Forbidden Alliances // Alfie Solomons Peaky Blinders

(74) A Dream

*edited 03/19/23*

"My aunt was just so mean... and she wasn't just saying mean things to be mean... She meant it like she was looking out for me..."

Freya's head was pressed to his chest as she held onto him, swaying and rocking as her hands were hooked around his shoulders.

"She's concerned about what you and I do and say to each other. She's worried about me and that's so much worse than anything Tommy could've said," she sighed, looking to the mattress as they slowly danced to the sound of the clock ticking above the mantle and the fire crackling beneath it.

"I doubt you talk about me," Alfie grumbled. "She only knows what Tommy tells 'er, dunnit she?" Alfie tried to reassure her.

"Probably not," she sighed. "She's... Polly's been like a mother to me and she wouldn't listen to Tommy without doing her own research. She wouldn't have come to me like that if she didn't come to that conclusion on her own."

Alfie stroked the back of Freya's head until she decided to speak up again.

"You're warping my mind," she whispered, pressing her lips to the center of his chest before lifting her head up and meeting Alfie's gaze. "I know they're wrong about you," she admitted with half-lidded eyes. "I've never ignored their protests before. Never like this. Not when they all seem to want us apart."

As Freya spoke, all Alfie could think about was his time with her younger brother. The worst thing to tell a man in love is to tell him he can't give his love everything she deserves.

It was one thing for him to think it, but it was another to have another man tell you that and he knew it. Freya didn't deserve the shit that came with him. She deserved a kind, old soul who wasn't riddled with religion when she herself wasn't religious. She deserved a man who had more to lose. She deserved a man who had more.

John made it very clear to him that Freya was sensitive but would refuse to let others know that. She was empathetic but she wouldn't always let others know that.

Her brother made it very clear to him that she was wild. John said she was reckless and strong-willed, headstrong and stubborn when driven by passion. She was a woman who needed deep emotional support and connection. She needed that and even though he could give her that, he didn't know if he could in public. In front of enemies, in front of other men...

The only reason people could trust Alfie with his protection was that he had a good head. He was an intricate thinker and knew how to manipulate people into doing things he wanted. He knew how to fuck with people's minds because he valued his own. People were scared of him. If they knew his heart existed in this beautiful woman, they would fear him less and his worth to the world would dwindle.

He didn't have much in his name but considering his discrimination, he was doing pretty well. But when compared to the Shelby company and their assets, their street respect, their power... Alfie was short-handed.

If he exposed how dearly he cared for Freya in front of them, he didn't know if he could continue to hold what little he already had in Camden Town.

"What is it?"

Alfie shook his head as she brought him back to reality.

"What are you thinking? You're awfully quiet..." A smile crept onto her face like a child being shown a pony for the first time. "And that's saying a lot," she giggled.

"Oi," Alfie retorted, pulling back and shaking his head offendedly. He let her simmer in her humor before rolling his eyes and meeting her gaze as he took the mockery. "I'm just wonderin' wot John-Boy's said to you..."