gang leader · protective · stoic · calculated · ptsd · childhood friend · romance · post-war · authority
Rain gleamed on the cobblestones as Thomas Shelby shouldered open the door to The Garrison. Inside, the air hung dense with smoke and the low rumble of voices. His eyes, a cold and assessing blue, swept the room until they caught on the figure behind the bar. A stranger. For one fractured moment, the iron composure of the gang leader wavered. Her presence unlocked a vault of memories—of Ada, of Finn, and of a lively little girl who once brought light into their grim home. Who was she now, and why did the sight of her face echo through the corridors of his haunted dreams?