𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧, Finn Shelby

- 40

- CHAPTER FORTY -

- IN WHICH THEY FALL ASLEEP

. . .

FINN AND NANCY had met back outside of the Shelby Parlour at eight o'clock and begun their short walk through the village soon after.

And eventually they came to appearing at the front doorstep of Rose Hill Manor where Finn had been staying with Polly and Michael. But neither teenager was particularly ready for the evening to be over – after all, they'd barely been out for an hour – and after finding a rusty old ladder by the side of the house, the two had found themselves on the top of the roof above the front door.

Nancy and Finn had sat up on the top of the front door for what seemed like hours. At some point they'd moved from hugging each other to Nancy leaning on him, back against his torso.

His arms were wrapped around her waist, and she had fallen asleep a long time ago, the glimmer of stars bouncing off her cheeks, and if it weren't for how close they were to the edge of the roof, he would've fallen asleep too.

That and the fact that Finn's mind was very much awake, not at all sleepy. Of course it appeared that was what cold temperatures did to someone.

However, he couldn't quite believe where his mind had gone to in the time that he sat quietly. That, that time last year the two teenagers were nothing but strangers who'd possibly only ever passed each other once or twice in the street. It didn't seem possible, but yet it was. And that Nancy seemed to be working fine with the knowledge of her father on the run.

Her mother had run away to France years ago, her father dumped her and Edward in the ice cold depths of a gang – left them to pick up the messy pieces of a fallen through deal between Tommy and him.

But through out the entire time, both Irwins had grown to be loved by the members of the Peaky Blinders. For some, they were viewed as siblings and to others not.

The concept of their lives before they'd been thrown into the gang was incomprehensible. Because neither of them, Nancy especially, could've thought of a time where she was close enough with someone other than Isaiah to go out during the evening or spend time with friends away from places like school or the betting den.

He couldn't think of how he was ever entertained without Nancy or Isaiah. For there to be no one to spend his free time with, to simply talk to without the pressure of keeping up a facade. And the Irwins certainly knew about facades.

Nancy's childhood had been rough. Maybe not terrible, after all there were plenty of people in much worse situations than she had been in. But she had a chance to restart it, make new friends with people who didn't know of her troubles to keep long lasting relationships.

And now there was a chance for both teenagers to make a new friend in one another. Which they had done and managed to maintain even when they were apart for a few months.

But as he was now able to think about what chances they had been offered, and how they acted around each other, Finn was pretty sure their relationship was possibly on the verge of something more than friendly.

He shivered – a mixture of the confusing thoughts surging through his mind about Nancy, and also because of the cold. He decided that maybe it was best if got the both of them in.

He didn't want the pair of them to become ill, after all. Somehow, Finn managed to get Nancy off of him, and when he stood up, he then knelt down to pick her up, carrying her with an arm beneath her knees and midway across her back.

They needed to get to bed, and Finn knew that for a fact that Nancy wasn't sleeping half as much as she should be – this vendetta made her more uncomfortable than she would like to admit. Finn wanted to help – but he had no idea how.

But for now, Nancy just needed to get sleep in a warm place – not up on the top of the roof. Finn headed towards the back of it where a large window leading towards Michael's room was.

"Michael." Finn spoke, knocking on the window as he stared through the lit up room. "Michael?" He asked, trying to reach through the small gap of the window to where the handle was.

The hand made Michael glance up with a jump, and looked very much alive as he did so, making a show of rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Why're you on the bloody roof?" He asked in a bemused voice.

"Because I'm planning my death." Finn spoke sarcastically to the boy he viewed as more of a brother than cousin. "But... if you don't mind." He gestured to the fast asleep Nancy and the half-opened window.

"Fine. But don't expect me to always be here every hour of the night when you decide to stay out late." Michael groaned and reached for the window handle. "I'm only doing this to save you from mum's wrath. She'd be mad to see you letting Nance catch a cold." He stated, and Finn smiled.

The window was pushed open and Finn nimbly managed to get both himself and her through the large gap, thanking Michael before trekking through the house towards his room where he placed her down on his bed, and lay next to her for a while, trying to stay awake in the moonlight – his mind going through their walk.

But even that couldn't keep him awake, and soon enough, even that tired him out. Finn finally fell asleep, his mind – that had kept him up for so long – sent him to sleep.

His sleep was dreamless, despite it usually being so full of life and colour. And he was sure Nancy's was the same, as his sleep wasn't disturbed.

Not until the next morning, at least.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this when I woke up." A clear voice sliced through Finn's peaceful sleep, and he felt himself waking up even though he felt as if he was still tired.

"Oi!" The same voice spoke louder, and Finn felt a force hit his face. He sat up instantly, rubbing his eyes and blinking in the morning sun.

One of his hands was stuck firmly underneath something, and when his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he saw that Nancy was laying over it, holding onto his hand like her life depended on it.

"Finn, I have no problems with you and Nancy doing whatever." Polly said, as Finn looked over from Nancy to his aunt. "But.." She gestured to herself and her son who was leant against the doorway.

And – after extracting his hand – Finn shook his head, eyes wide. "No. It's not like that." He stared at Michael with eyes that certainly were asking for a single inch of help.

"Really?" Polly asked amusedly. "Shame."

"I agree." Michael shrugged and stuck a cigarette between his lips. "Finn... you have work this morning."

"Shit." Finn said, and moved quickly, finding a comb to brush his hair with and his shoes which he'd blindly flicked off hours before. "Tell Nance to meet me at the den in a bit? I need to talk to her about something."

"If it's about your next day off then you should wait until after the vendetta. Or wait and we can talk about it." Michael chuckled as Polly opened the curtains surrounding the room.

"I- what?" Finn asked, rushing past them all to head through the house.

None of the three were aware that Nancy was awake and listening to every word.

✧

A.n
Hi sorry I keep forgetting to put it in my chapters
but thank you all sm for 15k reads !