Oceans [A.Shelby]

THIRTY-THREE

LILLIAN LAY bare under her sheets, her head lying against her husband's chest and her hand holding the arm that was slung around her, rubbing a sore spot near her ribs.

"If you carry on tending to my every ache and pain I might never leave," Lillian joked, the corner of Arthur's lips twitching.

"Its my job, an' I know I don't do a good job of being a husband, but I'm trying, and I'll keep trying." Arthur promised her.

"While I'm in London, promise me no Tokyo and if you feel vulnerable you come to me, not your brothers." Lillian recited to her husband.

Arthur nodded in response, although the no Tokyo might be the only hitch as the man had found solace in a line of the substance each day. He wouldn't tell his wife that. While she was with him, sometimes he could keep things at bay but once the woman was gone he was swarmed by his bad choices.

"Stay here, you don't want to plan the wedding anyway," Arthur murmered against her lips to which a small laugh escaped them.

"He's my brother, I don't have a choice. Not when my mother's involved," She replied.

There was a quiet pause between the pair before Arthur spoke up.

"I love you Lil," Arthur told his wife, before taking hostage of her lips once more. As much as the pair loved to be rough and Arthur had once taken her to a different world in every room of their house, instead that night showed their love for eachother in a much more gentle, tender way. Whisperings in eachother's ear, soft noise escaping the woman's lips, hands smoothing over her tender skin. Everything was changing, but in each others arms and with every long devoted kiss placed on each others lips did the pair feel settled.

Before leaving for London, Lillian first had her driver stop for a short break in Sutton Coldfield where for days she had discovered Polly's son, Michael had been settling himself into their life.

She was intrigued, she knew the boy would be far from a Shelby, raised by soft parents with a good education, perhaps in a small godly village or on a farm. Far away from smoke and guns and the Peaky Blinders themselves. The woman did enjoy prying and that was something she received from her mother.

How innocent he looked for a boy of nearly 18, she had a suspicion that would soon change with time well spent alongside his cousins. It made her pity him and pity Polly.

"Michael, this is your cousins wife, Lillian. Lillian, this is my son, Michael." Polly introduced the pair.

"Its a pleasure to meet you, I hear a congratulations are in order, you look beautiful nevertheless." The boy spoke as if he was from a good background, like his mother had sat down at a table each night and read with him or wrote with him. She took extra care to teach him right from wrong and the do's and dont's from society. The boy seemed as if he had been sheltered.

"Please don't flatter me Michael, I'll become to accustomed to it, I dare say I don't receive much of it." Lillian grinned as she laughed, lowering herself into a chair which she must admit, was becoming a little difficult, it being February and Lillian officially being nearly seven months.

"How did you and my cousin meet? You don't sound like you're from around here?" Michael questioned in curiosity as he placed some tea in front of her.

"I'm a Londoner, I wasn't very disciplined back then, I enjoyed sneaking around." Michael raised a brow, he could tell just by the look of her dress, he knew that his cousin's money surely couldn't have paid for it. He was certain he had once seen her face somewhere in a paper, too.

"The pair were trouble together, you could see it from a mile away the minute the pair were together." Polly added in amusement.

"That's another thing," Lillian began as she stirred some sugar into her cup, "ignore your cousins' advice on women, their hearts are in the right place but they couldn't be more wrong if they tried."

Lillian left not long after, it would be a long drive to London, she picked up her brother along the way and they both travelled together.

That evening, once Lillian had arrived in London, the pair seemed to walk into a household argument that echoed off the walls.

Lillian edged over to where faith stood outside the library, raised voices could be heard from inside.

"What's going on?" Lillian asked her sister-in-law to-be.

"I'm not really sure, he'd been acting off all day and then he just exploded on your father."

"I'm not him! I'm not Theo! I'm never going to be the perfect son you asked for, stop trying to make me into a man that I am not. If you're so bothered, why shouldn't Theo inherit the business like was always intended," Edward's voice was raised, but her father's voice was far more powerful. She could see staff lingering around the entrance trying to hear the latest gossip from their household.

"You know very well why your brother cannot inherit the business!" Behind the door, William's face was red with fury at his youngest child's outburst.

"No, I don't because you never actually told any of us!" Edward snapped, Lillian cautiously opening the door to the library to make their entrance known, Dora clocked her two oldest's entrance, but William did not and so continued.

"He is not of sound mind! I cannot have an unpredictable son running a business that has been in my family for generations!" After his outburst, the silence became deafening for the family, Lillian shuffling on her feet as William finally noticed his children.

"Tell me, Lil, am I unpredictable?" Theo's tone dropped in sarcasm as he turned to his sister with a quirked brow.

"Absolutely not, did you fight for our country on the front line, yes. And like many other men it affected you. The same cannot be said for the men who cowered behind and allowed others to do their job for them." Lillian's tone hardened as she glared at her father.

Lillian and her father were always neck to neck, she loved her siblings fiercely and was unafraid to defend them. Especially on the topic of Theo's 'unsound mind'.

"Your children will never be good enough for you. From all three of your children, we can agree it's set an example for the parent we aspire not to be." She left the room, her fathers burning gaze on her back as she apologised to Faith for having to witness the family fallout.

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authors note; for those in the UK like me, happy premier day of Season 6! Please be mindful as to not post any spoilers in your stories or on your message walls as there are many on here who will not have access for quite some time :)