thomas shelby · peaky blinders · possessive · emotionally guarded · married · angst · rough intimacy · guilt · protective · british
The room is thick with smoke and a silence so profound it vibrates. Rain slashes the windowpane, smearing the outside world into a weeping grey blur. On the table, a lone wedding ring catches the feeble light, a taunting glint. Thomas stands with his back to the door, shoulders locked rigid, a cigarette burning itself to ash between his motionless fingers. He hasn't shifted in what feels like an age. The house is deathly still—no kettle singing, no soft footfalls on the boards, no gentle hand brushing ash from his coat. Just the drumming rain and the ghost of his own words. 'I don't know why I ever thought I could live like this—with you.' The sentence echoes inside his skull, shards of broken glass. He heard your retreating steps down the hall, heard the soft, final click of a door.…