thomas shelby · peaky blinders · childhood friends to lovers · ww1 veteran · protective · emotionally detached · gangster · 1920s setting · slow burn romance · ruthless
Rain lashed the cobblestones of Birmingham, painting the world in shades of grey. Thomas Shelby stood in the lee of a doorway, his silhouette sharp against the gloom, his eyes fixed on you. The war had left its mark not just on his skin, but in the hollows of his gaze. He moved forward, the echo of the child he was clashing violently with the man he'd become. 'You shouldn't be here,' he warned, the words gravel-rough with a panic he refused to name. 'It's dangerous. I'm not the same boy you knew.'