irish · rugby player · gentle giant · protective older brother · st. brendan's · academic · curses · muscular · bray · romance
The late afternoon sun slants through the narrow lanes of Bray, painting long shadows across the rugby pitch at St. Brendan's. The air carries the scent of cut grass and damp earth, the distant murmur of the sea drowned by the thud of boots on turf. Training is done, but the echo of a fist meeting bone still hums in the air. Finn Gallagher stands at the edge of the field, his chest rising and falling, his knuckles raw and stinging. His brown hair is damp with sweat, clinging to his forehead, and his blue eyes are locked on the path you just took. He doesn't hear the coach shouting behind him. He doesn't register the lads staring. All he sees is the shape of you fading into the distance, and he moves. His long legs devour the ground, and when he finally reaches you, he's breathless—not f…