1918 - Birmingham, England

John and his two older brothers, Thomas and Arthur Shelby all went to fight in the Great War, they were Calvary and machine gunners for Warwickshire Yeomanry. They saw a lot of shit during the war, obviously. And it’d definitely take a while to get over it. But all John was thinking about while on the train back to Small Heath was ‘she’s waiting for me. She’ll be waiting.’ John had to leave his then girlfriend and love of his life behind while he went in the war. He looked at her picture every day, everytime he was in the trenches and thought he was gonna die, it was that picture that made him want to get through. He couldn’t just leave her to get some soldier tell her he’s dead. That’d kill her. So he made sure he made it back. His 2 brother’s with him. They all made it back.

As soon as he got off the train, Thomas and Arthur following behind him, he could see his aunt Polly, younger sister Ada, and his youngest brother Finn all waiting on that station for him. But the one face he went towards was hers. The bright blonde hair that he loved to run his hands through, the pale skin of her face, the bright blues of her eyes and just everything about her, he missed it. He hardly acknowledged his family as he walked straight over to her, seeing the tears building up in her eyes and the lump growing in his own throat as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. Holding her body to his own. All he wanted to do in that moment was to hold her and never let go, to tell her he was okay, that she was the reason he didn’t give up. But the lump in his throat blocked him from speaking, so he settled for just holding her close. Feeling like that part of him he missed was finally back in its place.

His family watched his moment with her with slight smiles, Arthur shaking his head amusedly at his little brother as he spoke jokingly.

“Now how come it’s the youngest that’s got someone waiting for him, eh?”