Can Daphne stick by Tommy's side when his ambition has no limits? A slow burn Thomas Shelby fanfic.

After abruptly calling off her arranged engagement to a wealthy but cruel London banker, Clara Whitlow is sent away in disgrace by her parents. To avoid scandal, they send her north to Birmingham to live with her aunt and uncle, who promise to "keep her in line." Clara expects a dull exile-grey streets, strict manners, isolation. Instead, she meets Ada Shelby, a young fiercely loyal woman with a rebellious soul. Clara and Ada become unexpected best friends, despite coming from completely different worlds. Soon Clara meets Thomas Shelby. Ada's older brother and falls for him almost instantly. "Stay away from the Shelbys. Especially Thomas Shelby." But warnings come too late.

Watercolour eyes Watercolour eyes Watercolour eyes That don't make it right Watercolour eyes Watercolour eyes Watercolour eyes That don't make it right Why you always doing that? Breaking up with me then making up Just to make me mad, oh Hey, why? That don't make it right 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐲?

Lillian was the girl Polly Gray raised. Michael was the son she lost. For seven years, Lillian was a Shelby, the living embodiment of a promise made to her dead mother. Then Michael Gray came home, and suddenly she was just the substitute. She was supposed to hate him for stealing her place. He was supposed to resent her for living the life that should have been his. But in the smoke-filled rooms and stolen glances, they found something else: something dangerous and utterly consuming. .......... His gaze was heavy. "Don't look at me like that, Lilly," he warned, his voice a low rumble that did traitorous things to her insides. "As if you're not looking at me the same way."

"I know you are a man who has lost a great deal, Mr. Shelby. And I know that fear is the only language you think Birmingham speaks. But I have spent ten years with the Sisters; your shadows don't frighten me nearly as much as the thought of a child going without a coat tomorrow." She is a woman of cloth and conviction. He is a man of lead and whiskey. Mabel is the lead teacher at the Grace Shelby Institute, a place built on the sins of the Shelby family. She isn't under any illusions about who pays her wages; she's seen the blood on the notes. But while the rest of Small Heath trembles at the click of iron-shod heels in the night, Mabel simply keeps her needle moving. When Thomas Shelby wanders into her classroom at two in the morning, he's looking for the silence his own mind refuses to give him. Instead, he finds a woman who refuses to be his victim or his devotee. To Tommy, she is a sanctuary he doesn't deserve. To Mabel, he is a soul that no amount of prayer can fix-but that doesn't mean she won't try. A story of faith, fire, and the mending of a man who thought he was beyond repair.

Birmingham Central Library, 1930 The hush of the library was not the sort Tommy Shelby was used to. It wasn't the thick, reverent quiet of a church or the loaded silence of a negotiation. It was clean-almost sacred. He walked between tall oak shelves, cigarette tucked behind his ear, and the click of his polished shoes against the floorboards was the only rebellion in the air. He was looking for a record-land deeds, something clerical. Boring, Ada had said. Tommy didn't believe in boring. Every detail had a price, even the dull ones. A voice broke the silence before he saw her. "You can't smoke in here." He turned. She stood beneath a hanging lamp, holding a book with one finger marking her place. Dark eyes-sharp, assessing-met his with the steadiness of someone who had already measured him and found him lacking in something. Or perhaps too full of something else. "I'm not smoking," he replied, deadpan. "Yet." She raised an eyebrow. "Intent counts." Tommy allowed a hint of a smile. "Does it now?" The librarian stepped forward, slipping the book into the crook of her arm. Black hair, neatly pinned, a charcoal blouse tucked into a high-waisted skirt. Elegant. Efficient. Watchful. She looked like she belonged here-among dusty knowledge and forgotten truths. "Do you need assistance," she asked, "or are you just here to test the building's flammability?" "I'm looking for land records," he said. "Early acquisitions. 1918, Birmingham South." Her eyes narrowed, just a fraction. "That section's restricted." "Tell your supervisor I'm Thomas Shelby." She didn't flinch. "I am the supervisor." And then, something shifted. A flicker-not in her expression, but in the air between them. Magic, maybe. A pulse of something not seen, but felt. Tommy's instincts didn't know the word for it. But they knew the smell of power.

It's 1925, three years after River ran away with Newt due to her parents twisting her arm to marry Cantankerus Nott who was willing to pay a very large sum for her hand in marriage. She's returned to England instead of going to America with Newt and is spending her time running wild like a druid and chasing magical creatures rather than facing her family. She comes across a 3-year-old boy who has run into the woods because of a few mischievous pixies. River takes him into her arms, and little Charlie never wants to leave her side again. Thomas Shelby is stricken with more Grief after his son goes missing in the woods. It's been only a year since Grace was murdered. He was completely unprepared for a little woman to come dancing down his lawn with his son laughing in her arms and completely smitten with her. Suddenly, there was light in their lives again. Like the fog lifted and the stars twinkled above their heads bringing in warmth instead of smothering them in its cold embrace. Forbidden fruit never tasted so sweet. River Pandora Scamander was not normal. She was magic and the sweetest honey Tommy ever tasted. His own little bee, with eyes as blue as the sky and skin as pale as a lily. And what is it with her and animals?

DISCLAIMER- I do not have rights over the Shelby characters or the rest of the characters who appear in the Peaky Blinders, but I do have rights over Katherine Monet as well as the rest of the characters who don't appear in the Peaky Blinders series that I have made up. You were a posh and he was just some gangster who acted like an animal. You both were never meant to be together due to the fact that you both come from opposite ends of the wealth scale. Even though you couldn't change him for the way he acted, you wanted to try.

In Birmingham, it's no secret that Eve Barnes and Thomas Shelby are tied to each other, with everyone knowing their unspoken bond. But to Eve, he's always just Tommy, and their relationship remains quietly unacknowledged in the eyes of the world. When Tommy returns from the war, the Peaky Blinders face even more danger. Now, the question is: are Thomas and Eve still too scared to admit their love, or are they more afraid of the pain their connection might bring to each other? (I will be writing all the seasons depends on how the story goes so that means I will be following the time jumps!)

𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒. | (...) "𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘦, 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢, 𝘒𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘺. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯 - 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 - 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳." (...) ❝𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌, 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌, 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑.❞ 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘮'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘢, 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘺.