Fandom: Peaky Blinders Pairing: Finn Shelby x OC Prompt: "Thank God, I thought you were serious for a second there." Warnings: none Word count: 1128
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ALICE RIDLEY has been acquainted with the Shelby's since she was a little girl. She doesn't remember much from before the war but she does remember Polly and her mother would have already together while Alice and the youngest Shelby, Finn, played in the garden.
Alice and Finn has grown up together and had been best friends for years now. The Ridley girl had known about the Shelby's shady business, thanks to late night talks with Finn. That, and Tommy seeing the young girl as another sister so then insisted that she received a job in the business and attended family meetings when both Finn and Alice turned an appropriate age.
Polly was a particular big fan of Alice. When Ada had left the nest and the business, Alice became the only other favourable woman in Polly's life and it became Polly's sole mission to make Alice an official Shelby woman. And her way to do this was through Finn.
It wasn't only Polly who saw Finn and Alice as a potential perfect couple. Arthur, John, Tommy and Ada all saw Alice as the only woman for their youngest brother.
In fact, it got to the point where the entire family would push the youngsters together until they'd notice they were meant for each other. But after years of doing so, there was still no result. Alice only saw Finn as her best friend.
Currently, Alice and the other women connected to the Shelby's were getting ready for a party that the family was hosting. In the room were Alice, Polly, Ada, Grace, Esme, Lizzie and Linda. Not all of them got along but that didn't stop them from having a good time as a group. Alice was the only one of them that loved them all (some more than others but she wouldn't ever admit that). Alice had just finished adjusting her dress when Polly spoke.
"Finn'll be acting like a lost puppy when he sees you, love," her thick Brummie accent sounded behind her, alerting Alice that she was addressing her.
"Hmm?" She questioned, not understanding what Polly meant. The older woman scoffed playfully as she took a drag from her cigarette.
Lizzie looked up from her mirror to glance at the youngest woman in the room. "You've got to be joking, Al! God, the way Finn looks at you, you may as well be a Queen!"
"Language!" Linda shouted from the other side of the room, her extreme religious views coming through.
Grace chuckled, strapping the necklace that Tommy had gifted her around her neck. "Lizzie's right, Alice," she spoke in her smooth Irish accent.
Alice chuckled to herself, fixing her lipstick once more before leaning against the counter to face all her friends. "I doubt that. He's my-"
"Best friend?" All six other women finished for her, emphasising how repetitive Alice was whenever her relationship with Finn was brought up in conversation.
"Oh shut it," she laughed, causing the other women to laugh as well. Soon enough, all the girls were finally finished.
Esme linked her arm with Alice's as they descended the stairs and into the party. Esme and Alice has immediately loved each other. Perhaps it was due to them both coming from a strong Gypsy family and both being brought into the family in one way or the other that connected them. But, the two women just had so much in common and became very good friends — something John was very thankful for, as Esme didn't have many friends in the family circle beside Alice.
The party was in full swing and many turned to watch the seven women as they entered the room. Most were men. The girls made their way over to the Shelby boys. Grace linked her arm with Tommy's, Linda with Arthur, Esme with John. Polly stood with Michael. Lizzie and Ada stood together while Alice moved to stand next to Finn.
"Hi, Finn," she grinned, embracing her friend briefly before he handed her a glass of champagne.
"Hey, Al, you look nice," he smiled.
Ada coughed gently to get their attention. "Just nice, Finn? Have you seen her?!"
Alice glared at Ada, but silently agreed with her. She did look better than just nice. On her body, she wore a pale blue sparkling slip dress. Her shoes and makeup matched her dress, both sparkling and a shade blue or silver. Her long brown hair was tied up in an elegant bun with small jewels decorating her curls (thanks to Esme and Lizzie's handy work). She looked perfect. Not 'nice'.
"Yeah, Finn, she looks stunning," John smirked, causing Esme to whack his arm.
Finn's cheeks grew red yet he proceeded to look at Alice's outfit. "You do look nice," Alice raised her brow with a smirk. "Not nice, uh, you look lovely - uh, perfect. Yeah, perfect!" He fumbled.
Unbeknownst to Alice, Finn received the same torment from his brothers and cousin that Alice received upstairs. They were teasing the boy about Alice. John even said if he didn't make a move soon, he'd do it himself.
Tommy cleared his throat, nudging Finn's back with raised brows just as a slower song started from the band.
"Oh, right-" Finn mumbled. "Alice, do you want to dance?"
Alice's brown eyes widened as a giggle ripples through her throat. She looked at the others around her to see John and Arthur stifling their own laughs, making Alice believe it was some sort of joke. "Oh, I see. Thank god, I thought you were serious for a second there," it made her heart wrench slightly as she spoke. She only said what she did so her dignity wouldn't be tarnished in front of the people she cared about.
Finn furrowed his eyes at her words but then he turned to see Arthur and John practically red from holding in their laughs. "Oi! Shut up."
Finn turned back to Alice, his eyes regretful as he grabbed her arm and dragged her away from his family so they could talk in private. "I'll try again with those idiots here," he chuckled, making Alice smile. "Al, would you do me the honour of dancing with me? I promise this isn't a joke or anything, I'd really like to dance-"
Alice cut him off with a kiss on the cheek. "I'd love that, Finn," the boy in front of her blushed bright red at the foreign contact. Alice giggled, taking his hand in hers, being to drag him to the dance floor. "C'mon, Mr Shelby. They're about to play a new song. Can't leave a lady waiting."
