#charles knowing he can’t contribute anything to the topic of parking

[leclercskiesahead]

Also what was this leg thing with the sway

[xxdearlybeloved]

Among the Stars - Chapter 8

Peaky Imagine with John x Reader, where the reader is Jeremiah Jesus’ niece, forced to return to Small Heath from London. The first part can be found here.

So honestly I’ll be surprised if I publish a chapter without warnings for the next few. Way more plot, but still smut in this one. Also tw for sexual assault. 

Please give feedback, your words of praise fill my soul but your thoughts also inspire me! 

Chapter 8: Aftermath

"DAD!" Charles shouts as he enters the room "George has wet the bed again and Etta isn't..." He stops as he takes in the scene of you sleeping next to his father and John holding up a finger to shush him. John shoos him outside and as Charles closes the door with wonder in his eye, John knows he has to tell Etta the kids have found them out. Already.

He looks over to your peaceful, sleeping face, and is reluctant to interrupt whatever dream you may be having. He had seen you anxious for so long and it made his heart feel lighter to finally have you next to him. But he knows the kids are awake now and he has to go to the betting house since he didn’t show up yesterday. It would be better to address this sooner rather than later.

You decide you can get used to John kissing you awake as you smile, kissing him back. Despite not knowing what the next steps were going to be, you felt so relieved. You could finally be with John, he was finally yours. If the night before showed you anything, it was how easy it was for you to make each other happy.

"Good morning," you say smiling as you open your eyes. Despite his smile, you notice the tinge of worry in John's eyes and sit up to face him. "Everything okay?" What could possibly be wrong?

"Not exactly..." He began, and your heart sank. You knew things were too good to be true. He sees the worry begin to set in and he pulls you into an embrace. "I was only going to tell you that Charles saw you sleeping in here this morning and is probably going to tell George and Katie. I just wanted you to be prepared." He said into your hair.

Relief flooded through you and you let yourself relax in his arms. "What are we going to tell them?" You said into his chest.

"What do you want to tell them?" He asked, stroking your back. You put your head on his chest while you tried to figure out what message you wanted to tell the kids, but didn’t have much time to think of an answer before you heard a knock at your door. “Dad!” It was George, sounding tearful.

“Ah, he’s wet the bed again” John said to you in explanation. “Go tell your brother to help you, I’ll be down in a bit.” You start to suggest that you both get dressed so that you can help the kids but John seems to have another thing on his mind. His mouth is on yours before you can finish your sentence, and he lowers his hands to your waist, guiding you on your back as he settles between your legs.

You wrap you arms around his neck and your legs around his waist, just as eager as he is to have him inside you again. John has you hard and fast, the gentleness from last night replaced by what’s becoming apparent as an insatiable need for you. He doesn’t ignore your needs, teasing your clit while he pounds into you to help you over the edge. You cling to him as he does, his breath heavy in your ear as you kiss his neck before he finishes inside you. He collapses on your chest and you stroke his hair as both of you catch your breath. “Hey,” he says, looking up at you. His eyes are playful and you kiss his forehead as you continue stroking his hair. “Do you think we can handle more kids?”

Your hand freezes mid-stroke. You knew the topic would come up eventually – or at least you hoped it would. You just didn’t expect it in this moment. You were not prepared to answer him. His eyes change from playful to concerned and you will words to form so you can make this moment pass. You can’t get one out before there’s a knock at your door again. “Coming!” You say, untangling yourself and putting on your clothes as you avoid eye contact, finger brushing your hair before going to help the kids. It isn’t long before John joins you, and you can tell your conversation isn’t over.

It’s the weekend and you have the kids all day while John heads to the betting shop. You are sure they are going to ask questions, you saw how severely they watched you both at breakfast. But what do you tell them? You knew John was thinking about kids with you, but did that mean he was thinking about marriage too? And how would he feel after he knew what had happened to you? You needed to tell him what had brought you back to Small Heath in the first place.

In the end, the day was full of distractions. You made the kids help you clean before taking them to the park. They were exhausted when you got back, and you were surprised to see John when you went inside. He looked overjoyed, your conversation from earlier seemingly forgotten. “We’re legal!” he shouted before picking you up and kissing you as he spun you around.

“What are you on about?” you asked, trying to ignore the looks the kids were giving you and each other. So much for distractions.

“We have a real betting license, everyone is at the Garrison celebrating. I want you to come.” He still had his arms on your waist, and you couldn’t help but smile at his apparent joy.

“Oh that’s wonderful news! But what should we do with the children?” you asked, finally getting the nerve to look at them. They were looking back at you, expectantly. Charles had a particularly smug look in his eye.

“I’ve gotten their old nanny to help for the night, she’s making dinner and will make sure they’re right for bed.” You couldn’t help but notice the look of disappointment on the children’s faces. From what you could tell by the state of the house when you first got there, nanny was a bit of a stretch. But you were so excited to go out with John, the kids could handle one night without the two of you.

After quickly fixing up your hair while John took the kids to the nanny, you were on your way to the Garrison. John filled you in as he excitedly told the story of how this all happened, how Tommy had seemed to just cause a mess with this Billy Kimber and feuding with the Lees, but how everything was starting to come together. “Soon, you won’t be able to mess with the Shelby’s” John was saying as he opened the door to the Garrison.

There was a chorus of greeting as John walked in, and you immediately felt the energy. Arthur came over, carrying a fresh bottle and some glasses on his way to the private room. You followed him and saw that Tommy was in there as well, looking very satisfied with himself. You laughed to yourself at how similar his expression was to Charles’, maybe you never really grow up. “Etta!” he said, standing to hug you. “Good to see you, how’s my brother been treating you?”

You smiled as John kissed you on the cheek. “The better question is how has she been treating me, right angel she is.” He went to pour you both a glass and you sat down across from Tommy as Arthur slid in next to him. John handed you your glass as he sat next to you and raised it for a toast. “To Etta, for making me and the kids a home again!”

“To Etta” Tommy and Arthur echoed and you all downed your drinks.

“Now to Tommy!” Arthur said as he refilled everyone’s glass. It went on like this until everyone in the room, and most outside it, had been toast for their contributions. You were crying with laughter, your feet in John’s lap and you rested your head against the back of the booth. You looked up to smile at John as he ran his hand over your legs, joking with his brothers.

Tommy was getting up to get a new bottle and you volunteered, having to get up to go relieve yourself anyway. “Are you sure?” John asked as you crawled over him. You kissed him quickly before heading out the door, leaving him to the teasing of his brothers.

The rowdiness of the bar had only increased since you went into the back room, and it took you awhile to make your way through the people to the toilet. It was expectedly disgusting, but you made it out alive before finally making it to the bar.

After ordering a bottle of whiskey, there was a crash at the other end of the bar that tore the bartender’s attention away from you. You sighed as you waited, feeling the effects of the first bottle wash over you, making you sway a little. How could everything be so perfect? John rubbing his hands on your legs had you dreaming about what would happen when you got home. And you smiled even wider at the thought of that being your home. That was when you felt arms wrap around your waist. You smiled and turned to kiss John, only it wasn’t John.

“Hello gorgeous, mind if I keep you company?” You tried to unwrap his arms from you, but his grip was firm. He realized what you were doing and got angry. “Excuse me,” he said, grabbing your arm and turning you to face him. “That was not being polite, see, I asked you a question.” Again, you tried to pull your arm from his grasp, but you couldn’t. Now you were scared.

“Let me go.” You shouted firmly despite how many drinks you had, the situation sobering you up quickly. You still tried to pull your arm away and put as much distance between yourself and the man as you could, which wasn’t much since the bar was on your back.

He brought his face close to yours before saying “You need to learn some respect, yeah?” and before you knew what happened he was on the floor as John continued swinging on top of him. You had never seen John fight before, but you had also never seen him so angry. He was enraged.

“Fucking keep your hands to yourself” each word accompanied by a blow until he was pulled off by Arthur.

“Let’s go, John boy, yeah? You got em” Arthur said, leading him towards the door. John was still visibly angry and this was the first time you were ever afraid of him. You had never seen him so out of control, but you followed him and Arthur outside.

“Fucking thinks he can walk into my fucking pub and grab on my woman like that?” he yelled, angrily, moving to go back inside, but was stopped by Tommy coming out of the door.

“Take a walk John, we got it handled yeah? Take him home, Et.” He said to you, lighting a cigarette.

It was as if John suddenly remembered you were even there. He looked at you, anger dissolving into worry as he embraced you tightly. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, of course John. I’m fine”. You said the words more for him than yourself. You were not fine. The exchange had brought back memories and you were beginning to feel the wave of everything that had happened in London crash over you. After months of working to keep the feelings at bay, distracted by adjusting to your new life and John, they were threatening to consume you. You held on to John to anchor you to the present, the walk home a contrast to the way your night began.

When you made it through the door, John kissed you possessively and you let yourself get lost in your love for him. You wanted to feel nothing but him, and his territorial instincts wanted you to know you were his. With the house free of kids, you held nothing back as you moaned his name while he claimed you. When you were done, he said nothing as the tears left your eyes. He just held you close, wishing he could protect you as easily from the pain you were holding inside.

Continue reading - Chapter 9: Sunrise