Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

46.

Ailbhe couldn't help but smile when she woke up despite her furious hangover. Her head ached and the light from the window was hurting her eyes but she could feel Finn around her and that was enough to make her smile. He was asleep on his stomach, an arm slung over her waist and his quiet snores let her know he was still fast asleep. She slid closer to him, knowing he would warm her up. The instant reaction of how his arm curled around her and tightened, warmed her heart.

After they had finally pulled themselves away from each other and up off Finn's office floor they had re-joined the party. It was still in full swing, with Johnny Dogs toasting Arthur and Niall again when Ailbhe slipped back in. She had a cover story prepared but no one was sober enough to notice their disappearance. Lizzie and Tommy had disappeared by the time Ailbhe and Finn found their way back into the booth whereas Bonnie and Isiah were only just getting started with their night. The others were still drinking on, passing out bottles of champagne and filling buckets of stout one after another. Liam was still gone, probably still with the girl he had brought home. It was a little out of character, Liam never really had any time for girls, it never seemed something he worried about. He was her brother therefore, the less Ailbhe knew about his sex life, the better.

Niall had come up behind them, his cheeks red from whiskey as he put his arms around both his sister and Finn. He had given them a slurred speech about how life was short and people died all the time therefore you had to make the most of it. He didn't say it quite so eloquently but Ailbhe and Finn understood the sentiment. There had been a blur of dancing, more toasts and even a bonfire outside the back of the pub.

It was past three o clock in the morning when Ailbhe and Finn fell into Finn's flat in Artillery Square. They had drunkenly pulled the clothes off each other, laughing when they struggled and stumbled over their own feet. It had been pure unbridled joy and laughter and Ailbhe had known that if she could bottle that feeling, she would so she could live off it forever and remember how lucky she felt to love someone like Finn and to have someone like Finn love her.

Ailbhe's eyes shot open, spinning around in the bed and looking for a clock. There was one on the little stool beside the bed and it was almost eight o clock. She had overslept. If Ailbhe wanted to sneak back into the house without her brothers finding out, she would have to move fast and pray her brothers were either still passed out drunk or they weren't home yet. It was her only hope.

"Fuck!" She exclaimed, jumping out of the bed and sliding out of Finn's grip.

She grabbed at her underwear, pulling them on and looking for her bra that Finn had thrown across the room the night before as he had grabbed at her like she was air and he was drowning.

Finn heard the commotion and woke when Ailbhe slid out of his arms. He sat up, squinting and trying to open his eyes against the light. If she hadn't been rushing so much, she probably would have stopped to admire how irresistible he looked in bed, half naked and the sunlight cast over him.

"What? What time is it Alv?" he asked, his eyes still half closed and his voice hoarse and raspy.

She was already pulling on her stockings and skirt when he opened his eyes and checked the clock.

"Oh fuck" he exclaimed, trying not to think about what her brothers would do to him if they found out she hadn't come home the night before.

Niall and Liam might have been quite tolerant and even happy for the new couple so far but there were certain boundaries they had pushed on them and one of them included Ailbhe coming home every night.

He jumped out of the bed, ignoring his pounding head as he grabbed Ailbhe's shirt and threw it to her. She caught it mid-air, yanking it on and trying to do her buttons as quickly as possible. If she wasn't rushing so much she might even have laughed when Finn grabbed her shoes, ducking down and shoving them on her feet, fumbling with the buckles as she balanced herself by resting her hand on his head.

"I'll drive you" He told her as she made her way towards the door, grabbing her coat.

She turned back, shaking her head and running her fingers through her hair. Just looking at it, Finn found it hard to see her brown curls without remembering how she had moaned out when he pulled it the previous night, how he had ran his fingers through it when she lay asleep next to him.

"No, they'll hear your car" She told him, grabbing the door handle and yanking it open "I'll see you tonight at Tom's"

Finn didn't want her to leave at all, as always. But he quite liked having his balls attached to his body, which they wouldn't be if Niall Kennedy heard Ailbhe had spent the night in his bed.

She spun back, leaning up on her toes and kissing him quickly.

"I love you" she reminded him; her smile as infectious as ever when she said it that it made Finn start smiling too.

She was gone before he could even reply, knowing that she didn't need to hear his answer. He had said it more times than he could count the night before. So, had she. It had been like they couldn't say it enough.

*

Ailbhe closed the door as quietly as physically possible behind her. She was holding her shoes in her hands already so as to make as little noise as possible. She had slipped them off outside on Watery Lane, hoping her new stockings wouldn't be ruined and that her neighbours wouldn't see.

She hung up her coat. So far, so good. The house was almost silent and it seemed like nobody had woken up yet since the fire had gone out and the boy's peaky hats were hanging on the hooks by the door. Ailbhe crept up the stairs on the tips of her toes, not wanting to make a sound in case they heard her. She knew that her brothers slept like the dead but if they were awake already, she would be caught red-handed.

She made it to her bedroom door which she had had the good sense to shut the door of the night before, so to anyone else it looked like she had been in there all night. And then the door of Liam's bedroom was swung open. Ailbhe cursed herself, feeling a wave of "Oh fuck" energy wash over her. She turned on her toes, ready to face the dozen questions and not able to think of a single plausible lie.

But she didn't have to think of a lie. Because it wasn't Liam at his bedroom door.

"Ada?" Ailbhe exclaimed, sure her jaw was dropping to the floor as Liam appeared behind Ada.

It didn't take a genius to work out what had happened. Liam stood there in his shorts and a bare chest. Ada's hair was a mess, the dress from the night had been pulled back on in a hurry with two buttons in the wrong holes and her shoes were in her hand.

"Ailbhe, what the fuck?" Liam exclaimed, looking Ailbhe up and down "Where have you been?"

She too had her shoes in hand, last night's dress on and hair that resembled a bird's nest.

Ada looked between the two siblings, her eyes wide and in shock but stern.

"Why don't we all just agree this never happened?" She sighed, gesturing out with her hands and disappearing down the stairs and out the back door before Ailbhe could ask any questions.

Liam looked less than impressed with his sister, shaking his head and folding his arms across his chest at her. Ailbhe wanted the floor to open her and swallow her up.

"Our secret?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly and almost wincing, praying Liam would agree.

While Ailbhe had wanted to avoid either of her brothers seeing her sneak back in she knew that Liam was the more tolerable. Niall on the other hand would want Finn's head on a spike.

Liam didn't answer, glowered at her and shook his head disappearing back into his room, slamming the door for good measure. That was a yes hopefully.