just sorta fell into our laps
"You nervous?"
"A bit.
When Murphy is nervous, he has a habit of rocking his head forward, a little over his collarbones, and rolling onto the balls of his feet too. It's one of the few habits he has that Connor doesn't. They both have a habit of chewing on the tips of pencils, both have a fondness for Guinness and Marlboro lights and falling asleep after a big dinner, but the head-bob thing is something that Murphy does but Connor doesn't. Connor used to see Murphy do it before classes for which he hadn't done the prep, and he also used to see Murphy do it before he tried to run some sort of lie or line past their mother -- which was just about every time he spoke to her. Connor supposes that their mother figured it out too, which is why she sort of made it a rule to give the boys a thorough and impartial thrashing each and every time it looked like either of them even got into a whiff of trouble.
Years later, Connor hears her justifying it to a female friend of hers who was wondering whether it had been a good idea to punish both of the boys if either of them got into trouble, and what their mother says that if either one of the boys is in trouble, then both of them are in it together, and at any given time, really, one of them has to be in trouble.
The night that he and Connor kill their first man, Murphy is doing that head bob thing as bad as Connor's ever seen him do it. Murphy is steady enough during the killing itself, but Connor could practically hear Murphy's shoes creaking in the alleyway while they waited. He could see the streetlights slide over the back of Murphy's head and onto the back of his neck with each little rock, and Connor had reached out, then, and put a hand on Murphy's shoulder to steady him. It had all he had been able to do at that point, and Murphy had steadied a little, but afterwards, when they had climbed back into their room with the smell of blood still in their hair and their mother sleeping in the next room, Connor had to put his arms around Murphy and let Murphy rock against his shoulder.
Two days after that, when they are sitting in their room, listening through a shut door to their mother trying to talk Boyle's mother out of hysterics after he got arrested for going on the same little trip that Connor and Murphy had gone on -- two days after that trip, Connor had to put his lips to Murphy's forehead to get him to stop rocking, and the time after that, he had to put his lips to Murphy's.
The time after that, though, Murphy was the one who reached over and pushed his brother down on the bed to stop his nervousness.
"A bit.
When Murphy is nervous, he has a habit of rocking his head forward, a little over his collarbones, and rolling onto the balls of his feet too. It's one of the few habits he has that Connor doesn't. They both have a habit of chewing on the tips of pencils, both have a fondness for Guinness and Marlboro lights and falling asleep after a big dinner, but the head-bob thing is something that Murphy does but Connor doesn't. Connor used to see Murphy do it before classes for which he hadn't done the prep, and he also used to see Murphy do it before he tried to run some sort of lie or line past their mother -- which was just about every time he spoke to her. Connor supposes that their mother figured it out too, which is why she sort of made it a rule to give the boys a thorough and impartial thrashing each and every time it looked like either of them even got into a whiff of trouble.
Years later, Connor hears her justifying it to a female friend of hers who was wondering whether it had been a good idea to punish both of the boys if either of them got into trouble, and what their mother says that if either one of the boys is in trouble, then both of them are in it together, and at any given time, really, one of them has to be in trouble.
The night that he and Connor kill their first man, Murphy is doing that head bob thing as bad as Connor's ever seen him do it. Murphy is steady enough during the killing itself, but Connor could practically hear Murphy's shoes creaking in the alleyway while they waited. He could see the streetlights slide over the back of Murphy's head and onto the back of his neck with each little rock, and Connor had reached out, then, and put a hand on Murphy's shoulder to steady him. It had all he had been able to do at that point, and Murphy had steadied a little, but afterwards, when they had climbed back into their room with the smell of blood still in their hair and their mother sleeping in the next room, Connor had to put his arms around Murphy and let Murphy rock against his shoulder.
Two days after that, when they are sitting in their room, listening through a shut door to their mother trying to talk Boyle's mother out of hysterics after he got arrested for going on the same little trip that Connor and Murphy had gone on -- two days after that trip, Connor had to put his lips to Murphy's forehead to get him to stop rocking, and the time after that, he had to put his lips to Murphy's.
The time after that, though, Murphy was the one who reached over and pushed his brother down on the bed to stop his nervousness.