Learning to Share

The next several days flew by for Kali and suddenly it was once again the weekend. That suited her. She had settled in and formed a rough routine, tending the bar at night, passing out from exhaustion in the morning and cleaning up so she could do it all again in the afternoon. McGinty's was a popular place. She also had a better handle on names and relationships of the Irish Pub's patrons. The McManus twins were regulars, something she definitely was not complaining about and a few others, friends and cousins, brothers and neighbors. She worked hard to put names to faces during the week, hopefully it paid off.

Doc would be with her tonight, staying behind the bar while she braved the crowd. Luckily, the ache in her back from sleeping on that infernal cot had eased just enough so that she did not have a permanent grimace of her face.

Kali pushed in the last chair and observed her cleanly mopped floor, lamenting for only a split second on its fate to be filthy again in just a few hours. It would be worth it, the majority of her tips from last weekend vanished or put away in savings for an actual apartment.

"Fuck. ASS."

Kali smiled to herself. "Hello, Doc." She turned around, snagging her washcloth off of the closest table as she made her way to the front of the bar.

"H-hello lass, the p-place looks great." He patted her hand and looked up just as the door swung open.

Her eyes flickered to the clock behind her. 6:30. Tonight was going to be a long night!

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Her feet hurt. Her back hurt, not to mention her backside. She had a good night, if you were apt to ignore the vomit she had mopped up an hour ago and the rum stain down the front of her t-shirt. Oh and how could she forget the mystery substance she had just found with her bare hand on one of the stools at the bar. Lovely.

Kali attempted to blow her hair from her eyes as she began the daunting task ahead of her. Clean up. During the week, she would just go to bed now after a quick wash in the incredibly posh McGinty's kitchen sink but as she looked around, she decided it would be best to do it tonight. The smell would only sour overnight...

There were still a few people milling around; the McManus twins, Rocco and a rather large man that had been giving her the heebee jeebees all night the way he watched her. He was still nursing the last few ounces of his Guinness...and following her around the room with his eyes.

Deciding the best course of action would be to ignore him and go about her work, she turned her back on him and leaned over the table with her soapy washcloth. She gave it a good scrub, dunking in the water bucket at her feet every now and again. One down, far too many to go. She bent backward, her free hand pressed against her spine as she stretched and was startled to smack right into something large and breathing... "Oh, so sorry! I didn't see you." She squeaked, regaining her precarious balance and taking a generous step in the opposite direction. "Was there something you needed, hun?"

"Yes. How about you and me find somewhere private. I could help you wind down, yes?" His accent was heavy Russian and though some of his words were hard to understand, she got the gist.

"I'm flattered but no thanks Big Guy, I'm not looking for a date." She tried to skirt around him and was alarmed to find herself still blocked by his overwhelming frame.

He leered down at her. "I am not really offering a date, am I?" He garbled the last phrase but again, she made it out.

Her fists clenched at her sides as the hair on the back of her neck stiffened, she felt trapped and knew that she was no match. She might be quick and spunky but this guy was a huge friggen guy. Her eyes darted to the small group of men at the other end of the room. They were talking animatedly with Doc, Rocco practically in tears as the other two grinned.

Swallowing hard, she peered up at the Russian. "Like I said, I am not really interested. Now if you would just let me-" She tried to duck under his outstretched arm and immediately regretted the decision.

His arm wrapped around her middle and hauled her in front of him, any space between them lost as he pulled her in tight. His free hand roamed down her back.

"Hey!" She shouted, her face reddening with anger as she struggled against him. She managed to wedge each of her arms in-between their bodies. "Hands." She laid her palms flat against his chest. "Off!" She pushed with all her strength and stumbled backwards, landing on her butt with a pained grunt.

The Russian lost his balance and crashed down on one of the dirty tables, the old wood cracked and splintered. If no one had been paying attention before, she had all eyes now.

Kali was back on her feet and rushing to help, trying to remember if there had been any glass on the table he landed on. Again. Mistake. The man growled angrily as he pushed to his feet and reached for her.

Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening and she skidded to a halt, just barely dodging his grasp. He lunged again and Kali ducked, lashing out in a panic. Her knuckles connected with his nose with a sickening thud and pain shot through her hand all the way up to her shoulder in waves.

Doing her best to ignore it she readied herself for his impending revenge only to realize that he was no longer in front of her. She raised her eyes to find his furious face glaring at her, spittle flying from his lips as he was bodily drug kicking and screaming by a struggling Rocco and Conner. Murphy was already at the door, holding it wide while Doc shouted obscenities that were finally situation appropriate.

Kali sank down onto the nearest chair, cradling her hand as she watched the chaos. The Russian was struggling and she was pretty sure Rocco was going to have a nice shiner...she grimaced...one to match Conner's.

Finally, her offender was outside and her three rescuers with him. From the sounds of it, the Russian was losing.

Just as she was about to get up and go investigate, maybe make sure no one had died? The door swung open as Conner, Murphy and Rocco filed back inside.

Kali stood. "Is everyone okay? I am so sorry..."

What she had expected? Maybe some grumbling, maybe some whining. But of course, she forgot, they were Irish! Conner and Murphy were laughing before she could finish her sentence, shoving eachother playfully as they made their way over.

"You alright lass?" Murphy asked, his eyes darting from her face to her cradled hand.

Kali nodded. "His nose hurts more than my hand."

Conner held his hand out, watching her expectantly before she hesitantly placed her palm in his for inspection. His fingers closed around her wrist and he gently turned it from side to side. "You might want to put some ice on that, when you get home."

She nodded absently, her eyes glued to his hand on hers. She had pale white skin that contrasted dramatically with his darker tone. It did occur to her that it had been far too long since she had been with anyone, if she was so mesmerized by such a simple touch. "I sleep here." She said finally, still thoroughly distracted.

"Here?" Murphy asked.

She nodded and pointed towards the kitchen with her free hand. "There's a cot."

Conner brushed his thumb over her sore knuckles before finally letting it go. "That won't do tonight." He glanced at his brother, Murphy nodded. "You could crash at our place."

"It's alright, I'm fine. Really." She gave them a smile.

Murphy shook his head. "No chance. Our Russian friend Alek has quite the temper on him. We can't leave you here, all by yourself."

"You think he would come back?" Kali's brow scrunched at the thought.

"No telling really." Conner said, placing a gentle hand on her back.

"Better safe than sorry, though." Murphy finished, moving to her other side, his own hand sliding just beneath his brothers.

Kali looked from one brother to the other and shrugged. What harm could come from staying at their place tonight? An actual mattress would be more than welcome for a change, if only for a night and she couldn't defame the company... "Alright. Thank you."

"Roc will finish cleaning up for you." Conner said, beginning to walk.

Their Italian friend's head popped up, suddenly interested in the conversation again. "Hey!" He looked to Doc who just chuckled. "S-spic and s-s-span!"

"Need anything before we go?" Murphy asked, his mouth close to Kali's ear.

She shook her head. She didn't have much for pajamas, usually just sleeping in her clothes from the day before.

The boys grinned. "Good, let's go." They twisted to wave at Rocco, though his response was less than kind.

Kali just took a deep breath and let them guide her out of the bar that was quickly becoming home. Once outside, she noticed a blood stain on the cement and was suddenly glad the boys had insisted. She had no desire to be caught all alone in the middle of the night by an angry Russian and friends. Maybe tomorrow night...

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The moment she was ushered through the door to their studio apartment she knew she was being watched. Discreetly, yes but still, she could feel it. It didn't shock her, they probably had all sorts of reactions to their dingy, sparse living space. None of them good, she was sure. Luckily for them though, Kali was just grateful to spy two actual mattresses with actual sheets. Besides, who was she to judge? She was a homeless bartend that slept on a cot in the corner of a kitchen.

After taking a good long look at the place, Kali turned towards the boys and smiled. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

They seemed to relax and stepped to the side, each removing identical cross necklaces before heading in and plopping down on their respective beds.

Murphy tugged off a boot and then the other and tossed them aside. "Well, you could sleep on the couch there."

Three pairs of eyes traveled across the room to settle on the tiny, stained piece of furniture. Kali frowned.

Conner shook his head. "Or you could pick a bed and one of us could-"

Kali interrupted, still frowning at the couch. "We could just push them together."

When no one answered her, she turned to face them again and couldn't help the blush that stained her cheeks. "The mattresses, I mean...we could..." She laughed nervously. "Or you know, I could take the couch. That would be fine."

Murphy managed to return his expression to normal and finally found his voice. "No, no, you're right. We should just push the beds together."

"Aye, plenty of room then." Conner added, following his brother as he stood. They used their feet to get the job done, sliding the mattresses across the floor until they touched and then looked up at her again, expectantly?

Unsure of how else to proceed, Kali toed off her black flats and pushed them aside, her fingers settling at the hem of her t-shirt. She usually took it off...the summer nights too hot to be comfortable but now she hesitated. It felt strange to be contemplating what clothes to remove in the middle of a strange place with semi-strange people as they readied to sleep together.

"Your hand."

"You should ice that."

She wasn't sure who said what, not that it mattered, they were right and she was grateful for the distraction. As though everything had been on pause just a moment before, the reminder of her pain brought it back to her attention. She raised her hand and nodded. It wasn't broken but it was bruised. It hurt to curl her fingers and she grimaced as she proved it.

Murphy went to the freezer and rummaged around, eventually bringing back a small white package. A closer look told her that it was steak and she laughed as she accepted it.

He shrugged sheepishly. "Apparently, we don't do ice."

"We should though, what with all our black and blues." Conner laughed as he sat down again, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Aye." Murphy pulled his shirt off too, tossing it in the same direction as his shoes and then pulled a cigarette out of his back pocket.

Conner handed him his lighter and they both took a long drag. "So, what's the order of this then?" He motioned toward the extended beds, his eyebrow arched in question.

Kali held the frozen package over her knuckles, relieved as the cold made fast work of numbing her pain and licked her lips, her nervousness returning. Nervousness? She wasn't actually sure that was what she was feeling. She had two seminude Irish men waiting for her to come to bed. Maybe the idea was more of a turn on than she was letting on...

They were waiting for an answer though and her silent musings were getting her nowhere good fast. She didn't know what to say. So instead, she just closed the distance and sat down in-between them, raising her knees so that she could rest her hand. She was proud of herself too, she had managed to do all that without looking at them. Not once.

"Good choice." Murphy said, his amusement obvious in his tone.

Kali nodded.

Silence.

Kali sighed.

Since when did she have nothing to say? Since she wasn't entirely sure her voice would work properly, even if she tried...

Conner broke the silence. "So what brings a beautiful lass like yourself to Doc's doorstep?"

She cleared her throat and looked from one brother to the other. "I am new to Boston and I saw his ad. I needed to start somewhere."

Murphy nodded, turning his body so that he could face her. "Where are you from?"

She smiled wistfully. "Wisconsin."

"Long way from home." Conner noted, mimicking his brother's actions.

Kali's smile was lost. "Not really. Just a long way from Wisconsin."

"No family?" Conner asked.

"Blood relatives yes, family no."

They both nodded. "Aye."

Murphy nudged her shoulder. "Well, you picked a good lot. We'll take care of you."

She laughed softly and agreed. "I can see that. I am already fond of McGinty's."

Conner nudged her the other direction. "We are fond of you too."

Murphy looked at his brother. "Much prettier than Doc."

"Aye." Conner grinned.

Kali leaned to the right and then to the left, touching her shoulder to each man before she stood. It was late and she was tired. She replaced the frozen package in the freezer and before she lost her nerve, pulled off her t shirt in one swift move, leaving her in a lacy cami she wore beneath.

Her cheeks heated but no one said anything and she made it back to her position between Conner and Murphy with little fuss.

Conner laid back and Murphy rolled out of bed, switched off the light and came back to lay down on her opposite side. Kali followed suit, trying to steady her breathing and calm her thoughts.

She was comfortable almost as soon as she laid down. Having something other than a stiff cot beneath her was wonderful and the heat the twins put off blissful. She sighed softly, a smile curling the corners of her lips.

Murphy rolled to his side and already half asleep, Kali followed him, craving that heat. To her groggy surprise and delight, Conner chased after her, his body spooning just inches from her back. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wished Conner would reach out and rest his hand on her hip. It really had been a long time...

"Thanks again boys." She murmured, her words slightly jumbled as sleep overtook her.

They both responded in kind. "Our pleasure."

And with that, they were lost.