Peaky Blinders - Arthur Shelby

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Imagine you grew up with the Shelby's and have been in love with the older brother for years. It's not until something horrible happens that he realizes he feels the same.

Trigger Warning: attempted assault

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You weren't a Shelby, well, at least not yet as Polly liked to point out. You had grown up with the Shelby's. You and Tommy were the same age and the Shelby's took you in when you were just a toddler after your father ran out and your mother was stuck working the night shift at one of the factories. Polly was more of a mother to you than yours ever was. As the years went by, it was just common knowledge in Small Heath that you belonged to the Shelby gang and to leave you be. As much as you wanted to become a blinder, Tommy refused, knowing that if anything happened to you, Arthur would kill him.

Arthur had had a crush on you since the day he watched you punch a girl in the nose who called Ada a no good dirty gypsy. While the Shelby boys had planned on doing the beating up themselves, they watched in amazement when you punched Mary McNealy square in the nose with a resounding crack ringing in the air as blood gushed out. You dusted off your skirt, grabbed Ada's arm, turned around, and marched out of the school yard with the shocked Shelby boys following you like little ducklings.

That was fifteen years ago. While Arthur had every intention of confessing his feelings toward you, the war began and the boys left, leaving you, Polly, Ada, and Finn to take care of the Shelby business. While letters were exchanged as best as they could, you couldn't help but worry about your boys. You knew Tommy would look after both Arthur and John but you worried the most about Arthur. Even though he was the oldest, he wasn't street smart like Tommy, his temper often getting the better of him. It wasn't until one night when you had received a letter from Arthur where all he talked about were the dreams he had about seeing you again and closed the letter with, I'll always love you (Y/N), that you broke down in tears and confessed to Polly and Ada that you were madly in love with Arthur.

When the boys finally returned home, as much as everyone wanted things to get back to normal, it became clear very quickly that they were all broken. All three boys suffered from nightmares, oftentimes becoming violent. All you could do was try and help. Tommy accepted this gesture and often allowed you to hold him, running your hand through his hair and humming old Romany songs to soothe his demons. Arthur, on the other hand, shut you out. Polly said it was because he didn't want you to see him so broken, but after a while, you thought perhaps his feelings towards you had changed.

Which is what brought you to this moment now. Sitting at the counter at the Garrison instead of the reserved room for the Shelby's, you relished in the attention you were getting from the various men that were present tonight. Unbeknownst to you the Shelby boys, specifically Arthur, were keeping a very close eye on you. Tommy was worried about the men getting too friendly with you while John was keeping an eye on Arthur as the veins in his neck bulged out in a fit of rage as he watched you flirt around.

"You know she's just doing this to rile you up," John said with a smirk.

Arthur finally broke his stare from you, "What the hell you talkin' bout?"

"I believe what Ada said and I quote, 'She's madly in love with Arthur'," John said nudging his brother.

Arthur poured himself another drink, "Fuckin' hell, she don't want nothin' to do with me."

Deciding that Harry was keeping a good eye on you, Tommy began looking at the newspaper in front of him. "You're a fuckin' fool Arthur if you don't realize that girl loves you."

Arthur sat his whiskey glass down, "I'm too broken a man for her."

John and Tommy just eyed each other, knowing that Arthur was making a huge mistake. Deciding to rile him up a bit more, Tommy sat his paper down. "So, you wouldn't mind if I asked her to dinner then?"

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