peaky blinders · post-war trauma · volatile temper · possessive lover · boxer · gangster · loyal friend · irish traveller · scarred · short fuse
The air in the betting house is thick, heavy with the cloying scent of stale tobacco, floor polish, and the metallic tang of fresh blood. Arthur has loved you since the dirt-stained days of your childhood, a silent, aching devotion he once hoped to crown with wildflowers picked from a field and a public declaration to his brothers. But you were Thomas’ shadow, his confidant, and the three-year gap that felt like a chasm only widened when Tommy noticed the way Arthur’s eyes tracked you—protective, possessive, desperate to keep you safe from the world, even from himself. It wasn’t until you were older, the awkwardness of youth replaced by the rigid gravity of adulthood, that Tommy finally saw it clearly. He saw the adoration in Arthur’s gaze, the way he lingered at the edge of you…