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Tommy
Polly had gotten in his head. Tommy felt guilty. It was the worst he had felt about staying in Birmingham since the end of the war. He tried to tell himself that she didn't know what the situation was like, that she didn't know how he felt, that she didn't understand the scale of the Peaky Blinders. But he knew that wasn't true. Polly wasn't thick.
Tommy sighed as he watched the road clear as he walked down the street. He had excused himself from the Garrison where he was drinking with his brothers, and had managed to walk to the lower edge of Birmingham, where he wouldn't usually go. Perhaps that was why so many of the unfamiliar faces looked terrified as he stared them down while passing.
At the bottom of the street, a crowd had gathered around the market stalls. That was when Tommy stopped dead in his tracks, his breath latched in his throat.
It couldn't be, he thought, as his eyes searched the crowd for the light blonde hair that was engraved in his memories. Was he imagining it? Had Thomas Shelby finally gone man? Though he wouldn't have been surprised if the answers had been yes, Tommy hurried forward, pushing his way through the bustling people until he met her in the middle.
It was like running after a ghost. She seemed to dive and scurry behind every stall or corner before he could even get close. It was almost as if she had walked her way through them, disappearing from his sight into thin air.
"Lucille?" He asked loudly, causing heads to turn his way, meeting him with wide eyes.
The woman that he had set his eyes on hadn't heard him. It was at that point, as he shouted once again, that he finally admitted to himself that he was no good in Birmingham. That he needed to go to France to see her- the woman that he was chasing visions of through the street. He had turned back, losing hope, when he heard her voice. The same voice that had woken him from his death-like sleep in France.
"Tommy?" She asked, her doe-like eyes staring up at him in disbelief, an expression that easily matched his own.
"Lucille!" Tommy smiled, watching as she hurried toward him, her hand twisted weirdly behind her.
"I never thought I'd see you again!" She exclaimed as she brought a hand to his cheek.
Tommy ignored the looks that were given from all around them. They wouldn't dare say anything about Tommy Shelby anyway. But he was a man of privacy, and so he pulled her to the side, dodging behind a stall after shooting the owner a warning glance.
"I didn't know if you were alive." She said, her eyes glossy as if she were about to cry
"You're here." Tommy muttered.
The sight of her soft floral attire and straw bucket hat amazed him among the dingy Birmingham skies. She seemed out of place like a sun in the night sky, her pearly smile lifting a weight from his chest. He lifted a hand to her cheek, tucking the golden strand behind her ear.
"I don't know where I am." She admitted with a laugh. "I was hoping for the best, and here you are!"
She stared him up and down, taking in his appearance. Tommy knew that she would be thinking about how different he looked. He no longer scuffed it in old clothes or his uniform. His hair was longer too and his face more structured from the efforts of war. As her eyes fluttered over his face, he felt himself becoming nervous, anticipating what she would think of him. Wondering whether she'd be disappointed by his new look. He had to admit that it was different, even for him, with his Peaky cap and black coat. Tommy found himself absentmindedly running a hand over his jaw as she gazed up at him.
"Was I close?" She asked and Tommy nodded slightly.
"Twenty minutes away, but close." He shrugged with a laugh. He had lost his ability to speak.
Tommy hadn't realised the fact that she had left so much behind to be there. The fact that she had left her only family, her country and friends. He also hadn't noticed the little girl that stood behind her skirt, clinging to both her mother's soft hand and the floral material that draped down in front of her, hiding her curious gaze. But as she leaned to the side, taking in the man who stared at her mother in a funny way, Tommy knew who she was in an instant.
He felt as if the air had been held in gust throat as he looked down at the young girl. Those eyes, he thought. They were the eyes that he looked into on a daily basis. The eyes that belonged to his brother, his family's blood.
"This is-" Lucille began to say, but Tommy didn't need her to finish. He could say it proudly for himself.
"Our daughter."
The breath that he held had been let out as he whispered the words, only to be sucked back again, held hostage as he waited for her to speak first. He couldn't breath. Nothing in his entire life had prepared him well enough for this moment; for the rush of emotions that sent shivers up his arms and spine and coursed lively through his blood.
He felt everything at once: happiness, love, panic, fear, anxiety and amazement. This little girl was their daughter.
"This is Ada."
He smiled at the name as he bent down, squatting at eye level to the young girl. Ada giggled as she watched his wide eyes look at her, before hiding behind her mother again.
"I never thought I'd see you again. So I named her after the sister that you told me about. To feel closer to you." Lucille explained.
"She looks just like you." Tommy commented. She had the blonde hair and rosy cheeks. "Beautiful."
Lucille visibly blushed. She pushed her daughter forward lightly toward him. "Remember what I said Ada? Daddy."
"Hello." He said and Ada giggled again, lifting her hands up to poke his face as she waddled toward him.
Tommy couldn't ignore the growing feeling in his stomach. He cursed himself- never had he felt so emotional- it was a problem. What did she think of him? What would she think of him once she found out what he did?
And Ada. Birmingham wasn't safe. Not when she was Tommy Shelby's daughter. He stepped back, putting his hands in his pocket again as he looked between them. Ada had gone back to tugging on her mother's skirt and Lucille was looking up to him, her brows furrowed while biting her lip.
"Are you okay?" She asked, and Tommy nodded. "It is okay that we're here?"
Tommy was stuck thinking, and as he realised, he stuttered. "Hm? Yes, yes."
"We should go meet my Aunt Pol." He turned around, his hands still comfortably in his pockets as he nudged his head to leave. "She'll know what to do."
"Do about what?" Lucille stopped walking after him as she heard him say this.
Tommy held his breath, shaking his head. He hadn't meant to offender her. But these were difficult times and he couldn't risk being blinded by emotions.
Tommy! What are you doing?😭 Unedited This was supposed to be out earlier but my WiFi has been so rubbish sorry.
