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Well, at least it’s a nice night out, I thought miserably as I sat huddled and shivering against a brick wall on a dirty street in South Boston. I wasn’t sure how I’d managed to trip over that damn cat that darted out of the alleyway in front of me, but I did know that this wasn’t how I was planning for my night to go.
After my job-between-jobs, I came home to change and eat dinner before meeting my boys at McGinty’s. The twins had come into my store nearly four months ago and had not left my life since. They were persistent, I would give them that. Murphy claimed he saw me first, but that hadn’t stopped Connor's pursuit. Before I knew it, I was seeing both MacManuses at the same time, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively. One day, I’d be hanging out with both boys, and the next, I’d be alone with Connor or Murphy on some outing that would inevitably lead back to my place or theirs for some very satisfying - and occasionally exhausting - extra circulars.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The boys know how to treat a woman - in bed and out of it - but every now and then, the pig-headed Irishmen forget that I am my own woman and have been taking care of myself way before I met them. Hence why I had been making my way from my apartment to the pub to meet them on my own, instead of letting them walk me, despite their objections over my safety.
So, here we were back at the beginning. With me sitting on the ground somewhere between McGinty’s and my apartment, trying to breathe through the pain that left me close to throwing up when I attempted to stand to put weight on the injured leg. I was also cursing the few people who happened by and had completely ignored my requests for help. This city truly was terrible.
Why did it always backfire almost every time I tried to make a point?
“Why’d both of us have to come? Don’t think the lass’d be too appreciative of us showing up when she said she’d meet us there?”
“Because it’s a surprise. Show her we care and all that shit.”
Of course, I sighed. Who else would be among the first people I’d run into after my little tumble? I suppose the only thing I could be thankful for is that they didn’t see it.
“She doesn’t like surprises, Connor.”
That part was true. I was not a fan of them. The last time one of them attempted to surprise me was when Murphy came by work to walk me home after a closing shift. He’d wrapped his arms around me while my back was turned, and I’d been so startled that I elbowed him in the face, giving him a black eye. A fact which Connor loved to remind his brother of.
“Still hurting over that wee slap our lass gave you, Murph?”
There was a slight scuffle as I heard Murphy shove his brother as they unknowingly continued toward me.
“Fuck you. For a second there, I thought she’d go after my dick next the way she was gripping them scissors.”
“Not true. I like that part of you, Murphy. I'd prefer to keep it intact.”
Both men froze in surprise. Their attention shifted and tried to pinpoint where the voice came from before identical blue eyes dropped to mine. Repositioning awkwardly, I looked up at them as innocently as I could muster.
“Yours too, Connor.”
The twins continued to stare at me in stunned silence before they burst into action and rushed over. Connor dropped to one side of me, Murphy to the other, and they began to talk at once.
“The fuck?!”
“What in Christ’s name happened?!”
“Are you alright?!”
“Um…”
With their frantic questions, I didn’t have the room to explain even if I wanted to.
Connor cupped my chin in his hand and turned my head toward him while Murphy’s hands carefully moved over me. “Who did this to you, lass?” he bit out, eyes moving over my face as he took in the scrape gracing my cheekbone that continued to sting and throb in annoyance.
I felt myself turn red and was thankful for the poor lighting in the neighborhood for once. “No one.” I hissed when Murphy took one of my hands and pressed too hard against the scrapes left behind from when I tried to catch myself. "That hurts!"
"Sorry, girl."
Connor’s face hardened. I wasn't entirely sure I liked the calculating look that graced his features. My pained yelp obviously didn't help things.
“You lying to me, lass?”
I shook my head nervously and shifted my ass on the ground, trying not to jar my ankle which was still sending shooting pain up my leg. Both Connor and Murphy were both very protective, but Connor took his role as protector very seriously. He was always the first to give the occasional creeper on me at the bar a swift kick in the ass.
“Want to tell me what happened, then?” Connor asked softly once he was satisfied with my negative answer.
“So we can find out whose ass we need to beat for hurting you,” Murphy added helpfully.
I turned to Murphy to see him moving away from me, crouching over my injured foot, and looking at it inquisitively. He glanced over his shoulder and my breath involuntarily caught at the regretful look he was giving me.
“This might hurt, but I got to check,” he apologized before prodding at my ankle carefully.
My body stiffened. I whimpered at the pain, one hand clawing at the ground while the other reached up to dig into Connor’s shoulder. The firmer the younger twin pressed down on the joint, the more noise I made. Connor's strong arm wrapped around my ribs and pulled my upper body back into his own as I panted and shook from his brother’s light touches on the swollen joint.
“Don’t think you broke it, but you did a number on it. Probably a bad sprain.”
“How do you know?” I huffed out.
Murphy’s answering smile actually made me forget the pain for a second. Connor’s quiet chuckle in my ear made my stomach do a pleasant twist that had nothing to do with the pain-related nausea.
“Between the two of us, lass, we’ve been in enough scraps to know the difference between something broken and something sprained.” Connor placed a kiss to the side of my head before carefully leaning me against my wall so they could both look at me. “Now, you want to tell us what happened?”
I felt myself start to flush again and looked down at my feet. “Definitely a ‘what’.”
“Come again?”
“I tripped over a fucking cat, alright?”
Connor sat back on his heels. Murphy’s head tipped to the side. They looked at me before turning to each other and breaking out into laughter.
Now, I could really feel my face go red as the boys laughed at me. “Shut up! It isn't funny! Fucker came out of nowhere, and now I can’t even fucking stand up.”
Their laughter started to die down at that admission. Connor cleared his throat awkwardly and smoothed my hair away from my face. “Sorry, lass. We shouldn't have laughed at you. Only you could pull something like that off. Did you try and stand at all?”
I glared at the blond twin. “No, Connor. I just decided to stay put because it’s such a lovely night, and I thought sitting on a dirty street in the middle of Southie was the best place to do it.”
Murphy chuckled lightly. “It is a bit warm out, isn’t it?”
I turned my glare on him. He just smiled back.
“Assholes,” I muttered.
Connor’s smirk matched his brother’s. “Come on. Let’s get you up. Take you to the hospital,” he said, moving to crouch at my side.
“No. You know I don’t have the money for that.”
“He’s right, girl. We should get you checked out,” Murphy insisted, mirroring his brother’s position on my other side and draping my arm over his shoulders.
I shook my head stubbornly.
"Just because you don't have the money? I'm not a doctor, but you could be hurt worse than we can see."
“I can’t go. Please don’t make me,” I begged.
Money was only part of the issue. I just really didn't like hospitals or doctors. They upset me way more than they should have more than once. I hadn't explained my reasoning behind that fear to the twins yet, either, but they at least seemed to get the hint.
The boys shared a look before Connor sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. “Can you move your foot at all?”
I looked down at my bum foot, surprised I actually managed to keep my flats on when I tripped, and frowned. Attempting a small wiggling of my toes was just uncomfortable, so I attempted to flex my foot next. I sucked in a sharp breath at the pain that came with it and felt Murphy tightening his arm around my back.
“Well, if Murph says nothing feels broken and you can move it a bit, I guess we can wait. Take you home and wrap you up. But if that shit gets unreasonably worse, you're going. Got it?”
I nodded once. “Thank you.”
Connor glanced at Murphy and nodded, wrapping one arm around my back before putting the arm not draped over his brother’s shoulders over his own. “Alright. On your feet, lass.”
I tightened my arms around the twins and the next thing I knew, they were lifting me off the ground to set me on my feet. Wobbling a little, I tried to get some footing and clung tighter to their shoulders.
“Easy, girl. We got you,” Murphy cautioned, squeezing the hand on his shoulder. “Just try a couple of steps first.”
I nodded to myself more than anything. The boys stepped closer to me and forward a bit, letting me use them as support as I took a shuffling step forward. It hurt like hell. Biting my lip, I tried again with less successful results. This time, I accidently put my full weight on my injured foot. I gasped in pain, stumbling into Murphy, whose arms immediately came around me.
“Guess that was a bad idea,” he muttered.
“I’m fine,” I insisted, using his impressively broad shoulders to right myself. Of course, that just brought to mind images of other times I’d be clinging to him in a similar way. I couldn’t help the whimper that escaped me.
Murphy looked down at me and a smirk slowly pulled at his lips as his mind obviously started to follow my train of thought. I could feel a hand start to slide down my back, making my breathing hitch.
“Murph!”
“Aye?” Murphy glanced at Connor, who did not look happy.
“Give her here. You can do that later.”
Murphy’s smirk widened. “And you wouldn't have been thinking of the same thing, would you, dear brother?”
Connor’s eyes narrowed. I knew how insatiable the MacManus brothers could be. Connor didn’t need to say anything. I watched his hands clench and unclench, and could tell he was itching to smack his brother upside the head.
“Alright, I give up,” I said, attempting to push away from Murphy, interrupting the pissing contest. “I’m going to Doc’s with or without you guys.” I took two stumbling steps before I let out a squeal of surprise as I felt myself being scooped up into a pair of arms.
“Nope. The deal was, lass, that you go home and rest or it was the hospital for you,” Connor declared, hoisting me higher into his arms, one around my back, the other under my knees.
“Well, let’s hurry the fuck up, then. I don’t have all day.” I wrapped my arms around his neck as he turned toward my apartment. “Are you gonna carry my fat ass the entire way home?” I asked as we walked with Murphy on his brother’s right side.
Connor raised an eyebrow, but Murphy answered first. “You hardly have a ‘fat ass', sweetheart. You've got some of the most fucking beautiful curves I ever seen.”
I could feel myself blush and tried to hide my face against Connor’s neck. In relation to their insatiability, the boys were also constantly correcting me on my views of my body. Needless to say, their demonstrations of their claims were always enjoyable.
“Aye. That you would,” Murphy agreed, leaning over to drop a kiss to the top of my head, making me lean back to look at him the best I could.
“So, no more talk of your ‘fat ass’ or else I’ll drop you right here,” Connor ordered.
“You wouldn’t.” He loosened his arms a bit, mimicking dropping me. I couldn’t help but scream and cling to him tighter. “Connor!”
The boys started to laugh as Connor tightened his arms around me again. “Don’t worry, lass. I wouldn’t actually drop you.”
I reached up to flick his ear, making him yelp. “You better not. Then you’ll really be taking me to the hospital.” Murphy chuckled at his twin’s discomfort and I attempted to swipe at him. “Shut up, Murphy.”
The boys continued to tease me and each other the rest of the way to my apartment. Just two arguing Irishmen carrying a helpless woman through the questionable streets of South Boston at night. Nothing too strange about that at all.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much to retaliate other than flick at Connor’s ear or smack his shoulder and attempt to smack Murphy, who always stayed just out of my reach. I may enjoy the hell out of being with the boys, but that didn’t mean they didn’t deserve a smack upside the head every now and then. Especially when Murphy had to dig my keys out of my pocket and took the opportunity to feel me up a bit, which was a little awkward being held in Connor’s arms like I was.
“Murph, just get the fucking door, for Christ’s sake! I need to set the lass down.”
“Lord’s fucking name,” Murphy mumbled with a smirk as he opened my apartment for us.
“Was that a comment about my weight, Connor?” I asked as we stepped inside.
Connor headed straight for my bedroom. I could hear Murphy going through his usual motions of locking my door for me.
“Absolutely not,” he replied in an attempted soothing voice. “Need to get your foot wrapped and iced before it gets worse.” He set me down at the foot of my bed and crouched down to carefully slip off my shoes. “And you need to stop saying that shit. You're fucking perfect. Me and Murph wouldn’t keep coming around if you weren’t. Even if you weren't perfect, you're still pretty fucking amazing, and we'd still be coming to see you. Okay?”
I bit my lip and looked down at the clear blue eyes looking up at me.
“I just think I’m – ”
Connor lurched forward and pressed his lips to mine, cutting me off mid-protest. I let out a moan as he deepened the kiss and gripped his arms to steady myself. A throat clearing from the doorway made me pull away from him to find Murphy standing there with an amused expression on his handsome face. The dark-haired twin had shed his coat and boots, and was holding an ice pack in one hand and an ACE bandage in the other, apparently having raided my first aid stash and freezer.
“What was that about waiting until later?”
Connor shrugged, squeezing my knees before standing. “The lass is thinking she’s no good for us again. Needed to shut her up somehow,” he said, shrugging out of his pea coat.
Murphy rolled his eyes before helping me out of my own jacket and handing it off to his brother. “Bullshit. If we didn’t want to keep you, do you think we’d carry your ass home?”
I looked between the two of them and bit my lip again, twisting my fingers together. “Probably,” I commented as I ducked my head. The boys were surprisingly helpful like that to people they didn't know.
Murphy sighed and leaned down to fist a hand in my hair, tilting my head back. Taking advantage of my gasp, he caught me in a kiss that was more intense than his brother’s, immediately sweeping his tongue into my mouth and twining it with my own.
Of course, I felt myself going boneless against him, wrapping both arms around his shoulders. The boys knew how to kiss, without a doubt. Very rarely did they need much else to persuade me of something, and they knew it. But Murphy - and I would never tell either of them this because I would never hear the end of it - had the ability to render me stupid and agreeable to anything when he wanted to.
Drawing back, he placed a final light kiss on my lips and brushed his fingertips against my cheek. “What about now?”
“Um…no?”
He smirked. Connor chuckled as he came back into the room, carrying the rest of my first aid kit. When did he leave?
“Exactly. Come on. Let’s get you comfortable, girl.”
“Okay,” I replied, still a little dazed.
“Great job, Murph. You broke her,” Connor said, moving on to pull some comfortable pajamas for me from my dresser as Murphy started helping me with my jeans.
“Fuck off. I did not,” he protested, carefully pulling my jeans down my legs and over my ankles one at a time. “Mind your foot there.”
I grumbled to myself and winced in pain at the feeling of the heavy denim being pulled over the bend of the joint. Murphy murmured his apologies and held my ankle as gently as he could while he worked to get my bottom half taken care of. Connor petted my hair soothingly as I leaned into him before they switched tasks.
"Did you dress up specifically for us tonight?" Connor questioned with a smirk as he helped pull my shirt off to toss in the direction of my hamper. "Because this is a pleasant surprise."
I glanced down at my chest to my lacier than usual bra and, for once, matching panties. My eyes strayed further to Murphy, whose eyes were hooded as he looked up at me and unwrapped the bandage for my ankle. I could feel my skin flush from the looks the two of them were giving me. I wasn't one for matching lingerie and they were completely aware of it, but maybe I should consider it.
"I need to do laundry," I mumbled before ducking my head.
Twin scoffs of disbelief echoed in my room. The younger twin propped my calf on his thigh and placed a kiss to the inside of my knee before starting work on wrapping my foot. Connor sat down next to me and reached behind me so deft fingers could flick the catch on my bra. The material immediately relaxed and the cups dropped, letting my breasts come out.
"Laundry pile says, otherwise, lass."
I bit my lip. Even though they were just taking care of me, both of them helping me undress was much more erotic with the two of them in my bedroom and not just one. Was that a subconscious reason for wearing the good bra and panties? Hoping for something more than having just one of them tonight? Clearly me being hurt put a significant damper on anything we might do, but the brothers always inspired filthy thoughts if I wasn't paying attention.
"I'm allowed to wear nice things for myself on occasion," I replied, wrapping an arm across my chest to cover my breasts.
"Never said you weren't," came Connor's retort. He reached over to pull my bra straps down my arms and off for me, making me bare myself again. His eyes lingered for a moment, the back of his knuckles brushing along the curve of the breast closest to him. "Just we haven't gotten a chance to appreciate it."
My nipples tightened in the coolness of the room, and I gripped the edge of the bed with a sharp inhale. My knees parted as Murphy fit himself between them and pressed his lips to the inside of my thigh, scattering a handful of kisses over one leg, then the other. At my gasp, Connor took the opportunity to press his lips to mine, his warm palm cupping one of my breasts and squeezing gently. A surprised moan escaped me and my hands immediately shifted their positions. One curled against the blond's knee to steady myself and the other threaded in dark strands of hair to hold the other Irishman in place.
This was new. I'd had thoughts about it. Who wouldn't have? The actual experience was turning out to be much more intense than expected and nothing had really happened yet other than kisses. All I knew was my panties were getting damp, my chest was heavy and aching, and I was spreading my legs without prompting. It probably wouldn't take much to convince me to go further with things if Murphy hadn't accidentally nudged my ankle and the hand on Connor's knee hadn't tightened to the point where the scrape on my palm was stinging.
I broke away from Connor's lips with a whine and looked down at Murphy and my leg jerked to the side. "Ow! Fuck!" I yelped at the way both injuries were aggravated.
The outburst made both boys draw back in realization, expressions regretful.
"Sorry, girl," Murphy soothed, rubbing my injured leg gently.
"Are you okay?" Connor added, taking hold of the hand that had been gripping his knee so he could look at it.
Trembling slightly, I bobbed my head even though my lips were pressed together in a fine line. I could feel both their heavy gazes heavy and I sighed. "I'm okay. Promise."
I was a bit more on edge now and wouldn't have minded more attention. Both of them giving it at once was much more appealing now than it initially had been, but the throbbing of my injuries was coming back in full force and wasn't going to be ignored.
"We should finish getting you cleaned up," the elder MacManus decided with an almost strained tone of voice.
"Sorry," I murmured, ducking my head.
Murphy scoffed, giving one more soothing caress to my thigh before standing. "What would you have to be sorry about?" he questioned and reached for my shirt to help me into it.
I glanced up at him and then at his brother, who had opened the first aid and was rooting around for supplies. I blinked as the shirt momentarily obscured my vision and pulled my arms through the sleeves. "For getting myself hurt."
My hair was pulled free of my collar for me. "It's not like you meant to trip over a cat, did you?"
"Which you will never live down, by the way," Connor added as he reclaimed his hold on my wrist so he could start cleaning my palm.
I wouldn't have expected anything less from them.
"And for having to stop…stuff."
Connor paused in his tending to my hands. Murphy paused in the way he was repositioning himself behind me on the bed. The tension in the room was palpable, and I was getting nervous the longer it went on. The blond's eyes flicked up to me and then lingered on his brother for a moment.
"It's best if you don't worry about that right now. You're in no shape to do anything that way, and we wouldn't expect you to, either," Connor replied softly.
Murphy pressed a kiss to my shoulder. "Aye."
And that was that. By the time the boys finished getting me changed and completely patched up, I was exhausted from the effort and their attention. Connor got me situated in bed and Murphy propped my ankle up on extra pillows with the ice pack on top. A half hour later, and with some careful maneuvering, I was resting with my back to Connor’s chest, his legs on either side of me, and Murphy’s head in my lap, his arm draped over my knees.
As we watched TV, I felt warm and comfortable. Despite the annoying pain dampened slightly by painkillers, I sighed happily, squeezing Connor’s thigh and running my fingers through Murphy’s hair. In response, I got a kiss to my temple and a tightened hold around my legs. At that point, I decided no matter how often they deserved to be smacked upside the heads, there was nowhere else I’d rather be.