Risk It All

'I've got to be direct

La la la

If I'm off, please correct

La la la

You're standing on my neck.'

"Holy crap I love Daria so much." Nolee spoke aloud as she laid on her couch like usual. Despite no one being there besides her, it was obvious the pregnant girl had a bad habit of talking to herself.

"I really should stop that, oh shit I did it again." she sighed to herself and put her focus back on the television. Now that the weather was full on gloomy and cold, the small girl was losing her motivation to be a member of society, especially with Christmas around the corner, the desire to be around people was lacking.

Prepared to sit comfortably in her apartment with dreams of hibernation, a Daria marathon seemed like the perfect touch to spend the day. Feeling extra content in her fluffy robe Nolee adjusted herself on the couch. Just as Daria had transitioned to the musical episode where a hurricane is set to hit Lawndale, heavy loud knocks erupted from her door. Nolee practically fell on her bottom off the couch startled by the noise, groaning as she got up.

"What the hell?" she whispered to herself as she walked to the door. Peeping in the eyehole a scoff left her lips as she opened the door.

"What are you both doing here?" she said in surprise to see both of the Irish brothers standing at her door. "I thought you were spending the day with Rocco."

"We did, but he had some last minute 'deliveries' to do. So we came to bug ye instead." Murphy grinned as she stared at them indifferent.

"I'm busy watching Daria."

"Is t'at a movie?" Connor questioned.

"No, it's a show."

"Never heard of it." both brothers responded in unison as they helped themselves inside her apartment while she rolled her eyes.

"Of course, come on in." she retorted to the brothers who only smirked at her. Already they felt comfortable to enter her apartment whenever they pleased. "Surprised you're not at the bar."

"Doc's closed for ta day, got a doctor's appointment or some shit like t'at." Connor explained.

"Lucky me." Nolee teased as Murphy frowned and lightly poked her belly.

"T'ats not very nice lass."

"Sorry." she replied smiling at him lightly. "I'm kind of a grump when it gets cold like this."

"Then let me warm ye up?" Murphy smirked wrapping his arms around her as she laughed quietly as she snuggled into his chest.

"Jesus Christ, ye forgot I'm standing right here?" Connor scoffed in disgust.

"Oh you were, I didn't notice." Murphy retorted with a smirk. "I didn't mean it t'at way either, get ye mind out ta gutter."

"Well when you do mean it t'at way, please make sure I'm not here."

"Ye just peanut butter and jealous Connor."

"Oh ye little shit-"

"Okay you two, relax." Nolee teased at the two Irishmen's antics. "I'm not energized enough today to deal with your brotherly banter." she added walking to the kitchen for more tea with the brothers in tow.

"Ye know lass, it's practically Christmas. Aren't ye gonna get a tree?" Connor inquired curiously.

"I don't think so."

"Well why not?"

"I don't really decorate for the holidays." Nolee explained lightly shrugging.

"Aww come on where's ye Christmas spirit?"

"Guess I'm sort of a Scrooge."

"Ye gotta at least get a tree love. Besides, ye want ta be festive for ta wee little one dontcha?" Murphy chimed in leaning on her counter.

"She's not even born yet Murphy, I get a pass on this year." Nolee joked as both brothers scoffed. Clearly the twins were more keen on the holidays than she was, they didn't seem to mind the craziness of it all here.

"Besides, there's no point in getting a tree and all that when I'm most likely going to be working on Christmas anyways. I need the money." Nolee reasoned sipping her tea and shrugging again. This time the brothers stared at her as if they were genuinely offended.

"Ye can't be serious lass."

"What?"

"We're not gonna let ye spend Christmas alone." Murphy declared while the small girl sipped her tea timidly. It was a bittersweet feeling that the brothers had wanted to include her so much, it was a bittersweet feeling in general to feel...wanted.

"Really, it's not a big deal guys." she assured not wanting to be a burden.

"We said, we're not letting ye spend it alone and t'ats final." Connor countered as she sighed.

"Are all Irish men stubborn as you both?"

"Ye damn skippy. Now, about that tree." Connor pressed putting his hands together while she mentally prepared herself for what he had planned. "Isn't there a Christmas event goin' on today?" he asked looking at his brother.

"Oh ye mean ta village square? Where they do ta Christmas parade with ta freaky elves and shit like that?" Murphy replied as the light eyed brother nodded.

"Ye t'at one, might as well go ta it. What do ye say Nolee?"

"A parade? Where's there a lot of people?" Nolee answered in distaste.

"Oh come on lass, it'll be fun."

"I don't know you guys..."

"If ye go, I'll buy ye a big cinnamon roll." Connor bribed as she slowly narrowed her eyes at him.

"With a hot chocolate...?"

"If that's what ye want lass, then sure. And if Murph's a good boy he can even take a picture with Santa."

"Oh fuck yew."

______

With promises of sugary confections, the MacManus brothers managed to draw Nolee out of her apartment. Grumbling at the very cold Boston weather she wrapped her coat around herself, slightly pouting while the brothers walked calmly in tow. She tried hard not to resent the fact that she was missing Daria for this.

Arriving at the village square in downtown, the large crowd of people alerted her senses. There was various Christmas displays and different looking snowmen. Christmas songs bellowed around her followed by the smell of holiday food rafting through the air. She felt overwhelmed at not knowing where to even to start.

"Oh look, eggnog." Connor pointed excitedly taking a step towards the red tented booth however Nolee's hand clutched his peacoat yanking him back.

"What ta hell lass?" Connor growled.

"Not so fast, you promised me mister. I want my cinnamon roll. NOW." Nolee demanded glaring at the spiky haired male who held his hands up in surrender not wanting to feel the wrath of a hungry pregnant women.

"Okay, okay Christ." he sighed making her smile in victory as they redirected their steps to the cinnamon roll stand.

"Ye don't have ta be so feisty okay?" he lamented while getting a place in line.

"And you don't have to have a baby wedged in your ribs."

"She got ye t'ere Con." Murphy smirked as Connor rolled his eyes and ordered a cinnamon roll and hot chocolate with extra whipped cream as requested by her. When he handed her the warm confection Nolee stared at it lovingly inhaling the sweet smell.

"Well ye certainly have never stared at me like t'at." Murphy noted faking offense when he noted her infatuation.

"Why would she? Ye ta ugly twin." Connor scoffed.

"I am not, ye fuckin' are!" Murphy retorted with a glare.

"Bullshit, ye so ugly ye make blind kids cry."

"Fuck yew!" Murphy countered as the brothers had now ensued in a shoving match. Nolee was too engrossed in her cinnamon roll to pay attention to the brothers' banter. Everything seemed to taste better when you were pregnant and right now this was the best damn cinnamon roll ever.

'This is heaven. This is literal heaven.' she thought as she went into for another bite, but was unaware of Connor intercepting her and accidentally making her drop the poor cinnamon roll on the floor. Both brothers immediately stopped their fighting upon realizing what they done as the small girl just stood there in shock staring down at the ruined glazed confection.

"Oh shit." both brothers whispered in unison. Perhaps it was a mixture of crazy pregnancy hormones or genuine grief, most likely both that Nolee couldn't help but burst into tears. The brothers looked at each other unsure of what to do.

"Connor ye fuckin' idiot! Look what ye did!" Murphy shouted pointing a finger at the innocent cinnamon roll.

"I didn't mean ta, ye were ta one fuckin' pushin' me!" Connor shouting back at his brother. As Nolee cried the brothers attracted glares from passersby feeling their distaste for making a pregnant girl cry.

"Uhh...it's okay lass don't cry, I'll buy you a new cinnamon roll okay? Just please stop doing....that." Connor awkwardly told the small girl clearly not an expert on women and their emotions.

"Connor's sorry love, he didn't mean ta ruin ye cinnamon roll. Let's go get a new one alright?" Murphy nervously consoled her as she hiccuped through her tears.

"Okay..."

After the cinnamon roll fiasco and Nolee finally able to enjoy the whole roll with her hot chocolate. She was able to keep her emotions in check and carried on her normal self. Which seem to freak the twin brothers out as they now treated her like she was a ticking time bomb, well she sort of was anyway. She found it secretly amusing they seemed to be walking on eggshells around her. A small part of her felt bad for making them go through her melt down.

'Oh well, that's what they get for dragging me out here in the first place.'

Nolee tried to be nice as the trio walked through the village looking at the many displays and choirs singing. She had to admit that in spite of it all it was mildly enjoyable being here with the brothers. Even they did spent most of the time bickering like twin brothers do. The first activity Connor made them do was ornament decorating. It was ironic that a sarcastic Irishman like him loved Christmas so much...a little too much.

"What ta fuck are ye' doin?" Murphy told him in confusion as he eyed the glittery disaster of an ornament Connor attempted to make.

"What ye lookin' at me ornament for, ye got ye own. Mind ye fuckin' business." Connor retorted while Nolee giggled to herself at the brothers ridiculousness while finishing up her own ornament. She created a hot pink and black glittery ornament while Murphy made his out of his favorite shades of blue. When they finished they attempted to move on to another activity unfortunately the brothers found themselves in the crossfire of kids throwing snowballs. One of course hitting Murphy square in the face.

"What ta fuck?" he said in confusion as he touched the spot where the fake ice had been thrown. Naturally it sent both Nolee and Connor into hysterics as Murphy glared at them both.

"Oh that's fuckin' funny huh?" he retorted. "See how funny t'is is Connor." he added before quickly grabbing a ball of snow and chucking it at the spiky haired male making him gasp.

"Oh ye little bastard, ye wanna go? Let's go," Connor countered as they began throwing snowballs at each other while the small girl looked on amusement. Despite them attempting to throw their hardest throws, Nolee smiled at the way the brothers smirked at each other. They were always bickering, but there was no denying the love that was there.

Once the brothers duked it out they carried on with their walk around the village, both men laughing at they tried to catch their breath.

"Been a long time since I whooped your arse like t'at brudder."

"Nice try, but ye never defeat me. I'm ta master."

"I don't know who's having more fun here, you guys or the little kids." Nolee teased.

"Can't help it lass, we always been keen on Christmas." Murphy admitted as she smiled.

"It's kind of adorable to be honest."

"I know I'm adorable love." Murphy winked as he kissed her cheek making her roll her eyes at him but smile once more. Walking hand in hand they concentrated at the shop area with various knick knacks and antique ornaments. When Nolee eyed the toy store next to it, she inhaled a deep breath.

"What's on ye mind? I can tell when ye thinkin' hard." Murphy noted squeezing her hand, part of her at a loss to how he was able to pick up on her quirks so fast, part of her perturbed by it.

"It's just crazy to think that soon I'll be in here buying toys and what not. Time is starting to go by so fast, I can't keep up." she explained turning her head back to him.

"It's natural to feel that way." Murphy shrugged. "You'll be great at it though."

"You're taking this too calmly."

"What ye mean?"

"You're not nearly as nervous I am, how?"

"I don't know lass, I'm just going wit ta flow I guess."

"What about a couple months from now when there's a crying newborn, how will you feel then?"

"Why ye puttin' me on ta spot for?" Murphy replied running a hand through his short dark hair.

"I don't mean to, I'm just being realistic."

"Well...that's something we'll know when we get ta it I suppose. In ta meantime t'eres no point in stressin' ourselves out. If you spent all ye time worrying, you miss out on everything else."

"I wish I could live in the present more like you're able to. But I'm a planner."

"Ye can plan a perfect picnic but ye can't predict ta weather love. You gotta let some things just be."

"Why do you always have to put things in a good perspective?" she mumbled childishly as he laughed.

"Just ta type of person I am. Also, how come me brudder is being decent to ye? Not like it's a bad thing I just find it a little interestin.' he questioned while Nolee froze a bit inside. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Murphy about her and Connor's conversation just yet.

"I don't know...maybe he's starting to come around?" she shrugged.

"Ye I guess so. Surprisin' really."

"Speaking of your brother, do you know what you're getting him for Christmas ?" she inquired looking around to make sure Connor wasn't around to hear them.

"Fuck all."

"Murphy." Nolee chided as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm just kiddin', I have a couple ideas. He likes western movies so damn much, I might get him some more movie collections, he lost some of t'em when we moved ta Boston."

"Okay good, maybe we can find something while he's off looking at the other shops." Nolee suggested while Murphy shrugged in agreeance. Making their way next door to the book and movie store, the pair browsed through the old western movie section.

"Ah-ha." she exclaimed pointing her finger. "Wyatt Earp, how's that?"

"I think he'll like that one. Good job love." Murphy replied impressed. "Now what do you want for Christmas?" he questioned raising his eyebrow.

"Nothing." she simply answered.

"What, that can't be so. Surely ye want at least one thing?"

"Not really. All the things I wanted for Christmas...I got them, trust me." she assured giving him a light smile.

"And what would those be?" he whispered leaning his face in closer to hers while she shivered slightly.

"That's a conversation for another time." she countered lifting her eyes up to meet his.

"I'll hold ye to it t'en." he replied connecting his lips to hers.

"T'ere ye guys are! I've been lookin' all over, t'ere doin' a gingerbread house contest, come on!" Connor demanded as Murphy pulled his face away from hers huffing in annoyance.

"Goddamn it." he mumbled under his breath as Nolee giggled reaching out to grab his hand.

"Come on, before the toddler gets upset." she teased while they all made out the shop to where the contest was being held. Naturally the contest was geared towards little kids and of course the only adult competing was Connor. The contest was timed and each contestant had 15 minutes to decorate their houses as best as they could. When they all finished Connor threw up a fist in victory.

"Ye t'ats right ye little brats, who's ta master?" he shouted which proceeded to make the other kids cry, earning glares from their parents.

"CONNOR!" Nolee and Murphy hissed in unison.

"Maybe it's time we go look for a tree now..."

_____

Forcing Connor to take a break from the activities and focus on what they really came for, the brothers and Nolee found their way to the tree lot. As she let them be the ones to pick one out, she thought about what she wanted to get Murphy for Christmas and unfortunately she was stumped on ideas. After all he was doing for her, what could she really get him? She wasn't the best at giving gifts but she knew he deserved at least something good.

'Maybe I can get him art supplies? No, that's lame. Ugh, what do I do?' she thought before suddenly an idea hit her. She smiled as she looked at the brothers who were too engrossed with arguing about the trees. She knew what to get him, she'd just have to wait until she was alone to get it.

"Lass, what about t'is one?" Murphy asked pointing to a decent size tree as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh um, yeah sure that one is fine." she replied absentmindedly as the brothers shrugged at each other before mutually agreeing to purchase the tree and ornaments for it. Figuring the festivities had come to an end the trio decided to make their way towards home while Connor and Murphy carried the tree to her apartment.

While the brothers had set the tree up Nolee helped them place the ornaments on it, including the ones they created earlier. When they finished she stood back studying their work. For not being a holiday person, she had to admit the tree was rather cute looking.

"See, we told ye." they both said her to in unison while she rolled her eyes, she was sure she'd hear the phrase from them quite often now. Making them all dinner as a way to wind down from today's craziness Nolee served the Irishmen spaghetti and meatballs, to which they completely devoured it.

"You both really don't get home cooked meals often do you?" she teased but really she was flattered the boys seemed to like her cooking, even when it was something as simple as spaghetti. It had been a long time since she had to cook for someone else besides herself.

After demolishing her spaghetti, Nolee raised an eyebrow when she discovered a full and tired Connor passed out on her couch. Laughing to herself she decided to leave him be while she went into her room to change. Getting into more comfortable clothes she relished as the fuzzy socks comforted her feet. All the walking from today had made her feet sore, maybe she should start taking it easy. At least her doctor couldn't get on her about not getting enough exercise. As she began to nurse her aching feet Murphy's hands intercepted hers and took over. She lifted her face up to his and smiled.

"You don't have to rub my feet you know."

"Shush woman, just let me."

"Fine." she replied not putting up much of a fight. She'd be lying if she said Murphy's hands hadn't felt amazing on her feet. Letting out a sigh of relief, she allowed herself to succumb to the relaxation.

"Now this is a nice Christmas gift." she mumbled with closed eyes making Murphy snicker.

"Oh ye? Well I got somethin' else for ye."

"And what's that?" she asked curiously opening her eyes to find Murphy holding a mistletoe over their heads, a cheesy grin spread across his face.

"Where did you get that?" she mused.

"When Connor and I were buying ta tree. So..." he hinted motioning to the mistletoe as she shook her head.

"I don't think that's the traditional way it works Murphy." she joked to which he simply shrugged at her.

"T'en maybe it's time we create our own traditions."