again. Arthur placed the glass of water beside her bed, and came up to her to take the brush from her hand. He finished brushing her hair for her, reminding the siblings of when she was younger and sat on his lap while he tried figuring out how to braid her hair.

“There you go, love. Prettiest girl in all of Small Heath.”

She giggled, but shook her head. “No, Artie- That’s Ada!”

“You both are the prettiest girls in Small Heath, and dare I say the whole world!”

Y/N giggled again, giving her brother a big hug before settling in bed where Tommy was standing by. He smiled as she got under the covers, and he sat down on the edge of her bed, pulling the covers right under her chin. He placed a hand on her small face, rubbing at her cheek with his thumb. He noted how soft and smooth it was, reminding him just how young she was. He leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.

“I love you, Y/N- so much,” he whispered seeing her eyes droop.

“I love you too, Tommy,” she mumbled before succumbing to her tiredness.

The next day, Y/N and her brothers made their way to the ice cream shop. Suddenly, she stopped and gasped. “We should invite Alfie!”

The brothers couldn’t stop their sister in time before she ran off to his house, and they were quick to follower her. She knocked on his door, rocking on her feet in excitement. When the door opened, she was surprised to find someone else at the door. She hadn’t noticed but her brothers surely did that his hand was underneath his coat, most likely holding on to a gun.

“Excuse me, is Mr. Solomons home?” she asked before being pulled back by Finn behind her other brothers who had stood in front of her.

“Ah if it isn’t the Shelby clan,” the man muttered.

“Who’s there?” Alfie asked, approaching the door.

“Alfie!” Y/N greeted, shaking off Finn’s hand around her. “D’you wanna come with us to the ice cream shop?”

“Well I can’t refuse a little lady as yourself.” He grabbed his hat, and gave instructions to the man who opened the door. “Be a dear and finish up here, why don’t you.”

The Camden mobster followed the family to the ice cream shop, everyone in the shop immediately ceasing their chatter. Y/N paid no attention to the fear in everyone’s eyes as she ran up to the selection of ice cream they had.

“Mister, I want ice cream for all of us, please!” she ordered. “I can pay for everyone!” She held up her little horse purse that Tommy got her so long ago.

“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Alfie said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“No, no! I want to treat you guys to ice cream.” As she went back to picking a flavour, the 4 mobster (and Finn) stared the poor owner down, not having to say a single word to get their point across.

“Don’t worry about paying Miss Shelby. Your ice creams are on the house!” he said trying to sound jovial, but tripping over his words.

Y/N didn’t notice his stutter, but beamed in happiness. “Really?”

“Yes- you never have to pay for ice cream here!”

“Wow! That’s very nice of you, mister!”

Y/N made sure everyone got their ice cream first, having a habit of putting everyone first. When it was time for her ice cream, the man made the mistake of making eye contact with Alfie. His shaking hands didn’t wait for Y/N to grab the ice cream, and slipped form her tiny hands and on the floor.

“Oh no- oh God,” the man immediately muttered. You could hear a pin drop at how quiet it was in the shop. People tensed, waiting for a bloodbath to occur.

Y/n gasped in surprise. “Oh no! Spilled ice cream. I’m sorry mister- I can help clean up!” She narrated the event only like a child could.

“Oh- uh- well- Don’t worry about the mess,” the man sputtered. “It was my fault. I can give you another ice cream.”

“It’s okay mister. You already gave us all ice cream,” Y/N said, trying to hide her disappointment. Her bottom lip jutted out slightly, and her shoulders were slouched. “Thank you though.”

The man could feel the mobsters tearing him up with their eyes. Finally it was Tommy who spoke up. “Here, love. You can have my ice cream. I know it’s your favourite flavour.” Seeing as Y/N wanted to be just like Tommy in every way, it didn’t surprise anyone that they shared the same love for a certain flavoured ice cream.

“But it’s yours, Tommy.”

“I wasn’t hungry anyways.” He placed it in her hand, making sure she had wrapped her hand around it before letting go. “Let’s go home now.”

“Okay, Tommy! Thank you.”

No one dared breath until the gang was out of the shop. However it was made clear in those short moments of two things. One, little Y/N Shelby was one of the most polite and kind kid of her age group. And two, she was also one of the most protected kid in all of England. The hold she has on the two of the most feared gang in England made her a force to be reckoned with.

#tommy shelby x sister!reader #tommy shelby x reader #thomas shelby x reader #shelby!sister #peaky blinders imagine #thomas shelby x sister reader #peaky blinder imagine #arthur shelby x reader #john shelby x reader #josephine writes

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hb-writes · 1 year

Text

Mirrors

Summary: It’s 1922 in the Little Lady Blinderverse. John was used to Clara preferring Tommy, but there was a space between Clara and their brother now that Grace had returned. John wondered if it was the big, drafty halls out in Warwickshire setting a coldness into their interactions. He didn’t know for sure, but he did know that there was more space between Clara and Tommy now than there had ever been on Watery Lane. There seemed to be very little space between his sister and his wife though, something that bothered John more than he cared to admit, the conspiratorial dynamic mirroring what had once existed between Tommy and Clara.

Request (from @cas-kingdom): “What do you need?” “You.” would be totally adorable for John & Clara. Congrats on 4 years of LLB!!

(Note: this is the second story based on the same prompt because both ideas bit me and I couldn’t let go.)

Characters: John Shelby, Esme Shelby, Elias Shelby, and Clara Shelby

Content Warnings: nothing much, I think.

Tell me what y'all think! Reviews and comments are always appreciated. 😌❤️

Peaky Blinders (Little Lady Blinder) Masterlist

Peaky Blinders (Non-Shelby!Sister) Masterlist

—

John allowed a good natured roll of his eyes as the front door eased open. The damn thing had creaked from the very day he and Martha moved in. John could’ve fixed it easily, but after all this time, he decided he liked the familiarity of it. He didn’t mind his brothers joking that John did not lock his doors because the creaking was so loud it would alert him of any intruders. It reminded him of Martha and it did serve as a sort of warning, especially in the quiet of an emptied out house.

As he heard the sound now, John wondered which of the kids would be coming back through to intrude on his peace. One of them must’ve forgotten something—that wasn’t a surprise. A favorite toy, a hat, a shoe…John wouldn’t be surprised whatever it was. Especially if it was Katie. John was quite certain that little girl would lose her head if it wasn’t properly attached.

She mirrored her Uncle Finn in that way—a little scattered, always on the bloody move. John thought he could see a bit of his brothers and sisters and himself reflected in each of the kids and some days, on coming home to the raucous bunch, he was reminded of his childhood in the best and the worst of ways. And even though John was their father, he felt almost as if he simply melted into their dynamic. Some days, it was a relief to lose himself in his children—to pass a few hours being silly and carefree. But other evenings, it was too much to come home to the familiar attitudes and behaviors, little copies of the trying family members he’d spent all day dealing with.

Days like that—days like today—Esme took them all out of the house to give John time to decompress after arriving home for the shop. Like a premonition, Esme always seemed to know, even without John realizing he needed it.

But he did need it.

Some days depending on what he was tasked with, John just needed a moment to come back to himself before being with the kids, to let all the other stuff fall away, to be reminded that the family dynamics he’d grown up with didn’t have to be the same ones he raised his kids with. That the traits his kids had gotten from the rest of the Shelbys were just that—traits. His frustrations with his brothers and his aunts had no need of being taken out on his kids...on his wife.

John knew it, but he wasn’t always aware of it creeping in. Esme always seemed to sense it better than he did. She knew when her husband needed to get himself straight. She never called attention to it though, always able to make up some perfectly reasonable excuse for why all of the children needed to come with her and leave the house empty for a bit even if it was just before dinner time. Even if it was not remotely convenient for her or the kids.

And there was something about Esme’s way that those kids, the ones who always had a million protests and questions…they never questioned it when she announced they were going out. They didn’t back talk to her the way they might to John. It was like she held some sort of magic over them all. John thought sometimes maybe she did.

Esme Shelby Lee certainly had him in a thrall, anyway.

They’d only be gone for half an hour, but that would be time enough. John took a sip of his drink, still sitting in his chair at the kitchen table as he waited for whoever it was to come back through. Sarah, he hoped. John figured he could handle his oldest daughter for just a few minutes.

Yes, he decided. He far preferred it to be Sarah coming through the door. He couldn’t handle any of the other children just now—not Katie, who was a bit like Finn, or Joey, who was somehow both a bit of Tommy and a bit of Arthur at the same time, and certainly not Robbie, who was too much like John. Thankfully, the baby wasn’t like much of anyone yet, not discernibly anyway, but he knew his infant wouldn’t be crawling through the door.

John took another sip of his drink as careful footsteps sounded in the front room. He knew it wasn’t just the time alone but also the glass of whiskey that eased the day’s tensions. Somewhere along the line, he’d convinced himself it helped. He’d convinced himself he needed it.

John called out before the kitchen door swung open. “What do you need—”

He started as his sister came through the door, still in her school uniform, looking like she’d run the whole way there from the other side of Birmingham. “Oh—Clara. Uh…Esme’s out with the—”

Clara shook her head. “No,” she choked out, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as the bag of school books fell to the floor. Her eyes were rimmed red with tears and John realized she wasn’t just out of breath from running here.

“Alright,” John shifted in his chair. “What do you—?”

“You. John, I—” The words came out hard, like whatever she intended to say really was a need and not a want. As Clara’s voice devolved into a sob, she became incoherent to her brother, whatever else she had been about to tell him lost in the tears and uncontrollable breathing. John had not a single clue as to what it might have been his sister needed, what she was trying to tell him. It usually frustrated him a bit, having to guess at whatever Clara wasn’t saying and lately, Esme had been taking over where Clara was concerned. Esme understood her better. He figured it was a female thing.

He’d grown used to his sister showing up unannounced or inviting herself over for dinner or for a long weekend. Most of the time, she was looking for Esme, but she’d been spending more time with them in general—with him, and Esme, and the kids. Clara and Esme had formed a certain bond though, a bit of a conspiratorial relationship that John didn’t wholly understand or particularly enjoy. There were secrets between his wife and his sister that he wasn’t comfortable with them having though he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know the details. Esme often informed him that what she and Clara talked about wasn’t any of his business, anyway.

John let it be. He tried for acceptance, but he would’ve been lying if he said it didn’t bother him just a bit—the conspiratorial dynamic mirroring what had once existed between Tommy and Clara and making him a little jealous that his sister seemed to be closer with his wife than him these days.

John was used to Clara preferring Tommy, but there was a space between Clara and their brother now that Grace had returned. John wondered if it was the big, drafty halls out in Warwickshire setting a coldness into their interactions. He didn’t know for sure, but there was more space between Clara and Tommy now than there had ever been on Watery Lane.

And it still hadn’t seemed enough for Clara. She filled her time with finding excuses to be away from Arrow House, passing her weekends with John and Esme when she could manage it, but John wasn’t expecting her at his place now—not for a few hours, at least.

She should’ve been across the city in a classroom still. Or maybe, she should’ve been just about to head over to the office down on Jamaica Row. Someone was probably waiting on her at the school.

A Blinder.

The high and mighty King Thomas, himself, maybe.

It didn’t quite matter who was waiting on Clara though because she was here, in John’s kitchen, sputtering on the other side of the room. Whatever tension that had been clinging to John, the tension that had had Esme taking the kids out within a minute of him passing over the threshold eased. John’s mind stopped working to figure his sister out, to make sense of her sudden presence, deciding it didn’t quite matter. He stood up and crossed the kitchen to pull Clara against his chest.

Clara held her brother tight, immediately shifting so her arms were clinging onto him.

“Alright. It’s alright,” John soothed. Part of him wished she’d loosen her hold on him just a bit, but he didn’t moan or try to shift her any, letting her take what she needed for as long as she wanted.

John eased his hold when Clara started to pull away, lifting her arm to wipe at her face while she leaned her head against his chest.

“Does Tommy know—?”

“I don’t care,” she mumbled. “Tommy can fuck off.”

John snorted. “Don’t want to get on your bad side, eh?”

Clara pushed away from John and shoved her elbow into his side.

“Oi! Knock it off!” he huffed, pulling Clara back to his chest and settling her in a gentle headlock. “Thought you wanted me.”

Clara sighed. She tugged his arm down and settled against him once again. “I do.”

“Be nice then,” John mumbled. He placed a kiss on Clara’s head.

Clara took a deep breath, her eyes trained on the floor as she scuffed her feet against the well-worn hardwood. “I want to come home.”

John settled his hand on his sister's head. “You are home, Clara.”

His house was as good as hers, the way he saw it. She certainly spent enough time there.

“No, John.” Clara shook her head against him. “I want to be back for good. Back on Watery Lane.”

John hummed, but the sound was neutral—more of an acknowledgement than anything else. They both knew it wasn’t up to them, either one of them. Tommy said where Clara went. He said where she rested her head and where she learned her sums and where she was employed. The arrangement wasn’t documented or official, but it was good as law as far as they were all concerned. For years and years, it had been that way.

“What’s brought this on?” He asked.

“I just want to be here,” Clara answered. “I can help with the kids and—”

“There’ll be a kid at Arrow House you can help with soon enough,” John said.

Clara shook her head. She’d already decided that Tommy and Grace would have no need of her help. They had already hired a full staff for the house, nanny and all. They’d have Mary look after Charles. And Clara was quite certain that Mary didn’t like her.

“Tommy doesn’t need me,” she said, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “He doesn’t want me…said he doesn’t need me at the office anymore. Doesn’t want me in the business anymore.”

“He said all that?”

Clara pretended to sift through her mind for Tommy’s exact words, though she remembered them very clearly. He’d been so short in his explanations, his decree that she was done working for now, but it hadn’t felt to Clara like Tommy’s heart was in it.

“It doesn’t matter,” Clara said. “She’s put him up to it…she thinks I need to be focused on my schooling….but I can do both. If he doesn’t need me downtown, I can work in the shop instead, can’t I? You could use me and I can stay here and help with the kids and—“

“Of course I could use you,” John said, knowing his sister was better with math than most of the other buffoons in the shop and that Esme would probably relish in having his sister to lend a hand with the kids, “but if Tommy says—“

“I don’t care what Tommy says. He’s not—“

“In charge of us?” John suggested, cutting her off. “I’m surprised he’s not here already to collect you and give us both a telling off.”

Clara deflated a bit. “Can’t you just tell him I’m staying with you? Just tell him you and Esme need me to sit with the kids tonight?”

“Yeah, and are you actually going to sit with them?” he asked.

“I can…if you want,” she said, the volume of her voice lowering as she continued. “But maybe you and Esme want to stay in? I’m sure the kids would like it.”

John hummed. “Yeah, the kids would like it, sure.”

It wasn’t as if Clara’s words were untrue. John knew his kids would love a night in with their parents and aunt as Clara suggested, but there was more to it than that. It was Clara who wanted her brother close. It was Clara who wanted a night on Watery Lane, insulated from the rest of her world by her brother and sister-in-law and nieces and nephews.

“Can you talk to him?”

John sighed, nodding despite himself. “But if he wants you home, I’m not fighting him. It’s not worth it, alright? If he puts up a fight, you go on for the weekend and you can come to us next week as planned.”

Clara nodded, “And working in the shop?”

Clara let the question linger, cutting

“If you sort things with Tommy…” Clara cut into her brother’s thoughts as she heard the front door creak open, hoping it wasn’t Tommy coming to find her. “I’ll sort our dinner tonight…”

Esme came into the kitchen with all five children in tow. She plopped the baby in John’s arms and handed the bag of groceries to Clara before lowering herself into the chair and running her hands over her swollen belly.

“If your sister’s offering to cook me dinner, you do whatever she wants, John.”

John had no desire to get between his brother and his sister. He had enough disagreements racked up with Tommy without counting Clara’s concerns, but John could tell she needed it. She needed to feel someone was on her side, hearing her, listening to her. He knew what it was to feel like no one was listening. And he wasn’t sure Tommy would listen to him, but Polly might. He figured she might be willing to talk to Tommy. And Tommy might be willing to listen if it was Polly’s voice he was hearing.

And now that Esme was involved, it didn’t seem he had much of a choice in the matter anyway.

“Your mother’s said her piece. I guess we’d best go make a few phone calls for your auntie, eh, Eli?” The baby in his lap lifted a chubby hand and smacked it against John’s cheek. He went back for a second and third hit, laughter spilling from his little mouth, seemingly trying to move his father along.

“Alright, mate. Hold on,” John said, standing himself and the baby up and heading toward the telephone.

John paused just over the threshold. He could hear his wife and sister talking, Esme’s voice followed by Clara’s laughter.

Elias patted John’s face again, pulling his attention back to the task at hand.

“I’m going, I’m going,” John said as he continued away from the kitchen.

It would usually have set John a bit on edge, hearing his sister and wife start talking and laughing as soon as he was out of the room, but just now it eased something in John knowing he wasn’t alone in all of this. It was a comfort knowing that his wife knew not just what he needed, but what his kids needed, and his sister, too.

As John lifted the handset, waiting for the operator to connect, Elias cuddled into his father’s chest. John knew the boy had inherited his looks from the Shelby side, but as another bit of tension inside of him melted away at the baby's touch, John thought maybe the boy's intuitive, kind heart might mirror that of his mother.

Peaky Blinders (Little Lady Blinder) Masterlist

Peaky Blinders (Non-Shelby!Sister) Masterlist

#peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #john shelby fanfic #john shelby #esme lee #esme shelby #shelby sister #shelby!sister #little lady blinder #clara shelby #elias shelby #raise a glass to llb

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notyour-valentine · 2 years

Text

First Period ~ Shelby!Sister Headcanon

Summary: Of course their youngest sister would start getting her period with Ada in hiding and Polly out of the house

Note: Thank you for the request, anon! I've chosen to take the Sister!reader approach and instead of writing one for each of the brothers, I tried to combine them all. I hope you like it. Here is my [Masterlist].

I do not consent to my work being translated, copied or posted elsewhere on this platform or any other. This hasn't been beta'd so I apologise for typos or mistakes

Warning: Blood? I don't know what you expect...it's kind of in the title. Your media consumption is your own responsibility.

Request: yes, by anonymous

Wordcount: 1077

Finn

Finn was the first to notice something was wrong with his sister. She was just a few years older than him and his favourite playmate- his favourite person in the whole world. So when she started acting funny, no longer wanting to play chase or the like, got grumpy when he asked and slept far longer than she usually did, he got suspicious right away

Then she started getting these pains in her back and stomach, especially at night when he could see her tossing and turning, keeping them both up.

The next morning she didn't get up with him but when she didn't join him after an hour or two he went up to check on her only to see her sitting on the edge of the bed with blood all over her hands and on her nightgown, looking at him with wide, panicked eyes

At once, Finn ran down the stairs, falling over in the process but not stopping on his way to the betting shop.

He pushed the doors open with both his hands and screamed on the top of his lungs that his sister was dying!

For a single second there was shocked silence, but the movement came to the other Shelbys.

John dropped the books he had been working on, fearing they had been playing with his gun again. Arthur abandoned his cigarette, reaching for the gun in his desk drawer. Tommy knocked over his office chair in an effort to get up as quickly as possible as they followed Finn up the stairs.

John

John reached the children's bedroom first, and stopped in his tracks once he grasped the situation, making both Arthur and Tommy bump into him, until they too saw the truth of this matter.

Their relief was short-lived however, as this was a situation neither razor blade nor gun could solve.

She was still so young, younger than Ada had been, but here they were- and of course his sister would start her monthlies with Ada in hiding and Polly out of the house. She really picked her times.

But John had been married, and he knew what she would need and quickly excused himself with a muttered "I'll get the stuff."

There were probably some of Martha's things left and if not he knew where to get them from. Or he could ask Lizzie- she would have things at her place and would know what to say or do

It also gave him an excuse to go, leaving Arthur and Tommy to deal with it.

Arthur

Arthur took a long while staring at the two panicked children, with their tear stained faces and, in his sister's case, blood stained hands.

This was women's business alright, but with no women in the house, it fell to him. He was the eldest and the head of the family and someone had to do something to calm them down.

So he told Finn to shut it before announcing almost ceremoniously that there was no cause for distress and that this was a normal thing to happen if someone became a grown woman and could have a baby.

That only resulted in panicked "I'm having a baby?", screeches from his little sister and equally shocked responses from his youngest brother. His protests were drowned out by her pleas that she didn't want a baby, that please, please he could make the baby go away

Tommy

Tommy's "Enough!" cut through Finn's frantic questions, their sister's panicked sobs and Arthur's poorly worded explanation attempts.

"No one's dying. No one's having a baby" (apart from Ada, but that was a whole other topic)

Crouching down in front of the bed, he gave his sister's knees a squeeze and told her that this happened to every woman and every girl, despite the work taking the time to answer her questions. “I don’t know why it’s blood.”, “Yes, that’s why your belly was hurting.”, “No it’s not just you.”, "Yes Ada too", "And Aunt Pol.", "Maybe not Mrs. Drew- she's sixty".

He tried to explain to her in as simple terms as he could, without going into any more details than he had to, that it was her body's way of telling her that she wasn't going to have a baby, even if she could.

That reduced her frantic sobs to understanding sniffles until she forced out a "Never ever?"

If it were up to him, he'd have confirmed that but instead he told her that it would be years and years and that one had to be married before having a baby (Ada should have remembered that!)

The rest of the fears were taken away by a long hug, before Tommy suggested she take a warm bath (he knew that helped with some of the pain) and drink some of that tea which he had seen Polly give Ada around that time of the month - that mix of camilla, yarrow, alchemilla and damiana

She couldn't meet his eyes when she told him that during their hug she had stained the back of his shirt with the blood on her hands and whispered an apology, but Tommy only cupped her face and assured her that she shouldn’t worry. He had had suffered far worse bloodstains in his time.

When Polly came home, she cried tears of laughter when a disgruntled Arthur told her what happened, and she made a note to talk to her youngest niece and tell her more than the boys could

Finn didn’t find it funny at all. He was glad of course, that his sister wasn’t dying, but something still kept him up at night

Finally gathering the courage, he slipped his blanket off and snuck over to her bed. It was boiling hot in comparison, as Polly had given her a pillow of cherry seeds she had warmed in a pan to put on her belly or on her back.

“Are you still hurting?”, he wanted to know, a little relieved that she told him it was better than last night. Slipping in under her covers he whispered what had been burning in the back of his mind

“Arthur said you’re a woman now. Does that mean you won’t be playing with me any more? That you’ll be like Ada wearing dresses and skirts? That you’ll stop running and racing and riding with me?”

Only when she promised she wouldn’t, did he sleep easy, all the worries from the last few days vanishing into thin air as he drifted off to sleep next to his sister who was and would always be his favourite person in the whole wide world.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

Taglist

@lilyrachelcassidy @jyessaminereads @watercolorskyy @books-livre @chlorrox @quarterpastmidnight @lilyevanswhore @polishcrazyone @zablife @just-a-harmless-patato

Tommy

@knowledgefulbutterfly @babayaga67 @signorellisantichrist @lespendy

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amazingmaeve · 2 years

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SHELBY SISTER/FAMILY FIC RECOMMENDATIONS!

these stories don’t have a pairing, they are just platonically with the Shelby sister fics. so don’t forget to give them likes and comments of all your praise because the author DESERVES it!

Nelly Shelby ➵ @lovelyalways

who’s watching ➵ @zodiyack

anna’s secret ➵ @moral-turpitudes

bragging rights ➵ @nineteenninety-six

summary ➵ Shelby sister would learn to say John's name first because is the easiest to pronounce and he would brag about it until his last day.

smoke ➵ @theshelbyclan

summary ➵ The youngest Shelby sister is grieving the loss of her brother John and she’s spiralling out of control in the process, but can’t talk about any of it (a lot of angst and drama)

mine ➵ @theshelbyclan

summary ➵ When she took a job at the night club, all the second Shelby sister wanted was to be in control of her own life. Unfortunately, her brothers don’t approve.

cursed ➵ @theshelbyclan

summary ➵ After Grace’s death, Tommy is still mourning his wife. And when he sees his baby sister wearing her old things, before he can stop himself, he snaps.

the black hand ➵ @theshelbyclan

summary ➵ After I lost my twin brother, John, a part of me died as well and I could never go back to how we Shelby’s were before

royalty ➵ @randomoutsiders

summary ➵ one where the boys are sick of treating you like you’re royalty.

no one left ➵ @toms-cherry-trees

summary ➵ Even when the world is black and the ground threatens to crack underneath his feet, Tommy always has someone to count with, has he?

funeral ➵ @zablife

summary ➵ After Tommy returns home from the war, he finds his youngest sister changed, the stress of the war years wearing on her. When he recognizes the symptoms of her loneliness and depression he tries to assure her everything will be alright.

the one you never knew ➵ @toms-cherry-trees

summary ➵ Thomas Shelby never looked to those beneath him. Not even his youngest sister, the one he never got round to. And time has come for payback

innocence taken ii ➵ @unknowntoyou2205

summary ➵ Thomas Shelby has been the sole carer for his baby sister since he returned from the war, meaning that he has always been overly protective of her. At age 16, she tries to be more independent without the help of her brothers but when she gets attacked one night, she ends up pregnant and when her brother finds out, he doesn't realize that it wasn't by choice, and regrets it when Polly tells him the bad news.

when was the last time you ate? ➵ @ukrainianmotherfucker

summary ➵ She just wanted to be noteced. And Thomas did.

portrait ➵ @geekwritersworld

summary ➵ The most dangerous family in Birmingham seems to be unfazed by everything thrown at them, except the loss of their youngest Shelby.

little artist ➵ @geekwritersworld

summary ➵ Hello, I could ask one in which the younger sister of the Shelbys, maybe she is 14/15 years old wants to be an artist and she has a lot of talent but the family does not know but the art teacher one day calls the Shelbys at school to talk about her sister and they discover her talent and that she received a letter from a private school in London to study on full scholarship. Thank you for your time

#shelby sister #shelby!sister #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders one shot #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders fluff #peaky blinders fic #peaky blinders recommendations #peaky blinders x sister!reader #peaky blinders

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marvelxmendes · 1 year

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Birthdays & Ballet

1919

In which the youngest Shelby sister is introduced to the art of Ballet

it was a crisp winter morning, and the shelby residence on watery lane had been up and running for a while now. It was the morning of Rosemary Shelby's 9th birthday and her big brothers insisted that it would be a special celebration, as she was sick on her birthday last year which would have been the first birthday celebration since the brothers had returned from the war.

"Thomas, you go over to John's and get him and make sure he gets here." Polly says, while preparing the eggs that are part of the birthday breakfast. Thomas nods, and walks out of the door. She turns to her eldest nephew. "Arthur, will you please wake the birthday girl? And wake the others if they aren't yet, while you're at it!" hearing him grumble something, she turns back to the eggs.

Arthur walks up the stairs to the second floor. He passes Ada's room first. He gently knocks on the door and opens it. He sees ada still in her bed, but awake as she's reading a book. "Ah good, you're awake." He mumbles. She looks up from her book. "I'll be down for breakfast soon." Arthur smiles at her and closes the door.

He walks up to the last door in the hallway, which belongs to the kids. he, again, gently knocks on the door and opens it. once the door is fully open, a blur of red hair passes by him. "Oi, Finn! Go downstairs and help aunt Pol, eh?" he sighs and looks into the still semi dark room, where the birthday girl herself is still fast asleep. He slowly sits on the bed, and gently shakes her awake. "Goodmorning little rose." Two pair of blue eyes open and look at him. Rose pushes herself up on one arm and yawns, before a realisation hits her. "It's my birthday!" She exclaims, while looking up at her eldest brother. He grins at her before standing up. "D'you want a piggyback ride?" Rose looks at Arthur with a big smile on her face 'He hasn't offered a piggyride since before the war started'

once everyone is downstairs, the breakfast begins, and the smell of bacon and eggs floats throughout the house.Tommy clears his throat, and everyone looks at him. "Rose, there can't be a birthday without a gift." Rose looks at him with a grin, and he nods to the fireplace. On top there's a pink enveloppe.

Rose walks over and gently picks up the enveloppe. "To Rosemary Shelby.." she looks at the enveloppe, trying to guess what could be in it. "Well open it, pipsqueak!" John says.

Rose grins and opens the enveloppe. Inside there's three tickets. She grabs one of them and inspects it. "Tickets to the Nutcracker!"

"Do you like it?" Arthur asks, unsure wether he picked the right gift for his sister. "I love it!"

"Who are the other two tickets for?" Rose asks.

"That's up to you to decide, sweetheart. Now, time to get ready for school." Polly says, a smile on her face. Rose gets up from the table and starts her journey back to her room to get ready. Before she van leave the room she is interrupted by John. "Well, who is coming with you, eh?"

Rose smiles at him. "I haven't decied yet." Lie. From the moment she saw those two other tickets, she'd decided to take Arthur and Polly with her. She doesn't want the rest to know yet, as she doesn't want to hurt their feelings, even though the rest of the family pretty much already knows.

After Rose gets ready for school, she goes downstairs to say goodbye to her aunt, who is the only one left as the others had left to the betting shop.

"Aunt Pol, I want to give the other tickets to you and Arthur."

Polly smiles at her. "That's very kind of you love. Now off to school you."

—————————

Rose sits on a stool in the kitchen as Ada is braiding her hair. "How do I look?" Rose asks her big sister. "You look lovely." Ada says, finishing the last Dutch braid.

Rose smiles and hops off the stool, and twirls. "Hey little ballerina, it's time to go!" Polly tells her with a smile.

The two walk outside where Arthur's standing. He offers each an arm, and they walk to the theater. Once they get there, Rose can't contain her excitement. "Alright Rose, when we get inside you have to behave like a proper lady." Polly tells her. Rose nods, and hands her ticket to the man at the door.

The three of them walk inside and get to their seats. After a few minutes the light dims and the dancers come out. Throughout the whole show Rose is in awe of the dancers. The way it seems like the dancers are floating during their turns and jumps, the way their limbs move. She even is mesmerised by the tiny details the dancers add with their facial expressions.

Once the show is over, the three Shelby's walk back to watery lane. Rose keeps on pretending to be a ballerina, twirling and jumping through the Birmingham streets. Polly and Arthur look at each other and smile at Rose's antics.

——————————

It is Christmas morning and the Shelby family is gathered in the living room. The youngest Shelby sister sits on the floor, resting against Arthur’s legs, watching everybody open their presents. They had just watched Ada receive a new book when aunt Polly tosses a gift into Rose’s lap. ‘It’s from me and Arthur’ polly tells her niece.

Arthur and Polly smile at each other as they watch Rose unwrap her gift. Their smile gets even bigger as they watch Rose’s eyes glimmer as she unwraps het new ballet flats with a note attached, telling her that she is to start het ballet classes as of next Wednesday.

—————-

This was supposed to be uploaded before christmas.. but university kicked my ass

Talking about university kicking my ass.. I almost failed last year, which was why my uploads were nonexistent.. sorry!

I hope you all had great holidays and I wish everyone the best for 2023!

#peaky blinders #tommy shelby #arthur shelby #shelby!sister #finn shelby

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dreamerschroniclesofstories · 5 months

Text

Clementina pt2

A/n: thank you for the support in the likes and comments on pt1, it means so much to me.it looks like this series will have three or four parts. I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR YOU TO REPOST THIS ON OTHER WEBSITES AND TRANSLATION OF THIS FIC.

Pt1: pt3: pt4

T.W: violence, blood, details of child abuse, nun being misogynistic.

Summery: The Shelby family are in for a shock when they find out they have a sister hiding in plain sight.

Word count: 1,567

The sound of two cars racing up the makeshift road that leads to St Hilda’s orphanage catches the attention of a group of older girls, ordered by the mother superior to get the milk that was left by the milkman, who delivers twenty boxes of milk to the orphanage weekly. The youngest girl in the group watched as the two black cars swerve around the corner, the grounds keeper barely having enough time to open the gates for the speeding cars.

The elderly grounds keepers eyes widen as he watches the cars pass by him “Bloody hell, it's Thomas Shelby” he states, his fragile legs beginning to run in the opposite direction. He knew that wherever Tommy Shelby goes, there is trouble.

The cars park outside of the double doors of the orphanage, the girls still stood there holding some of the boxes of milk, watching the man in a long black coat and a peaked cap step out of the first car with an older woman wearing a long red coat and a black hat climbing out after him. The oldest out of the girls gasp quietly “ it’s the peaky blinders” she whispers, the other girls look towards her then back at Tommy and Polly “ sister Wilson” the girls call out as they rush into the building. Leaving most of the boxes of milk outside.

Tommy grabs a cigarette out of his pocket and lights it, looking up at the building, blowing out some smoke before Polly starts to talk “ there are children around Thomas, be mindful” she warns. The sound of a car door slamming shut ,Arthur getting out of the other car, makes Tommy glance at Arthur then back towards the double doors , not answering Polly back but starts to walk towards the doors.

Just before Tommy could knock on the old oak doors, a youngish nun opens it quickly. She looks up at Tommy and her eyes immediately take on a haunted look “ Mr Shelby” she gulps “ we weren’t expecting another meeting quite so soon” she fretted.

“ nor was I, but you and your mother superior kept something from us” he answered, his eyebrows raising slightly as he spoke.

Polly hums beside Tommy “ may we come in?” She asked, her voice indicating that it was more of a demand than a question.

The young nun nods “ of course, how rude of me” her hands shake as she slides open the door wider to let them in “ mother superior is in her office, I’ll go inform her that you are here” the nun announced before tilting her head down and quickly walking away, turning the corner to the corridor that presumably holds the offices of the nuns.

Polly looks around at the foyer of the orphanage, a large stair case to the left of them most likely leads to the school rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms of the children that live here “ your sister lives in a fuckin shithole” she grumbles. Before anyone could reply, mother superior walks around the corner, she stops for a second as she glances between the three people she least wanted to see today.

“ Mr Shelby, Mrs Gray” she greets them, smiling slightly and wipes her hands on her black habit “ what may we do for you..again” she asks, her voice laced with annoyance.

Tommy casually blows a cloud of smoke from his mouth into the nuns face, causing her to cough slightly and waft the smoke away with her hand “ you have a secret and I would like to know why you kept it to yourself ” he retorted, Arthur walks around the foyer, looking around to make sure that nothing seemed suspicious.

Mother superior glances at Arthur before she continues to speak “ everyone has secrets Mr Shelby, i don't see why it is of importance for you to disturb breakfast hour” she bespoke, her shoulders raising slightly as she lets out a quiet huff.

Tommy was getting more irritated the more the nun spoke, he rubs his eyes with his thumb and index finger. he looks up at the ceiling then back at the nurse “this secret that i speak of has the name clementina” Tommy declares, his eyes turning ice cold as the nun immediately tenses. He throws his half smoked cigarette onto the floor and squashed it with his foot.

Arthur had disappeared down the hall that had no candles light and looked the most unused, his hand in his pocket holding his gun in case someone ambushes him, back at the foyer Polly began to argue with the nun.

“ why would you keep a child away from her family, unless you are a cruel hag that enjoys the pain and emotional torture of children” Polly squawked, her hands and arms moved as she argued.

“ her mother was a whore, Mr Shelby paid good money to keep her here in secret, she does not deserve to be in the world, she is born a bastard who disobeys my every word and goes against god, she is a sinner just like how her mother was” she snaps, finally showing her true colours. Polly slaps her, the sound of skin hitting skin penetrates the atmosphere.

Before Polly or Tommy could say anything more to mother superior, Arthurs' bellowing voice reacts them “ Tommy, you better get here”.

Tommy points at mother superior “we are not finished here” he warns, turning around and stalks down the corridor, in the direction of where Arthur disappeared too, as Tommy and Polly got closer to Arthur the sounds of a little girl crying and the sound of something sharp hitting her could be heard from the room at the end of the hallway.

Polly immediately performs the sign of the cross, praying that the child is okay. Tommy stands in front of the door and holds the door handle whilst getting his gun from his holster with his other hand. Tommy signals towards Arthur that he'll open the door on the count of three, Polly steps back, grabbing her rosemary from around her neck and kisses the cross as the sound of the child crying and screaming for help gets louder.

After the count of three, Tommy opens the door and points the gun at the nun that was standing behind the girl who was kneeling on the floor and bent over a chair, her undergarment shirt pulled up so her back was on display. the nun looks towards the door, her eyebrows rise in shock as her arm holds a leather whip in the air as she was in the middle of whipping the girl.

“ drop the whip now” Tommy bawled, his eyes filling with a murderous rage, Polly pushes past Tommy and rushes over to the young girl as the nun drops the whip and holds her hands up. her hands shaking from the mixture of adrenaline and fear as she looks towards Tommy.

“ its unlawful to hurt a nun Mr Shelby, we are the property of the lord” she states, trying to sound confident but failing as her voice wobbles.

“and it is unlawful to hurt the innocent, but you do, you fucking do” Polly interrupts, kneeling beside the quivering girl, who curled herself up onto the floor in the fetal position.

Arthur stops mother superior as she rushes down the corridor, pointing his gun at her face, the barrel pointing between her eyes. Tommy kicks the whip away from the nun so she was unable to pick it up again.

“ you made a big mistake prioress” Tommy used his index finger to turn off the safety on the gun, the clicking noise making the nun flinch.

“ it was an order, from mother superior, the lord told us to punish her to clean her of her sins” the nun defends her actions, which only made Tommy more angry.

“ she is an innocent girl, unluckily for you she is a Shelby” Tommy proclaimed, not breaking eye contact with the nun. “ i demand you, to leave this building and go as far as possible” Tommy begins to declare, moving out of the door frame “ if i find you, and i promise i will, you will have a bullet with you name on” he threatens, nudging his gun towards the door “ now” he suddenly yells.

the nun runs out of the room, mother superior following. just as the nuns ran to collect their items, the arranged collection for the other orphan girls began to arrive. Tommy got someone to get into contact with esme, to arrange for the lees to allow them to use their carriages for the groups of girls going to be placed together.

Tommy puts his gun back into his holster, adjusting his cap on his head, pulling out a cigarette then gives it to Tommy, he was about to light another cigarette for himself when the sound of pollys panicked voice grabs his attention.

“ Tommy, she needs a doctor” she declares as she holds her scalf against clementina's wounds, it seemed this wasn't the first time the young girl was whipped, as the old scars had reopened, causing deep lacerations on her back.

“ Arthur, get the car ready” Tommy demands as he takes his coat off to wrap around the girl.

#tommy shelby fanfic #tommy shelby imagines #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders x sister!reader #shelby!sister #thomas shelby imagine #peaky blinders imagine #tommy shelby #arthur shelby #polly shelby #polly gray #thomas shelby x sister reader #peaky blinders imagines

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millieml · 2 years

Text

Aven Shelby : Closeted no more

Shelby!sis

Tommy catching his younger sister within a lie, and dreaded truths are revealed. Coming out of the closet (quite literally and metaphorically)

word count: 3.3k

warnings: swearing, overwhelming gayness, shouting, kissing/heated - hickey

Soft laughs echoed through the kitchen directly below my room, the walls of our house thin and hollow. I could hear Aunt Polly’s scolding words being launched towards John after a crude joke was made, I could practically see the smirk on his face despite being upstairs - out of sight. And, although it was late and I had been sent to bed hours earlier, I was wide awake.

“Aven?” A soft voice whispered beside me.

Dark brown eyes lock onto mine, and there we lay, snuggled up in secret on my very own bed. We had been in the same position for the past few hours, all thanks to myself - having done an excellent job at sneaking her into the house before being sent upstairs, going completely unnoticed by my family, not like they ever pay much attention to me anyways.

Warmth seeped through my veins as Lottie held eye contact with me, my arm tightly wrapped around her waist, Lottie’s head resting comfortably on my shoulder, her head every now and again being pushed against the side of my neck. This felt new, safe even.

“mmhpm” I acknowledged slightly, feeling sleepy with her tucked into me like this. I wish we could stay like this forever.

As we lay in bed, happiness soaking up any bad thoughts floating through my mind, I listen closely to the life downstairs. Soft laughs, loud laughs, Aunt Polly scolding John once more for, well anything that he would have done I guess. It was nice to finally relax, to enjoy a moment like this in private. God knows how long I’ve waited just to have her in my embrace.

Lottie’s head of blonde waves now rested across the comfort of my chest; her left arm wrapped tightly around my torso. This was warmth, her touch, her presence, when she’s not near me I can’t describe how I feel, but something is always missing without her.

Cherishing this moment that is bound to end, I bring my hand to her loose soft curls, gently stroking the top of her head. Her dark brown eyes are covered by thick black lashes on the edge of her closed eyelids. It seems someone else is also tired.

The soft intakes and exhales of breath highlight the little noise in my bedroom, my heart swells knowing the trust she must have in me, and how safe she must feel to be able to sleep whilst being where she is.

I love that about her, I love everything about her, but knowing she wants this, us, despite our differences in backgrounds - melts my heart in every way possible.

I’ve waited for this day to arrive for quite some time, despite our relationship occurring over the past four months, we haven’t had the opportunity to hold each other like this, its been a lot harder than one might think to sneak around in the society we live in.

No matter where you turn, there is always someone there, whether it’s a blinder who’s been sent to stalk me and keep me from having a normal life, or whether it’s a nosy creep ready to gossip the first chance they get.

Life has been stressful, I couldn’t risk the two of us being caught, and many might say that no one would be suspicious of two girls hanging around each other, but it’s not that simple.

Am I supposed to just act like I have no feelings towards her? I have to physically distract myself from wanting to take her hips in my grip and pull her into me any chance I get.

My love sign is touch, and as much as it pisses me off, I couldn’t live without it. That feeling that floods through me as I embrace her, as I stare at the girl I fell in love with, its rare and when it arrives it stays.

As I look back down at the girl in my hold, my hand automatically reaches out to brush a fallen gold strand away from her eyes. The simple action causes a stir in Lottie, and the dark brown eyes I long to see come into view.

“so beautiful” The words slip out of my mouth naturally as I get the whole image of her in front of me.

Her eyes light up at my words, a bright smile tugs at her lips as a tint of pink hits the skin of her cheeks. I can’t help but chuckle at her reaction and how flustered she has become under the influence of two singular words.

A smooth, small hand, caresses the side of my face, slowly gliding down to my jawline as Lottie pulls herself up slightly. My left arm instinctively wraps itself around her waist, pulling her immensely closer as she resumes her tracing of my face.

“I love you, Aven”, The melodic sound rings through my ears, my hands grip tighter on her waist as I roll the two of us over, pressing her back into the pulpy mattress underneath the two of us.

My attention locks onto her soft lips begging to be touched, and I do as such, leaning forward and gently taking them in mine, kissing her slowly; softly.

One arm steadies my weight beside her head as my hand tucks itself behind her curls, cradling her and moving the two of us closer. I reach the other one down, running my thumb over the bottom of her rib cage, feeling the heat seep further between our bodies.

The kiss deepens, her small hands grip onto my back, begging for more. I press further into the kiss, seeking her approval as she opens her mouth, allowing my tongue to find her own. Hips push up into mine, trying anything to find the friction she so desperately needs.

A breathless chuckle escapes my lips as I pull back ever so slightly, teasing her further.

Lottie whimpers at the loss of contact, a smirk pulling itself up to my lips as I look down at her helpless state. Her hair is hotly messy, and a large flush has spread across her face, highlighting the darkness of her brown eyes.

“please” She whimpers adorably, leaning up to kiss me once more. Although, seeking my own enjoyable pleasure with her neediness, I prolong myself from allowing the contact, and pull back slightly further once more.

A small cry withers its way from her lips as I bring myself to speak.

“What’s wrong hmm? tell me what you need love” I speak quietly, all of my senses focused on the sight below me.

“y-you, you Aven”

“Good girl” I compliment, and with that my lips descend on hers and I press my hips down inter hers, our bodies moulding lovingly as I give in and kiss her with so much passion.

She hums happily into my mouth, the vibration sending a chill up my skin, I feel myself flush.

I take her right leg and wrap it around my hips, pulling her closer. Much to my enjoyment, she does the same with her left leg and before I know what’s happening she’s twisting us round and straddling my lap, the two of us in a sitting position, our chests heaving against each other as we slow things down.

Familiar soft, plump lips attach to my neck, finding my pleasurable spot and sucking harshly on the area of skin. Her lips glitch against my neck as I press her further against me, pulling her fully flush upon me, - a low moan escaping my lips as her teeth dig in, bruising me and creating a small mark.

However, just as fate seems to have it...

A loud crash snaps the two of us out of our moment, followed by the sound of footsteps thudding up the stairs. I can tell immediately who they belong to. Panic floods through my veins as I slip Lottie off me and pull her into my closet, shutting the door and slipping back onto my bed.

As soon as I sit, my door slams open.

There my brother stands, his eyes holding fury as he points at me with anger.

“Fuck where you this morning, eh?!” He growls out accusingly, however his voice comes out in more of a whisper, the low tone grasping my full attention.

My heart stutters at his anger, a million things flashing through my mind as I try to evaluate the situation I am in.

This morning I was with Lottie, behind Uncle Charlies stables in a field. We’d hang out there most days, cuddling up for half an hour or so before people got suspicious of my whereabouts.

The problem was that Tommy had brought me to the backroom of the Garrison this morning and had left me to count some money for him. I wasn’t expecting him to notice my absence. I guess I should have known better.

“Er I—” I stutter out before he cuts me off.

“No! You weren’t at the fuckin’ Garrison, John went looking for you, but the money was left out and there was no sight of you.” His voice lowers dangerously towards the end. His voice gradually loosing the rage as the under lying tone of betrayal sounds through.

His footsteps reach towards me as he bends down, two hands on either side of the bed. His blue eyes mercifully stare into mine as I try my hardest to keep my head up and not act intimidated.

“So, is this how it’s gonna be? eh?” He speaks lowly, his voice almost un hearable, however I hear each syllable, loud and clear.

“Tommy I- “My words faded out as his eyes pierced into mine, causing my head to drop and give in almost instantly.

I hated being any kind of disappointment to Tommy, after all, he is my brother and has done a lot for our family, especially when we are without both parents.

“I don’t understand, you’re always goin’ at us all about being more involved, but whenever I give u an instruction you don’t fuckin’ listen!” Strictness seeps through his words, signifying the importance of this betrayal he feels he’s faced.

I scoff at his words, “So now you care? Oh piss this, when have you ever paid any remote attention to my life, all you give a shit about is business, you’re never around!” I lash out, the heat of the moment suddenly angering me.

Cold fingers grip my chin ever so slightly, as he tilts my head back up, forcing me to look straight at him. I whimper pathetically at the feeling, especially as my hair moves slightly, and my previously kissed skin is revealed.

The air is cold, and as soon as I feel the breeze across my neck, I know that it would be a miracle if he hadn’t seen the marks. The darkening of eyes and furrowing of brows only plummet my chances of hope as his fingers tighten on my chin.

Much to my surprise, he releases me from his grip, and instead stands at his full height. Pacing slightly back and forth he freezes, sending me a death stare as he rummages around his pockets for a cigarette.

After lighting one and placing it inside his mouth, he releases a puff before beginning his so-called interrogation.

“Give me his name” The coldness devours his words, disgust lacing through, showing his disapproval. He must think I’m a whore, that his sister throws himself at people and wants to get money other ways.

Ridiculous. Not once has he seen me with a boy, other than Isaiah, and he’s more like a cousin then anything. I don’t even like men, that’s my problem, I don’t like what I’m supposed to.

Not knowing how my family will react if they ever find out, not knowing whether I will have a life that I can live with. Its all so overwhelming and frightening, but now that I am in this situation I’m scared.

“I said give me his fuckin’ name.”

“I- it’s not- “The words catch in my throat; I can’t physically get them out and the frustration brings tears to my eyes.

Why on earth did I ever open my mouth? If i didn’t lash out before, and controlled my temper, he probably wouldn’t have noticed anything!

Refusing to let them fall, I swallow them down, blinking them away as quick as they appeared.

The sound of a creak snaps the attention away from me, and a surge of panic rises through me as I realise the noise came from my closet.

Tommy’s rage heightens further as he storms dangerously towards the closet, throwing the door open only to pause as he finds who is inside.

Lottie stands tall, pressed harshly back against the flat of the closet, putting as much distance between the two of them as possible.

I hate myself for putting her in this situation, and not only am I worrying about my family knowing this secret I have held my entire life, but I am now worried of losing the people I love – Lottie included.

Tommy scoffs, his eyes threateningly catching onto mine, “so this is who you've become Aven? a liar?”

“Both of you get changed, my office.” And with one last huff he leaves the room, slamming the door against the wall as he makes his way downstairs.

I let out a shaky breath, terrified more than I will ever admit.

“A-Aven” Lottie’s voice cracks as her eyes a widened and slightly glossy.

“Shh its okay baby, come here” I speak, my voice failing me halfway as I stand up and make my way towards her.

Despite having a tough aspect, no one can blame her shell for cracking under that situation, he could have shot her for all I know. Before opening the closet, he could have easily put a bullet through the flimsy wooden material. And if that was the case, I wouldn’t be standing here, hearing her heartbeat thud against my own as I swarm her in a tight hug.

“C’mon we need to go love” I whisper, only to have her face press closer to my neck and her hands tighten around my back.

It was clear that she was shaking extensively, but we needed to go now and if we dawdled for any longer, we would risk Tommy coming back, and that was not something we needed another round on.

“I’m scared Aven” She whispers as I pull back and take her trembling hand in mine.

“And that’s okay, we can be scared together, just know that whatever happens, I will always love you okay?” This time I let the tears fall, refusing to have them appear whilst facing my brother.

After saying our last few sentences to each other, we timidly walk downstairs, I lead the way as we reach the kitchen, feeling the emptiness of the room as we make our journey through the betting Den and towards Tommy’s new office.

As we reach our dreaded destination, I knock twice, hoping to delay any sort of time before one of the scariest moments of my life.

“Come in”

With that, I push the door open and stop in my tracks as I see who else is present.

Tommy, John, Arthur.

Fuck.

“Sit down Aven and….” He raises his eyebrows towards Lottie, who freezes at the sudden attention.

“Lottie” She states quietly, the tense atmosphere of the room stealing the spotlight.

Arthur and John look more confused than anything, whereas Tommy’s expression is once again unreadable.

Slouching down in the chair opposite his fancy desk, I look back towards Lottie, nodding at the chair next to me as I feel the eyes of all three brothers on me.

“What’s this all about then Tom?” Arthur breaks the silence between the four of us.

Tommy doesn’t reply straight away, instead he looks at me, almost as if he is offering me a chance to explain to our older brother, but there was no way I could just admit to it like that.

“Its alright brother, just needed to set something straight between us and our Aven here.” He adds, much to my confusion. I was surprised he hadn’t outed me yet; I was waiting for the humiliation and rejection from my family, and because of that, I couldn’t focus on anything.

Arthur shuts up after Tommy’s explanation and instead takes a quick glimpse towards John with a shrug.

“Okay, so its come to my attention that we need to discuss some rules. Rules that I would’ve thought were rather simple, but here we are.” Tommy coughs halfway through his sentence, tapping a few bits of ash out of his cigarette as he pauses.

“This about this morning and the garrison?” John puts two and two together, trying to wrap his head around Tommy’s odd behaviour.

“Partly, partly John yes.” He nods in reply, taking another drag of his cig as his eyebrows furrow together.

“You see, its come to my attention, other’s too, that you’ve been running around, not sticking to places you are meant to be. This isn’t a case up for discussion, eh? It’s simple, if I know where you are and that you’re safe, that’s one less thing for me to worry about – Arthur and John will say the same.

And, as much as I want you to have the freedom, and not be pented up all the time, if you ever think about going somewhere or sneaking about behind mine or any Shelby’s back then that freedom will be gone, and you’ll be stuck in your room until I decide otherwise.”

The room is silent for a few moments, before the large sound of a slam has me jumping in my seat. Tommy slams his hand down on his desk, his finger pointing directly at me.

“Eh! Got it?!”

“Y-Yes Tom” I manage to choke out, pushing back the gushes of tears threatening to unravel how I truly feel. I understood what he was saying of course I did, but that didn’t change the fact that I had to sneak around in order to be happy and hide this relationship from my family.

“Right, that’s all Arthur, John.” He points to the door, leaning back in his chair as he fishes out his lighter for another smoke.

Relief floods through me, as despite the hesitation, both Arthur and John leave, leaving just Tommy alongside the two of us.

“What’s your last name.” Tommy asks calmly, the anger dissipated from his voice as he speaks to my girlfriend beside me.

I can sense her hesitation, clearly worried about the aftermath that this could cause for her or her family. The last thing she needed was her parents finding out about her relationship with not just a Shelby, but a Shelby sister.

“Tom- “He glances towards me, silencing me instantly.

“Haywood” Lottie answers strongly, sitting up slightly in her chair as she sends a quick glimpse in my direction, a small smile ghosting her mouth as she tries to tell me that she is indeed okay.

“Lottie what are you to my sister?” The question pours from his mouth, and the shock of the boldness has the two of us freezing in our seats, worried instantly about what to say and how to move forward.

I couldn’t let her answer for me, despite the question being directed towards her, the simple answer told Tommy the truth, and if it doesn’t come from my mouth, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

“She’s my girlfriend.” I lean forward, forearms resting on my knees, covered by tightly fitted trousers. My head bows knowing the information my brother has just received.

“Hmm, that’s interesting. Well, I’d appreciate it if you weren’t in my sisters bedroom without my knowledge again, alright?” His deep voice echoes through one ear and out of the other.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, ‘again’! Does that mean there will be a second time, or a third, fourth or fifth! My skin felt flushed, and my heart was practically leaping out of my chest as I stared at my older brother in pure shock and disbelief.

Tommy pushes his chair back, stumps out his cigarette, before making the small journey towards my seat. He bends down, one knee on the floor, back straight as he cups my face in both of his hands.

“I’m angry because you couldn’t feel as if you could tell me about this, but on a more serious level, I'm livid with you on how easy it seems to have been for you to lie to me, and to the rest of us. Fuckin’ hell!, You’re my little sister. Nearly seventeen or not, you still answer to me. This is not something you can be reckless about, eh?” he motions to Lottie and I.

“Aven, nothing about who you are will ever stop me from loving you, you’re my little sister and you always will be, understood?” He speaks in the same gruff voice as always, wiping away the flow of tears streaming down my face as I break in his hold.

All that anxiety and worry about what the future could hold for me has disappeared, I feel safe within the comfort of my brother, my best friend.

#peaky blinders #shelby sister #shelby!sis #shelby!sister #shelby sister imagine #shelby sister coming out #coming out #john shelby #aunt polly #peaky blinder sister #peaky blinder imagine

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pandoraslove · 2 years

Text

little violinist

this one is pretty long, but I really like it. It was just something I’ve been thinking about all day. Hope you like it.

Warnings: Fluff

Word count: 1761

Being the youngest Shelby has its perks. Apart from being spoiled rotten and you were also very loved. Arthur, Tommy, and John were all in some way a father figure just as much as your older brothers. Arthur was more nurturing, Tommy was more fatherly in the way that he always gave you advice when it came to school or anything other than boys because the lord knows that he’d murder any boy you even showed signs of liking. John knew how to cheer you up in every situation. Ada and Polly were the best when it came to more feminine things like hair, make up, and style. Finn is your partner in crime and best friend, you two are close since you’re only a year apart.

At the young age of 5, everyone noticed how much you loved music. You’d hum to a song you’d heard and match its pitch with whatever objects you could find. At the age of 6, you stumbled upon a violinist, he was old, well into his 50′s, and playing for money, but the sound he emitted from his instrument was so enticing, you stood and watched him play. You didn’t know how much time had passed as you watched him play, but it was long enough for your family to notice you were no longer with them. They’d found you sitting on the concrete floor, legs criss cross, watching the man play his melodies.

Thomas got you your first violin a few weeks later, right before all of them left to fight in the war. In those four years, you dedicated almost all your free time to playing the violin. It was your escape, you practiced until your finger were numb and only until you perfected every note would you think about stopping, most of the time you’d still continue. Your music was rarely heard, though, Not by Ada or Polly and not even by Finn. Your music was yours and yours alone. You’d leave in the morning with your violin, carry it around school and practice somewhere secluded after school. Or you’d leave after breakfast on the weekends while Polly was busy with the business.

When the boys returned from the war, you weren’t able to spend as much time playing and practicing as you’d like. They became more protective than the last time you’d seen them. The first year they were back, after turning 11, you played in front of them for the first time. It was a simple song called ‘Andantino’. It was one of the first songs you tried to learn and succeeded. It was slow and beautiful. It was the first time any of them had heard you play and to say the least they were stunned. You were 11 and playing beautifully.

That was the only time you’d played for them for a long time. It always made you nervous when others heard you play. you were a little afraid of their judgment. No one ever pushed you to play. When you were 14, you stopped playing for a few months. School was becoming more stressful and it felt like you barely had any time to play. When school ended for the year, you picked your violin back up and worked hard to regain you skill level. You’d go to your Uncle Charlie’s place and go as far out onto the field as you could so no one would hear you play. And if they did it would sound incredibly distant and faint. you tried to maintain the habit even when school started again.

You ended up graduating high school early, at 16, and began to focus on your violin. It wasn’t strange for your family to not see you for the entire day as you’d spend it out practicing and playing.

One day, you decided to go back to the market in which the old man with the violin was at. You had little hope you’d find him there but you did. Still playing the violin. You watched and listened to his music. It was just as beautiful as you remembered. He saw you from afar and beaconed you over when he finished his piece.

“You seem awfully familiar...” He says trying to remember, “The little girl who watched me play for nearly an hour a decade ago?” You smile slightly.

“Yes...”

“Did you ever learn to play?” He asks.

“I did.” He hands his violin to you and gestures for you to play. You took a moment to breathe and decided which song you would be playing. You let your fingers lead you, the memory of each note to lead you. You let everything go and let the music guide you, ‘Gymnopédie No. 1′ was the piece you had decided on playing in that moment. You shut your eyes and played the song by memory, every note was smooth and beautifully played. The music transported you somewhere safe, somewhere warm and comfortable. Once you finished the piece you opened your eyes and found a bigger crowd then the one before watching the man. He was in front of you with an astonished face.

“That was absolutely beautiful, and all of it by memory... my God, you were born to be a violinists.” He says as you hand him back his violin.

“I wouldn’t be here, playing the violin, if it weren’t for me hearing your music 10 years ago, I have you to thank.” You say walking away, but not before leaving a pouch with money inside the hat he was using to collect his earnings.

When you arrived back home you found Thomas, Arthur, John, Ada, Polly, and Finn all in the living room. You were a little happier when you arrived from when you left.

“I heard you gave quite a show today, Y/n.” Thomas says. You look at him a little shocked he’d found out but held a smile on your face nonetheless.

“What? Where?” Ada questions.

“At the market, the old man who was playing the violin 10 years ago still plays there.” You inform them.

“And he let you play? How did he know you played the violin?” John asks.

“Yes. And he recognized me. It felt amazing playing for a crowd. I used to be so afraid of playing in front of people, even you guys but after today, It felt so... magical in a way.” you say.

“maybe you should do it more often then,” Polly says, everyone agrees.

“Maybe, I should...” You say.

“Why don’t you play at the Garrison?” Arthur says.

“That’s a great idea, you can play tomorrow night.” Thomas says.

“The Garrison is a pub, Who the hell goes to a pub to listen to a violinist?” You retort.

“Tomorrow can be a special event, it’s a great idea come on, Y/n.” Arthur tries to convince you.

“It’s an awesome opportunity, y/n. You play really fucking well, everyone would love to hear you.” Finn says.

“And we’ll all be there, so you’ll have more confidence and all our support. you’ll do great.” Ada persuades.

“So, What do you say, Y/n?” Polly says after a while of you contemplating.

“...Fine. I’ll do it, if you all promise to be there.” You say at last.

“Deal.” Thomas says.

That night you decided on which songs you would play. Some were slow and some were fast, but all were just as beautiful. You decided on playing the song you played earlier that day at the market first, then ‘Andantino’, ‘Concerto for Violin in A minor’, Accolay: Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor, a part of Brahms: Violin Concerto in D minor op. 77, Scottish Fantasy Op. 46 and then finish off with ‘Salut d’amour’. You would only play for an hour, that's the amount of time you all agreed on.

The next day when you woke up you decide you wanted to get some practice in, so you went to your uncle Charlie’s yard and practiced until each piece was perfected. You’d played each song probably a hundred times since you’d started playing the violin.

You went home and got ready with Ada and Polly later on. You decided on wearing a simple short sleeve light blue dress that was slightly shorter in the front than in the back. You wore white flat shoes rather than heels. Once you’d fixed your hair and applies a bit of make up, You, Ada, and Polly all walked to the Garrison together, your violin in hand. You were a bit nervous but pushed it all aside. The Garrison wasn’t as rowdy and loud as it usually is. It was more tame. You spotted Thomas, Arthur, John, and Finn seated in a booth. Arthur gesture with his hand for you to go stand on a small platform, While Polly and Ada went to sit with them. You pulled your violin and bow out of the case and stood at the front on the platform Arthur gestured to. Everyone watched as you took a deep breathe, looking towards your family who gave you smiles, encouraging you to start. It didn’t take you long after you started to travel to the place you adored. the place where there was nothing but you and your music. Your cheek rested on the violin, your eyes remained shut and your fingers played the right notes every time. Your eyes were shut but you could see a beautiful field with hundreds if not thousands of flowers, that’s where you were always transported when you played. there was a river not far from where you stood, the sky was a beautiful grey, and the breeze blew on your face.

You only finally opened your eyes when you finished your final piece, it was quiet for a few seconds and it felt as if time had stopped. you received a standing ovation, even from Thomas, Polly, Ada, Finn, Arthur, and John. You smiled and gave everyone a small bow, then walked to the table your family was seated at.

“Would you look at that, Our little sister, might as well become a professional, That was amazing.” John says.

“Thank you, John,”

“That was absolutely beautiful.” Polly says.

“Thanks Aunt Pol,”

By the end of the night, you’d received more compliments than you could handle, it all felt surreal. Maybe you could do this on a real stage in front of thousands one day. Others deserve to feel what you felt when you played, that feeling of everything being healed just by a simple melody.

#peaky fookin blinders #peaky blinder imagine #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky fucking blinders #thomas shelby #Arthur Shelby #Ada Thorne #polly grey #polly gray #finn shelby #shelby sister #Shelby reader #shelby!reader #shelby!sister #the shelbys #John Shelby #the garrison

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theshelbyclan · 4 months

Note

Merry Christmas, Thura 😊 I know it’s probably not happening and you don’t have the time, but could you maybe just for me, as a small Christmas present, write a few lines about Teddy and the Shelbys during Christmas? 😍😍

Thank you sweet Anon, and I wish you all the best too and a blessed Christmas! Just for you, here’s a small bit (just don’t expect too much of it). This takes place shortly after the war, so Teddy’s like 8 in this.

*****

In the bleak midwinter

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan…

It was the day of Christmas Eve and Tommy stood outside their house at Watery Lane, quietly smoking a cigarette. He looked up at the sky, where thick grey clouds were gathering: snow was coming in. That was all he needed.

The Shelby’s didn’t celebrate Christmas this year and, if he had anything to do with it, they never would again. They’d celebrated before the war, but after the war, there was no Christmas anymore. The fields of Flanders hadn’t allowed it, Small Heath didn’t allow it and most of all, Tommy no longer allowed it.

Christmas was dead. No more hope and no more light. All there was left now, was: in the bleak midwinter.

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone…

Arthur came approaching and Tommy looked up. He knew it before he’d opened his mouth: there was trouble.

“There’s been some trouble at the Garrison, Tom,” Arthur explained, “Couple of boys tried raiding the place, knocked Harry about, broke half the bloody bottles in there too.”

Tommy nodded slowly, “So what is it you want from me, Arthur, eh?”

“What do we do, Tom?”

“You know what to do,” he flicked his cigarette away, “Cut them.”

The oldest Shelby nodded, but the hesitation was written all over his face.

“What is it?” Tommy demanded.

“They’re just kids.”

“Kids who fucked with us.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just…”

“For fuck’s sake, Arthur! Just get on with alright? Just grow a fucking backbone for once and get it done.”

“Alright, Tom, we’ll get it done.”

“I don’t have time for fucking soft sentiment, alright?” Tommy growled.

Snow was falling, snow on snow, snow on snow…

Meanwhile, John was working over the books. He tried to get as much done as he possibly could during the day, before he got really drunk.

He looked out the window and saw some children playing in the snow. He looked for Finn and Teddy amongst them, but couldn’t find them.

One boy threw a snow ball at a factory worker, who then slipped and fell over. He cursed loudly and all the children ran away and laughed. John couldn’t help himself and stifled a laugh too.

But then he remembered the bodies piled up in the snow. And somehow, he could see the blood mixed in with the whiteness in Birmingham too. In seconds, the moment had lost all its purity. Now it was just death and decay, hidden in ice.

He took another swig and continued his numbers.

In the bleak midwinter, long, long ago.

“Church starts at nine.”

Tommy coughed a laugh and looked up at his aunt, but her eyes seemed set.

“Arthur and John are coming too.”

Probably not by choice, Tommy thought. And he added, “I have no business with church, Pol, and nothing to discuss with God.” He practically spit the last word.

Polly shrugged, “I’m sure he has one or two things to say to you. You’re going, end of discussion. Teddy is singing.”

Tommy looked up in surprise, “How the fuck did you manage that?”

“I bribed her. Be there at nine.”

What can I give him, poor as I am?

And so the Shelby’s turned up at the church at nine. Not because they wanted to, but because the holy saint Polly Gray, enforcer of all things fearful, had ordered them to. At least Arthur had brought the bottle with him.

People piled into the church slowly, but they left the front most pews empty for the Shelby’s.

Tommy sighed deeply. He had better things to do. They had business to do and money to make. There was no way he was going back to poverty. There was no way he was going to let them walk all over them again.

Because, when they were in the mud, where was God then?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb…

John elbowed Tommy and pointed, big grin on his face. When he followed his gaze, he saw one very pissed off little girl in a white dress, standing off to the side near the altar.

Teddy was not happy, and it showed in every way she held herself. Tommy couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“Polly must’ve offered her some money…”

“Better still,” Arthur whispered lowly, “She promised her a horse.”

“She always knew how to bargain,” he said not without pride, “Innocent as she may be, she knows how to get whatever the fuck she wants.”

“Innocent?” John laughed, “She’s about as innocent as a wolf in sheep’s clothes. She changed though, Tommy, after we left.”

“Yes, she did. France fucked her up too, even though she’s never even been away from Small Heath.” Bitterness crept into Thomas’ voice.

He never wanted any of that for her. He wanted her to stay small and sweet forever. But he knew that was gone already.

If I were a wise man, I would do my part…

“Move over,” Ada hissed, as she unceremoniously joined them in the pew. “Now will you look at this, the whole family together at church. What the fuck.” Sometimes it was like Ada was physically incapable of speaking without sarcasm.

“Then why are you here?”

“Teddy’s singing. She hates it, so I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” And when her brothers stared at her reproachfully, she added, “Just doing what any good sister would do.”

They were quiet for a little while, but then Arthur leaned over John and told Tommy, “Tomorrow at 11, we’re meeting with that importer I told you about. Charlie’s yard.”

Tommy nodded.

Arthur opened his mouth to talk, but one slap from Polly made him close it again. “No business at church.”

“Why not, aunt Pol?” Ada challenged, “Looking at the size of those golden statues, they’ve done some pretty good business themselves.”

“Ada…” Polly warned.

“Oh I’m sorry,” she continued in her bored tone of voice, “Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? The rich not giving to the poor, but instead celebrating no longer having to?”

Tommy lowered his head to hide his grin. He never liked to admit it, but he had a soft spot for his sisters. They were smarter then all the men he knew combined and they always, always, had something to say.

Life would be incredibly boring, without his sisters doing their part in making his life hell.

But what can I give him? Give him my heart.

The service finally started and the whole procession of pomp and circumstance started. One by one, the Shelby’s sighed deeply and resigned themselves to the next hour.

But after all of that, Teddy stepped forward. She shuffled around a little, uncomfortable, and pulled on her robe that apparently got stuck behind the altar.

She looked back at Finn, who got roped into being an altar boy, and he nudged her forwards again.

Tommy made eye contact with her and nodded. Teddy sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I’ll bet you a pound she’s going to bolt,” John giggled.

“Shut up,” Tommy replied, “I want to hear her.”

And he actually did. It was strange how all his grumpiness and pessimism seemed to have fallen away. And he looked over to John and Arthur, both sending Teddy reassuring smiles. They looked nothing like the bored bastards they’d been only seconds ago. And even Ada, sarcastic detached Ada, fixed her slouch and leaned forward in anticipation. Maybe this is what Christmas was after all: in the middle of the whole fucking chaos of the world falling down around your ears, dropping everything, because your little sister has to sing. And actually feeling warm about it too.

So Teddy breathed in deeply and started to sing, in perfect pitch and angelic voice:

In the bleak midwinter…

#peaky blinders #teddy shelby #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders fluff #Tommy Shelby #John Shelby #shelby!sister #ada shelby #sister shelby #finn shelby #thomas shelby #arthur shelby #peaky #peaky Christmas

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mindful-of-ideas · 1 year

Text

Headcanon: Peaky Blinders

-Being Finn’s twin sister

A/N: I still haven’t watched season 6 (I know, I know, I’m getting around to doing it) and also there’s some Finn x Isiah if you squint.

Growing up, you were glued to each other. You would do everything together, mischief as well as good deeds. And you are very protective of each other.

Everyone thinks it’s because you’re twins but the truth is that Finn’s the only one who truly understands how you feel since your mom died. Your brothers, Ada and Polly sure tried to be there for you, but they had their own grief to deal with, so Finn and you could only rely on each other.

Even if you guys are close, it doesn’t mean that you can’t mess with each other. The nastiest pranks you ever pulled were at Finn’s expense.

But as you grew older, you started to drift away from each other. No one really noticed until your dad came to visit. You couldn’t stand the man, hiding behind Polly and clutching onto Tommy, hoping nothing bad would happen. But Finn tagged along with Arthur and you just couldn’t understand why.

“Tommy, don’t let him touch me,” you whisper as your brother pulls you closer. Your dad leaves, ruffling Finn’s hair. You could see your brother smile at that small gesture. “Finn… you know he doesn’t… he doesn’t mean it…” you say, still in Tommy’s arms, tears running down your face. “You’re lying!” he says before storming out.

It was around that time that you also realized you wanted to do something with your life. Seeing Polly take charge of the business had been inspiring, and just like Finn wanted to be like Tommy, you wanted to be like your aunt.

But those differences never stopped Finn and you from staying close. If Tommy wanted to keep you out of some Peaky activities, Finn was the first one to tell you and would drag you along if that’s what you wanted.

“You’re close to that Isiah guy?” you ask. “He’s cool, he’s like my best friend…” he trails off seeing your face, “… friend… boy… friend I mean… as in a boy who is my friend… like all of my other friends “Good,” you say, “cause I’m your best friend.” “Of course,” he says, punching your arm playfully, “of course.”

As you get older, you realize you want to stick with school and try and get to university, which meant no more outings with the Peaky.

Finn is super supportive even if he’s sad to lose his partner in crime.

And you’re super supportive of everything he does as well. As long as he’s not flirting with death and as long as he’s happy, it’s fine by you.

Still, you make sure to celebrate each victory with him and your brothers, even if it means falling asleep at the Garrison (John always makes sure to put his coat around your shoulders, making sure no one is bothering you)

After John’s death, you decide to leave and study in London. This time Finn encourages you to leave. Even if you know you will hate being away from him, you both know you will feel safer the farther you are from Birmingham.

You love London, but you miss Finn, so you force him to write every week.

“This week, nothing new happened. Why am I writing this? Cause you’re forcing me to even if NOTHING EVER HAPPENS! Love, Finn PS: Arthur just walked in screaming and swearing, apparently a rat ate his hat! PPS: I had to explain to Isiah the ‘boyfriend’ thing, sorry it’s not our inside joke anymore.

Life in London is hard, being a girl living alone, but you manage and Ada is always close by. Your relationship grows during that time.

You come back every summer to visit and it’s like you never left.

“Here,” Finn says handing you a baseball bat. “Are we bringing your boyfriend as well?” you ask. Isiah gives you a reproachful look, which makes you giggle and miss Finn’s playful punch. “I’m just being polite by asking,” you add.

Isiah secretly likes you, but he will never admit it.

Finn’s punches are his way of showing affection, but if you ever need a hug, he’ll happily give you one. You’re the only one who gets to be this close to him.

#mindful-of-ideas #peaky blinders headcanon #peaky blinders #finn shelby #tommy shelby #john shelby #arthur shelby #isiah jesus #shelby!reader #shelby!sister

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captaincvans · 2 years

Text

Empire

Pairing: Shelby Brothers x Shelby!Sister

Summary: The Shelby brothers are ready to set the world on fire to ensure that their youngest sister would be safe.

Warnings: Nothing but fluff here! Maybe a case of creepy dude, but the Shelby brothers shut that down reals quick.

Word Count: 1.6k

Author’s Note: I have another Shelby!Reader fic in my drafts, but that might take longer to post. I'm still debating to have multiple parts or whether I just want to post one long fic.

The Shelby brothers made their way to the market with their youngest sister in tow. It was supposed to be a more pleasant visit, hence why the brothers thought nothing to let the 7 year-old tag along with them. The little Shelby held on to Tommy’s hand, tugging at it when she saw the rows of shiny red apples that were being sold in the vendor behind the ones that her brothers were talking to.

“Tommy, I want an apple.” She tugged on his hand, pointing to the vendor. He glanced at the distance, nodding his head.

“Stay where I can see you.”

“Okay!” she nodded excitedly, running off. She stared in awe at the amount of apples, and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration to pick the best apple. She wanted to get extra apples for her family so she started picking the best ones and collecting them in her arms.

“And what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” the seller growled.

“I wanna buy 5 apples, mister!” she responded. “And Auntie Polly said that’s a bad word.”

“And where’s your money, little girl?”

“I-In my pocket.” She tried reaching for her pockets when the man grabbed her arm and slammed it on the small counter, making her drop all the apples she was holding in her small arms. She was standing on her toes, the counter being far taller than her, and the edge digging into her frail arm. “Wh-What are you doing?”

“I’ve known little thieves like you to be a liar as well.”

“I’m not a thief!” She took out her little bag of coins. “S-See? I have the money!”

He took the bag, grinning at the contents before pocketing it. “Girl’s got money, eh? You probably stole them from some poor lad and I hate thieves more than anything.” He slowly pulled out a butcher knife, ignoring her whimpers.

“N-No- please! I wasn’t gonna steal anything- I s-swear!”

“Yea you won’t be stealing anymore with one hand-”

“TOMMY! Tommy- Help!” The girl could only scream for her big brother, squirming away from his grip.

The Shelby brothers whipped their head at the source of the screams, their eyes widening at the sight of their baby sister being held like a criminal with a man about to bring down a knife to her pure, untouched skin. They all ran, and if it wasn’t for their sister’s close proximity to the man, they would’ve already shot him dead.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Tommy asked, his voice eerily calm.

“M-Mr. Shelby- I- I didn’t know she was-” The man held up his arms, dropping his knife and trying to not aggravate the pissed-off man in front of him.

“T-Tommy,” the little Shelby cried, running up to her big brother. Arthur and John had already made their way inside the vendor, grabbing the man to make sure he wouldn’t do anything else. Tommy picked her up, eyes narrowing at the man as he felt her shake in his arms.

“Tell me what happened, love.” He pulled his head back as she instinctively tried to wrap her arms around them and burrows her head in the crook of his neck. He grabbed her right arm, scanning the rest of her body for injuries as she talked and noting the scratches she got from trying to pry her arm away from the man’s grip.

“I-I wanted to buy a few apples for us, b-but the man said I was trying to steal. I gave him my horsey purse but he wouldn’t believe me!” Arthur patted the man down in search for the little bag and threw it to Tommy’s ready hand.

“Right, then.” He picked up a nice apple, handing it to her, and walking away. He adjusted his grip on her so that he was carrying her more like a baby as he knew the second they turned away, Arthur and John would make quick work of that man.

“I-I was so-so scared, Tommy,” she sobbed. Her little hands, wiping away the tears that couldn’t seem to stop falling.

“It’s okay, love. I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”

“He wanted to cut my hand off!” she exclaimed, sobbing even more.

Tommy was seething in anger, wanting nothing more than to kill the man who would expose his baby sister to the dangerous world that he worked so hard to protect her from. Alas, he knew she needed her older brother and not the ruthless leader of the Peaky Blinder. “You know we would never let that happen, love. They would have to go through all of us before even touching a hair on your head.”

They made their way to their home, Tommy giving the apple to one of the maids with instructions to clean it up and slice them for Y/N, and to get Polly. He took her to the kitchen, putting her on the table. He gently took her arm, assessing the damage .

“Hurts,” she mumbled, her sobs quieting down to a whimper.

“Polly’ll take care of it.” He rubbed her back comfortingly, leaning down to give her forehead a kiss.

“What’s going on here?” Polly asked, gasping at the sight of Y/N’s arm and her teary eyes. “Oh my poor girl. What happened to you?”

“A mean man tried to cut my hand off, Aunt Polly! I was so scared!” she wailed, lifting her arms and wanting to be comforted.

The older woman and Tommy shared a look one that said it was being taken care of at the moment. Tommy took her in his arms, sitting down on the table as Polly took the other seat with an emergency kit with her. The little Shelby tried being strong while her Aunt cleaned up the wound, making sure there wasn’t any splinters before wrapping it up.

“There you go, darling. All cleaned up and better. There’s nothing we can do about bruises but they will go away eventually.”

“Okay” she said quietly. “Thank you, Aunt Polly.” She fell back against Tommy’s chest, the adrenaline was fading and she could barely keep her eyes open. “Thank you, Tommy… for saving me.”

“You never have to thank me for that.” Tommy spoke quietly to comfort her. “I know you’re tired, love, but you gotta eat something.” It was past the time Y/N should be eating breakfast as they were supposed to buy fresh fruits for her breakfast in the morning. He motioned for one of the kitchen staff to place the plate in front of them.

“Okay.”

Tommy pulled the plate closer to her so she could easily reach for the apples from his lap. He rested his chin lightly on her head, placing small kisses here and there to comfort her. He heard the front door open and waited for the inevitable loud entrance his brothers were going to make.

“He’s taken care of,” Arthur said in his signature gravelly voice. “He’s never gonna bother her again.”

“How are you, love?” John asked, looking at the bandage on her arm.

She shrugged her shoulders, eating another slice of apple. It didn’t take her long to finish the apple, her hunger beating out her tiredness. She cuddled closer to Tommy’s chest, the adrenaline fading and she was left with the crash. “Nap?” She looked over at her brothers and aunt for permission.

“Go sleep, darling,” Tommy nodded, kissing her head once more and positioning her more comfortably on his lap.

In a few seconds she was out, and the rest of the family was left to process the events.

“Fuck,” John muttered. “I was gonna skin the man alive.”

“No more,” Tommy said decisively. “She’s never going anywhere without us anymore.”

“Agreed.” Arthur nodded his head.

“Now c’mon, boys. Your world is no place for a little child,” Polly chided.

“A child,” Tommy repeated as almost a growl. “There are too many goddamn fuckers who would have no problem hurting a child, Pol. We have to send out a message. Anyone who dares to even breathe in her direction wrong will have to deal with the Peaky fucking Blinders.” The girl in his lap shifted, and he quickly softened his voice, rocking her a bit. “It’s okay, love.”

If they didn’t know Tommy any better, it would’ve been a comical sight to see him change tune so quickly. Alas, the gang leader decided the conversation was over and carried his sister to his office. The rest of the family dispersing to their own work. The second oldest Shelby had always found comfort in having Y/N near him when he worked. She didn’t mind the occasional yelling and swearing when he was working, and instead focused on whatever was entertaining her at the moment. She was a quiet child, not as rambunctious as her older brothers Finn and John. Most of the time, she would draw or colour pictures, but as she is getting older, Polly had given her a few book to get started on her studies. He placed her on the couch, putting his jacket as a blanket on her tiny body, but before he could get very far she started whimpering and thrashing her arms around. Tommy’s heart broke witnessing his baby sister’s first nightmare, and picked her up again. He decided to keep her in his arms while he worked, ignoring the fact that he would only be able to use one hand as the other would ensure Y/N remained on his lap. He was used to having her on his lap as he worked or in family meetings when he knew she wouldn’t be exposed to their dirty world. A smile crept up on his face as he remember the days she would play with the buttons of his jacket or his pocket watch while he ran the meeting, her presence alone able to settle any tension in the room.

“Nothing will hurt you, I swear it.” Tommy was going to build an empire for his sister, and there was nothing that was going to stand in the way.

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