#peaky Christmas

[theshelbyclan]

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

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

*****

In the bleak midwinter

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan…

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

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

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

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone…

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

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

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

“What do we do, Tom?”

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

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

“What is it?” Tommy demanded.

“They’re just kids.”

“Kids who fucked with us.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just…”

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

“Alright, Tom, we’ll get it done.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

He took another swig and continued his numbers.

In the bleak midwinter, long, long ago.

“Church starts at nine.”

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

“Arthur and John are coming too.”

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

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

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

“I bribed her. Be there at nine.”

What can I give him, poor as I am?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Polly must’ve offered her some money…”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Then why are you here?”

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

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

Tommy nodded.

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

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

“Ada…” Polly warned.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the bleak midwinter…

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

[thesoldiersminute]

Peaky Blinders Season 6 | Episode 1

#peaky blinders #peakyblindersedit #christmas #userrobin #violaobanion #userreh #userquel #userzo #underbetelgeuse #userhayf #userklaudia #userbrittany #userstream #tuserpolly #tusereliza #userpfeiffer #userbecca #usermandie #my gifs

[pacifymebby]

Christmas Eve

Part of my Christmas/2k celebration!!

Also just a side note for Alfie's, I based this on Christmas/Hanukkah celebrations I've been involved in before, I'm sorry if it's not accurate to other people's personal experiences of like mixed culture it's just how it's worked for us in the past... I didn't want to just ignore Alfie's Jewishness

Tommy

🌿Beneath Tommy's cold exterior is a family man, he's just very good at keeping it hidden beneath all those defensive layers... And he believes Christmas is a precious time, a time that should be spent with family... 

🌿And as much as he grumbles about having to host his whole family every year at Arrow House, Tommy wouldn't have it any other way...

🌿So Christmas Eve at Arrow House is a busy day, a day brimming with anticipation, that buzz in the air, expectancy, waiting for loved ones to arrive, the children excited to see their cousins, uncles, aunts...

🌿 And amid the hustle and bustle, the trickle of arriving guests who have come to stay for the holidays, Tommy will manage to slip away unnoticed for a little while... he'd have business to attend to, things he just has to see through before the new year...

🌿 And whilst in the morning his absence is excusable, and whilst in the afternoon you're far to wrapped up in overseeing the last minute changes to menus, to guest bedrooms, to present wrapping and attending to the needs of your excitable little ones, as the evening draws in Tommy's absence will become unignorable...

🌿 But you're not surprised and neither is Ada, neither are any of the wives, neither is Arthur who is supposed to be dressing up as Santa for the youngens but is waiting for his absent brother to phone through...

🌿 Tommy promised to be home early for the kids so you're getting worried. Ada is all eye rolls and Polly is tutting "that fuckin man and his fuckin business..." but you're getting scared that he isn't coming home at all...

🌿 Now the kids are obviously very excited because its christmas eve, so you haven't been able to settle them at all...

🌿 They're running around the house with their cousins playing at being daddy, pretending to shoot eachother, pretending to die and although usually you'd tell them off, try to tell them that thats not what their daddy does, tonight their laughter is so sweet you just let them carry on playing

🌿And their excitement is catching, it's hard to be too fearful when the tree is sparkling and there's frost in the air outside, when Ada and Polly have mixed up fancy gin cocktails and John keeps catching you beneath the mistletoe teasing you, telling you to take your chance whilst your husband's away...

🌿 There's that joy, that magic, that warmth, the family is together, the children are as innocent and as gleeful as you could possibly hope them to be... And in your heart you know that your stupid husbands coming home to you, that all will be well...

🌿 So even though you should be mad at him for breaking his promise and being late really you're just looking forward to him coming home, to throwing your arms around him, to having him catch you under the mistletoe and brush a chaste kiss over your lips before the kids can see you and start making sick noises.

🌿And when Tommy does finally come home the children nearly knock him over, barrelling into him. Your oldest pretends to shoot him for being late and breaking his promise...

🌿 So Tommy pretends he's shot, drops to his knees all dramatic in the doorway, his 'last words' tell your mother I love her very..." and when he closes his eyes and pretends to die the kids all clamber on him and demand that he wakes up... and he does but only because they're tickling him and he can't resist jumping back to life, snatching them up and making them jump and squeal and laugh.

🌿 finally they and him settle down, he says hes sorry for being late, hugs and kisses the children and then you, saying he's sorry an extra time, just to you, hand cupping your cheek as he looks you deep in the eyes, one of those, melt your heart, don't be angry with me, kind of looks

🌿And you can't be angry at him...

🌿He'd be able to settle the children so fast, getting them ready for bed with you and tucking them in. Telling them to be good or father christmas might change his mind about visiting them

🌿 But then seeing their little faces drop and chuckling, "no, of course he won't forget about you, little angels the lot of you, I reckon you're all right at the top of Father Christmas' list eh?"

🌿 "So we'd better get you up to bed eh? He'll be here soon and you'll want to be fast asleep in your beds when he gets here..."

🌿 As you go to follow the children up to the nursery Tommy catches your hand and tugs you back to the doorway, "and where do you think you're going in such a hurry love?" His fingers link closely with yours as he nods to the doorframe above you both, his smirk a little cheeky as you follow his gaze and see the mistletoe dangling above you...

🌿 When you tell him he isn't the first person to try it on with you under the mistletoe that evening, that if he'd been just one more minute late you'd have kissed his brother instead, he chuckles, "well I suppose I'd better make up for all that lost time eh?"

🌿 Closing your eyes when he kisses you, smiling into his lips as he lets them linger, your hand on his chest, you can feel his body heat warming you, his hold feels like home... When you pull away startled by the sound of the children calling for you Tommy pulls you back for one more kiss...

🌿 "Wait, there we go, just one more moment of peace..." he says quietly kissing you again, holding you close.

🌿 The children love it when he reads them the night before christmas, they're almost always half asleep by the time he's finished, your youngest sitting in his lap, drooling on him...

🌿 Watching him stroke their hair and kiss their heads,whispering to them little good nights and "love you"s before the two of you turn out the light and go back downstairs...

🌿He was late because he'd picked up last minute gifts for you, so he'd be trying to send you up to bed before him "go on angel, warm it up for me eh..."

🌿 He's probably so relieved to get into bed with you that evening, he'd wrap his arms around you and sigh, completely content and happy.

🌿Christmas always leaves him feeling grateful for everything he has, getting into bed with you and holding you close reminds him all the more of everything he has, how important you and the children are... He would still be a little preoccupied thinking about the morning, excited to see the children's faces when they see that father Christmas has been, looking forward to the way you'll kiss him when you open your gifts.

🌿Tommy will be the last one who falls asleep that night, he's too busy making the most of the peace, the bristling excitement in the air, just enjoying the feeling of you in his arms, knowing the whole family is together, safe and sound and full of joy. 

Alfie

🐻 Alfie is only be celebrating christmas because you celebrate christmas, otherwise to him its not really a very important day at all. More than that it's "a fuss about nothing!" And a "tiresome inconvenience if you ask me little ziskeit, don't know why anyone bothers with it all..."

🐻 Every year it's always the same... Alfie promises he won't be grumpy this December, he promises he'll try to embrace the Christmas Spirit and be "merry and bright my little ziskeit, that's me, that's your Alfie ain't it, merry and bloody bright..."

🐻 But every year Alfie seems to be more grumpy than the last, grumbling and stropping about every tiny inconvenience, the market is always busier this time of year and he can't go out without bumping into people, getting jostled in the crowds... and his frustrations lead to some very comical rants about Jesus Christ and how he must have been one narcissistic baby to demand such a fuss...

🐻 By Christmas Eve you've just about had enough of his ranting and raving, all his grumbling and stropping, so just when he's about to go off on one all over again you stop him, arms crossed over your chest, face like thunder, eyes so steely and determined as you scold him for being such a grump that he stops dead in his tracks...

🐻 "Alright that's it, Alfred I've had enough!" Alfie can't keep the stunned smirk off his lips, he can't believe his little ziskeit is standing up to him... "Oh? What's this then are you tellin me off poppet? Are you gonna give your old man a piece of your mind?" He just sits down in his arm chair, one leg crossed over the other, hands resting on top of his cane, looking up at you expectantly...  "Well go on then ziskeit, you give your old man a firm talkin too, tell me what a miserable, rotten old miser I'm being... don't hold back my darlin, don't try to spare my feelings eh, do your worst poppet..." it's like he's challenging you, waiting to see what you'll say but you've really had enough... all you want is a cosy, merry little Christmas...

🐻 "Don't tease me Alfie!" You sniff trying to remain indignant, trying not to get emotional as you hold your chin up high, "all I wanted yeah, was one peaceful little Christmas right and you promised Alfie, you promised youd try and get into the spirit of things this year but all you've done all bloody month is..."

🐻 You trail off when you hear him sigh, when you see that warm teasing glow in his eyes, he's smiling softly, watching you as you try to continue scolding him... Then he pushes himself up and walks slowly to you, takes your hips in his hands and guides you a pace into his body, looking down at you, expectantly, patiently waiting for you to be done with your own ranting and raving... And when you trail off and look at him you understand...

🐻 "Now then? Do you reckon you're finished tellin me off now poppet? Reckon your old man might be allowed to get a word in now yeah? Even if he is a mean old grump?" He's still teasing you and your blush is furious as he takes your cheek in his calloused hand and strokes your face with his thumbs, "my my you don't half get yourself in a tizz about these things do ya ziskeit, all this fuss over one bloody day..."

🐻 "Ain't just any day though is it Alf, s'christmas an it only comes once a year an I wanted it to be perfect... Not just for me but for the kids you know..."

🐻 "And it will be my little ziskeit, it will be... You trust me on this yeah, good old Father fuckin Christmas'll make sure everything's perfect..." he says reaching behind his chair for a tatty brown sack, slinging it over his shoulder and shooting you a wink...

🐻 Because Alfie does this every year too... Kids on that he hates Christmas, that he thinks the whole things a big old waste of time... Pushes you to your absolute limits, waiting for the day your fierce but rare temper bursts only to chuckle and pat you affectionately on the cheek before saying something stupid like "Ho Ho Fucking Ho and all that right..."

🐻Because actually he doesn't dislike Christmas as such, he just dislikes watching you get yourself so flustered about what is essentially just one day... He doesn't see the point in how rushed off your feet you get, how worried, how high your blood pressure must sore.. for just one day... A day you couldn't ruin if you tried.

🐻 He would try to help you with things like wrapping presents for the children but he wouldn't be very good at it at all, so it would be obvious who had wrapped what, his presents will hardly even be in the paper and honestly, sometimes you find yourself having to redo his poor attempts at wrapping.

🐻 Your Christmas traditions are mixed with Hanukkah traditions, you light the Menorah together for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, you make donuts together (he fusses over you when it comes to frying them fretting about you burning yourself on the oil) he fills the house with joyous and spirited traditional music and teaches you and the children to play Dreidel (often making a grumbling fuss when he ahs to hand his Hanukkah Gelt over to whoever just won it off him)

🐻 He enjoys the irony of the whole Christmas thing, grins and laughs at himself when he sits down to read his children a christmas themed bed time story. He thinks its amusing because by now he knows it by heart...

🐻 Tells the kids that their father christmas doesn't like milk and cookies, he likes a drop of rum and some rugelach instead...

🐻 He will sit with the kids as they're falling asleep, he'll sing them a low, gentle little lullaby and stroke their little heads, Alfie has a calming presence which settles them, he's like a big soft teddy bear watching over them and when he wants them to settle down and drift off he can soothe their excitement in minutes... And on Christmas Eve he wants nothing more than to see them all settled because he knows that when he goes back downstairs looking for you he'll find you still busy, still fussing... And he wants to make sure you relax and enjoy the most important day of the year "allegedly"

🐻 He'll stop in the living room doorway, his body a big shadow blocking out the lamplight... he doesn't have to say anything to let you know he's there... you're sitting on the floor trying to wrap last minute gifts and make sure everything's perfect... he just tuts at you and shakes his head...

🐻 "Tsk tsk little ziskeit, you're breakin your promises this evening ain't ya... see I don't know if you remember right, well.. you can't possibly remember cause if you did then I'm sure you wouldn't just be breakin em willynilly now would you poppet... do you remember what you promised me this time last year?" You do remember what you promised him but you're determined you won't be admitting that tonight... Alfie however has other ideas.

🐻 He'll beckon you up and over to him with his finger, nod for you to come right up close. Then he'll take your hips in his hands and guide you back a pace, settling pulling you down into his arm chair with him, holding you firmly in his lap, "There we go that's better back where you belong right, that's better... now then where were we? Right... yeah, you were going to tell me all about that promise what you made me on Christmas day last year... weren't you ziskeit..." when you remain silent he chuckles and shakes his head, "oh no no no that won't do, nah... it won't... my darlin ziskeit what you seem to be forgettin right is this... only the naughtiest of naughty girls break their promises right... and on this very important evening even the worst yeah, even the most rotten of young ladies will keep her promises right... cause if she don't yeah well she might just find a lump of coal waiting for her in the morning yeah .. what dya reckon my little ziskeit? That what you want is it? A nasty old lump of coal?"

🐻 "One of these days I'll give you a nasty old lump of coal Alfie Solomons" you flower up at him so sulky and sullen he can't keep the grin off his face because he thinks you look adorable like that..

🐻 But although he chuckles and laughs along, lets you tease him too he still makes you promise that you're going to relax and let yourself enjoy the day too...

🐻 "If you're going to get so worked up about it, I'll call the whole bloody day off..." he will literally threaten to cancel Christmas, he's only teasing but it's a joke he never tires of especially when you start threatening him back, "I'll cancel you in a bloody minute Alfred now get over here and help me with this bloody bird!"

🐻 He will spend the rest of the evening hovering around you, telling you to let him take care of everything (you absolutely won't be doing that) but after another hour he's managed to help you with all the finishing touches and he's coaxing you up to bed...

🐻 "Now come on my little ziskeit, what do I have to do to make you see sense... You know how this works you are the angel who taught me all this madness after all... If you don't go to bed and get your beauty sleep old Saint Nick just won't come... Will he? So poppet, this is my suggestion yeah, just a gentle suggestion yeah, come straight from my heart because right, because I care about you very much and because your old man is getting very very tired... Why don't you an me yeah, why don't we go upstairs now and tuck ourselves up nice an snug in bed because I'm not daft yeah, I know how this works by now... In a few hours time those little terrors will be jumpin on our legs to wake us up won't they...."

🐻 And you know he's right so you give in and roll your eyes and let him take you up to bed. Before you go to sleep you make him promise not to be too grumpy in the morning, he makes you promise you'll relax.

Arthur

🍂 Definitely promised you he would come straight home from work, definitely promised he wouldn't stop in the Garrison with his brothers and the lads from the office...

🍂 Definitely does stop in the pub on his way home... Everyone was in such high spirits leaving that evening and Arthur doesn't want to miss out on the celebrations... Besides, he'll only have one.. and he's got all Christmas to spend with you and the little ones...

🍂 And of course this is Arthur so he doesn't only have one... but he doesn't get too drunk either and he doesn't stay out too late because he loves the excitement at home on Christmas Eve and he doesn't want to miss out on all that fun either...

🍂 So he walks home a little merry and he stops in the garden to build a snowman outside the children's bedroom window. You can hear him scuffling about outside and when you catch a glimpse of him through the kitchen window you roll your eyes... why the fuck did you marry such a big kid?

🍂 But you trust your husband's up to something and you don't want to ruin whatever surprise he has planned for the kids so you shut the curtains and go upstairs to check on the little ones who are brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. You know they're dragging it out because they're waiting for their dad to come home...

🍂 You sneek outside to try and coax Arthur indoors out of the freezing cold, wrapping your arms around yourself as you whisper to try and get his attention... "Arthur... Arthur bloody Shelby what the fuck are you doing out here come on it's freezing!" And when he hears you he raises his hands in surrender, promising you he isn't drunk... which doesn't exactly reassure you...

🍂 "Eh love, don't suppose you've got a carrot you can spare me eh? For the kids?" He nods to his snowman and you can't do anything but roll your eyes and pretend not to be amused... you are though, you think he's so silly but you love him for it, love him for how much he loves the kids...

🍂 So you give him the carrot and then you drag him inside out of the cold, kissing him and rubbing his arms to try and get him warm... Of course when the lids hear the door close they come running downstairs overflowing with excitement because dad's home "finallyyy!"

🍂 You can't believe how they've shot from being almost settled, drifting off in the arm chair together, to bright as little stars, fizzing up and bubbling over shouting and jumping and tugging on his sleeves when he does his best father Christmas voice.

🍂 Arthur scooping his little ones up in his arms, getting excited with them, winding them up asking them if they're excited for all their lovely presents, asking them what they've left out for Father Christmas...

🍂 But one look at you and the realisation that you're starting to look a little worn out and like you might need your own bed very soon gets him to settle down, gets him to try and calm the little ones again...

🍂 to save himself from your potential frustration that he'd caused such a commotion he'd be trying to charm you into giving him a smile and softening on him again, stealing a kiss from you under the mistletoe and pinching your cheek, teasing you...

🍂 "lighten up my darlin its Christmas eve... Eh you'd better turn that frown upside down my sweetheart or father christmas won't have any presents for you..."

🍂 To try and get the kids into bed he'd do things like pretend he can hear father christmas on the roof, or he'd tell them that whilst he was out he saw something in the sky that looked just like a sleigh... "so you'd better hurry to bed my darlins cause you know what will happen if father christmas comes and you're still awake... Coal! Coal for the lot of ye little rascals..."

🍂 Remembers his snowman outside and tells the kids to look out of their window, "Now you know who he is don't you you little rotters, he's one of old father Christmas's spies... I mean helpers and he's come to make sure you lot are all tucked up in bed fast asleep... So you'd better get yourselves up them wooden hills hadn't you... Come on my darlins chop chop.."

🍂 He's definitely been out last minute Christmas shopping for gifts for you and has to try and slip them under the christmas tree before you see them... He also had to wrap them last minute and he's not wonderful at gift wrapping when he isn't drunk and in a rush...

🍂 When you gather the kids in bed to read them a bedtime story he wants to listen too and climbs into bed with you all... He definitely gets a little too comfy snuggled under the blankets with you all and falls asleep during the story which the children find highly amusing.

🍂 Perhaps the children should leave a nice glass of water out of father christmas this year?

John

🌼 A huge child about Christmas, really he is just a big kid at heart and he's just as excited about christmas as the children... he's definitely not helping to calm them down or get them settled in bed that's for sure!

🌼 Instead he comes home for his work that evening with pockets full of sweets for them and lets them eat as many as they like... Pinching some for himself too...

🌼 Being too sentimental for his own good he hardly stopped in at the pub with the lads, let them "force" one whiskey down him, one which he downed slammed on the table and then announced to the room that he was off home because unlike the rest of them he's a "highly responsible father"... So he was laughed out of the Garrison naturally...

🌼 When he comes home he throws the sweets into the air letting them rain down over the children who dance and jump at his feet, all of the scrambling to catch and father as many as they can...

🌼 All you can do is watch and let yourself get wrapped up in the craziness of it all too... you already know there's no trying to tame your wild little family, especially not when John's talking the lead like this...

🌼 He'll tease them telling him he saw some of father christmas's elves in the garden, that they told him there'll be no toys for the shelby children this year...

🌼 But your children are smart and they know their daddy is just being silly. Which they won't be shy about telling him, pointing at him, giggling and arguing with him, dragging you into the argument too begging you to "tell daddy not to be so stupid!"

🌼 He's really done it now and the children are feral, together they wrestle him down to the ground and threaten him with lots of tickles and other terrors if he doesn't take it back... And of course John lets them win. He can't breath for laughing so hard and neither can you.

🌼 When you finally stop laughing at the mess he's gotten himself into you manage to convince him the children need to go to bed, he'll tell them that actually the elves told him they're waiting for the shelby children to go to sleep so that father christmas can come and deliver all their presents.

🌼 So the children will finally go to bed, they'll leave a wee carrot for the reindeer and a little treat for father christmas too, and they'll leave a little path of destruction for you and John to tidy up once they're tucked up and asleep... One which you inform John he can tidy up by himself... One which you know you'll be tidying up together.

🌼 John, more than the children, will be begging you to read the night before christmas... It's a little family tradition you have been doing since the first Christmas you stayed with the Shelby's and told it to all the Shelby children to settle them when the rest of the family had an emergency meeting. You've always been a little shy to read it in front of John but every year he insists just the same... "Voices and all!"

🌼 When you challenge him and say "why doesnt daddy read it this year?" he just pouts and says "i think mummy does it better what do you think children, doesn't your mummy read it wonderfully..." He has that mischievous twinkle in his eyes, one you can't say no to and wouldn't want to say no to even if you thought you could get away with it...

🌼 So you have to read it and John just gets all cosy with the children, they'd be giggling and whispering with him mischievously the whole time, impossible to settle down until you're kissing them all on the forehead and turning out the lights. Even then you can see them fidgeting and wriggling in the dark, hear them giggling behind the closed nursery door.

🌼 When they're finally asleep and you were ready to go to bed yourselves, John would sneak away to go and make reindeer prints in the snow outside for the children to find the next morning.

🌼 Then he'd come back to find you trying to tidy away his mess... Honestly he'd end up making more mess when he grabs you by the waist and asks to get his hands on his "beautiful, beautiful wife..."

🌼 What can I say the man's got a lot of pent up energy that needs to be used up before he goes to sleep...

Bonnie

🍀 Bonnie's used to a very busy, very family driven Christmas... One which is simple and traditional but chaotic and lively... All the family comes together for Christmas and their little camp practically triples inside as more and more families arrive each day in the weeks running up to Christmas...

🍀 But all the chaos means there's so much extra work to do and even though there's also extra helping hands, between Bonnie being dragged away on hunting expeditions to gather food for Christmas Day and wood for the fires, and you being rushed off your feet with children to mind, presents to make and hide away... Well you and Bonnie have hardly had a second together for days...

🍀 And Bonnie's favourite part of Christmas is getting to spend it with the people he loves - you most of all. He had so many plans for this December with you and so far he hasn't been able to get you alone for long enough to do more than give you a quick kiss on the cheek...

🍀He's longing for Christmas day so that all the fuss will be over and he might sneak you away to give you your presents...

🍀But before that there's Christmas Eve to get through, just one more day and then finally the two of you will get a little peace... And the way you keep shooting him long lingering glances from the steps of your vardo, from by the fire, from where you sit buried beneath your younger siblings and a blanket...Bonnie can tell you're thinking exactly the same as you..

🍀Though he has to admit he does love to watch you playing with the youngens, getting them ready for bed as the sun goes down and they get rosy cheeks by the fire. They're so cute and you're so good with them... It doesn't half make him broody, he can't help but imagine what kind of a mammy you'll be one day...

🍀Every time he tries to come and sit down with you someone steels him away, his dad gives him a job to do, some of the younger lads demand he joins their snowball fight...

🍀And it's that snowball fight that means he finally gets his hands on you... Because when one of the lads clips one of the lassies you've been sitting with on the back of the head with a snowball all he'll breaks loose and all the kids are suddenly picking sides and scrambling to action.

🍀Naturally you're siding with your best friend, against Bonnie and the lads... Which means your competitive streak shines through and challenges Bonnie... Who never backs down from a fight. Its not long before you're tearing through the trees, kicking and throwing snow at him, giggling because you know you can't escape him, and god you don't want to escape him!

🍀So finally he gets his hands on you, wrapping his arms tight around you, pretending he's fighting you to the floor... The chill of the snow as you sink into the drift on your back, the cold prickles all over you but all you can concentrate on is the warmth of his breath on your cheek as he pins you down and locks eyes with you...

🍀 "So this is what I have do to steal a moment with my girl eh?" He teases wasting very little time before he kisses you deep and passionately, that desire to see you become a mammy almost getting the better of him as you giggle and push him off you reminding him it won't be long before the two of you get swarmed by bairns.

🍀So instead he helps you up and walks you back to the fire to get you warmed up, and he uses his own chill as an excuse to sit with you by the fire for awhile, admiring you, falling in love with you a little more as you gather the youngens round you once again to tell them a story as they drink their hot milk before bed.

🍀Later when it's late and most of the littlens are fast asleep, when the musics being played and everyone's merry on hot mulled wine Bonnie finally gets you all to himself, dancing with you by the fire, stealing all the kisses he wants, teasing you asking if you've been good this year an if you reckon father Christmas is gonna visit you.

🍀Cuddling up to you when you're both tucked away in bed, whispering to you about how sweet you looked with the littlens earlier.. boy has baby fever and trust me it gets ten times worse at Christmas.

Isaiah

🐀 Watching the chaos ensuing at the Shelby Manor and listening to John and Ada talking about all the stress of Christmas with the children is making you and Isaiah feel very grateful that you're still young and that this Christmas Eve the only thing you've to worry about is the Garrison running out of drink...

🐀 You've been looking forward to seeing your friends all week having been busy in the shop you work in right until close that very afternoon... Isaiah would meet you at your work to pick you up and in his pocket he's got s gift for you...

🐀 "I was going to wait until tomorrow to give you this but I thought you might like to wear them tonight..." He says kissing your lips and then your neck as he shuts your bedroom door behind you and pushes you back into your room gently. He's being extra charming, the romance of the season getting to both your heads.

🐀He's brought you a pair of divine ruby earrings, they're utterly gorgeous and you can't believe he's giving them to you at all least of all when it's not even technically christmas yet! You gasp, thrilled by the beautiful gift and immediately put them on...

🐀 You're trying to get ready to go out, trying to change into a prettier dress for your evening out but Isaiah has other ideas... he wants to see what you look like when you're only wearing those earrings...

🐀 So you're late to the Garrison and you turn up looking a little less than pristine but neither of you care because youve been sharing a bottle of wine on the walk and you're both ruby cheeked warmed by your drink for the road...

🐀 Spending the night laughing and dancing with all your friends, Finn's managed to sneak away from his demanding nieces and nephews and even Bonnie has managed to come up with an excuse to stay in town a little later than usual rather than heading straight back to the camp to help with the kids...

🐀 You spend all night wrapped up in Isaiah and your love for him... there's something about christmas which still excites you, wakes up your inner child and makes you giddy... all the glowing lights the decorations, the snowfall outside in the street.

🐀 Every time Isaiah catches you under the mistletoe he insists on a kiss, not just a peck but a cheeky, tempting kiss, one which makes your tummy flip and reminds you of what you were getting up to in your bed earlier than evening... one which makes you wish you could sneak off with him again...

🐀 At kicking out time you and your friends all go stumbling out into the snowy street together, all of you feeling drunk and carefree, like big children, Michael and Finn start a snowball fight which sees you all laughing and play fighting in the street, you join Bonnie's team and torment your boyfriend who is only pretending to be jealous... right?

🐀 Somewhere amid the chaos Isaiah snatches you and pulls you into the back of a parked car, it's dark and he's hovering above you in the back seat, your body pushes into the leather seat... when you look up his grin his boyish and ever so cheeky...

🐀 "Oh would you look at that eh... a Christmas miracle..." he teases holding the mistletoe he's stolen from the garrison above your head, pulling you in for an even deeper kiss than the last...

🐀 It's hard not to go too far but after a long while of torturing eachother with tempting kisses you realise you're late for his father's mass and you both go running off hand in hand down the street, finishing the last of the drink he also took from behind the bar at the Garrison.

🐀 You're hand in hand and oh so drunk as you slip into the church and sit in the corner of a pew right at the back, you're giggling quietly to one another, holding hands, propping one another up...

🐀 at different times you both fall asleep and wake one another up and when it comes time for communion you're both giggly, trying very hard to be serious, already knowing that his father is going to know how pissed you are... You're not in trouble though, he just tsks at you both and smirks when he offers your wine, a quiet "not that you need it" and a wink when he sees you practically falling asleep on his sons shoulder.

🐀 Isaiah carries you home through the snow, bundling you up into bed with him, cuddled up under the blankets, unable to stop himself waking you up and stealing a good night kiss from you.. one which becomes so much more than just a kiss...

Michael

☘️ Michael would love nothing more than a quiet Christmas, just you, him and his mum... But that's not how being part of the Shelby family works...

☘️ He spends the run up to Christmas stressing about the journey back to England, he's worried about you meeting his family for the first time... Not because he's worried they won't like you, but because he's worried you will see how fucked up his family is and want to run a mile...

☘️ You arrive at Arrow House on the morning of Christmas Eve, you've travelled through the night through snow and freezing wind, but when your car finally makes it up the long winding drive you're taken back by how beautiful it all is... How grand the house is, how very English it all appears to be...

☘️ You're nervous to meet the family, most of all Polly because you're sure her opinion means more to Michael than anything else in the world. If Polly doesn't like you it's over...

☘️ But everything Michael has warned you about... His cousins schemes and manipulative personality... Well you're surprised to see that you don't see anything like it... All you see is one busy, chaotic house packed full of children and adult men who run around pretending to fight and shoot one another much like children...

☘️ You're completely absorbed into family life from the second the servants take your bags... You're overwhelmed by the Shelby family but you can't say you're not pleased...

☘️ Whilst Michael is jumped upon by his cousin's you're swept up by the women, Ada and Lizzie giggling as they mix you up a gin and tonic and show you their hiding place in the kitchen when they need two seconds peace... Not from their children who are running around feral with excitement for christmas, but from the Peaky men who are apparently more of a handful than the children...

☘️ As the evening draws in Michael wants to steal you away but he can't bring himself to because you're sitting on the floor playing with the children.. Arthur is dressed up as Santa asking them all what they want for Christmas...

☘️ But when he invites you to come up and sit in his lap, asks you if you've been a good girl this year Michael has to intervene and save you from his cousin.

☘️ He coughs and very awkwardly speaks up to save you, asks to borrow you for a minute... Lies and says he needs your help in the kitchen... And this lie is obviously met with smirks and jokes because everyone knows he's just jealous of Arthur's stupid flirting...

☘️ He actually apologises for his cousin, it's just you and him in the kitchen and he looks nervous, like he's worried you're going to run off with Arthur... But when you ask what's wrong he shakes his head, says "nothing... Just promise me they haven't scared you off..." you can't help but laugh at that.

☘️ "What? Don't be daft Michael, I love them and I love you!" And he's very glad to hear that, blushing like a teenage boy because he's gone all out to spoil you this Christmas... There's so many gifts under the tree with your name on them but the gift that's most important is in his back pocket... He was going to save it for tomorrow but now that he's got you alone in the kitchen he realises there's no better time to ask you to be his wife than the present...

☘️ So your Christmas Eve ends in Michael getting down on one knee on the kitchen floor surrounded by carrot peelings...

Taglist

@inalovesrabbits-blog

@cocoaflowers

@zablife

@jomarch-wannabe

@itsghostgirlyo

@marwwfairy

@toddlerbodybag

@everysage

@tommyshelbywhore

@kas3ylovesyou

@kxnnxy

@starrykitn

@call-sign-shark

@only-malala

@galactict3a

@darkcastle167

@liliac-dreamer

@impossibleheartflower

@mollybegger-blog

@vanhelsingsbigtoe

#peaky blinders headcannon #peaky blinders imagines #bonnie gold x reader #tommy shelby x reader #peaky blinders imagine #arthur shelby x reader #john shelby x reader #peaky blinders headcanon #isaiah jesus x reader #michael gray x reader #alfie solomons x reader #peaky blinders christmas

[andreafmn]

12 Days of Ficmas ❅ Day 3

Word Count: 4.0K Paring:  Tommy Shelby x Fem!Reader Prompt @12-days-of-ficmas: anonymous donor pays for the kids at your nonprofit to have a perfect Christmas. Wait, this handwriting looks familiar Warnings: mature language

Summary: For a little over half a decade, (Y/N) has run the Angel's Touch Foundation caring for children in need from all over Small Heath. But times are hard and money is tight, and all she wants is to give the children of her foundation the best Christmas. And an anonymous letter might just have all the answers she has been searching for.

A/N: goodness, I love angst a little too much. I think y'all might need to prepare for a christmas filled with just a tad of sad 🫣🫣

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Life in Small Heath had never been easy. Life in England had not been easy in general. At least not for the everyday man, much less for their children. 

(Y/N) had dedicated her life to making sure no child went hungry in her town. With what little money her family had left her, she had started a foundation in their name to do just that. For a little over half a decade, the woman had seen to it that no child went hungry or homeless, especially during the holidays.

It had been hard to keep Angel’s Touch afloat for years. Keeping the foundation running smoothly required more money than was flowing in most of the time, but she somehow always pulled it off. She didn’t care if she went hungry herself for a couple of days or if she lived in the smallest apartment she could afford. All she wanted was to make sure no child went through the hardships that had been bestowed upon them with no fault to them. As hard as it was. She pulled through every year, and she would continue to do so for as long as she could. 

That particular year had been particularly difficult, with their government funding being cut in almost half, a slow influx of donations, and the amounts of intakes growing (Y/N) didn’t know how they had even made it to December without more struggles. 

“I don’t know how we’re gonna give the kids a good Christmas celebration this year, Margaret,” she sighed as she sat on her desk chair. “We’re barely making it as it is, and I don’t even know where we’ll get the necessary funding for next year.” 

“Well, we could always ask…” 

“So help me, Margaret, if you say what I think you’re gonna say, I’ll fire you right now,” (Y/N) warned. “I don’t care that you’re my closest friend and one of the only reasons I’m still standing.” 

“I’m just saying, love. He could help,” Margaret shrugged as she placed a cup of tea before the woman. “But I understand why you don’t want to call him. We could try the church again. Grovel to the Father for some more donations. At least enough to give the kids a Christmas dinner.”

“Yeah,” she responded, ignoring the fact that her friend had tried to bring up the one man she had wanted nothing more than to forget. “I’ll try to call some family friends or try to kiss up to politicians and remind them or their re-elections. Maybe see if my brother has any money to spare. I just need to find someone with big and loose pockets for this month. Then, we can worry about next year.” 

“You’ll find a way,” Margaret said with a comforting smile. “Somehow, you always do.” 

“Just one year,” she begged. “All I want is for one year to go smoothly.” 

“Oh, darling, we didn’t get into this business because it was easy,” the woman reminded her. “We do it so the children don’t suffer under someone else.” 

“Right,” (Y/N) smiled. “For the children.” 

“We’ll make it through, darling. Don’t worry your pretty little face.” 

It was easier said than done, that much (Y/N) knew. She made more phone calls than she had ever done in her lifetime, trying her best to reach everyone and anyone who would listen. As Christmas day approached, she felt her time running short. Money poured in slowly, and it was spent twice as fast. At the rate they were going, it would have surprised her if all they could give the kids was a hot mutton stew. 

But what (Y/N) didn’t know was that a higher power was in play. Something and someone she had no control over. 

A week before Christmas, after receiving another shipment of donations of basic necessities, two of the children she housed ran after her down the halls. “Ms. (Y/N)!” they yelled as they ran. “Ms. (Y/N)!” 

“Woah, Helen, William, slow down,” she chuckled softly. “You know there’s no running in the halls.” 

“We’re sorry, Ms. (Y/N),” Helen smiled angelically. “But there was a postie outside. Left a package for you.” 

“Yeah, he said it was urgent.” 

The boy extended a pristine envelope sealed with the crest of England. “Alright, thank you, kids,” she smiled “Now, go on, darlings. Go get some lunch.”

Once the children were out of sight, (Y/N) hurried to her office. The envelope didn’t say who it was from, but her name was written on it in the most beautiful calligraphy she had ever seen. Inside the room, she put aside the box she was carrying and sat quickly by her desk to see what inside the letter was so urgent. 

“Slow down, woman,” Margaret chuckled as the woman pushed her aside. “What do you have there?” 

“I don’t know,” she said. “Helen and William gave it to me. Said a letter man had dropped it off, and it was urgent.”

“Looks quite official, doesn’t it? Does it say who it's from?”

“No. It only has my name.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Margaret smiled. “Open it already.”

“Alright, alright,” she chuckled as she pulled out her letter opener. The wax came off the paper easily and, inside, (Y/N) found two pieces of paper. But it was the one in front that caught her attention. “Oh, fuck.” 

“(Y/N), such foul language,” Margaret laughed. “What is it?” 

“Someone has donated sixty thousand pounds to the foundation,” she choked out. “Do you know what this means, Margaret?” 

“Oh, fuck.” 

“My sentiments exactly,” she laughed. “We are more than set for Christmas, Margaret. And not just the holidays. We’re set for next year!” 

“Happy fucking Christmas,” the woman exclaimed. “Does it say who it’s from? We need to do something to honor whoever it was that decided to answer our prayers.” 

“Uh,” she stammered as she looked for a name. “It doesn’t say.” 

“Anonymous donor? I mean, people do get rather generous during the holidays.” 

“Yeah, I just wish we could thank whoever it was,” (Y/N) said. “But, we have enough planning to do now. Christmas is in a week!” 

“Don’t you worry, darling,” Margaret smiled. “Everything will be perfect.”

As her friend set off to work, making phone calls and ensuring deliveries, (Y/N) looked over the second paper in the envelope. There wasn’t a name there either, but she recognized the lettering far too perfectly. In a handwriting that she wished she had forgotten the words: Happy Christmas to you and the children. 

At that moment, she wanted to break down. It had been years since she had spoken to him, much less heard a word from him. Yet, somehow, when she needed him most, he appeared like a knight in shining armor. In a simple cheque, he had been able to resolve her biggest worry. All it took was the stroke of a pen, and all her problems had disappeared. It was just so easy for him. 

But she couldn’t come undone. Not when there was so much to be done.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed, and the Angel’s Touch Foundation was preparing for a feast. Every single one of the kids had received their fair share of toys, clothes, and anything else they might have wanted. It was truly something out of a fairytale. 

Their entire home had been decorated from top to bottom for the holidays. It made the children very excited to see the place filled with Christmas lights and decorations, and many a kid stopped to gawk at the massive tree that had been propped up at the foundation’s lobby. Everything was beautiful and perfect. 

(Y/N)’s mind should have been focused on the kids and their happy faces. She should have been zoned into their reactions when they got to open presents that morning or their surprise when they were told what they’d be having for dinner. That’s what should have been running through her head. 

Yet, since she had received that letter, only one thing lived in her mind. His name and his face swirled around in her brain like it was the only thought that mattered. It consumed her every waking moment and filled her dreams with images of him. She had done so well to avoid him for years, and with just a few words, he was all she could think about. 

After dinner, while the kids all played and laughed a floor below, she found herself inspecting the piece of paper that had started her spiral. Maybe the longer she looked at it, something would happen. Maybe it would make him walk through the doors…

“Darling, you can’t spend the rest of the night locked up in here,” Margaret said as she walked in with two glasses of whiskey. “We’re supposed to be celebrating.” 

“I am,” she smiled softly. “I just… it’s this letter. I haven’t stopped thinking about it.”

“There’s no point to dwell on it, dear. There’s no name.” 

“I know who sent it.”

“What?” Margaret gasped. “So, there was a name?” 

“No,” (Y/N) chuckled dryly. “I recognized the handwriting. Instantly, actually. And I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.” 

“It was him, wasn’t it?” the woman inquired. “It was Thomas.” 

“It was,” she sighed. “I just don't understand how he could have known. I haven’t seen him in years, and then he shows up out of the blue with this letter.” 

“Darling, Small Heath is big but not big enough,” her friend mused. “Why don’t you go see him? It’s been long enough, don’t you think?” 

“And say what, Margaret? That I ran away from our home, and he’s somehow still saving me? I… I can’t go see him.” 

“But you want to,” she said. “And you know where he lives. Everyone does. So, just go to him.” 

“He’ll turn me away.” 

“It’s Christmas,” Margaret smiled. “He won’t turn you away on Christmas. Now, there’s a car waiting for you downstairs. So, go, love. Stop waiting around.” 

(Y/N) didn’t know what had possessed her, but her legs moved faster than her brain could think. And before she knew it, she was in the black car headed toward Arrow House. She could have told the driver to turn back around at any second, proclaimed she had lost her mind, and the best thing she could do was sleep off the madness. But the car kept moving, and the distance became bigger. Then, the grandiose house was looking down on her, beaconing her closer and closer. Once she was out of the car, her decision was made for her. The only way was onward. 

She knocked on the front doors, thinking there couldn’t possibly be anyone up at that hour. One second more, and she would have walked herself back home. Yet, the door opened wide, and an older woman opened the door. “Hello,” she smiled. “May I help you, dear?” 

“Oh, um, perhaps you could,” (Y/N) stammered. “I was looking for Mr. Shelby.” 

“Of course,” the woman said. “Come in. He’s just in his study.” 

“This late into the night?” she questioned as she followed the woman inside. “I thought perhaps he would have already gone to bed.” 

“Mr. Shelby keeps odd hours,” she explained. “But I think you knew that if you yourself are coming at this hour.” 

“Right,” (Y/N) chuckled. “I guess if he had been asleep, I could have used that as an excuse to leave.” 

“He was expecting you earlier in the week, Ms. (Y/L/N). But I guess you were quite busy with Angel’s Touch.” 

The woman’s words stopped her in her tracks. “You know who I am?” she asked. “And you knew I’d be coming?” 

“Of course, I know who you are. It’s my job to know,” she smiled. “Well, we’re here.” She knocked on the door before them and opened it ever so softly. “Mr. Shelby?” 

“Yes, Frances?” 

“Ms. (Y/L/N) has arrived.” Frances beckoned the woman inside, and she did as told. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” 

(Y/N) heard his voice before she saw him, and she felt shivers running down her body. His head snapped toward her the second he heard her name, and the cigarette he had just lit threatened to fall out of his mouth as he stared. 

They stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity, wondering if the image before them was a hallucination like the ones they’d had before. Maybe they were scared. Maune they thought the second one of them moved, the other would disappear.

“(Y/N).” Tommy was the first to speak. But his voice was so low it was almost as though he hadn’t, almost like he had said it as a prayer. “You’re here.”  

“Yes,” she breathed, her heart fluttering against her chest and threatening to jump outside of her body. “I came to thank you for your very generous donation.”

“Ah, so Angel’s Touch is yours,” he said nonchalantly as his demeanor changed to the mask he always wore. “I was simply trying to do a good deed this Christmas. The name of the foundation sounded familiar, but I had no way of knowing you were the one running it.” 

“You don’t have to pretend, Tommy. You already knew it was,” (Y/N) commented as she took a tentative step toward him. “Why now? After all these years, why have you reached out now?” 

“I have no need to pretend,” he announced as he filled a glass with whiskey. “I was truly just doing a good thing.”

“Right,” she conceded. “Well, I’ll simply thank you then. And since you did not leave a return address I had to come personally to give my gratitude. Your donation has changed the lives of many children.”

“Good. That’s what I wanted.”

“Alright then. I guess I’ll see myself out. Since you were only doing a generous thing.” (Y/N) turned, fully determined to walk out the doors and leave him with the same indifference with which he was treating her. But she couldn’t walk away. Not again. “Oh, cut the fucking bullshit, Tommy, and give me a real answer. Why now? I can only assume you’ve always known where I was. So, why did you reach out now?”

Tommy’s eyes found hers, and she swore she could have died at that very moment. She was sure in the infinite blue of his eyes, she could see the love he used to have for her, the love that had died after he had come home from the war. “I reached out because I heard you were in need of donations. Truly,” he explained. “I was going to hand deliver the cheque myself. Even went by the building.”

“I didn’t see you.”

“But I saw you, (Y/N). And I realized there was still so much anger and resentment buried that I decided to send it through the post. Because regardless of how I feel, those children deserve a better life than they were given,” he said defeatedly. His shoulders had fallen and she was starting to see the broken man behind the mask. “Yet, I still wrote that note, and I knew it would bring you around sooner or later.”

“For what, Tommy? Why did you want me to come here?” 

“Because I need a fucking explanation!” the man exclaimed, slamming his hands on his desk. “You fucking disappeared as soon as I came home from the war. In the middle of the night. You took your things, and you fucking left. Like I meant nothing to you. And you have the gall to stay in Small Heath. Hidden, but still there. Why, (Y/N)? ‘Cause it wasn’t just me you left. You left the entire family.”

“You’re joking, right? You truly have no idea why I left?” As she was met with silence, (Y/N) couldn’t help but laugh. She crossed the room as she did, staring out the window because it was easier than looking him in the face. “You were a completely different man when you came home. At first, I told myself it was normal. That the things you had seen in the battlefield would have haunted you ‘til the day you died. But then, there were things that could not be attributed to the war. 

I know you used the opium to help with your Shell Shock, and I tried. I tried to be okay with it because I truly believed you needed it, Tommy. But you’d be worse after. The nightmares still overtook you and your behavior… well, long gone was the man that used to make me laugh,” she sighed, wrapping her arms across her chest. “And, up to that point, I would have put up with it all because I loved you more than I loved myself. But then, you brought women into our bed. Maybe you thought I hadn’t noticed, or you believed I would keep my mouth shut and let you do as you pleased. Maybe I did wrong by you for allowing things to get to that. Still, I had not expected you to ever raise your hand at me, Tommy.”

“(Y/N),” she heard him call. 

“I can understand that you were drunk. Pissed out of your mind with the whiskey and the drugs. But I had told you how my father had treated my mother, and you had promised that you would never stoop that low.” She could feel the tears start to form in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks in ugly black streaks. “That was the night I decided I would leave because I could not live in a house with a man I was afraid of. I told Polly what my plans were, and she helped me. She gave me enough money to go back to my brother’s, and she promised to keep my secret. I don’t want to think of what would have happened if I had stayed.”

“You know I would have never hurt you, (Y/N).” She could tell his voice was closer but cautious. It was the first time they had spoken, the first time they had gotten answers, and he was not about to lose his chance to understand it all. “I must admit, the man that came back from the war was not the man that left for it. I don’t think such a man even exists. But I would have never hurt you.” 

“How can you be so sure, Tommy? You swore that you would have never raised your hand at me, and you did. How far could a strike be? Or perhaps a push or a shove? That’s how it starts,” she shrugged sadly. “If I had stayed… I couldn’t have stayed. It would have ruined us both. I mean, look how well you’ve done for yourself. This house, your business, I’d say everything worked out well for you.”

“It didn’t,” he sighed, stepping even closer. She could feel his presence behind her, looming over her. She could feel the warmth from his body even as the cold from the winter seeped in through the window. “There’s always been something missing.” 

“I heard you got married,” she said. “Even got a little boy. I’d say that’s more than enough.” 

“My wife is dead. And though, yes, I still have my child, you know what I’ve been missing.” 

“You loved her,” she continued. “If love was what you were missing, you had it.”

“That is not what I meant, and you know it, (Y/N).” 

“You gave your heart to another. That’s what I know.” 

“How could I ever give something that wasn’t there anymore? Something that was taken many years before.” Tommy’s chest was pressed against her back, rising and falling at a dangerous pace. His hands ran up her arms, his touch so soft she thought it was a ghost. But he was there. She could feel his breathing on her neck, feel his heartbeat through his chest. Tommy was there, and she could not deny it. “I’m sorry, (Y/N). The last thing I ever wanted was to lose you.” 

“I didn’t want to go, Tommy. You have to believe that,” she sighed as she leaned into his touch. “I didn’t want to, but I had to.” 

“I know, but you’re here now. You’ve come back to me,” he whispered in her ear. “Please tell me you’ve come back to me.” 

“I can’t go through that again, Tommy. The children at the foundation depend on me, the workers… I cannot go back to the woman I was. I lost myself in you, Thomas Shelby. And if I did that again, I don’t know how I could survive.” 

Tommy kissed her neck unexpectedly, savoring her skin as he had done many years before. He breathed her in and sank into the familiarity of her body. He remembered her softness and her warmth, he remembered every curve of her body and the way it would react. He remembered how it had felt to have her belong to him. 

But (Y/N) also remembered how lost she had been without him at the start. Being with him meant losing a part of herself. It meant she would no longer be (Y/N) (Y/L/N). She would be Tommy Shelby’s girl. And she didn’t know if she could go back to that. Not when she had done so much to be the woman she was. 

Yet, the feeling of his lips on her reminded her of the moments they had been happy. They had been young and in love, and even if they had less, they felt the richest they could have been. His hands reminded her of a time when she had not been afraid of him, when his touch was a welcomed solace and not a dark premonition. It all reminded her of the life they believed they could’ve had. 

“Tommy,” she whispered as his kisses became feverish. “Tommy, wait.” 

“What?” he groaned. “We’ve waited long enough.” 

“If we were to do this, if we were to be in each other’s lives, we need to take things slow,” she said. “I cannot jump into these waters headfirst. I need time.” 

“Time,” he chuckled softly. “Time is something we’ve had so much of.” 

“And I need more of, Tommy. Please.” 

“Alright,” Tommy conceded. And though he wanted to be more annoyed, all he could feel was compassion. “At least stay the night. It’s late, and it’s Christmas. You shouldn’t be out on the road.”

“If this is another ploy to get me into your bed, Mr. Shelby,” she chuckled, turning to look him in the eyes finally. Those icy blue eyes that had always haunted her. 

“It’s not,” he smiled. “I can have an entire room set up for you if that’s what you’d prefer.” 

“It takes trust, doesn’t it? And it’s already a cold night, I wouldn’t want to freeze until morning.”

With a warm smile on his face, one he hadn’t remembered he could muster, he took (Y/N) in his arms. “Happy Christmas, (Y/N),” he said. “I do hope it was a good one.” 

“Well, I certainly haven’t had better in a while,” she chuckled. “But I know it’s the best one Angel’s Touch has seen.” 

“The best one yet.” 

“Right,” (Y/N) said. “I guess all we needed was a true angel’s touch.” 

“I’m no angel, darling. I’m more of a god.” 

“I can see the sense of grandeur hasn’t died down,” she chuckled as she leaned into his touch. They walked through the quiet house in each other’s arms, forgetting the past years, forgetting their absence in each other’s lives. They were simply present at that moment, and that moment only. “But I don’t think there’s anything I could do to thank you for what you’ve done.” 

“Well, there are a few things I have in mind.” 

“Very cheeky, Mr. Shelby,” she grinned. “But that’s not happening any time soon.” 

“A man can only hope,” he laughed. “But I’ll take what I can get. As long as you promise you’ll still be here in the morning.” 

“I promise, Tommy. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Next ->

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#andreafmn #an angel's touch #tommy shelby #thomas shelby #peaky blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby fanfic #tommy shelby x you #tommy shelby x y/n #peaky blinder imagine #peaky fucking blinders #christmas #12 days of ficmas #12 days of christmas #12 days of fandom #angst #angst with a happy ending #happy ending #fanfiction #fan fiction #writing #polly gray #arthur shelby #finn shelby #john shelby

[kiss-me-hardy]

A Christmas cracker💥🎅

#tom hardy #Christmas cracker #peaky blinders #mad max #venom

[ninja-potato-shelby-solomons]

Merry Christmas!

From the Shelby-Solomons Clan

#Alfie leaves Tommy a big package underneath the tree

#emotional support gangsters #tommy shelby #alfie solomons #tom hardy #cillian murphy #peaky blinders #tommy x alfie #sholomons #tofie #tommyalfie #tommy/alfie #alfie solomons x tommy shelby #tommy shelby x alfie solomons #alfie x tommy #peaky blinders meme #christmas #Christmas blorbo

[dandelionprints]

Men With Blue Eyes and Dark Hair

Pairing: Tommy x Reader (Y/N)

Summary: It’s Christmas Eve in Birmingham and Tommy can’t shake the dislike he has for the barmaid working at The Garrison. What will he do when they come face to face?

Warnings: bad language, mentions of injury and blood, angst.

Word Count: I got very carried away on this one, 5229

A/N: I created this for @runnning-outof-time Holiday BINGO challenge using the four prompts from the forth line down horizontally; “must include: a kiss, forced proximity, Christmas Eve, angst”. Although this has a slight Christmas theme it’s not too Christmassy so perfect to enjoy at any time of the year! Thank you for creating this challenge, K, I had a lot of fun writing it!

Tag list is here if you’d like to be added to it!

Full credit of GIF to the creator

The smoke from his nearly spent cigarette billowed out in front of him as he made his way down the cobbled streets, the cold December air nipping at his cheeks. Fresh snow had covered the ground and he couldn’t help but think how much nicer the streets looked when you couldn’t see the dirt and smoke of Birmingham. Snow was still falling, filling in the footprints on the pavement made by other passers by.

He flicked the now burnt out cigarette onto the ground, almost excited to be out of the dropping temperatures and into the warmth of The Garrison.

His stomach was in knots as he reached the entrance, a feeling he wasn’t used to.

“Oh ‘ere he is! How are ya Tommy lad?”

A lanky man with slicked back hair approached him not a second after he stepped through the door and into the bustling laughter filled pub.

“Hello Arthur, nice to see you on your feet for once”

Tommy brushed his coat down removing the flakes of snow that had landed on it as he made his way over to the bar with Arthur in tow.

“Well I thought since it’s Christmas Eve I’d better save the fun for later, besides, that pretty barmaid is working today”

Fuck.

Tommy had hoped she’d decided to take Arthur up on his offer of the night off, a request made by Tommy himself to his brother. Fat chance of that happening, it would be far too convenient.

“Well brother, I’m sure if you give her your best smile then she’ll take you home with her”, Tommy smirked, trying to cover up the tension he could feel spreading across his face. He removed his coat and hung it over the back of the stool.

“Nah I don’t think so, Tom. I ‘eard she likes men with dark hair and blue eyes”, Arthur slapped Tommy across the back before taking a seat next to him, beckoning for the pretty barmaid to come over and serve them.

“I think she likes whoever pays attention to her unless they have dark hair and blue eyes from what I’ve heard”, he reached for a cigarette from his pocket, doing his best to avoid eye contact with the woman who was now walking over to them.

“Same as usual, boys?”, she smiled sweetly at them both, resting her palms on the bar and leaning forwards slightly. Tommy would have missed her smile had he done better at avoiding her approach. Fuck that beautiful smile.

Arthur looked to Tommy, waiting for him to say something but soon realised it wasn’t going to happen.

“Yes please love, make sure you take this and keep it for yourself. You’ve been workin’ long, ‘ard shifts ‘ere at the pub, you could have taken the night off like I told you to!”Arthur gave a side glance in Tommy's direction before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a five pound note.

Tommy snuck a look at his brother. What the fuck was he doing giving her that much money?

Her eyes widened at the sight of the note and she shifted uncomfortably on her feet knowing that Tommy would probably be quite frankly pissed off that Arthur was giving her pay way above her monthly wage, let alone her daily wage.

She hadn’t had much interaction with Tommy, well other than that one evening in the pub but neither of them spoke of it again since that night, but she knew him well enough from the things Arthur would drunkenly tell her when he’d come in to raid the bar.

“Arthur, I really can’t accept this. Thank you so much for the offer but this is way too much, I couldn’t possibly…” she began.

“Now now, I won’t hear of it. You keep it, love. Buy yourself something nice for Christmas”

She shifted her gaze to Tommy who was now looking even more tense than usual, a freshly lit cigarette between his lips. It almost made her jolt when he raised his head and looked at her, his icy eyes of blue almost burning right through her.

“She’s right y’know Arthur. That really is too much”, he held his smoke between his fingers now, not breaking eye contact with her as he spoke, “two shillings would do”

Her mouth dropped open slightly, the embarrassment from this whole interaction causing a fresh flush of red to her cheeks. She pushed the five pound note back towards Arthur as Tommy flicked the shillings onto the bar, looking away from his gaze as quickly as she could.

“Tom, don't be a stingy bastard!” Arthur grabbed the coins from the bar and pushed the note back towards the barmaid who now looked as though she wanted the ground to swallow her up.

“I’m not, two shillings is more than she’s used to. Besides, I heard John only gave her one shilling for her duties the other night”, there was a slight amount of mocking in his tone, one that he hoped would hit a nerve.

“I’m sorry, what?” Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned to Tommy fully now, raising her hands up to settle on either side of her waist.

“You heard what I said, now go and get our drinks. I’m sure Arthur will give you the shillings back at the end of the night”.

Her blood was boiling now. Had he just insinuated that she was a whore? What had John told Tommy? Was he trying to make her feel worthless? If he was, it was definitely working. She wanted to scream in his face that she was anything but a whore, that she’d only ever slept with one man, but something inside her kept her tongue from spilling out all the words she wanted to say. Instead she relaxed her features not wanting Tommy to know that he’d well and truly pissed her off.

“Of course, Mr. Shelby. Right away”

She scurried off to grab their usual brand of Irish whiskey and had half a mind to spit in the glass that she’d give to Tommy. As much as that would bring his secret joy she knew better than to fuck with a Peaky Blinder, especially Tommy Shelby.

Grabbing the bottle by the neck as well as two whiskey glasses she soon returned to the brothers sitting at the bar, both men watching her every move.

“Your drinks, gentlemen. Will that be all?”

She could feel the anger and humiliation from Tommys words only moments ago still simmering under the surface but did her best to keep a smile on her face. She needed this job no matter how shit her boss's brother treated her.

“For now, yes. Oh and uh, Y/N, John said to tell you he had a good time the other night”

What the fuck was he talking about? And when the fuck did he care to remember her name? At this point her mind was racing with questions, ones she knew there was no point in asking especially not to Tommy Shelby. She’d already found out from this whole conversation that he wasn’t in the mood to talk and would more than likely fire her on his brother's behalf right there on the spot if she so much as looked at him funny.

She huffed as quietly as she could before gently nodding to Arthur, picking up the stray empty glasses scattered along the bar as she made her way down to the other end, as far away from Tommy fucking Shelby as she could.

“What the fuck was all that about brother?”, Arthur turned to Tommy now, his face a puzzle of confusion, “She’s a good lass she is! What the fuck are you doing treating her like that? She’s the best worker I’ve ‘ad ‘ere in a long while. And what’s all this business with John?”

Tommy gave nothing away as he stubbed out his cigarette into the ashtray in front of them.

“All these bloody questions. A good worker she may be Arthur, but I know a whore when I see one”, he poured the amber liquid into both of the glasses sat next to the bottle and took a swig from one of them, “anyway, what’s all this fucking mistletoe doing around the pub? It looks like a fucking forest in here”

“Well I thought since it’s Christmas, why not give people the chance to get lucky tonight! Hung it myself I did”, Arthur smiled almost proudly and looked around the crowded room, watching as couples took full advantage beneath the Christmas sprig.

“Yeah I can tell”, Tommy smirked then, downing the rest of the liquid in his glass before setting it back onto the bar.

There was a sound of glass, and a lot of it, breaking followed by a cheer from the merry drunks.

Tommy looked over to the end of the bar where the sudden crash came from to see Y/N crouched down on the floor collecting the shards of glass with a cloth.

What the fuck was she doing picking it up with her hands? Before he could even question what he was doing he stood from his stool and made his way through the still jeering onlookers.

“Eh! You lot! That’s enough, go back to drinking and being merry”, his voice bellowed out across the room, demanding to be heard.

And heard it was. The gabble of noise quietened down the second the crowd had realised who’d spoken the words.

“Fucking dozy one you are aren’t you”, the other barman working that night stood above Y/N, making no effort to hide his sneer as he spoke.

She looked up at the greasy looking man, he always did piss her off and that moment was no exception.

“Eh, you. Mind your fucking mouth and get back to work”.

Little had the barman noticed that Tommy was standing at the entrance of the bar, his best scowl upon his brow.

“Yes Mr. Shelby”, the barman almost jumped at hearing Tommy's voice.

“And don’t fucking talk to her like that, next time I ‘ear you say anything disrespectful I’ll drag you out of here myself. Just because my brother owns this pub doesn’t mean I won’t deal with the rubbish inside”.

The man could only nod sheepishly as he scurried away to serve a group of men who had clearly already had too much to drink.

Y/N could hardly believe her ears. Why the fuck was Tommy Shelby now coming to her aid after making it very clear he didn’t like her? This man was a fucking walking contradiction.

Before she knew it he was down on his knees beside her, taking the cloth full of glass from her hands and throwing it in the bin, the sound of the shards crashing down as they hit the bottom of it.

“Are you okay? Did you cut yourself?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Shelby. Thank you but I can handle this”

He looked at her then, his cool blue eyes staring straight into hers. She could have sworn she felt herself shiver.

“Not with a fucking cloth you can’t, you’ll cut your hands. By the looks of it you’ve managed to drop a whole bottle of whiskey, my whiskey in fact, you need a mop and brush”

Why did she feel like she was being belittled right now? Ignoring the remark about the fact that yes indeed it was his bottle of whiskey, she sighed as silently as she could, not wanting to piss him off even further.

“Yes Mr. Shelby”

She stood and brushed down her dress, specs of whiskey had flicked onto it with the impact of the amber liquid hitting the floor.

He looked up at her now. God she was so beautiful, especially in that red dress. Y/N turned away from him without so much as another word and made her way towards the cellar where copious amounts of alcohol, as well as the mop and brush, were stored.

Tommy decided that now was as good a time as any to grab himself another bottle of his whiskey, he usually kept a stash of them behind the bar. Still crouched down, he scoured the empty shelves but only saw dust and broken glasses. He sighed to himself realising that he’d have to make a journey to the cellar. Did he wait until she came back to go so that he didn’t have to talk to her again? Did he go down and possibly have awkward small talk with her?

“Fuck it”, he said aloud to himself, taking a deep breath in before exhaling, standing upright.

“Ere Tom, grab us another bottle, this one’s nearly done”, Arthur’s voice shouted over the noise of the growing number of people in the room.

“Already on it brother”

Tommy made his start towards the cellar, passing the barman on the way and making sure to give him his best stare as he did. He didn’t know why he’d decided to speak up when he heard the lousy worker insult Y/N but something inside him felt protective of this practical stranger, despite already being burnt by her.

Fuck it, of course he knew why. No matter how much he wanted to pretend to dislike the pretty barmaid, he couldn’t help but admit to himself it was purely envy that was making him act so cold towards her. Why did she spend the night with John and not him?

The cellar lights were on as he entered the doorway, barrels of alcohol piled as high as the wooden beamed ceiling, with yellowing walls from the mixture of damp and cigarette smoke. The room would have been silent if it wasn’t for the gentle sound of humming coming from the other side of the room.

“What song is that you’re humming?” His voice broke the otherwise quiet atmosphere and he made his way over steadily to her.

Y/N was stood over by the small sink in the corner of the room, doing her best to attempt to fill the bucket she’d need to help wash away the sticky whiskey mess she’d made behind the bar.

She startled at the sudden sound of his voice, her hands slipping on the tap causing the water to come spitting out.

“Fuck”, she exclaimed, quickly grabbing the latch to shut it off.

Tommy chuckled slightly. He would deny it if she asked but he loved to watch her get all flustered, the way her hair fell over onto her cheeks, the sudden look of embarrassment on her face.

“What song was that you were humming? Don’t think I’ve heard it before”, he pulled out the carton of cigarettes from his pocket, taking one out and placing it between his lips before offering Y/N one.

She used the back of her hand to brush the hair away from her forehead, water now dripping ever so slightly down her face. She hesitated as she stepped forward to take the smoke from him, placing it between her own lips and allowing him to light it for her.

“It’s called ‘I wanna be loved by you’. It’s a good song, you should listen to it some time”

The scoff that came from his lips did nothing but piss her off more. Why was she even entertaining conversation with this man when all he seemed to like doing was judging everything she said and did?

“What’s the matter, choke on the smoke?”, her arms crossed now. She knew she could very well be treading on thin ice but there was only so much she could take, he clearly thought she was a lesser being to him so why bother trying to be nice.

“Nope. Just thought that maybe you had someone in mind when you were humming it, John maybe?” He took a drag and arched his eyebrow. Maybe now he’d find out the barmaids true intentions with his brother.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Why would it be about John?” The anger in her voice was evident but at this point who the fuck cared. The little jibes he’d made at her this evening still played on her mind as much as she wished they hadn’t.

Tommy took another drag of his cigarette, unfazed by her sudden apparent change of the sweet young woman he’d spoken to earlier.

“I mean, he said you two had a nice chat the other night, shortly after we did that is. Then he showed you the finest sights of Birmingham, along with his cock. Explains why he didn’t come home that night”

Her mouth gaped open with eyebrows raised, even she couldn’t hold back the shock from this new information she was hearing with her own ears. That’s when she felt it, the rage burning from deep within her chest, the sudden urge to lunge at him and give him her best slap across the face.

She made a start toward him, tossing the cigarette that she’d barely taken a drag from before stopping only inches away from his face. He stood before her unwavering, almost finding amusement in her sudden change of character. Fuck she was even more sexy when she was angry.

“Look Tommy. I don’t know what the fuck it is about you and John trying to make out that I’m some fucking whore or something but I’ve had enough! He did no such thing that night, we only spoke at the bar and that’s it. The truth is he got completely out of his skull and spilled his heart out to me about how fucking sick and tired he is of your bullshit, making him do all of the dogs work while you sit up there on your throne of money and power!” She knew there was venom in her words but there was nothing she could do to stop it and at this point she really didn’t care, it was too late to turn back now.

Tommy’s eyes narrowed and his plump lips parted slightly as he tried to take in this new information. Why the fuck hadn’t John said any of this to him and why had he lied about spending the night with Y/N? He could see the fire in her eyes and could tell that she was telling the truth, she wouldn’t have this much rage if she wasn’t.

“And another thing Tommy, I’ve only ever fucked one man in my entire life so if that’s what makes me a whore in your books then so be it! John didn’t go home that night because he passed out in one of the booths. I left him there with a glass of water and a bucket to throw up in before I left, there was no point in trying to get him up cos he was so intoxicated it would be like trying to wake the dead”.

She hadn’t realised it but her hands were clenched into fists causing her nails to dig into the palm of her hand. Fuck she’d had enough, what was it with men and their incessant need to lie?

Tommy was still stood there speechless, unable to form any kind of response to her words which was a first for him. Usually he had an answer for everything but not right at this very moment.

“You know what? I’m done. I’ll find another way to pay my rent, maybe I’ll ask Lizzie if there’s a job going seeing as by the sound of it I’m already pretty fucking good at it!”

She knocked into him as she began her move towards the door but before she could get any further she felt Tommys hand grab her wrist.

“Get the fuck off of me!”

Before he could respond the lights cut out leaving them both in complete darkness, the sound of displeased groans echoing out from the pub above.

The warmth of his skin touching hers gave her chills. Y/N didn’t want to admit it to herself but there was no denying that part of her liked it. She quickly brushed that thought off though as she took the opportunity to pull her arm free from his grasp and do her best to still make her way out of this situation.

She reached out in front of her to try and grab anything that would help guide her out of this crowded room and as far away from Tommy Shelby as she could. She didn’t make it far though as her hand connected with something sharp and it felt like an electric shock had been sent running up her arm.

The sudden sound of glass hitting the floor followed by her shrieks was enough to send shivers down Tommys spine as he now snapped out of his racing thoughts.

“Y/N? Y/N! Are you okay, what’s happened?”

“Oh fuck this hurts”

Although she couldn’t see it she could feel a warmth now spreading across her hand and feel something trickling down her fingers. She clutched at her injured hand with the other and squeezed as much as she could.

Tommy was already fighting his way through the darkness trying to get to her as quickly as he could, bumping into her just a few steps ahead.

“What happened, are you okay?” His hands reached up in front of him trying to grab whatever part of her he could in his panic, until they landed softly on either side of her face. Her cheeks were wet with tears and a sudden rush of guilt swept over his body.

“No I’m not fucking okay, my hands been cut open and I’m pretty sure it’s bad”, she half squealed back at him, doing her best to fight off the pain.

He lowered his hands down softly until they found hers. Even an idiot could tell in the blackness of the room there was a large amount of blood and that something needed to be done to stop it quickly. Without a second thought he reached for his neck and pulled off his tie.

“Here, let me wrap your hand up, we need to stop the bleeding”, his hands were scrambling to search for hers once more and even though she didn’t want to accept Tommys help she also didn’t want to be bleeding profusely, especially not on Christmas Eve.

She winced as the tie was wrapped tightly around the injury, her heartbeat prominently throbbing from the site of the open wound.

“How can a stupid cut on the hand be this painful”, she sniffed, using the back of her free hand to try and wipe away the tears that were flowing.

He smiled to himself, almost relieved that she was talking to him normally again, though she couldn’t see it.

“That’s what deep cuts are like I’m afraid, I think sometimes it’s worse when you can’t see the damage that’s been done”, he finished tying the tourniquet and placed his hand on top of hers.

As if the electrics could hear his words the lights suddenly switched back on, the sound of cheering filling the pub above once more.

He looked up at her and a pang of sadness punched him right in the gut. Her pale, tear stained cheeks stuck out like a sore thumb and the way her chest rose and fell trying to regulate her breathing made him ache. If he hadn’t listened to John and hadn’t just assumed that everything he was saying was true then none of this would’ve happened in the first place.

She finally allowed her eyes to meet his only to find that they looked full of guilt. As much as under the surface she still had so much anger she also almost felt sorry for him. Had he been a dick and assumed she was a whore? Yes. Was he acting that way because she’d rejected him that night? Maybe. Even still, the look on his face made her doubt her anger and instead the emotion that took its place was pity.

“Let’s get you cleaned up”, he said, breaking the silence. She nodded in response and followed him over to the sink, watching as he turned on the water and gently reached for her still throbbing hand, “I’ll leave the tie on, we don’t want more blood coming out. Let’s just get what’s on your fingers and arm off, can’t have you going back out there in that state”.

He smiled as softly as he could though his eyebrows were still slightly furrowed with sadness. Fuck her hand looked bad. Even with the tie covering the worst of the cut he could tell that the glass had cut deep enough to cause quite bad damage.

She winced as his hand once again reached for hers and he began gently running the water over her fingers, doing his best to wipe as much blood off as he could. The red water swirled around the sink and ran down the plughole never seeming to lessen in colour.

He picked up a rag from the side of the sink and began to gently pat her fingers dry. There was still a silence between them that felt uncomfortable.

“Tommy?” Her voice cut through it like a knife, causing his head to shoot up and look her right in the eye. Her soft features were being caught by the light and his breath hitched in his throat for a split second, he had to subtly cough to disguise it as best he could.

“Yes?”

She hesitated for a moment before speaking, “has the reason you’ve been so off with me been because I wouldn’t go home with you that night?” Her voice came out quietly, but her words couldn’t have cut through Tommy any clearer.

He opened his mouth to speak but soon closed it as the words he wanted to say escaped him. Tommy Shelby wasn’t known for grumbling over being rejected by a woman and he wasn’t about to start now. Well, he didn’t want to start anyway.

Y/N saw that he wasn’t going to give her a clear answer, of course he wasn’t.

“Tommy. The only reason I didn’t go home with you that night is because you’d had too much to drink, you could hardly keep yourself from falling off the stool”, she paused unsure whether to continue or not, shifting on her feet on the spot, “Besides, how did I know if you were just looking for a fuck or if you really liked me? I’m not the kind of girl to sleep around like I’ve already told you. I’ve also seen the kind of women that you entertain, beautiful women with beautiful dresses and beautiful jewellery and hair pinned neatly in place. I couldn’t be further from any of those things”

“Don’t say that, of course you are, in fact you’re more beautiful than any of them put together. The thing with women, Y/N, those so called beautiful women that I entertain, they’re just a fuck. They have no substance to them, none of them have that I’ve met anyway. All they care about is their fancy cars and the jewels around their neck bought with daddy’s money. You on the other hand, you’re different”

He swallowed hard then, was he really about to admit his feelings for her and reveal the real reason he was acting shitty towards her?

“You see, the other night when we had that chat, I found myself realising that you’re different to any girl I’ve ever known. You actually give a shit, you don’t want to fuck me for my money or for the fact I’m a peaky blinder. You wanted to know Tommy, the real Tommy, not the Tommy that earns all this money or goes to socialite events. I’ve never had a woman be so genuinely interested in what I had to say. I think that’s why I was so jealous of John and wrongly pissed off with you because the thought of you liking him instead of me hurt too much”

He didn’t realise it but he’d been staring at the floor and at pretty much anything he could that meant he didn’t have to look at Y/N, it was unlike him to be so open with anyone let alone a woman he barely knew. When he did decide to look up at her, a smile was on her face, that beautiful fucking smile. His own lips raised at the corners then, unable to hide any longer.

“Maybe that’s why he lied to you, to try and get his own back for making him do all the dog's work. He also told me that night that he knew you were trying it on with me so he obviously saw an opportunity and took it. I wish you’d just told me all of this in the first place instead of being such a dick about it all, I thought you hated me”

“I’m sorry I’m just not very good at the whole opening up thing. I’d rather cover it up like dirt in a tunnel than say how I really feel. Besides, I don’t hate you, not one bit”, he stepped forward closing the gap between them, taking her hands in his.

She winced as he connected with the bloody cut, “Fuck that hurts”, she half laughed and hissed at the same time.

“Shit sorry, I completely forgot”, he dropped his hand loose from hers and gently pulled her into him by the waist, a smile playing on his lips.

Tommy looked up above him and noticed that Arthur had taken the time to hang mistletoe just about everywhere he could, including down here in the cellar. Maybe he was planning on getting lucky tonight? Tommy didn’t care, he just knew that it was the perfect opportunity to do what he’d been aching to for so long.

“I heard you like men with blue eyes and dark hair?” He questioned, their faces only inches apart.

“And where did you hear that?” She asked, a toothy grin now apparent on her face.

“Your boss told me, he’s not very good at keeping his mouth shut”

“I’m glad he can’t because he’s right, I do have a thing for men with blue eyes and dark hair. Even more so for the man standing right in front of me now”, her eyelashes fluttered and the anger and pity from before melted away as his lips met hers.

She’d wanted to do this ever since she laid eyes on him when she started working at The Garrison but never thought he’d give her a second look. After the conversation they’d had that night she’d craved this even more, the feeling of his lips on hers, the way his hands held on tightly to her waist, the smell of cigarette smoke and whiskey on his skin. And here he was, Tommy fucking Shelby liked her. Plain old Y/N who had barely any money to her name and a dingy apartment to call home, it was like all of her Christmases came at once.

They pulled away from the kiss gently and looked into each other’s eyes. The tears once spilling from Y/N’s now gone and only a smile upon her face.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N”

“Merry Christmas, Tommy”

————————

Tagged: @peakypoet @moral-terpitude @lyarr24 @cillmequick @mrkdvidal1989 @shelbydelrey @alasya16 @tommystargirl @elenavampire21 @adaydreamaway08 @slaypussypop-21 @bluesongbird

#tommy shelby #peaky blinders #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby one shot #tommy shelby x you #tommy shelby fanfic #cillian murphy #peaky blinders fanfic #Christmas #christmas fic

[whosbian]

thank you to this post for the inspiration :)

#just watched the church on ruby road!!!!!! #sooo good #love u mr ncuti gatwa #AND MILLIE GIBSON #oh it was so fucking weird #but huge fan!!!! #doctor who #dw #fifteenth doctor #15th doctor #ncuti gatwa #millie gibson #cillian murphy #i actually have never watched peaky blinders my bad #church on ruby road #doctorwho #doctor who christmas special #peaky blinders #welcome back #tommy shelby #church on ruby road spoilers? maybe???

[book-place]

Snowy Traditions

Warnings: Slight mention of death and threats, let me know if I missed any :)

Pairings: Shelby family x sister reader

*not my gif*

Summary: The Shelby siblings had a tradition they did every year, and it would be your first time partaking in the festivities

A/N: Welcome to the bonus day of Book Places 12 Days of Christmas Event

Please don’t plagiarize my work, you may reblog if you like but I’m asking that you don’t steal my hard work

“If she catches her death out there, I will make sure you are the one who will really suffer, Tommy Shelby.” Polly said threateningly, eyeing the man as she finished helping you out your mittens on.

Arthur let out a booming laugh, bending down and scooping you up into his arms, throwing you into the air a little bit before catching you again, “Don’t worry, Pol,” He said, making a funny face at you, “We’ll make sure she’s fine.”

You giggled up at your eldest brother, reaching your arms forward and squishing his face together between your little fingers.

“Come on!” Finn complained with a whine, bouncing on his heels in anticipation, “I want to go!”

Your aunt spun around on her heel to look down sternly at the boy, “That goes for you too, Finn Shelby. You better keep those hats and gloves on and your jacket zipped up, or you’re going to have me to deal with.”

John laughed at his little brother while Tommy watched from the side with the smallest ghost of a smile.

It had been the first snowfall in Small Heath since the boys had returned from war, and it had always been a Shelby sibling tradition before then to all go out together and play in the white wonderland.

Tommy hadn’t been sure at first if it was a good idea, the business being very busy and all, but some begging on Finn and Arthur’s part got him to hesitantly relent.

You were four years younger than Finn, who was eight years old, and had been far too small to attend the last time they had gone, so it would be your first time.

When Polly finally sighed and stepped back, the youngest brother let out a whoop of joy and swung the door wide open, sending in a gust of cold air.

Arthur lifted you up even higher and placed you on his shoulders, making sure to keep you steadied by holding onto the top of his head before taking off out the door.

Tommy followed behind the two of you, giving Polly one last nod before closing the door and stepping out, trailing after all of his siblings.

You let out a laugh that had your brothers hearts melting despite the cold as you turned your head up and squeezed your eyes shut adorably and opened your mouth to allow snowflakes to fall in.

Taking John’s distracted state as he looked at you to his benefit, Finn tried to give him a large shove into the snow from the side, putting all of his weight behind it.

John wasn’t even moved an inch though as he turned his head down, eyes sparkling with amusement at his younger brother's valiant attempts before taking one hand and easily pushing the boy into a nearby snowbank.

Your laughter echoed through the streets as you rocked back and forth slightly at the sight, nearly giving Arthur and Tommy a heart attack when they thought you were going to fall.

“Give ‘er here, Arthur.” Tommy grumbled, quickly and gently taking you away from his elder brother.

You looked up at him with the same wide grin and round eyes that you had flashed at Arthur, and he automatically softened, placing you on his hip as all of you continued trekking through the snow.

John and Finn continued roughhousing as Arthur joined them and Tommy just shook his head lightly with a small smile.

Though there were some other children out and about to enjoy the snow, they quickly scrambled out of the way as the Shelby siblings approached, eyes widened with both fear and wonder in a way that made Finn grin as if he were the king of the world.

“Dow’! Dow’!�� You babbled, trying to wiggle out of your brother's grip and he looked over at you with a raised eyebrow as you all went up a nearby hill.

“You wanna walk by yourself?” He asked, chuckling slightly.

You nodded your head vigorously, eyes cast over to where your three other siblings were messing around, obviously wanting to join in on the fun.

“Alright, then.” He said with a shrug, “Oi! Boys!” He called, getting their attention, “Our sister wants to come play with you.”

“Is that right?” John asked, rushing over and scooping you up before spinning you around and setting you back down, “And what would you like to do with us, n/n?”

“Sow! Sow!” You cheered, bouncing up and down excitedly.

“Yeah,” He nodded in understanding, “There’s snow everywhere.”

With a lot of laughter, you bent down and scooped up as much snow as you could between your two gloved hands and threw it into your brother's direction.

Arthur and Finn doubled over at the look of pure shock that John wore at your actions, even Tommy was snickering a little bit.

John threw a glare to the three of them and looked over at you with mischief sparking inside his eyes, “Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?” He smirked, “Well, how about this, then?”

Without warning, he threw some soft snow at you, making sure to aim for your chest instead of your face, and watching as your expression fell as you slowly looked down at the place he had hit you.

The other brothers were howling with laughter by then, giving John just enough time to pick up some less-than-soft snow and chuck it at all three of them.

You fell over into the snow you were laughing so hard at that point.

Tommy, Finn, and Arthur all stood frozen in shock for a moment before the same look of mischief danced into their eyes and they bent down and made snowballs, nailing the middle brother, and taking extra care to make sure you weren’t being hit.

Eventually, after the snow war had broken out between your brothers, you wandered off a bit to the side of the hill and sat down, mouth dropping a little bit at how it overlooked all of Small Heath.

It wasn’t long before your brothers made their way over to you, plopping down onto the ground beside you and staring in awe the beautiful sight of their home covered in a fresh layer of snow.

“What do you think, eh?” Tommy asked, playfully grabbing on and dragging you to sit in his lap, “Was this fun?”

You looked up at him with a grin and nodded before nestling your head into his chest and gazing back out at the snow covered world.

#book places christmas event #platonic #platonic imagine #x reader #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders imagine #tommy shelby x reader platonic #tommy shelby x sister reader #tommy shelby x reader #polly gray x niece reader #polly gray x reader #polly gray x reader platonic #finn shelby x sister reader #finn shelby x reader #finn shelby x reader platonic #john shelby x reader #john shelby x sister reader #john shelby x reader platonic #arthur shelby x reader #arthur shelby x sister reader #arthur shelby x reader platonic #child reader #peaky blinders x reader platonic #peaky blinders x child reader #peaky blinders x sister reader #sister reader

[pherelesytsia]

Coming Home before Christmas

Pairing: Thomas Shelby x female/wife/Reader

Summary: Thomas returns home and is surprised by his children worrying the Grinch will steal the sweets.

Warning: just pure Christmas fluff

Word Count: 1.1k

a/n: Requests are open!!!

Thomas Shelby Masterlist

Christmas carols, old and heard for the hundredth time, playing on a continuous loop, filled every corner and flooded the deserted rooms of the house at the end of the world, oozing with joy and the purest form of delight a heart could feel.

Blue eyes, the beauty of a summer's sky, sparkled. Charlie and his sister, dressed in jumpers with laughing reindeers and grinning snowmen sledging down the hills, tried to count the variously sized ornaments with glittering elements adorning the tree. Light wooden figures were lurking between the ornaments in reddish hues. Fairy lights twinkled like stars and rising flames gnawed at the logs.

Feet dangled from the sofa covered by dozens of pillows and fluffy blankets, hidden in a box in the attic during the warm months. The children stared impatiently at the screen, but no complaint crossed their lips. The door slammed into the lock, and a bunch of keys jiggled. Charlie, threw the blankets aside and jumped followed by his sister off the sofa, ran past the kitchen island and Y/N looked after them as she poured the warm, not boiling liquid into the almost identical cups with rows of red flakes, dots and dancing snowman.

Joyful voices greeted the returned father. The heavy, dark leather bag fell to the ground. Thomas laughed, felt arms wrapping around his leg and he lifted the young girl from the ground, pressed her tight to his chest and ruffled the boy's hair. Snow was thawing and gossamer waterfalls danced over his face. His eyes, once dull, sparkled, forgot the past, the cruel word beyond the thick locked wooden door, and noticed the knitted jumpers.

            "We have been waiting. Come. Everything's set! We have picked out a movie. And if we are not nice, the Grinch will steal our cookies." the children sang out almost in sync as if they had been memorising the sentences on the sofa for several hours as if it was a poem.

The Shelby chuckled and settled his daughter down next to Charlie. The burden of everyday life disappeared. His right hand slipped into his coat pocket and, with the push of a button, he turned the sound of his smartphone off.

            "I'm here, Mister Grinch will not steal your cookies. Where is mom?" Thomas inquired.

The dark-haired man leaned to the side, hoping to catch sight of his wife leaning against the door, but the soft hum of a melody crossing her lips accompanied by the sound of clinking spoons let him know she was in the kitchen.

Hands reached for him, clutching his firmly and the children pulled the father still dressed in the coat into the depths of the house, past reindeers with reddish scarves and saluting nutcrackers. They ignored his complaints, wishing to finally find themselves on the sofa and turn on the fairy tale.

Entering the living room, the scent of Christmas, oranges, apples, and chocolate greeted him. His eyes slid across the richly decorated room. The reindeer pulling the swan carriage next to the nutcrackers in uniforms saluted and protected the snowmen family on the window seat, and Thomas wondered how he could have disliked Christmas, almost loathe, the merry time. The thick, indestructible layer of ice protecting his heart like a shield of silver and steel melted away. Once he would have called the reddish pyjamas with snowmen and nutcrackers childish and idiotic, something a grown woman should not wear, but it looked better on his wife than an evening gown. Her hair falling in gentle waves framed her features, touched by the soft light. The children released his hands and told him to follow swiftly, but the father didn't listen as they ran back to the sofa.

Y/N exhaled, turned, and faced her husband. He remembers, Y/N thought to herself, glancing at the clock and seeing that it was still before seven, knowing he had been thinking of them, trying to keep the promise he had made to at least try to arrive earlier to spend time with his family.

Grinning, Thomas cast his gaze over his shoulder and glanced after the chatting children. He took off the coat and threw it onto the bar stool. Thomas flashed his wife a smile, stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her waist, placed his hands on the small of her back and breathed a feather-light kiss on her lips.

            "I missed you," Thomas whispered, barely audible, but Y/N heard the words loud and clear.

            "I missed you too. How was your day? Are you tired? We waited but we can watch the movie tomorrow. You are probably exhausted. Arthur called and told me you might arrive later, that your day was rough." Y/N spoke.

Thomas chuckled, lowered his gaze to the cups with whipped cream, colourful sprinkles and chocolate flecks.

            "I'm not tired. You don't have to worry about me. I am fine. Nothing a cup of coffee can't fix and we should join the children if we want cookies." Thomas answered.  

Y/N didn't have to look at the table, heard the giggling children tampering with the round white and silver plates, searching for the most delicious biscuits and devouring them as if they hadn't eaten in days.

            "You should have seen them in the afternoon when they came from school and kindergarten. You might have noticed, but the gingerbread house is gone. I was in the shower, maybe ten minutes gone, and when I returned, the house was gone." Y/N breathed.

Astonished, Thomas turned and noticed that instead of the gingerbread house was a reindeer on the mantlepiece.

            "I noticed the sweets were missing." Thomas laughed.

            "The gingerbread wasn't even soft. It was hard as a rock. But they didn't mind. They drank at least a litre of milk to soften it. And now they are planning to build a new house and I am surprised that their stomach doesn't ache." reported Y/N.

She leaned her head on his chest. His fingers sank into her hair, brushed through the light waves, and breathed lovely words into her ear. The children switched off the lamp and the only source of light was the dimly glowing Christmas tree, and Charlie called out to the parents, gazing into each other's eyes like love-struck lovers.

#thomas shelby #thomas shelby x y/n #peaky blinders imagine #tommy shelby fanfic #thomas shelby x reader #tommy shelby fic #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x you #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby imagine #peaky blinders fanfic #tommy shelby one shot #thomas shelby imagine #thomas shelby x you #tommy shelby x reader #christmas #thomas shelby fluff #peaky blinders x reader #thomas shelby x pregnant reader #imagine #john shelby #thomas shelby x imagine #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinders #peakyblinders #x reader #reader insert #peaky fookin blinders #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder headcanon

[runnning-outof-time]

Back From Business | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: no - part of my Countdown to Christmas Event

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: In which Tommy surprises his family by coming home from business just in time for the Christmas festivities to begin at Arrow House.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1577

A/N: I got a little carried away with this one … it was a joy to write though. Only got 5 days left!! Enjoy! :)

Let me know if you want to be tagged in future stories similar to this one!

Tommy walked into his home and was immediately met with the sight of the several boxes that were strewn about the foyer. He looked to both sides of the room but found no one. Before he was able to call out for Frances, a voice came from the stairs: "you know, I'll mind the glasses, Tom, but the hat's a little too much."

(Y/N) was in the process of walking down the steps as she spoke, and all Tommy could do was chuckle as she made her way over to him. "Figured you wouldn't like it," he stated, taking the fedora-style hat off of his head.

"You're back early," she commented, taking hold of his cheeks so that she could bring him in for a kiss. It had been two weeks since she'd tasted the sweetness of his lips...which was too long in her opinion.

"Dottie sent a message out...said that I was needed to come home," he told her once they pulled away.

(Y/N) sighed and shook her head at the information Tommy gave her. "That girl..." she trailed off.

"Has something happened?" he questioned, his brows furrowed.

"No," (Y/N) looked up at him again, "she just wanted you home to help decorate," she then told him the real reason behind their five year old daughter's "urgent" message. Tommy shook his head as a smile formed on his face.

Before anything else could be said, a squeal from the person in question emanated from the top of the stairs. "Daddy! You're home!" she shrieked as she rushed down to greet him.

Tommy couldn't stop himself from scooping her up into his arms, but (Y/N) didn't let her façade crack so easily. "What did I tell you about sending messages to your father while he's on business, Dorothy Shelby?" she questioned the child, her eyebrow raised as she set both hands on her hips.

Dottie immediately knew that she'd have some explaining to do. "I really wanted him to come home so that he could help us. He's always home for decorating," she pleaded her case, making sure to lay it on thick with the puppy dog pout.

(Y/N) exchanged a look with Tommy upon hearing her daughter's statement. He said nothing, and only subtly shrugged his shoulders. The fact that she would have to go at this alone made her let out a sigh of defeat. "I know you mean well, love, but how about from now on, we only save messaging daddy for instances where there's actual problems?" she came up with a solution for the situation, one that made Dottie not her head fervently.

"Ok, mummy," she agreed verbally as well, a smile appearing as she shifted her gaze to her father, "will you help us decorate now, dad?" she asked, hope present in her eyes.

"Of course, love," Tommy agreed to her ask almost instantly, making Dottie's smile widen even more. She cheered upon hearing his response, then telling her parents that she'd be in the living room - the first room they'd decorate.

"She definitely knows how to get what she wants," (Y/N) commented once Dottie had left the room.

"Yes, she does," Tommy agreed with a nod.

"Reminds me of her father in that regard," she added, then turning to face her husband with a grin.

Surprise spread across his face as he hear what she had to say. "Really? I was thinkin' she was like her mother there," he countered, his words making her roll her eyes as her smile grew. Her response made him laugh.

"How 'bout we go decorate?" she suggested amidst his laughter, her hip popped out once again. Tommy grinned at her before he nodded his head, dropping his briefcase to the ground then so that he could follow his wife into the living room, where their daughter was already in the middle of untangling strings of garland.

—

"You're gonna have to lift me for this part, dad," Dottie stated as she grabbed the golden star from the box of decorations.

"I am?" Tommy feigned confusion, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"You are. How else am I going to put this star on top?" Dottie questioned him, her hip popped just like her mother. Tommy couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She truly was a mini (Y/N).

"Let's give it a try then, eh?" he stated, moving over to lift her up. Holding her in his arms didn't get her high enough, so he rested her on his shoulders, holding onto her legs for support.

"Be careful, Dottie," (Y/N) called from where she was setting up the candle-holders across the room.

"I'm always careful, mum!" the girl called back, focused on her goal as she then instructed Tommy to move closer to the tree. She continued to direct him as she got to the perfect spot to stick the star on top. "There. Perfect!" she called, clapping her hands together once she'd completed the task, "bring me down now, dad!"

Tommy did just that, bringing her back down to the ground, but not without making sure to tickle her sides first. That turned Dottie into a laughing mess before she went and tried to begin tickling Tommy. A tickle war quickly ensued, one that continued until (Y/N) had to step in and break it up so that they could continue with decorating.

—

"What do you wanna go into my office for, Dot?" Tommy questioned as he followed his daughter down the hallway.

"You need some Christmas in your work room too, daddy," she insisted, carrying a ceramic tree and a reindeer statue in either of her hands.

"Do I?" he asked her, his eyebrows raised as she stopped at the locked door and turned back to look at him.

"Absolutely," she stood her ground, an assured smile on her face, "can you open the door, please?" she asked sweetly then, an ask that Tommy couldn't refuse. He let her enter the room first before following in behind her. "I think these would look perfect right...here," she decided, setting the tree and reindeer right next to a framed photo of her mother and father.

"I think that's a good spot for it, Dottie," Tommy agreed with her decision, a smile on his face.

"Can you read me a story, dad?" she asked out of the blue.

"You've any books in here?" he questioned her, not remembering if she'd stashed any during any of her previous times in the room.

"I don't," her face fell silently, "I can go get one!" she said then, thinking on her feet to come up with a solution.

"How about I tell you a story instead?" he suggested an idea of his own, his eyebrows raised slightly as he waited for her response.

"You know stories by heart?" Dottie seemed surprised.

"Course I do. Why don't I tell you about the time that uncle John started opening all of our presents three days early because he thought that it was Christmas, and that we were trying to prank him?" he suggested a story from his childhood to her.

Dottie nodded with an excited look on her face, and the two moved over to the couch where they could get comfortable so that the story could be told. She listened intently as her father told the story, laughing as he did his best to imitate his brothers and detail their reactions to what had happened. She laughed the most when he tried to do the voice of her grandmother. She always laughed when Tommy tried to do women’s voices.

“Can you tell me the story of how uncle Arthur introduced mum to you?” she asked once the first story was finished.

“You want to hear that one again?” Tommy questioned, knowing full well what the answer would be. She loved hearing of how her parents met, as it was quite the story.

He wasn’t able to start the story however. “Are you two taking a break from decorating in here?” (Y/N)’s voice came from the doorway of the office.

Tommy turned his head to respond, but Dottie beat him to it. “Daddy’s telling me stories,” she said with a smile on her face.

“Stories?” (Y/N) sounded intrigued.

“Yes! He’s going to tell me the one of how you met him!” Dottie’s smile grew.

(Y/N) looked at Tommy, who was trying to hold back his smile. She’d never heard about their meeting from his point of view and was intrigued to see how he detailed it. “Am I allowed to hear this story as well?” she asked, stepping into the room.

“Of course, mummy!” Dottie cheered before Tommy could say anything.

(Y/N) looked to Tommy then, waiting for him to nod before she made her way over to the couch. She tucked herself into Dottie’s side, who then promptly spread herself out across both of her parents’ laps, which meant (Y/N) was now sitting against Tommy. He smiled at her and made sure that Dottie was comfortable before he began telling the story of how he and (Y/N) met.

There was still a great deal of decorating to be done around Arrow House, but (Y/N) wasn’t the slightest bit worried about it. What mattered the most now was that Tommy was back from business and her family was together again.

———

Tagged: @mgcllovdrms @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @elenavampire21 @peaky-cillian @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @notyour-valentine @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @tommystargirl @stevie75 @lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife @anotherblinder @midnightmagpiemama @cillmequick @rangerelik @lovemissyhoneybee @dandelionprints @letal-y-poetica @raincoffeeandfandoms @itscheybaby @gypsy-girl-08 @lora21 @insanitybyanothername

MASTERLIST

Countdown to Christmas MASTERLIST

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby blurb #peaky blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders x y/n #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders blurb #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #k’s countdown to christmas

[loveisalwaystheanswer]

#dear teamgrace this is my christmas present for you ❤️ #tommy x grace #tommy shelby #grace burgess #grace shelby #peaky blinders #liata edits #parallels #words about tg #ts x peaky #tswift lyrics #marjorie #userkayjay #userrobin #peakyedit #peakyblinded #usershelby #cillian murphy #annabelle wallis #and btw if anyone dare say that it's unrelated #i'll be furious

[forgottenpeakywriter]

Hope ya'll have a Merry Christmas.

@runnning-outof-time @creativepawsworld @happysparklingshadows @queenshelby @gypsy-girl-08 @cillmequick @look-at-the-soul @beastofburdenxo @your-nanas-house @mrkdvidal1989 @shynovelist @gridmouse86 @no-fooking-fighting @weirdworldofwinnie @talking4the1 @red-write-hand @birminghamshelbyboys @nimnim-girl @hanawrites404 @clowntazer @deceitfuldevout @theimperiumchronicles @lacontroller1991 @brownskinsugarplum76 @camewiththeframe @aphroditeslover11 @acewritesfics @aranoburns @rogers060967

#thomas shelby #cillian murphy #tommy shelby #peaky blinders #oppie #oppenheimer movie #wallpaper #merry christmas

[beautifultypewriter]

The Second Day of Christmas ~ Arthur Shelby

Prompt: Seeing the first snowfall of the year

Pairing: Arthur Shelby x reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 487

A/N: I actually really love how this turned out and I want to say thank you so much to the anon who requested a first snowfall with Arthur.

With a quiet groan, you rolled over in your bed, pulling out of the arms that had been wrapped around you. Slowly, you opened your eyes, closing them again almost instantly, but then they snapped open again. You sat up abruptly, your eyes moving to the window of your shared bedroom. A small smile spread across your face as you jumped up from the bed, narrowly avoiding the arms that had reached out to grab you again. Arthur groaned as he opened one eye to stare at you as you rushed around the room, pulling on a pair of old trousers and a knit sweater. Hopping on one foot, you pulled on a thick wool sock, your other foot bare still. Arthur groaned again as he pulled the blanket tighter around himself, a shiver passing through him, “Come back to bed. S’cold.”

You glanced back at him quickly as you pulled your other sock on, “Snow.” And then you were rushing from the room and down the stairs, taking them two at time. You nearly tripped on the last step, but gripped the banister tightly and pulled yourself up. Rushing to the back door, you grabbed your boots and hastily slid them on and pulled open the door. As soon as you felt the cold air on your skin, you slowed down. Beautiful, shining snowflakes were still falling around you and you spun slowly in your spot, closing your eyes and breathing in the crisp winter air. You heard the back door open and close and the crunching of snow beneath Arthur’s boots. Your spinning halted and you faced your husband, your smile growing at the sight of snowflakes sticking to his mustache.

Arthur stepped over to you, draping your coat over your shoulders, “Forget something?” He was trying not to smile, and you laughed, shoving your arms in the sleeves of the coat, and fastening the buttons. Leaning forward, you pressed a quick kiss to Arthur’s lips and grabbed his hand. Leaning back again, you let yourself fall into the snow, pulling Arthur with you. His eyes widened as he tried to stop himself from falling, but ultimately failed. He fell next to you, the snow sticking to his coat as he rolled over slightly to get up, but you held tight to his hand, smiling at him as the flurries continued to fall, landing in your hair, and melting against the warmth of your skin. Arthur looked down at you and smiled. He laid back, feeling the chill of the snow against his neck, but it quickly disappeared as your free hand moved to caress his cheek. Despite the weather, it was warm, and he melted into your touch, his eyes closing for a brief moment. When he opened them again, you were cuddled up to his side, looking up at the sky, snowflakes catching in your lashes and a warm smile on your face.

#arthur shelby x reader #arthur shelby imagine #peaky blinders imagine #12 days of christmas drabble event

[kiss-me-hardy]

Merry Christmas you Hardy fans😘

#tom hardy #merry christmas #peaky blinders #mad max #venom #dog

[unknowntoyou2205]

make it to Christmas 2/3

Info: Christmas for the Shelby clan were never special, but this year seems to be the worst as y/n the youngest has been diagnosed with the illness that takes many away, but y/n is adamant on giving the Shelby's something to remember her by.

Masterlist

Y/n lay in her bed, feeling tired yet energetic for the first time in weeks since her diagnoses. Many days she spent laying around, no energy for anything, barely able to eat anything substantial without throwing it back up. Her family were beyond worried for her and feared she wouldn't make it to the end of the year. They knew at this stage that their angel of light wouldn't recover from the deathly disease that took many, and they could only hope that she would see her favourite day of the year one last time.

Y/n herself knew that her days left were limited. At eleven years old she was a smart girl and knowing the results of her sickness being lethal, she wanted to make sure that her family would remember her, even when she was gone. She made it her mission to spend what little energy she had to find something for each family member, something that would cause them to remember the good times they had together. She wasn't aloud to leave her room unless she needed the bathroom, so all she had was what was in her room.

"How are you feeling today y/n?" Polly asked asked her niece as she walked into the isolated child's room with some soup. "Fine." The girl shrugged before looking up from her drawing to see the bowl in her aunts hand, "Soup again?" She groaned causing her aunt Pol to chuckle lightly. "Well nice to see your energy is back." The woman stated, even though she knew it was temporarily. "Can't I have something else for once?" The younger girl whined, moving her picture out of the way. "You know anytime you eat anything solid you get sick, this is only thing you can keep down." Her aunt replied before placing down the bowl on the bedside table and sitting beside the young girls feet as the girl slowly began to feed herself, hand shaking occasionally.

Polly watched her niece as she slowly fed herself, seeing the struggle she faced with each spoonful. The older woman sighed quietly, knowing the young girl didn't have much time left. Her little angel would be lucky to make it to Christmas, but she doubted it would be the new year. Pollys thoughts were disrupted when she heard coughing and looked up to see y/n slouched over, coughing up some soup. The young girls aunt tuts in comfort, taking the spoon out of her hand and replacing it with a tissue, which y/n placed to her mouth. Polly gasped as the tissue was brought back from the mouth to see blood on it. Y/n looked up horrified at the sight, wide eyes looking up at her aunt.

"It's okay." Polly comforted the girl, rubbing her arm gently before taking the half empty bowl and heading for the door, turning back to watch as the young girl rolled onto her side, falling asleep instantly. "Lord, watch over y/n as I pray she makes it till Christmas to enjoy her favourite holiday amen." Polly looked up before leaving the room.

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Tommy and Arthur sat at the kitchen table, smoking a cigarette each in silence. John stood against the kitchen stove, a glass of whisky in his hand. No one spoke, just sitting in silence until they heard sounds of footsteps walking down the stairs. The two smoking stubbed their cigarette when they seen their aunt come into view, eyeing her as she remained silent while she walked over to the sink with a bowl, cleaning it.

"How is she?" John asked, wanting to know how her youngest sister was. "Pol?" Tommy called out to his aunt when she didn't reply. "She coughed up blood today." Was all Pol stated, not looking up at her nephews as she finished drying and putting away. "Fuck." Arthur cursed, each Shelby brother knowing what that meant. "Is she asleep?" Tommy asked. "Yes, she tired herself after her coughing episode, barely ate even half of the soup I gave her, her appetite and energy is getting worse Tommy, I don't think she has long left." Polly stated, causing the Shelby boys to look down. "Don't say that Pol, y/n's a fighter." John stated in a broken voice. "John she's up there in that room day in day out, her energy is zero to none most days. You really think that's a good thing. She's withering away to nothing, which isn't a god thing." Pol spoke harshly, causing John to flinch, "Time to face it, we're not going to get our y/n back, we just need to make sure she's comfortable till her last." Pol stated softly, and all shelbys present nodded in agreement.

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That night Tommy made his way to y/n's room before heading to bed. Ever since she was little she always snuck in her older brothers room, and since she was sick and unable to, Tommy began to do it. He wanted to make sure that she knew he was there for her, even though majority of the time the young girl was asleep by the time he checked in on her. The second oldest moved closer to the youngest bed, despite the fact he knew that aunt Pol hated any of them being close to her incase they got the spanish flu, her reasoning being it was bad enough one of them had it without everyone else in the house getting it. He moved her hair back, feeling the heat she obtained from her fever. Looking away from her, Tommy seen a picture she drew and smiled slightly before looking back at his youngest sibling.

"You need to fight this y/n, we need you to last for your favourite holiday, it'll be the best one yet you'll see." Tommy spoke softly, kissing the girls head before moving towards the door

His movement was halted by the sound of abrupt coughing coming from behind him- his eyes widened as he heard chocking and turned around to see y/n sitting up, struggling to breath.

"Aunt Pol." He shouted loudly as he opened the bedroom door, before rushing back to help his sister.

Y/n continued to struggle to breath as Tommy reached her, and he moved behind her and helped her it up right, thumping her back gently to dislodge what was most likely phlegm stuck in her throat. He didn't look up as Polly came rushing into the room, her house coat thrown on in her rush to get to her nephews shouts. She gasps as she sees Tommy trying to help his sister with the phlegm, her eyes widening when the young girl finally does, thick green and bloody mucous flying out of her mouth followed by constant heaving. Tommy rubbed the young girls back as she got sick.

"This isn't good Tommy." Polly stated with sadness as she watched her niece lie in her brothers arms tiredly after her episode. "Call the family, tell them to drop everything and come home." Tommy stated as he rocked his sister gently as she fell back asleep. "She's not going to make it, is she Tommy." Polly asked in defeat. "We'd be lucky if she makes it to tomorrow." Tommy stated with a sigh, realizing how bad his sister was.

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The following day the family gathered as Polly requested, and were currently in y/n's room, all sitting around her bed, Tommy had stayed with y/n after her episode while Pol called the family and told them to come to the house. They all knew by the call that y/n wasn't going to make it as they hoped

Polly sat at the head of the bed, watching y/n's face as sweat formed in beads, rolling down the young girls face, Arthur and John leaned against the wall, heads down in defeat as they realized that their sister was going to die from the one thing they couldn't protect her from. Ada sat with Finn on her knee, hugging the young boy close, not believing all that was happening while Finn sniffled into her chest, crying of the soon to be loss of his twin sister. Tommy was still lying with y/n, having not moved from his place after helping her earlier in the night. The Shelby family sat in silence just watching over the youngest as she struggled to breath properly, the silence only being disrupted by coughing before y/n's eyes opened

"Hey , it's okay." Tommy soothed the young girl, rubbing her arm in comfort. "Tommy." The girl stated weakly, voice barely audible. "Yeah, it's me, how you feeling." Tommy asked, watching as y/n's eyes fluttered consistently. "Tired." Was all she got out before closing her eyes again. "Hey y/n, keep your eyes opened." John stated, wanting her sister to stay awake in fear of her not opening her eyes again. "Can't, so tired." Y/n stated, not able to fight the heaviness in her eyes. "Y/n sweetie, it's okay, you can rest now." Pol spoke, tears in her eyes as she spoke. "Under, bed." Y/n stated, "Love you." She stated before closing her eyes.

The Shelby family watched as the youngest eyes closed for the last time before listening to her breathing slow before it's non existent. Tommy brought a finger to y/ns neck to feel a pulse before shaking head in sorrow, putting it down when he couldn't find one. Finn started shouting for y/n causing Ada to pull him close to try and ease his hurt, tears in her own eyes as she allowed them to fall, Arthur punched the wall in anger before John had to force him out of the room, tears in both their eyes. Polly stared at her niece with glossy eyes, not believing she was truly gone. The Shelby family had lost their angel, and Christmas wasn't Christmas without her.

#shelby family #peaky blinders #shelby x sister #tommy shelby x sister #arthur shelby #arthur shelby x sister #john shelby #john shelby x sister #ada thorne #ada thorne x sister #finn shelby #finn shelby x sister #polly shelbypolly shelby x niece #make it to christmas #shelby sister #shelby reader