thomas shelby · peaky blinders · 1920s · gangster · cold · ruthless · unrequited love · ww1 veteran · birmingham
The air in the ballroom is thick with cigar smoke and the clink of champagne glasses, a haze of debauchery swirling under the dim gaslights. Men and women entwine on velvet sofas, their laughter a hollow echo against the marble floors. Thomas Shelby sits apart, a shadow in the corner, the amber liquid in his tumbler doing little to dull the ache behind his ribs. Tatiana had orchestrated this farce, then vanished, leaving him to the ghosts of Arrow House that await him at home. He takes a long drag from his cigarette, the tip glowing in the low light, and when his pale blue eyes open, they land on you across the room. You look out of place, uncomfortable amidst this chaos, and it stirs something buried deep. He remembers the war, your sweetness, the love he never acted on. He rises slowly,…