Passion Bearers

The aunt

This chapter is in Polly's POV.

For the full experience, listen to Where's My Love by SYML.

Notes:

Trigger Warning: mentioned of rape and sexual assault.

Sorry that this a short chapter, will be posting a longer one in the upcoming days.

Chapter Text

Polly sat well into the night with Tess while Tommy was out with the boys, probably torturing the bastard that attempted to rape her. Hours earlier, Tommy had burst in through the door with his wife in his hands, her dress ripped open, her lips and arms bruised with hand-marked shapes. Instantly, Polly figured it what had occured.

But, she stayed calm about the whole thing, changing Tess into a proper night shift that Ada had left behind and woke Tess up. She ignored the prancing Tommy who looked like he was brimming with absolute fury. Polly had always doubted whether or not Tommy truly loved his wife. Especially during the war, when not one letter from her husband arrived upon Tess' door. But, seeing him like this, with a mix of concern and bright anger on his face, Polly saw what most didn't at the time. Perhaps, something that not even Tommy saw at the time.

" Stop lurking around looking like a bloody mad dog if you ain't consoling your wife, Thomas", Polly hissed as she filled up a bathtub with hot water.

Tommy took one look at Tess and he softened. But, the instant his eyes landed on her bruised lips, he shot up, once again looking red with fury.

"I left that bastard with the boys until I could get Tess alright, Pol, but I can't look at her knowing that he lives after what he's done", Tommy breathed out heavily.

Polly sighed, rubbing her temples.

" Men", she sighed, dropping the water scoop onto the table, "Always running away at the first sign of commitment. Bloody cockerels, you lot".

Tommy looked at her with that look in his eyes, the look that Polly remembered seeing so clearly in Rosary, his mother. There was that glint in their eyes, the one that seemed to say "well, what else did you want from me?". There was a hopelessness, a desperation to protect and achieve that drove both Tommy and his mother. It was another brand of ambition, one that went at great lengths to protect what they loved.

It was a look that Polly couldn't deny.

She motioned for Tommy to go as she continued to fill the tub next to the sleeping Tess, who looked like an injured angel in her white night shift and spilling hair, which she wore up more often these days. Tommy glanced painfully at his sleeping wife, his eyes filling with an emotion that Polly couldn't identify.

But, before she could say anything, he was out the door, like a shark that smelt blood in the water. She watched him go with sadness in her heart, one that lied with her heavily since her children were taken from her. Since she considered the Shelby children like her own, it was like a gut punch to Polly to see them hurt. Arthur called her love for them tough love but what he, and the other children, never seemed to understand was that there was no other way to love them. To love something as dangerous and tough as her brother's children required to be just as, if not more, tough.

With those heavy thoughts, Polly sat down next to Tess, stroking her hair as she analyzed the girl's bruises. Seeing them made Polly remember the days when she was young, sitting by herself in her father's gambling den like an innocent lamb in a den of lions. She remembered being younger than Tess, pressed against the wall by a man much bigger than Polly, his hands everywhere where she didn't want them to be. She remembered screaming and having no one answer her. She remembered it all so vividly that she had to stop thinking of it in fears of bringing back the pain that came with these memories.

"Polly?", Tess asked her in confusion as she blinked her eyes open, looking around, obviously lost.

Polly dropped to her knees before her, stroking Tess' hair, taking her into her arms as she watched realization dawn upon Tess. Polly could feel Tess reach to touch her lips and a strangled moan escaped her lips, full of pain and hurt. She began to cry, sobs wracking her frame as Polly held her. Polly clutched her tightly, her eyes shutting close as she tried to stop herself from crying. She rocked Tess in her arms as her sobs began to slowly die down, the pain laced in them becoming more and more apparent.

"Where is Tommy?", she asked as she broke away from Polly, "What happened?".

" He said he found you in time before the worst could've happened, thank God for that. Right now, him and the boys are dealing with the issue", Polly replied, knowing well enough that Tess was fully aware of what 'dealing with the issue' meant.

The Shelbys wouldn't hesitate to exact their revenge upon whoever associated themselves with that man. There would be no mercy. There would be no painless death. Not with the Peaky fucking Blinders.

Tess just nodded in response, darkness seeping into her eyes, thirst for revenge apparent on her face.

Polly got her bathed and tucked into the bed, sitting next to her as Tess receded into herself. Polly remembered when she first arrived, pregnant, hesitant, so shy and quiet. It was obvious from the beginning that Tommy saw something in her that others didn't. He was so enamoured with her. But, when asked, he always denied that he loved his wife.

At first, Polly didn't understand what it was that he saw. Visibly, she didn't look anything special, Polly had known that if Tommy put his mind into it, he'd himself a girl that looked twice as pretty as Tess did. Polly had seen Tess' sisters in the wedding. They were the stars of the celebration, burning brighter than the fire itself. However, as time went on, Polly began to see the warmth that Tess possessed. She was soft and quiet and welcoming, in ways that felt like standing next to the fire of a hearth. But, as the war soon revealed, Tess was viciously strong and loyal. Never had she faltered in her loyalty to Tommy or her children. She did the job silently, no complaints, no talk of leaving. Tess and Tommy were a lot more similar to each other than Polly had originally thought. Both were quiet and underestimated, when, in fact, they had been the biggest players in the game.

To see Tess broken was like seeing a trusted sword break. It was unsettling and unusual. And just like with a sword, Polly hadn't realised how strong Tess was until she was her broken.

So, she did her best to comfort Tess that night. She made her drink some soup and tea, talking to her about all sorts of things. She tried to ignore the painful absence of Tommy that night, cursing him with all that was unholy, knowing that even when his wife didn't say it, she was hurt that he wasn't there.

" He'll come soon, Tess", Polly said as she was getting her ready to sleep.

Tess shook her head, her curls flying wayward.

" No need to lie to me, Pol. I may love him but that does not make me blind to who he is. His revenge is more important to him than I am", she whispered back bitterly, her eyes filling with frustration and sorrow.

Polly shushed her, turning off the light as she walked out. But, deep inside, her heart hurt for Tess as well. Alone, despairing, hurt, while her husband was fighting wars that she never asked him to fight. To herself, she thought, what a bloody mess this all is.