Contrary - Finn Shelby x Reader

FORTY-EIGHT

PUBLISHED: 30/07/2022
THIRD PERSON'S POV

Finn watched you as you helped Isaac get dressed warm for today, barely paying attention to Finley babbling in front of him. Saoirse was fixing up Rosalie's stockings and putting her newly polished shoes on her. He noticed that your nails were painted black instead of their usual yellow. He liked the yellow. You never ever painted them black, if you had business like weddings or funerals you just stripped your nails of colour altogether.

Yellow was the only colour that ever had the privilege of touching your nails (bar the one time his nieces painted them black). At least, that's what Finn thought. It's what he knew, but he felt like he didn't know you all that well anymore. It was like you and him had your own secret language with the way you understood each other, but now it's like you're speaking another language that everyone else bar him could understand. He was sure he was just being overdramatic, though.

"Dadda, pretties," Finley cooed, reaching up to try and grab the gold cuff in Finn's earlobe, distracting Finn from his thoughts.

"Aht! Son, I've told you, no touching Daddy's earrings, or Mummy's, or Aunty Sersh's, or Rosie's," Finn snapped, leaning his head back so his son couldn't reach his ears.

Finley immediately withdrew his hand, bringing it up to his mouth and sucking on his thumb, becoming silent. Finn sighed and hugged his son, kissing him on the cheek and rubbing his back so he wouldn't cry, then pulling out his necklace with the bullet on it from under his shirt and showed his son, who immediately started fiddling with it, although not enthusiastically as he usually would.

"Look, now you've gone and upset him," You said, and scowled at your husband as you picked Isaac up, "Fucking talk to our kids properly or don't talk to them at all."

Saoirse looked between the pair of you, then gave Rosalie her dummy, lifting her niece up onto her hip.

"He's fine now," Finn threw back, frowning at you, as he hoisted Finley up onto his hip, "And sorry if I didn't want my fucking earrings ripped out, alright?"

You scoffed and rolled your eyes as you walked out of the room, "Whatever Finn — Just don't talk to our kids like that again."

Finn sighed as he adjusted Finley on his hip, and Saoirse cleared her throat, making Finn look at her and raise an eyebrow.

"Are you and (Y/N) — Are you and her okay?" Saoirse asked, shifting from foot to foot, chewing the inside of her cheek.

Finn sighed. The tension must have been plain as day for Saoirse to notice it.

"Just rough times right now, is all. We're fine," Finn lied, but it was only a half one — It was rough times, but you weren't fine.

Finn, after he slept off the booze and the snow, he went into the house and apologised for what he said. Yeah, he got blackout drunk but he never ever touched Mary Bone. He was sure of it. He knew that he didn't. You didn't believe him after what Mary told you.

Saoirse gave him a look that told him that he didn't entirely believe him.

"It's not proper fine, but it's good enough," Finn said carefully, and Saoirse nodded, but looked disappointed, moving to walk out of the room.

Finn followed her, taking one last look at himself in the mirror to make sure he looked alright.

"Are you going to leave us?" Saoirse asked lowly as she and Finn descended the stairs.

Finn stopped dead in his tracks, making Saoirse turn around and face her brother-in-law.

"Not — Not by choice," Finn stated after contemplating his word choice, "We'll talk about it later, all of us. You won't get left out of the loop, we won't up and leave you, Sersh."