Peaky Blinders Imagines

Wrong - 1 - Finn Shelby

December 19th, 1925

The late winters air was crisp and cold, as you relaxed on the banks of the Cut, eyes scanning a book quickly, cigarette hanging from your lips loosely, careful not to disrupt the lipstick you wore.
You checked the watch you wore again - one gifted to you by Finn for your six month anniversary -and sighed audibly. He was, yet again, late to meet you. You tried not to be hurt. You realised that he was a Shelby boy , what that entailed. He had to help his family at all times, and you understood. Mostly. You stubbed out the cigarette, throwing it into the river.

Flipping open the compact mirror that lay place in your pocket, you gazed at your reflection, carefully wiping away the tear tracks that had been there all day. You sniffed, forcefully smiling at the mirror, convincing yourself you were good. You were fine. It worked a little.

"Love." You heard an out of breath voice behind you, and turned, to see a slightly sweating Finn. He must have ran all the way here from the look of him. A burst of happiness hit you - it was hard to feel sad when you were with him.

"Y'alright?" You grinned your crooked smile, as he flopped down beside you, pulling off his jacket.

"Sorry I'm late. Aunt Pol wanted me to finish something up, and then I realised I forgot to give something to Arthur, and I couldn't really explain why I had to leave so-"

You cut him off with a quick kiss, nearly brushing your fingers through his hair, before realising his cap was on, and you'd probably slice your fingers on the blades stitched into it (the ones you'd put there yourself, sewing under your bed sheets at early hours of the morning, lest your parents find what you were doing).

"S'alright, love. I was enjoying a bit of peace and quiet anyway." You teased, pulling away, watching as he gave you that Finn Shelby grin.

"It feels like it's been ages since I seen you." He inched closer, kissing you more deeply than you did him, one hand supporting his sitting position, the other caressing your cheek.

His fingers were calloused and scarred, no doubt from years of forgetting there were blades in his hat and pulling it off haphazardly. You shrugged, as he pulled back a little, scanning your eyes, as you placed a blade of grass into your book as a marker, throwing it to the side.

"What's wrong?" His voice was caring, but there was an undertone of 'who do I need to beat up'.

"Nothing?" You spoke it like a question, like you had no clue what he was talking about.

"Your eyes give you away love. Either you've been taking some bloody strong drugs, or you've been crying, and since I never seen you touch even alcohol, I doubt it's the first."

You sighed, falling backwards, so you were laid down, staring at the fluffy clouds above you.

"I... it's just my parents. It doesn't matter."

"It clearly does. What have they done this time?"

"They, um. They saw me out with Dotty the other day, and they don't really like her, cause ... " You trailed off, shrugging.

"They don't like Dots? Since when?"

"Since she started dating your mate." You mumbled, picking at grass.

He laughed disbelievingly for a second.

"So because she's dating a Blinder they don't want you having anything to do with her? Fuckin' hell."

"Pretty much." You couldn't look at him. You heard in his voice that he was hurt.

"Fuck, what would they do if they found out their daughter was dating a Blinder. A Shelby, too. Course, they've probably already got a nice suitor picked out for you, huh? One who has money that he hasn't made through being in a gang?"
He had raised his voice - barely noticeably, but you could tell he was angry. Of course he was. Why didn't you just not say anything?

"Finn." You gently laid an arm on his arm, though you were a bit hurt by his words.
"I bet they'll

marry you off to a nice bloke, one who you can actually be seen with, you know. Not one that you have been with for over a year, and still can't even meet his family in case word gets back to your parents. Not one you can't hold hands with, or kiss, or do fucking anything with." His sentence begins almost mockingly, but just transpires to anger and hurt, and a million other emotions.

You felt your lip tremble. How many times had you had this argument? A thousand felt close to the number. And there was never anything you could do to solve it.

"Finn, calm down. We've been through this, it's only a couple weeks and we'll both be eighteen, things will be different, you'll see-" Your voice was pleading, as you sat back up, just wanting to hug him tightly. But you knew he would just shrug you off when he was like this.

"You know what we're doing is wrong." He said quietly, looking at you. "I'm ... I'm making you risk your family for me. It's not fair. But it's not fair to me either. I just want a normal relationship. One I can tell people about. I want to fucking scream from the rooftops how much I love you, ya know. How much I love that you're intelligent and can read, and how much I love the way your eyes light up whenever you see me. How warm and at home you make me feel. But I can't. We can't."

Your tears started to well over. You didn't know that he felt so hurt over this.

"I'd risk everything for you, Finnegan Shelby. Fucking everything. It's not ideal. And I'm sorry. All I can say is in a few weeks it'll be different. We'll be adults. They won't control me as much-"

"Hey, dont cry." His voice was a bit croaky, as he pulled you onto his lap, and you leaned against his chest, feeling his calming, continuous heart beat.

"I'm sorry."

"It just hurts. That your parents feel this way."

"It hurts me too. I've given everything to you, Finn, this year, ya know? I've shared so many happy experiences with you. And it kills me that they can't know about you. Can't learn to love you too. Because you're amazing to me."

He sighed, was silent for a few moments.

"Just a few weeks."

"Just a few weeks." You replied, rubbing patterns into the backs of his hands soothingly.

"Then I can steal you away." He joked, and you heard a grin in his voice. You snorted.
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"Mum, Dad, I'm home!" You called through the house, pulling off your thin waterproof coat, slipping off the watch Finn had got you , along with the promise ring, delicately pushing them into your pocket.

There was silence in return, and you furrowed your brow in confusion, as you wandered down the hall.

"Mum? Dad?" You called again, before walking into the litchen, and seeing them sat together at the table. They both wore angry, furious expressions.

"Sit down, please, Y/N." Your mum was calm, but you felt the palpable air of fury around you. Your heart beat faster, trying to think of what you'd possibly done.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Your dad spat. You winced slightly. "Your brother was down the Cut today with a few of his friends, and you know what he saw, Y/N?"

You froze, trying to think of an excuse.

"He saw my daughter with a Shelby. A fucking Blinder!"