Dark Paradise // John Shelby
Warnings: Violence, that’s all I think.
A/N: Please just pretend that this isn’t total trash, and that the ending turned out better than how it did.
A name than had most men clearing the path when he was on it. The name that so many foolish men -their enemies- liked to challenge. The name that had you swooning whenever you’d hear it. It wasn’t a secret around Birmingham that you were in love with the man; had been since you were 17 years old, when you first laid eyes on him.
You were a practicing nurse, starting so young with the good connections of your father back home in London. You had bumped into Ada at the library one afternoon, and you both quickly became best friends. You smiled to yourself as you remembered the first time you visited the Shelby house.
It had been a couple months since you and Ada started hanging out, and today you and her were going to the pictures, having finally caught a break from your studies. You came to a stop in front of Ada’s house and knocked lightly. A woman with shoulder length brown hair answered the door, the smoke from the cigarette she was smoking blowing out of her mouth and floating away with the wind.
“Christ love, you must be y/n. Ada didn’t tell me you were coming over, bloody girl could of gave me some warning so I could of looked a bit better than.. well this.” the woman laughed lightly and she gestured over her dress. “Well I think you look darling. You must be Polly; Ada speaks of you all the time.” Polly seemed to enjoy your answer as she welcomed you inside with a warm smile and sat you down at the table.
“Tea love?” You nodded with a small thank you while you looked around the kitchen. It was small, no doubt, but strangely made you feel more at home than your own house did back home. “Our Ada’s just upstairs getting ready, she hasn’t piped down about this picture since you girls planned it. Has started to annoy her brothers.” Polly sat across from you and offered you a smoke, to which you declined.
“Good girl.” She praised as she lit a cigarette for herself. “So tell me love, what’s brings you to Small Heath? Ada told me your dad lives in London.” You nodded while you sipped at your tea.
“Yes, he does. I’ve come here to study nursing. Within 3 years or so, I’ll be a fully qualified nurse.” You spoke with confidence, proud of how you’d come along in life at such a young age.
Polly and you exchanged some more small talk before she excused herself to see what was taking Ada so long. You sat at the Shelby’s table, swirling the last bit of tea around in the bottom of your cup. A bang from the front room caused you to jump from fright, before you peeked around the corner to see what it was.
Coming down the hallway, were two men, both dressed nicely in their 3 piece suits and flat caps. The older looking man took his hat off and shook the rain droplets off it, having a laugh with his friend beside him. “Holy shit Johnny, did you see how fast that little maggot ran once he knew who he was speakin-” he stopped abruptly, standing in the doorway of the kitchen and staring at you.
Behind him, the other man ran into his back, which seemed to annoy him. “Fuckin’ hell Arthur, keep moving out of my way you idiot.” The younger of the two, John you presumed, pushed past ‘Arthur’ and walked into the kitchen, also stopping when he seen you.
“Hi, I’m y/n.” Your voice was shy as you spoke, not sure who they were or what they were doing there. John took his cap off with a smirk on his face before he pulled the seat out beside you. You watched him with wonder as he sat beside you, you admired his features as he turned his head and smiled sweetly at you, his tongue moving the tooth pick that was between his lips.
You weren’t a stupid woman; you could appreciate a good looking man when you seen one, and John had definitely caught your attention, as well as yours his. “John,” he purred with his outstretched hand. You took it, and to your surprise John brought your hand to his lips and kissed it gently. You felt the blush creep up your neck to your cheeks and you giggled lightly at his boyish charm.
“Best calm down there John Boy, don’t want you creaming your pants.” Arthur laughed as he slapped John’s shoulder before he introduced himself as Ada’s brother.
‘Ada never told me she had brothers,’ you thought to yourself.
“Oh for God sakes boys, back away from y/n and leave her be.” Polly shouted at the two as her and Ada came into the room. Ada took your hand and pulled you to your feet, away from John whose eyes watched you like a hawk. “Come y/n, were going to be late.” she sent her brothers a glare before she pulled you towards the door.
“For the pictures hey Ada!” Arthur called, as he smacked his brother on the chest when they both followed you two.
“Eh brother, a Shelby woman and her lovely lady friend shouldn’t be going to such places alone.” John looked at you and raised his eyebrows before plucking the tooth pick from his lips, pointing towards you and Ada. “We’ll come with you.”
Ada groaned loudly muttering about never having any time alone before you and her linked arms and made you ways out of the house. “You never told me you had brothers Ada,” you whispered to her. John and Arthur were behind you both, so you had to keep your voice low. She grumbled out a response and so you decided to change the subject.
“So, tell me about this boy you fancy then”
That was 3 years ago. Your relationship with John had only grew from that day, though neither of you took it further than flirting and jokes here and there. Tommy’s business was on the rise, and the Peaky Blinders were busier than ever making sure ends met for the business, so you saw John less and less as the days passed.
Harry clicked his fingers in front of your face as he offered you another drink. You had finished your nursing studies yesterday, and you were now a fully qualified nurse. A drink or two was deserved considering how much effort you put into your career. Loud voiced boomed through the doors of The Garrison as Tommy, Arthur and John entered the room, laughing at something Arthur had said before they entered.
John’s eyes found yours instantly and his face lit up, excusing himself from his brothers before making his way over to you. He leaned down and planted a sweet kiss against your temple, before ordering a bottle of whiskey. “How have you been love?” He whispered to you as he pulled the seat out beside you. “Good, I finished my studies.”
“Oh, that’s great! Will be nice to have someone around to stitch us up.” He joked, to which you laughed lightly. “Come into the side room and have a drink with us to celebrate, I know Arthur hasn’t shut up about missing you for weeks.” He thanked Grace when she handed him the bottle, before turning his attention back to you. “And you, Mr. Shelby? Have you missed me?” You teased, placing your hand on the outside of his jacket and turning your head on the side to look at him.
John chuckled as he took your hand in his, kissing it again like he did 3 years ago before pulling you close to whisper in your ear. “Every day,” he breathed, the goosebumps rising along your neck. You tsk’d at him, moving back to finish your drink before taking your purse out to give the money to Grace who was secretly watching the moment you and John shared. You liked Grace, she seemed pure - which is something Tommy needed after all that he’d been through.
John beat you to it though, and paid for your drinks, sending you his cheeky smirk you’d grown to love. John was near 4 years older than you, which is some of what stopped you from being with him. But it was mainly a mutual decision to stay friends, seeing as he was a Peaky Blinder and his biggest fear was his enemies finding out about how he cared for you and using you against them.
“I don’t want you to get hurt love, these men - they won’t show any mercy, not even to a woman. And i couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt because of me.” he’d whispered sweetly to you when you confessed to him after a year that you were indeed in love with him.
“I guess one won’t hurt,”
Tommy laughed loudly at you and Arthur’s drunken singing, clinking your glasses together as you went. You laughed loudly when both your glasses smashed on impact, alcohol falling on both your laps. “Oh shit Arthur, you ruined my dress!” You cried dramatically. Beside you, John was picking the glass from your lap, shaking his head with a disapproved sound coming from his throat.
“Right, best get y/n back to Pol’s place, there’s business to discuss boys.” Tommy ordered, noding to John. You and John stood, and you wished Arthur and Tom a good rest of the night before you linked your arm with John and left The Garrison.
It was a short walk back to Polly’s place, and you enjoyed the silence that settled between you and the blue eyed man that walked beside you. Before long, you were wishing John a good night and locking the door behind you.
You hadn’t seen John in 2 days after the night at the bar. You tried not to worry yourself, but Tommy did say they were discussing business - and business with the Peaky Blinders always meant trouble. You had occupied your days with helping Polly, going to the markets to gather fruit and vegetables for dinners she was making.
While you two ate, you listened to her tell you about her kids that were taken from her. You enjoyed her stories, even if they broke your heart with her. After you washed up from dinner, you were making your way upstairs when the front door was kicked open, and in rushed the Blinders.
“Y/N? POLLY? Come quick!!” Arthur yelled through the house. Your heart sank as you looked at the limp body that hung between Tommy and Johnny Dogs. “We found him like this thrown out front of The Garrison”
“John..” You sobbed, rushing forward and grabbing his face in your hands. His skin was cold, his eyes remained shut as his head flopped in your hands. You placed your ear on his chest, listening for any sign that the love of your life was still, by some miracle, alive. The faint drum of his heart was enough to have you in tears, which of course the boys thought it meant that they had lost their brother.
“No, no boys. He’s still with us. Quick, clear that betting table off and lie him down!” Scudboat threw all the papers off the table with a quick swipe of his arm, while Tommy and Arthur lifted their brother onto the table. Polly came rushing into the room and gasped, shielding Finn’s eyes before telling him to go and grab a bottle of whiskey and the first aid kit.
John was covered in blood, his right eye starting to swell and bruise. Blood was still running from his split eyebrow. Ripping his shirt open, your hands started to shake as you looked at all the cuts still slightly leaking blood. You tried to compose yourself, feeling along his ribs and counting in your head. “There doesn’t feel like there’s any broken ribs. There only seems to be cuts on his chest, no bruising which is good, means there’s no internal bleeding…” your eyes skimmed over his sides, and there on the left side was a gash.
“Finn, pass Tommy that stuff and go get me some towels. Polly, I need warm salty water-”
“A-already on it love.” she stuttered from beside you when she seen the cut across his side. “Arthur, I need you to wet that towel and wipe away the blood from his chest, gently, so I can see those cuts. Tommy, you do the same to his face.” The boys nodded and got to work. Polly helped you to tidy the gash on his side, and once the blood was gone you noticed that it was deep, but initially not as bad as you thought it was.
“By the looks of it, he’s been cut just under the skin, it hasn’t gone deep enough to be an issue. Whoever did this clearly just wanted to prove a point. It doesn’t need major medical attention, I can stitch it here.” John started to wake up after being unconscious, groaning loudly as his body registered the pain. “Here Finn, give me a shot of that Whiskey” John groaned, making the boys around you chuckle. You asked Polly to keep cleaning his side so you could stitch it, as you went up to reassure him he was okay.
“Hey love.” John smiled at you after he took a sip of alcohol. He reached up and touched your cheek, wiping away the tears that hadn’t stopped falling down your face. “John, you bloody fool.” you laughed and kissed his forehead.
It didn’t take long to have his side stitched up, and the cuts on his chest cleaned and sterilized. Pretty soon Tom and Arthur were helping him upstairs and onto the closest bed they could find.
“Who did this to you John?” Tommy asked.
“That fuckin’ little worm Billy Kimber had his men grab me, to ‘set an example’ that he wasn’t to be fucked with, Tommy.”
Arthur and Tommy looked at each other, and you knew by the end of the day, the men who grabbed John would be in a shallow grave. “Go boys, I’m find here. Y/n can keep me company.” You smiled sweetly at John, taking his hand in yours while you both watched his brothers leave, calling out to the rest of the Blinders that were sitting downstairs in the betting shop.
John did his best to pull you closer to him, and you rolled your eyes before lying down next to him. “Thank you, for what you did for me. I couldn’t imagine having to go to the hospital and having the coppas coming in trying to find out me business.” You snuggled into his chest, sighing in content. “I love you John, I’d do anything for you.”
You hadn’t realised it slipped out, but the words swam through John’s brain over and over. He knew you were in love with him, and he shared the same feelings back. But having them said out loud really reminded him that you were there, and you weren’t going anyway.
John leaned down and brushed his lips gently across yours, pulling back so your lips were merely inches apart. He breathed out a soft ‘I love you’ before finally connecting his lips to yours in a long overdue kiss.
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