#and tommy's a sort of night city slums

[vincess-princess]

as we were falling

ch. 4

a/n: to the handful of people reading this, i love you. this is as unedited and rough as it could be, and you still push through. that takes some serious willpower i gotta say

warnings: - (incredible, right)

word count: 1435

It always hit hard at night.

The engines were humming quietly, sending vibrations throughout the ship. The living quarters were usually padded against this, but those were no living quarters.

Tommy knew this was the last night onboard. Nobody told him that, of course, but he knew. It’s been eight days, and the crew was running around, their steps and voices constantly passing past the corridor behind the door of their cell. This hurry could only mean one thing.

As much as the ship sucked, Tommy would rather stay here, in this piss-soaked robe, eating disgusting nutrient paste, shitting in a bucket, than go off to an unpredictable future, alone. No, it wasn’t exactly unpredictable: there would be an auction, and his price would probably cap at three thousand EDs – he was too lanky for anything more than that, though the hair and the face might drive it up a little. He didn’t have much to offer in terms of skills, except maybe waiting on tables, dancing and drumming – but that wasn’t what coreworlders were looking for in slaves. Maybe a middle-aged lady would want to acquire an errand boy and a young lover, or a family of five a nanny, or a weapon dealer – a manual laborer who he wouldn’t have to pay. He tried to list all the possible options in his mind, but gave up at fifty-seventh. Too much uncertainty. He hated it.

Nikki was snoring, quietly and peacefully, on the mattress next to his. They’ve only been mattress-mates for two and a half days, but it was still a connection, still a familiar stone to hang onto in the relentless stream of life. Nikki was reckless, and completely insane, and didn’t know what cereal tasted like but could tell the difference between the shots of FNFAL7 and SA92 by sound. Tommy made a note to find out more about Rina (what was the system? MC-something?) whenever he got the chance. Weird guy, but there was something appealing about him. It was a pity they’d never meet again after tomorrow. Tommy had a feeling they could become good friends.

“Hey.” Nikki as though materialized next to his mattress straight out of Tommy’s thoughts. For a second Tommy even got scared he could read his mind. “You alright, kiddo?”

“Yeah,” Tommy said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Why?”

“You were sniffling.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were.”

Tommy wiped his nose stealthily. “No, I wasn’t. And I’m not a kiddo.”

“C’mon. You look seventeen.”

Tommy was gravely offended. “I’m eighteen, actually.”

“Ah, eighteen. Such a good, carefree time,” Nikki said dreamily. “When I was your age-“

“You were my age like two years ago,” Tommy interrupted, irritated.

“Four, actually.” Now it was Nikki’s turn to get offended. Oh, so the perceived difference in maturity was just Nikki’s vaster life experience. Rina sounded like a hellhole, and while Atarea wasn’t heaven on earth either, at least Tommy never had to hold a gun in his hands. Mostly because they were too poor to afford one, though.

“How’d you get swiped?” he heard himself asking, practically against his will. That was probably a sensitive topic, but he was curious, and there’d be no better chance to find out.

Nikki didn’t seem to mind much, though. “They landed next to our settlement. Demanded we give them our guns and our young. We refused. They started shooting.” He paused, his breath quickening. “They got the guns and three of us out of twenty-seven. Maybe two – Danny looked real bad last time I saw him.”

Tommy blinked, astonished. “Just like that? You didn’t even have time to call the intercops?”

“Intercops? On Rina?” Nikki laughed bitterly. “Kiddo, they haven’t even heard of it. No intercop dares venture that far. He’d be polished off in an instant just for a fancy gun.”

“Oh. Alright.” Atareans didn’t like cops much either, but killing one was the last thing anyone would wanna do –there’d be a horde of them the next day hauling off anyone they thought was related to the incident. “And other settlements? You tried contacting them?”

Nikki shook his head. “They put on a radio blocker. And we didn’t have many settlements close enough to help us out - provided that they’d want to help us at all instead of waiting for us all to get massacred to feast on the remains.”

“Your planet kind of sucks, dude,” Tommy said honestly.

“It does.” Nikki wrinkled his nose. “Hellhole, as I said. Still wouldn’t change it for any coreworld planet they’re dragging us to. Better to die on your terms than live on terms of others.”

Tommy didn’t like his tone – it was so full of desperate brashness he was almost sure the guy would throw himself off a fancy coreworld skyscraper when given a chance rather than live in that very skyscraper as a slave. But the guards had probably already noted his affinity for rebellion and indifference to getting hurt and his future owners would surely learn about that beforehand.

“But enough about me,” Nikki continued, his tone that scared Tommy gone. “What’s your story?”

“There’s not much to tell.” After Nikki’s tragic tale Tommy felt almost guilty for having such a mundane backstory. “My family was poor as rats. I’ve made some mistakes - got arrested a couple times. Killed my own prospects, so to say.” He avoided looking Nikki in the eyes. “And you don’t earn much working tables and cleaning the trash.”

“What kind of mistakes?”

“Oh, you know. Minor ones. Broke into a car once – there was a wallet on the seat. Got busted right there and then. Couldn’t pay the court fines – got put onto the list of ‘unreliables’.”

“The list of who?”

“Unreliable member of society. Trash. Outcasts. Effectively closed off practically any normal job for me.”

“Your family sold you or something?” Nikki frowned. "When you became unable to bring in the cash?"

“Not exactly.” Tommy raised his hand, interrupting him. “You see, I have a younger sister. She’s smart. Ambitious. Straight As at school. Her teachers tell her she’s got every chance of getting into college.”

“So they did sell you.“ Nikki concluded, but Tommy shook his head.

“Dude, listen to the end. I was deep down in the dumps. Drank heavily. Shot up in club bathrooms. Spent all my family’s money on booze and drugs.”

Nikki listened with a face of stone. Not a muscle moved on it, only his eyes were burning – burning with rage.  

“They did offer me a chance.” Tommy squeezed out a smile, but it came out a grimace “Go clean and find a job, split the bills. Put in a share for my sister’s college.”

“But you are here. You didn’t pull that off?”

Tommy shook his head. Images that he tried so hard to suppress came back to mind. Screams, harsh words, fights. At least now it was over. “No. I refused to try entirely.”

Nikki’s eyebrows flew up. “Are you for real? You rejected a normal life with your parents for this?” He waved his hand around. Someone snored loudly.

Tommy sighed. How could he explain to a dweller of a wild edgeworld planet whose entire colony was shot why Tommy’s life sucked? “That wasn’t normal life. My parents hated me, and I hated them. I wanted out. I wanted to not be a burden. I wanted my sister to go to college.” He leaned in to Nikki, as if telling a secret. “To be honest, man… I feel relief. I won’t be a dead weight on their shoulders anymore, compromising my sister with my mistakes.”

For a while Nikki looked at him without saying anything, sending shivers down his spine. “You’re crazy, man,” he finally said. “You’re absolutely crazy.”

“Maybe I am.” Tommy shrugged. He hoped his story didn’t change Nikki’s opinion of him to the worse. “I’m still surprised myself. Never thought I’d be able to do something like that.”

“I never would,” Nikki said. “I don’t understand you. But-“ he paused, “if that was a decision you made yourself…”

Tommy nodded.

“Then I respect it,” Nikki finished, and Tommy felt pride blooming in his chest. This big, tough, take-no-shit guy respected him. For Tommy, that was something. “But I still think you’re absolutely crazy,” he added, smiling a contagious smile.

They spent the rest of the night talking. When they finally got to sleep people were already rushing past their door and calling out to each other, which meant it was almost wake-up time. Tommy knew he needed energy for the day that was about to come, but he also wouldn’t exchange that night for anything.

[sceawere]

an oíche | alfie solomons/shelby!reader

set after ‘ar maidin’ and ‘truce’

@collecting-stories

“We’re going to freeze to death”

“Alfie, please shut the fuck up, my love”

“We are going to freeze to death, yeah?” he took pauses between each set of words, staring into the fire in front of the wagon.

“We’re not going to freeze to death, you’re being a baby”

“How the fuck do you live in these things? I mean, honestly, I want to know, how generations have survived living feral like this”

“We’re not fucking feral you dick”

You punched his arm before shuffling closer to him and snuggling into his side, wrapping the edges of your shawl around as much of him as you could. He’d had a permanent scowl on his face for hours now, ever since you’d had the car pull in to the field at the back of Tommy’s place and set off for the group of wagons parked there.

“The fuck is happening here, love?”

“Come on, I’m staying here tonight”

“No, we’re staying at the big house, you said”

“Nooooo, I said we were going to the big house, not staying in it”

“Right well that’s lying then isn’t it? You lied to me”

“No, I simply didn’t provide additional information, it’s not my fault if you forgot to clarify”

He planted his cane and stared you down.

“This is retaliation, isn’t it? For the gy-“

“Ah ah ah, Alfie, you can’t say that remember? We have a contract, one you tried to void”

“I wasn’t going to say it, was I? You didn’t let me finish, you have no bloody faith in me, sweetheart”

You quirked an eyebrow at him, the breeze grasping onto the strands of your hair and dancing them over your face.

“I’m not staying in a gypsy camp, sweetheart, I’m just not”

“Right well, have fun sleeping alone in a house full of Shelby’s then”

You walked over to him, planted a big kiss on his cheek, and made back off into the field without a second look. He grumbled behind you, debating his options, which idea he hated more. You kept the smile on your face imagining the expression on his face as he called your name behind you.

“Yes, my dear?”

“Say I were to come and spend some time with your…lovely gypsy family over there” he gestured with a vague wave and you cocked a hip, your hands finding a spot on each side, “would I be able to convince you, to make a deal, in which we then move to the big house what your cousin lives in. With the walls, and the, plumbing and that?”

You took in then let out a deep dramatic breath, running your eyes over the horizon and drawing out his torment.

“No, I don’t think so, I think I’d like to sleep in a wagon tonight. With my lovely gypsy family”

“Right”

You hummed a response, smiling creeping back onto your face. You loved making Alfie squirm and this was the height.

“So either way I’m getting screwed tonight aren’t I?”

“Well, Alfie, we’ll just have to see where the night takes us, won’t we sweetheart?”

You took his hand and led him off towards the wagons, Johnny noticing you and greeting you with a big hug.

“Johnny Dogs, you mad fucker, come here” he picked you up from the ground and shook you a little, making you laugh, “oh, I missed you, uncail”

“And who’s this gentlemen, here then?”

“This is my man, Alfie, you might know him better as the man Tommy keeps fucking around with”

“Ah, so this’d be The Wandering Jew himself, eh?”

Alfie bristled a little at this but you just shrugged at him.

“You named yourself that, hun, din’t you? And I’d like to remind you of a certain contract right about now”

Alfie nodded to himself, set his jaw, and avoided eye contact with both you and Johnny, shaking his hand.

“Lovely to meet ya”

“Yeah, and you. Bringing the grand boy down to slum with us, are you?”

“Well, I think it’s important to share traditions with the ones you love, isn’t it Alfie?”

You turned to him with a smirk, fully enjoying how uncomfortable he was. Alfie was used to being the biggest man in the room, at least metaphorically, and he was absolutely out of his element here in the grass.

“Yeah, yeah, love, it is, yeah”

“Right, then. Where you having us?”

Johnny had set you up in a spare wagon they’d been fixing up and you’d been relishing being back out amongst the stars, with your family. London was nice. Sometimes. You’d grown to love it because of what it meant to you but you were never really a city girl and it was only when you got back out that you realised how close you’d been pressed. Alfie was not a country boy but he’d kept mostly quiet for your sake, taking what drink was offered him, and grumbling under his breath.

“You’re being very accommodating, my love, thank you”

You planted a kiss on his temple, smoothing his hair back against the side of his head.

“I’m too bloody cold to do much else, darlin’”

“Shut up” you scuffed up the hair you’d just fixed and turned back towards the centre of the group, where a bonfire was roaring, watching the people laughing and joking.

“We’re going to freeze to death”

“Alfie, please shut the fuck up, my love”

“We are going to freeze to death, yeah?” he took pauses between each set of words, staring into the fire in front of the wagon.

“We’re not going to freeze to death, you’re being a baby”

“How the fuck do you live in these things? I mean, honestly, I want to know, how generations have survived living feral like this”

“We’re not fucking feral you dick”

You punched his arm before shuffling closer to him and snuggling into his side, wrapping the edges of your shawl around as much of him as you could.

“Is muintir sinn”

“Is what?”

You laughed into his shoulder, your own drink warming your veins.

“It means we’re family. Well more like…kin. Not necessarily a family of blood, you know? Although Johnny is…sort of my uncle. Somewhere, it’s…”

You flapped your hand in the space between his chest and the shawl and he hummed into the crown of your head.

“I appreciate you doing this Alfie”

“Din’t have much of a choice, did I darlin’?”

He took another drink and you looked up at him.

“You did, Alfie Solomons does nothing he doesn’t want to”

“Yeah, well” he scowled again, looking back over his shoulder “what are the beds like in these things? Ya gonna fuck my back up?”

“No, it’ll be good for you” you turned to move the door open, letting him see further inside, “see, nice flat-board one at the back there, blankets and everything. We’re practically domesticated” you whispered in to his ear with a giggle and he shook his head at you.

He wrapped his arm over your shoulders, both of you looking out to where two of the lads had started play scrapping, their brothers cheering them on and you gave out a shout yourself.

“Go on, Billy!”

“Bloody feral, I tell ya”

You laughed together, him refilling his cup.

“I will say, this ain’t half bad”, he lifted the cup to you.

“Oh, a compliment!”

“No, no, don’t start that”

“No, where’s Ollie when you need him? I want this on paper!”

“Fuck off, darlin’”

You planted another kiss on his cheek, laying your forehead against him, drinking in his warmth, his smell, the sound of the fire, and the people, and the feel of the breeze on you. You didn’t mind London, as long as Alfie was there, and you loved the road, but if he’d stayed at the big house tonight you know neither of you would have slept half as well. But you had him here. And you had the night.

[collecting-stories]

Seventeen - c. 01 - Michael Gray

Request: @emislayyyy74 Can I do a request for Michael from Peaky Blinders? I absolute adore Finn Cole. Maybe one about being friends and then getting together? Or whatever you want lol.

Hackney Empire Masterlist | Peaky Blinders Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

When you were 17 your best friend Henry left home. He didn’t tell anyone where he was going and any reason for his departure was kept secret from you. His mother didn’t want to talk about his leaving. You heard rumours about a birth mum and family that lived in a slum somewhere in Birmingham but nothing else. You didn’t know whether to believe the rumours or not. Surely, you had thought, Henry would have told you if he had a birth mother that wasn’t the mum you knew him to have. 

Maybe you didn’t know Henry the way you thought you did. Maybe the two of you weren't the great friends you once considered yourselves to be. You'd always talked to him about leaving the country, about wanting to see London, and he'd always promised that the two of you would leave together. But then one morning he was gone and you were still in the same old country town you hated so much.  

It was three weeks later, almost to the day, that you met Charles Sabini at your sister's wedding. He was a friend on the groom's side and he was from London. A business man was what your father called him. You flirted openly, aware he had a wedding ring on but also aware that his wife was not in attendance.  

"You should come visit." Was his response when you asked him what London was like. You lit his cigar for him.  

"I wouldn’t have anywhere to stay."  

Charles, who insisted you call him Derby, put you up in a penthouse in London. It was the size of your house in the country and had all the latest fixtures. All he asked in return was that he have free access to you and the penthouse whenever need be.  

So just like Henry you left home with no word to anyone. Your mother was embarrassed to tell anyone where you'd gone and rumours had already started around town that you were pregnant. You weren't, of course. People had seen you sitting on Derby Sabini's lap at the reception though, and those people liked to talk. For the most part Sabini was good to you. He gave you a roof over your head, a part time job at a Music Hall he owned, and plenty of privacy. Most of the time you were just there for show. A pretty face he kept around to accompany him to clubs.  

In the beginning, when you first arrived in London, you thought about Henry all the time. You wondered how he was, where he was. Everything seemed to remind you of your best friend. But your life moved forward without him and you eventually stopped thinking about him at all.   Three years of the same arrangement passed and you grew accustomed to Derby. He came over more and more, occupying your space constantly in an attempt to escape his home life. His wife was having another baby and he complained regularly about the woman and her offspring. He complained about other things too. Late at night he would lay in bed and tell you things about his business. Legality meant nothing to him, once he had polished off a bottle of whiskey at the end of the night he would tell you anything you asked .   "Baby," and he whined constantly. "Baby are you listening to me?"

"I'm certainly trying not to." You called back. He was laying across the bed eating breakfast and reading the newspaper.

"Baby!" He whined again.  

"Yes Derby?" You asked, exhausted. He was a fair amount older than you but the relation was built on the sole understanding that he provided you a nice life and you provided him a bed whenever he was in the mood.

"Wear the green dress yah? I think the green would look nice for tonight." He answered.  

"Alright." You called back.  

Parties were always on Friday nights. The special sort of parties that lasted all night long. Derby liked to get drunk at these parties and watch you dance with boys. You were sure he just liked a reason to beat someone up. Or, have his men beat someone up. Lord knows Charles Sabini never got his hands dirty.  

You sat down on his lap, wrapping your arm around his shoulders. You were almost certain you didn't love him but you'd been in this life for so long that it was comfortable now. He’d keep you until you weren't pretty anymore and you’d been saving for just such a day since the moment you moved into his penthouse. He offered you a puff of the cigar and you declined, keeping yourself ladylike. There was a certain expectation that you upheld when you were with him.  

“Why won't you tell me where we’re going Derby? At least a hint?” You flirted, kissing his cheeks. You ran your hand through his hair and tugged a little.  

“Here,” he ignored your question and instead reached inside his jacket, pulling out a small box. “Wear these earrings with your dress tonight.”  

You kissed him, an obligatory thank you for any present he felt like giving you. The earrings were diamond and you would likely sell them in the coming weeks, once he bought you a new pair and forgot these. For now you kissed him as lovingly as you could muster.  

His men always walked ahead of him into any club and you were always on his arm. Nothing about that routine changed. You wondered sometimes if his wife ever used to come out with him. You knew she lived down in Brighton now with their children and he only saw them sporadically. You admired his want to keep them safe. You were not nearly as important to him as his family and that was clear by the way he pushed you to walk in front of him into the empty club tonight.  

“No ones here Derby.” You whispered, looking back at him.  

“We’re doing business baby, no parties tonight.” Sabini replied.  

You walked the rest of the way into the room. All the chairs were up on tables except one in the middle. Two men sat there already with three more standing behind them should anything go wrong. Sabini’s men took their posts at the exit, leaving you to walk the rest of the way unguarded. You nearly lost your footing when you saw the men at the table. More so when you saw Henry sat at the table, cigarette in his mouth. You didn't look at him, instead focusing on a fixture passed him.  

“Get us drinks baby,” Sabini kissed your cheek.  

You hurried to the bar, eager to get away from the table. It had been three years since you'd last seen Henry. To anyone else they'd think he looked different, they'd say the city had changed him. But you knew how he was and to you he looked exactly the same. You wondered if the man beside him was the supposed family that he had left in search of.  

The conversation lulled when you came over, laying a bottle of whiskey and three glasses on the table. There was a brief moment when Henry looked up and you locked eyes. It was only a second though and you returned to Sabini’s side immediately. The conversation began again, the older man that Henry was with deciding that you weren't important either.  

You excused yourself part way through the night to have a cigarette outside. You had spent almost the entire meeting stealing glances at Henry, you just needed some fresh air. You went around the side of the building to avoid the watchful gaze of Sabini’s thugs.  

“Spare a light?”  

You looked over to see Henry standing in the alleyway. “Henry.”

“It's actually Michael now.” He corrected. He held an unlit cigarette out for you.  

“Michael…” you looked at him for a moment, trying to decide if he looked like a Michael to you. “We can't be talking.”  

“Why? Cause of Sabini? How'd you get mixed up with someone like that?” Michael asked.  

“Listen,” you stubbed your cigarette out on the wall of the building, “we can't talk here. Derby’s got men right outside, if he thinks I’m saying anything he’ll kill me.”  

“Derby?” He questioned your use of Sabini’s nickname, “what happened to you?”

“I have to go.” You pushed passed Michael.  

Sabini was just coming out of the club when you came around the side of the alley. He extended his arm for you to take and led you to the car. You made a show of kissing him, knowing that Michael was watching.  

Michael waited until the car had pulled away to come around from the alley. Tommy was waiting outside the club for him. No words were spoken between the cousins as they walked the short distance to their own car. Michael knew Tommy would want an explanation of the girl with Sabini. He just wasn't sure if Tommy expected him to be forthcoming with the information or if he would ask.  

The silence continued all through the next day as they travelled home. It wasn't until they were in Tommy’s house that any questioning began. The main question came out much worse than Tommy intended when he finally asked it.

“How'd you know Sabini’s whore?”  

“She’s not a whore!” Michael snapped.  

Tommy rolled his eyes. His cousin had a tendency of getting in over his head. “Alright how'd you know the not-whore of Sabini’s?”

“We grew up by each other, used to be friends.” Michael answered.

“So she trusts you?” Tommy asked.  

“Why?”

“Get some information from her, I want to know Sabini’s next move.” Tommy replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And save the speech about your morals for Polly.”  

Tommy left the room and Michael slammed his fist on the desk in frustration. He should've never gone outside to talk to you. Since he’d left home he’d been trying to prove himself to Tommy, now it was just a matter of choosing who was more important to him. You or his cousin.  

So I totally got carried away with this. This is part one and I realize it’s a lot of backstory but it’ll get good! Promise!

[alltheworldwonders]

long post in the middle of the night - am sitting up on my bed, against the wall, laptop on a yellow cushion/pillow that I still own and love, and yet is a stark reminder of everything before. tommy’s snores are filling the room (but I have no space to complain, having made the poor man sleep on the couch the last three nights because of my hacking and coughing throughout the darkness). finals week - the stress is bearing down. moving out soon - everything will be packed into the three suitcases that have followed me from Singapore to DC to Singapore to New York to Kolkata to London and back to New York. Three suitcases carrying everything I own in the world - things are in there from the day I turned 8 and bought silly toys, the day I turned 12 before taking other exams, 14 and travelling abroad to debate, 18 and hopelessly in love, 20 and receiving a note from mom. the end of this week will the end of the semester, will be moving to deepak’s for a couple of days while saying my goodbyes to everyone leaving, especially those studying away, and then a few more days till we’ll get in a car and drive about the northeast, before returning and moving to washington again. this week will be the end of my penultimate year in the city and in the university, and there is still so much more work to be done. 

the next few months will see in me in washington again, and then in Singapore (for goodness, why?) and then back to new york to finish this expensive education. everything is moving but my heart is still. the last few months have seen me at my some of my highest points in a long while, doing well in school and working for the “ne-e-e-e-ws” (Quest has a funny way of saying it) and enjoying the city, and at some of my lowest since 2009′s January, or even 2016′s, losing him reminded me of yan chyuan, reminded me of all the loss, self-inflicted or divinely mandated. it reminded me to be thankful for everything, for this life I have lived so far, that it could all be taken away in a second, as the car struck him on east 73rd street. I called my dad and cried like I hadn’t in a long while. I didn’t want to talk to anyone else like that, I don't think there is anyone whom I am comfortable breaking down in front of like that (perhaps that is a lie, and there is one other person in the whole world I might have called, the only other person I have ever felt anything as strongly for and - perhaps most importantly, felt comfortable being sad around and sharing my happiness with - but that is from a different time and place thousands of kilometres away, and I know she wouldn’t have cared anyway). Losing a friend again meant reliving all the pain from before. It was not good. 

submitted my thesis earlier this week. 30 long pages later I arrived at some sort of conclusion to explain the problems of my city, of calcutta in the heat, of calcutta’s slums, of calcutta’s heart. it’s been a semester and three countries in the making, and I am proud of the work I have done. back to bed for now, three sleeps till this is all over, and the days must be good.