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Gentleman

Summary: When Tommy Shelby shows up at (Y/n)’s door beaten and bruised, she realises she might care about her friend’s brother more than she thought.

Prompts: “Cut the crap and tell me what happened.”; “You’re not fine.”

Warnings: mentions of fighting and injuries.

A/N: this is way less angsty than what I’ve written recently (actually, this is not angsty at all, there’s just a lot of teasing), I really enjoyed writing it!

Requested by: @drownthewitch

The gif is not mine, credits to the owner

There was something peaceful about rainy nights. You had always loved to stay in when a storm was going on outside, a cup of tea in your hand, a book in the other. Not a care in the world. Until the next morning, at least, then everything would go back to normal. But for a few more hours, nothing mattered but you. Nothing existed but you.

And the person who had started banging on your door.

You got up from the couch, ready to punch whoever had dared to ruin your night right in the face. “Who is it?”

“Me.”

Tommy Shelby. Ada Shelby’s brother. You had known him since you were five and following him everywhere, fighting him with your wooden sword with his sister. You could’ve recognised his voice from miles away. Still, if you had just opened the door, you wouldn’t have been you. “I don’t know anyone with that name.”

“(Y/n), open this fucking door.”

There was something strange in his voice. He seemed tired, in pain, even. You opened the door, widening your eyes at the sight. He was covered in bruises and scratches all over.

“What the fuck…” you whispered, moving away from the door to let him in. “What happened?”

Tommy walked past you as you closed the door behind him. “Do you have whiskey?” He ignored your question, taking off his cap.

You raised your eyebrows, crossing your arms over your chest. “I asked you a question.”

“I asked you a question, too.”

“Cut the crap and tell me what happened.” You snapped, following him into the living room.

He sighed, turning to look at you. “I’m fine, Y/n-”

“You’re not fine.” You interrupted him, raising your voice. “You don’t get to show up to my house like this and tell me you’re fine.”

“I might’ve made some people upset.”

He winced as he tried to take off his coat. You walked up to him and carefully helped him remove it. “That I can see.”

“Thought you could help me with these.” He said, referring to his injuries.

You delicately grabbed his chin, examining his face. It was really bad. “Come with me.” You instructed, walking into the kitchen.

You took a bowl and filled it with warm water. “Why didn’t you ask your pretty barmaid to patch you up?”

“Because you took the nurse course with my sister.” He replied, sitting on the table.

You opened a cabinet to take out a few bandages and a sanitizer. “For two days. Then we got kicked out.”

“Why is that?”

“We were always laughing.” You shrugged, placing everything on the table.

You poured a bit of antiseptic on a cloth and gently started to treat the wound on his face. “It’s a bad cut.” You murmured, furrowing your brows.

Tommy tried his best not to show the slightest sign of pain, but you couldn’t help but notice the way he was gripping the edge of the table. As much as you liked to say that the deserved to be humbled with a beating from time to time, you didn’t like to see him like this.

He had probably noticed your concern, because he was looking at you in a strange way.

“You should be more careful, Thammy.” You mocked him, trying to ease the tension.

Tommy smiled to himself, shaking his head. You had been giving him a hard time since the day Grace showed up to the Garrison. In particular, you liked to make fun of the way she called him - and the way she flirted with him.

“Your Grace impression is not that good.”

“You’re right, I forgot to bat my eyelashes at you.”

“Are you jealous?” He teased you with a grin, looking at you with inquiring eyes.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” You said, taking his hands in yours to wash the blood away. “I was just messing with you a bit.”

Silence fell between you as you treated the cuts and the bruises on his hands. You could feel his eyes on you as you focused on his injuries. He was observing you. It made you nervous, but not in a bad way.

“I’m not interested in her, by the way.”

Tommy’s sudden statement surprised you. Why was he telling you? It was none of your business, after all.

“Then why are you so soft with her?” You asked him out of curiosity.

“‘Cause I’m a gentleman.”

“Ah, right. How could I forget?” You joked, grabbing a fresh cloth to dry his hands. “Thomas Michael Shelby. Racketeer, bookmaker, notorious gentleman. Marriage material.”

He chuckled, following you with his eyes. “You’re lucky I let you disrespect me like that. I’ve cut people for much less.” He affirmed in a fake scolding tone.

“A real gentleman indeed.”

You started to wrap the bandages around his hand, securing them so they wouldn’t fall off. He moved a strand of hair out of your face with his free hand, lingering with his fingers on your cheek for a few seconds before letting in fall by his side.

“Were you worried about me?” He asked out of the blue, making you stop your movements for a few seconds.

“What?”

“Before, when you saw me.” He explained. “You seemed kinda worried.”

You didn’t raise your eyes from his hands as he spoke, avoiding his gaze. “I was worried about my carpet. You were bleeding on it.”

“I see.” He nodded, clearly just pretending to believe you.

You began to wrap the bandages on the other hand, which was in slightly better conditions than the other. Neither of you said anything else for a while.

“You know,” Tommy started, bringing your attention on him again. “I almost thought you cared about me. Like…” He paused, debating whether to continue his sentence or not. “Like I care about you.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words. Was he trying to tell you what you thought he was trying to tell you?

You let go of his hands, raising your eyes on him. “You care about me?”

“Yes. Not as a friend.” He affirmed bluntly, regaining his composure.

You blinked, not sure about what to say. You cared about him as well -not as a friend -, but you had never thought he would look at you as something more than his sister’s annoying friend.

Tommy gently caressed your face, getting closer to you. He examined your face to read any kind of reaction, giving you the time to move away and, when you didn’t, he got even closer.

You felt numb, but in a pleasant way. Everything about him - his eyes, his voice, his smell - made your head spin and your knees weak. You had almost given in to the kiss when you came back to your senses.

You placed your finger on his lips, moving away a bit. “That’s really inappropriate for a gentleman.” You teased him, smirking at his surprised expression. “You should ask me out, first.”

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