The only person feared more than the Peaky Blinders is Iviana Thorne
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Tommy Shelby left for France hopeful and in love, he returned empty only to find his love was gone. Their reunion proves how much the war changed them both but can they find a wa...
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13. bad for you 'I'll be in your bed wearing red like the rose that you gave to me.' ~
Thomas woke even earlier than usual the next day. Perhaps this was because he had the first peaceful sleep since he'd last slept close to Ivy.
He allowed himself to lay awake in his bed for a while, listening to the peaceful breathing of the figure beside him. The two weren't touching and she wasn't even facing him but the warmth her body radiated was enough contact for him to feel at ease.
Once the morning sun had began to seep through the thin curtains of his room, he leaned over to the bedside table to grab his pocket watch. He was careful not to make too drastic of a movement through fear of disturbing Ivy. Seeing that it was almost eight am, he decided to get ready for the day. Today wasn't just any day after all, it was the day he would be gaining a sister in law.
By the time Ivy woke up, she was alone in the bitter room. She sat slightly upright to try look around for signs of Thomas but immediately pulled the covers back up to her chin when she felt the chill. Ivy noticed that the suit jacket was gone from the back of the door and the shoes he had been wearing yesterday were gone too. However, she knew he hadn't left the house as his signature flat cap and gun were still on the bedside table.
As she sat fully up in the bad, the door opened, revealing Tommy who was dressed for a wedding.
"I brought you tea." He declared, placing a small China cup with a faded pattern beside the bed. The act of kindness earned a small smile from Ivy despite the tea itself not being to her liking. He stood awkwardly over the bed as she drank, asif the two had just met.
"We'll have to be leaving for the wedding soon." Tommy broke the silence.
"I can't go wearing yesterday's dress!"
"There won't be time to go home so you'll have to." He grabbed his cap and gun from the table beside her before heading out of the room. "Besides." He stopped in the doorway. "People look at you no matter what you're wearing, at least give the bride a chance to be the centre of attention."
Ivy couldn't help but blush at Tommy's comment, something she hadn't done since the war.
~
The couple sat on a crate at the edge of the Lee camp. They smoked on their respective cigarettes as they waited for the van of men, including the groom, to drive up the lane.
"Do you think he'll go through with it?" Ivy asked as a way to make conversation.
"He doesn't have a choice."
"Could always marry you off instead." She joked. It felt like there was an elephant sat between the two. Since the talk of John's wedding began, the thought of their own hadn't left either of their minds. Luckily, they were saved from confronting it as they saw a familiar van round the corner and make its way towards them.
Tommy and Ivy approached the van once it had stopped moving, their demeanours equally dominating.
"Why's she here?" John asked, worry written in his eyes as he spotted Ivy. "If this is ending a war Tommy, I'm not having Ivy get hurt."
"You think I'd put her in danger?" Tommy almost sounded offended by John's subtle accusation, standing up straighter to look more intimidating.
"You men never cease to amaze me." Ivy laughed, shaking her head and throwing her cigarette to the floor. "I can take care of myself."
"If there's going to be a fight-" John began.
"There won't be a fight, John." Tommy approached him, placing his hands on his brother's shoulders. "It's a wedding."
"What? Who's wedding?" Everyone surrounded John, pulling out white roses to place in their pockets.
"There's a Lee girl who needs marrying." Ivy told him, pulling his eyes to meet her own. The small smile she offered him calmed him down a great deal and the gang began walking up towards where John would be married.
~
As night fell, the congregation became more and more jolly. The Lees and the Shelbys were dancing and drinking amongst other things. Ivy sat and overlooked the scene, feeling as though she was adding nothing to the festivity. The only person who seemed to notice her position away from the others was Thomas, who approached her as the group was becoming too rowdy for him too.
"How come you're not dancing?"
"Not my scene."
"It used to be. You and Ada made up dances in the street." The two turned their attention to said woman, who was twirling around despite her delicate condition.
"Someone ought to stop her." Ivy turned back to Tommy who was already looking at her.
"Do you ever think about what ours would've been like? Wedding, I mean."
"Sometimes, yeah." Ivy smiled a genuine smile, joyous that he felt the same she had been all day.
"It would've been different to this."
"Definitely! A hall far too expensive for either of us would be more than necessary."
"I don't doubt that." Tommy was conscious of Polly walking over to them and so he was quick to stop the conversation there.
"Ada needs to slow down." The elder woman said, glancing between the pair as they once again looked towards the pregnant woman.
"You think she'd listen to me?" Tommy answered, lighting a cigarette.
"She's been held up in that basement for so long, she's going off like a firecracker."
Hesitantly, Tommy rose from his set beside Ivy to confront his sister. Ivy turned away from the family drama, not looking back until Tommy called her name. When she turned, she saw Ada being walked across the mud by Polly and Arthur. Tommy was following beside them but looking to Ivy. When they made eye contact, he gestured for her to follow.
