Peaky Blinder Imagines

"Care." ~ Alfie Solomons

"I don't love him." She said to herself, as she watched his fist connect again with the man's jaw. His face was bruised and bloody, his knuckles torn and raw. The anger in his eyes blazing like a wildfire. Finally pulling away he dropped the other mans shirt, letting him collapse to the floor in an unconscious heap. At least she hoped he was unconscious.

Breathless, she watched as Alfie Solomons rose from the body of his victim. He cast his blue eyes towards her, as he bent his head down and spat blood onto the mans face. Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand he looked at her one more time before turning and walking away.

"I don't love him." She repeated, digging her nails into her already torn dress. She tries to believe it. She really, really tries.

~~~

By the time Gracie had made it back to Camden Town, Alfie had already left.

The office was quiet from the hustling sounds of men and baking. She knew they had probably gone to the pub or the whore house, knowing Alfie had probably gone with them. Yet, for once, she was glad Alfie had gone.

In the darkness of the alley, Alfie wouldn't have seen the bruises lacing her arms and jaw. The four crescent shaped cuts that decorated her left cheek. Taking a deep breath, Gracie dropped her bag onto one of the worktop tables before collapsing into a chair herself.

She had begun to lose count of the amount of times Alfie had saved her. Saved her dignity, her honour and her life. She was barely 20 when she made her way from Birmingham to Camden Town, almost immediately falling into Solomons arms. Her baking background made it easy for her to get a job in the bakery. And her experience with the Shelby's made her quickly immune to the destruction that follows in Alfie's path.

At this point, she was debating whether or not to just admit defeat and go home. Tommy's wedding was in a few weeks time, so she could abandon her post here and crawl back to the Shelby's.

Slipping out of her shoes, she opens the wardrobe that holds spare clothes for the boys that come late at night with black blood seeping through their gloves. Pulling out the spare dress that has been there since she arrived, she padded towards Alfie's office.

Pushing the door open with one hand she reached back to unzip her dress with the other. It wasn't until her dress was pooled by her feet, did she realise she wasn't alone.

"Hello, Gracie." Alfie says from his desk chair. Gracie could barely move, her hands desperately trying to pull down her already short petticoat. She could tell Alfie was looking her up and down, and it wasn't helping.

"Sorry." She muttered quietly, "I didn't realise you were here." She bobbed her head quickly and attempted to back out of the office without having to turn around.

"Wait." He called out wryly. Freezing to the spot, she watched as he pushed his chair back and walked over to her. He was only wearing a white shirt, his braces slung low over his hips. Dry blood had stained the collar almost black. Stopping just in front of her, he gently ran his fingers over the bruises on her arm. Letting them travel up over her neck and jaw, finally coming to rest on her cheek where the fingernail shaped cuts burned like embers. "Did he do this to you?" He muttered under his breath.

She didn't say anything, only parting her lips slightly in shock. If she hadn't of known better, she would've thought he almost cared. Sighing he shook his head, letting his hand drop back to his side.

"I should've come earlier. I shouldn't have let you walk home alone." Anger laced his voice. "He'll fucking pay for touching you like that."

"Alfie, I'm fine." She lied, wanting to step back but staying right where she was. There was a pause as he looked down, quickly shaking his head before looking back up again.

"But I'm not." With that he leaned in and their lips were together. In that moment, Gracie knew what heaven felt like. It was only a soft kiss, slow and vulnerable. His fingers slowly tangling around her own. Only when his arm started to wrap around her waist, she forced herself to pull away.

"Alfie stop. You don't mean this. This isn't you." She stated, pressing the palm of her hands against his chest. She suddenly felt very exposed with only her cream petticoat. Then it dawned upon her, and anger swelled through her. "And I'm not one of your whores." She snapped, taking a large step back.

Alfie groaned and ran a hand over his bruised face, he had cleaned most of the blood off but had still missed some around the corners of his eyes and hairline. "Jesus Christ, you're not a whore. You're far from that." Shaking his head he walked back towards his desk and leans against the table. She only frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know why none of my men have made moves on you. Why none of them dare to show any type of explicit interest in you. It's cause I told them I'd break their fuckin' necks if they ever dared to lay a hand on you." He snapped, still facing his desk. "That's why Johnson came over. He wanted to get to me, he wanted me angry. He wanted..." He trailed off as Gracie slowly stepped forward. Making sure not to make any sudden movements, approaching him as of approaching a wild animal.

"But if you claim to care about me, why did you never show it?" She spoke slowly, nervously.

"I can't explain." He said, looking at her over his shoulder.

"You never can."

"How am I supposed to tell you that I get shy when it comes to you?" He turns around fully so they're standing face to face. "Me - Shy." He scoffs. "Whenever I'm around you I get so tense I can barely move and whenever you speak my heart stops. Don't even get me started on your smile." He smiles shyly to himself, reaching out to gently graze her jaw. "Your smile is the most beautiful thing I've seen by far. So yes, I do care about you. Sometimes I care so much, that I can't show you." He finished quietly.

"I care about you too." Gracie whispered, reaching out her hand to grasp hold of his fingers.

Smiling he looks down at their conjoined hands and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. And for once Gracie didn't see the powerful man everyone fears. She didn't see a hurricane or a volcano or a tsunami. She only saw a boy. A boy who would carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and only ask to be loved in return.