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notyour-valentine · 2 years

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Don't forget to smile :-) ~ modern!Tommy Shelby & Reader (platonic fluff/angst)

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Summary: Tommy can't think of anything more ridiculous than the cheery messages the Barista keeps scribbling down on his to go coffee cups

Note: Written for @mrsalwayswrite auparty - I know I am super late, but life was busy and I was more representative of this Tommy than this reader. Despite the delay, I still hope you still enjoy it. At least, by now, I have the element of surprise on my side!

I do not consent to my work being translated, copied or posted elsewhere on this platform or any other. This hasn't been beta'd so I apologise for typos or mistakes

Warning: anger? car crash, violence, mention of blood, a tiny bit of politics? Depression, mention of suicide. Also Crypto Bros. Expect canon confirming tone and mention of violence.

Wordcount: 2282 words

Don’t forget to smile :-)

The letters were mocking him.

The four words added in sharpie to the to-go cup, in such a haste that the drawing had been smudged slightly.

Don’t forget to smile :-)

There was very little to smile about in the life of Thomas Shelby, especially these days and so it felt like a personal attack.

He turned the cup so that he wouldn’t have to look at them.

The most annoying thing about it was that stupid smiley. It made him want to punch a hole through the to-go cup with his pen just to be rid of it.

It was as if she was trying to insult him, not just with that idiotic drawing and those empty words she always scribbled down on his cup, but with her whole demeanour.

She was always smiling.

She was always wishing everyone a “fantastic day!”

Tommy always knew some people were born with less than half a brain but very few had decided to be as blatantly obvious about it.

Always smiling, always cheery, always adding messages like these that sounded like they had been taken straight from the pages of some overpriced self help book - or from one of these idiotic motivational instagram pages that would put cheesy phrases over the backdrop of some UFC fighter who would probably subcome to CTE before he turned fifty but he looked tough so what did it matter when you could turn it into an ‘inspirational image’ with ‘good energy’

That entire generation was nothing but a collection of fools living in an echo chamber and throwing phrases like “vibes” and “energy” about, although if he told them that, they’d probably “call him out” for his “toxic masculinity” and “bad vibes”.

The fact that he knew all these things made him want to curse Ada even more, who had written her second dissertation about said ‘toxic masculinity’, or maybe third - he didn't remember, and to Finn, who only last week offered to ‘connect’ him with one inspirational speaker he really liked who was doing a podcast and really wanted Tommy to be a guest on it.

He’d rather eat broken glass.

But like most awful things in his life, that barista was unrelenting.

Apparently she was always the one doing the graveyard shifts, because it was always her handing out his coffee at the drive through in the earliest morning hours, always smiling, always with those stupid useless sayings.

The whole business would work better if their employees didn’t waste time with meaningless scribbles no one would ever bother to read.

You’re doing great!

As if Tommy Shelby needed a little barista to tell him that.

He knew he was doing great. He knew how far he had come, straight out of the social estate housing in Birmingham to the penthouses of London and New York, with businesses on every continent and a company on the stock market (and several that would never be connected to his or his family’s name).

Be proud of yourself!

Especially on a day like this with the Chinese business close to blowing up, it made him want to crumple up the cup in his hand, and preferably her idiotic smile with it.

It was just so unnecessary - a waste of time and energy, even of ink itself.

But no matter what, he could always count on those few words of writing to ruin his morning.

Today again.

You are loved!

He didn’t feel loved, if that even was a thing, not after Polly had been screaming at him for an hour straight, making his ears ring.

Then again -

Today’s a great day to have a great day!

What did that even fucking mean?

And what if some other car crashed into his on the way to work and squashed his skull to mush? That would be a sight for the firefighters that would be called to scrape his brains off of the asphalt.

The next time he’d have to teach one of his rivals a lesson, he should send them something with that saying on first, before blowing up their car or setting fire to their restaurant.

It was funny in a way.

You’ve totally got this!

He had stared at the writing for longer than he should have, having been up for nearly twenty hours now, running only on stubbornness, caffeine and desperation.

You’ve totally got this!

Tommy stared at it and thought of the little barista with her silly apron covered in coloured buttons on the side, filled with meaningless slogans and symbols.

As if putting some logo on a badge would fix things.

She was only pretending to care about these causes, about him, about all the other customers she smiled at.

But at least she’s pretending, a voice in his head reminded it. No one else is fucking doing it.

Least of all himself.

These days, Tommy was too tired to pretend, but it didn’t matter, did it?

Not really. After all, everyone was busy, everyone was desperate.

Ada was up and about changing the world, writing books and fighting causes, trying to pass laws in at least six different countries at once, while Polly was somehow at the Met Gala, the Biennale and Cannes at the same time, hardly spending half as much time in England as she was spending in Monaco or St. Tropez or the Maldives.

Arthur was already stretched to his limits, in and out of the clinical rehabs Polly and Ada put him in and the church retreats in Iowa that Linda recommended, and talking to his wife was tricky these days, after it came out that she had donated to some politician Ada hated.

At first she and his sister had been throwing insults, then food, and in the end even fists had flown.

There was no talking to any of them now.

Just him, always him.

“You’re earlier than usual!”, she remarked when he pulled up to the drive way.

Tommy only huffed.

“Have a great day!”, she told him as she handed him his coffee and a sandwich he probably wouldn’t eat.

Some days he even wondered if they would notice if he would disappear.

They would, of course, at least when the money dried up.

She was doing it for the same reason. He might not like her but he was a fair tipper.

Still, she’d notice before they would.

Which was - something? He didn’t know, and he didn’t have the energy to think about it.

London inner city traffic allowed him to glance at what she had written today

You are blessed!

Rolling his eyes, Tommy took a sip.

So meaningless. So childish. So useless.

Every single day, like an endless stream of blind idiocy.

Don’t forget to smile =)

People look up to you!

You WILL achieve your goals!

Today is EXTRA good!

You matter!

I believe in you!

Don’t forget to do what you love 🤍

You do a great job being you!

Meaningless at the best of times, mockery at the worst.

Countless times he had thought of changing the coffee place just to be rid of her needless pestering positivity, but it was the most convenient spot, besides, doing that would mean he had to concede a reaction to it and to him it was a sign of defeat to indulge fools.

Still, it was nagging at him.

This rainy Thursday she had written something particularly irritating on it.

Not only had she greeted him with a smile “You’re back!” on the first day he had returned from a work trip to Paris.

“Yeah.”, he muttered as he waited for his coffee impatiently.

As she handed him the cup, he glanced at it.

People are grateful to know you

This was reaching new depth. No one in the history of his life had ever been grateful for that.

Not a single person.

Even those people who were cursed to love him weren’t. They were grateful for his work and money, but not knowing him.

Unless -

Maybe it was the exhaustion, or simply because he couldn’t be bothered to go back to the bank to exchange his change.

Fuck it, he thought. In a way, he was only doing himself a favor as it would be useless to send someone.

So Tommy circled around the drive through and ordered some cinnamon roll from her colleague at the first window.

“You again, did you forget something?”, she asked with her beaming smile.

No.

“Ever been to Europe - “

Tommy had to squint to read her nametag.

The name suited her, in a way, even if he hadn’t suspected it.

“No, but I’d love to go to Rome!”, she said as she handed him the brown paper bag.

Tommy noticed the black writing from her pen, but didn’t read.

“Cash this time.”, he said, handing her a pound bill, and then whatever had remained in his wallet from his trip to Paris.

It wouldn’t change the world, but there was enough green and purple in there to finance a little trip for a barista.

He shoved them into her hand unceremoniously and drove off before she had the chance to react.

If she was smart, she’d hide it in her pocket, but if she chose to put it in the tip jar and share it with her colleagues, that was her business.

People are grateful to know you.

She was a fool, and Tommy couldn’t change that, but at least today he had made sure her words didn’t make her a liar.

It kept raining all through the day, and into the late afternoon, through phone calls and meetings, through Michael throwing a fit and Polly being unreachable, through everything.

“Tommy,”, Lizzie said, popping her head in through the tinted glass doors, “there’s a woman at the front desk to see you.”

“What woman?”, he asked, taking off his glasses.

“Some girl. She has something for you, something you lost and she refuses to give it to the security.”

Fucking really?

Lizzie only shrugged.

“She says its important. They’ve checked her. No weapons. She says she’s fine waiting downstairs until you come down.”

He had half a mind to test that theory, but then he shook his head.

“Send her up then.”, he muttered. The only thing less appealing to him than having to deal with some stranger was having to deal with some stranger after a long day’s work.

Five minutes later Lizzie came in again.

“I can’t send her in here, Tommy - she’s soaking. It’ll ruin the floors.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his strength before getting up to Lizzie’s office.

It took him a moment to notice her without her hat and apron, but her smile gave her away.

“Hi, so sorry for disturbing-”, she began. “I’ll be right off, I promise, but ah - you made a little mistake earlier.”

She really was soaking, from head to toe drenched and dripping, her clothes clinging to her skin. Still, she smiled.

“What?”, he asked in utter disbelief.

Reaching into her back pocket she took out the folded Euro bills he had passed her hours earlier.

“You always give my five quid - so maybe you got the colours mixed up cause this one’s green too.”

She bit her lip in embarrassment as she handed out the bills to him. Each and every one, green, yellow and purple.

“So yeah - this is yours.”

He only stared at her in disbelief.

“Are you for real?”, he demanded to know.

“Yeah.”, she said immediately. “I mean, I’d like to think I’m good at my job, but I’m not - three thousand six hundred and seventy five Euros good at my job.”

When he didn’t take the money, she put it on Lizzie’s desk who was watching the interaction with wide eyes from the window.

“Nothing we got is that good, not even the blueberry muffins.”

Tommy only stared at her.

“Anyway, that’s all.”

She was already halfway out of Lizzie’s office, her worn Converse making squelching sounds on the floor, when Tommy called her back.

“That money was for you.”, he insisted.

She stared at him with wide eyes.

“Oh but that’s a bit much.”

“So?”

She shook her head.

“Well, it's too much.”

If he thought her a fool before, he considered her little more than an idiot now.

When his disbelief kept rendering him speechless she spoke up again.

“Why don’t you put it into your charity? They’ve got a lot of flyers in the lobby and the kids probably really need it. I’ll be alright.”

Lizzie gave him a look which he tried painfully to ignore.

“I really need to go now.”, she said with an apologetic smile, “sorry for interrupting and sorry about getting the floor all wet.”

“Can I ask you something?”, Tommy asked.

“Sure.”

“Why do you always have to smile?”

She tilted her head and frowned, but then - oh wonder - she smiled.

“I read somewhere once about a man who wanted to kill himself - wanted to jump off of the Golden Gate bridge or something and was already on the way up but he didn’t do it ‘cause someone walked by him and wished him a good day and smiled at him. Made his day and saved his life.”

She shrugged.

“Don’t know if it’s true, but you never know I guess. Anyway, I really have to go or else you’ll have a proper puddle to remember me by.”

With that, she turned and opened the door.

“Have a great day!”, she chirped, the way she always did when he drove off, only this time it was her who was leaving.

The End

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and as always I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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#mzauparty #valentineswritings #don't forget to smile :-)#peaky blinders #tommy shelby #thomas shelby #modern thomas shelby #modern! thomas shelby #modern! tommy shelby #modern!tommy shelby #modern!tommy #thomas shelby x reader #tommy shelby x reader #thomas shelby imagine #tommy shelby imagine

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runnning-outof-time · 2 years

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The Light | Tommy Shelby x Reader (Royalty!AU)

(Gif by @tatianapetrovna)

Request: no - part of @mrsalwayswrite ‘s 1K Followers Celebration

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: There's no possible way for a love between (Y/N) and Thomas Shelby to work out. She's the next in line for her family's throne. His family is the one that everyone's warned about. But it does…and he even goes as far as killing for her.

Warnings: langauge, weapons, character death, sexual situations (PG-13 rated), mentions of suicide

Word Count: 4844

A/N: this is my first AU ... I have no idea what time period I envisioned this to be set in...I just went with the no limitiations mindset that AUs normally have, so please mind the possible inaccuracies. Enjoy! :)

I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! - YOUR THOUGHTS & COMMENTS HELP ME WRITE!

Let me know if you want to be tagged in future stories like this one!

The sun warmed her skin gently as she walked through the field of freshly bloomed flowers to get to the gazebo that sat at the edge of her family's property. Spring was clearly in the air, the birds were chirping, and the whole peacefulness of it all made (Y/N) want to leave the confines of her sprawling castle to go and attempt to be creative.

She ascended the few steps of the structure before sitting down on the lone chair that stood in the middle. In front of the chair was her easel, which held a blank canvas; ready for her to paint on. She put some paint onto the tray that sat in her lap before she stared out at the open meadow that was lined by rows of trees. This spot, where her family's property met the forest, was her favorite spot to come to. It felt like an entirely different world, one that she loved getting lost in.

(Y/N) began painting the scene in front of her, making sure to highlight the accents that were being enlightened by the sun. She mixed the paints to create a layered, grass-covered meadow that had different defining spots of green. Then she started working on the intricate treeline, taking her time in making sure that no tree looked the same, and that all of their unique features were present.

It was when she was focusing on the treeline that she noticed a horse trotting through the meadow with a rider on its back. She could tell from her spot that the person on top of the animal was a man, and he didn't look like any of the people who were on her family's staff. He wasn't supposed to be on their land, but he was moving at a steady pace, so (Y/N) let him be and continued on with her painting. Maybe he happened to venture onto the property accidentally.

The next day that (Y/N) found herself out on the gazebo, which was about a week later due to some rain, the horse and its rider trotted through the meadow again. She identified the rider as the same man she saw the first time, as he had a rather unique hair-do, and he rode the horse a certain way: with a confidence she hadn't seen in even the most trained riders.

She let the man go again, watching as he rode through the meadow and back into the trees. He, like her, was probably just taking advantage of the first sunny day that they'd had in a week. Maybe it was an accident that he was on their property. The horse was probably just taking him to where it wanted to go. She drew inspiration from the animal though and decided that she'd paint it into the meadow scene that she was creating on the canvas in front of her.

The third time that (Y/N) was out at the gazebo and watched the horse appear from the forest line, she decided that she should go and say something to its rider. She was starting to become curious of the reason why he'd chosen this trail to go on. Actually there wasn't even a trail present. He was just blatantly riding through their property.

She stood from her chair and set her tray down before exiting the gazebo and walking through the meadow. As she approached the rider, she started waving her hands, hoping that he'd acknowledge her. To her luck, he did. He slowed his horse down and hopped off once it had stopped.

"Can I help you?" he asked her, his eyebrows furrowed as she stopped a few steps from him.

"I can be asking you the same question. You are on my family's property," she told him, keeping her dress bunched up slightly in her hands so that the bottom wouldn't get caught in the longer grass.

"Am I?"

"You are. There's signs at the treeline. It's pretty well marked," she pointed out, motioning to the several wooden placards that were nailed into the trunks.

The man didn't look worried. "Must've missed 'em," he shrugged her statement off, making her look at him in shock. Did he not know who he was talking to? "Guess I was just so caught up in the view in front of me that I kept on going."

"It is a rather beautiful sight," (Y/N) couldn't help but agree with him. There was a reason why she liked coming out here almost every day.

"Oh, that's not what I meant. The horse enjoys the grass. I've got my eyes set on the woman who sits in that gazebo," he corrected her, a slight grin on his face as he motioned to the gazebo behind her.

(Y/N) couldn't stop the blush from forming on her cheeks at his smooth words, "and I'd be the woman in the gazebo," she pointed out the obvious, making him nod in response.

"Oh, I know, love," he told her, the grin not leaving his face as he stepped closer to her, "I'm Thomas Shelby," he introduced himself then, his hand extending between them.

"Thomas Shelby..." she tried his name for herself, a realization falling over her then, "from the Shelby family?" she asked, her eyes widening slightly. Her mood changed quickly when she realized who she was dealing with.

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Thomas remarked, bringing his hand back to his pocket because he realized that she wouldn't be returning the handshake.

"That's because it is. You've stolen from my family," (Y/N) shot back at him, trying to rid her words of any friendly notions.

The man only smirked at her statement before he let out a slight chuckle and shook his head, "I haven't taken anything you'll miss, sweetheart."

"Excuse me?" (Y/N)'s eyes widened slightly at his obnoxious audacity, "those things were important to my family."

"No they weren't," Thomas shook his head, "don't fool yourself."

"And you think you know everything?" (Y/N) let go of her dress, her hands falling to her hips as she looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I know that your name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N). I know that you are a Princess who is next in line for your family's throne, but you don't want it. Your brother, Jack, is older than you, but your family put him as a member of the Royal Guard because of his temper. They don't think he's fit to become a king. Unlike you...you have everything they're looking for, but you don't want the pressure of it all. 'S a real shame, idn't it?...if the pressure of it all even mattered," he rattled off confidently, his blue eyes not straying from hers once.

(Y/N) wanted to gasp, to outwardly show how shocked she was that he'd just recited those facts about her and her family like they were a monologue from a popular play. But she couldn't. Reacting like that to his words would give him the upperhand. And she couldn't let him have that. So she tried to level the playing field. "Your name is Thomas Shelby. You're part of the Shelby family, a family that prides itself on lying, stealing, violence, and cheating. You're...you're..." she stammered, her confidence faltering as she came up blank, "you're not supposed to be here!" she exclaimed out of frustration when she couldn't think of anything else that she knew about him. Tommy just grinned at her response, which only made her anger towards him grow.

"So you don't know much more than what everyone knows, eh?" he asked her, his eyebrows raised in intrigue. "There's a lot more to me than you think, darling."

"You're not supposed to be here," she repeated in a low voice, hoping that he would get the hint that she wanted the conversation to be over.

"But I'll continue to be here, and, you know, maybe someday I'll tell you more about who I really am..." he trailed off as he started walking back to the horse that had been grazing, "I'll explain to you exactly why I do the bad things that I do," he continued as he climbed upon the horse with ease.

"Please leave."

"Oh, I am, sweetheart," he sent her one last grin before he rode off, his expression simultaneously making her blood boil and her stomach fill with butterflies. She hated that he made her feel like this. Hated that he already had such an effect on her. And he knew that he did too. She watched him ride off out of sight before she exhaled a frustrated sigh.

She went back to her gazebo and continued on with her painting, hoping that she'd be able to add more details to the horse that was situated on the foreground of the canvas now that she'd seen it up close. But attempting to do this only brought her more frustration because she realized that she was only able to think about its rider.

Thomas Shelby had kept his promise of that not being the last conversation between him and (Y/N) (Y/L/N). At first, everything he said made her blood boil because of the amount of cockiness he exuded in his words. But as he kept coming, and she kept trying to make it seem like it was to her dismay (it wasn't), she started to gain more interest in what he was telling her.

She learned that he was once part of the Royal Guard alongside his two brothers. He was put up onto the front lines to fight against enemy nations rather fast because of his keen skills with weaponry. He then told her that he and his brothers had to leave the Guard when their mother died suddenly. He didn't disclose how she died, but (Y/N) believed it to be from something terrible because of how his expression shifted. He quickly bounced back to his confident self though as he told her that he was one infraction from being kicked out anyway due to his repeated fighting with the other men in the Guard. That's how he knew of Jack and his temper. They'd actually fought each other at one point during his service. It also seemed that fighting ran in the family, because his brothers also had similar infractions on them too.

When they were back home, they took to several different, illegal means of making money for their struggling family. With their mother gone and their father away at a different pub each night, it was up to Thomas and two brothers to provide for their younger siblings. According to him, obtaining things illegally allowed them to gain more wealth quicker...which allowed them to get the things they needed for their family to survive. So, in his eyes, he was doing these bad things to a good end.

As she learned more about Thomas, her first impressions of him were broken down. She started to become more interested in, and attracted to, him. Despite his good looks, and he looked very handsome — unlike any other man she'd seen in her life, she was attracted most to his burning desire to make sure that those he cared about were safe.

So they met each other out in that meadow nearly every day. Her parents were thrilled to see their daughter have such an interest in art and painting, because that's what she was telling them that she was going out to do. If they'd known that she'd actually been going out there in order to see a man who was a member of the family that hers despised greatly, they would have banished her to her room in a second. But she kept her front up, and they kept allowing her to go out to that meadow.

Today he rode in faster than usual. The smile on (Y/N)'s face that usually greeted him fell as soon as she took in his appearance and stressed nature. "Thomas?" she questioned with concern laced in her words as he got off the horse and came over to her. "Tommy, what happened?" she gasped using the nickname that he particularly liked to hear come from her lips.

"Listen, (Y/N)...I can't be here long," he told her as he stopped in front of her.

"What's happened to you, Tommy? You're cut above your eye," she was still worried as she ripped off the sleeve of her shirt in order to hold it onto his wound.

"I'm fine, love," he assured her, pushing her hand aside before he grabbed both of them into his, making her look into his eyes. "You have to listen though. I'm going to have to lay low for a while. Some men caught up with me. They're not too happy with my family at the moment, but I'm getting it sorted," he explained to her, making her heart jump into her throat.

"You'll be ok, won't you?" she checked with him, her wide eyes searching his.

"I will. You're just not gonna see me for a bit is all," he told her, his hands squeezing hers, "I had to come tell you so that you weren't waiting out here for me thinkin' that I stood ya up."

"Be safe, ok?" she said then, giving his hands a squeeze.

"I will," he repeated himself. "I have to go now, love," he told her, dropping her hands from his hold so that he could go back to the horse.

But (Y/N) didn't want him to leave. "Tommy, wait!" she called after him, already in motion towards him before he was able to turn around.

"What?" was all he was able to ask as he turned around to the surprise of her lips connecting with his. His shock wore off quickly as he took her cheeks into his hands, returning the passionate kiss that she was giving him.

"I couldn't let you leave without doing that," she told him as she pulled away seconds later.

"Now I'm not sure if I can leave," Tommy said, a grin spreading across his face as (Y/N) let out a breathless laugh.

"You have to go. You have to stay safe," she said, even though she wanted him to stay, she knew that he couldn't.

"I'll be back before you know. I will see you soon," he promised her, matching his lips with hers once more for an equally as passionate kiss as the first one they shared.

"Goodbye, Tommy," she said as they pulled away from each other.

"Goodbye, (Y/N)," he repeated, a soft smile on his face as he dropped his hold from her so that he could get onto the horse.

It felt like her heart was breaking as she watched him ride away. Once he was out of sight, she decided to go back to her castle. There was no reason for her to be out in the meadow anymore...and it seemed like there wasn't going to be for a few days.

"Miss (Y/L/N), there's a visitor for you," one of her family maids spoke as she stuck her head into (Y/N)'s room. The Princess furrowed her eyebrows but stood from her vanity anyway, following the maid down the grand staircase and to the door. She gasped softly when she saw who was waiting for her in the foyer.

"Thomas?!" she hissed, keeping her voice low even though they were now the only two in the room. Voices traveled far and fast inside the stone walls. "What are you doing here?" she asked him with wide eyes. Half of her was thinking that this might have been a dream. She hadn't seen him in two weeks, and now he was standing right in front of her.

"I can't pay you a visit, sweetheart?" he questioned, the grin she missed so much forming on his face, confidence evident in his words.

"No, as a matter of fact, you can't," she stayed strict with him. She didn't think that he realized the trouble that they could both get in if anyone in her family found out about him being on the property. "My father will kill you if he sees you here!"

"That's a chance I'm willing to take for you, my love," he schmoozed her, the grin still evident on his face as he watched her cheeks darken.

"Well why are you here?" she asked him once she'd composed herself.

Tommy looked into her expectant eyes for a moment before he let out a chuckle and took her cheeks into his hands. He couldn't stop himself from getting her into his grasp. It was like she had a magnetic pull and he was stuck in its range. "I want to see you tonight," he told her, his voice lower than before.

"Tonight?"

"Yes. After the sun sets, meet me out in the meadow. I'll be waiting for you there," he gave her more information behind his plan.

"But the guards..." (Y/N) reminded him, "they'll be making rounds. They ramp up surveillance at night."

"They won't find me," he assured her.

(Y/N) didn't give her response right away. She was too busy weighing out the sides in her head. Her heart was telling her to go and meet him, but her brain was sending out warning signals about the possibilities of what could happen if any person in her family found out what she was doing.

"The longer you take to make your decision, the more chance you have of your father walking in on us, sweetheart," Tommy reminded her after a few silent moments had passed.

"I know that, Tommy," she quipped, a glare on her face as he smirked down at her. She thought some more before letting out a sigh. Her heart had won. "I'll meet you tonight," she finally agreed to his plan.

"That's great, love," he nodded his head, "I'll be waiting for you," he assured her before he leaned down and kissed her lips. A kiss (Y/N) literally had to jump away from in fear of being caught by someone.

"You like to push your luck, don't you, Thomas," she scolded him, although she couldn't stop the smile from breaking onto her features.

"'S how I became the man I am today," he said with confidence behind his words.

"You best leave now...before I change my decision," she told him, both of them knowing from the second the words left her lips that it was an outright lie.

"You'd still be there anyway," he grinned at her as he began to walk to the door. He showed himself out of the grand castle, leaving (Y/N) standing in the foyer with giddiness erupting through her body.

(Y/N) waited until the castle was quiet before she slipped out of her room and onto its grounds. She hastily ran out to where she and Tommy met and smiled as she noticed the dim flicker of a lantern by the treeline. Tommy was leaning up against a tree, and he barely had time to stand up straight before (Y/N) launched herself into his arms and pressed her lips to his.

He quickly responded to the kiss, his hands fastening to her waist as he led her to sit down on the grass. He leaned back against the tree while she leaned against his chest, their lips still connected in a heated passion. All of the pent up emotions created by going from seeing each other every day to not at all for two weeks were coming out now. Tommy pulled away moments later, chuckling as (Y/N) tried to follow his lips when he did. He reached out to brush his thumb across her jutted out bottom lip before he caressed her cheek.

"I have something for you," he told her, his free hand going to root around in his pocket. (Y/N) sat and eagerly waited as he brought his closed hand up between them. "My mother used to be my light. So when she died by her own hand, I slipped into a world of darkness. But now that I've found you, (Y/N), I have light back in my life. You are my light," he told her something he rarely told others, his eyes locked onto hers. "What I have in my hand was once my mother's. I wanted to give it to you...as a symbol of my love for you," he continued before he opened his hand to show an amulet that had an amethyst crystal in its center.

(Y/N) gasped at both what he showed her and what he said. She couldn't believe that he'd just told her he had love for her. By god did she have love for him. "It’s beautiful, Tommy," she whispered, smiling at him as she spoke.

"May I?" he asked, motioning to her neck then. She nodded and he went through the motions so that she would be wearing it.

"I love it," she told him after she glanced down at it, admiring how it sparkled in the moonlight. She leaned in and softly kissed his lips then as her show of a thank you. Tommy's hands wrapped around the small of her back so that he could hold her firmly against his chest. They kissed languidly for a few moments, both enjoying the feel of each other's lips and body's. Then (Y/N) pulled back to look him in the eyes, "make love to me, Thomas," she breathed against his lips as she was easily able to see the great amount of desire he was looking at her with.

"You want me to?" he asked her.

"I do," she whispered, exhaling an anxious breath as his hands slowly started to trail to the ends of her dress. Tommy only nodded and pressed his lips to hers again as he moved her gently so that she'd be straddling his hips with her dress bunched up around her waist. They quickly became a mess of fumbling hands and panted breaths as they found themselves intertwined with each other.

The thoughts of the consequences of this moment were far away as (Y/N) laid tangled up in the arms of the man she wholeheartedly loved.

"Won't you at least come down to eat?"

"No. I told you that I have no appetite."

"You'll starve, you know."

"I'm sure I'll be just fine."

Footsteps were heard then, signaling another successful thwarting of her brother's attempts to get her from her room. (Y/N) hadn't been feeling good for the past several weeks. She didn't have much desire to be social or to eat anything. She was even staying away from Tommy...well there were other reasons for her doing that. She was afraid that some...information might come to light if she saw him.

She stayed in her bed and watched the sun set through the window before she heard footsteps approaching her door again. It was probably Jack trying to rouse her for dinner.

"Open the door, (Y/N)," he demanded, the tone that he used instantly making her stand from the bed and open the door.

"Yes?" she asked him.

"You didn't think I’d find out?" was his first question. Her stomach dropped. He knew about her and Tommy. "I went to your maid, (Y/N). I know that you're pregnant." She most certainly wasn't expecting that.

"You what?!" she asked, her eyes widening.

"She told me pretty easily when I threatened her job. Who's the man?" Jack went on, his tone holding anger now. He couldn't believe that his baby sister was pregnant. (Y/N) kept her mouth shut. The cat might have been out of the bag on her one secret, but she wasn't about to give up her other. But Jack just kept on asking questions. "It was that man who visited you wasn't it? The one who came to our home five or six weeks ago," he drew some conclusions. (Y/N) stayed silent. "He's dead when I find out who he is...and I will find out who he is," he promised her, his voice dangerously low and filled with anger before he left her standing in her doorway before she was able to defend herself.

"Thomas Shelby! Get out here now!" the voice that Tommy instantly recognized as Jack (Y/L/N)'s came from outside his family's home. And by the sound of his words, he didn't seem to be happy. Knowing this man's temper, Tommy made sure to take his gun out with him.

"Jack (Y/L/N)..." Tommy greeted cooly, shoving the weapon into the back waistband of his trousers as he joined Jack in the street, "to what do I owe the honor?"

"Have you been around my sister, Shelby?!" Jack asked, the anger evident in his features.

"What's that matter to you?" Tommy kept calm.

"She's my sister!"

"Yeah? And?"

"And I don't want the lowlife scum that you and your family are corrupting who she is as a person!"

"Thought that you'd already done that...with your temper and whatnot," Tommy quipped back, a taunting grin on his face.

“You’re fucking finished, Shelby!” Jack yelled, his temper spurring him on even more.

“Think you can do it now, eh? Even after that embarrassing failure of an attempt that happened the last time?” Tommy taunted him even more. Within a second, both of the men had their guns drawn and pointed at each other.

“Last time I checked, a bullet makes the job much easier,” Jack stated, a grin on his face as he set his sights on finally killing the man who stood only a few paces away from him.

“Thomas!” a woman’s frantic voice was heard behind Tommy. He didn’t look, but instead watched as Jack’s attention got drawn to the very person he’d come to protect the honor of. Tommy took that moment of distraction to fire his weapon, striking Jack square in the chest. Jack fired his weapon himself upon hearing the other go off, and Tommy then lunged for (Y/N), who was now only a few steps behind him.

“Are you ok, love?” Tommy asked in a worried manner as he lifted his body off of hers, then doing a surface level check for any injuries. She looked to be ok, but her eyes were frantic.

“Jack?” she gasped, peering around Tommy’s shoulder to the man who was lying on the street. “Oh my goodness, he’s dead!” she cried out, tears filling her eyes.

"I only killed him because he was going to kill me,” Tommy told her, taking deep breaths as he tried to get the adrenaline out of his system.

"He was going to kill you because I'm pregnant with your child!" (Y/N) exclaimed, trying not to full-out sob in the middle of town. That wouldn’t be a good look for the royal family.

“Fuck..." was all Tommy as able to say as his eyes widened.

"Fuck, indeed," (Y/N) agreed, surprising herself that she was capable of saying those words.

"You're...you're not keeping, are you?" Tommy asked her hesitantly.

(Y/N) furrowed her eyebrows at his question as shock overcame her. She knew her answer in a second though. "Of course I'm keeping it, Tommy. My parents wouldn't allow me to get rid of the baby regardless of who its father is.”

"Even if the child's a bastard?"

"A bastard?" She couldn’t deny that she’d felt slightly hurt by his question. She thought that what he’d said to her during their night together was true. Hell, she wore the amulet he gave her every day after he hung it around her neck. "You...you don't love me anymore?" she asked in a whisper.

"Oh, I love you, (Y/N). I just didn't think that your family would allow...this," Tommy was quick to dispel her scared thoughts, his eyes locked onto hers to show that he was being honest.

"I don't care if they don't allow it. I want to be with you, Thomas, even if that means they throw me out of their family," she told him then, "I want to have this baby with you."

"Then we will have this baby," he agreed with her, smiles forming on both of their faces as he then pulled her close to him so that their lips could meet.

Tommy helped her up after they shared a passionate kiss and led her into his family’s home. (Y/N) couldn’t deny that she felt scared for the future, for the fallout that might come from her family. But she was equally as excited to spend it with Thomas and the baby they’d created together because she knew that the new addition would bring a much needed light into both of their lives.

Tagged: @alreadybroken-ts @magicalxdaydream @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @golden-hoax @elenavampire21 @peaky-cillian @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @julyzaa

MASTERLIST

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby imagine #peaky blinders #peakyxtommy #peaky blinders fanfiction #peaky blinders fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #mzAUparty

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solinarimoon · 2 years

Text

Fractured and Fallen

My entry for @mrsalwayswrite 1K follower celebration! Congratulations darling! Your writing is so beautiful and professional! You deserve all of the praise and more!

My prompt was dystopian/post-apocalypse AU and I’ve done a set of moodboards to fit amidst the little story of loss and pain and regret. Click on the boards for more detail. The quotes are mostly adapted from Forest Fire by Brighton.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The world is burning. The earth is angry and the sun is wrathful. No one knows for sure what exactly happened. But solar flares. Eruptions of ash and char. Not enough to cause a new ice age but enough to close down society. Enough to devolve the world into chaos. No global community and connection. No internet. No phones. No modern technology. Complete global infrastructure collapse. At least as far as anyone in your area could tell.

Before the world burning, you had grown up surrounded by the chaos of the Ragnarsons. And when the world fell apart you were with them. For a time. Until one day you weren’t.

It was an accident. Hvitserk hadn’t meant for your hand to slip from his as you ran from the smoke and the marauders. They had caught you both unaware and unprepared. A fight that, if it weren’t for your presence, Hvitserk may have made a different choice. A reckless and violent choice. But you had been there. And you had run. So he had run with you. And the look on his face as you slipped from his fingers on the bridge haunted your dreams.

The chaos and confusion were to blame. But you would never forgive yourself for losing him. For not knowing what became of him. Of any of them. For being lost from him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were alone and terrified for a while. Weeks. Months. You had no way of knowing. All you knew was survival. Hiding and enduring. Pushing on.

Until he stepped out of the shadows. His eyes capturing you in their light. Two different shades of the same pain. He was no stranger. In fact you had known him since you were a child too.

Just like Hvitserk.

The bastard son of one of Ragnar’s friends had been another close and constant companion to them. To Hvitserk. The three of you had been steadfast fixtures on each others lives.

Until he too was gone one day. Before the burning of the world. He had left to make himself a life beyond the disappointed and hateful looks of his father. It hadn’t been announced. But it had not been a surprise.

But now, there Sihtric stood before you. Those piercing eyes lit with just the barest hint of recognition. But it was all the recognition you needed. You launched yourself into his embrace and cried while he whispered your name. His voice trembling with a mixture of disbelief and awe at seeing someone from the times before.

He brought you home. To his misfit family. They welcomed you and gave you safety. It was clear that your childhood friend had found a place he belonged, despite the chaos and destruction of the world outside their small complex. And despite your timid reluctance, you fell into their family too. Into his family.

You found contentment and a happiness you hadn’t bothered to wish for in his arms. How could there be love when the literal world outside was in ruin. But that is what you found together.

It was slow at first. But gentle and easy. Like easing into a pool of water on an early summer day. A perfect temperature for floating away. That was how your love with Sihtric flourished. He held and protected and cared for you. But there were still nights when you would wake scared and shaking. Remembering the bridge and Hvitserks screams for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rumors built slowly. Whispers through sheltered connections about a faction of brothers gaining power. Exerting control over the area. Sometimes violently. It didn’t take long for you to realize it was your Ragnarsons staking their place in this new world. Ivar never was one to merely survive. Despite all the world had thrown at him. He thrived. And these stories made you nervous. Made you all nervous.

The first time your paths crossed was on a routine rations scouting trip. Scavenging.

You were with Sihtric. Everyone traveled in pairs or triads now. And Sihtric rarely left your side. But as you made your way down the street towards the bridge, memories surfaced to haunt you. You hadn’t been back there. Had always skirted away from it. So it was like a dream when the masked figure rounded the desolate and forgotten debris at the foot of the bridge. His face was covered and a dark stained blade was in his hand.

But it was his voice that froze you. Speaking your name, as if seeing a ghost.

The world beneath your feet shifted and any noise was reduced to a slow hum. You felt Sihtric catch your arm and begin to pull you back towards the safety of the alleyway. But it all felt miles away. When he felt your resistance, Sihtric stopped pulling, his hand snaking around your waist as he shouted your name and searched your face.

But you could only stare ahead at the man whose memory ghosted your dreams and regrets. Absent any sound, his name formed on your lips.

Sihtric turned to follow your gaze, his brow contorted with panic and confusion. You saw it. The instant the old friends, your one time partner in crime and now lover locked eyes with recognition.

It was at that moment that the searing pain in your thigh brought reality tumbling back on top of you. Time ceased to be a slow hypnotic dance and instead was engulfed by the chaos and the delayed sound of the gunfire.

Ivar had rounded the corner seconds after Hvitserk, a patchwork death machine of a four wheeler kicking up debris and dust.

The bullet ripped through tissue and muscle before sheering along your femur and out of your thigh to lodge into the concrete behind you.

Howling, guttural and terrified, you fell against Sihtric as he scooped you up and ran.

You could barely register a frantic Hvitserk reaching his hand out to grip onto the barrel of the gun and yanking it away from Ivar. Then the blackness took you.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sihtric moved along the shadows, cautious and calculated. It had taken too much and he was risking it all to make this meeting successful.

He left the hideout knowing you were angry and scared for him. For them all. For Hvitserk. But he hadn’t seen any other way. None that could save them all. Since the encounter two days ago, your wound had only worsened. Without access to medicine or clean supplies… no one was saying it but everyone’s faces were grim.

The brothers controlled access to practically all the resources now. So Sihtric had convinced them all to allow him to try and barter. Negotiate. Plead.

Hvitserk was already waiting, back arched against the bricks of the alley wall and one leg propped up.

“It really you, man?”

The question came after only a moment of Sihtric stepping out of the shadow.

“Yeah.” Short but not clipped or biting. Just matter of fact. Simple enough while Sihtric tried to calculate the odds. The factors and who had the upper hand. Was there an upper hand?

“And is,” he paused, turning to glance at Sihtric for the first time, “is she..?”

Hvitserk’s face asked the question his voice couldn’t find.

“She needs help. If she’s going to make it, she needs medicine. Antibiotics.”

Sihtric tried to stifle the tightening in his throat. The pinpricks of pain behind the corners of his eyes. “She needs help, Hvit. And you can get it for her.”

“Is she yours now?”

Hvitserk’s question caught Sihtric off guard. His eyes flashed up from the crack in the asphalt he had been focused on to see his old friend staring at him.

“Was she yours before? Can she or anyone belong to another person?”

“That’s not what I mean, Sihtric. You know it’s not.”

“No, I don’t know it, man.”

Sihtric stepped back a pace, shifting around his frustration and his worry. Tensing his jaw then his shoulders.

“I don’t know you anymore, man. No one is the same person they were before all this. But I love her, if that’s what you are asking. I need her to live. We all want her to live, right? So will you help me get her the help she needs?”

Hvitserk sighed, lowering his head with a nod before he leaned back against the brick again.

“Yeah, man. Yeah, of course I will. But Ivar,” he sucked lip between his teeth and shook his head, “he’s not going to allow you all to continue unchecked. He won’t stop until you’re submitting. He’s chased off or eliminated all the other threats in this area. He,” turned his head, meeting Sihtric’s eye, “I get you what she needs. Get her better. And then you all need to leave here. Move on somewhere else.”

The ground rumbling and the sound of an explosion broke through the air before Sihtric had any chance of replying.

Looking at one another, it took only a mere instant before the horrified recognition of what the sound must be settled in. The men took off, the echoes of their feet bouncing off the alley walls as they ran towards the noise. Towards her.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“What did you do, Ivar?”

Hvitserk’s hands fisted in the rough fabric of his brother’s shirt as he shoved him bodily against the wall, screaming the words in his brother’s face. The ash and smoke of the flames still hung in the air and the distant, swallowed calls of Sihtric were fading to cries of despair. But the instant Hvitserk pulled back to lash out again, Ubbe and Sigurd’s arms were around him. Scrambling and restraining him. Leading him back.

The aching dread in his chest, a clawing and suffocating fear was too much. Gasping at air, Hvitserk gripped onto Ubbe’s shoulder but kept his eyes on Ivar. His brother’s twisted grin driving the pain deeper.

“What did you do?” he asked again.

“We didn’t know, brother,” he heard SIgurd’ssoft voice beside his ear, followed closely by Ubbe’s mournful insistence that they had been too late to intercede. But it was Ivar that Hvitserk needed to answer.

“Ivar,” he called again, his voice rising.

Ivar wiped at the back of his head and glanced at the blood from where he’d smacked it on the brick. As slowly and unconcerned as if it were a stranger speaking to him.

When he did meet Hvitserk’s stare, he replied coldly, “I sent a message. And I secured our place here.”

When no one made a move to speak, Ivar continued, “She was already a ghost. And now that is the reality.”

With a snarl, Hvitserk shrugged off Sigurd and Ubbe’s arms. Roughly, he turned and walked away towards the smouldering wreckage of the building.

He could hear Ubbe as he left.

“Your ambition is your ruin, Ivar. It is the ruin of us all.”

Photo credits go to OPs - from google and pinterest searches.

Please let me know if you would like to be added or removed from my taglist.

Tags: @maggiescarborough @pokeasleepingsmaug @nxrdist @mystic-shadows42 @emilyhufflepufftlk @magravenwrites @lauwrite1225 @morosemagick @thebohemianpenguin @mrsalwayswrite @notyourwildestdream @ecarroll1978 @93xdiagonxalley @nobodys-business-world @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @trenko-heart @0hsappho @xlittlestarling @mahah3art @mybigfatspoonielife @stormingroses @medievalfangirl

#mzauparty #Vikings #The Last Kingdom #Vikings x The Last Kingdom crossover #Hvitserk x reader #Sihtric x reader #Sihtric #Hvitserk #Hvitserk x reader x Sihtric #Sihtric x reader x Hvitserk #sihtric x you #Hvitserk x you

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emilyhufflepufftlk · 2 years

Text

Roommates | Finan x Ingrith

Modern AU

After Finan’s break up with Eadith, he is forced to look for a new flatmate. When his friend Ealhswith suggests her old college friend, Ingrith, his life takes an unexpected turn.

This is for the amazing @mrsalwayswrite ‘s 1k challenge! Prompt: Roommates AU

I’m sorry it’s a bit late 💜

My Masterlist

Word Count: 2299

Warnings: fluff, the odd swear word, references to sex, alcohol.

AO3 if you prefer

‘Right, that’s it!’ Ealhswith groaned from where she stood in the doorway to the living room, her hands folded across her chest.

Sihtric and Finan looked up at her innocently from the sofa, a variety of snack wrappers and beer bottles strewn out on the coffee table in front of them.

‘Finan, I love you, but you can’t stay here any longer,’ she sighed, snatching the TV remote away from her fiancé and switching it off.

‘Eal, come on,’ Sihtric said, turning to face her and giving Finan a sympathetic look.

‘No, Sihtric. It’s been a month and it’s about time he moves on and frankly gets a grip!’ She turned to Finan, realising she had come across a little harsh. ‘Sorry, Finan. You’ll always be welcome to visit, and it’s not that I don’t like having you around but-‘

‘I get it,’ Finan cut across her, giving her half a smile. ‘I’m getting in ya’ way. I’ll start looking for a flat.’

‘Don’t rush into anything, we’re not going to throw you out onto the street,’ Sihtric told him hurriedly, glaring at Ealswith as he spoke. ‘Right Eal?’

‘Of course,’ she nodded. ‘But I have an old friend from college that has just moved into the area and is looking for a flatmate. She’s found a really nice two bed flat and the rent isn’t too bad.’

‘She?’ Finan asked dubiously, raising on eyebrow.

Ealhswith rolled her eyes. ‘Yes, Finan, a she. I’m sure she’ll be able to put up with even your shocking levels of personal hygiene.’

Finan scoffed, Sihtric snickered next to him.

‘If ya’ trying to set me up-‘

‘Believe it or not, Finan, it is possible to live in the same house as a woman and not fuck them.’

‘Try telling Uhtred that,’ Sihtric muttered, making them all laugh.

‘Fine, why not?’ Finan sighed. ‘Give me her number and I’ll meet her and look around this flat. Then we’ll see.’

-----------

Ealhswith’s friend, Ingrith, turned out to be really nice and the flat was surprisingly large, close enough to the city centre to make life easier but not so central that it was noisy and busy. Finan hadn’t taken much convincing to agree to move in – it wasn’t like he had any real alternatives anyway.

Ingrith helped him move in, which he had insisted she did not need to do but she had refused to listen and helped carry his numerous boxes up the two flights of stairs. She was one of those women that did not sit still for a moment, always finding things to do or offering to help people, never seeming to stop and take a break. She was a hairdresser like Ealhswith, and he discovered as they chatted whilst going up and down the stairs that she had an interest in nature and, to Finan’s surprise, they shared a passion for football (although he realised it was rather sexist of him to be so surprised).

Ingrith had moved in a few days before him and he could already tell she was a lot more organised than he was, not a single thing out of place. He already knew his room would be a tip in comparison. He began taking things out of the cardboard boxes, hanging his clothes in the wardrobe and putting the few books he owned on the shelves.

He paused when he came to a small, unassuming box which he had left on the desk. He opened it slowly and let out a sigh as he looked over all the photographs of him and Eadith, along with a whole load of tickets and junk he had kept from their dates from the past two years. He picked up a framed photo of the two of them on the beach, both smiling and looking happy, the wind whipping Eadith’s hair across her face. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

He didn’t begrudge Eadith for breaking things off. She had been offered a job with a charity providing medical care across the world to those who struggled to access it – it was what she had wanted to do ever since she had finished medical school. Even if she hadn’t wanted to travel across the world, in hindsight Finan realised that they had wanted fundamentally different things and figured it was never going to work out, however much he might have wished it to.

A light cough broke him from his thoughts. He turned and saw Ingrith standing in the doorway. He quickly put the photo down and shoved the box in the bottom of his wardrobe.

She said nothing about the box or his odd behaviour, instead she gave him a smile. ‘I’m thinking of ordering a takeaway tonight, want anything?’

‘Sure, I’d like that,’ he answered, closing the door to the wardrobe and following her out into the kitchen.

-------------

‘Come on, it’s going to be fun!’ Ingrith smiled, giving him a light shove in the arm.

They sat in front of the tv, squished together on their small sofa. They had been sharing a flat for three months now and had grown incredibly comfortable in each other’s company. It was almost like they had always known each other. Finan had soon found that Ingrith was incredibly easy to be around, although she also took absolutely no bullshit, and had a wonderfully sharp sense of humour. It was hard to stay sad and caught up over Eadith when he was around her, the box of memories staying forgotten in the bottom of his wardrobe.

‘It’s not that I think the party will be bad,’ he sighed.

They had just received invites to Sihtric and Ealhswith’s wedding and he had not been all that excited. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to go, Sihtric was one of his oldest and closest friends, a brother really, and Ealhswith had become a dear friend, he wouldn’t miss their big day for anything. It was more the text below his name that he dreaded – ‘plus one’. He had no one to ask. Since Eadith he hadn’t dated, or even talked to anyone, and all his friends were in relationships. He guessed going alone wouldn’t be that bad.

‘If you are worried about going on your own, maybe we could go together?’ Ingrith suggested with a shrug.

‘What?’

‘As friends,’ she clarified. ‘I have no one to ask either!’

He smiled broadly. ‘That’s a great idea! We can be single together!’ he laughed.

‘I will toast to that,’ she grinned, picking up her cider and nodding it in his direction.

---------------

‘Come on Ingrith,’ Finan groaned as he paced up and down the hall, repeatedly looking at his watch as he waited for her to be ready. ‘The taxi will be here any minute!’

‘Just a second!’ she snapped from the other side of the door. She emerged from her room a moment later, pushing her long hair over her shoulder and looking at Finan expectantly. ‘What do you think? I’m not sure about the dress.’

Finan stared. ‘You look beautiful,’ he answered, and it wasn’t a lie – she really did look beautiful, with a short red dress that clung to her curves. His eyes ran down her body, taking her in, and then back to her face – did I just check Ingrith out?

She grinned mischievously at him. ‘Good, I’m hoping to hook up with someone tonight. What’s the point of being single if you can’t have fun at a wedding, right?’

‘Well with those legs I’m sure the guys will be queuing up to buy ya’ a drink,’ he said with a wink. Now I’m flirting with her? That’s new.

‘Oh, shut up,’ she laughed, hitting him in the arm. ‘Maybe you’ll meet someone tonight?’ She rolled her eyes when he scoffed. ‘What? You’re a good-looking man and you can’t stay hung up over Eadith forever.’

‘So you think I’m good looking do ya’?’ he smirked, leaning towards her slightly. He swore he saw her cheeks darken.

She glanced at her phone. ‘Taxi’s here,’ she stated, pushing past him towards the door.

------------

Sihtric and Ealhswith’s wedding was a small affair, neither having much family to speak of, however what they lacked in blood relatives they made up for in friends. It was a beautiful ceremony, performed by their friend Beocca, and Sihtric had cried throughout most of it. Finan had been so proud to see his best friend get married and so happy for the both of them.

The reception was held in a local hotel, Finan immediately being dragged to the bar by Uhtred for the first of many rounds of the night. It was safe to say that by the time the meal was over and the dancing was underway, Finan was pretty pissed, but if you can’t be drunk at a wedding when can you?

He had noticed Ingrith flirting with several men throughout the night. He kept a close eye on her, making sure none of the men overstepped, especially as Ingrith began to drink more and more. He told himself it was because she was his friend and he wanted to look out for her, like any friend would do – yeah, that’s it.

‘So, Ingrith?’ Ealhswith asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows as she leant against the bar next to him. She had gotten changed from her long wedding dress into something shorter and had spent the whole evening dancing and drinking, partying harder than anyone else there.

‘What about her?’ he answered, tearing his eyes away from the woman in question who was dancing with Gisela and Osferth.

Ealhswith groaned. ‘Oh, come on Finan! You haven’t taken your eyes off her the whole night! You can’t really expect me to believe there’s nothing going on between the two of you?’

He pulled at his shirt collar uncomfortably. ‘I don’t know what ya’ mean,’ he muttered. ‘Nothing’s happened.’

‘Hmmmhmmm?’ she smirked. ‘But you wish something had, right?’

‘Eal leave it,’ he sighed, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly, slightly wishing he hadn’t let Uhtred talk him into that last pint.

‘Hey,’ she said softer, placing a hand on his arm, ‘I’m just teasing. But if you like her then tell her, there’s nothing stopping you. Eadith’s gone, she’s happy travelling the world, you are free to find your own happiness too.’

He smiled at her. ‘Yeah, I know.’

‘Hey, Finan! Stop trying to steal my wife,’ Sihtric shouted at him, coming to wrap his arms around Ealhswith’s waist.

‘What if I want both of you?’ she teased.

Sihtric shook his head and laughed, pulling her against him and kissing her deeply.

‘Finan,’ Ingrith called to him. He turned and smiled at her. ‘Come dance with me,’ she giggled, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the crowded dance floor.

They danced for what seemed like forever, the two of them in their own world, everyone else inconsequential as they laughed together. Finan wouldn’t even be able to tell you what songs were played, he was too focused on how her eyes lit up when she smiled. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t noticed how beautiful she was before then, or perhaps he had and refused to admit it to himself.

As the latest song came to an end, she grabbed his hand and led them through the throngs of people and into the crisp night hair. She sat down on the stone steps outside the hotel, looking up at the night sky above them.

‘That was fun.’

‘Yeah,’ he agreed, sitting down beside her – close enough to touch her, he thought before quickly pushing that thought aside. ‘Found anyone to hook up with yet?’ he asked, trying to sound teasing and not like he cared too much.

‘I might have,’ she smiled coyly, glancing up at him.

He felt his stomach drop, suddenly jealous of whoever had caught her eye even though he had no right to be.

‘Good,’ was all he managed to say, not meeting her eye.

‘And you?’ she asked. ‘Have you met anyone?’

He shrugged. ‘Not really, although…’ he stopped himself before he could say anything stupid.

‘Although what?’ she insisted, leaning closer to him.

He turned to look at her, his breath catching as he realised her face was now only inches from hers.

‘Well…’ he began, his eyes darting to her lips. ‘There might have been someone-‘

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Ingrith closed the small distance between them and kissed him hard on the lips, Finan reciprocating immediately. Her hand came to cup the back of his head, her fingers running through his hair, whilst his hand rested on her lower back. He kissed her passionately, chasing her lips as she tried to break for breath.

‘Finan-‘ she said but he kissed her again. He kissed her over and over, it feeling like the most natural thing in the world. ‘Can I admit something?’ she asked softly when they finally broke apart. ‘I have wanted to do that for ages.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes!’ she laughed nervously. ‘You are gorgeous!’

‘How much have ya’ had to drink?’ he smiled.

‘Only a few!’ she said, hitting him lightly on the chest, making him chuckle. She reached and cupped his face in her hands, her thumb running along his jaw. ‘Ealhswith warned me you were hot,’ she smiled.

‘She did, did she?’ he smirked.

‘Yeah, but don’t tell Sihtric that.’

He smiled, looking deeply in her eyes. God, her eyes are beautiful – how have I not noticed them before?

‘You are so beautiful,’ he murmured.

She kissed him again, humming against his mouth. ‘How about we go home?’

‘And do what?’ he smirked.

She pulled away, eyeing him mischievously. ‘I’m sure you can use your imagination.’

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@morosemagick @lauwrite1225 @solinarimoon @magravenwrites @illjustgositinthecorner @blah-blah-blah-bla @93xdiagonxalley @trenko-heart @persephones-journey @amuddleofnervouswords @anotherwinchesterfangirl @medievalfangirl @saint-helga

#the last kingdom #mzAUparty #finan x ingrith #finan #finan fanfic #ingrith #tlk fanfic #the last kingdom fanfic #fingrith #modern au #roommates au

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