Something So Strong (Thomas Shelby x Reader) Completed Mini-Series

Part 1

Credit to the Gif creator

Summary: Thomas has come back from the war a different man and is moving up in the underworld as the head of the Peaky Blinders, but what happens when someone from his past comes unexpectedly back into his life?

Word Count: 1761

Warnings: None

A/N: So this the first instalment of this short chapter series, the chapters won't be too long, unlike my GoT x reader series. I have the plan for this story floating around in my head, but I'm not too sure how many chapters it will be. I planned for about 4 parts, though I can see myself getting carried away with it. To much Tommy is never a bad thing, right?

This is my first Thomas Shelby imagine/fanfiction (hopefully the first of many), I would love to know what you think.

Thomas sat quietly at the table, his legs crossed smoking a cigarette as Polly came through the door, her basket hanging from her elbow, filled with the makings of their evening meal. Placing it on the table, she began to unpack it, lifting a loaf of bread as she looked to him, "You'll never guess who I just ran into down at the baker's."

Taking the cigarette from his lips, he placed his hand to his knee and looked up at her, his expression rather disinterested, "Who did you see at the bakers, Aunt Poll?"

Looking back to her basket, she continued moving its contents to the table, "The baker's daughter, (YN). She's moved back to Small Heath." Polly couldn't help but move her eyes back to Tommy's face, wondering if his expression had changed and she wasn't surprised by what she found. Hearing him clear his throat, she saw him shift in his seat, his face now trying, yet failing miserably to look impartial.

Thomas noticed how Polly looked at him with the hint of a smile at his reaction, but chose to ignore her and even though Thomas knew where (YN) had been these last few years, he replied, "Hmmp, didn't she go to live with her Uncle?"

Polly inwardly laughed, she knew very well that Tommy already had the answer to his very own question, but she decided to humour him anyway. "Yes, that's right, her Uncle needed help in his shop, when his sons left for France." Taking the empty basket from the table, she turned to place it on the floor beside the wall, "She's grown into quite the beauty, though I guess that's no surprise, she was always such a pretty girl."

Turning back to Tommy, Polly watched as he took the cigarette from his lips, giving a slight nod of his head as he blew the smoke from his mouth. Looking down to the ashtray, he watched himself put out the cigarette and tried to speak with a detached voice, "Yes... yes, she was." Standing from his chair, he stood with his back straight, looking to Polly with the intention of saying more, instead he stood there a silent moment, before clearing and his throat, turning on his heels and walking from the room. Polly watched his retreating form, biting the inside of her cheek trying to suppress the smirk that was fighting its way to her lips, knowing very well the thoughts her news had churning in his head.

Sitting alone, in the private room of the Garrison, Thomas leaned back against the wall, an empty glass of whisky in his hand. Polly's news had stirred to life feelings he had buried away some time ago, feelings that were buried, but never forgotten, somehow they always managed to find their way to his thoughts. He had decided back on the battlefields of France, to waste no more time thinking about the beautiful girl that he never had and would probably never see again, because it always left him feeling so despondent. Yet, sometimes at night when the battlefields were quiet and his fellow soldiers rested their weary eyes, thoughts and images of her would come from nowhere, filling his mind with the regret of lost opportunities. And being back in Birmingham, had those buried thoughts and images hiding just below the surface, burning to life every time he walked passed that damn bakery, where he could almost see her standing behind the counter, smiling sweetly as she served the customers.