Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

87.

It was early the next morning when they were all up and about, gathered in the kitchen. It was quite rare that they all stayed under the same roof these days since Niall usually spent nights in the apartment above the Garrison and Liam was so often in London now. But it was nice for them all to be home, for however long it would last. While Liam stood by the back door, looking out and smoking and Niall sat by the fire, they both were pushed into eating some breakfast by their sister.
 
"I don't know when last I saw you eat something" Ailbhe had snapped when Liam shook his head and pushed away the plate.
 
He had seen her stern expression and sighed, forcing himself to eat the boiled egg and toast even if he had no appetite.
 
"What about me?" Niall protested, throwing his hands up but his sister just rolled her eyes.
 
"Can't get you to stop eating, you finished the last of the bread and the cheese last night, you know!" She snapped back but it was in a good-natured way between them as always.
 
Niall was a decent bookmaker and pub owner and an even better brother, but he wasn't a decent housemate. He finished the milk and left bread out so it went stale, he never boiled enough water for more than one cup of tea and he forgot to bring his key everywhere he went. But Ailbhe kind of liked being their little sister and the one who kept them alive the best of times. She did a lot of their laundry and cooking but the second that someone told her to do her womanly duties, she went on strike.
 
"I'm a growing boy" Niall protested, his mouth full but his siblings just rolled their eyes at him.
 
"You're nearly forty, you gobshite" Liam replied, elbowing his brother and almost spilling his mug in the process.
 
Despite her brothers being well into their thirties, they still acted like kids sometimes.
 
"You look like shit" Niall told his brother, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the way he was on his third cigarette already.
 
Liam was usually a serious man by nature but at home, when he was comfortable and around the people who mattered he was fairly happy go lucky. But the last few days he had been especially quiet, always seeming to be thinking hard on something.
 
"You don't look too good yourself, Niall" He snapped back.
 
He wasn't lying. Niall looked tired too and he looked rather battered and bruised too.
 
"Yeah, how does the other guy look?" Ailbhe asked him, an unimpressed look on her face as she nodded towards the busted knuckles of his left fist.
 
Pulling his hand off the table and out of view, Niall scowled. He had forgotten about the state of his hand.
 
"Is nothing" He muttered, putting his hand down under the table.
 
Ailbhe didn't ask more questions, nor did she have time to as he stood from the table, grabbing his hat and gun quickly.
 
"Family meeting at nine in the Garrison, yeah? And no more fighting, Niall!" She shouted after him, knowing he wouldn't listen as she sat up on the kitchen counter.
 
Both brothers nodded in response. None of them really looked forward to it, knowing that Michael and Gina would be there. Family meetings had become a rather tense and flammable affair. The door slammed behind Niall, letting Ailbhe and Liam to the quiet of the kitchen.
 
"You gonna tell me what you're thinking so hard about?" She asked him, breaking the silence while he bit at his thumbnail instead of the breakfast she had made him.
 
He pushed aside the plate after a few bites while Ailbhe watched. He grabbed the box of cigarettes and lit one, knowing that the longer Ailbhe looked at him, the more she tried to figure out what bothered him. He was well accustomed to her intense green stare, the furrowed brow and narrowed eyes but it didn't make it any less annoying.

"Stop that, you know I hate it" He barked, shaking his head and turning away from her. As if that would shake her out of his head.

"Don't you have anywhere to be?" He snapped, but Ailbhe never took sharp tones personally.
 
They were her brothers, of course they'd snap at her. She did her fair share of shouting and slamming doors too so it never had consequences in their household.
 
"I'm waiting for Arthur, he was meant to be here by now" She shrugged, checking the clock on the wall.
 
Liam sighed, standing up and putting his hands over his eyes, the cigarette balanced between his fingers. He really reminded her of Tommy just then, like the weight of the world sat on his shoulders.
 
"What is it, Liam?" She asked, starting to really get worried now.
 
"You can't tell anyone" He warned her, finally giving up on keeping her out of his head and agreeing to tell her on his conditions.
 
"I won't" She promised. Ailbhe could keep a secret.
 
"Not even Finn!" Liam warned her, pointing his cigarette at her now warningly.
 
"Alright" She nodded, not sure if she'd keep that promise yet. She did almost always tell Finn everything so long as she didn't see any harm in it. But this was her brother and he was clearly in trouble.
 
Ailbhe watched him take a deep breath and run his hand through his hair, back and forth across his scalp before he looked her in the eye and spat it out.
 
She made him repeat himself. She was sure she had misunderstood.
 
He looked back at her, dark eyes like their father and a softness their mother had as he said it again.
 
"I asked Ada to marry me"
 
Ailbhe's jaw dropped and she almost dropped the mug in her hand.
 
"What are you... Ada? Our Ada?" She asked, not sure what was happening anymore.
 
He just nodded, taking another pull from the cigarette.
 
"Why?" She asked, that being the first question to come to her mind. It didn't seem to make sense.
 
Ada had been with Ben Younger before he died, less than a week ago. But Ada had told Ailbhe on several occasions that she didn't love him. She wasn't sure she ever would, but the baby she would definitely love. She already loved her.
 
It was a mistake but that was alright. Ada and Ben could have their little girl together and still be happy, married or not, together or not. Ada had said she didn't want to marry again, after Freddie. She wasn't sure you could have more than one great love in your life and she had had hers with Freddie.
 
"Because she's pregnant, Alv. Because she's my best friend, because I love her, because she shouldn't have to do it on her own... I don't fucking know anymore"
 
He replied, shrugging and clinging onto the cigarette like a lifeline.
 
Ailbhe had heard him come back from London late the night before and she had woke around 4am and there was light coming from under his door signalling that he was still awake. He had ended up at Ada's door in London, wanting to see her and see how she was after the news of Ben Younger. She had fallen into his arms and let him hold her, let him promise she'd be alright and let him remind her she had a little baby to remember now, that she had to take care of herself.
 
Ada hadn't been expecting it and she wasn't sure how she felt about it when Liam told her he'd marry if she'd have him. Ailbhe knew that Liam loved Ada, absolutely adored her but she wasn't sure in what way. They'd been best friends since they were kids, Liam and Freddy had been friends and Karl was Liam's godson. Sure, they had had that little blurring of the lines of frienship a few times over the years when they had too much drink, when they needed that comfort and if they were being really honest with each other, when they really wanted each other.
 
"What did she say?" Ailbhe asked, desperate to know what had been Ada's response.
 
But she should have known it wouldn't have been a clearcut yes or not.
 
"I don't know... she said she was tired and needed to go to bed. Said she didn't know." Liam shrugged, gripping the back of the chair tightly when he thought about her face when he left her.
 
"Liam, the baby... She's... Is the baby yours?" 

But Liam shook his head.
 
It was Ben's baby. Ada and Liam hadn't slept together in months, much to Liam's disappointment of course but she was still his best friend and he often stayed at theirs for dinner and to play chess with Karl. Karl often came to see him in his office in Camden Town, staying for hours after school helping out and glad to get out of the house. Karl had been the one to tell him that Colonel Younger was starting to visit more and more, that he even stayed the night sometimes so Liam hadn't been overly shocked to find out Ada was pregnant.
 
He mightn't have Ailbhe's second sight or gift or whatever the fuck she called it, but he saw it in her face and how she started eating more and more with every week. Her waist had thickened up even though he knew that when Ada put on weight, it went to her face and her arse, not her stomach. She had stopped drinking gin, even on Friday nights when he visited and she had stopped eating sweets, just like when she was pregnant with Karl and the smell had made her nauseous. 
 
"But I don't care Alv... Doesn't fucking matter who's baby it is, she's Ada's and I'll love her anyway"
 
Liam shrugged, his words more honourable than his reputation would ever let you think about him. It was undoubtable that no one would question Liam Kennedy and his choices, would question why his wife had a daughter who was black, why she had a baby a few months after their wedding. Nobody would dare question it, protecting Ada entirely.
 
Ailbhe felt a swell of love and pride in her chest for her brother. He really was a good person, whatever the rumours said about him. Ailbhe knew that Ada said she'd do it alone but maybe doing it with Liam wouldn't be that awful either. Liam would do right by her, would be there for her whether it was friendship or romance, whether they were in love or they just loved each other to the bone which she knew they did.
 
"Had almost lost hope for you boys" Ailbhe joked, breaking the silence and smiling.
 
She had almost given up on the idea of her brothers ever getting married or finding someone special.
 
"Shut up, Alv" he laughed, that smile that was utterly boyish on his face as he felt the weight lifted off his shoulders.
 
He had to admit it felt so good to say it to someone.

"See you at The Garrison?" She asked, knowing that Liam didn't want to hash it out anymore.
 
Liam moved first, pulling on his jacket and cap.
 
"I've got to feed the horses and Barney first" Liam said, finishing off his mug of coffee and grabbing the bag that Ailbhe had prepared for Barney. It wasn't gourmet dining but it was a hell of a lot better than the swill they served him in the asylum.
 
Barney had been broken out without a hitch. Ailbhe felt like maybe she was neglecting a gift of hers for planning robberies and break ins, maybe if the opium shipment didn't work out she'd organise a bank robbery.
 
Liam left, looking slightly less bothered than he had all morning but even Ailbhe had to admit she hadn't seen that coming. Liam never showed much interest in settling down or in getting a girl for himself. Ada was his best friend, someone who he didn't have to explain himself or his life to. And he loved her, in whatever way she wanted him to apparently.
 
Ailbhe knew that love wasn't easy, it never was. But it could be so worth it. She and Finn were definitive proof of that.