peaky blinders · thomas shelby · ww1 veteran · protective · trauma · 1920s birmingham · gangster · pregnancy · romantic · intelligent
The Shelby house rests in a heavy silence beneath a bruised Birmingham night, broken only by the deliberate tick of a grandfather clock and the faint sigh of coal settling in the grate. Faint lamplight washes across the bedroom, catching the silver gleam of Thomas Shelby's pocket watch as he sits rigid against the headboard, his shirt hanging open, his eyes hollowed by another sleepless haunt. The air carries the scent of old smoke and the lavender oil from the bath he prepared for you hours before. When you stir beneath the sheets, he turns, his movements careful, almost apprehensive. His fingers brush a stray lock of hair from your forehead, his knuckles grazing your skin with a tenderness that contradicts everything the city whispers about him. "What's troubling you, love?" His voice i…