Shelby heart- Completed

Tommy- Horses

"She's a beauty" Arthur boomed as him, John and tommy admired the horse stood before them

"Already found a trainer to get her ready for epston" Tommy stated proudly as John stroked the horses mane. As the 3 brothers stood and watched in the stables, a woman walks in. She has riding gear on except for her helmet which was under her arm

"Sorry, I was just gonna ride my horse" y/n says nervously about to leave

"Don't let us stop you" John tells her and she nods grateful. Y/n goes to the end of the stable and holds the reins of a jet black horse with white socks. Tommy was invested in the girl, as he could only describe her as gorgeous and elegant

"What's her name?" Tommy asked looking at the horse

"Princess. Its daft I know, but I named her when I was 12 and unfortunately, the name has stuck" she said with a small laugh

"What about your horse?" She asks

"Grace's secret" Tommy replies. The pair looked around and realise that they were alone, Arthur and John had clearly found it best to leave them alone making Tommy roll his eyes at his brothers actions

"I best be off Mr shelby" y/n says climbing onto the back of her horse

"Well then I hope to see you around" she smiles and then the horse trots out of the stable. Tommy goes to the garrison later that evening and his bombarded with questions

"I didn't even get her fucking name lads. Fucking idiot" Tommy grumbles

"Ooo. Is Thomas shelby in love?" Ada teases

"That's funny. I don't know her name, met her once, she's terrified of me and what I'm capable of doing. Don't think those fit into the category of fucking love" Tommy scoffs at the ridiculous idea

It had been a week since Tommy had met the woman and yet he hadn't seen her once despite going to the barn every single day to 'care for his horse' when really he just wanted her name. That was until the races at epston. The races had finished long ago and everyone other than the peaky blinders, and a few others had left.

"What's going on lads?" Tommy asked walking over to John and Arthur who were looking at something from a balcony

"Isn't that the mystery girl Tommy?" John joked as they looked at the race course (I don't do horse racing and dk the name of the place where races take place) . Low and behold, there she was, faster than Tommy had ever seen a horse go with the mystery girl on its back. He watched mesmerised by her speed and agility until she came to the end of the track. He went down to go and greet her because he needed just any reason to speak with her once again

"Mr shelby" she said in shock as she got off her horse

"That was impressive" he complimented

"Thank you. I practise hoping that one day they'll ever let me race. Don't see it happening any time soon mind you, but after all, I am just a woman" she laughs knowing that if she didn't, she would surely cry

"You'd make a good jockey. If you ever go professional, I'll be sure to watch" Tommy said making y/n smile

"Thank you Mr shelby. You're very kind"

"Call me Tommy, I never got your name"

"Y/n y/l/n" she introduces as they shake hands

"Would you....er...would you like to go for a ride with me in the fields at the stables. Although I can't go as fast as you" he says with nervous laughter

"I would like that very much" she replies sheepishly, rather terrified but also overjoyed

"I'll meet you tomorrow then, stables at 2 o'clock"

"Is this a date Tommy? Or did I just embarrass myself by asking that question for nothing?" Y/n laughs

"It's a date" Tommy agrees smiling. It wasn't often that he smiled but y/ns laughter seemed to be contagious. Tommy went back to his brothers like a school boy, grinning as if he just got the most popular girl in school

The next day, they met at the stables. Tommy even made sure to get there early, worried that he'd be late and let her down. When she turned up, he smiled and offered her a cigarette

"No thanks, if I ever want to be a jockey, smoking is off the table I'm afraid" they get on their respective horses and begin at a trot into the countryside

"How come I've never seen you around here before last week?" Tommy asks

"I spent my childhood in Yorkshire training horses for farmers. Then during the war, I helped them when they were in distress from the noise or wounds. I also entertained soldiers by doing tricks with the horses. Because of that, I never wanted to do anything other than be around horses. I never suspected Birmingham would give me that opportunity until I was in need of a place to ride and found this place"

"I grew up around horses aswell. Definetly less judgemental than people" he says to which y/n agrees

"Did your horse go to war? I heard every horse in the country was forced to fight" Tommy asks

"They tried. But she wouldn't let anyone else ride her. Kicked them off and some soldiers ended up wounded before they'd even gone to war because of her kicks. So they sent her home. What about you, what did you do in the war?"

"I was a tunneler. There were times when I thought I'd be buried alive, one time I had to dig my way out, got my medals, through them in the cut, lived with the scars. So, you said you did tricks with the horses, what kind of tricks?" Tommy asked intrigued. They slowed down to a standstill as Tommy prepared himself to watch. Y/n walked with her horse before turning around. The horse began to run, not as fast as at the races but still fast. Y/n gripped onto the saddle and held herself up in a handstand as the horse kept running. Tommy's jaw dropped open in amazement as she got down and trotted back over to tommy

"Quite a talent. Where did you learn to do that?" he said with a chuckle

"I always wanted to do horse riding. My mother wanted my to do dancing. I was 14, worked so hard in private for months until I showed her. Told her it was my way of compromising" the pair laughed at the thought and began to trot back to the stables. It suddenly began to rain quite heavily

"Race ya" she smirked getting a head start. Tommy went as fast as he could, feeling care free for the first time in what felt like forever. He was a boy again, almost as if the war never happened, like he was allowed to remain a kid. They got to the stables (y/n won) soaking wet from the rain. After putting the horses away, Tommy offered her a cup of tea at his house which she accepted and he drove them home

At his house, he gave her some of Ada's clothes which she had left one night after using his house as a sanctuary away from pol after a night of underage and heavy drinking. Y/n got dressed and brushed her hair before platting it to her side. Tommy got changed aswell and they met eachother on the sofa, hair dripping

"We look like drowned rats" y/n laughed making Tommy join in

"Yet you still look gorgeous" he said quietly looking at her lip. He moved closer and gently grabbed her chin as they were millimeters apart

"I don't kiss on the first date" she mutters

"Any exceptions to that?" Tommy asked

"Maybe one" and she leaned in, planting a soft kiss on his lips which soon turned into a passionate and fiery make out session before they pulled apart with y/n on Tommy's lap, straddling him

"I should get going" she said

"How come?"

"My husband will be waiting for me" y/n replies smirking

"Your husband?" Tommy cocks his brow

"Tommy I'm kidding. I share a flat with my sister and she'll be wondering where I am. She's already terrified enough that I'm meeting you, being an hour late home won't help my cause"

"So she's not my biggest fan?" Y/n shakes her head

"I'll just have to prove her wrong then" Tommy smiles and kisses her once again, this time light and delicate before driving her home. Safe to say, they would be meeting again very soon