Summary: Being your friend has been the best gift and worst curse for Tommy. Finding himself stuck between wanting more and your uncertain refusal, the annual Christmas party may be just the turning point for the start of something new. After all, they do say that the best gifts are received at Christmas time.
Warnings: cheesy mistletoe fluff // slightly annoying minor character
Word Count: ~1.2K
Requested by anon: “Can I please get a Thomas Shelby fic where reader and him are at a Christmas party and they found themselves under the mistletoe? 🥰”
A/N: Anon, I hope you enjoy this one! Also, Happy Holidays Everyone!
If there is one rule Tommy understood by observing those around him, it’s that being wealthy meant you had to show it off. And that is just what Margaret Hayhurst seemed to accomplish with her annual Christmas Eve gala.
Most found the woman insufferable, yet they still flocked to her party, if only for the gossip they’d spill the next morning at their breakfast tables. She was a forty-year-old woman who hadn’t a penny to her name until she married a wealthy man. The recently widowed woman now spends his money on lavish soirées, in an ill-fated attempt to flaunt her wealth in the faces of those who know her true beginnings.
In some twisted sort of irony, fate had given her a comfortable position for a rather hefty price. Left lonely and quickly losing the innocent features of a woman in her younger years, Margaret had gained all she wanted but lost so much in return. The years hadn’t treated her well, forcing onto her attitude of a viper ready to strike and an air of authority. Both of which are exacerbated by the wealth she has acquired.
Tommy’s gaze follows the aged woman as she prowls through the growing pockets of people scattered around the pine-draped parlor, seeking out her next conversational victim. And though it is slightly humorous when you flinch at Margaret’s spidery fingers wrapping around your forearm, he can’t help but feel sorry for what you are about to endure.
In turn, your eyes scan the crowded room, locking with his a few times but you are ultimately drawn back into the conversation. The gravity of your staring is not lost on the man. He knows what you are asking, but this is the most entertainment he’s had since he arrived.
“You could go over there and save her.”
