#Dad Tommy shelby

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Tommy x wife reader: Charlie and Ruby are theirs (no grace or lizzie) and they have a few other children, in order of their ages: Charles (Charlie) James (Jamie) Edward (Teddie) Ruby (Ru)

And just after Ruby dies and Tommy finds out he’s dying, his wife finds out she is pregnant again and she is just traumatised by it as she’s lost her only daughter and her aunt-in-law and about to lose her husband too

But Tommy doesn’t die and they have a baby girl, who they name Rose Elizabeth, because Ruby loved roses and after Polly and they nickname her Posy as a portmanteau of Rosy and Polly

Hey Love,

Sorry it took forever. This one is pretty sad and I really enjoyed writing it. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Peaky Themes, Childbirth, Child death, grieving.

Not a single dull day had passed in Arrow House. It was always loud as the children ran around causing chaos. Today was so silent you could drop a tack in the kitchen and hear it in the attic. 

You lay on the floor of your youngest daughter's room. Your little girl. The grief clenched in your chest and you felt your heart miss a beat as your body twisted in on itself. You’d never felt such a loss in your life. 

Now you have a baby in your stomach, your husband is going to die leaving you with three boys. You knew you should be with him, enjoy his presence while you have him here amongst the living.

How could you worry about anything after watching your daughter slip from the world just a day ago? You remember holding her hand and singing to her. Thomas holding it together just until her eyes fluttered closed before falling apart in a way you didn't think him capable of. 

You sat there silently. Something deep inside you felt at peace. She was safe where she was. Polly was with her. Knowing something deep in your soul had never taken away from the way your brain and body worked. 

Your body hadn’t stopped shaking since it happened. Your limbs vibrating as you lay on her pink carpet. You felt discarded like all the stuffies and dolls that lay on the floor around you. Without her to come and breathe life into you, you would stay on the carpet like a doll. 

Teddie was the first person to find you. His small body came and curled up against your side. The warmth of him seeped into your icy body. 

A mother could only stop being a mother once she had no children left. And you had three. This moment of sadness and grief couldn't go on for the eternity you felt it needed. You had boys to wrangle. Little Ruby adored her brothers and you knew she wouldn't ever forgive you if you let them down. 

With the strength of a British Mum, you brushed the tears off your cheeks with the side of your hand. You sat up even though every selfish part of you screamed to lay back down on that carpet. To rot away to a place where you could hold her again. 

“Hey, Teddie.” You whispered running a hand down the small boy’s back. 

“Mum I’m hungry.” He mumbled.

“Teddie! Dad said we have to leave her alone.” Charlie was in the doorway, with his arms crossed. His tone was angry and you could swear he looked years older than the last time you saw him. 

“Darling, never leave me alone.” You said giving him a serious look. His face faltered slightly as he took in your words. “I’m still a mum. And mum’s make dinner, let’s go. Into the kitchen.” 

Teddie was happy and you picked him up even though he was far too big for that now. Walking down the hallway, Charlie surprised you when he opened Jamie’s door. 

You sat Teddie on his favorite spot on the counter and started getting out various pots and pans. 

“She’s up.” He said and your middle boy came into the hallway. Silently the four of you made it into the kitchen. Grief was creeping in all the shadows of the room as Charlie made a fire. 

“Ruby isn't coming home is she?” Teddie asked. Charlie let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose in the way only the eldest child could. 

“No, she’s with Aunt Polly now. They live in the sky.” Jamie answered softly. You gripped the edges of the pot tightly as you pushed down the intense feelings threatening to overflow again. 

The window opened and you could hear her voice on the wind that whipped around your face. 

Keep Going.  

That’s what you did. Death be dammed you’d made a deal with God to sacrifice and survive for these boys and that’s what you would do. 

With a cracking heart you closed the window and looked around the kitchen at the boy's stunned faces. 

“Please tell me you heard that as well right?” Charlie said with wide eyes. 

______________________________________________________________

One dinner down a lifetime left to go. 

The weeks turned into a month and the pain did not relent. You had no moments of peace only the love felt by shared grieving. Esme was always around now. All the kids lumped together in Arrow House like the days of the Changretta feud. She made sure your hair got brushed and your outfits matched. 

Arthur came around every day. He kept Tommy together while they worked out all this conflict. He feels a war is coming and you couldn't imagine it could be anything worse than the one raging in your mind. Alfie stops by and tells you things that confirm it will be much worse. 

Three boys, and a war. 

You put your make-up on so you have a reason not to cry during the day. 

You spend every evening with Tommy. You know what he is doing is important. It could change the outcome for the rest of the families on the planet. So you sacrifice your time with him and survive on the couch reading. When really you just stare into the fire wishing everything would burn up to be reborn as something new. 

Three boys and one more undetermined in your stomach. Your hand rested there often. You expected to lose the baby so you didn't really think about it. If they did come into this world you prayed it would be before Tommy passed. Grieving with a baby in your stomach would be easier than grieving with a newborn. But you wanted them to meet their father, even if it was for a fleeting moment. You would suffer and survive. 

Tommy finally got over himself and got a second opinion. He hated doctors and you expected him to be in a foul mood when he got back from a series of appointments in London. Alfie accompanied him back and you placed a plate of biscuits and cups of tea on the kitchen table. The kitchen was for family, but Alfie somehow managed to get an invitation out of Tommy. You were always happy to see him, but were wary of the news he often brought these days. You took a seat and he grabbed your hand and held it.  Your mind flashed back to the good old days when something so small would have sent Tommy after him in a rage. 

Alfie knew better than to ask how you were keeping. Tommy finally sat down at the head of the table, he looked pale. Too pale to drive, which explains why Alfie had come back with him. 

“I’m not sick.” His eyes closed and he leaned back against the chair. 

“What?” You whispered. 

“The f-uck-ing doctor was working for that stupid mustache piece of shit,” Alfie said his voice was venomous but his smile was unshakeable. 

“You're not going to die.” Your eyes moved to Tommy and he shook his head.  

“Going to have to wait a while longer to steal you away, love.” Alfie's voice was all humor now, but he knew it was time to let go of your hand when Tommy flashed him a look. The look of the old Tommy. 

“I’m pregnant.” You blurted out. 

“Looks like I dodged a bullet. Last thing I wanted to be raising up another little Shelby brat.” Alfie was laughing and Tommy smiled. A genuine smile. 

You were happy, and then the brutal deafening sadness crashed down on you. The sheer panic of having a child hits again and the nausea has you throwing your head back in the sink. Tommy is there pulling your hair up. 

“Like she would ever go for you,” Tommy said easily taking a sip of tea.

“Shit,” Alfie says from the counter near you. He gets a glass for Tommy to fill with water. 

____________________________________________________________

You told Esme and you both held on to each other as you cried. 

“I never thought I would say this but thank God Tommy will be alright.” She shook her head as the words strangled her. “You’ll never have to know what it’s like to raise em up with out their father.” 

You both cried on the kitchen floor for a long while. 

_________________________________________

The time came and you had high blood pressure meaning you had to do things in the hospital. Something that made everything a thousand times more painful. But that was your baby, and you would sacrifice and they would survive. 

They kept trying to medicate you and Esme kept throwing nurses out of the room screaming at them in Romani when English wasn't scary enough. In the thick of it you kept crying out for Polly. 

You didn't want these strangers to help you. They didn't care about you or your baby. They weren't family. Arthur came and spoke to Esme in the doorway for a moment. You expected news that Tommy wouldn't make it in time or that something worse had happened. 

Instead, Esme handed you one of Polly’s rosaries to hold. You gripped the cold crystal beads and felt yourself split apart over all the reasons you were crying. 

Tommy showed up and commanded the room with Esme. The window blew open letting cold air around the room and you could feel her love for you. 

You gave birth to a little girl. 

There were no pictures taken as you bawled. You got her latched on to your breast and cried and cried. The nurses kept pushing for sedation but Esme started at them and Tommy pointed towards the door. Arthur came in and read a passage from his bible for you. You're not sure why exactly but it helped. It felt like a blessing that this baby would be alright. 

_______________________________________________

You brought her home the same night, itching to get out of the hospital. You carried her in and watched all your boys get excited. You handed her off to Charlie first. 

“I love it when they look like grumpy old men,” Jamie said with a smile, Teddie let out a loud laugh. 

“She does look like an old man.” 

“What did you name her?” Charlie asked his finger tracing down the slope of her nose. 

“Rose Elizabeth,” Tommy said sitting next to him placing his arm around his eldest son. 

“Posy then,” Charlie said with a sense of finality. 

Charlie, Jamie, Teddie, and Posy. Your heart was happy and sad at the same time. 

Jamie came round and put his arm around you. 

“Love you mum.” He whispered and you wondered when he got old enough to kiss the top of your head. The boys were strong like their father, and you had no doubts they were strong enough to carry you and Posy.

_______________________________________________________________

This chunk of time was easier than it was with the other four kids. Tommy took time off. Churchill had other moves he wanted to play and for now, Tommy wasn’t involved. 

He’d sit while you breastfed in the night, he’d change nappies, and read stories. You watched him be a girl dad again and the pain was harsh and beautiful at the same time. 

Esme helped you take down Ruby’s room. The idea of moving one of the boys to a different floor or wing of the house made your skin itch. Ruby’s room needed to be emptied. 

You aired the room out and you knew that she would be happy about giving it to her sister. Esme assured you at every turn that she wouldn't be angry at you. 

_______________________

Eventually Arrow House moved on. Posy was very attached to the idea she had both an Aunt and a sister in the sky watching over her. 

The war came and what was left of the family did what they had to do. Thankfully Posy was there with you so you were never alone.

Thankfully when it was all over all your boys came home to you.

#peaky blinders #tommy shelby #peaky blinders imagine #tommy shelby imagine #thomas shelby #thomas shelby x reader #tommy shelby x reader #dad tommy shelby #peaky blinds fic #peaky blinders request

[evita-shelby]

Hi there Juli!!

I saw that you said you were taking some dad!Tommy requests for this weekend….I was wondering if you could write a dad!Tommy x reader story with the prompt: "Be gentle, please." ??

Thanks so much in advance if you choose to! ❤️

Thanks 😊

Gif by @romeulusroy

In the bleak midwinter

Twins.

If someone would’ve told him he’d be marrying you not even three months after meeting you, he wouldn’t have believed it.

He had been home from France for less than a month when he met you feeding stray cats on your grandmother’s doorstep.

Somehow the two of you had hit it off and the week after Cheltenham, Tommy and you had gotten married because you were pregnant.

With twins, or so Polly had seen in his tea the morning he told her you had cried over him not taking you to the races even knowing why he was taking Grace instead of you.

With something far greater to think about ---making enough of a profit to provide a good home for you and your unborn children--- he had no time to waste on the barmaid who led Arthur on to the point his poor brother nearly offed himself when they discovered she was a rat.

He's still sore in the chest from Kimber’s bullet when the babies are born.

One boy, one girl.

“Be gentle, please.” You say as he holds little Diane in his arms.

“I’ve held babies before, love.” He says remembering how excited he had been to hold Finn when he was born.

They were small, but the lungs on his little princess told him all he needed to know.

Charles Henry and Diane Elizabeth.

Names that feel significant and will have something to do with the fall of the House of Windsor, or so you said as the anesthesia wore off at the clinic.

Names fit for two children who will have everything he lacked growing up.

If Charlie wants a top hat for every day of the week, Tommy will make sure he got closets full of them.

If Diane wants to only eat coconuts, then he’d make sure there’s always one for her.

“To think this time last year we was feeding stray cats in the dead of night, Mrs. Shelby.” He said pressing a kiss to your forehead as you nursed little Charlie.

I love you, he means to say and yet the words convey it just the same.

“I’m glad your curiosity got the better of you, Mr. Shelby.” You said and added, “I love you too.”

#tommy shelby x wife!reader #tommy shelby x reader #dad!tommy my beloved #dad!tommy #father's day fics #tommy shelby x oc

[notyour-valentine]

A Secret, a Fear and a Hatbox ~ dad!Tommy Shelby (Fluff)

[Masterlist] [Taglist]

Summary: With his wife away, Tommy feels more helpless than ever at the change of behaviour in his children

Note: Written for @look-at-the-soul and her 900 follower celebration: I hope you enjoy!

All my writing is produced by an adult and created with an adult audience in mind (18/21+). You are responsible for your own media consumption. I do not consent to my work being translated, copied or posted elsewhere on this platform or any other.

Warning: unrealistic dog behaviour

Wordcount: 3076 words

Of course, Tommy thought. 

Of course, something would be wrong with his children in the one week of the year when his wife was out of the house, worse: un - fucking - reachable. 

Ada be damned, for wanting to take all the women of the family minus Linda over to America for a week. 

They were on their way back now, but that didn’t help. 

While she was on that boat, Tommy couldn’t reach her and ask her if (1) she knew what was up, (2) how he could find out what was up and (3) how he could resolve whatever was up. 

And that would be another three days, eight hours and forty-seven minutes, at least according to the advertising of the cruise company. 

He shut the lid of his pocket watch with a sigh and slipped it back into his pocket. 

Maybe, he thought as he reached for the whisky, he was simply overthinking. 

He had never been alone with the children before, well technically he wasn’t now, with Frances and the maids, but he was the only parent around. 

Despite their astronomical rise, she had resented the idea of a nanny, and shuddered at the thought of a nursery maid, and Tommy had agreed. 

He didn’t mind other people cooking his food and ironing his shirts, but a near stranger holding his children, changing them, bathing them, rocking them to sleep?

Someone who wasn’t blood? Who wasn’t family?

Occasionally, he could tolerate the thought, but as normality? 

Absolutely not. 

Something tribal in him prevented the entertainment of such an idea, but that left him in the tight spot of now shouldering the responsibility for the two in her absence. 

For all his faults, he had noticed the change in his children. 

It had started well enough, but after a few days, it had all shifted. 

Usually, Betty would be the essence of decorum, more perfect in every way than one of the children in the catalogues, as if she was born in a place like Arrow House and not, unlike her brother, in Watery Lane. 

But she wolfed down her food like her little brother did, and requested to leave the table while still chewing. 

That had never happened before, even at Christmas, or on Birthdays. 

And little Georgie, well, usually it nearly took force or bribery to get him to stay indoors,  always climbing trees and tending to the horses, but now he was his sister’s constant shadow, and as silent as one too. 

His head snapped up as he heard the rhythm of little feet on the grand staircase which led right past his office, and hushed voices too, even though they were too soft for him to make out the words. 

With a sigh he pushed his chair back and crossed his office in long strides. When he pulled the door open, he saw both Betty and Georgie already halfway though the entrance hall - with Betty carrying a large white box in her hands. 

When Georgie saw him, he gasped and grabbed his older sister’s arm, his eyes wide in horror. 

Betty turned, saw him, gulped and then offered him the sweetest of smiles. 

“Hello Daddy!”, she chirped as bright as the early summer sun. “I’m so sorry if we were loud. We were just going outside for some fresh air.”

“And what’s that then, eh?”, he asked, nodding to the box. 

It seemed vaguely familiar but on closer inspection, he remembered that the dark green accents were that of the London Hatmaker he had sent her to before taking her to the races a few years back. 

“Are you playing with your mother’s clothes?”, he wanted to know. 

“I’m sure she won’t mind!”, Betty said at once, her hands tightening around the box. 

“Oh she’ll mind when you get stains on it.”

That hat had been expensive, paying not just for the craftsmanship or material, but double for the name. 

She had been furious about the price, he remembered, but it had been worth it. They were moving up in the world, and that meant moving on beyond the little shops at the Bull Ring in Birmingham. 

“I’ll take great care.”, Betty promised. “Goodbye now.”

With that, for her, the conversation was over. 

Tommy shifted, glanced back at his office door and cleared his throat. 

“I’ve got a few more papers to go through and then I can join you.”, he suggested. After all, he had hoped to spend some time with his children while their mother was away. 

“Take out the horses, or the cart, how about that George?”

He could see it already, him and George driving that cart up and down the roads leading to and from Arrow House, with little darling Betty lounging beside them in one of her mother’s gigantic hats. That is, until she’d get the idea to jump on a pony’s back and try to outrace them. 

To his surprise, George shook his head. “Perhaps some time else.”, Betty agreed. 

That stung more than Tommy thought it would, and so he tried again. 

“Why’s that then, eh?”, he wanted to know, cautiously coming closer. 

“We’re very busy.”, his daughter said sharply. “Busy?”, Tommy asked as his brows threatened to vanish in his hairline. 

“What have you two got to be busy about?”

George looked caught out and stared at his feet, but Betty was unfazed. 

“Children’s matters, Daddy. You wouldn’t understand.”

With that, she turned, her hair and the ribbon that held it in place, fluttering behind her. 

“Come along now Georgie.”, she instructed, and with that off they went, leaving Tommy alone in the hall. 

He watched them leave and tried to ignore the ache in his chest as he returned to his office. 

He knew he worked long and hard, but he did it to give them everything. Still, every single time his wife had reminded him he ought to spend more time with them, with his family, rattled around in his head, as memories of every event, excursion or trip he had cancelled his participation in came back to haunt him. 

He was there, for every birthday, for Christmases and Easter, even if he occasionally slipped away to his office for some work, and almost every performance?

He taught to ride and how to care for horses. 

He kissed them goodnight every time he could and didn’t shy away from embraces and hugs. 

Still, what if it wasn’t enough to make up for all he had missed. 

What of all the family memories they had acquired were less due to him and solely due to his wife? That picnic at the lake? That trip to the sea? 

In truth, he had expected that with their mother away, the children would flock to him the way they did when he returned from work, wanting to spend as much time with him as they usually did with her. 

He had thought he would have to distract them in order to get a few moments alone in the office and not that his seven year old would order his return there to be rid of him. 

But perhaps his children had gotten so used to his absence that his presence no longer made a difference to him. 

That idea hurt, and he wished more than ever to pick up that stupid telephone hearer and demand his wife be summoned to the other side. If he couldn’t feel the warmth of her hands and the softness of her embrace to soothe his worries, her voice alone would have to do. 

Three days, eight hours and fourteen minutes. 

No, he would try again, he thought and hurried outside. 

The swing was empty, the trees void of all invaders, and the green without anyone playing croquet or catch or hoops or anything, really. 

And when he’d ask a gardener, he was told that Betty and George had formed a procession all the way behind the hedge, stayed there for a moment, and then returned to the house the same way they had done. 

“Well, not exactly, Sir.”, the gardener had told him, rubbing his sun-tanned forehead. “They took the servant’s entrance, they did.”

That was the one that didn’t go through the hall and thereby avoided passing his office. 

Fuck, Tommy thought and lit a cigarette on the way back. 

In the coming hours he couldn’t focus on the reports, the letters and papers. He couldn’t focus on anything except the fact that his children clearly and undoubtedly were avoiding him, and that at a time when they should have come running. 

When Frances asked him if he would like to join his children at their dinner, a formality, since he usually tried to if he could, he declined. 

After a whole case of cigarettes, his appetite was gone anyhow. 

That made him feel like a coward. 

He should talk to them, should try to do better, to make up for the lost time, but a debilitating weight had draped over his shoulders and the one person to lift it was still on a boat crossing the Atlantic. 

Three days, four hours and two minutes. 

She’d know what to do, how to fix it. 

She always did, like with Georgie’s ear infections of Betty’s coughs, or his own headaches. From somewhere in the back of her mind and the depths of her cabinets, she’d find a magical cure to make things right. 

But until she returned, he was all on his own and he had never felt lonelier. 

When Frances told him the children were headed for bed, it was as if he had been called to his own execution. 

He knew that feeling, had felt it more than once, so it wasn’t an exaggeration. 

The night nursery was right next to their shared bedroom, something they had both wanted, for their children to be close. 

When he entered, they were already tucked in, Betty on the right, Georgie on the left. 

“All ready for bed?”, he asked. 

Both nodded. 

“Would you like a story?”, he asked, glancing over his shoulder to the bookshelf, his eyes lingering on the Tales of Robin Hood - Georgie’s favourite. 

For a split second he saw a glint in his eyes, but then he slammed his jaw shut and shook his head. 

“No thank you!”, Betty said, leaning forward and presenting her cheek to him. 

With a sigh, Tommy leaned in and kissed her goodnight, proceeding to do the same with Georgie. 

At the door, he turned, and looked back at them both who were watching with wide eyes, as if they couldn’t wait to be rid of him. 

“You know,”, he mumbled, his hands clutching the door knob until his knuckles turned white, as he tried to find the words. 

It wasn’t too difficult, he thought, just tell them you love them, Tom

Whether it was his voice or his wife’s, he could not say. 

But before the words had a chance to pass his lips, he heard a shuffle. 

Then Betty was on her feet. “Right!”, she said loudly, giving him a gentle shove. “Goodnight, Daddy, goodnight!”

This insistence was new, and he didn’t know what to make of it, so he just stared. 

Then he heard it again. The shuffle. 

But it wasn’t coming from Georgie’s bed on the left, nor her now deserted bed on the right, but from the wardrobe across from it. 

“What’s that?”, he asked, eyeing it suspiciously. 

“What’s what?”, Betty asked, batting her eyelashes. 

At the same time, Georgie said: “It’s nothing.”

When they realised what they had done, Betty blushed and Georgie paled. 

Slowly, Tommy looked from one to the other. “You’ve got to the count of three to tell me what’s in there!”, he demanded, seriously considering if he could head back to his bedroom and reach for the bedside drawer to retrieve his gun. 

Neither one of his children made a move to speak and so the three counts passed without a reaction. 

“Daddy!”, Betty warned, tugging at his sleeve as he pushed past her and towards the wardrobe. 

He opened it and was met with - clothes. 

Betty’s dresses and skirts, all hanging in a neat, tidy row, an explosion of pastels and floral prints. 

Then he heard it again, the shuffle and scratching and when he looked down, towards the boxes of shoes and hats, he noticed one large one atop a smaller one, the lid slightly ajar. 

With one flick, he sent the lid flying, ready for anything. 

“Fu-”

He caught himself just in time as he saw the content. 

It was a dog, he realised after staring at it for a few heartbeats, even if it was in size far closer than a cat, and even smaller than one too, with pointed ears and dark, clear eyes. 

He looked away, then down again, before turning to his children. 

“Why -” the absolute fuck “is there a dog in your nursery?”

“Mummy!”, Georgie quickly said. 

“Mummy?”, Tommy asked. 

Georgie nodded, but he didn’t miss the way Betty stared at him in surprise. 

That told him it was a lie, but Georgie went further. 

“Daddy, you know Mummy doesn’t like the horses as much as we do, so we thought a dog will make her happy.”

Another lie, or rather an impressively tall tale to cover up, but it didn't change the fact that he was staring at a dog, small or not, who was very much alive and who's mere existence in this moment required a reaction.

Pinching the bridge of his nose with the hand that wasn't holding the box, he sat down on the foot of Georgie's bed and stared at the intruder. 

"And instead of asking for a dog,", he sighed, "you two…nicked one? Stole one?"

He wouldn't put it past them. Georgie had the guts and Betty the wits to pull it off. 

Made evident by the fact that they had snuck it past him for the devil knows how long. 

"Oh don’t be silly Daddy,", Betty giggled. "There was no time to ask."

Wasn't there, Elizabeth Shelby? He wanted to ask, but Georgie came to his sister's defence. 

"When I found him he was all wet and shaking and he crawled into my coat, right here!"

He rubbed his side where his upper arms brushed against the side of his torso. 

"And when was that?", Tommy wanted to know, sounding as tired, old and helpless as he felt. 

Georgie looked to Betty who gave a shrug of resignation. 

"When we were at Uncle Charlie's. We were playing Coppers and Blinders and I found him tied up in one of the caves."

The pup wouldn't have been put there by Charlie or Curly. 

Charlie had his faults, but he preferred animals to humans and Curly, well, he couldn't harm a fly even with a gun to his head. 

And the caves, as Georgie called them, were the places they stored boxes of goods before sending them up it down the Cut. 

But that time at Charlie's Yard had been two days ago. 

"How has he not made a mess yet?", He asked, seriously hoping that they wouldn't stumble on a far worse surprise under a carpet or in the corner of a cupboard. 

Then he realised - the hat box. 

The children must've smuggled him in and out time and time again, right under his and all the servants' noses. 

Betty sat down next to him, covering his hand with her little one, soft as rose petals. 

"He's been so very good and he hasn't even disturbed you with barking, has he?", She asked, batting her eyelashes up at him. "No trouble at all."

Tommy sighed, already knowing where she was intent on going. 

"You can't keep a dog in the nursery, Elizabeth."

Besides, he'd probably have lice or worms. 

Fuck

If his wife came back from America and the children had lice, there’d be hell to pay. 

Betty stroked his hand again. 

“We’d be ever so sad if we’d have to give him away now.”, she told him. “We’d cry for days and days, won’t we Georgie?”

“I don’t cry!”, he argued, puffing up his chest. 

And yet when his sister glared at him, he quickly shifted gears. 

“But I-I would, if you’d make us give him up.”

That appeased his sister, who gave him a pleased nod before turning back to their father. “So either a sea of tears, Daddy, or we take one my prettiest ribbons and tie it around his neck and make Mummy the happiest Lady in the whole world when she comes back.”

Tommy rubbed his temple once more. 

Although he was beyond relieved that he found the reason for his children’s shift in behaviour, this caused a whole host of problems. 

He didn’t want a dog. 

They didn’t need a dog. Besides, this wasn’t even a proper dog who could guard a house, chase away an intruder or catch a rabbit. 

But he also knew that the threat of tears wasn’t just an empty promise. 

Knowing Betty and her antics, she’d probably throw herself at her mother’s feet the moment she came into view, and that Georgie wouldn’t be far behind. 

And as a betting man, he knew his way around odds. 

“No.”, he said, looking from one to the other. 

“What?”, Betty gasped, her large eyes filling with tears, while George erupted into a cascade of protests. 

He raised his hands for silence, but struggled to get it, and when he did, both his children pouted. 

“You’re not putting this on your mother.”, he said sharply, pointing at them both. “If you want this dog to stay, he will be your responsibility and you’ll take care of him. You will walk him. You will wash him. You will feed him and if he pisses on the floor, you will clean it up, is that understood?”

George nodded eagerly, but Betty hesitated. “But we will have help, no?”, she asked. “After all, he’ll have to go to the vet some time and Georgie and I can’t drive. And we aren’t allowed to touch the cleaning products either.”

Sneaky menace, Tommy thought, not without pride. 

She had inherited his wits and his wife’s way with words and always found a loophole in absolutely anything, and she had caught him out once again. 

He nodded. 

Betty looked to Georgie, who was grinning from ear to ear and nodded eagerly. 

Then, on behalf of them both, she spat into her palm and stretched it out to him, a triumphant smile on her lips.

~

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and as always I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Daer Mar, I hope you enjoyed this story! Once more congratulations on your milestone and celebration and all my best to you and your little friend!

Taglist

Overall

@lilyrachelcassidy @jyessaminereads @chlorrox @watercolorskyy @books-livre @quarterpastmidnight  @lilyevanswhore  @polishcrazyone  @zablife  @just-a-harmless-patato  @stevie75 @flyingjosephine-blog @runnning-outof-time @cillmequick @babayaga67 @butterfly-skinnylegend @shelbydelrey @mrkdvidal1989 @raincoffeeandfandoms @midnightmagpiemama @adaydreamaway08

Tommy

@knowledgefulbutterfly @babayaga67 @signorellisantichrist @lespendy @geeksareunique @look-at-the-soul @lothbrokcore @rangerelik @elenavampire21 @evanore

#tommy shelby #thomas shelby #peaky blinders #tommy shelby imagine #thomas shelby imagine #tommy shelby x reader #thomas shelby x reader #tommy shelby / reader #thomas shelby / reader #tommy shelby & reader #thomas shelby & reader #dad!tommy shelby #dad tommy shelby imagine #dad!thomas shelby #dad thomas shelby #dad thomas shelby imagine #tommy shelby fluff #thomas shelby fluff #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders fluff

[sneakyblinders]

As His Daughter

A/N: for my Tommy and his darling wife!au. <3 told from their oldest daughter, Katherine/Kate’s POV.  Warnings: childbirth, not canon.  2.7k words. 

The screams echoed off the halls of our home. I could hear my fathers footsteps pacing in the room in which my mother labored in. The midwife, nearly panicked by now, was sweating profusely as she called down the stairs to Frances for more boiling water and towels.

It was 1940, my mother should be giving birth in a hospital. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms in front of my chest, staring into the fire. The front door opened and shut quickly and I heard my older brother, Peter’s footsteps. “How is she?” he asked, removing his peaky cap, blue eyes anxious.

“She’s fine. Screaming–” a blood curdling shriek was let out from the room upstairs. I pointed to the ceiling. “Like that. Other than that she’s fine.”

I could feel my brother's annoyance at me. “She’s always had difficult births, I don’t understand why you’re so cross with her.” he nearly growled at me, removing his coat and hanging it on the coat rack next to fathers.

“They’re too old to still be having children!” I spouted off, annoyance with both of my parents clear. “Father is nearly fifty, and mother just turned forty!”

“It’s not our life, Kate.” Peter told me sternly, sitting down in the chair next to me.

“I know that, but it’s embarrassing, don’t you think?” I asked, cheeks flushing.

“What’s embarrassing?” he asked, clearly unaware of the shame I felt at my parents more often than not.

I rolled my eyes again. “That you, their oldest son, is married, ready at any moment to have his own child, and they’re still having their own children?”

Peter flashed me a sympathetic half-smile. “She never told you, did she?” he asked.

“Tell me what?”

He turned away from me, looking into the fire. At that moment, my brother looked so much like the younger version of my father it startled me. Peter is a lot like our father, but softer, kinder in many ways.

“Mother gave birth to me alone. It was just her and Aunt Polly, and Aunt Esme,” he began, still not meeting my eyes. “Father had been taken and nearly killed. She spiraled into despair, not knowing what to do without him,” he sighed. “And when father was returned to the family, naturally, she was overjoyed. Two years later, she became pregnant with you, but her birth with you was traumatic. You were early and she nearly died. Father was more unbearable than normal. He nearly refused to give her more children until the twins for fear of losing her,” I looked down at my hands, folded in my lap, my parents' relationship making a little more sense as my brother fit all the pieces together. “Then after the twins, Claire was simply an oops, and this baby a big oops.” Irish twins, Frances had lovingly called them. “Father never forgave himself for denying mother the children she wanted, so this is his way of making it up to her. I do assure you, sister, this is the last baby. She told me herself. She’s completely exhausted.”

“I bet she is.” I snarled.

“Why are you always like that towards her? She’s nothing but kind to you despite all your snide remarks and unkindness.” he seethed, sitting back in his chair and lighting a cigarette.

“I don’t know.”

“Is it because she always takes fathers attention?” Peter asked and my heart sunk in my chest. He did tend to know me better than our other siblings, partially due to our age differences.

“Would it have killed him to pay us a little mind, Peter?” I asked, tears springing to my eyes.

Peter chewed the inside of his cheek. “He’s–a complicated man, Kate.”

“We don’t even know who he is.” I mumbled.

I could hear the cogs in Peter’s mind whirring. “I suppose that may be because you’ve never asked to know him,” he leaned forward, his forearms on his knees. “I’ve learned much about him the last few years.”

“It’s because you’re a man.” I replied, quickly brushing a tear off my cheek.

“That may play a part but it’s also because I’ve asked to know him. I also work for him.”

“You’re older than I am–it’s different.” I said again, crossing my arms tighter.

“Keep making excuses and you’ll never know him.”

We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while, before we heard footsteps on the stairs. Heavy footsteps. Our father.

His hair was nearly all salt-and-pepper now, wrinkles prominent around his eyes. He looked tired. “Hello, son,” he greeted Peter kindly, walking over to where he was seated. Peter stood up and hugged him. “It’ll be any moment now, the midwife thinks.”

“Can you see the head?” I asked.

“They uh–” my father adjusted uncomfortably. “Had to turn the baby–was breeched.”

“Oh.” I said softly, heart panging in my chest for my mother.

“What brings you home, son?” my father asked, turning to Peter.

“Wanted to check on my mother. Sophie is out with her aunts and mother tonight, and I figured I didn’t want to be alone at a time like this.” he explained.

“Mr. Shelby!” the midwife called from the top of the steps. “Mrs. Shelby needs you!”

Without a second of hesitation my father turned and jaunted up the steps, two at a time. We could hear faint sobbing. “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. I’m tired, Thomas.” we could hear her sobbing to him, and him softly shushing her, encouraging her no doubt.

The grandfather clock in the foyer struck nine o’clock, and thirty minutes later, we heard shouts of joy and a baby screaming. “Kate! Peter! Come!” Father called from the top of the steps, the happiest look on his face.

We ran up the steps, eager to meet our youngest sibling. “It’s a boy,” the midwife said. Our mother lay in the bed, sweat streaming down her face, body trembling. We stood in the doorway as the midwife held the baby up for us to see. Wrinkled and red, dark black hair like the rest of us.

Father was smoothing Mother’s hair back from her face, peppering her forehead in kisses. “You did so well, my love. So well. He’s beautiful.”

“This is the last one, Thomas. The last one.” she told him as the midwife took our youngest brother to clean him off.

“What’ll you name him?” I asked.

Father looked down at mother expectantly. “Anthony James.” she told us, hands trembling as she reached for Father’s hand.

“Anthony,” I said aloud, liking the way it sounded. “I love it, mother.”

We chatted with our father from the doorway for a few minutes. The midwife returned a few moments later, the baby cleaned and squirming, ready to feed for the first time. “Children, if you’ll excuse us.” Father asked, turning towards our mother who held the baby at her chest.

We quickly left the doorway, the midwife closing the door softly behind us.

“Doesn’t seeing things like new life ever make you want to create your own family?” Peter asked.

I had always been repulsed by the thought of family. Mine confused me so much throughout my life. Our extended family had been rather close to us throughout the years, and faded slowly as each of their individual families grew, now practically all estranged. Father was always out and about, mother and Frances here raising us. I knew I never wanted to marry a man like my father–distant, cold, unyielding to anyone but his love. Stubborn. Arrogant. Prideful.

But I knew beneath all of those negative qualities there had to be some sort of redeeming quality or qualities, or my saint of a mother would never have married him. My mother, as my brother has said before, is everything our father is not. She is kind, warm, meek, and humble. She is frugal where father is frivolous, gentle where he is rough. It was never a secret, though, that us children always came second compared to either of them. Neither of them made that a secret. When I was younger, I thought their infatuation and besottedness with one another to be romantic. Now I found it repugnant.

I felt as though I always fell between the cracks the most out of my other siblings. Peter would always be the blessed first child, the twins would always cause a ruckus and Claire and, now, Anthony, would always be the babies.

At sixteen, I suppose it was time for me to start thinking of one day having my own family. Being the daughter of Thomas Shelby brought countless boys to our door, but father shooed any of them away that I didn’t want to have contact with. And I didn’t want to have contact with any of the ones who had showed up at our doorstep thus far.

Mother had told me recently it was time that I started attending social events, to get to know people better. I didn’t want to. I just wanted to be alone. After being in isolation for so long, the thought of being out there, with others, seemed intimidating.

Two days later, mother emerged from her bedroom, bathed and dressed. Weak still, Father carried Anthony down the stairs behind her.

“Good morning, Kate.” she smiled at me.

“Good morning,” I replied dryly. “How’re you feeling?” I asked.

“I feel better everyday, but I’m still tired.” she said, and I could see it in her face. The fatigue.

Isabel and William had already gone for their lessons that day, at the other end of the house. Mine were not scheduled to begin for another hour.

“I’m going to go walk around with him for a bit, love. Stretch my legs. I’ll be back shortly.” Father said, pressing a kiss to my mothers temple before he walked down the corridor, towards his office and the library.

“Kate,” my mother said gently, lowering herself into the chair next to me. “I’m sorry.”

My brow scrunched. “For what?” I asked.

My mother fiddled with her fingers in her lap, a habit she had when she was nervous–apprehensive. “I know I haven’t been as attentive to you as I should, and I am truly sorry.”

The tears in her eyes tore at my heart. “It’s alright, mother, you have six children and father and the business and with Sophie coming into the family, and–”

“And it’s all no excuse. I am a wife and a mother first and foremost and I have failed at the mother part,” she told me, reaching over and putting her hands on top of mine. “I’m sorry, Kate.”

“It’s okay. I haven’t been a very good daughter to you or Father.” I admitted. “We will be better together?” I offered.

“Yes. Better together, my sweet girl.” Mother said, squeezing my hands and smiling at me.

She removed her hands from mine, sitting back in the chair, sighing as she allowed her back to relax into the cushions on the chair.

“The Jones family is having that party next week, Mother,” I started. “I was wondering if you would help me pick a dress?”

“You’re going?” she asked, turning her head to face me.

“I probably should.” I replied.

A smile spread on her face. “I’d love to, Darling. Give me a few more days and we can go to London and pick the perfect one. Don’t tell your father yet, though. He’s having the hardest time with you growing up.” she said, turning again to face the fire.

“He is?” I asked, surprise in my tone.

She nodded. “You’re his first girl, Kate, and you grew up right in front of his eyes. He didn’t even get to catch most of it. He knows you’ll be engaged soon enough. Start your own life.”

“It’s his fault he didn’t catch most of it.” I snapped, ruining the sweet moment with my mother.

“Katherine!” mother yipped at me, sitting upright in her chair, eyes ablaze. “That was uncalled for. Your father loves you and has worked very hard so you can have the life you do.”

“Yes but he’s sacrificed being not present for his own ambitions.” I spat back.

My mother licked her lips, fury growing inside her. “Do you know what your father came from?”

“How would I? He never talks to me about who he was, is or wants to be.” I told her, not meeting her fiery gaze.

“Then I will make sure that he does.” she said, getting up from her seat and walking away, no doubt, to find my father.

A few days later, I was sitting in my room, reading my novel for lessons, and my father knocked on the door. “Kate! Let’s go, we’ve got to get to the city.” he said from outside the door.

I opened it, eyebrows furrowed together. “The City? For what?” I asked.

“Your dress for the Jones’ party this weekend.” he said, lighting a cigarette, an air of annoyance about him.

“Mother was supposed to take me.” I argued.

“She isn’t feeling well and asked me to take you.”

“Why can’t Frances?”

“Because Frances needs to look after the children. Will you please get your shoes on so we can go, please?” he said, breathing smoke out of his nostrils. I rolled my eyes and went to my closet to retrieve my shoes. “I’ll meet you out front.” he called.

Father had chosen to drive us himself to the city, I deduced by Simmons leaning on the drivers side door and talking to Father while he waited for me. I climbed in the passenger side and slammed the door, earning an annoyed look from my father.

“Enjoy your day, Mr. Shelby!” Simmons said, waving goodbye to Father and I.

The ride was quiet and tense, my father able to tell I did not want to go, but knowing I didn’t have the energy to put up a fight.

He dropped me off in front of one of my favorite dress shops and said he would be back shortly, that he needed to get something for the babies.

I picked out my dress and by the time he was back, I was waiting for him to pay for it at the front.

“Mr. Shelby!” the store clerk beamed. Why women always found my father irresistible I would never understand. “Your daughter picked out a beautiful dress.”

“Wonderful,” he said flatly, disinterested in the clerk's advances, as she batted her eyelashes at him. “How much do I owe?”

Her expression fell as she told him the total. He didn’t bat an eye as he pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and paid the clerk, bid her good day and ushered me out of the shop.

The way home he took a different way home, leading us through a run down, muddy town. “Where are we?” I asked as the car drove between rows of houses.

“This is Small Heath. Watery Lane to be exact. Where I’m from.” he told her. “That,” he pointed at a particular house. “Was my boyhood home, with my Aunt Polly.”

I faintly remember my gypsy aunt. She was a force to be reckoned with, and one of the few people who could give my father a run for his money.

“You lived here?” I asked, looking around at all the people staring at us.

“Mhm,” he mumbled. “Hard to believe?”

“I’ve always known you as who you are now, that’s all.” I explained, chewing the inside of my cheek.

“We were poor, and the war didn’t help anything. I came back and everything was destitute. Started running the business, took it over from my brother, Arthur. Met your mother. My whole life changed in a year.” he smiled faintly to himself.

He started the engine back up, launching into story after story of his childhood, of his estranged brothers, of his selfish father who I had never met. Vague stories of his time in the war. He told me of his medals he had won, of his rank in the army.

By the time we returned home, I knew more of my father than I did before, and I saw a small piece of the reason why my mother loved him as much as she did.

Over the rest of my adult years that I had with my father, I would come to find more of those pieces of why my mother adored him, and began to adore him in my own right, as his daughter.

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x oc #tom shelby #dad!tommy shelby #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky fookin blinders #peakywomen #sneakyblinders

[midnightswithdearkatytspb]

MidnightsWithDearKatyTSPB’s Recommendation List: May Pt. 1

Welcome to the first part of the May recommendation list. I hope you have been working enough, with the semester coming to a close for those in school. Ensure you aren’t letting yourself go too crazy with finals and are coming up for air and self-care. If you would like a moodboard made for your story or character, please send me a request. I would love to make you one. If you are interested in having your writing challenges featured here, your stories, or even your blog, please feel free to tag me in your works, message me, or use the hashtag MidnightWithDearKatyTSPB. Heads up, June may be all on one list. I’m going to my Grandmother’s 90th birthday and visit my family. I’ll get plenty of reading done while I’m gone, but I don’t know how much list-making I’ll get done. I hope your spring is going well and allergies are leaving you alone.

<<April Pt. 2 💐

May Pt. 2✨>>

Masterlist 📜

I'll See You Again (Moodboard + One-Shot) >> Tommy Shelby x OFC!Estella Shelby - Summary: Estella doesn’t want to let go of Tommy or her family.

BLURBS/DRABBLES:

Escape to Me by @daisyblinder >> Tommy Shelby x fem!reader - Summary/Request: The reader is autistic but masks a lot, so it's hidden, and Tommy can tell when they’re getting overwhelmed, so he sort of helps them out? | Found this very touching and wish to have a Tommy who would comfort them in those times of being overwhelmed.

Tommy Shelby + Hot Asshole Neighbor by @scorpiussage >> Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: Were not always lucky when it comes to neighbors, or are we? (My Summary) | If Tommy were my neighbor, I would gladly like to hear how he would like to make it up to me. 😏

ONE-SHOTS:

And Her Name Is... by @teenwolf-theoriginals >> Dad!Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: The children help come up with baby names. | I truly love this family!Tommy setting.

The Boys by @teenwolf-theoriginals >> Dad!Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: You get a call from the boys’ school, that later sparks a tense conversation between you and Tommy. | I love reading Tommy in a family setting and Charlie with more siblings. Happy to read this.

Close Your Eyes, Make A Wish by @look-at-the-soul >> Modern!Tommy Shelby x reader - Summary/Request: The reader could be having an extremely stressful day, and Tommy comes home to find her looking out their bedroom window, and he gives her a cuddle knowing it always calms her down. | I had a smile on my face the whole time I read this.

Enraptured by @toms-cherry-trees >> John Shelby x Reader - Summary: Gif Request - Sneak Preview: “Oh I see a lot that I like” That cheeky grin of his has not left his lips, and you want to kiss the arrogance out of him... | I love this so much, honestly. You can never get too much, John Shelby.

Mine by @toms-cherry-trees >> Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: Gif Request - Sneak Preview: More often that he cared to admit, Tommy had pictured her with that fan in her hand and nothing else on her skin. | The ending took me by surprise, and it had me so giddy.

More Than Enough by @dandelionprints >> Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: Sneak Peak: “Who have you heard say that? You tell me and I’ll send Arthur round to have a chat with them, no one talks about my wife like that!” | Fantastic job making me fall in love with Tommy Shelby all over again.

My Daughter. by @toomanyfandomsallatonce >> Tommy Shelby x F!Reader - Summary: One of the maids at Arrow house yells at your daughter for breaking a vase, and Tommy is extremely displeased when he finds out. | I have such a soft spot for Dad!Tommy Shelby.

Season's Change, People Don't by @shelbyssins >> Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary/Request - Sneak Preview: “What if you say no and regret it?” Tommy asked, his voice as soft as the breeze whispering over Y/n’s skin. | This was just perfect, perfect, absolutely perfect.

There's A Lot of Making Up To Do by @acewritesfics >> Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: Y/N is Charlie's daughter. Her and Tommy grew up together and have always been close until she moved away to go be a nurse in London. But now she's back. | Sometimes, a way to a woman's heart is a horse and remembering their teenage dreams of said perfect horse.

Untitled by @padfootdaredmetoo >> Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: Sneak Peak: “You leave what’s mine alone. Now give my regards to Mr. Kimber.” He spat on them as John pulled him back; looking down at them, he wondered if they were dead. | This one-shot brings me joy and makes me want to cheer for Tommy Shelby.

Welcome Back Sweetheart. by @toomanyfandomsallatonce >> Tommy Shelby x F!Reader - Summary: You left Tommy before the war started, and now, years later, he found you again, and this time he won't let you run again. Especially not into the arms of your abusive husband. | When Tommy makes a promise, he keeps it.

Whatever You Say by @little-diable >> Tommy Shelby x fem!reader - Summary: The reader finds a book without a title in Tommy's office, and the more pages she flips, the more she starts to realize that it's a book filled with drawings of naked bodies. | Thank you for the porn with a plot. It was *chefs kiss* perfect.

SERIES:

1919 Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5 | by @shelby-fangirl00 >> Tommy Shelby x OFC!Jasmine Manson - Summary: Jasmine has lost almost everything in life except her Godmother, Polly, and the Shelby family. They are perhaps the only thing keeping her somewhat sane. She spends her days taking care of Finn and her nights living by the moon, reminiscing of old days with Tommy Shelby, wishing for him to come back to her to the way things were before the war. The thing is, the war has changed them both as they both have lost and changed so much in the four years they were apart. (my summary, sorry) | Loosely based on the series, and I'm loving what there is so far!

Night In January pt. 1 | Through The Window pt. 2 | Only Joys Will Come pt. 3 | by @evita-shelby >> Tommy Shelby x Reader - Summary: I ride on the January, which leads to a life-changing decision and Shelby family tradition. (My Summary) | I loved the emotions this touches on and how you can picture it happening in the series.

Welcome To Downtown, Mr. Shelby | Chapter 9 | by @notyour-valentine >> Tommy Shelby x OFC!Crawley - Summary: He was born on a boat, with neither of his parents sure of the date after the fact, unregistered and unlisted until he went to fight for his country. Her birth had been celebrated with the ringing of church bells, champagne toasts, and announcements in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic. Their worlds could not have been more different, and perhaps that was why, when Thomas Shelby looked at Lady Charlotte Crawley, he saw more than her title, more than her looks- he saw an opportunity. | I look forward to reading more, and I love how you combine both universes. I know I said that last time Val, but you always blow my mind with your ability to do so.

PEDRO PASCAL CHARACTERS:

BLURBS/DRABBLES:

Games by @psychedelic-ink >> bodyguard!Joel Miller x actress!reader - Summary: Joel is fed up with your bratty behavior. | 🥵 🥵 🥵 Can be read alone or read its sequel High Enough.

Skinny Dipping by @swiftispunk >> Joel Miller x f!reader - Summary: Sneak Peak - "there," he says softly, reaching out his hand for you to take hold of, pulling you further into the water and closer to him. "feels nice, don't it?" | I’d skinny-dip any day with Joel Miller if it were anything like this.

Snack Break by @joelscruff >> boyfriend's dad!Joel Miller x f!reader - Summary: Joel needs you to be quiet. | Cocky!Joel telling you to enjoy your snack does things to me.

ONE-SHOTS:

At His Side (In His Bed) by @proxima-writes >> mand’alor!Din Djarin x female reader x Paz Vizsla - Summary: They call you the whore of Mandalore. Nothing more than the woman at the side of the ruler of New Mandalore, Din Djarin, a pretty little prize that he likes to share with his General Commander, Paz Vizsla. Mandalorians have always been good at keeping their secrets. | It's hot, and if you are like me, you'll surely love the ending.

High Enough by @psychedelic-ink >> Dieter Bravo x actress!reader x bodyguard!Joel Miller - Summary: An afterparty, weed, drinks, a grumpy bodyguard, and an eccentric actor. What can go wrong? | I think that was one of the hottest things I’ve ever read. 🥵🔥

In Her Defense by @swiftispunk >> Joel Miller x f!reader - Summary: An unexpected attack. A protective instinct. A heartfelt exchange. (The reader steps in when a stranger tries it with Ellie, and Joel is a guilt-ridden sad boy about it.) | This was a lovely one-shot; I'm so glad I read it!

*I've Shattered Now by @wannab-urs >> Dieter Bravo x Reader - Summary: Continuation of A Ghost of You (but can be read separately). Dieter dies, and you have to learn to live without him. | I’m not crying like a big baby. Nope, I promise. This was so beautifully written, and I would read it repeatedly. Please read all TW.

*Old Soul by @softlyspector >> Joel Miller x f!Reader - Summary: You're never quite sure of your place in Joel's life. Everyone else seems to know exactly what it is. | This whole work is dark yet beautiful, honestly, and I love it.

Say It With Your Hands by @swiftispunk >> Joel Miller x f!reader - Summary: Ellie convinces Joel to see the town masseuse. It goes mostly okay. | That was so hot 🥵 Hannah, thank you for sharing this with us.

*Seasons by @loquaciousferret >> Pre-Outbreak!Joel Miller x f!reader - Summary: One scene for each season of the year of your relationship as you fall in love with Joel Miller, single dad, and sweet southern heartthrob. | The best slow-burn and sweet porn I've read features Joel Miller. I adored it.

Toyin' With Them Older Guys by @proxima-writes >> bartender!Joel Miller x female!reader - Summary: Joel Miller is the grumpy bartender and owner of your favorite bar near campus, where you attend trivia every Tuesday night. Thinking there’s no way Joel could return your feelings, your friend suggests trying out Tinder. But when you bring them to the bar for a date, they leave mid-date without explanation. Maybe there’s something Joel isn’t telling you after all. | This was hot and, dare I say, adorable.

Weakness by @pedgeitopascal >> Joel Miller x female reader - Summary: An afternoon at Bill and Frank’s takes an unexpected turn for you and Joel when some feelings start coming to the surface. | The last line of this just sums this up so perfectly and beautifully…. I love it.

STORIES:

Apothecary | Chapter 4 | by @atinylittlepain >> Joel Miller x witchy!reader - Summary: Joel becomes curious about the woman running the medicine shop in Jackson, and the strange rumors swirling around her. | I know there is still more to come, and I look forward to what is in store for them.

Burning Hour by @juletheghoul >> Din Djarin x Royal F!Reader - Summary: Din Djarin is the captain of your father - the king's royal guard and, as such, is tasked with protecting you. When you leave a child and come back a woman, he sees you in a different light- but he isn’t the only one with his eye on you. Can a Princess and her Knight find a way to be together? | This story is so good! And the plot twist that you don't see coming! It blew my mind and made me love this story even more. I'm not sure which part I loved the most the vows, the porn, or the plot twist. I highly recommend you read this.

In My Hometown Series | Come Back, Be Here | by @swiftispunk >> neighbour!dbf!Joel Miller x fem!afab!actor(ish)!reader (+ platonic!Tommy and platonic!Sarah - Summary: Joel reckons with life in Austin after you return to LA | It's hot, but this series period is hot. It's one of my all-time favorite Joel Miller series here on Tumblr, and Hannah does amazing writing, Joel and reader.

One For The Money, Two For The Show by @cowgurrrl >> rockstar!Joel Miller x actress!reader - Summary: When world-famous rockstar Joel Miller finds himself in some hot water with the press, his PR team suggests fake dating an up-and-coming actress to refine his image. However, when they actually start spending time together, the happy couple can’t stand each other. Will they be able to turn it around for the cameras, or will it all be for nothing? | I LOVE THIS SERIES! If I were the reader, I would be screaming into my pillows about Joel Miller and his stupid face.

Raider by @toxicanonymity >> raider!Joel Miller x fem!reader - Summary: You think Joel is saving you from the bad guys, but he's just claiming you for himself. You're his now, and he won't let you or his men forget it. Better be a good girl for him. It's for your own good, sweet pea. | It's both a perfect amount of dark and porn. If you like dark!Joel look no further.

True Blue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | by @beskarandblasters >> Joel Miller x OC!Hannah - Summary: Joel has lived most of his life with little emotional attachments, especially romantic attachments. He was satisfied with only having his brother, Tommy, and his friend, Tess. That is until Hannah moves to the Boston QZ from Hartford, Connecticut QZ after the military control there collapses, and Joel questions everything he thought he knew about love, trust, and loyalty. | I look forward to seeing where this goes because this has me sucked in, and it’s very good!

*Uneven Odds by @theetherealbloom >> Joel Miller x Fem!Reader - Summary: The Reader is dragged into the Last of Us universe and has no choice but to watch the events unfold or will she be able to change what was already written? | You want to cry, scream, and laugh all throughout. It’s a must-read for fans of the television series and Joel Miller.

Untitled pt.1 | pt. 2 | pt. 3 | pt. 4 | pt. 5 | by @pascalisbaby >> neighborhood!dbf!Joel Miller x fem!reader - Summary: after two years of fantasizing about your neighbor, Joel, he finally gives you what you’ve been dying for. | This series is just so good! Please read it.

TRIPLE FRONTIER:

ONE-SHOTS:

Take Care of You by @musings-of-a-rose >> Benny Miller x f!reader - Summary/Request: Here is my Benny idea. He gets worried about his baby working nights. The reason why he takes her to and from work. Go out to their favorite hangout for a late dinner. Then spoil her as soon they get home. | Buddles, that is so cute, and yes, I could use some myself.

Pedro Pascal characters as Taylor Swift albums by @swiftispunk

Tommy Shelby Moodboard by @raincoffeeandfandoms

#pedro pascal #joel miller #joel miller x reader #midnightswithdearkatytspb #tommy shelby x reader #peaky blinders #fanfiction recommendation #fanfiction rec list #ktk recommendation list #2023 fic rec #ktk rec '23 #moodboards #my recommendations #dark!joel miller #the last of us fanfiction #thomas shelby x reader #dad!tommy shelby x reader #john shelby #john shelby x reader #dbf!joel miller #dbf!joel miller x reader #dieter bravo x reader #tommy shelby x ofc #din djarin x female reader #din djarin x reader x paz vizsla #paz vizla x reader

[ayowhatnah]

#x male reader #tommy shelby x male reader #peaky blinders x male reader #peaky blinders x brother reader #dad reader #famer male reader #himbo male reader

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Hey there can you please do a Tommy Shelby daughter x Isaiah . Y/n is the daughter of him and Greta and he’s super protective of her she’s is like his rock especially when he got back from the war. maybe a few times they almost get caught and when they do he find them in a compromising position but ya know y/n is Tommys daughter so she acts all nonchalant about it while Tommy is fuming and she tries to talk him down. Hope it makes sense ❤️

Hey love,

This ended up with a lot of Reader & Lizzie development and I feel that I may have made this too fluffy. Hope you enjoy it and I apologize for how long this took me.

Warnings: Parenting, mentions of death, teen anxiety, family themes

“Thomas it’s obvious! Please don't be stupid about this. Talk to her.” Polly’s voice wore down what little patience he had left. Yes, it was obvious his daughter was seeing someone in his team, and that someone happened to be Isaiah. 

Something that seemed to be lost on everyone was how this type of thing should be handled. Isaiah, like everyone, had a job to do. As his boss it was Tommy’s job to keep him in line. Going out to do God knows what to his daughter was a huge betrayal. He liked Isaiah, but it was up to them to make the right decision to come forward about it and ask for his blessing. 

In which he would consider things carefully with his daughter. If he got involved before that, he would have to punish Isaiah for sneaking around. Which, would probably hurt his daughter and cause a great big fiasco.

Another massive headache to distract everyone from what was important. 

“Do you ever listen?” Polly shouted slamming the door to his office behind her. He sat there for a long while staring at the wall thinking about his daughter. She was so much like her mother it caused him chest pain from time to time. She hadn't known her mother, or that side of the family, meaning she herself would never understand or see the similarities. 

She had just had her 17th birthday. Tommy could see how his role in her life had rapidly changed the older she got. She was incharge, headstrong, and temperamental. He would be forever grateful that Greta’s qualities were there to balance what she had received from him. 

He sighed pouring a glass of whiskey. As much as he wanted to punish Isaiah, he knew this was more her idea than his. 

______________________________________________________________________

You laid in bed haunted by your first relationship. So much pressure was on you. Your heart wanted him, but if you made a foolish choice your father’s disappointment would be enough to wipe you off the planet. You thought back to the morning when you had been kissing in the cellar. Arthur almost caught the two of you. Guilt twisted up in your stomach, and you wondered if it was worth all this pain. Thinking about ending it was somehow even more painful. 

You thought about your dad, what he was like once he came home to you after the war. He was so bitterly cold with everyone, except you. Then you remembered Grace with as much fondness as a block of moldy cheese. A complete waste of a person, well, you got your baby brother from it so you supposed she was alright in the end.

Then there was Lizzie. You wanted to talk to her so badly, but she would tell your dad. Or worse, look down on you. She was too tall, and slim, and pretty to understand the situation you were in. 

Laying there in bed as the night grew later you left it up to fate. If she was awake when you went down stairs you would tell her. If she was asleep then you would keep it a secret. 

You pulled a thick sweater over your pajama top before padding down the stairs. You knocked on your father’s study and opened the door. Lizzie was laying on the couch reading a book. 

She looked like everything you wish you were. Lizzie wouldn't ask for permission, she lived her life however she wanted. Her eyes looked up from over the top of her book and she looked surprised to see you there. 

“Hello.” She sat up and motioned to the other side of the couch. Normally you avoided her, partially out of respect, but also because her aura of perfection annoyed you. 

“Erm - Is this a bad time?” You said in a shy voice. 

“No, not at all.” She said calmly. You sat down on the couch, she wore a silk house coat that hung on her slender frame elegantly. You looked down at the men’s Pajama bottoms and wool sweater you were wearing and gave a defeated sigh. This was very stupid. 

“What’s going on? Everything okay?” Her voice held a tone of genuine concern. You remembered that you had left it up to fate. You took a deep breath then began. 

“Well, I really like Isaiah, he’s kind and funny, and I feel really calm when I’m with him, sometimes he will read to me and I'll just fall asleep, which is embarrassing and everyone says you should feel nervous and like there are flies in your stomach, which is very gross, but I don't know what i’m doing and my mum is dead.” 

The words came out of your mouth like a hurricane. You took a couple deep breaths then more came to the surface. 

“He wants to tell my dad, because he doesn't want to die, which is reasonable, but I don't know how sure I am about this and it’s my life I want to enjoy it, go at my own pace, I don't want to make a bad choice and have dad be disappointed, but also fuck him, I can’t just not live my life. I know you’ve never had to deal with this type of stuff being a woman of “higher education” BUT like I said my mum is dead and Esme is still in the woods, Pol will tell my dad.” 

Her eyes were wide as she looked down at you.

“What’s a woman of higher education?” She asked with a lifted brow. You let out a sigh, frustrated that she was focused on the wrong thing. 

“You know, you went off to school, got a good job, worked for my dad then fell in love with him. Not a lot of conflict. You guys got married and had Ruby.” 

Lizzie let out a laugh that made you want to slap her and cry at the same time. People were so frustrating. 

“Darling, oh, is that what you think of me?” There was a fondness in her voice and a softness in her wet eyes that confused you. “That’s - I’ll tell you my story another time, I promise you it was not glamorous in the slightest.” 

She lit a cigarette and you wanted to know what she meant.  

“This is about you.” She nodded, breathing out a cloud of smoke. “So he makes you feel safe. He knows what your family does for a living. Sounds like a good move.” She responded easily. 

“What about dad?” 

“Just tell him.” 

Your stomach dropped and you still felt like she didn't understand the situation. If your dad and the family knew it would be this huge thing that would swallow you up. It wouldnt be yours anymore. 

“Look your father isn't going to make you marry the guy.” She laughed at the idea. “Even if he was that way I wouldn't let him. You need to do your own thing. I would, however, feel better if you had us behind you. I know what it's like to be out there alone.” Her eyes fell onto the fire and her posture went slightly rigid. 

“Thanks, Lizzie.” You whispered after a long moment. She gave a small smile then walked with you up to your room. You got into bed wondering what her life was like before drifting off. 

___________________________________________________________

The morning came and you found yourself in a losing battle with guilt as Isaiah pulled you into a broom cupboard. 

“Have you had some time to think about things?” 

“Oh um -” You thought about what Lizzie said and took a breath. 

“Look, I’m not trying to pressure you. I just really hate lying to your da.” He gave you a long look and warmth spread across your cheeks. “Whatever you want - Is fine with me.” He said finally. 

“I think it’s best we talk to him.” You said letting out a happy giggle as he picked you up. He kissed you hard and your heart rate sped up. You kissed him back and before you knew it you were pressed up against the back wall with your legs around his waist. 

It was wrong. But for some reason that made it harder to stop. He made noises that were going to keep you up for days.

______________________________________________________________

Tommy’s POV 

Lizzie had spoken to you, about what, she wouldn't say, but it confirmed to him that things were getting out of hand. A small part of him was pleased that you were starting to see Lizzie as a part of the family, the other part of him didn't like the idea of you keeping secrets with anyone but him. 

In the corner of his eye he caught the door to the broom cupboard swing shut and he fought with himself for a moment. Might as well put her out of her misery and just get it over with. No one was here to witness it meaning that no one would know this is how it went down. He wouldn't punish Isaiah, just have a chat with him after about what punishment will look like if he messed up again. It would be enough to set him straight. 

He opened the door with the intention of sorting this out. Seeing his daughter in a position like that was something he was not prepared for. He set you down immediately, removing his hands. 

He was too angry to speak. He had half a mind to kill the stupid kid. He watched your face turn from shock to rage. This was not going to be a easy morning. 

“Isaiah, get out.” You snapped, he looked at you for a moment but left when he realised it was in his best interest to listen. 

“We were going to tell you today at lunch. We are dating. Nothing bad happened here, so I don't need to be scolded.” You crossed your arms.

“Go home and wait for me there.” Was all he could manage to say. Having a screaming match when they opened in ten minutes was not wise. His tone of voice made your skin pale slightly meaning you would listen. You stomped out of the shop. He waited for Polly to show up and explained before heading home. 

He made a stop along the way and tried his best to orginize his thoughts. 

________________________________________________________

You walked around the kitchen island in circles.

Lizzie sat there drinking her coffee. 

“I really fucked everything up. He’s so mad Lizzie.” 

“He’s your father, it's his job to be angry.” She said easily. “He loves you, a lot. He’s got this whole complex about your mum too.” She took a drag of her cigarette. You stopped and turned to look at her from across the kitchen. 

“What does that mean?” 

“It means, he will never forgive himself for your mum, in his head the whole thing was his fault. Him not being there when you were born - the whole thing. Last thing he ever wrote to your mum was about how he would keep the two of you safe. He takes it very seriously. He wants to protect you, but this is new ground for him and he’s not sure how to do it. He can be a real idiot about things, but that’s why he’s got me to help him sort it out. He’s not going to hurt you or Isaiah.” 

“What she said.” You dad’s voice made you jump. He came over and placed a kiss on the top of Lizzie’s head. That stupid part of you that wanted to prove him wrong kicked up.

“I’m not going to let you control everything.” You said, something about arguing felt good. You like Isaiah, you wanted to fight for him. 

“I don’t want you to live that way.” He said after a long moment. “But you're my kid, in my house, there are rules.” You thought about arguing but waited to see what he would say. 

“First off, curfew is 8pm.” 

“11.” Lizzie said interrupting him. 

“10pm. No boys in your room - ever. Kissing is fine - nothing without clothes. Ever.” 

“Once you're married.” Lizzie said with a smile in her voice. 

“Never get married.” He said getting annoyed at being interrupted. 

“Ouch.” She said in a mock hurt voice. 

“There’s - Parenting. It’s hard. If you can wait till your ready - it’s -” 

“Dad ew-” You held your hands out as if it could stop the conversation. 

“No, no one had this talk with Ada and - “ He seemed lost for words. 

“Her husband died.” You said confused.

“Exactly. Teen pregnancy is a real killer okay? So just dont make a baby - ever.” 

“Once you're married.” Lizzie said with a smile. 

“Which is never.” He said firmly. 

“Now the real thing you need to hear from us. If you come and tell us something awful has happened to you, we will believe you and unleash a world of hurt on that boy.” She said with a serious tone pointing at you. “If you get pregnant, you’ll get a wedding and a place to live. But I think we both know you want time to get there, eh?” You nodded at her. “Exactly, so don't do anything we would have done, and take your time. Find the right boy when your ready."  

You finally broke her stare to look to your dad standing next to her. He was gripping the chair tight enough to turn his knuckles white. His gaze was focused out the window on the wet grass in the backyard. 

“I want you to be happy- In your life.” The words were not difficult, but the meaning behind them was enormous. You thought about everything your dad, and family did for you. You felt your face get hot at the words you knew you should say. 

“I am informed, and I will not make a baby, because, I do not -  at this time-  want to be married or to live in a house on my own, with an infant. Ruby is annoying enough as it is.” You added the last bit in to lighten the mood. 

“Don’t talk about your sister like that.” Tommy said in a worn voice. 

“I know - I love her for it.” You said and went over to hug your dad. He put his arm around you tightly and kissed the top of your head. 

“Lizzie.” You let go of him and watched the look of confusion on her face as you reached down to her. She hugged you back awkwardly due to her seated position. When you pulled away your dad handed you a small box of pastries from your favorite shop, but it didn't distract you from Lizzie brushing the tears from her cheeks. 

“Well, those look good,” She said in a high voice and you pushed the box to her. 

___________

You and Isaiah, did not make a baby or get married. However, when you look back on that time in your life you remember your parents looking at you in a different way for the first time. Like an adult, in charge of her life. You remember getting close with Lizzie fussing over outfits and various arguments, and feeling secretly touched by how much she and Tommy cared about the situation. 

#peaky blinders #tommy shelby #dad tommy shelby #Tommy Shelby & daughter reader #Peaky blinders #Peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders one shot #Thomas shelby imagine #lizzie stark #lizzie shelby

[divinekangaroo]

just enough to let me drown - pettiot - Peaky Blinders (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | ? | ?

During S6-E5, starting with Tommy meeting Diana at the narrowboat, how he gets back to Arrow, that particular Dinner, through to Tommy returning home after dropping Jack Nelson off at the train.

Tommy was running out of women who didn’t look like other women. If Lizzie found out, he’d have only redheads left to fuck in his old age.

No. No old age. Only this.

.

Diana Mitford/Tommy Shelby, Past Oswald Mosley/Tommy Shelby, Tommy Shelby/Lizzie Stark, Past Oswald Mosley/Lizzie Stark, Jack Nelson, Charles Strong, Small Heath Sex Worker | Reference to Incest, Dehumanisation, Cigarette Burns, Disassociation, Racism, Class Issues, Intrusive Thoughts, Extremely Dubious Consent, Post Rationalisation, Flashbacks, Dyfunctional Relationship, Self Harm, Oral Trauma, Trauma, Plausible Deniability, Close POV/Unreliable Narration, Horrible Dinner Parties, Prostitution, Shame, Hurt/Comfort, Eating Inedible Objects, Vomiting, Pre-Seizure Markers, Where Fascism becomes a Personally Targetted Sexual Nightmare, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Falling Off the Wagon, Unreliable Memory, Hoarding, Orgasm Control, Innuendo, Ethnic Slurs, Trying (so fucking hard!) to Communicate (emotion is the enemy of oratory!), Spiralling, Purposeful Ambiguity, Failed Love Confession/s

.

#my writing #peaky blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #tommy x lizzie #tommy shelby #tommy x diana #tommy x mosley #lizzie x mosley #jack nelson #charles strong #a purposefully 'did that actually happen? did he actually say that? was it all in his head' chapter #i promise the flashbacking and tommy's trauma-blurred sense of time/place only happens once more in this story he's done with the past now #featuring snips of my headcanon of tommy's hoarding habit: #as a little kid he collected/stole little bits of rich people tokens and hid them under the floorboards with a vague thought one day he'd - #-have enough to become one of them #also tried to write this so the t-l scene in the show (getting dressed and 'when i know everything i'll tell you everything') still works. #lizzie is pissed at the perfume but she always believed tommy slept with sex workers ongoing through their marriage. not the same as diana. #lizzie realising txd happened the morning after txl's hotel ILU seemed important. nothing in what diana said at dinner did that. and so #also wanted tommy handing duke to uncle charlie.in this way that tommy arranged the fam's marriages #sorry uncle charlie that i never saw you as a dad. but here you go: a fatherless son i prepared earlier. good luck #as to what tommy's 'script' was with lizzie that got derailed when she laughed at him: reader's choice. XD #he spirals around and around and around what happened with diana and never touches centre

[leonsliga]

Leon and his father Konrad in Fox Sports’ Phenoms (X)

#repping that Tommy Shelby couture in the beginning like a true man #from what I could tell he talked about his Bayern transfer in this scene #spoiler alert: it was adorable #i love that he fist-bumped his dad on his way in the door lmao #leon goretzka #bri’s gifs

[evita-shelby]

Is it possible if you to do a story for pesky blinders, where Tommy’s now ex girlfriend is back, after leaving during the night before he went off to war because she had found out she was pregnant.. and with being back she was sneaking around until she ran into Polly and then eventually runs into tommy..

Sorry if none of that makes sense lol

thank you and you make perfect sense.

i do apologize for it being short and ending the way it does. lol sorry

Chance

Gif by @zerenitysblog

To your credit, you do not panic when you find Polly Gray bouncing three-year-old Charlie on her knee.

“Looks exactly like him, it’s a wonder no one’s caught on yet.” The older woman said as she continued to play with her great-nephew.

You had left when you learned you were pregnant and that Tommy ---instead of talking this out with you like an adult--- signed up with his brothers and neighbors and formed their own battalion.

You had been angry and because neither of you left an address to write, he was entirely unaware of little Charlie. That was until Polly spotted you in church and followed you to the Patch. There she discovered your son, and you already know that she will tell his father and ‘set this right’ by having you marry the fucking coward who chose to die in France instead of talking to you.

“If someone has to tell Tommy, it has to be me.” You say and she nods shrewdly.

“Of course, sweetheart. If anyone must tell Tommy he’s got no foot to stand on, it’s the mother of his child.” Polly agreed, confirming the gossip about Ada and Freddie you’ve heard from your kin.

You plan for it, you rehearse the words you must say and yet your courage fails you when you see him struck dumb by the sight of the barmaid one Sunday after mass.

He has moved on; the blonde miss won’t like the idea of him having a bastard and he would deny his own son if it got him the aloof posh girl playing the barmaid with a heart of gold.

And yet, he sees you from behind the woman and calls out to you instead. “Y/N.”

 “Hello, Tommy.” All your words fail you when he sees his blue eyes reflected in his son’s. For a moment, the world disappears and only you three exist. “Can we talk?”

A/N 9/11/2023: the fic is sadly completed. I don’t know if i will ever come back to it. Ending is up to you guys

#tommy shelby x reader #dad!tommy

[moral-terpitude]

Royal Ascot

Despite her mothers best intentions, Ruby wants nothing to do with being a debutante.

—-

“I’m not doing it.”

Tommy Shelby let out a sigh at his daughters defiance.

They were finally in a spot in life that could afford his daughter the things that he remembered his sister desperately pining after as they got older, and now that there was someone to offer boundless options of life to, they weren’t wanted.

She huffed in the chair across from her father, brown coils shuffling around her head as she shook it once again and tossed the letter from the Lord Chamberlain back into the middle of the desk.

“Your mother—“

“She didn’t even ask me!”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh, glasses now discarded as a long abandoned cigarette smoldered in the ash tray.

“At least,” she huffed. An interjection. Arms now crossed. “Oi! At least,” He pointed a finger as he stood, hands firmly planted in the middle of the desk, “you and I go to the horse race at the end of the season. These are the things we have to do now. It’s business. It’s politics.”

“The only way I’ll go,” her words offered a glimmer of hope for the moment, her eyebrow quirking in the same way her father’s would (rather a taunt to see it come across his own child’s face), as she rose to leave, “is if I’m the one racing the horse.”

“Ruby Elizabeth—“

She slammed the door of the office closed behind her with a final click, and he knew it was useless to try and pursue the topic any further.

#peaky blinders #tommy shelby #peaky fucking blinders #peaky fookin blinders #tommy shelby fanfic #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinder fanfic #tommy shelby imagine #thomas shelby #ruby shelby #dad!tommy shelby

[sneakyblinders]

Father’s Advice

A/N: told from Tommy & his beloved wife’s (my AU I’ve created for myself, it’s rather self indulgent <3) oldest son, Peter’s, POV. Please enjoy. <3  warnings: fluff. Dad!Tommy. not canon. sorry not sorry.  Word count: 2k I do not take credit for the GIF. I just think this is how he would look during the office conversation. :) 

My breath hitched in my throat as I stepped over the threshold of the back door, silently praying to whatever gods were still awake at this hour that the small creak in the door wouldn’t wake my mothers dogs up. After I shut the door behind me I was promptly shoved against it, a blade at my throat.

My eyes strained through the dark to notice my attacker. My mother. My body relaxed when I saw her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief, unpinning me from the wall and re-harnessing her blade in her skirts. “Peter Shelby!” she scolded me, trying to keep her voice down in fear of waking my siblings up.

“Mother, why would you do that?” I asked, breath still ragged from my near encounter with death.

“You know your father is away in London on business tonight and I cannot sleep without him. Especially with the baby.” she rubbed her stomach, round with my youngest sibling. Baby number five. She’d been uncomfortable for weeks now, this one giving her a terrible time. She’d cursed my father on multiple occasions, telling him he was never to come within six feet of her with anything less than suit pants and a dinner jacket on. He smirked.

“I know, I’m sorry.” I said, looking her in the eyes.

“Where have you been?” she asked, narrowing those dark, big eyes at me.

“Nowhere, Mother.”

“Nonsense, Peter, you’ve barely tucked yourself back into your pants. You are your fathers son, I swear.” she muttered, turning towards the kitchen. I could feel heat in my cheeks as I heard my fathers words the first time this had happened. Your mother knows these things, Peter.

She looked back at me, expectantly, motioning for me to follow her. I could faintly smell bread and my mouth began to water at the prospect of a fresh slice with Irish butter spread on it. Her favorite nighttime snack, a trait she graciously has passed on to each of her children.

She silently cut me a slice while I sat at the table. “Who is she?” she asked, handing me the slice of bread and sliding the butter across the small, round table towards me. I chewed the inside of my cheek. “And there’s no sense in lying to me, Peter. You’re sixteen, I understand these things but sneaking around at night is not the way to do it.” I shoveled a piece of bread in my mouth, eager to not have this conversation. “Fine, if you won’t speak to me about her, you’ll bring her to dinner tomorrow night.”

I choked. Coughing, I managed to sputter out, “Tomorrow? Won’t father be home tomorrow?”

She smiled deviously. “Yes. And he’ll want to talk to you about this first thing in the morning so head to bed. Be ready to speak to him in his office first thing after breakfast.”

I groaned as I trudged up the steps to my room.

The next morning, the nanny, Sara, woke me up. “Good morning, Mr. Peter.” she said gently, opening my curtains, light spreading into my room. I could hear my siblings in the bathroom down the hall fighting over who got to wash their face first and rolled my eyes.

I got ready as slowly as I could manage, barely tying my tie just to spite my mother. She hates when I do that.

My father was just getting up from the table, when I arrived down in the dining room, newspapers spread across the table. “Tie your tie properly, Peter. You know how your mother hates how that looks.” he said sternly, straightening his waistcoat.

“Thomas!” I heard my mother call from the back of the house, somewhere near the pantry. I heard them discussing something about needing more lard or flour or salt as I finished tying my tie.

“Yes, my love, I will make sure Frances gets it when she goes to the market today, no need to get so upset about salt.” I could hear him comforting my mother. Her emotions were thrown every which way with this child.

As stern as my father is with his children, the moment my mother needed an inkling of softness, he turned to putty in her hands. He had her wrapped in his arms, swaying her gently in the kitchen while Frances and Sara bustled around them trying to get the rest of dinner ready. “It’s alright, darling, you just didn’t sleep last night, that’s all.” he told her. She looked at him, face streaked with tears. “Don’t cry anymore, beautiful girl.” he wiped a tear from her chin with his thumb, before swiping it on the back of his thigh, on his suit pants.

“Your shirt, I’m sorry.” she laughed softly, sniffing, noticing the stains of tears on his shirt.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. It’ll dry. Go rest, my love. I will wake you up when it’s time for lunch, yeah?” he told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Okay,” she nodded, reaching up on her toes to kiss his lips. “I’m glad you’re home safe.”

He smiled softly at her, a hand on her belly. “Me too, Darling.”

After my mother was on her way up the steps to their quarters, my father returned to the table to retrieve his paper. “I’ll be waiting for you in my office after you are finished with your breakfast, Peter.” he told me, eyes as cold as ice.

“Yes, father.” I said, not wanting to meet his gaze.

My siblings bounded down the steps, two at a time. “Daddy!” Isabel, my youngest sister shouted when she saw him.

“Good morning, bug!” he smiled at her, arms open as she ran to him.

“How was London?” William, my younger brother asked, jumping on his back as he was bent over to hug Isabel.

“It was wonderful. Got to talk to loads of lovely people.” he said, reaching around his back to tickle William’s sides. William loosed his grip and slid down his back, sliding to the floor with a thump. Katherine stood to the side of the younger two, waiting her turn to hug our father. “There’s my lovely girl.” he smiled at her, reaching for a hug. “Children, listen,” their eyes got round, listening with anticipation. “Your mother needs lots of rest today. The baby has been giving her fits and she didn’t sleep very much last night, so she needs to catch up on rest today. So please listen to your tutors and don’t give Sara or Frances fits after your lessons are done, alright? Your mother is not to be disturbed. I have business today and if I’m interrupted I won’t be happy, okay?” They all nodded their heads. “After dinner, I have some presents from London for you.” They gasped in excitement. “Now, go eat your breakfast.”

He ascended up the steps to his office. My heart sank into my chest as I heard his heavy wooden doors of his office slam shut.

I gathered enough courage after the last of my eggs were washed down to walk up the steps and face my father. I knocked on the door, and I heard a grunt from the other side. I opened the door. Father sat behind his monstrosity of a desk with papers and books strewn about in every direction.

“Good morning, son.” he said, not looking up from his paperwork. “One moment, just trying to get these figures to add up right. Your mother usually does this, I’m a little out of practice so it takes me a little longer. Sit down.” he said, brow scrunched together as his pencil scribbled figures furiously.

I sighed as I sank down into the plush leather chair across from him. He sighed, sitting back in his chair and removing his glasses. “Got it,” he smiled to himself, taking a cigarette from his desk drawer and lighting it. “Alright now, tell me about last night.”

“Father,” I tried to protest but he cut me off, raising his hand.

“Peter. I was sixteen once, I remember.”

“So I don’t have to tell you?” I asked, already confused.

His eyes bore holes into my soul, ice in his gaze. Everything about my father was cold. He was always cold, complaining his hands or feet were freezing. Never showing too much positive emotion around us. He never volunteered  too much information about himself, leaving us all questioning who our father was on a regular basis. Until I got older I never understood if it was done because he didn’t quite understand how to interact with children, or if he thought we wouldn’t understand him. I think it was a little of both.

If my father was ice, my mother was fire. Warm in every sense of the word. Her eyes, dark and knowing, always cast a loving gaze, even if she was violently angry. She was always twenty degrees warmer than everyone else in the house, fanning herself with any scrap paper that was lying around. Often father would trade her pieces of paper that were lying around on his desk as he needed them.

But they loved each other very much, despite all of the ways they were different. He often told me of how my mother made him a better man every day they were together. Once I had threatened, with no real intention behind it, to kill my mother after I learned she was pregnant with the twins, Isabel and William. My father, who was half drunk at the time, told me that if anything were to happen to his wife, he would be even more unbearable than he already was. The thought scared me so bad I never mentioned any more murderous thoughts about my mother.

“Of course you still have to tell me.” my father chuckled, pulling me from my daze. “At least you’re not having to admit all of these things to Aunt Polly like I did.” he told me, eyebrows raised.

“I am thankful for that.” I admitted to him before spilling my guts about Sophie. My girl. By the time I had told him about sneaking off in the middle of the night and her crawling down the lattice of her house to meet in our barns to kiss, I told him. “I feel about her the way you feel about Mother.”

His eyebrows shot up, as he puffed out smoke from his nostrils. “That’s a rather strong sentiment, son.” He took another pull on his cigarette as I tried to justify my words, stammering and tripping over every word I managed to utter. “I believe you, though.”

“What?” I asked, confused again.

“Peter, your mother and I love quite hard, and I am afraid, my son, that you have inherited a double portion of that from us.” I looked down at my hands. “Bring her to dinner tonight. Go collect her properly,” his eyes got intense. “Pick her some flowers from the garden, ask her father’s permission,” my father rolled his eyes. “Can’t believe I’m telling you this, I sound just like Polly.”

“She had this conversation with you?” I asked, ears peaking at the opportunity to hear a story from him. My father is a marvelous storyteller when he gets the gumption to launch into a story.

“Oh yes,” he leaned back in his chair, taking another drag on his cigarette. “About your mother.” a smile spread on his face. “Yes, son, bring her to dinner tonight.”

“Yes, father.”

“And don’t run around late at night with her, it’s not proper and you scare your mother half to death!” he wagged his finger at me.

“It won’t happen again.” I promised him.

“Better not.” he grumbled. ���Very well. Off to your lessons, son.”

“Have a good day, father.” I told him.

“See you at dinner, son. Don’t be late.” I could feel him smirking as I left his office.

After following my fathers advice, I brought Sophie to dinner.

Three years later I would bring her to dinner to announce our engagement.

And four years after that to announce our firstborn.

Sometimes father does have the best advice.

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tom shelby #thomas shelby #tommy shelby x oc #sneakyblinders #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder imagine #peaky fookin blinders #dad!tommy shelby

[peakyblindas]

Adding to Dottie's pinterest board and finding this

God damn did that hit me like a truck.

#OC: Dorothy Meadows-Shelby #I think about Dottie and Tommy a lot #like imagine waiting all your life to find your dad #and its tommy fucking shelby

[merryandrewsart]

For @thatgurlsstuff ❤

I was thinking about Ruby convincing Alfie to let her ride a horse that Tommy won't allow her (because she's still too young for big horsies) but then she hurt her leg when she tried to mount the saddle (a smoll scratch) and Alfie is patching her leg.

And,

#I hope you like it❤ #of course Alfie will let her ride that horse again in future but this time he helps her mount #it's a smoll headcanon of mine but I think we all agree that Alfie buys Ruby princess dresses gdyrudhu #her wardrobe's full of puffy lacey princess dresses. oh and small crowns too ahaha #and whenever he takes her on one of his business meetings she wears one of thems :) #aaand he'll be one of those dads who spoils his girl a LOT (and he enjoys it) #she spends like 23 of 24 hours in Alfie's arms. carries her around most of times and seats her on his leg when he reads her a book #also he likes braiding/brushing her hair hxyejdgf #he loves Charlie too #though I think Ruby will be so.. close/attached to him #merryandrewsart #alfie/tommy #kinda? #ruby shelby #alfie solomons #cyril

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Hey 👋 I’m not too sure if your doing requests( if not completely ignore this it’s fine:)) but I was requesting a peaky blinders one-shot where reader is like an orphan and lives in an orphanage and tommy the philanthropist he is goes down to the orphanage with Polly,John,Arthur,and Ada and whoever else you want and they see reader going at it with on of the sisters. You could choose the conflict or their argument but yeah, if you could draw the reader as someone who’s quick and sarcastic with their words like a speak before thinking type of person you know. Also can this be like a tommy Shelby x daughter!reader kinda like a found family kind of trope. Sweet kisses love your stories❤️

Dear Anon,

I hope this does it justice!! I changed a few things because I felt like it fit the story better (I hope that's alright) but there is lots of family stuff. And lots of Lizzie and Tommy - not something I have ever written before so hopefully that's also alright. Sweet kisses back to you love, thank you for this wonderful idea!!!

Warnings: peaky type stuff, religious language? Implied that a priest was going to assault the reader, bad words, not descriptive death of parents, mentioned death of a baby, grief, so much sweetness and hurt comfort and hopefully laughs. I promise it's not as dark or sad as it sounds. Also some Grace bashing / group hate.

Word count: 6606 - may have gotten carried away...

Part 2

Tommy watched Lizzie closely as they approached the large building. According to his sources it housed around a hundred and fifty children, the building was large but it didn't seem that large. 

It was gray and rainy, much like every day. The dark dampness didn’t bother him as it had seeped into his bones and made a home long ago. At this point, he was convinced that the sunlight would simply cause him to turn to ashes if it ever reached his skin. 

Lizzie looked nervous but that was expected, he felt beyond nervous. Suddenly hoping she would change her mind altogether. Children were overrated, he would know having raised Finn and half of John's kids. But after her she lost the baby, he would do anything to bring some happiness to her. He knew he wasn't the best husband, but he was trying to do better every day. 

Walking up the steps a voice in his mind started to remind him that he would only be bringing this baby into a world of danger and horror. Only going to ruin them so no God would allow them refuge. He pushed them down as best he could, reaching out to hold Lizzie’s hand. She looked taken back at the gesture, another thing wrong with them. Wrong with the situation. 

They were escorted in to look at the babies. They were just as expected, plump, cute, and small. Tommy tried not to look at them too close, no point in getting attached. Lizzie would pick a baby, and he would attempt to be a good father. 

He hated that he knew what it felt like to reach out for parents that were not there to hold you. He was sulking when a commotion caught his attention. 

“For Fucks sakes woman! ” A girl shouted. 

“You listen here. Father Stryker is a noble member of this community and organization. You will do what he asks of you.” A woman responded in a cold tone. 

“We both know that’s not what God would want you old bat.” The girl snapped back and he held back a smile. 

“Now you listen here, we do not know what God wants, that’s not our place. He has a way -” 

“No, he sure as hell doesn't. God would NEVER.” The girl demanded. “I thought God was in all of us, and GOD doesn't want me to be alone with him. In fact, I would say he’s overcome with passion about the issue. It would be a sin for me to ignore his protests.” 

“I will not tolerate such language, you foul girl!” The sound of a slap was dealt out. Tommy felt an odd feeling of unease about the situation. 

“You let this happen! You. And you will BURN FOR IT. Mark my words, you will suffer an eternity for his sins. There are no amount of crosses under the sun for Jesus to croak on that would make up for your grotesque choices you evil witch.” The girl's voice was pure venom, and Tommy was overcome with an urge to protect the girl. What type of place were they running here? 

“I want her,” Lizzie said clearly standing next to him looking at the Sister that was showing them around. 

“Sorry Mrs. Shelby ?” She asked looking for clarification. 

“The girl in the hall.” He looked at Lizzie landing her eyes on a girl that must have been about 15 standing off with the nun in the hallway. Her face was beet red, making her blue eyes seem extraordinarily bright in contrast,  her fists clenched ready for a fight of any size. That girl did not care what happened, she wasn't going to back down. 

“Ah, are you sure? She’s quite temperamental.” She responded looking embarrassed. 

“Excellent, I’ve never seen anyone look so much like my husband,” Lizzie said with a smirk on her face.  

“We’ll take her. And I’d like a word with management.” He asserted firmly. This was not the sort of thing he could look the other way on, plus it would only further the family image. Win-win. 

______________________________

Another sister came into the hallway. 

“Sister Margret, she has been requested by a family.” She said quickly. 

You were positive this must be some type of trap. But a tall angular woman moved into the hallway. She looked like someone from a painting, impossibly pretty, elegant, clothes worth a small fortune. This was impossible. 

The sister grabbed your arm and pulled you away from that bitch. Far away from the classroom you were terrified of. 

The lady looked you up and down and removed the sister's hand from your arm. She shot her a warning look and the sister apologized. Whoever this woman was, she meant business. 

“I’m Lizzie, Lizzie Shelby.” She said in a voice that belonged on a stage. You introduced yourself feeling embarrassed. 

“We’d like to take you home if you're alright with that.” She asked holding her arm out. Normally you didn’t like being touched for any reason, but being escorted out of the place was a good enough reason for you to make an exception. 

You looped your arm in hers and she strode out of the place with her head held high. 

“The Paperwork -” The sister called out 

“Get my husband to deal with it.” She called back, her voice dripping with power. You accompanied her into a very expensive car. You sat in the back seat beside her and watched her take in your appearance as if it had changed being in the natural light. 

“Do you read?”  She asked you lighting a cigarette.

“I had a tutor before my parents died.” 

“How did they pass?” 

“Car accident.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Me too.” 

“We’ll expect you to go to school.” 

“You’d be a shit parent if you didn't.” You mentally kicked yourself. “Sorry I -didn't” You were stumbling over an apology as the door opened and a man got into the driver's seat. 

“That’s my husband. Thomas.” 

“Hello,” You said feeling completely deflated. “It’s nice to meet you, both of you, It’s nice.” You couldn't remember a time being so embarrassed. You wished that they would just run you over with their expensive tires. There were just too many emotions in such a short period. 

An hour ago a priest was forcing himself on you, telling you God would never allow you to get adopted, and here you were making a fool out of yourself with your new parents. 

That phrase stung so bad you visually imagined pushing it from your mind.

“Did you sort the paperwork?” Lizzie asked in a frosty tone that made you wonder what their relationship problems were like. 

“That and a few other things.” He responded in a tone you assumed only ghosts were capable of. 

“Like what?” She said looking out the window with resentment. 

“Taking the place over.” He responded easily. As if it was no big deal, like spending money on petrol for the car. 

“What do you mean?” This caught her off guard and you watched a bit of hopefulness come to life in her eyes. 

“Saw things.” He hesitated, obviously aware of your presence in the car. “That I didn’t think God would approve of.” You caught a slight smirk on his face in the mirror. His eyes told you it was easier to poke fun at the situation. 

Lizzie hummed in approval, and even though you’d only known them a few minutes it felt like progress. 

_______

They wanted to give you a few days to settle in before introducing you to the whole family. Something you saw as a bit of a red flag. The house was massive, but it was clean and quiet. Both a blessing and a curse. You were too shy to ask for something to do or go explore. Your bedroom was unbelievably beautiful, and warm. 

There was a knock on the door that caused you to jump. 

“Yeah?” 

“Can I come in?” Lizzie’s voice rang through the door. 

“Of course” You responded stiffly. She came in and smiled at you, she pointed to your bed but you didn't understand what she was looking at. Should you not have been laying on it during the day? 

“Is it alright if I sit?” She asked you and you realized that’s what she meant. 

“Yes!” You sat up straight feeling like an idiot once again. You’d had to sit through two dinners each equally painful due to your rambling. 

“How are you settling in?” She asked kindly. 

“Um, fine. It’s nice. I love my room.” 

“What do you get up to in here?” She looked around with a frown. 

“Mostly sitting and thinking.” You responded blandly. 

“Are you sure I can’t take you shopping for anything?” She’d asked at least three times, and you felt horrible imposing on them further. 

“I don't want to bother you.” You finally broke. She let out a strange laugh. 

“Bother me. All the time. Big stuff little stuff, doesn't matter.” She picked a piece of lint off of your bedspread. “Plus kids cost money you know. That’s no one's fault, so don’t carry it like a burden.” 

Your eyes stung with tears. That was not the narrative you had grown up with parents or none. You’d always been acutely aware of the burden your existence placed on people. Her words made you feel like you were special, not something your parents could give you. This brought on a very large mix of feelings. 

“Don’t cry, really all this is-”  Her face appeared displeased with your reaction and it only made your hurt more. 

“Normal. Not for me, it’s not. If you wanted a kid that was used to this you should have had one yourself.” the words flew out of your mouth and she was up and out of the room before you could try to apologize. You felt so much worse, you wanted to pull out all your hair trying to make it stop. 

You stopped trying to hold the tears back and got up off your bed to apologize. An embarrassing apology was better than them shipping you back. 

You followed the sound of her soft crying sounds. Through a door that was slightly ajar. It was a beautiful nursery. They had tried to have their little spoilt children, the guilt only became worse. 

You locked eyes with her and decided the truth was always best. 

“You treat me better than my parents. But they're dead and it hurts. I don't want to bother you both, it's already some kind of miracle that I got adopted at this age, I don't want to push my luck. Or live through you getting bored of me and then tossing me aside.” 

For a moment you thought she was going to shout at you. But she just nodded in understanding. You both were crying, so why not try to risk a hug. You got down on the sheep skin rug next to her and hugged her. 

Her grief wrapped around you with her slender arms. She pushed your face against her chest and kissed the top of your head. You didn't understand, but the hurt in her felt a lot like the hurt inside of you. So you leaned into the feeling crying just as hard. 

“I lost her. She was born and - nothing anyone could do about it.” She said after a long while. The thought made your heart break all over again. “They told me I couldn't have kids. Spent years avoiding it like it was the plague and now, God it hurts.” 

“I’m so sorry.” 

“I’m sorry for you too. My dad left before I was born, mother passed when I was 13. Prostitute till I was twenty.” She let out a sad laugh. “This life.” She motioned to the house with her arm. “Is not the life I came from and my husband doesn't have much. But he has money, so don’t ever feel bad for spending it.” You looked up at her in shock. There was no way she was telling the truth. She looked like she belonged in a palace like you wanted to trust her with the whole world. So elegant, kind eyes. 

“We’re the same then” you whispered. 

“Absolutely not!  If you become a prostitute I will have officially become the worst mother in history.” She said causing you both to laugh. 

“I’m not good with people.” You joked along. Tommy pushed the door open and you stiffened slightly. No matter how you tried to calm down, he made you uneasy. Like he would be impossible to please or get to know.

“It’s not a whore house?” He said with a confused look having caught the end of the conversation. You’d never seen a man look more confused as the both of you were tear-soaked holding each other on the floor. 

“Not anymore it's not.” Lizzie quipped causing him to almost smile. You wondered what made him so stuck up.

“Good lord, how did you guys make all this money again?” You asked cheekily, causing Lizzie to laugh. 

“Just you wait.” She said lightly, but you couldn't help but know already that it was not God’s work that placed them here.

“Come down for lunch?” he asked you both, still slightly put off by the situation. 

“Yes” she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands, you watched her walls of composure surround her once again. 

“Come on. Let’s see how much trouble we can get in before supper.” She said helping you up. 

_____________________________

You stopped by to pick up people on the way to the shops. 

“We’ll get Esme first. She’s John’s wife. Tommy’s younger brother - he made a deal with the Lee family - a bunch of gypsies - Tommy needed men, and she needed a husband. Technically I almost married John. It was a complicated time. But they both get along like a house on fire. She holds him down pretty good, probably the only reason he’s still alive.” You listened as she drove you through the countryside. “Then we’ll get Polly. She’s Tommy’s Aunt. She probably goes up against him the most. She’s some kind of Gypsy royalty, a very peculiar woman, but she means well. Hated Tommy’s first wife Grace. Well, we all hated Grace. Us women tend to stick together. We have to put up a good front against the boys or they raise hell like nothing else.” 

“You’re all gangsters then?” You asked her catching her slightly off guard. 

“Technically he’s a gangster turned politician. But trust me having been on the receiving end of both there really isn't a difference.” 

You blushed at her words and tried to hold your tongue. 

“I shouldn't have said that last part.” She flicked her cigarette case open and lit one up. “Forget I said that.” but you started laughing. You pulled up to a country-style house, chickens squawking loudly at the car engine. 

“Oi! That is not a baby!” A woman with wild curly hair approached the car. She slid into the backseat and you felt awkward sitting in the front. You looked at her looking you over. “Total babe, but not a baby.” She said with wide eyes in disbelief.

“She’s fifteen,” Lizzie responded looking at you like you were a brand new car. 

“Good lord. Going to have to beat the boys off of her. She’s pretty like you.” 

You blushed heavily at her words unsure of what to do with the attention. 

“Eh, as long as we keep her close I think we’ll manage just fine.” Lizzie smiled and turned the car around. 

“I’m Esme, I’m sure Lizzie caught you up to speed.” She lit a cigarette and smiled at you as you introduced yourself. She asked you lots of questions, about how you liked the place. 

“It’s cold. You can say it, love.” Esme blurted out. “It’s a monument to Grace. Should have been burnt down the second she left us.” You could tell this was a part of the stormy ocean of problems that rested between your adopted parents. You put that piece of knowledge into your back pocket. You pulled up to a stylish-looking complex and a woman in a black suit and sunglasses approached the car. 

“I was going to offer to babysit for you when you need a rest - but by the looks of it I’ll be asking you for help, love.” 

“How many kids do you have?” You asked while you waited. 

“Too fuckin’ many,” Polly responded climbing into the back seat. “I thought you asked Tommy for a baby, not a miniature replica of yourself?” 

“Come off it Pol,” Lizzie said starting the car. 

“I’m serious, I thought I was seein’ a bloody ghost. I’ve known you since you were the size of a potato, when I say she looks just like ya, I fuckin’ mean it.” 

You looked at Lizzie and wished you looked even a fraction of how beautiful she was. 

“How's he managing with this then? He was always good with the kids when they were little but I can’t imagine he’d know what to do with her.” Polly said stealing Esme’s cigarette. 

“Eh, like everything else, he’s adjusting.” Everyone seemed to find this funny. 

“You look at me, that boy gives you any trouble you call me alright. I’ll set him straight.” She was strong like Thomas but soft like Lizzie, and something distinctly her own. You could tell she was in charge. 

“Thank you.” You said sheepishly unsure of what else to say. 

“You're welcome, love,” She said kindly. 

Shopping was a lot. You cried on the way home and they had a unique way of comforting you while also making fun of you, making you laugh. Once you started laughing with them it seemed impossible to stop. You assumed that you would all pile into the sitting room, but instead, you piled into the kitchen, which quickly became your favorite space in the house. A large wooden table surrounded by something that felt so perfectly warm. Grace clearly didn’t touch this space much. 

They poured you cranberry juice and set into a bottle of whiskey. The jokes got worse as the night progressed and for once your sharp tongue and misplaced comments brought a great deal of joy. 

“Where did you find this girl!” Esme said between laughs 

“Fighting off a Nun in a hallway,” Lizzie replied still laughing from the joke before. Tommy and you assumed his brothers appeared in the doorway.

“Wow, Looks like you Lizzie, but with Tom’s eyes” John said, or you thought it was him because he went to stand behind Esme and she looked up at him in a way you hadn't seen before. 

“And his mouth.” Esme quipped and you hoped it was a compliment. He reached across the table to shake your hand. 

“John” 

“It’s nice to meet you” You introduced your self. Arthur came and gave you a crushing hug. 

“They got you out numbered now brother.” He joked letting you go to pour himself a glass of whiskey.

Tommy gave you a tense look, like he was worried about something. He took the seat next to you puting space between you and the boys. 

“Might be enough women to put some life back into this place.” Polly said with twinkling eyes. 

“I’ll try my best.” You responded quickly seeing that Tommy didn’t seem happy. 

He stuck close to your side, sliding glasses of Whiskey away from you as the boys started drinking. His youngest brother was only a few years older than you, and he showed up with a bunch more men that introduced themselves politely before joining into the savagery. 

You scooted your self along the bench to sit closer to Tommy not knowing the others well enough to want to sit as close. 

“Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with such a wonderful girl! May she shine bright for us in these dark times. To the newest Shelby!” Arthur’s voice boomed and your face turned bright red. Everyone finished a drink, but you caught Lizzie and Tommy sharing a look. 

Tommy put his arm around and you were grateful to have something to lean into with all the commotion. They were the loudest and rudest, most funny group of people you’d ever seen. 

“Think it’s time for bed, eh?” He asked you quietly and you nodded. 

“Alright! Clear out you lot. She’s got to get to bed. We can have a proper dinner tomorrow night!” Tommy called out causing a few groans. 

“But we just got here!” Finn mumbled.

Everyone said their goodbyes and goodnights to you moving out of the kitchen. Polly placed a kiss to your forehead. She said something in a different language, to which Tommy responded with a sharp nodd. 

Once everyone had piled out the front door, they took you up to your room. You hit the bed feeling more tired than you could ever remember.

_________________________________________

You slowly became more at ease around Tommy. Sitting alone at the table didn’t frighten you nearly as much. You heard him shout at people occasionally and that made you determined to keep your distance. 

It wasn't until Lizzie stayed away for a night getting stuck at Esme’s due to a storm. You assured her that you ate dinner and that everything was fine. In reality, you'd been sitting by the front window praying for her to come back. You hated storms and you’d just trusted that she’d be there and know what to do about it. 

Eventually you decided to retreat to your room to avoid any conflict. 

“Goodnight.” You poked your head into his study. 

“Night, love.” He responded kindly looking up from his papers. You thought about bothering him for a moment, telling him that you were scared. You decided to slip up to your bedroom instead. Girls your age didn't get scared of these types of things. 

Without Lizzie, there was an impending sense of doom about the place. Like there was pressure pushing down on you. Listening to things creak and shift, you had an idea that maybe without Lizzie here Grace’s ghost would try to snatch you up. 

Laying there listening to the storm and the house, your mind cooked up a story of revenge. Grace would kill you to get back at Lizzie for stealing her mourning husband. Maybe that’s why Lizzie’s baby wasn't born right. Your heart started to race as your stomach twisted.

There must have been some deeper story, Lizzie always seemed like she was very hurt by Grace, despite having come into Tommy’s life after. But Polly’s known Lizzie since she was a baby….

Questions were swirling in your mind non stop trying to make sense of it all. Your door made a horrid sscreeching sound and you let out a scream in response, pulling the blankets up above your head. 

“LEAVE ME ALONE GRACE.” You shouted hoping that it was enough that you could see it was her this whole time. She’d be deterred by your cleverness and the quilt Polly had made you. 

The quilt was tugged away from your face and you balled your fists ready to fight her off. However you looked up at Tommy’s horrified face instead. 

“I don’t do well with storms” You blurted out hoping that would make it better. You both looked at eachother for a moment.

“Let’s make some tea.” He said firmly. You knew that you’d fucked up and the last thing you wanted to do was have tea over the situation. You got up and he pulled your quilt around you, keeping his hand on your shoulder as you moved down the stair case. 

You watched him light a fire in the kitchen and grab two glasses and fill them with whiskey. 

He passed one to you and sat across from you, he took off his glasses and placed them on the table.

“Why do you think my first wife is out to get you?” He cut right to the chase.

“I got scared of the storm, and Lizzie is trapped, Grace- it’d be the perfect opportunity to get revenge on Lizzie for stealing her mourning husband.” You rushed the words out wishing you were dead. Tommy actually chuckled.

“That’s the story you’d been told then?” 

“No, just the one that made sense.” 

“How so?” He took a sip of whiskey. 

“Everyone says this place is some kind of shrine for her, Lizzie hates it. Hates her, why exactly,  I’m not sure but I know it’s because she’s hurt.” 

“Lizzie is hurt by Grace?” He asked with a wrinkled brow, you didn't think he was capable of such emotions. 

“That’s obvious.” You said sadly. He made a humming noise.

“I didn’t intend to marry Lizzie. She got pregnant and I married her.” He answered easily, suddenly you were very angry at him. Happy he did right by her and married her but - 

“Doesn’t mean she hasn’t always loved you.” You argued. 

“Is that so?” 

“Obviously. Have you ever looked at her? This place, the family, everything, me. Obviously.” You were dumbfounded. How on earth could someone so smart and sharp be so daft. “She puts up with a lot of shit around here. Not once has she ever mentioned leaving or hating you.” 

“Perhaps I should talk to her about it.” 

“You’d better. Everywhere we go men look at her.” You said trying to scare him into doing the right thing. 

“I’m sure they do, she’s a pretty woman.” He answered tensly. Suddenly you started to worry that maybe he wont ever love her, and if that was the case he would certainly never learn to love you. Panic started to wash over you.

“Do you want to watch the storm then?” 

“How?” You answered even more uneasy. He got up and you followed him through to the dark sitting room. He pulled the curtains open adding the slitghtest bit of light to the room. You helped him turn the couch around to face the big window. 

You watched him pour more wiskey and sit down motioning for you to do the same. Wrapped in Polly’s quilt you sat next to him and he put his arm around your shoulders.

“The only way to stop being scared is to face the thing that scares you.” He explained easily. He held you close to his side as you watched the dark figures of trees swaying violently. The lightening causing you to jump. Eventually things calmed down but you found yourself wishing that it would continue on so you could spend more time sitting like this. He just sat with you tucked into his side sipping his whiskey. 

“ I do care for you and Lizzie. More than anything.” He kissed the top of your head. “Things in the past weren't always easy or safe. Keeping her at arm's length seemed like the best way to keep her from ending up like Grace.” 

You listened to his voice in the dark, feelingthe pain in his words. 

“However, I would hate for her to leave me for a man at the shops.” He said lightly and you snorted. 

“Sorry for overstepping - I didn’t mean that she looked back at them” 

“S’alright.” He answered easily. Suddenly you saw headlights coming up the drive. You felt his body tense. “Hide behind the desk,” he said seriously. He grabbed a gun hidden in the paneling on the wall. You could hear the door open and to your relief, you heard Lizzie’s voice. 

“Fuck sake, Thomas! A gun! Scared the bloody life out of me!” She started to scold him but suddenly she stopped. “Are you alright? Where is she?! I knew something was wrong! Where-” her voice was muffled and you assumed it was because he was holding her.

“She’s fine, in the sitting room” He answered calmly.

“The sitting room at this hour!” 

You got up and moved back to the couch hoping that they might sit with you a while longer before going up to bed. 

“Why is the couch the wrong way?” She asked sitting down pulling you against her. “Miss me enough to sit up at the window like a couple of dogs.” 

“Something like that.” You said enjoying the way she held you tightly. Tommy came to sit down on the other side of you. His arm came across your shoulders pulling Lizzie towards you slightly. 

“Did you give her whiskey? She smells like distillery.”

“One glass to calm her nerves, won’t hurt her any.” You felt him reach over you to kiss the top of her head. 

“Alright. But don’t you go turning into your father.” She said sternly causing you to laugh. 

You sat for a while with the them till eventually the gray sky started to brighten with the sun of the next day. 

“Let’s get to bed. We can all get in a nap before the day starts.” Tommy said. Lizzie followed you through to your room to help you into bed and make sure you were okay. After you were settled you heard them talking down the hall and hoped that he was ready to face his fears. 

The next day you all had breakfast around noon in the kitchen. Lizzie and Tommy seemed in better spirits, might have had something to do with the marks on her neck, but you hoped he’d talked to her about the situation. 

After that night things were noticeably different. You went to school and tried to get along with the other kids, your marks were not great, leading to long nights in the kitchen studying extra with various family members. Esme was the best person to sit with, having learned maths and reading from her mother. She knew how to encourage you without stressing you out. 

Tommy on the other hand would look over the material and already look stressed. He always tried to keep his temper in check, but it was unbearable feeling him be frustrated with you. Eventually he caught on that you did worse with him there because of the added pressure, he learned to just sit next to you and work on his problems and offer you help when you needed it. 

It took a lot of struggling but eventually you were caught up and getting good marks. 

Things were going well till some old business needed to be handled. Tommy was to go away for two weeks, something that seemed to crush Lizzie. 

To her surprise he called her everynight. You’d watch her sitting on kitchen counter talking and occasionally laughing. Then he’d talk to you about school and the weather, telling you that he missed you. That was when you realised that something must be very wrong. He was clearly in a great deal of danger where ever he was. Polly came to stay at the house with Arthur, you enjoyed having them around but it only confirmed your suspicion. Everyone seemd it was best to keep you in the dark on the whole thing. 

 When he came back he was very different. Somebody, or some people, were most certainly dead. A great relief fell over the family and something was different about him. He had a smile on his face when she rushed to the door to greet him. You watched how they held eachother and thought back to when you’d first met them. Things were very different. You eventually butted into the hug feeling left out. 

______________

Extra Blurb. 

Eventually the unthinkable happened. The boy you had your eye on at school asked you out. Not knowing what to do or what the rules are you decided to get some more information on him make sure he was worth the risk of asking. 

Finn laughed at you.

“Not from the best family. But not a rival either, Tommy’s sure to have a fit, and Lizzie, I’m not sure. All in all, I don't mind the guy, you might be better off not telling them.” He said looking out the stained glass window of the Garrison. “If he gives you a hard time, come see me yeah? Don’t let him take you out of Small Heath” He looked at you seriously. 

“Sure thing.” You said getting up. You shouted a thank you over your shoulder rushing out of the pub. 

You thought long and hard about the situation. He made you laugh, didnt seem to care to much about your last name or who your dad was. Didn’t care that you were adopted. He was very polite, but enjoyed your peculiar sense of humor and misplaced words. 

You thought about turning him down. It was too complicated and anything that would upset your parents was too much of a burden. Thinking of what you would say to him, your heart gave a painful wrench. 

You went downstairs towards Tommy’s study. God this boy better be worth it or you’d put him in the ground. 

You poked your head in to see him writing and Lizzie sitting on the sofa reading a magazine. 

“Erm - So.” You started and watched them both look up at you. 

“What are you wearing?” Lizzie said smiling at your dress. 

“Go upstairs and change” Tommy cut you off before you could respond.

“Theres a boy -” You watched his face fall into his hands. “And he’s picking me up in a half hour if that’s allowed.” You fumbled with your words, wanting them to say yes badly.

“What boy” They said at the same time, giving eachother a glare. 

“Noah Solomons. I met him at school.” you responded expecting an explosion. 

“No. absolutley not. No way on earth am I sending you anywhere with him.” 

“Finn said he’s alright.” You started by stopped once he let out a sigh. 

“Finn! Fucking bastard.” He pinnched the bridge of his nose. 

“Where is he taking you then?” Lizzie asked

“Just around Small Heath for dinner. I told him that I can’t be out late.” Your face got red and you looked out the window.

“Put on a longer dress. The purple one, and put your hair up -” 

“Tommy! Don’t make her wear the purple one” Lizzie started to argue but stopped once she saw the look on his face. Her eyes narrowed back at him. 

“How bout I wear the red one -” 

“The black one is fine” They both answered suddently. 

“Just put on a cardigan,” Lizzie said getting up. “I have a nice one upstairs.” You followed her up to her bedroom. She pulled out a nice cardigan and some less opaque stockings. After you’d changed you looked yourself over, more modest, but that wasn't a bad thing. Especially if it got Tommy’s blood pressure back down. Lizzie got your hair up and you were grateful for her help. 

“Do you think dad will let me go?” You asked as she fixed your make up. 

“Dont think he can stop you. But, we’ve done business with his father. I think he’s worried this is apart of some elaborate plan.” 

“I don’t think so, but I’ll keep an eye on him” You were even more nervous now. Lizzie gave you lots of advice and you felt bad making her this worried. When you walked down stairs you could see Tommy talking to Noah at the door. 

You loved the way his face lit up when his eyes landed on you, he looked at you like you were the most beautiful thing in the world. You watched the front door swing shut, keeping him on the other side. 

“No.” He said firmly looking at Lizzie.

“Going to have to let her find her own way sometimes.” 

“No I don’t. Not with boys, not dressed like that.” He responded angrily. 

“Look, I told Finn where we are going, he said him and Isaiah would be around to keep an eye out. I’ve known him for the past two school years. I - please” You looked up at him in what you hoped were puppy dog eyes. You saw the conflict rage in his eyes.

“Fine.” He sighed in defeat. “But you don’t like something, anything, you call me from the restaurant and -” You cut him off with a big hug. 

“I won’t be out too late. Love ya” You said flying out the door before he could change his mind. 

__

He kissed you on the cheek on the door step, promising to take you out again next weekend. After saying goodnight you watched as he drove down the drive way before opening the front door.

You were surprised at how quiet it was. You slipped your shoes off and followed the lamp light into the sitting room. Much like the day with the storm, they sat on the sofa turned around to face the large window. You moved towards them to see your dad looking beyond relieved, and mum asleep on his lap. 

“So how was it then?” He asked you handing you the last bit of whiskey in his glass. You sat down next to him, watching him look you over for anything out of place. 

“Felt a bit like the Queen to be honest. More Blinders than people in that restaurant. Not to mention people watching from their windows.” You gave him a look as he started out the window. “But he was nice. I -He is nice, I enjoyed myself”

“Just for food then straight back?” 

“You already know that’s what happened. Can you help me get the pins out of my hair?” You turned away from him and felt him struggle to find them, pulling slightly too hard. 

“What? No, this is my job hands off.” Lizzie said groggily. “What did I miss? Tell me everything.” You felt the two of them shift and Lizzie's expert hands start bringing your hair down. By the time she’d gotten it brushed Polly and Esme had showed up for a full debrief in the kitchen. 

You were giggling like mad for hours with them, hearing their stories about past lovers. Some sweet, other cautionary. Eventually it was time for bed and you stopped into Tommy’s office before going to wash up. 

“Dad.” He gave you a shocked look then you realised what you had said. You didnt feel like apologizing though, too tired to make a big deal of it. You leaned over and gave him a hug. “Thanks for letting me go tonight.” You felt his arms wrap around you tightly. 

“I don't like it, and there will be lots to talk about tomorrow. But I'm happy that you're happy.” You kissed his cheek then headed up to bed. You knew that he’d probably already called Noah’s father, a tense conversation awaited you, but you had no doubt it was because he loved you.

@kpopgirlbtssvt

Tags List: Feel free to send a request or message to be added.

#Tommy Shelby #thomas shelby #Peaky blinders #Peaky blinders request #Dad Tommy shelby #Tommy Shelby x Reader daughter #Peaky Kids #Shelby Children #Shelby Children imagine #Tommy shelby imagine #Thomas Shelby imagine #Tommy Shelby x Lizzie Stark #Thomas Shelby x Lizzie Stark #Lizzie Stark imagine #Lizzie Stark mum #Lizzie Shelby #Lizzie Shelby Imagine #Polly gray #esme shelby #finn shelby #shelby family

[divinekangaroo]

strange weather rolling in - pettiot - Peaky Blinders (TV) [Archive of Our Own]

During S6-E2, Tommy's first day home after the visit to Dr Roberts and up to the seizure in the bath.

Lizzie had no grounds to go mocking his lists. Lists were how things got done.

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Tommy Shelby/Lizzie Stark, Charles Shelby, Ruby Shelby, Ghost of Oswald Mosley Lurking in the Room | Fluff (or the Appearance of Fluff), Family Bonding, Family Mockery, Puns, Dramatic Irony, Pre-Seizure Markers, Bedplay (horseplay too dangerous a word around Tommy), Comfort, Foreshadowing, Bittersweet, Inverted Gender Role Symbolism, Trying Hard

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#my writing #peaky blinders #tommy x lizzie #charles shelby #ruby shelby #this one came about after i searched what a 1930s dad might buy an eight year old daughter as a gift after travelling #'ribbons' was not what i was expecting as a repeated answer but so it was #just have this undercurrent ripping thing that tommy's had a full bottle of being mocked even affectionately #but has no idea what to do with that hurt/anger and so occasionally he might lean into the ridiculous rather than out