#Tbh the John Shelby tag is a fucking mess so if you actually see this you have good luck

[mxpseudonym]

Explain it to me like I'm stupid

Alt title; 17 Months for a Peach

Pairing: John Shelby x male!OC (or characterized reader)

Summary: John’s proposal gets shot down in a meeting, and his book smart crush is there to cheer him up. John uses this moment to make a move. It’s giving himbo x nerd vibes a little bit.

Length: 2986

Warnings: Sex happens, also the use of "idiot" but affectionately

A/N: I know I closed this blog, but I’ve been feeling kinda down lately then found this when I was cleaning out my fanfic database (I should show you all how I organize my fics one day lol) and it made me happy to finish and share. So here we are.

Evan adjusted his glasses and watched John talk in the meeting. The youngest Shelby was hot-headed, and at his worst, he was clueless about how things worked. Life seemed to happen to him in many ways, but he certainly had charisma.

Evan looked at him with a glint in his eyes. What an absolute idiot. Of course, Tommy wasn’t going to go with his idea that was sure to start an unnecessary war amongst the Small Health rabble-rousers. But boy, did this kid have heart. He showed up fully and earnestly for his family, country, and city. He couldn't even last in London; he was so used to the Romani lifestyle.

He was completely different from Evan, who, with his glasses and correct to the decimal ledger, was used to a tidy upbringing with a mother who was more into the motions of catholicism than the God behind it and a father who was, in a word, docile. John and Arthur had teased him for his bowties and suits and how he'd never gotten into a fight. John had protected him in a few bar fights. That was a good word for him—a protector.

The meeting was over, and everyone dispersed. Evan's eyes followed John, who kept a smiling face but let it waver when he snuck off into the halls of Arrow House. It took a moment for Evan to be able to follow. The dinner party continued, and he took a glass and a bottle of champagne to look for John. Surprisingly, he found him in the library looking at all the books Evan knew Tommy had never read.

"Is John Shelby actually reading during a party?" Evan asked out loud, closing the door behind him as John turned with a book in his hand.

"Got lost, didn't I? Told Tommy we need a bloody map in this place." John grumbled before tossing the book on a settee. "What've you got there?"

"I knew you'd probably like this when I found you."

"Savior status."

"Amen. One glass, though,"

"We can share," John said with a shrug, completely unaware. Evan smirked and handed him the tools. He picked up the book John had thrown down and huffed when he saw it.

"Economics? What are you doing reading about economics?"

"Oi, don't tease. Tried to ask Pol why my idea wouldn't work. She got mad at me for asking too many questions again.”

"The key is not to lose sight of the forest for the trees."

John gulped down his first drink and started another. “Whaddya mean?”

“On the surface, taking over the new casino and nightclub in Small Heath makes sense, even if it means expanding our territory by any means necessary. More money, right?”

“Exactly.”

“But, the Riley Gang is in deep debt to us. If we wait and see how well those spots will do, which they are expected to do well, as you mentioned, we can approach them later, and they’ll be persuaded to funnel their money to us with interest. Meanwhile, we don’t have to pay for manpower or maintenance. No damages or insurance either.”

“And we can keep expanding to London,” John concluded.

“Exactly.”

“Why’s it gotta be so complicated? We’re the Peaky fucking Blinders. We should just get what we want when we want it,” he complained, making Evan laugh.

“I can’t say you’re wrong about that. It’s what we’re after. Tommy’s got his vision, but the rest of us lowly dogs will live and die right here in Small Heath. Would be nice to have some perks if that’s the case,” Evan agreed as he filled the glass flute with bubbly. John watched intently as he sipped. “What?”

“Thanks for explaining that without me feeling stupid.”

“You’ve got the spirit,” Evan told him before ruffling his hair. John smirked softly, then began leaning in. Evan tilted his head in confusion, which John took as an invitation to cup his neck and go for it. It being the one thing Evan never thought would happen in all 30 years of his life.

He was pretty sure John Shelby was the only one who could make a risky first kiss feel coy and smug at the same time. The kiss was teasing and slow, and John pulled his bottom lip between his teeth before they parted.

“Fuck,” John groaned, the sound burning straight to Evan’s lower belly. “That was bad, right? Shouldn’t be acting on my wet dreams like that, not with our resident smart ass.”

John chuckled as Evan blinked at him. He could hardly process the groan, the flirting, the admission of the wet dream, and the cheeky insult in one go. Turning, he took a swig from the champagne bottle before pointing at John.

“Explain yourself.”

“Right now? Just when things are getting good?” John looked at him, surprised. “Mate, you’ve got to learn good timing. I might not know numbers and cents, but I know wanting eyes like nothin’ else. On the other hand, you don’t know shit and-” John stood, making his way to him and taking the bottle, having a drink of his own. “Have kept me waiting for 17 fucking months.”

“17?!” Evan choked on the number. “You didn’t run out of patience?”

“Almost did. But you started swimming with us last summer, and it was the death of me.”

“Is that all you think about?”

“Are you asking if you are all I think about? Or if seeing more of what those swimsuits were hiding is all I think about? Real prick to not skinny dip like the rest of us, by the way,” John grumbled. Evan nodded, then took two gulps of the champagne.

“So you’re saying,”

“How can you think when you’re this hard?” John asked curiously. Evan became ruefully aware that he was swelling in his trousers only when John’s hand pressed on the front of him. His eyes looked down at his fondling hand, then to the front of John’s trousers that were nearing a similar state.

“Nothing cohesive is really happening up here,” Evan admitted, pointing to his head.

“Then, can I kiss you while you think of your next interrogation question?” John asked. Evan could only nod.

Thoughts flew in and out of the running for the most cohesive sentence as Evan’s mind swirled. He had several questions, including ‘why now?’ and ‘are you sure?’ but John’s hands had untucked his shirt and roamed his skin, all while the Shelby shamelessly whispered the most salacious things.

“You’re just as soft as I thought, or more probably,” John murmured. Evan groaned, letting his head fall back while John pressed his thigh between Evan’s legs and against his hardening self. He hated that he subtly rutted against it as they kissed but hated even more that John pressed against his thigh without hesitation, making them both even hotter.

“I don’t know a lot about this, but I learned a thing or two in France. I think you should receive,” John muttered, never changing tone. He was so nonchalant Evan nearly missed it.

“What are you saying right now?”

“Huh? That you should take my dick?” John leaned away just a bit to speak clearly. Evan felt the heat rush straight to his face to even come from his ears like steam from the ears of a cartoon character.

“Did you say you learned in France?” He asked though John was moving already.

“Just a couple of things over a few times,” he rushed through the small talk as his own cheeks blushed.

“Teach me then. Explain it without making me feel stupid, please?” Evan asked, and John groaned.

“Stop. You’re making my dick harder when you ask like that.”

“Romance is your strong suit.”

Evan was a liar. Well, not entirely, but a little. He wasn’t asking John to tell him how two men had sex, per se; he just wanted to know what John knew. Because, in truth, Evan’s stint in France wasn’t just helpful; it found him with a few close friends who knew where others like them convened. Some bars, restaurants on certain days, and parks at night were all common meetings for men. And while he did pine for John, Evan had also had his fair share of romps.

“-and spit is the worst. Use oil or the medical lubricant if you can,” John concluded thoughtfully. He wasted no time leaning in and connecting his lips to Evan’s shoulder. The explanation was twice as long, at least for all the times John’s eyes couldn’t leave his lips, and he’d kiss him.

“I can’t believe you held on to that information for such a long time. Can you wait a little longer?” Evan asked.

“Because you need to think?” John asked, suddenly leaning back.

“Because we’re in the middle of a dinner party.”

It was John’s turn to blink before laughing. Evan could only chuckle. The idiot had definitely forgotten.

“Like a peach,”

“Oh god, stop saying that,”* Evan whined.

In the confines of his apartment, far enough away from Watery Lane to be a haven, Evan writhed under John’s touch. An arm slung over his eyes while John kneeled between his legs, making them wrap around his waist. In the meantime, he was being too gentle about pressing into Evan’s freshly cleaned hole.

The oil would have been enough, and Evan expected to deal with the consequences of John’s recklessness later. Actually, he thought this would never happen once the champagne wore off, but John showed up at his door with flowers on a Saturday morning they agreed on two weeks later, and here they were.

John was so tender with him that it almost made Evan mad. He was expecting the lug to toss him around, not make him dizzy, and from kisses and sweet nothings, coaxing him out of his clothes and onto the bed.

Fingers dipped in oil stroked his cock first, and John had no hesitation in rubbing their cocks together while telling him this was just like a dream he had. Before Evan could tell him he was insane, John told him he needed to be inside him while groaning into his neck.

John circled his tight hole, with his thumb, but selected his right pointer finger as the designated one for the job. Evan thought about the skill the man possessed. To put men all over the country in their place, tossing explosives in politicians houses, roughing people up left and right. And now this. Those rough hands flexed and prodded until Evan could no longer stand being seen so openly. John slid his finger into him with some ease.

“Oh? Have you been doing this on your own. You took me so easily,” he said like nothing.

“How can you say that with,” Evan started, ripping his arm away from his face, only to see John red and half covering his own face. John gave him the most boyish smile that nearly sent him into cardiac arrest, but instead made them both chuckle. “It feels good.”

“Yeah? You’re soft here, like a peach.”

And he continued with that reference, more surprised that it held up when he drizzled more oil and put in one extra finger then another. Evan couldn’t catch two full breaths consecutively. His cock twitched and leaked over his lower belly, but John refused to touch him beyond squeezing his thigh and sliding into him to the knuckles, then to the hilt, then pressing in until Evan gasped. It was finding the precious spot within him that fucked it all up.

“Oh, here?” John asked when Evan’s back arched and he called for him and the heavens. “I’ll remember that for later.”

“John, just fuck me,” Evan pleaded. “You can’t just say that and expect me to not be like this.”

“Okay, okay, sorry,” John chuckled.

The bed shifted, sheets wrinkling and pillows adjusting. The morning sun hit perfectly on Johns naked form as he ran a hand through his hair before grabbing his cock. Evan watched it glisten with a thick coating of oil before it pushed against him.

For a moment he thought he was in trouble. His eyes rolled back. He couldn’t see straight, and he felt like he was leaving his body. His voice trembled as John’s pelvis pressed against his thighs, filling him to the hilt, “I’m gonna cum.”

True to his word, he spurted across his stomach while John groaned.

“Evan, you’re so lewd right now,” John breathed, his hand running up his side. He leaned down and ran his tongue over a small smattering of the milky substance, ignoring Evan telling him not to. John licked his stomach then up to his nipples before capturing his lips. “Your punishment for cumming at the start is that I get to fuck you as much as I want, alright?”

John was making him hold his knees up before he could agree to the binding vow. But the feeling of John’s cock stretching him and sliding against that spot in him would have made him do it. The strokes were exploratory, accompanied by moans and praises for Evan fitting him like a glove. He sped up, smacking against him after he adjusted. Evan could only take him in.

“Fucking hell, you’re handsome. Shit,” Evan groaned. John grinned then leaned down, the position putting him deeper as he helped press Evan’s legs back as he did it.

“You’re literally the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen, you know how that makes me feel?” John asked. He paused while Evan shivered at the new position. “Luckiest fucking man.”

“You’re a square,” Evan moaned back. John’s rolling hips against him was enough payback, and he happily waved a white flag that left their foreheads pressed together and fingers interlaced. Evan couldn’t help joining his lover in being sappy though he’d never admit it. He gasped against the stubble on John’s jaw, “I’m so happy it’s you.”

John ripped himself away with a groan and quickly sat back, hand shooting to hold the base of his cock. “Fuck, I almost came.”

Evan huffed and sat up half way, wiping the sweat from his temple before caressing John’s waist, stroking the soft skin with his thumb. He watched the intense furrowing oh his brow, eyes clenched and teeth biting mercilessly at his bottom lip. Evan chuckled and laid back, rolling onto his stomach, glad that he was sending out laundry soon.

“I’m so empty now,” he sighed.

“Shut it,” John snipped. Evan simply raised a thigh and reached a hand between his legs. His fingers stroked his cock gently, massaged his balls, then found his tender entrance. He was aching, pulsing, and John was holding out? Bastard.

“I don’t think it’ll feel the same,” Evan groaned as he began prodding his ass.

“I just wanted a second, christ,” John laughed. He smacked away Evan’s fingers, and Evan happily shifted onto his knees, happy his fussing worked.

“You said you’d fuck me as much as you wanted, so I just want to take my punishment,” Evan told him over his shoulder. John tsked him while adding more oil to himself.

“You’re impossible.” Whether or not this was true didn’t stop John from sinking in at the new angle, deft fingers sinking into the plush of Evan’s hips to pull him back. The sound of squelching slickness filled the room with their pants and groans. With a squeeze to the ass, John praised him, “You’re sucking me in, love, well done.”

His hand slid to the natural line in his back and pushed Evan’s chest to the sheets to drive into him at a deeper angle. The strangled gasp he let out was one he’d make John take to his grave, but the depth of his cock was worth it.

“Never, stop, ugh god don’t stop,” he begged.

“As if I would, you’re leaking all over yourself and your ass is as soft as I thought,” John explained, squeezing him again. A shameless man. Evan would think of a comeback when he wasn’t burying his face in the sheets, trembling as the head of John’s cock firmly pushed against his prostate with every firm thrust. “I knew I’d find it again. Shit, you’re so **good, I’m gonna,” John rambled for a moment, hips starting to stutter before he pulled out and Evan felt his seed paint itself on his back.

They sat in bliss for a moment before John laughed and hopped up. Evan ignored the teasing he received for not moving from his face down ass up position by the time John came back with a warm cloth. Even when they laid next to each other, cleansed of fluids and oil, Evan still reveled in how his body felt now. John made use of their closeness, kissing him and never letting his hands still against his skin. They settled beside each other as the sun warmed the room and lulled them into a daze. It wasn’t even noon - they had a whole day to enjoy. Evan’s eyes closed first, and he felt bruised lips brush his forehead.

“Next time I won’t be so nice since you made me wait so long.” John’s dozing voice didn’t make the promise any less exciting.

“I look forward to it.”

>> John Shelby Master List <<

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