The MacManus brothers stood outside of the building they had always known to be McGinty's Pub. It hadn't been for months now, and they had yet to force themselves into the establishment since it had gone under new ownership.

They missed Doc, plain and simple. When the old man's heart started to give out on him, he had leaned heavily on the twins for help. And, they had helped more than willingly. Since receiving The Call, their fortunes had been great – greater than they ever thought they would see. Still, they kept a low profile, only fishing out cash from where they had it stowed away when necessary.

"I've sold the bar to two pretty Irish girls," Doc had beamed just a couple of days before he went to sleep for the last time. "You'll like them, I think."

Connor and Murphy had been more than skeptical. They liked things the way they were. More than once they asked after any family Doc might have who could take over, but the old man just assured them over and over that the bar's new owners would do the place right.

It had now been more than three months since he'd been gone. Rocco was the one to finally convince them it was time to check out the place, although he hadn't set foot near it since Doc had passed, either.

"It's St. Patrick's Day, and I know you Irish assholes would like to be out with all the other Irish assholes," Rocco told them. "Might as well check out this new place."

"It's not new," Connor argued. "Just new ownership."

Murphy agreed with a nod as he took a long drag from his cigarette. "Might as well be a new place then."

"Come on. I'll go with you, it's a bad time, we'll find a new place. But this drinking at home business has gotta go."

The brothers knew their friend was right. Rocco would be late meeting them, once he untangled himself from the sheets of whichever girl his flavor was that week, but for now, they stood in front of the pub, deciding to go through with it or not.

"Two Cousins Pub," Connor read off the sign.

"Original," Murphy scoffed. "This is a damn joke. Let's get out of here and find some other –"

A patron walked out of the bar, lighting a cigarette as he went. The man's brief pause to get the match to stay lit caused him to stand with the door open for moments longer than usual. Behind him, another group filed out, so the door remained open.

Murphy had glanced inside, his sentence interrupted by the sight he saw. A pretty girl with dark hair stood behind the bar, filling a tray of shot glasses. She glanced up at the door and when she saw it standing open, she yelled to another woman down the counter before coming their way. After bidding everyone coming out a safe and happy St. Patty's Night, she shoved a doorstop under the door.

"It's getting warm in there with all the body heat," she chuckled. "You two coming in, or you going to celebrate the best day of the year on the sidewalk by yourselves?"

Connor shrugged and looked over to see his brother's thoughts. All it took was one look at Murphy to erase Connor's doubts about going inside.

"Aye, we'd love to have a drink. Is there room at the bar?" Connor asked.

"Should be. If not, I'll clear a spot for ya."

Murphy came out of his trance only after Connor punched him in the shoulder. "Get it together, would ya? She's just a girl."

"Prettiest Irish girl I've ever seen," Murphy mumbled under his breath as they followed her into the pub.

Some of the regulars were there, and they all shared a happy reunion. The woman waited for the brothers to be in her tow again, and shoved away a couple of drunks to make room for them at the bar.

"You didn't have to do that," Murphy told her, finally finding his tongue.

She shrugged. "It's all right. They've been cut off for a while, let them find a corner to pass out in. What'll be, gents?"

They ordered a beer to each of them, and she served the dark ale in frosted pint glasses, with a shot of whiskey on the side.

"First ones are on the house." She poured one for herself and clinked glasses with them. "Sláinte."

"Sláinte," the brothers returned in unison.

The whiskey left a comfortable burn in their chests. The woman smiled and tossed all three shot glasses under the counter. She promised to return soon, moving down the bar to take other orders and shoot Jameson with other patrons as they were purchased for her. She seemed to be the lead behind the counter, while the other woman, a redhead with a confident air about her, went back and forth from the patrons out in the pub and the back room.

While she refilled their beers and started a tab for them, the bartender got around to introducing herself. "Name's Aven Donaghue. The redhead is my cousin, Torrin Hannigan."

"Ah, there it is," Connor smiled. "Two Cousins Pub."

"Aye," Aven smiled back. "We've only owned this place for a few months. The previous owner, God rest his soul, came down with a heart sickness. Met him just a couple of times, but he was one of the nicest men I've ever met. Aside from the, uh … oh, how do I put it?"

Before she could come up with something, Murphy spoke up. "Shit! Ass! Fuck!"

"Yes, that's it!" She laughed. "The old man had quite the urge for cursing."

"We knew Doc well," Murphy told her. "We were regulars at McGinty's."

"Haven't seen you around. Must've been holding out on us, eh?"

"Must've been," Connor agreed. His gaze had traveled over to the register behind the bar and down a-ways. "We should have been in sooner."

Aven raised her brow, glancing behind her at Torrin, then back to Connor. "She's taken. Been with the same man for eight months."

Connor shook his head. "That would be the case. What about you, Aven?"

"You boys haven't even told me who you are, and I'm supposed to be divulging my life's secrets? I don't think so."

There was a teasing twinkle to her eye, and Murphy found it nearly irresistible. Instead of climbing over the counter and having his way with her, however, he stood and extended his hand to her. "Murphy MacManus, at your service, Miss. This is my brother, Connor."

Aven nodded as she shook his hand, then picked up a rag to wipe down the counter in front of her. "Doc told us about you. Told us everything."

Connor frowned. "Everything, you say? Well, I think I understand the meaning of what you're getting at, but our Doc was not one for giving up secrets."

Aven waved him off. "Secrets are safe with us. He told us we may have to take over hiding things now and then, stuff of that nature. It's not a problem. Another shot?"

"Perhaps we better," Connor agreed. "And one for yourself."

Aven didn't reply, just poured another four shots. "Torrin, come over here and do this shot with us."

The redhead looked hesitant but didn't argue. They four clinked their glasses together, bid each other good health in their native tongue, then downed the whiskey.

"Keep 'em coming," Murphy instructed.

While she refilled first their beers and then their shot glasses, Aven introduced her cousin. "Torrin, this is Connor and Murphy MacManus. Boys, this is my cousin Torrin."

"Pleasure," Torrin smiled, shaking hands with both of them. "Hope to see you boys in here more regularly, now that you know we're not so bad."

"We've got the impression you're not so bad, but I don't think I'd call it a fact just yet," Connor teased her. "But I think we could commit to being in regularly from here on out. What do you say, Murph?"

Murphy downed the shot, chased it with a good gulp of beer and made sure to catch Aven's eyes. "I'd say there's not much could keep me away now."

Even in the dim lighting, he could see her blush as she moved away, tending to other customers. He was pleased with himself, to say the least. He didn't know much about Aven, but he knew enough at this point to be sure that he wanted to know more.

"Maybe Doc was right. We should have met with these girls sooner," Connor mentioned.

Murphy nodded. "Aye. I'll agree to that."

Rocco came in not long after that, and he too was introduced to the cousins. The brothers and their friend stayed at the bar but would go and sit with friends at the tables, too. The hours passed before they realized it, and before too long, only Connor, Murphy, and Rocco remained on the other side of the counter. Torrin did the closing duties at the counter while Aven flipped chairs onto the tables and cleaned up after the drunks. When Murphy came over to help, she offered him a smile as thanks.

"Don't mind doing it myself, but the help is nice," she admitted. "Sure you boys are all right to get home? We've got a pot of coffee on if you'd like to stay and have a cup before you go."

"Coffee," Murphy chuckled. "Too late at night for coffee. Or early in the morning. One of the two."

Aven laughed. "It's never the wrong time for coffee. Come on, stay a while. Torrin will be a little bit yet, but we always have a cup to wind down before we head home."

Aven extended the invitation to Rocco and Connor as well; Connor accepted but Rocco went on his way.

"He's drunk on a girl," Murphy explained as the Italian man left the pub. He took a seat at the bar again, watching Aven as she moved about, finishing her cleaning and organizing. She set out four coffee mugs and called for Torrin as she filled them.

"Finish that shit tomorrow," Aven encouraged her cousin. "We've got guests for coffee tonight."

"Fair enough," Torrin agreed. "I needed this – this and my warm, comfy bed."

"Is your man waiting for ya?" Connor asked.

Torrin glared at Aven, who shrugged. "He was asking after you, felt it was only fair that he was properly informed."

"No, he probably won't be waiting. It's a new thing, so he doesn't need to be waiting home for me yet, I think."

"And what about you, Aven?" Murphy pressed. "You never answered us earlier."

"She's single as they come," Torrin answered. Aven pinched her as a reward. "Just returning the favor, dear cousin. Making sure he's properly informed and all."

Aven rolled her eyes. "Yes, gentlemen, much to the chagrin of both my mother and father, I am, indeed, single."

"Your parents live here in Boston?"

"No, they're back home in Ireland. Torrin's parents, too. They brought us over here more than ten years ago, when both our fathers found work. They've since been transferred back home. Torrin stayed, and I missed her far too much not to come back to the States. Left Ireland just about six months ago."

"How is it you two are cousins anyway? You don't look it."

"My mother is her father's sister," Torrin explained. "We grew up thicker than thieves, the two of us."

They made small talk over coffee, talking about what parts of Ireland they had lived in and what they missed most about their home country. Once the coffee pot was emptied and washed along with the mugs, the girls decided it was time to close up shop.

"Hopefully we'll be seeing you soon," Torrin told them as she locked the door. "And if you know of any girls looking for work, we need afternoon waitresses. Looking to put in a small kitchen area and have a lunch menu, if we can find the workers."

"We'll let you know. Do you girls live far?" Connor asked.

Torrin shook her head. "Not far at all."

There was an awkward silence as the four of them stood on the sidewalk, Connor and Torrin ready to move on for the time being, but Aven and Murphy hesitant to part ways.

Torrin finally cleared her throat. "Actually, Aven, we shouldn't leave these trash bags overnight. Murph, do you think you could walk her to the dumpster in the back, then home? Connor can walk me home, if he's so inclined, and you two can meet back up there."

"Sounds perfect, right?" Connor smiled, offering his elbow to Torrin. She tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and they were on their way.

Aven smiled shyly, picking up one of the trash bags. Murphy hurried to pick up the other two and followed her to the rusting dumpster behind the pub.

"Thanks for your help," Aven said.

"Not a problem," Murphy answered. "Care for a smoke?"

Aven accepted a cigarette from the pack. Murphy held one between his lips while he lit first her cigarette, then his.

"Probably shouldn't be doing this," Aven commented as they walked. "I quit years ago. Torrin hates the smell, too, so she'll catch it right off."

"Will she be mad?"

"No, I don't think so."

They walked a few steps in silence before Murphy worked up the courage to ask more questions. "So you really came here to open the pub?"

Aven paused, completely. Her steps stopped and she seemed unsure of the answer. Finally, after a few seconds of composing herself, she let out a deep breath. "More or less, we came to open the pub."

"Was it what you always wanted?" Murphy asked, ignoring her strange reaction to his previous question.

She shrugged. "I never thought much about what I'd do after high school, you know? But Torrin always wanted to be her own boss. When we found out McGinty's might be going on the market, we made plans to be the first in line to make an offer. See, Torrin knows business, and I know bartending."

"You make a good team."

"We do," Aven smiled. They rounded the opposite corner of the pub from the dumpster and came to a flight of stairs. "This is our place. Come on in – my guess is that's where your brother's waiting."

"What, did you buy the apartment over the bar, too?"

"Actually, we did."

Murphy chuckled. These girls were something else. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Torrin was just finishing up the tour, rounding back out to the living room, when Aven and Murphy arrived. "There you two are. Made it without a problem?"

"We did," Aven confirmed. "If you gentlemen don't mind, I'm off to bed. Thank you, for walking me home, Murphy."

"Pleasure was all mine," he assured her. Connor neared the door, bidding goodbye to both girls. "See you, Torrin."

"See you," Torrin told them with a wave, locking the door behind the brothers. She turned back into the apartment, heading straight for Aven's room. "Murphy MacManus is in love with you."

Aven pulled a nightgown over her head and rolled her eyes. "He is not. He doesn't know enough to be in love with me and once he does, he's going to run as fast as he can in the other direction."

"You don't know that."

"Oh, don't I?" Aven returned. "And what about you and Connor? You looked awfully comfortable tucked into his arm like that."

"He was being a gentleman, I couldn't refuse," Torrin defended. She looked around the room and took a deep breath. "So, how much are you going to tell them?"

Aven frowned. "None of it. I'm not going to tell them anything. And you'd better not either."

Torrin sighed. "I still wish you'd give this up, this not telling people. No one's going to look at you differently."

"They will," Aven insisted.

Torrin shrugged. "I should know better than to try and change your mind, I suppose. Sleep good."

"You too, cousin."

Aven turned off the bedroom light and stared up at the ceiling as she tried to sleep. Maybe, knowing what she knew of the MacManus brothers, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to tell them why she had really returned to America.

Eventually, she decided in her head. I'll tell them eventually, when they know me better and won't judge me.

She could only hope they didn't figure her out before then.

A/N: This will probably be clichéd and fluffy, just like my other fanfictions. You've been warned.

Aven's secret won't stay secret for long, and we'll see more into Torrin's life and relationships in future chapters.

Thanks for reading!