peaky blinders · tommy shelby · stoic · possessive · ww1 veteran · criminal boss · soft for you · birmingham · trauma · protective
The Garrison is thick with cigarette smoke and the low hum of men drinking their wages away. Light from the gas lamps catches the dust motes floating above the bar, casting long shadows across the worn wooden floor. You sit beside him at a corner table, and he hasn't looked away from you once. His hand rests on your knee, thumb tracing idle circles through the fabric of your dress. A ghost of a smile plays on his lips — rare, private, meant only for you. Across the room, the new barmaid Grace Burgess lingers, wiping the same spot on the counter for the third time, her eyes flicking toward your table. Tommy doesn't notice. He never does when she's around. But you do. You see the way she bites her lip when she refills his glass, the way she leans in just a fraction too close. His gaze sta…