PUBLISHED: 02/07/2022

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 43

PUBLISHED: 18/07/2022

Part 1

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST

THIRD PERSON'S POV

A cry filled the bedroom, and Finn started laughing victoriously. Both of your babies were here, safe and sound.

•••

Finn sat on one of the couches adjacent to the fireplace in the living room. You were resting on the mattress from the bed in the downstairs guest room, just at his feet. Finn moved it into the living room for you. The babies were swaddled and laying in the small, shallow white plastic tubs that you used when washing, between the mattress and fireplace, but not so close that they'd overheat.

Finn felt iffy about putting their Moses baskets so close to the fire, so he went and got the tubs. He looked down at his sons, Medium Bee and Small Bee, sound asleep with their matching yellow and black beanies covering their ginger hair (after Saoirse came up with the nicknames, you couldn't resist knitting bee-themed clothes for your babies).

They were gorgeous. He couldn't have asked for more perfect little boys. But they were small. Medium Bee was small, and Small Bee was tiny. He was worried about his sons making it through the night, but you told him that he was just stressing. You were probably right.

The living room door was suddenly thrown open, and Finn quickly turned around to see who it was.

Polly strolled into the room, followed by Esmeralda, Aberama, Bonnie (who was dragging a nervous Oscar by the elbow), Lizzie (who was carrying Ruby), Tommy (who was carrying Charlie), Arthur (who had Billy on his shoulders), Linda, Isiah, Jeremiah, Uncle Charlie, Johnny Doggs and one of his wives, and Curly. All of whom were soaked and, with the exception of the children, muddy from the knees down. At least they all had mud boots on.

Finn grimaced. He had just cleaned the floor earlier on that day while you were baking. They grabbed the towels he had set out on the couch and started drying themselves, kicking off their boots stripping off coats and throwing them into the mudroom. Those who were carrying children put them down. Ruby crawled over to the bay window, hoisting herself up to a stand and looking out of it at the overcast day. The storm had now stopped. Billy and Charlie followed her.

He eyed them all nervously. There was a lot of people here. Too much, in his opinion.

"Where the fuck is my little sister, Shelby?" Ezzie yelled, making Finn wince, and before he could tell her to stop shouting around, a shrill cry filled the room.

"She's resting," Finn informed her, but Ezzie was already storming over to him, followed by everyone else.

She looked over the back of the couch, and pushing Finn out of the way so she could see her nephews properly. You had woken up, now drowsy.

"Oh-h-h, they're lovely," She sighed, and Polly and one of Johnny Doggs wives, the one named Edie, wasted no time heading around the couch and picking up Small Bee and a still whining Medium Bee.

"Be careful!" Finn begged, even though his aunt and Edie were treating his baby boys as gently as could be.

"How did they even get here?" Linda asked, and Finn pointed to himself, making everyone's eyes widen in surprise, some of them even gasping.

He felt slightly disappointed. Didn't they have any faith in him?

"Don't act so surprised," He snapped defensively, "Dottie, (Y/N)'s friend that's a nurse, she instructed me over the phone."

This seemed to relax your family. Ezzie knew Dottie was a great nurse. She had patched up Bonnie, Aberama, and Oscar after hours without questions asked, too, which only reinforced their confidence in her.

"They been fed yet?" Polly interrogated her nephew, and Finn nodded as the two women sat on the edge of the bed.

"How would you even feed them? They're so small," Edie commented, making Finn frown and you glare at her.

"Just want to make sure they've had enough, is all," She added, not wanting to be hostile.

"They couldn't latch, we had to use a syringe — Arthur, don't light up a fucking cigarette with my boys just there! If you want to do anything, go get the mop and bucket and clean up the cunt of a mess you've made," Finn commanded his eldest brother, who pulled the lighter away from his unlit cigarette, grumbling as he headed over to the door of the basement.

Your husband slipped down onto the mattress next to you, and the kids came around the couch, clambering onto the mattress. Polly and Edie started checking the babies over.

"Be careful of Aunty Bee," Lizzie instructed the children as she came over to see you for herself.

"How the tables have turned," She mused, and you grinned up at her.

Finn noticed that some colour had come back to you, which was good.

Linda came over and looked at her new nephews.

"Congratulations," She said simply, and you thanked her.

You and her had become much more civil with each other as you got to know each other more, something Finn was thankful for. It was annoying, seeing you fight every time you saw each other.

"Who else is here?" You asked your husband, who rolled his eyes.

"The entire fucking cavalry and their neighbours," Finn said dryly, making you snort as he looked over the back of the couch, "There's Tommy, Aberama, Bonnie, Oscar — Oscar, stop looking so awkward, you wouldn't be here if we didn't want you here — Isiah, Jeremiah, Uncle Charlie, Johnny Doggs, and Curly. And the others, of course."

You hummed and shifted so you were sitting up, watching the women as they inspected your babies.

"This one is healthy," Polly announced, holding up Small Bee.

Finn let out a sigh of relief.

"So's this one," Edie added, looking down at Medium Bee.

"So can we hold them?" Ezzie asked, itching to hold one of her nephews.

Edie and Polly looked at you and Finn. You looked up at your husband, who raised an eyebrow. Your call, he was saying.

"Yes," You answered, and Ezzie immediately moved around the couch and made grabby hands for Small Bee.

"Granddad, want to come and hold the other?" Edie called out, and Aberama wasted no time going and getting Medium Bee.

"Here — Help me move this couch," Bonnie told Oscar and Isiah.

They moved both of the couches either side of the green rug back, making more room, then pulled the armchairs and couches in front of the fire so they all sat around the green rug. Finn helped you over to an armchair, the one next to the couch your brother. Finn sat on the floor in front of your chair, leaning back onto it, being mindful of you. Everyone was now settled onto the couches, fawning over the babies and telling you and Finn congratulations. Ada, Karl and Saoirse would be here soon. Finn called them right after the birth.

Jeremiah was now holding Small Bee, chuckling at how much he looked like Finn. Both of the boys did, from their ginger hair to their little toes.

"Poor (Y/N) never even got a look in," Jeremiah commented, making everyone chuckle.

"Medium Bee's got her nose," Finn pointed out in reply, nodding towards the baby that Uncle Charlie was holding, Curly peering over his shoulder at the child.

"Yeah, Small Bee here has (Y/N)'s eyes," Isiah commented, looking over his Father's shoulder.

Small Bee was looking right back at him, and if Isiah's didn't know any better, he'd say that the tiny boy was unafraid.

"Can't you call them by their names instead of their nicknames?" Polly sighed, making you and Finn look at each other.

You hadn't named the babies yet.

"Do you have names in mind?" Oscar asked, and you nodded.

You just didn't know which baby would be named which. Finn got up and sat on the arm of your chair, leaning down to put his lips near your ear.

"Well, Small Bee looks like a Finley," Finn murmured in your ear, making you turn and look at your husband funny.

"Finn, if one looks like a name then the other will because they both. Look. The. Damn. Same." You whispered in reply, but you agreed with him.

Finley was a strong name and your littlest boy was a fighter. You were scared he wouldn't make it through the birth but he did.

"Medium Bee's our Isaac then?" You asked softly, and Finn nodded.

Finn sat up straight, and cleared his throat.

"Small Bee's name is Finley John Shelby-Gold, and Medium Bee's name is Isaac Elijah Shelby-Gold," Finn announced simply, and everyone nodded, voicing their approval of the names.

"Named after me, is he?" Isiah joked, and Finn grinned at his best mate, but nodded.

"Of course," Finn confirmed, and Isiah's smile dropped to a smaller, more grateful smile as he looked at his childhood partner in crime.

"Well, since I'm your brother and you didn't name one after me, you have to bake me a cake," Bonnie said, making you roll your eyes.

"There's one in the kitchen," You replied, and he whooped, getting up and going to the kitchen, wanting to put some food in his hungry stomach.

"Anyone else hungry?" He asked, and Charlie's arm immediately shot up.

"Why don't we all cook dinner to celebrate the new babies, yeah?" Tommy suggested, and everyone headed to the kitchen.

Finn helped you to the kitchen, and sat you down at the regular table, then headed upstairs and got the boys' Moses baskets, bringing them downstairs in case anyone wanted to put the babies down. He doubted it, but they were there just in case. Some of you settled at the regular dining table, and some of you settled at the outside dining table, which had been brought inside during the storm so it wouldn't get weather damage.

Tommy lead everyone around, chopping up stuff and letting the kids mix items in bowls. Bonnie came over and placed Isaac in your arms, giving your hair a ruffle, making you attempt to scowl, but you couldn't, not with how joyful you were feeling.

Isiah gave Finley to Finn, who was sat in front of you. You looked down at your sons.

"You're a fucking trooper, love," Finn murmured, making you look up at him.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you," You replied shyly, making him smile softly.

You and your husband held your babies, almost oblivious to the ruckus around you that was your family, too enthralled with the newest members of it.

§§§

The babies are here and they've got names!!

Also I was originally going to have *just* Polly rock up to the house but then I thought about it and there would be NO way that would happen lol everyone's always together

Tomorrow I go back to school so I probably won't update as frequently, but the next chapter should be out within the week — are you all excited for me to start writing about s5 or nah?

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

TAGLIST

@meadownicolee

@toothlessmcleod

@im-your-possession

@bethabear12

@paisley-37

@shelundeadxxxx

@bluehairdie

@krillfromsky

@cucumberfingefsandwiches

@jamieolivia27

NEXT PART

Part 44

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 41

PUBLISHED: 16/07/2022

Part 1

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST

THIRD PERSON'S POV

You spritzed the vinegar in the spray bottle over your mirror, Saoirse wiping it up with newspaper. You and Saoirse giggled and giggled as you got the bottle of rubbing alcohol and dipped the cotton swab in it, writing your message for Finn onto the mirror, Saoirse grabbing her own cotton bud and dipping it into the liquid, drawing pictures to decorate around the message.

You worked quickly, then headed downstairs, shushing each other as you snuck back through your bedroom, trying your best not to wake Finn up as you headed downstairs and into the kitchen, starting up on breakfast.

Finn woke up to the smell of bacon cooking, which made his stomach rumble. He headed into the bathroom, turning the hot water on at the sink, washing his face and hands. He didn't like cold water, even in summer. It always had to be hot.

He went to look at himself in the mirror, but noticed the words in the fog on the glass.

'Happy Father's Day!

Thank you for everything you do for this family.

We wouldn't be here without you.

With love from,

(Y/N), Saoirse, Finn Junior,

Daisy, Duke, Charlotte,

Tuck, the chickens, and the twins'

Finn grinned widely as he read the last bit. You were having twins. Polly and Esmeralda saw it in a dream. You, surprisingly, had no dreams about your babies. It was everyone else.

Finn headed downstairs, already in a good mood. His good mood became lifted when he saw you and Saoirse arranging pancakes on a plate, everything already set out on the dining table. You looked over at your husband, and your eyes lit up at the sight of him.

"Good morning, my darling," You greeted, coming around the table and walking to him, hugging him the best you could with your stomach in the way.

"Good morning, my love," Finn replied, then placed a chaste kiss on your lips.

Saoirse gagged at the pair of you, making you chuckle as Finn pulled away.

"Good morning to you, little miss," Finn said, and Saoirse hummed in reply, mouth full with some of the strawberries that were meant to go on top of the pancakes.

Finn knelt down, placing a kiss on your very prominent bump and saying good morning to his 'daughters'. You were now at the beginning of your third trimester. Only a couple more months and they would be here, in your arms. Finn was excited — nervous, but mainly excited.

"We don't know if they're girls, Finn," You sighed exasperatedly, slightly annoyed with the way he insisted that they were girls.

"I feel it in my gut," He replied as he guided you over to the table, pulling out chairs for you and Saoirse before sitting down himself.

"I want girls too," Saoirse agreed, and Finn high-fived the girl, making you roll your eyes at the pair as you started filling a plate with food.

"I want healthy babies," You said simply, but you were hoping for boys.

Boys that could look out for their younger siblings. Boys that could be a good big brother, like Bonnie is to you.

“Well we already have two sons, let’s hope these two are girls to even it up, aye bubbas?” Finn said, rubbing your bump at the end of his sentence.

Finn felt a jolt under his hand, and beamed a million dollar smile.

“Are the babies kicking?” Saoirse asked hurriedly, leaving her French toast in favour of putting one hand on your stomach too.

“Medium Bee just kicked me,” Finn confirmed, making you snort and roll your eyes.

Since you were the original Bee, your babies were ‘Medium Bee’ (the more active twin, they kicked and moved more) and ‘Small Bee’ (the less active twin, they just relaxed — they moved, but not as much as medium bee, and their kicks and hits seemed to be less stronger). Saoirse, with the wonderful way her mind worked, came up with the nicknames first, and you and your husband followed suit.

Saoirse squealed in delight as she felt your stomach move under her hand, making you smile. Your husband retracted his hand and started eating his breakfast, your sister doing the same.

•••

You mixed the pasta salad around, getting ready to take it outside. Everyone was at your house for lunch once more. You had bought a dining set to have outside, so you didn’t have to drag your dining table outside all of the time. The outside one was much larger than your inside one, and sat on the porch, getting carried down the stairs and sat on the grass when needed.

“Everything ready, ladies?” Polly asked, and you all gave her words of confirmation.

“Well, let’s go then!” She said, clapping her hands then picking up the tray of cooked meat.

You grabbed the pasta salad, putting the bowl on your stomach, and giggling at how it balanced there, taking a few careful steps before Ezzie scolded you for playing with the food. You rolled your eyes, but grabbed it properly anyway, taking it outside and placing it on the table.

“Here she is! Woman of the hour!” Arthur said, raising his bottle of whiskey when he saw you, making you chuckle at the tipsy man.

“How’s Artie and Will?” He asked, referring to your twins.

“They’re fine and they’re not being named after you,” You replied, making him roll his eyes jokingly.

You didn’t know what the twins would be named yet.

“I just thought, being Finn’s favourite brother and all, that I’d get them named after myself,” Arthur said, moving his hands around in his drunken rambles.

Linda elbowed her husband and hissed a ‘shut up!’ to him.

Finn frowned, and took a sip of his glass of water. Arthur wasn’t his favourite brother. John was. Arthur knew that, and even though his eldest brother was joking, the words didn’t sting any less.

“Here’s an idea; you have yourself another baby with your wife and name him Arthur,” You snarked, sitting down next to your husband.

Finn placed a hand on your knee and squeezed it, a silent thank you, then started putting food on a plate for himself, then for you, making sure to stay away from anything that set off your ‘anytime sickness’. Saoirse was doing her own, now closer to nine than eight and wanting to do everything for herself.

You tried to focus on lunch and the conversation, but you knew that after everything was cleaned you’d be seeing the nursery for the first time, Finn promising to let you see it. Finn had started doing up the upstairs guest bedroom for the nursery, moving everything from that bedroom up to the attic. Finn wouldn’t let you see the nursery, even going so far as to lock the door so you couldn’t go in. You were annoyed, but excited.

After the other women cleaned everything up (you got out of clean up duties do to your baby bump), and everyone either went home or started relaxing either in the living room, garden, or guest bedrooms, Finn took you upstairs, covering your eyes as he lead you to the nursery door. He guided you to find the doorknob, and you twisted it, pushing the door open.

“And — open,” He commanded as he took your hands off of your eyes.

The wall in front of you had been repainted — a light blue. The rest were still a faint, barely there yellow. A rainbow with clouds on each sides had been painted on the wall, the window in the middle of the rainbow. In front of the two clouds were two cribs, each of them with a mobile. There was a chest of drawers in between the cribs.

Down to your right, there was a big, red armchair with a footstool, a bookshelf with baby books and stuffed toys on it between that and the crib on the wall adjacent. There was a change table closer to you, a bin next to it. On the floor, in the middle of the room, was a light grey rug. In front of you, next to the crib, was a rocking chair. Finn put his hand under your chin, and gently tilted your head so you were looking up at the roof. Your jaw dropped.

The roof was painted black, with yellow stars. A crescent moon sat near the light.

“Do you like it?” Finn asked softly, scared that you wouldn’t and all of his effort would be for naught.

“Oh, Finn — it’s perfect,” You gasped, tears filling your eyes and threatening to fall.

Your husband grinned, leaning down and kissing you on the temple.

“Finn,” You began, going and sitting in the red armchair — which was quite comfy, if you were being honest.

“Yes, my love?” He replied, coming to sit in front of you on the footstool.

You placed your hands on your stomach, a habit you gained in the past six months.

“What did you want to name our babies? And don’t just say girl names,” You warned as you took off your necklace, making the corner of his lips turn up.

“I like Elizabeth or Polly for a girl,” Finn answered, then added, “John or Isaac for a boy. Something biblical. And sort of like Isiah’s name.”

You ‘awwed’ at your husband. You could definitely see your baby with those names.

“I like Isaac for a first name, but remember, Esme’s already got John Junior. What if we use John as a middle name?” You pondered as you slipped your wedding band onto your necklace, and Finn hummed.

“I want to name them Rosie or Ezra, if they’re a girl, and Finley or Elijah if they’re a boy. Not your name, but a variant of it,” You explained, and your husband nodded, racking his brain for where he heard that phrase before.

He chuckle once he figured it out. Your wedding day, when you were naming Finn Junior, his big baby boy.

“Finley,” Finn repeated, testing the name on his tongue.

He grunted in approval. It sounded nice. Finley John. Even better.

You gave the necklace to Finn, who held it above one side of your stomach, the side that Medium Bee sat in. He knew what you were doing. He’d seen it done in Johnny Dogg’s camp when he was younger.

He held his arm absolutely still, and the ring started swinging back and forth in a straight line. You and him watched it as it did so, mesmerised. He stopped the ring, then moved it to the other side of your stomach, over Little Bee, letting it swing again. Another straight line, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

“Isaac Elijah doesn’t sound too bad, does it?” You asked, crinkling your nose up as your thought.

“No, it doesn’t,” Finn answered, feeling slightly dejected, but tried not to let it show.

“And Finley John. That’s a good name. A strong one,” You continued, tilting your head as your thought.

Finn chuckled as he undid the clasp on your necklace, placing your ring back on your finger gently, giving your hand a kiss, then putting your necklace back on you.

He stood up, then helped you out of the armchair. Instead of going and telling everyone the news of your discovery, you decided to go and have a nap, after a bathroom break of course.

Finn ended up with one less pillow than he would’ve liked, the pillow ending up supporting your stomach, but he didn’t mind. He dreamt good during his nap, dreaming of two little boys toddling after you in the garden, giggling and squealing as their feet got muddy.

§§§

The next chapter will be a doozy oof

I hope you all enjoyed this one :))

Love y’all ❤️

- Sunflower x

TAGLIST

@meadownicolee

@toothlessmcleod

@im-your-possession

@bethabear12

@paisley-37

@shelundeadxxxx

@bluehairdie

@krillfromsky

@cucumberfingefsandwiches

@jamieolivia27

NEXT PART

Part 42

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 47

PUBLISHED: 26/07/2022

(I forgot to copy some chapters onto here shhh)

THIRD PERSON'S POV

You woke up to an urgent pulling of your hair, and sat up. One of the twins. Isaac. He gave you a cuddle, and you held him a bit tighter than necessary, then got out of bed, balancing him on your hip. You headed into the bathroom, washing your face, and wiping Isaac's with a baby wipe. The house was painfully quiet.

You poked your head into the nursery as you passed it. Rosalie was gone. Finn probably had her. Or Isiah. He had come to stay at yours for a bit. It was too painful for him to stay there, at the house that he and Ezzie had made their own. You didn't blame him. You hadn't been in Bonnie's apartment or vardo yet. You didn't want to.

You headed downstairs, sighing at the fact that there was no noise. Saoirse would usually be humming, or giggling, or reading a story to the babies and animals, or playing an instrument, or singing, or talking. Just making noise. But the only noise was the cat meowing. You shook your head to rid yourself of the sad thoughts, not wanting to ruin your day before it started.

You hummed, although it wasn't nearly as nice as Saoirse used to, and entered the kitchen, where your daughter was up in her high chair, and your other son was sat at the table, both of them eating toast. Your husband was sat with a vacant look on his face. He looked more than tired. He looked exhausted, and you knew it wasn't just a physical one. Finn had lost two of his best mates in the one go.

"Finn?" You said softly, putting Isaac next to Finley, who gladly grabbed some of his brother's honey covered toast, even after Finley tried to swat his hands away.

"Just — tired," Finn explained hoarsely, and you pursed your lips and nodded.

You made your way around the table to your husband, and leaned down, giving him a quick kiss, then pulled him into a tight hug.

Finn placed a hand on your knee, and squeezed it thrice, grabbing his coffee with his other hand.

"I love you too," You replied, grabbing the mug next to his own and sipping it, knowing it was meant for you.

"You staying home again?" Finn asked, feeling a bit more normal after his cry.

"Yeah, I think Jeremiah has things to do so one of the girls and I will be watching Jeremy and Bon-Bon." You explained, and your husband nodded.

Isiah needed a bit more help with the babies now that Ezzie was gone, and you were all too willing to help out with your niece and nephew, and so was the girls from your netball team. They were all absolute godsends, always bringing around food and offering to watch the babies and taking Saoirse to and from school, even though it was all out of their way.

"It's Poll's birthday today," Finn informed you, and you swore, then walked over to the fridge, grabbing a small box off of the top of it.

"Can you give her this just in case I don't see her?" You asked, and Finn nodded.

Rosalie, now done with her toast, squealed, wanting to get down.

"No, you're in baby jail because you keep on opening the baby gates!" Finn chastised his daughter, wagging a finger in her direction, and Rosalie giggled.

"Oh, Finn, don't put her in baby jail! She's just exploring, right ring-a-round the Rosie?" You defended jokingly, going and getting your daughter out of your chair, bringing her over to sit on your lap.

Finn reached over and grabbed the boys' toast, and told them to come around the table to the three of you. They did so. Finn balanced the pair of them on his legs, and listened as Rosalie babbled to the twins, and Finley babbled back to her, throwing in some of his big boy vocabulary in there, telling her about his adventures with 'Untle Tarl' in the 'orch' (they picked 'appas' together, according to Finley).

You scolded Finley when he said a certain four letter word starting with 'f', Finn just laughing, knowing that his uncle Arthur most likely taught him it (you had walked into Linda and Arthur's once and caught Arthur encouraging Finley to swear — "Come on, Finley, say 'fuck' and I'll give you a chocolate!" "...Buck." "Close enough, mate.")

"We'll get through this," You told your husband, who nodded, but you weren't sure how you would or how long it was going to take.

You just knew that you'd get through it somehow.

•••

Thomas and Polly approached the group gathered in Charlie's yard.

"Happy birthday, Poll," Finn greeted, giving his aunt roses and a kiss on the cheek.

He then fished around in his pockets and gave her the box.

"From (Y/N) and the rest," He said, then stepped away from Polly, and Curly approached her.

"You grow grand in the horse shit, Poll," He congratulated in his own little way.

"Curly, pour some beer, aye?" Tommy asked, and Curly scuttled off to do it.

"The train to London leaves in an hour. Arthur, Michael, you're coming with me," Tommy said, trying to light his smoke.

"Tommy, I have to take Gina to the hospital today." Michael interjected, and Finn tried not to roll his eyes.

"A week ago, three members of our family were killed by Jimmy McCavern. The man we're going to speak to in London is establishing a relationship with Jimmy McCavern," Tommy took the beer that Curly offered, "So, cancel your appointments, and Ada can take Gina to the hospital."

Isiah bristled at this information, and Finn put a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to go with them too, but he knew that it wasn't the right time, or that he wasn't the best man for it.

"'Cause that's what women do," Arthur added, making Isiah scoff as he took a draw from his cigarette.

"Clean that shit off your shoes before you get in me car, aye?" Tommy told his cousin, taking a puff of his own cigarette.

Michael looked at him in a way that said that he wasn't impressed with his older cousin.

"Michael, they will give it and give it until your case is proven, and then they'll take it. From you, but mainly from me." Polly said, looking at her son, then at her nephew.

"Polly, you go to the hospital and speak to Aberama Gold. You tell him there is a strategy in place to avenge the death of his son and daughter, so not to do anything rash. And take with you the heartfelt condolences of the whole family," Tommy instructed his aunt, making Isiah frown.

Isiah knew Tommy meant his words, that he was truly sorry that Esmeralda and Bonnie had died, but couldn't the man say it with a bit more emotion?

"Why me?" Polly questioned as Tommy took a sip of his beer.

"Because Aberama Gold is in love with you. He even got an haircut," Tommy replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "And the smell of your perfume might help ease his pain."

Finn's mind drifted to you teasing him about Aberama being his 'favourite uncle', and he fought the urge to snicker.

"Tommy, I'm forty-five years old today." Polly informed her nephew, clearly not having it.

"Forty-five years old and still breaking hearts, eh?" Tommy said, and Arthur said a 'yeah' in agreement.

"To Polly," Tommy announced, raising his glass.

Everyone else followed suit, raising a toast for the matriarch of the family.

"Curly, organise two wagons to take the souls of Esmeralda and Bonnie Gold's souls to heaven," Tommy commanded, and Curly nodded, "Isiah, fetch his boxing gloves from the gym to burn with his body. Grab anything from your house that Esmeralda would want gone up in the smoke with her."

"Ezzie," Isiah muttered softly, knowing how much his wife hated being called by her full name.

Finn clapped Isiah on the shoulder, and led his best mate to his car, not wanting to leave him alone.

•••

You bounced Rosalie and Bonnibel on your knees as you read them a story, the boys drawing on a piece of paper with Dorothy. A car pulled up outside, and the dogs started barking. Finn Junior hopped up onto the bay window seat to see who it was.

Dottie walked over to the window to see who it was.

"Mary Bone and her baby," She announced, and grabbed the girls off of you, allowing to go and answer the door and tell the dogs to stop barking.

Mary came up the walk, the setting sun making her look all the more gorgeous, cradling a baby wrapped in a purple blanket. You welcomed her in, and ushered her to the kitchen, putting on the kettle for the pair of you.

"Is this bubby then? Oh, gorgeous!" You cooed, and she chuckled, turning the baby in her arms so you could see them better.

"Her name is Cara," Mary stated, and you cooed even more, telling her how pretty and romantic her name sounded.

"She's going to be a heartbreaker when she gets older," You said jokingly, going and grabbing two teacups and putting sugar and teabags in them.

"Hope not — I hope she'll be like her father, falling in love with the one woman and staying with her," Mary replied, and you grinned at her.

"Who's the father? You didn't tell me you were in love!" You complained, going and grabbing the biscuits from the pantry.

"I'm not the one he's in love with," Mary admitted, and you clucked your tongue sympathetically.

"Oh, Mary. Any man would be lucky to have you," You consoled, and grabbed the chocolate you stashed earlier, then going and sitting back across from her, snapping it in half and giving her the big piece.

She took it gratefully, and you pulled over Jeremy and Bon-Bon's stroller, Mary setting Cara down in it after you reclined the back of it. You got up and poured the now boiled water into the teacups, and milk, then carried them back over to the table, setting Mary's down in front of her.

"I didn't just pop around for a visit," Mary said as you settled back into your own chair.

"Oh?" You asked, confused, looking over at the woman as she rocked her child back and forth in the pram.

You picked up your teacup and took a sip.

"Cara; she's," Mary began, but paused, then sighed, looking away from you, "She's Finn's."

You gasped, and your grip on your teacup loosened, sending it clattering onto the table, sending lukewarm liquid pouring across the table and into your lap.

"What?" You questioned, your voice quiet, eyes narrowed at the woman across from you.

"She's Finn's," Mary repeated, still not looking at you.

"How dare you," You said through gritted teeth, standing up and making you way around the table to her, stopping in front of her.

She still didn't look at you.

"As if Finn would touch the likes of you — He has a wife. My husband would never," You spat, "And the next time you accuse my husband of that shit, you look me square in the eye."

Mary looked at you, and smirked, "Well then maybe you don't really know your husband, because on those nights you'd stay home while he and Isiah were out drinkin', he'd come and seek me out, and we'd head to darkest corners of the bar."

You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you picked up the teacup in front of Mary.

"I'm serious, (Y/N)." Mary continued, standing up, following you across the room to the sink, "He wanted to feel the touch of a real woman. One he wasn't forced to marry."

"Well, he seems to enjoy my touch, we've got three kids to show for it," You snarked, not missing a beat, turning to face Mary, "And you'd hardly be able to call yourself a real woman after saying you slept with my husband."

"Oh, but I am," She replied, feeling terribly bold, "See, the difference between me and you, (Y/N), is that you're a girl, and I'm a woman. You dress yourself in whatever's fashionable, change with the trends you know, you paint your nails silly colours-"

"Yellow's my favourite colour," You interjected quietly, looking down at your now cracked nail polish.

"-And you're still graceless. Awkward. However, I, the proper woman I am, I don't keep up with the styles. I dress in clothes that suit me and my body, I don't change just because something new is in style it all cycles back anyway, I paint my nails sensible colours, not childish yellow, of all things, and I have grace only you — and other little girls — could dream of," Mary finished, and you looked down at the ground.

What she said was true. She was five years your senior, three years Finn's senior. She was Ezzie's friend first, but got roped into your friend group easily. You never got on with her as well as the others, just because of your age difference, and partly because you were jealous of her.

She never walked into a room, she floated, her dress billowing around her, she never talked, she chimed, her voice sounds so angelic that it would be a crime to say she just talked, and every move she made was so precise, so calculated, that you'd think she was dancing. She never missed a beat, stepped out of formation. She was perfect, in every sense of the word.

Now that you were thinking about it, Finn could've slept with her. You wouldn't blame your husband, either, if you were single and she swung your way you'd try to bed her without hesitation.

She was gorgeous. You doubted her story of her sleeping with Finn a little less now.

"Here's what we're going to do," You said abruptly, wanting to stop your train of thought before it got worse, "We're going to get a blood test, to see if the baby has a blood type that could make her Finn's daughter. If she does happen to have a blood type that could make her my husband's daughter, then we're going to get Polly Gray to do paternity test. Our way. The gypsy way."

Mary nodded.

"If, and that's a big if, Cara is Finn's daughter, then I'll make sure you get money. I'm bad but I'm not fucking cruel," You reassured her, then dipped your finger in her tea.

After finding that it was lukewarm, no longer boiling hot, you threw it on her, the soggy teabag hitting her square in the face.

"Now, you absolute harlot, get the fuck out of my house before I grab a knife from the drawer and stab you with it," You threatened, placing the teacup into the sink, and she nodded, scurrying across the room and picking up her daughter, then hurrying out of your house.

You watched her leave out the window, and sighed, going over to the table and packing everything up, washing up the teacups and wiping up the spilt tea with a wet rag. You sniffled as you did so.

"Fuck Mary Bone, fuck her and her being so fuckable — and fuck anyone else who looked at my husband!" You ranted to the four walls as you scrubbed at the floor violently, then threw the rag up into the sink.

You were too mad to cheer when it made it in.

"Dot, you alright in there? I just need a minute!" You called out, your voice cracking as you did so.

"Yeah, they're all getting tired now, you're right!" Dorothy hollered back, packing up some of the toys the kids were using.

You thanked God that you had a friend like Dot, then the phone rang. You sprung up to answer it.

"Hello?" You croaked, and winced at how bad you sounded.

"(Y/N)! Baby!" Finn shouted, and you sighed, knowing your husband was probably off his face on booze and snow, "Solve an argument between me and Billy here, yeah? Now, when you mop, you - you vacuum the floors first, right?"

"Yes, Finn, you vacuum the floors first," You huffed, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand.

Finn whooped over the other side of the phone, "I told him that! Hey — you don't sound too good. D'ya need me home?"

"I'm fine, you stay out," You reassured your husband, not wanting him to come home yet.

"Okay. Love you, see ya when I lay eyes on ya next," Finn said, then hung up the phone before you could even reply.

You tsked, and sighed, heading out of the kitchen and up to your room to change clothes.

•••

Finn stumbled into the stables, to the cot you always had set up for him when he came home shitfaced. He woke up still drunk this morning, so he decided that it was best to sleep it off  before going to you and the kids. He had to tell you that Tommy wanted Billy to stay with you and him, so he could keep an eye on the man.

Finn heard someone clear their throat, and he looked up. You were sat on the cot, an unimpressed look on your face.

"Hi," Finn greeted quietly, and you gestured to the bale of hay next to you.

He went and sat there, confused. Usually you'd just leave him be.

"Finn, in ten days' time, you're getting a blood test because Mary Bone came here yesterday and said that her new baby was yours," You told your husband, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"What?" Finn asked, feeling dread creep up inside of him.

"She said you slept with her, and that her child is yours," You repeated, looking at your husband, "She's wrong though, isn't she?"

Finn studied your poker face, and shrugged, making your jaw drop.

"I'm fairly sure she's not," He said hurriedly, "But I'm usually too shitfaced to remember anything."

"Finn Theo Shelby!" You thundered, "If you got her up the duff I'm taking the kids on the road!"

Finn stood up, albeit with a struggle.

"You can't do that to my kids!" He protested, and you scoffed.

"I can and I will," You challenged, "I've got more right over them than you do, and you know it."

Finn stayed silent, mulling over your words.

"And if you have a problem with it, then you should go to Tommy, although I don't think Tommy would care about it," You snapped, and Finn looked utterly wounded.

You touched a nerve. You knew it.

"Get out," Finn hissed, and, instead of apologising, you plumped Finn's pillow and walked out of the barn, leaving your husband there in his misery.

§§§

Hi guys, please please PLEASE go share my pinned post, it’s a GoFundMe to help me escape homelessness & DV 🫶🏽

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

TAGLIST

@meadownicolee

@toothlessmcleod

@im-your-possession

@bethabear

@paisley-37

@shelundeadxxxx

@bluehairdie

@krillfromsky-18

@cucumberfingersandwiches

@jamieolivia27

@hughesstars

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 35

PUBLISHED: 07/07/2022

Part 1

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST

READER'S POV

Finn and I had already been to camp (after showering together, of course) to get breakfast and pick up Saoirse. Now we were in the living room, hanging up the paintings that Billy had given us for Christmas. He had given one to each of us, then one to all of us.

I had no doubt that Linda thought of the gift. She may have been a bitch, but she sure knew how to pick presents.

It was a good thing, too, because they made our walls look all the less bare. We didn't have many photos. Finn's parents weren't overly worried about taking photos of him, and we could rarely get near a camera to take photos of Saoirse, having to draw or paint her instead. In fact, the only photo Finn and I had together, as well as the only one all three of us had together, was ones from our wedding.

I frowned as I adjusted the painting on its hook and made sure it was level, then stepped back, going and curling up in my armchair.

"What's wrong, my love?" Finn asked from his spot on the floor next to Saoirse, practicing a song she taught him on the ukulele as she read a book.

"We don't have any family photos," I huffed, and Saoirse stopped reading to look at me.

Finn shrugged one shoulder, as if he couldn't care less, making me scowl. He cocked a brow and waved a hand, showing him to not worry about it.

"We should get some?" She suggested, although it sounded more like a question than a suggestion.

"We can book a photographer for our wedding anniversary," Finn added, eyes still on me as he studied me.

"I'd like that idea. But it's ages away though," I complained, throwing my arms up in annoyance as I shifted so I was dangling my legs over the side of the chair and my upper half was hanging over the other side of the armchair.

"It's in nine days, on the tenth," Finn pointed out as I listened to the fire crackle, and my eyes widened.

"Like fuck it is," I protested, rolling out of the chair, landing on my hands and knees with a 'thud' then standing up and marching over to the door leading to the hallway, making my way into the kitchen.

I headed towards the fridge, where we had a calendar hung up on it, and looked at the January page.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Oh, fuck, it is."

"Told you," Finn replied as he came into the kitchen, making me roll my eyes.

I kept on looking at the calendar as Finn pottered around.

"Your birthday is on the third?" I asked, turning to face my husband, "How come you never said anything about it."

He paused, mouth open as the arm holding the cookie he was going to bite stopping in its tracks, and shrugged, then bit half of the cookie clean off.

I gave him a deadpan look, clearly not impressed with his response, and grabbed the pen from the top of the fridge, then wrote in my birthday, placing the pen on top of the fridge once more.

"Well, when's yours then?" He questioned, mouth still full of cookie.

"On the fourth," I answered, and walked over to the island to grab my own cookie out of the jar.

He swallowed the food in his mouth, looking at me in bewilderment, "Of January?"

"Of January," I confirmed, and took a bite, humming at the taste of it.

They were homemade, I made them yesterday before we started partying.

Finn's eyes kept on flickering to my bracelet as he nibbled on his second biscuit, and I nudged him with my foot.

"What, Finn?" I sighed, feeling slightly frustrated, and he held a finger up as he continued chewing, then swallowed, and wiped his lower face with the back of his hand, ridding it of any crumbs.

He hesitated, putting his cookie down. He opened his mouth and closed it. I fought the urge to cross my arms impatiently, instead deciding to reach out and grab his hand, rubbing the back of it with my thumb. The action made his cheeks tint pink.

"Erm — I was looking at the rose charm," Finn admitted, leaning back against the island and hoisting himself up to sit on the bench.

I did the same, swinging my feet and waiting for him to continue.

"Well — I know from how all of the kids talk that Aberama and Rose never actually separated and that your father never actually got with Marian. And I'm confused about how you even ended up with Aberama." Finn said, the words tumbling out of his mouth and nearly running together at some points.

I nodded slowly, "How about a cup of tea?"

Finn immediately leaned over and switched the kettle on, as I wiggled around and made myself more comfortable, leaning back on my palms.

"So — where should I start?" I asked my husband, looking up at the roof so I wouldn't have to see him looking at me.

"At the start," He replied, barely giving me time to finish my own sentence.

I took a moment to think, before starting to speak.

"Rose and Aberama were on again off again, although everyone knew they belonged together. They had Esmeralda a good six years before me, then Bonnie followed three years after. In an off again stage, Dad met Marian at a fairground, and they got to know each other in the biblical sense. Eight months later, I came along, and with the help of some healers from the Gold family, I survived." I said, racking my brain for what Dad told me about my early years.

"Eight months?" Finn asked incredulously, eyes wide, "Is that why you're so short?"

I could feel my cheeks growing warmer.

"The healers said it was an effect of coming into the world too early!" I snapped, and Finn said a quick 'Sorry'.

"Anyway. I lived with Marian, and Dad would come and visit when he could, taking me on the road when Marian let him. Sometimes Marian even came with. Her and Rose got on well, as well as her and the older two, until they found out what she was really like, of course. He had eyes in the neighbourhood, other travellers that had settled down, so he knew how I was faring, somewhat. Uhhh — I never went to school. Marian didn't want to send me, instead I just ran amuck around the neighbourhood, playing hopscotch, making friends, eating apples from our neighbours' orchard — just having fun." I paused as the kettle stopped boiling.

Finn got up and started making us tea.

"Keep going," He requested as he grabbed the biscuits.

"Marian was forever nasty when I was a child, only nice when we had company. It got worse as I got older," I recounted, my hand absentmindedly going up and rubbing the small scar going through my eyebrow, "When Saoirse came along, after I turned eight, Dad and Rose came to visit us with her. That was probably the first time Dad, and the older two, actually ever saw firsthand how Marian treated me. Dad didn't take too kindly to it, and tried to take me off of Marian, but Marian had a lot of friends in high places, friends that wouldn't mind turning a blind eye to the way she treated me."

Finn grimaced as he brought my tea and biscuits over to me and sat it on the bench next to me, then taking the time to press a kiss to my forehead and hold it for a while, before moving to get his own tea and biscuits.

"Erm, it all came to a head when I turned nine. Dad, Rose, and the kids all came over for my birthday and it turned to shit. There was a lot of things thrown, words said, and tears. I don't like talking about it. No one does. Dad took me away that day, saying he'd shoot Marian if she tried to stop him, and I believed it. I visited her once again when I was thirteen, but other than that I had no contact with her, and didn't see her again until the wedding," I finished, and Finn took a long, slow, sip of his tea.

"It wasn't all bad," I added, "But you know how it is."

"We tend to focus on the bad parts," Finn said understandingly, nodding.

I gave him a small smile, and took a sip of my own tea.

"Erm — is Marian the reason you got funny over family photos?" Finn asked carefully, and I let a long breath out through my nostrils.

"She — she didn't have any photos of me, but she always had her and everyone else she knew up in the walls," I explained, and Finn frowned, leaning over and placing a hand on my knee, then squeezing it.

"Now, Mr. Shelby, what was your life like?" I inquired, and Finn chuckled, dipping his biscuit into his tea.

"Can we finish our tea first?" He asked, and I nodded, grabbing one of my own biscuits.

•••

THIRD PERSON'S POV

You and Finn decided to celebrate your birthdays together, on the fifth of January, with a lunch at your house, in the garden, with everyone bringing a dish of food.

It was a joyous occasion, with quite a few people in attendance. Esme and her brood even attended it, to your surprise.

If you could make a day happen again, the fifth of January, 1927, would be your first choice.

§§§

Short lil chapter because it's sorta kinda a filler lol it was meant to go in a different direction but it didn't go in that direction so eh

Also I'll give you guys from five days to a week to pick baby names from the list in the previous chapter (voting ending on the 14th of July at the latest lol)

Also — If some of you eagle eyed readers noticed that the first set of baby names were all variants of Finn's name, there's a reason for that.

If you go back to chapter nine, you'll see a scene where the reader says that she would never name her child 'Finn Junior' if she was naming them after Finn, instead using his first name as a middle name or using a variant of his name for the first name 🤭

Anyways — The rest of the chapters between now and when I plan to start writing about season 5 may all be shorter than usual, due to being fillers/not being overly important to the plot, just being more of Finn and the Reader's relationship lol

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

TAGLIST

@meadownicolee

@toothlessmcleod

@im-your-possession

@bethabear12

@paisley-37

@shelundeadxxxx

@bluehairdie

@krillfromsky

@cucumberfingefsandwiches

NEXT PART

Part 36

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 10

PUBLISHED: 22/05/2022

!!FIRST PART HERE!!

Part 1

MASTERLIST

FINN'S POV

It had been a week since you and I had tied the knot, and you adopted Finn Junior. In that week, you had pulled me closer and pushed me away as you pleased. I was sick of it, and glad that I was going back to work today so I could get away from it. Tommy had called me this morning to tell me to be at Charlie's Yard in an hour.

Tommy had wanted you to come along as well, but I told him that you weren't well enough. Aberama had waxed poetic about your skills with guns, knives and even bow and arrows, and Tommy believed every word. I did too. This morning I had witnessed you stick a fly darting around to the kitchen ceiling with a knife because the buzzing annoyed you.

I didn't need you bothering me though, so you would be heading to Polly's after we went shopping. It was hard enough to try to get anyone older than me to take me seriously, but with you constantly belittling me it was an impossible task. I had no doubt that you would overshadow me too, and that was a big no-go.

I wrote the list out, and called out to you. You walked into the kitchen, Finn Junior hot on your heels, the bell on his little red collar tinkling. He had a little name tag, and our names on it in case he ever got lost, not that he ever would. He'd follow you everywhere, the Garrison, the betting den, Charlie's Yard, around the neighbourhood.

He'd never come near me voluntarily, though. He hates me, and I hate him. I nearly threw him out the window yesterday, because I turned my back on my cup of coffee for five seconds only to find him drinking it. You said that it was my fault for leaving the cup alone, but I'm positive that it's your fault for not training that fucking monster properly. He never ever tried that with your food either, it was always mine. I felt like you two had some sort of secret agreement to drive me mad.

"Let's go, you're reading the list." I instructed, throwing you the folded up piece of paper.

You blanched, but put it into your pocket. I rolled my eyes. I wouldn't have told you to do it if I didn't think you could. It was only four things, anyway. I put my cap on, and threw you your — our — brush, and you fixed your hair. It became our brush after you used mine to brush the knots out of Finn Jr's fur.

We started our walk down the street, to the market, you chewing your gum as usual. Once we entered, I grabbed a basket.

"What's the first thing on the list?" I asked, making you roll your eyes.

"You know damn well what's on the list, you wrote it!" You complained, but fished the list out of your pocket.

"Reading practice, won't hurt you." I replied as you came into step with me.

"I'm not sounding anything out," You warned, looking at the first word. "Erm, bread."

I nodded, and made a beeline for the bread aisle. I grabbed two loaves, knowing we were going to babysit Karl tomorrow and he was obsessed with jam sandwiches at the moment.

"Tea, coffee," You read out the next two items, and I put an arm around you and guided you to the aisle containing tea and coffee as you stared down at the page, trying to figure out the last word.

"What's the first sound you're sure of?" I questioned as I grabbed teabags and a jar of coffee.

"Bis," You answered as I grabbed your shoulder and started guiding you again.

"What do we eat a lot of, starting with 'bis', that we might need to top up on?" I prompted as we walked through the store.

"Oh, um, biscuits?" You replied unsurely, looking up at me, making me nod.

"Biscuits. Good girl," I praised as we reached the biscuits.

You blushed and looked away as I grabbed three packets. I lead us to the checkout and placed the items down. You made small talk with the cashier as she added up the cost of everything. I paid her, then we walked back to home. I could see Tommy, Arthur, and Isiah walking up the street. I looked down at my watch. Oh fuck, they left five minutes early.

"I've got to go with Tommy, I'll see you later, don't leave the Lane." I commanded, handing you the bag holding our groceries.

"Why?" You demanded, adjusting your grip on the brown paper bag.

"Family business," I brushed you off, adjusting my cap.

You stopped, and I turned to look at you.

"What?" I said impatiently.

"I'm part of the family now, so what business are you attending to?" You questioned, "Or are you not telling me because I'm a Gold?"

"It's complicated," I answered, not wanting to start up on the street.

"Fuck you, Shelby." You spat, walking past me and into our house, slamming the door behind you.

I ran to catch up to the other boys, patting Arthur on the back once I caught up.

READER'S POV

"Fuck Finn Shelby and the other Shelby's, and fuck the Peaky Blinders!" I swore as I walked to the kitchen.

"Is that any way to speak about your husband?" I heard a familiar voice speak.

I looked up, and Mum was sat at the kitchen table, stroking Finn Junior.

"If you try anything, I'll kill your cat," She said coolly.

I had no doubt that she would, so I sat across the table from her, tucking my hair behind my ears.

"What are you doing here?" I asked carefully, watching her as she scratched him behind the ears and made him purr.

Little grey traitor. I should've let Finn leave you at the yard.

"I'm doing a favour for some people." She replied, and I heard a car pull up outside, making my blood run cold in my veins.

"Leonardo, now!" Mum commanded, and I heard the floorboards creak behind me.

I quickly got up, and swung the chair that I was sitting on around, hearing it crack and break as it made contact with a man. I felt long nails scratch my scalp as Mum grabbed my hair from behind, yanking me back and making my back hit the table. She kept her hold on me, and no amount of thrashing could free me from her hold.

The man, Leonardo, stood back up and grabbed a wooden pole from the back of the chair. The last thing I felt before I fell unconscious was the pole cracking across my face and Mum letting me go, making my head connect with the kitchen bench, then everything went dark.

•••

FINN'S POV

I aimed at the group of men on the bridge, finger on the trigger, willing myself to pull it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it. If you were here, you'd probably be telling me to grow a pair and pull the trigger before you did it yourself. Then, you'd probably grab the gun off of me and proceed to do it yourself.

"Too late to back out now, mate." One of the men said, making me breathe a sigh of relief as I lowered the rifle.

"It's a fucking decoy!" I heard Tommy yell out, making my eyes widen, "Bring the car around!"

I started running to the apartment that Arthur was in, unloading my rifle and pocketing the bullets.

"Arthur!" I called out as I ran along the pathway in front of the apartments, and opened the door to the apartment that held my eldest brother.

"Arthur, they're not here for you. It must be Michael." I said, panting, eyes flickering from him to the woman.

He took a breath in, then grabbed the tablecloth, shoving it off of the table.

"You fucking bitch!" He roared as everything clattered on the floor.

"You set me up, eh?" He said, pulling out his gun, "you set me up!"

He flipped the table, then stepped closer and grabbed the woman by the shoulders, "I know!"

"Arthur, you need to get to the hospital now." I stated, walking over and grabbing his shoulder.

"Fuck off!" He grunted, tearing himself from my grip, making me stumble.

I walked back over to the door. He looked back at the woman and growled. She was damn near crying.

"If your faith is real," She began shakily, "I've got all the kids!"

Arthur put a hand on her face and pushed her away, heading to the door, but not before kicking a teapot and shattering it, making her gasp.

"If you're here in one hour, I swear to God — I will cover you in tar and fucking feathers." Arthur threatened, pointing at her, then spinning around and pushing past me.

"Come on, Finn, let's go," He commanded, and as we walked away I could hear the woman start to sob.

We piled into Tommy's car, and Tommy began speeding through the streets. The car was silent, the air heavy. When we arrived I nearly tripped as I rushed out of the car, Arthur helping me to find my feet.

Tommy lead us to Michael's room, my heart pounding so hard that I thought it was going to come right out of my chest. Tommy stopped in the corridor just outside of Michael's room, then burst in, followed by Arthur, then me, Isiah and Johnny waiting in the car.

Michael was sitting up peacefully reading the paper.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking at us in confusion as he lowered the paper.

"The Italians — They had a decoy, they was meant to attack Arthur but they didn't," Tommy explained, making Michael's eyes widen.

I had a funny feeling in my stomach. I didn't like this. I spotted the cup of tea and biscuits next to Michael and my mouth went dry.

"Tommy," I began nervously, "What if they went to Watery Lane; after the girls?"

I watched as all the colour drained from Tommy's face, and he got up from the chair he was sitting on and told us to get our asses back into the car. I didn't waste any time running through the halls. Isiah and Johnny were leaning against the car sharing a smoke. Johnny quickly put it out when he saw us, and hopped into the back, followed by Isiah.

I clambered into the back after passing Isiah the shotgun, Arthur putting the seat up and hopping in, and Tommy getting into the drivers seat, starting the car and speeding to Watery Lane.

I found myself twisting my wedding band around my finger, a habit I picked up when I was nervous. Tommy came to a screeching stop in front of Polly's, and I couldn't get out of the car quick enough, running down the street to our house, and opening the door.

"(Y/N)!" I called out, scanning the room.

Finn Junior was laid on the coffee table, and he got up and strolled over to me, rubbing against my legs, making my stomach drop. Something was definitely wrong.

I ran upstairs, and you weren't there. I stumbled back down the stairs, and into the kitchen. A chair had been broken, and there was blood on the edge of the kitchen bench.

"Fuck!" I hissed, looking around the room. I spotted an envelope on the kitchen table.

I snatched it up, and ran back out to the street.

"Where's your wife?" Tommy asked, looking me up and down.

"She's gone," I snapped, handing him the envelope I found.

He tore it open.

"What does it say?" Polly asked, coming to stand with us.

"That Luca Changretta is keeping her until he kills one of us, and if he can't kill one of us, he'll kill her." Tommy said, his face unreadable.

I suddenly felt nauseous, and doubled over, my breakfast making a reappearance on the cobbled street. Arthur started rubbing my back. This was unfair, you were innocent. You didn't have anything to do with this.

As I heaved for air, I came up with one thought; if I had taken you with me this morning, you would be fine. This was all my fault.

§§§

OOOOH IT FINALLY HAPPENEDDDD

I've been waiting to write the kidnapping for agesss

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

NEXT PART

Part 11

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 42

PUBLISHED: 17/07/2022

Part 1

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST

THIRD PERSON'S POV

You sat at the bay window, knitting as you watched the storm outside rage on, still drowsy from your painkiller filled nap. As you did so, you felt your backache start up again, the painkillers you took before wearing off. Your backache had started in the night, along with fake contractions. You had just went back to sleep, not bothering to tell Finn about it until the morning.

You jolted in your seat, and Finn looked up from his book, raising an eyebrow.

"False contraction, Finn," You reassured your husband, although you weren't too sure yourself.

"I'm gonna call Aunt Poll, just in case," Finn mumbled, going and grabbing the phone in the corner, getting the operator to put him through to Polly.

"Hello?" Aberama answered, making Finn suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

Of course he'd be at Polly's.

"Aberama, is Polly there? I need to talk to her,"  Finn said urgently.

You snickered in the corner, "Is your favourite uncle there, Finn?"

Finn flipped you off, then waited for Polly. He was fine with your father being with his aunt, but the way you teased him about your father being is favourite uncle was not something your husband was fine with.

"Boy," She greeted roughly, but Finn knew that it was always a term of affection, no matter the tone used with it, "What's wrong?"

"Erm, (Y/N)'s getting contractions and she's not sure whether they're real or not so can you make your way out here pretty please?" Finn asked nervously, curling his finger up in the cord of the phone.

You giggled from your spot as you watched your poor husband shift from foot to foot.

"Finn!" She shouted through the phone, "You was meant to bring her in to town before the storm started up!"

Finn winced. The storm only started getting bad recently. It wasn't so bad that he couldn't drive in it, but he'd rather not risk you in the car on the road.

The road. In his panicking about you giving birth, Finn had fucking forgotten that you had a dirt driveway. He wouldn't be able to get out if he tried. Both of your cars would be bogged by now.

"Well (Y/N) said she was fine!" Finn defended himself, turning paler than usual and running a hand through his curls, "She said they were fake contractions and the book I read and the stuff you and the other girls told me made me think she was fine!"

You bit back a chuckle at your husband. It seemed he was more stressed than you. You had been around women giving birth before, but Finn hadn't. When Ada had given birth, he wasn't in the room. Polly had sent him out into the street, then down the street to the Garrison so he could tell his older brothers that the baby was there.

You, on the other hand, grew up around birth. Your family were constantly having babies. One of your aunts had twenty kids. You were there for fifteen of those births, and not only those births. You were always amongst the mix, getting towels when needed, holdings hands when needed, giving the mother food and drink when needed. Assisting in the birthing process, you were familiar with.

"Can't you just drive out here and walk up to the house? Poll, the driveway will be turned to mud now and I won't be able to get the car out," Finn explained, then pulled the earpiece away from his ear, knowing what would happen next.

"FINN THEO SHELBY," Polly raged through the phone, "YOU IRRESPONSIBLE LITTLE FUCK!"

Finn flinched as if she were right there in the room yelling at him. You watched your husband in amusement, as if you weren't in a very sticky situation right now.

"If I were near you I'd box your ears. I'm going and getting in this car and the next time I get out I'll be heading down that fucking muddy driveway," Polly said, and Finn nodded, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't see him.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, we'll wait," Finn said, making you snort.

"We've got no choice," You remarked dryly as you picked your yarn and needles back up.

Finn hung up, and made his way across the room to you.

"Need tea? A blanket? Food? Water?" Finn interrogated, and you raised a needle in his direction.

"If you keep on going I'll do your seconds with these," You threatened, and Finn's hands immediately went up to his ears.

Finn sat next to you in silence, fiddling with his rings and bouncing his leg. You continued knitting, as if this was an everyday activity.

"Let's go bake a cake," You decided, sick of your husband's antics already.

You were the one about to push out two babies, not him, and you had a couple of hours until Polly came since she would have to drive the long way round, and driving in the rain didn't help. What was a better way to pass time than bake? You couldn't think of any.

•••

You were now doing laps of the house with your husband following you confusedly. You exited the side door, going around the porch to the back of the house, then down the side, and along the front of the house, entering though the front door and wiping your feet on the mat in the mudroom. You walked into the living room, behind the couch at the start of the white rug, continuing across the room then looping around the front of the couches in front of the fireplace, going behind the couches surrounding the green rug and out into the hallway.

You walked down it, and into the kitchen, heading around the dining table first, then the kitchen island, grabbing a chocolate cupcake then continuing your journey, exiting the kitchen.

You walked down the hallway and out of the side door. As soon as you got outside, you froze and doubled over, grabbing the railing for support.

"(Y/N)?" Finn asked worriedly, coming to stand next to you, placing a gentle hand on your back.

"I'm fine, Finn. They're just getting stronger, is all," You told him, breathing heavily.

You stayed like that for a few moments longer, then straightened up, and took a bite of your cupcake.

"Now, let's continue walking these babies out of me," You instructed your husband, making him roll his eyes then check his watch.

You had been walking for just over an hour. Finn was happy that Saoirse was with Ada for the weekend. If she were here, she'd definitely whine about walking again and again and again.

•••

Finn helped you strip off, and helped you into the shower, the hot water immediately relaxing your body as you sat down on the floor of the stall. Your husband sat on the edge of the bathtub, not wanting to be too far in case something happened. He would've been in the shower with you, but you didn't want to share the water, which was fair enough.

"We're going to have babies soon," You mumbled, and Finn hummed in agreement.

"Medium Bee and Little Bee will finally have faces to put the names to," He replied thoughtfully, and wondered who they would resemble more, or if they would even resemble the pair of you at all.

You gasped, and your husband moved down to sit on the mat just outside of the shower stall, wanting to put less distance between the two of you.

"Hurts," You said simply, and he nodded, extending an arm out.

You grabbed his hand and squeezed three times, making him grin.

He suddenly felt somewhat happy that Polly wasn't here. If Polly was here, he wouldn't be having these little moments with you. Birthing was women's business, not his. No, his business as a husband was getting piss drunk while waiting for someone to tell him when the babies were here.

He liked this version of events best; the version where he was with you.

•••

You puffed away, squatting between your husband's knees, leaning against his thighs and upper body for support, laying your head against his torso.

"You've got this, my love," Finn murmured as he finished plaiting your hair, ensuring it was out of your face.

You nodded as he moved his hands to hold onto your arms to help you balance.

"Is it time?" He asked, looking at you concernedly.

"Not yet," You replied breathlessly, rocking back and forth to alleviate the pain, "The babies can't come yet, anyway. Polly isn't here."

"I didn't know babies could read clocks," Finn joked, making you pinch him.

About two hours had passed since he called Polly. It turns out that you were further into your labour than you thought. A scary thought.

Your train of thought was interrupted by a trickling sound. You looked up at your husband, who was nearly as white as his singlet.

"Please tell me you pissed yourself," He whispered, and you shook your head.

"Getting close to time, Finn," You murmured as he helped you stand up, and took you to your bed, which had been stripped of the blankets, instead having more sheets put on it so you didn't ruin the mattress.

"I'll be right here," Finn reassured you, placing a kiss on your forehead.

"You put these into me, Finn, if you tried to get out of it I'd stab you with a spoon," You said through gritted teeth, a particularly rough contraction hitting you.

"Fuck — Call Dottie," You commanded, and Finn nodded, grabbing the phone and getting the operator to put him on to your netball teammate.

Finn knew she was a nurse. Once she answered, Finn explained the situation and she, in a tone that was too calm for Finn, explained that Finn would have to help you give birth, news that made him rush to your bathroom and kneel in front of the toilet and introduce everything he ate that morning to the porcelain bowl.

He should've just bought you a fucking house in town.

§§§

Eeeeee are y'all excited??

The next chapter is the final chapter until I start e writing about s5

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

TAGLIST

@meadownicolee

@toothlessmcleod

@im-your-possession

@bethabear12

@paisley-37

@shelundeadxxxx

@bluehairdie

@krillfromsky

@cucumberfingefsandwiches

@jamieolivia27

NEXT PART

Part 43

ANGEL - SETH CLEARWATER X READER

PREVOUS Prologue

I

THIRD PERSON'S POV

Seth sat with the pack and the imprints after telling them about you — The little he knew anyways. He was still hung up on the fact that you would only be here for two months.

"Why don't you, I don't know, show up in the same places she is?" Embry suggested, throwing a baseball to Quil as they sat down, albeit carefully — Sam would kill them if they broke something.

Emily wouldn’t mind, but since she bought half of the stuff in the house Sam would break their fingers if they scratched even one thing.

"He's not a mind reader, Embry, God," Leah snarked, throwing an arm around her not so little brother's shoulders, pulling him slightly closer to her.

She smelled like home, so he nestled in a little closer, needing the comfort.

"But the little Cullen is, maybe Jake can ask them for some help," Embry shot back, and Seth looked elated, but then his face dropped.

"But I don't want her to think I'm a stalker or anything," Seth murmured defeatedly, and it was back to the drawing board.

The room went silent, Seth dragging the slightly good mood down with him.

"Adopt a dog," Quil suggested, and everyone looked at him.

"You said she has a dog — If you get one then you can take it for walks when she takes hers for walks. That's not that stalkerish. You have an excuse to be in the same place at the same time," Quil elaborated as he fumbled an extra hard throw from Embry, and Seth grinned so bright that it made everyone else crack a small smile.

"Quil, you're a genius! Now all I need to do is find a dog." Seth replied, his mind running wild as he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, wondering who to message.

Adopting dogs from the local shelter was really expensive, and he was saving for a new dirt bike. He only had $200 to go, and he really didn’t want to waste money on a new dog. Not when he could nearly taste the dirt bike.

"Rez dogs are having puppies all of the time man, but if you're that keen Miss Postoak is trying to get rid of her bitch since she can't afford her right now, she’s only a companion dog and the others are working dogs," Jared supplied before taking another bite of his blueberry muffin, courtesy of Emily, and Seth felt victorious as he clicked onto his Mom’s contact and called her, asking if he could get a dog for his birthday.

"You're picking up its’ crap, buying its’ dog food and leashes, and it is getting neutered, we have enough strays on the reservation as is, young man — and I'll help you set up the yard for it when you get it," She replied, then said 'love you' and hung up the phone.

Seth whooped, then calmed back down, looking around the room at his expectant friends.

"What the fuck do I need for a dog?"

Leah pinched her brother’s ear for his foul language, making everyone laugh.

•••

Thankfully, Old Quil owned many a dog in his lifetime, used for hunting, mainly, but most of them were now companions in their old age, the man hesitant to get another in case it outlived him. Young Quil helped Seth buy the needed supplies like leashes, a crate for inside, dishes for the food, a dog bed, and a vet appointment was set for Monday so the bitch that Seth adopted — named Missy, a Rottweiler Shar Pei cross (Rott Pei, Quil had helpfully given him the proper name for the breed of the mutt) could be checked up, seeing as she was due for one.

Seth and Quil now at the store, buying some dog food. The smell was still overwhelming, and mixed in with how all of the other store goers smelled it was nearly unbearable. He could even still smell the products they mopped the floors with. He put the last thing in the cart when he heard a familiar voice. You.

"Quil, shit man, that's her!" Seth whispered excitedly, then listened as you made your way through the aisles, talking about dog food for Cujo.

Quil watched his younger pack mate bounce on his heels as you approached, and tried not to laugh at how excited Seth was getting. The boy turned to face you as soon as you turned the corner, dragging your dad by his hand, a basket in your other hand.

"Oh! It's little Seth!" Alexander pointed out, making you look away from the tins of dog food on the shelf, and give him a friendly grin, dropping your dad’s hand in the process.

"Hello, hello," You greeted, and nodded towards his full trolley, "Stocking up for a vacation?"

Seth turned back at the groups of haphazardly stacked dry kibble bags and wet food cans, and numerous treat packets. Maybe he was going a tiny bit overboard.

"Uh, no," Seth admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with a chuckle, "I'm getting my first dog and I think I got overexcited."

"Oh! Such a spoiled little puppy that will be! Maybe you and miss (Y/N) could take your dogs for walks sometimes! I think she gets sick of her old man slowing her down," Alexander offered, and nudged (Y/N)'s shoulder, "If you need help with the dog too, (Y/N) could teach you a few tricks. Should help her keep herself busy for the next two months."

Seth tried not to smile too hard as he agreed, but noticed that you looked less than pleased, but give him a tight lipped smile nonetheless.

"Dad, grab two dry bags of dog food," You commanded, and your father did your bidding as you somewhat aggressively threw some dog food cans into a basket, managing to dent one of them.

Your father suddenly looked less than pleased with your behaviour as you threw the last can and turned on your heel, shoulder checking him as you walked past him. Alexander looked back at the pair of boys and gave them a tight lipped smile and a small wave before leaving behind his daughter.

Seth cocked his head to the side, trying to drown out the rest of the store goers to listen to you. Quil immediately did the same.

“What in the Gods was that? Ridiculous behaviour for what?” Your father said gruffly, but not unkindly.

"Dadda, I don't want to go for walks with him!" Was the first thing Seth heard you say, which made his heart drop, but he kept on listening anyway.

"Nonsense, he seems nice! A friend wouldn't hurt," Your father tried to reason with you, but you huffed.

"If a friend wouldn't hurt we'd actually live in one place and not move around like nomads." You then let out a soft 'fuck!', most likely stubbing your toe on the stupid boxes near the mouth of aisle 2.

"Well, I'm sure this place is the place. Trust me, tiny child. If it isn't, I'll buy you your dream Dodge Challenger for a late birthday gift." Your father reasoned.

"Don't bullshit me," You snapped back, sounding like you were nearer to the doors.

"I'm not! Matte black Dodge Challenger with red under glow for your birthday, or we live here, I swear it on Cujo's life." Your father pleaded, and you sighed.

"Fine. I'll see if one of the workers knows how to get into contact with him. I'll try to find him on MySpace or Twitter or something." You relented, then the doors opened to the front of the store, and your scent was gone.

Your Father cheered and Quil put Seth into a headlock playfully, messing up his hair, making Seth laugh as he did so.

•••

You sat on your new bed, your dog Cujo, a black Cane Corso who was getting on in his years, shown by the grey fur on his muzzle, resting on the floor next to your bed, not being allowed on any furniture. Your father was doing research in his room.

You picked up a piece of mango and popped it into your mouth as you looked up the name of the place you were staying at on Facebook. You found the profile, and clicked into it, then went straight to followers. You couldn't find any followers with Seth's profile picture, so you went and looked up the name of the school, finding their profile and looking through the followings for Seth. No luck. Even searching his name up you discovered nothing. You stalked his school until you found his name on an old post where he had won an award for a spelling bee, also discovering his last name. Clearwater. Seth Clearwater.

You logged into your MySpace account, and looked for him, and surprisingly found him. His profile picture was a photo of him with a man, standing side by side, grinning.

You found it, and let held your arms up above your head in a victorious manner, looking around the room as if expecting someone to cheer for you, then focussing on your dog.

"See how fucking amazing I am, Cujo? The FBI needs to hire me as a detective," You said, then started scrolling through his profile.

Nothing overly fancy. Just some pictures of him, people you assumed to be his family, and some of nature around the area, alongside some photos of his adventures. You clicked the 'Add Friend' button, and decided to make a new friendship bracelet while you watched movies, heading off to your dad's room to go and ask him to start the bracelet for you.

•••

Seth was currently scrolling through Twitter at his desk as his Xbox 360 started up, Leah lounging on his bed playing Mario on his DS. Technically, he and Leah shared the Xbox, but he just kept it in his room as she didn’t really play it much these days, instead choosing to play his DS. He didn’t mind. Just as long as she stayed in his room so he knew it was safe. Missy was laying halfway under his bed, gnawing at a new chew toy Quil had picked out.

His phone beeped, and a new notification popped up. He walked over and slid onto the bed next to his sister. A new friend request. He looked, and his heart started speeding up as he looked at the profile.

“What?” Leah inquired, hearing the thrumming, looking over his shoulder.

“She added me on MySpace!” Seth told his sister excitedly, showing her the profile picture of you and a black dog, along with your Dad and a woman who looked a bit like you, and accepted your friend request, then started looking through your profile.

There were photos from all around the world. Australia, Sweden, Italy, France. Your father and you were the main focus of your photos, but your nature shots were a sight to behold. There were also some with people that weren’t your father, so maybe friends and relatives. The photos of the woman in your profile picture stopped around a year ago, he noted. Your newest photo was the Welcome to Forks sign, you and a huge black dog posing in front of it, the same one from your profile picture.

A message notification popped up. He opened it, and there was a message from you.

Y/N:

Hey

“Oh my goodness, she messaged me!” Seth nearly squealed, and Leah bit back a laugh at her little brother, knowing that laughing would probably result in him attacking her with a pillow covered in a Spider-Man case.

“Well don’t just ignore it, reply!” Leah urged, and Seth looked at his sister, eyes as wide as saucers.

“What do I say!” Seth panicked, and Leah rolled her eyes, grabbing the iPhone covered in a Spider-Man case and messaging her back.

Seth:

Hey

•••

You blinked at your laptop screen, your friendship bracelet forgotten. You didn’t expect him to reply so fast. You went down to the vending machine just outside of the office about ten minutes ago and he wasn’t there, instead there was a girl at the counter, talking on the phone as she painted her nails. Maybe his shift was over, and he was at home? You didn’t think on it much.

Your fingertips ghosted over the keys, then stopped, instead picking up your phone and logging into MySpace there.

“Dad?” You called out, and he ambled into your room, a sandwich with a bite taken out of it, jerking his head upwards slightly as he chewed.

“Seth messaged me and I don’t know how to reply,” You admitted, and your father chuckled as he came over and sat next to you, trying not to get any crumbs on the bed.

Cujo immediately came over and sat expectantly next to him on the floor, but your father shooed him away. Your baby walked over and laid in his crate, looking offended.

“What do you want to say?” He asked, pulling your phone into his hand, getting ready to type a message for you.

You leaned against his muscly arm, and shrugged. You weren’t very good at holding conversations.

“Why don’t you ask him about his new dog?” Your father suggested and you grinned victoriously, taking back the phone and sending him a message.

Y/N:

How’s things going with preparing for ur dog?

You hummed, feeling content, then sent the message. Seth started typing immediately.

Seth:

She’s good! We picked her up like an hour ago and she’s currently harassing my sister, lol

A photo came through of a dog that looked like a Rottweiler, but was wrinkly, and the tail curved upwards, sitting on the lap of a girl that looked a couple years older than you, playing a DS.

“Oh! Looks like a little Rott Pei! They’re stubborn little fucks,” Your father commented, still eating his sandwich, making you giggle.

Your aunty Lara had one, over in Italy. He tended to chew any shoes left outside, and didn’t like Cujo much.

Seth:

Her name is Missy :)

Y/N:

She’s so cute! Is she a Rott Pei? Dad says they’re stubborn lol

Seth:

Yeah, she is. I’m gonna try and take her for a walk tomorrow. She’s really good on lead, and well socialised. My sister Leah’s coming too, wanna come with?

Before you could type ‘no’, your father snatched your phone and sent a message.

Y/N:

That sounds good, when & where?

“Dad!” You hissed, picking up your stuffed Elmo doll from beside you and assaulting your father with it, making him drop his sandwich.

Cujo wasted no time in scrabbling over and eating it, making you laugh, but you quickly stopped as your phone beeped again, leaning over and grabbing it from your dad’s hand.

Seth:

Tomorrow, like 11am?

We can take out a picnic!

Me and Leah can come pick you up :)

You quickly positioned yourself so you could see Cujo in the background, your dad deciding to hop into the photo as well, holding up both of his thumbs and giving the biggest smile you’d ever seen.

Y/N:

Cujo & I are keen, so’s Dad apparently. See you then!

•••

Leah pinched her little brother’s cheek as he put the phone down, tittering at the way he blushed, the colour in his cheeks and ears becoming more noticeable with the red undertone of his blood rushing to them.

“My baby, all grown up! Going on a date with a girl-”

“-It’s not a date, Leah,” Seth said exasperatedly as he grabbed his phone and messaged Jacob, wanting to let him know first.

Seth:

(Y/N) and I are walking our dogs together tomorrow.

Jacob:

Good job bro :)

You should see if she wants to come to your birthday party tomorrow

Seth blinked. Tomorrow was his birthday. He’d be fifteen, and in two months he’d be starting tenth grade.

Seth:

I forgot about that haha

Are you and Ness coming?

Jacob

Wouldn’t miss it for the world man

I picked out a cool gift but Ness said hers is ‘practical’, or whatever

You know how she is

Seth laughed and sent back a thumbs up emoji, then leaned over and scritched Missy behind her ears, making her wag her tail contentedly. Today was a good day. Tomorrow was going to be even better.

•••

Alexander stood out on the porch of the cabin, facing the sea as he puffed on his Marlboro, the cigarette being his only source of light other than the moon, full and low over the sea.

A movement in the distance, over near some rocks, only just visible in the corner of his eye. His head snapped in the direction of it, his blue eyes nearly glowing in the dark.

Something was staring right back at him, its eyes shining green like a cat’s in the dark. A stare off ensued. Alexander moved ever so slightly, reaching for his crossbow, but the creature then spread its’ wings and took flight, the huge wing span nearly blocking out the moon as it ascended.

Alexander growled and put out his cigarette, dropping it into the metal trash can near his feet. He found what he was looking for. Now it was time to complete the rest of his mission.

•••

Mary Postoak stared at the moon through her kitchen window, opting to watch it as the sink filled up in front of her.

There was a flash of darkness in front of the moon, looking like a huge bird. She gasped, a hand going to her chest. It was bigger than any bird she saw, ever. And the last time she checked; birds didn’t have legs like humans.

A thud was heard in her backyard, and her dogs started barking, making her head for her back door, but a yelp cut her off. She instead turned on her heel, running towards her bedroom and grabbed her rifle, then ran through the hallway, throwing open the back door and loading the rifle.

She grabbed the flashlight from her deck table, and turned it on, shining it toward the scene, and gasped.

Something was hunkered over her dog, feeding from it. Upon hearing her, it looked up, blood covering its lower lip. It was hideous. Pale skin, and two enormous wings. It stood up at its full height, nearly ten feet, and stepped forward, making her drop her torch and point her rifle at it.

She fired it once, hitting it square in the chest. It growled, then lunged for the woman, attacking her before she could even scream.

§§§

Fun fact lol, Missy & Cujo are based on dogs I've owned. Again, not proofread so please kindly point out any mistakes!

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 34

PUBLISHED: 07/07/2022

Part 1

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST

THIRD PERSON'S POV

You, the rest of the Golds, the Jesuses, the Shelbys, and Johnny Doggs' tribe were all in the dining hall of Arrow House, eating lunch. Tommy was hosting a Christmas lunch, and everyone stayed over the night before. The kids had all opened the present at the crack of dawn. You and Finn still had a handful of presents for Saoirse to open when you got home.

She had opened a few at Arrow House, her favourite one so far a kaleidoscope. She loved bright colours.

"Nice nails, there Finny boy," Arthur snickered, looking at his brother's purple nails.

Finn flushed but continued scooping potato salad onto the plate for Saoirse, who was fiddling with her new kaleidoscope, looking at the lights with it. You watched your sister as she looked up at the ceiling, and giggled at how the lights made the mosaic of colours all the more vivid. Saoirse heard Arthur's remark, and wasted no time narrowing her eyes at Arthur from across the table, and tightened her grip on her kaleidoscope. You snatched it out of her hand, knowing she was most likely to throw it at Arthur's head.

The older man shifted uncomfortably. At eight (and one month and a bit), your sister had already mastered many stares. The one she was giving Arthur now was her death stare. It even made Polly and Tommy uncomfortable sometimes.

"Can I help you?" He asked, sounding slightly disturbed.

You glanced at Finn, who gave a shrug after he placed your sister's plate in front of her.

"You think Finn's nails are funny," Saoirse replied in a matter of factly tone, a tone that gave no room for questioning.

Arthur moved in his seat, sitting himself up straighter than he was before. You resisted the urge to snicker at his discomfort. Finn was now biting his fist to try not to laugh.

"Well yes," Arthur said, moving his hand as he talked, "Us Shelby men think painted nails are for girls."

"They were done by a girl," Saoirse said shortly, obviously not impressed with Arthur, "My other best friend, Daisy. And she's better than all of you Shelby men combined, and worth her weight in gold."

You bit back a snort and rattled your sister's kaleidoscope, making her look at it and grab it back off of you, proceeding to look down at her plate of food with it.

Arthur cleared his throat, spearing a piece of his potato salad with his fork, and nodded.

"Fair enough, I believe ya," He replied, and Saoirse nodded, then had some of her own macaroni and cheese.

That was another trait of Arthur's you admired. He never spoke to children like they were stupid, and took their words into account. A trait that not many people possessed.

You knew Saoirse liked it. She would always complain about Linda, who treated her and Karl like they were still five, but you understood Linda's perspective as well.

You pushed the thought away as you had some of your own macaroni and cheese. An odd choice for Christmas lunch, but Charles was going through a phase where he wanted it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so he requested a dish of it be made. Lizzie told you that it was driving her mad, and if anyone offered her the dish in future she'd shove the dish and spoon they were serving the food with up the person's arse.

You ate the rest of your lunch without anyone making any remarks about Finn's nails, then got ready to leave, saying your see you laters to everyone. Finn got a maid to go and grab the containers of food he had put away, and you ushered Saoirse to the car, her presents already been put in the trunk and backseat by a butler.

You were dreading the drive home. You had to go the long way to go back home, because the road from Birmingham to your house was flooded and boggy. Damn unsealed roads.

The drive was going to take a couple of hours, and you weren't keen on driving it because you had such a long day already. You knew that you had to go home, however, you didn't want the roads to be closed and for you to be stuck away from your house. You were grateful that Tommy had given your family food from the lunch to have for dinner, saving you having to make a meal from scratch.

You looked at your sister in the rear view mirror, who was looking at the rain covered window through her kaleidoscope, and the corners of your lips turned up.

Finn placed a hand on your knee and squeezed it. You jumped slightly at the temperature difference between his hand and his wedding band, but as you relaxed yourself into the seat, listening to the rain pattering on the windows of the car and your sister's humming, you felt entirely at home.

The car ride wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. You got home in one piece, which was good, and ate your dinner, which was even better. Now you were in Saoirse's room, sitting on her bench with your husband softly swaying back and forth, watching her as she sluggishly played with her toys. Finn placed his glass of whiskey down in between the pair of you.

"I'll go run the shower for her," Finn told you, getting up from the bench.

You hummed and moved to pick out Saoirse's bedclothes, and stoke the fire. You were the first person to have a shower, having one as soon as you got home. You could hear the shower turn on, so you grabbed Saoirse's hairbrush and undid her braids; then pulled her hair up on top of her head in a bun. Finn came back and leaned in against the doorframe, arms crossed against his chest, watching you and your sister.

"Don't wet your hair," You told your sister, who nodded as she stood up, taking her bedclothes in hand and heading to the bathroom.

"I have a present for you," You informed your husband, picking up his glass of whiskey and crossing the room to meet him.

He moved to grab his glass from you, and you held it out behind you, raising your eyebrows. Finn cocked an eyebrow, and you tapped your lips with the pointer finger of your free hand, making him roll his eyes at your antics, but still lean down and place a kiss on your lips.

"That wasn't so hard, wasn't it?" You asked you husband teasingly, handing him back his glass.

The corners of his lips quirked up as he chuckled at you, then followed you to your shared bedroom, where you got a present out of the drawer of your vanity.

"Merry Christmas, Finn darling," You said with a soft smile upon your lips.

Finn came over to you, throwing back the last of his whiskey as he walked, then placed the empty glass on your vanity, taking the present into his hands and ripping it open. He opened the box, and there was a gold watch. He took it out of its box, and inspected it. He turned it over in his hands, and saw that on the back was an inscription;

'For Finn.

I will keep loving you even

after this watch stops ticking.

Always and Forever, (Y/N)'

"It's from Cartier. Do you like it?" You asked your husband, shifting from foot to foot, watching him as he rubbed his thumb gently over the inscription.

"I love it," He answered honestly as he put it on, "The inscription, it's really nice. Thoughtful. Endearing."

You felt your cheeks warm at his words. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"It fits perfectly. How the fuck did you know my wrist measurements?" Finn questioned, and you gave him an all knowing look.

"It came to me in a vision whispered upon the winds of  secrets," You answered dramatically as you went and sat on the ottoman.

Finn gave you a look that told you that he didn't believe your obvious lie.

"You sleep like the fucking dead. I measured your wrist while you were sleeping, there." You admitted, and Finn started chuckling as he headed into the walk in wardrobe, and grabbed a bag from the top shelf, right at the back.

He had hidden it there because he knew you were too short to reach it there.

"Finn, if it's not fragile, throw," You requested, holding your hand out, ready to catch it.

You were forever impatient when it came to gifts.

Your husband obeyed your request, tossing it to you, offering you a 'nice catch' when you caught it. You knew just by the blue colour of the bag, without even looking at the writing on the front of it that it was Tiffany & Co.

You opened the bag, and found a box inside it. You took it out of the bag, and opened it, finding a silver charm bracelet, and a note.

You looked at the note first, instantly recognising Finn's handwriting.

'To (Y/N)

My friend, my love, my partner, my wife — I'm forever grateful that I have you in my life.

I love you, Always and Forever.

- Finn'

You 'awwed', and looked at the charm bracelet. It was silver. You were glad. You preferred silver jewellery. The charms were coloured, though. A bee, yellow and black, a tiger, orange and black, a green turtle, a blue butterfly, the letter 'A', which was gold, a red rose, a grey cat, a brown and white dog, an onion, and a silver 'F'.

A bee for you. A tiger for Bonnie. A turtle for Esmeralda. A butterfly for Saoirse. 'A' for Aberama. A rose for Rose. A cat for Finn Junior. A dog for Tuck. An onion for you (you snorted at this). And finally, 'F' for Finn.

"It's gorgeous, Finn I love it." You murmured, scared of being loud in case your voice cracked.

You looked up at your husband, who was surprised to tears welling in your eyes. He quickly moved to kneel in front of you.

"I'm fine. Just emotional," You said, then chuckled.

Finn chuckled along with you, helping you put the bracelet and note back into the bag, ready for you to wear tomorrow. You yawned and stumbled into the walk in, changing for bed, then staggered to bed, crawling under the covers, your husband following suit.

"I love you," You mumbled to your husband as a goodnight, eyes already shut as you made yourself comfortable.

"I love you too," Finn murmured, reaching out to touch you before succumbing to sleep.

•••

New Year's Eve. A spectacular occasion, one your family celebrated like no other. They pulled out all of the stops. The Fury family also joined in your celebration this time round, something you loved. You rarely got to see that side of your family. And fucking hell, if you thought that the Golds knew how to party, you obviously had never partied with the Fury family.

Finn had had a good time, so far, part of which he was pinning on the green leaf he had smoked in a glass pipe with Bonnie and Aberama earlier on in the night. That and all of the short, electric touched and charged stares you and him had been giving each other all night were entwining inside of him and building up to something unbearable.

Finn looked at you through the flickering flames of the bonfire in front of him. You looked different. A good kind. You had your hair done up high in a messy bun, showing off your new ear piercings. Your nose piercing flickered in the light of the fire. Finn's eyes wondered downwards, to the dress you had on. It was a deep, dull red, and came off the shoulder, showing off your shoulders and a great expanse of chest, as well as some cleavage. You looked divine.

You reached up and let your hair down, the Fury girls either side of you helping make sure it looked okay as you took a swig of the bottle in your hand. One of the girls whispered something to you as she sat back down, and you looked over at him, and winked, then went back to talking to her, laughing at whatever she said before. He watched your lips as they moved, and found himself licking his own.

Finn could feel the heat pool in his gut, his ruddy cheeks flushing a deeper red. He wanted you. He stood up abruptly, giving the bottle he was nursing to the person next to him, and making his way over to you. You noticed this, and nearly tripped over your own feet getting up and rushing around the bonfire to your husband.

"(Y/N)," He said, placing a hand on your arm.

You shivered at the contact, and looked up into your husband's dark eyes.

"You've been staring at me all night like that, Finn," You murmured, then looked away, trying to rid you head of the thoughts you were having whilst you were in company.

"Because I want you," He breathed in reply, making you snap your head back to look at him, eyes wide.

You looped your finger through the loop of his jeans and dragged him away from camp, back towards your house. As he stumbled along, Finn could hear someone say that they only had a minute of this year to go.

Sixty, fifty-nine, fifty-eight.

You stopped, and Finn took that as his chance to push you up against a tree, lips connecting with yours, hands exploring your body over your clothes. You wasted no time letting your hands wander over his body.

"Finn, what if people find us?" You gasped, and he leaned down to nip at your neck.

Thirty-seven, thirty-six, thirty-five.

"Let them," He said simply, breath hot against your flesh, feeling painfully in the moment.

"What a way to start the new year," You mused as you helped him out of his shirt.

Twenty-one, twenty, nineteen.

As the people in your camp reached zero, you and Finn were already tangled up in each other, the worry of someone discovering the pair of you far gone.

•••

Bonnie walked into your house, head still pounding. He was coming to tell you that breakfast was ready, even though it was closer to lunch than sunrise.

The dogs barked at him, making him wine. He grabbed the dog food out of the pantry and poured it into each of their bowls, and did the same with the cat and his cat food, then put the food away and continued his task of finding you and Finn.

He made it up the stairs without falling back down them, a feat he was proud of his still drunk self for doing, and used the wall as support as he made his way to your bedroom door.

He opened it, and was surprised to see your clothes, as well as your husbands, discarded on the floor around the room.

He looked over at your bed, and saw the bruises littering Finn's chest, and snickered, closed the door back up, knocking on it. He listened carefully, and heard some shuffling in the room, then your voice, then Finn's.

He waited a few beats, then the door was opened, a half dressed Finn standing there, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Breakfast is ready back at camp." Bonnie said simply, then flicked his eyes down to Finn's chest, "You might want to put a shirt on before you come down, through."

Finn flushed and nodded, shutting the door, then Bonnie spun on his heels and went down the hallway, snickering to himself.

§§§

Okay I have a VERY important question for you dear readers that I would please like a few people to answer; since the reader and Finn are going to have babies, I would like you guys to help me pick out the baby names lol.

Which baby names do you prefer? (Please either reply or send me a message or something lol)

First child:

Finneas

Finch

Finley

Second child:

Isaac

Elijah/Eli

Ezra

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

TAGLIST

@meadownicolee

@toothlessmcleod

@im-your-possession

@bethabear12

@paisley-37

@shelundeadxxxx

@bluehairdie

@krillfromsky

@cucumberfingefsandwiches

NEXT PART

Part 35

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 15

PUBLISHED: 29/05/2022

!!FIRST PART HERE!!

Part 1

MASTERLIST

READER'S POV

I twirled my finger in the telephone cord nervously until I heard Lizzie's 'hello?'

"Oh! Lizzie, it's (Y/N), I've just had a dream, and I needed to tell you because you were in it," I rambled as Finn Junior came and weaved between my legs.

'Was it a vision, like the ones Polly has?' Lizzie inquired, and I shrugged.

"I'm not sure, but it felt real enough," I admitted as Finn came down the hall, just waking up, his curly hair all over the place and only wearing boxers and a singlet.

Finn jutted his chin up, and I mouthed 'Lizzie', making him nod as he put the kettle on to boil then reached up to grab two mugs. I watched him as he did so, revelling in how the skin tightened over the muscles in his upper arm, showing them off.

'Tell me about it,' Lizzie demanded softly, bringing me back to reality and making me avert my eyes from Finn.

"You had a baby, and she grew up to be gorgeous, like someone you'd see in the pictures. Her name was Ruby," I stated, leaning back against the bench, smiling slightly, "And I saw her father, too. The blue eyed devil. You know exactly who I'm talking about."

'Tommy Shelby,' She sighed, then took a slight pause, 'It's true. I am pregnant, and he's the father. He doesn't know yet.'

"Are - Are you keeping her?" I asked, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, Finn now going over and relighting the fire.

'Yes. I want a baby,' She states, making me grin.

"Well then, Miss Stark, congratulations. I'll knit you some baby boots, beanies, and a blanket." I informed her.

'I don't need them just yet!' Lizzie protested with a  chuckle.

"It'll be good to have them on hand," I pointed out, making her hum in agreement.

'I'm feeling a bit tired, I reckon I need some more sleep, see you at the shop?' Lizzie said, then yawned.

"See you at the shop. Talk to you later," I replied, then Lizzie hung up.

"Who's the father of her baby?" Finn questioned, and I put my finger to my lips, signalling that it was a secret.

Finn huffed, but nodded as he came back over and grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and put sugar into his blue mug.

"I'll take Jenica's cake tin back over to her," I said as it caught my eye on the bench.

"Who the fuck is Jenica?" He asked, pouring the now boiled water into his mug.

"My cousin, Jenica Palmer. She's probably your distant fucking relation too, with how big and connected gypsy families are," I remarked, then chuckled.

"I'll come with you," Finn announced after pouring milk into his cup.

"You've been in my pocket ever since I got back, Finn Shelby, I don't think so," I warned, wagging my finger.

Finn nodded, knowing not to push my limits, then handed me the tin, "Take a gun with you, put it in your bra or something. City's still dangerous."

"I will," I snapped, frowning as I turned on my heel and went up the corridor, grabbing Finn's handgun off of the table, unloading it then putting it into my bra.

I grabbed the silencer too, putting it into my bra.

I knew that we were in trouble, it held on to the Shelby's like a bulldog. I didn't need reminders every five seconds. I grabbed my socks and put them on, then grabbed my boots, pulling them on. I looked over at my vanity, and decided that the walk was too far away, instead grabbing the hair tie on my wrist and scraping my hair up into a bun, grabbing my coat, and walking back out to the living room, where Finn was frying, eggs, sausages, and tomatoes in a pan, cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"I won't be long," I informed him, making him nod.

I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a reminder to knit the stuff for Lizzie, and one to buy our own cake tin, then left the flat, borrowed cake tin in hand. I walked along the balcony in front of the apartments, humming a song I had heard on the radio.

I went upstairs, then entered the building, taking the internal stairwell instead of the fire escape for once, sick of the clanging sound it made with my boots.

I walked up to the fifth floor, and headed to the third door on the right, knocking on it.

Jenica opened the door, baby Violet on her hip.

"Cousin," She greeted warmly, pulling me in for a hug.

"Hello, cousin. I brought your cake tin back," I said as I released her from the hug, handing it to her, "I've got to get back to the apartment before Finn sends out a fucking search party, I'll come visit you and baby soon."

I pressed a kiss to Violet's forehead, making her giggle.

"All good, see you then." She said, and shut the door.

I walked down the internal staircase, and heard a familiar voice yell; "Everyone stay indoors! Stay down! By order of the Peaky Blinders!"

"Oh, fuck," I muttered, yanking the gun out of my bra, "I should've stayed home."

As I was putting the silencer on the gun, I looked down, and Tommy was coming up the stairwell.

"Thomas!" I hissed, making him look up, "What's going on?"

He ignored my question as he approached me, grabbing my arm and dragging me along with him.

"Why do you have a gun like that? Are the Italians here?" I questioned, and he shushed me as he continued to lead me God knows where.

My heart started racing. I didn't know these buildings like the back of my hand. I wasn't a Shelby, born and raised here like he was. I felt blind.

He stopped and leaned against a wall, panting. I started panting too, although it was from nerves instead of being out of breath. I reloaded my gun, then watched as Tommy reloaded his gun, then I pocketed the empty cartridge, making him look at me.

"You've been pushing papers around for too long, that could lead them to us!" I busted quietly, making him nod.

We heard voices in the stairwell, so he lead me through the door on our right. He lead me through the building to a fire escape, and looked around quickly. He lead me downstairs. I noticed someone walking down the street, and aimed my gun at them.

"Oi!" I called out, making him turn around, revealing the gun at his side.

I took one shot, sending a bullet through his head, watching as he fell to the ground in a heap.

"Stay here, watch my back, and if Luca comes, I get that shot," Tommy commanded, and I did so, kneeling down and pressing my back into the window behind me to make myself less visible from the street.

My hands were shaky, and cold. I heard someone speaking Italian as Tommy stepped off of the bottom step, and peeked over the edge of the landing, watching as Luca Changretta took shots at Tommy. I kept my eyes on the pair as they exchanged shots, then as Luca's gun ran out of bullets.

He put the gun down, and walked towards Tommy, and another Italian appeared from around the corner. I steadied myself, then took a shot and killed the other Italian, making Luca jump as his crony hit the ground. I let out a breath, then ran back upstairs and in the door Tommy and I just exited, making my way back to my own apartment.

I tried the front door, and found it locked.

"Finn!" I called out desperately as I knocked on the door, feeling shaken.

Finn opened the door, and I pushed past him, tripping over my own feet as I run to the bathroom, and knelt in front of the toilet, where I promptly vomited. I didn't even have anything to eat yet, so it felt horrid.

As I dry heaved, I felt a hand rub my back. Finn.

"What happened? Italians?" He asked, and I nodded, flushing the toilet.

"Tommy — I came across him when I was coming back from Jenica's. He had Italians after him, and he dragged me along with him. I don't know these streets, I don't know these buildings, I was fucking blind, thrown in the deep end!" I spat, feeling tears well up in my eyes, "If I knew what was happening and if I knew these buildings I'd be fine, but fucking hell, he just ordered me about like I was a soldier under his command, never again!"

I wiped them away angrily with a sniff, then heard stuff hit the sink, and the sound of something filling up. I looked up to see Finn offering me the cup that our toothbrushes usually sat in, but filled with water.  I took it, muttering a quiet 'thank you' and took a sip, swishing it around my mouth then spitting it into the toilet, repeating the action until my mouth felt clean. I handed the cup back to Finn, who sat it on the sink, then helped me stand up on shaky legs.

"Feeling sick still? Want to eat breakfast?" Finn asked, and I shrugged.

"I'll keep it warm on the fire until you feel alright. You should shower, I've got a feeling we're going to have a family meeting soon." He stated, and I nodded, turning the water on.

"I'll set you out some clean clothes," Finn mumbled as he exited the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

I stripped down and hopped into the shower, welcoming the feeling of the warm water on my skin. I had washed my hair last night, so there was no need to do it now. I stood under the hot water for a bit, waiting until I felt all of the tension wash off of me, then moved to clean my body, deciding to use Finn's body wash instead of my own. Once I was done, I turned off the shower and leaned out, grabbing my towel off of the rack and drying myself, then wrapping it around my body. I put my dirty clothes, bar my coat, which had been washed yesterday, into the laundry basket behind the door, picked up my boots, and walked to my room, shutting the door behind me.

I spotted the clothes Finn put out on my bed, walking over and drawing the curtains closed, then quickly got dressed, then put my boots on. I walked over to my vanity and grabbed my brush, undoing my bun with one hand, and pulling my hair over my shoulder, detangling my hair then pulling it down into a plait, in case I had to do any more fighting today.

I walked out of my room, down to the kitchen. The smell of food didn't make my stomach turn, a good sign. Finn was plating up the food. I walked over to the cupboard and grabbed my yellow mug down, making myself a cup of tea.

"You feel alright now?" Finn asked, and I nodded.

"Fuckin' nerves making me sick, that's all it was," I grumbled, taking a sip of my tea.

I grabbed my plate from Finn and carried it over to the table, placing it and my cup down, then headed over to the cupboard, grabbing a tin of cat food out and putting it into Finn Junior's bowl. I was surprised to learn that, while I was with the Italians, Finn had gotten the cat bowls, beds, blankets, and even a litter box with the cat's name on it. And the pair of them still hate each other.

I put Finn Junior's bowl down at the end of the bench, and he got up from his place in front of the fire and sauntered over, purring as he swayed his tail.

I sat at the table, next to Finn instead of across from him, and started eating, thanking him for the food first. We ate in a comfortable silence, and once we were done I took everything to the sink and washed them up, leaving them in the rack to dry.

The phone rang, and I picked it up.

"Hello?" I greeted my hand coming up to fiddle with my half heart pendant.

'(Y/N)? Family meeting, one hour. Polly's house.' Tommy said, then hung up.

"Fuck!" I bellowed, slamming the phone back down.

"What happened?" Finn asked, coming to stand next to me.

"Family meeting, one hour, his house," I mocked in a deep voice, making Finn chuckle.

"We can't even take the car because you got sick in it last night and it still stinks," I grouched, making Finn blush.

He was absolutely legless, Isiah had to call me to come get him from the Garrison. I should've left him there on the floor, or behind the bar.

"I'll call Arthur to come pick us up," He stated, making me nod, "I'll go have a shower, I'll be ready to leave in fifteen, I can read you some of the paper before we leave if you want."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Why are you being nice to me? Is it so I won't be mad at Tommy?"

He looked taken aback, then narrowed his own eyes at me, "Am I not allowed to be nice to my wife? Would you rather be a drop dead cunt?"

"No — But you were never nice before I got taken!" I defended myself, making Finn roll his eyes and turn on his heel, heading to his room.

"You are worth the effort, fuck what anyone else told you before," He threw back quietly over his shoulder, then added, "If you weren't so contrary all the time we'd probably be an alright pair."

I scowled and picked up the pan that Finn had used to cook the food, and launched it after him, "I'm not fucking contrary! I'm complicated!"

He just laughed me off, "Yeah, you've got layers; like an onion."

"Stop comparing me to an onion!" I shrieked, before regaining my composure.

I looked down at Finn Junior, who was looking up at me with a funny look on his face.

"Don't stare at me like that."

•••

THIRD PERSON'S POV

"They're here," Polly announced, looking out of the window and seeing Arthur, Linda, you, and Finn in Arthur's car.

You were poking Finn in the side of the head, talking animatedly. Polly wouldn't be surprised if you were arguing about something. Again.

Finn hopped out of the car, helping you out, then all four of you crossed the street, heading to Polly's. Once inside, you sat at Polly's dining table. There were only four seats, Arthur and Johnny Doggs took two, Lizzie and Finn taking the other. Finn pulled you down to sit on his lap, and, to everyone's surprise, you stayed there, not protesting as he sat a hand on your hip.

You were glad Finn let you sit in his lap, because nothing could make you stand next to Linda. At least this way Finn could hold you back if you tried to hit her. Standing on the other side of Charlie meant standing behind Johnny Doggs. Finn figured that this way was the best bet.

"So," Arthur began, tipping the contents of a small blue bottle onto the table, "What the fuck happened today, Tom? We all heard, shooting in Artillery Square."

Tommy nodded softly, "Yeah, there was. Today I killed two men. (Y/N) killed two as well. Now our enemies will have to wait."

You saw out of the corner of your eye the other three sat at the table looking at you in disbelief. You didn't blame them. You didn't look all that threatening, but that's precisely why you were dangerous. No one would expect the gypsy girl to be wielding a gun.

"I suppose they uh, I suppose they took you by surprise, did they?" Arthur questioned, tapping his blue bottle on the table one last time.

"No. They took (Y/N) by surprise; I knew they were coming." Tommy informed the group, making you and Finn side eye each other.

Why weren't you told that Tommy was going gallivanting in your backyard; with all guns blazing? You two could've helped, or hid.

"Just after Christmas I received a letter from Luca Changretta, offering to spare my son if I gave up Tommy. And I gave Tommy up." Polly said, making your eyebrows shoot up.

She was either very stupid or very brave to do that. You thought the latter.

"Because that was the plan that Polly and I agreed on," Tommy added, "I knew that Luca would want to pull that trigger himself, so I used the set up as bait to bring him in. (Y/N) just happen to be in the wrong place at the right time, and thank fuck she had a gun."

Finn squeezed your waist at this statement.

"Never again, I went in blind. I didn't know what the fuck was happening, or why, and I didn't know that building. Next time you need my help, you tell me beforehand," You warned Tommy, who nodded.

"You're a fucking idiot, Tom." Arthur said, sniffing and jerking around in his seat, the snow probably already taking its effect.

"Look, I didn't get Changretta, but I got two and (Y/N) got two, together we got four. All right? That's it, that's what happened." Tommy said in his 'that's final' voice.

Charles came into the room, and Tommy picked him up.

"Aye, but he's right. I mean, it thought you'd gone soft." Johnny Doggs said, standing up from the table and chuckling, "So you got two? And the lass did too?"

"Yeah, I got three. She only needed one shot each, fucking good aim on her." Tommy said, adjusting his son on his hip.

"Well, I'll drink to you, Tom, you mad bastard. And to you, (Y/N), for your services." Charlie said, raising his glass.

"You make it sound like I'm a whore." You said blankly, making Lizzie chuckle, "No offence, Lizzie."

A laugh went around the room, Finn pulling you in so you were leaning against his body.

"Pretty soon, you are gonna get the shakes when your blood cools down. Now, let's go get a drink," Arthur said to his brother.

"Dad, you got four what?" Charles asked, a big grin on his face.

"I got four shillings for a three-shilling horse." Tommy stated, making you chuckle, "Now, my boy, you come with us, huh?"

You watched as all of the men walked out of the room, bar your husband.

"You going to drink with them?" You asked Finn, who shook his head, "I've got whiskey here."

You hummed in agreement, watching carefully as he poured you a glass, and topped his up. You missed the knowing look that the women down the other end of the table shared.

§§§

Ooof long chapter lol

I have a personal Tumblr blog where I post my photography if you all are interested in keeping up with me, I only started using it today tho lol (I also plan on posting other stuff too lol but I'm new to Tumblr so eh)

@naiwillalwaysloveyou

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

NEXT PART

Part 16

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 12

PUBLISHED: 25/05/2022

!!FIRST PART HERE!!

Part 1

MASTERLIST

READER'S POV

Luca dialled the betting den, letting it ring. I strained my ears for any other sounds outside, but I couldn't hear any. The window in the room had been covered with a curtain, and the two other doors in the room had been closed. I noticed about three deadbolts on each door. They had planned to kidnap someone.

"Hello?" I heard Tommy's voice come through the phone.

"Thomas Shelby. I think I have something of yours," Luca greeted, looking straight at me.

"Where's the girl?" Tommy asked coldly, and Matteo shoved me roughly into Luca, who put the receiver to my ear, "And I thought we agreed no fucking kids! She's a kid, Luca!"

"Speak." Luca commanded, staring down at me, "And tell him that you're only means to an end."

"I'm here, Tommy." I muttered into the phone, "And he told me to tell you I'm only means to an end."

"Have they hurt you?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Only when they grabbed me. I came to not long ago." I informed him, then switched to Shelta, "I don't know where I am. Take care of you and yours and mine, forget about me, I'll be fine."

"Don't be fucking stupid, you and yours are mine now. I'll figure it out. I got you into this mess and I'll get you out." Tommy informed me, making me frown.

"Don't you dare try to find me, watch your back so you don't get hurt!" I snapped, then Luca hung up.

"You heard that boys? Thomas Shelby cares enough for her that he'll come for her. Now, all we have to do is wait until they get sloppy." Luca stated, making the men cheer.

I hoped Tommy's word wasn't his law. If he got hurt, it would bring the whole family down, and everything they did, everything they lost, would all be for naught.

FINN'S POV

I was livid. (Y/N), my wife, was on the phone and Tommy wouldn't even let me speak to her. I wanted to know if she was okay too.

"Let's go for a walk," Arthur commanded, clapping my shoulder and leading me out of Tommy's office roughly.

I followed, knowing that I would only cause trouble if I stayed. I slowed down as I heard the quick tinkling of a bell. Finn Junior. Arthur stopped too, until I felt Finn Junior rub up against my legs, no doubt leaving his grey fur all over my pant legs. Arthur started moving again, albeit slower this time so Finn Junior could keep up with us. He lead me to my house.

"Pack a suitcase, Finny boy," He instructed me.

I walked upstairs and did as he asked, grabbing my suitcase from under the bed and throwing some clothes into it.

"What about (Y/N)'s stuff?" I called back down as the living grey doormat came and jumped up on my bed and started cleaning himself.

"Leave it here, she can pack if she gets back!" Arthur yelled in reply.

"When she comes back." I muttered, heading to the bathroom to grab my toiletries.

I refused to think any other way. They wouldn't want to kill you, to them you shouldn't be an important part of my family, just a traveller girl that got married in.

I threw the rest of my stuff into my suitcase, the stuff that could fit into it anyway. I could always make two trips. I hoped.

I walked back out to Arthur, and he led me across the street to his house, and told me to get into his car. I complied, then helped Finn Junior up, sitting him on my suitcase. He curled up on it and purred as Arthur started the car, driving down the streets of Small Heath, taking us to Artillery Square.

He stopped the car and got out. I did the same, holding open the door until the overgrown lint ball got off of my suitcase and jumped out of the car, meowing at me as if thanking me for my services, then grabbed my suitcase and followed Arthur. I got up to the top of the stairs before realising that the tinkling sound had stopped. I turned around, and the cat was sat at the bottom of the stairs.

"Can't you walk yourself up?" I asked, and the cat stayed in his spot, making me roll my eyes.

If (Y/N) were here he'd be up these stairs in the blink of an eye.

Arthur yanked my suitcase out of my grip, holding it.

I looked down at Finn Junior, who was looking up at me expectantly. I sighed and walked down the stairs, crouching in front of him, then he gave me a slow blink. I slipped both my arms under his stomach, right next to his legs like you always did, making sure I had a good grip on him then slowly standing up.

"Hurry up!" Arthur commanded lightly, watching me carry the cat up the stairs rather awkwardly.

Awkward for me. The cat was probably enjoying every second of my slaving around for him.

"You try carrying this cat, it feels heavier than your Billy!" I snapped making him roll his eyes.

With the size of him, I was absolutely sure that he was heavier than Billy. Arthur lead me to the very apartment he was sat in at midday. I cursed that old slut for bringing him here. You'd be safe, at home with the cat, probably eating the biscuits I stashed away if she didn't.

"There you go, brother," He announced, throwing my poor suitcase onto the floor, "Home sweet home!"

"Place for you to spend time with your wife, bring your mates, play games, gamble, cards, and you keep an eye on our backyard," He informed me as I looked around the room, inspecting it, "It's Artillery Square. Place is full of Communists. The strikers. Having a Shelby — or two — will keep them in order."

It was at this moment in time that Finn Junior decided he wanted to get down, wiggling in my arms, then rolling over and trying to scratch my face. I leaned back, dodging his claws, hitting my head on the doorframe in the process, then crouched and let him down, and watched as he sauntered around the room, avoiding any broken glass on the floor.

"You little bastard! I should shoot you and turn you into a rug to put in front of the fire!" I bellowed, making Arthur chuckle.

"Light the fucking fire, take some of this shit off the walls. Curly will be over later with some poison for the rats. Unless your cat eats them." Arthur informed me, making Finn Junior hiss in protest.

Lazy bastard. I'd have to try to get you to stop spoiling him when you came back.

"Arthur," I began shakily, getting his attention.

"Huh?" He responded, turning back around to face me.

"This morning, I wouldn't have been able to pull that trigger. I know I wouldn't, they would have just walked past. I'm not John." I said, a lump forming in my throat, "I know I'm not."

Sometimes, like today, they treat me like John.

"All right," Arthur cut me off gently, coming over and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, "You're my brother. I know you're not. I know. In the end, its God who pulls that fucking trigger anyway."

"We don't get to decide who lives, and who dies Finn," He reassured, placing his other hand on my other shoulder, "Not us. You just have to ... flip a switch; in your head."

He clapped me on the shoulder, then wordlessly walked out.

It would be hard to flip that switch. The older boys went to France and I didn't. Some days, like today, they throw me in the deep end, and others, like when Tommy decided that we were to marry, they treat me like a child, always deciding and doing things for me. It was unfair, and confusing. I'd have to ask you how you managed when you helped your father and brother.

I looked around, and found a broom in the closet next to the front door.

"We gonna clean this place up for your mum?" I asked the cat, who gave a sound of agreement.

As I swept, all I could focus on was how quiet it was. In the time you had been living with me, it was never quiet in the house. You were always making some sort of noise, whether it was complaining, arguing with me, singing, bouncing your leg and tapping your shoe on the floor, chewing your gum, or practicing your reading.

I missed that noise, and I was sure little Finn did too.

§§§

Y'all I pierced my own nose last night and it actually turned out decent lol

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

NEXT PART

Part 13