Chapter Text
The motel was shit. The motel was gross. The motel made the Milkovich house look like the Four Seasons.
Mickey was pretty sure there was piss on the floor and blood on the walls. The television barely worked and the bed made weird noises when he sat on it.
Ian was there though, so that made things a little better.
“This place is disgusting.” Ian cried as he flung himself down on the bed next to Mickey, causing it to squeak loudly like a mouse.
“Keep doing that and people are going to think we’re in here fucking like rabbits.” Mickey muttered as he threw an arm over his eyes and groaned. He was exhausted.
Ian turned to his side and looked at Mickey, running his hand up and down the tired man’s chest. “Yeah, that won’t be happening anytime soon. We’d probably catch a disease in here. Did you see the shower? The water is brown.”
Mickey groaned even louder. “Don’t fucking tell me that shit, Gallagher.” He felt Ian inch his way closer to him until he was pressed up against his side and resting his head on his chest.
“This is only temporary, Mickey.” Ian whispered, his hand still drawing soothing patterns on Mickey’s stomach. “This is the start of something new and good.”
Mickey remained still and quiet.
“You still want to find a place together, right?”
The unsure tone in Ian’s voice finally made Mickey move. He curled his arm around Ian and moved his hand through his red hair. “Of course, man.”
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“Hello?”
“Fuck you!”
“Excuse me?” Mickey pulled the phone away from his ear and glanced at the caller id. “What the hell, Mandy?”
“You have been in town for five days, Mickey. FIVE DAYS. You didn’t think for once that you should probably call your sister and let her know that you’re not dead, dipshit?”
“You didn’t call to check up on me either, bitch.”
“I’ve been busy.”
Mickey rolled his eyes. “Well, I’ve been pretty fucking busy too.”
“You should have at least texted.” Mandy lectured.
“Okay, mom. Did you call for a reason or did you just want to bitch at me?”
“Both. What happened with that guy?”
Mickey decided to play dumb. “Who?”
“The guy you called me about last week?” Mandy asked, sounding confused.
“Who?”
“The one you sat next to on the bus?”
“Who?”
Mandy let out a groan on the other end of the line, catching on the Mickey’s game. “I fucking hate you. Tell me. Are you still hooking up with him?”
“Actually-” Mickey started, only to be cut off.
“Oh my god. You screwed it up didn’t you? You pussied out.”
“No-” He was cut off again.
“Mickey Milkovich, that guy sounded perfect.” Mandy chided. “What did you do?”
Mickey hung up the phone. Twenty seconds later, Mandy called back.
“What the hell was that for?”
“Maybe if you shut the fuck up for two minutes and listened then you would know.”
Mandy went silent.
“We’re-” Mickey braced himself. “We’re going to shack up together.”
Mandy remained silent for a beat before screeching. “What?!”
“Yeah, save money and shit.”
“What?!” Mandy screeched again.
“We can afford a better place together.”
“So like roommates?” Mandy asked, taking a break from her screeching.
“Not exactly-”
“What?!”
“Mandy.”
“Who the fuck are you and what have you done with my brother?”
Mickey sighed exasperatedly. “Mandy.”
“The Mickey Milkovich I knew was the most closeted gay guy ever and now you are telling me that you are legit moving in with some guy. Some guy you met a week ago?!”
“Maybe if you didn’t run off for two years, then you would know that I’m not the same.” Mickey barked, defensive and embarrassed.
“Oh Mickey, don’t bring that into this.” Mandy huffed. “Besides you were the same guy as always until you called me last week from the side of the road asking for advice.”
Mickey sighed.
“Are you sure about this? What if this is some sort of con? What if this guy is an axe murderer?”
“He hasn’t killed me yet.”
“Yet being the operative word, brother.”
“Last week, you were harping on me to give this guy a chance and now you are trying to talk me out of it.”
“No, I’m not. It’s just all kind of sudden.” Mandy paused. “I’ve done this 0 to 60 fast paced thing with relationships before and they all blew up in my face. I’m just looking out for you, Mick.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Mickey replied forcefully, hoping to bring an end to this discussion.
A silence fell over the siblings before Mandy broke it.
“Okay. okay. I trust you. Just be careful, Mickey.” Mandy took a deep breath before changing the serious tone of her voice to something more playful. “He’s obviously hot as hell or he’s amazing in the sack.”
Mickey laughed, feeling some of the tension leave his shoulders. “Both.”
Thank god Ian had met Mickey Milkovich.
Within minutes of starting the apartment search, it had become painfully obvious that neither man could have afforded to live in San Diego on their saved up money alone. Combined though, they had enough to find something somewhat decent.
The apartment they settled on wasn’t the best, but it definitely wasn’t the worst. There weren’t that many stains on the walls or floors and the water was actually clear.
More importantly, the names Mickey Milkovich and Ian Gallagher were signed next to each other on the lease. It was theirs and that was all that really mattered.
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Ian found a burnt orange couch and a wood coffee table at Goodwill for $25. Mickey bought an obviously stolen television off a guy and was able to figure out how to steal cable from their neighbors.
Mickey surprised Ian one day by going to Ikea and splurging on a nice bed. Ian thanked him by christing it over and over again.
Later, with the addition of a dresser for their bedroom (filled with the perfectly odd mixture of both of their clothes) and a kitchen table (which they may or may not have fucked on the moment they put it together), their apartment was complete.
Except for one thing.
“I want you to draw some stuff to put on the walls.” Ian mentioned one day over breakfast.
Mickey scoffed around a mouthful of Fruit Loops and did not look up from the paper.
“Why won’t you?’
“Because it’s stupid, this place looks fine the way it is.”
Ian looked around. “Mickey. The walls are insane asylum white. We need some color or something.”
“You draw some pretty pictures then.”
Ian scowled at him until an idea suddenly popped in to his head. He shot up out of his seat and ran to their bedroom to grab something. He came out a few minutes later with a piece of paper and held it up to the wall. It was the picture that Mickey had drawn of Ian on the bus.
“You are not putting that shit on the wall.” Mickey called from the kitchen table.
“One: watch me.” Ian challenged. “Two: it’s the first and only thing you’ve ever drawn for me so it’s special, and three: draw more shit so it doesn’t stand out so much.”
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About a week later, Ian came home to drawings all over the walls. He turned towards Mickey, who was pointedly focused on the television. Ian smiled and made it was over to the artist and simply kissed him on the top of the head.
He wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, even though it was.
Living together was an adjustment.
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Living with Mickey Milkovich was interesting.
He was kind of a slob. There were always a stack of dirty dishes piled up in the sink that he promised to “get to later”, only to wash one dish when he needed it. He left clothes everywhere. From any one point in the living room, at least four articles of Mickey’s clothing could be seen strewn across the room. A sock on the coffee table, a pair of jeans hung over a chair in the kitchen, a shirt bundled up besides the couch, and mismatching shoes blocking the doorway. He clipped his toenails on the coffee table and left them and he never hung up his towel.
Nothing could change the amazing feeling of waking up pressed against him though.
Ian could learn to live with the mess as long as he was able to do that every morning.
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Living with Ian Gallagher was interesting.
He was kind of loud. He turned up the volume on the television so high that his siblings could probably hear it back in Chicago. He sang horribly off key in the shower for the whole world to listen. He got up ridiculously early on the weekends and stomped around cleaning the apartment, purposely telling Mickey that he was cleaning up after him. He talked non stop 24/7.
Nothing could change the amazing feeling of coming home to Ian’s smile and laughter though.
Mickey could learn to live with the noise as long as he was able to do that every day.
Mandy Milkovich was a bitch. At least that’s what everyone thought; everyone except for Ian Gallagher.
Ian thought she was perfect.
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Ian started bugging Mickey about visiting his sister the moment they arrived to San Diego. Mickey, less than thrilled at the idea of another long ass road trip, rejected the idea. He’d promised though that they would visit Mandy once they’d settled in.
That was a while ago and Ian thought it was ridiculous that he still hadn’t met the female Milkovich.
So he took matters into his own hands.
“Hey douchebag.”
Ian was a little taken aback by the way Mandy answered the phone. “Umm, hi Mandy. My name is Ian-”
“Ian Ian? The guy Mickey met on the bus and is now living with?”
“He talks about me?” Ian couldn’t help but ask, momentarily forgetting the reason he called.
“Too much if you ask me. It’s kind of sickening.” Mandy made a gagging noise over the phone before seemingly realizing that Ian was calling from Mickey’s phone. “Why are you calling me? Is my brother okay? Is he hurt? Did you kill him?”
Ian hastily answered her question. “No, no, no. Did I kill him? Jesus, no. He’s fine. He’s in the shower.” He laughed. “I just wanted to call to see if we could get together sometime soon. I’d love to meet you.”
“Oh? That’s it? I’ve been telling that assface that I’ve been wanting to come visit for like a month now. I think he’s a little nervous. He probably doesn’t want to scare you off or some shit like that.”
“Are you that scary?”
“I can be.” Mandy said ominously. “How about we surprise him? I’ll drive down there this weekend... as long as you pay for half of my gas money of course.”
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Mandy Milkovich was everything that Mickey described her as plus so much more.
Ian thought that was a good thing.
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It was six o’clock on a Friday night when there was a knock on the apartment door.
“I’ll get it.” Mickey grumbled as he stood up from the couch. “That fucking pizza boy has a hard on for you.”
“You jealous?” Ian called as Mickey made his way to the door and laughed when Mickey flipped him off over his shoulder as he opened the door.
“You owe me twenty bucks for this fucking pizza, assholes.” Mandy Milkovich, in all her glory, said as she barged past her brother and made her way into the apartment. “That guy was really creepy by the way. He kept saying he wanted to bring it to the door himself so he could check out the redhead.”
“Mandy?” Mickey asked from behind her, looking very confused. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Your boytoy called me last week and told me that you missed me” Mandy made her way over to her brother and wrapped him up in a tight hug. “I’ve might of missed you too, Mick.” The contact brought Mickey back to Earth and he finally hugged his sister back for the first time in two years before pushing her off of him.
“You’re the one that ran away, bitch.”
“Yeah well, you seemed to like the idea seeing as you did the same fucking thing.”
The Milkoviches soon started bickering, causing Ian to clear his throat. They both turned towards him with identical looks on their faces. “Hi, I’m Ian.”
Mandy walked towards him, obviously sizing him up, before turning back to her brother. “You’re right, he is pretty fucking hot.”
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Ian Gallagher was pretty sure Mickey and Mandy Milkovich were his soulmates.
Mickey knew that he was not qualified for most jobs. He knew he’d be pushing it if he said that he had a ninth grade education. It was around fifth grade when he had mentally checked out of school.
He knew that if people could look past his bleak resume and his knuckle tattoos, he’d be good enough for any job out there, but Mickey wasn’t stupid. When it came to employment, his opportunities were kind of limited.
Ian cared about it more than he did; Mickey knew his options and he was perfectly fine with them. So when he stumbled across a classified in the paper talking about construction, Mickey looked into it and applied. Within the week, he had the job.
Construction wasn’t that bad. The hours were long, but the pay was good. The overtime didn’t suck either. There were times Mickey would come exhausted and mornings were he felt like he couldn’t get out of bed, but at the end of the day he didn’t mind his job.
He got to work all over the city; he got to take out his frustrations on nails, wood, and concrete; he got to make friends with a few of the guys; he got to afford to live with Ian.
It was fine and it would do.
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“Hey Milkovich. We’re all going out tonight to celebrate! You never come; you have to this time.”
Mickey’s crew had just completed a grueling job that had taken weeks. They all deserved a night out.
“Fine. Let me just make a phone call real quick.”
Billy, one of the more annoying members of his crew, started to make kissing noises. “Gotta ask your old lady?”
Mickey had mentioned Ian before, but he hadn’t mentioned Ian. It was implied that he had someone special at home with him, but he never went into detail. Mickey wasn’t ashamed of Ian; he just felt like it wasn’t worth mentioning.
“Why don’t you invite the old ball and chain and that roommate of yours?” They were one and the same, but Mickey remained mum. He just flicked them off as he scrolled through his phone, pressed on Ian’s name and waited for him to answer.
“Hey! Did you finish the job?”
Mickey smiled despite himself. “Yeah.” Ian cheered on the other side of the phone. ”Um, listen. The crew wants to go out tonight and celebrate.”
“That’s fine. You guys deserve it.”
Mickey paused for a second before going in for the kill. “Do you want to come?”
There was silence for a moment on the other end of the line. “Really?” Ian asked, sounding a little shocked.
“Sure, I guess. It’s probably about time you met the guys.”
“Ok… ok, ok.” Mickey could hear the clear excitement in Ian’s voice though he was trying to play it off. “Just text me the address and I’ll meet you there.”
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Mickey was not nervous. Mickey was not nervous. So what if he was attracted to other dudes, so what if he lived with and shared a bed with another man; so what? Nobody cared.
Except Mickey could think of a lot of people who did care; which is why he was nervous. (Shut up.)
His nerves died a little the moment he initially spotted Ian across the bar, only to kick back up as Ian approached him and the crew.
“Hey, Mick.” Ian gave a small wave but made no further action towards Mickey. Mickey blinked at the redhead, unsure what to do. Ian rolled his eyes and took that as the queue to introduce himself. “Hi, I’m Ian.”
“Oh, Ian! You’re Mickey’s roommate, right?” One of the guys asked.
It was the tiny, quick flash of hurt in Ian’s eyes that finally snapped Mickey out of his trance. Just as Ian started to say yes, Mickey butted in. “Nah, he’s my boyfriend.”
Ian’s proud smile washed away any of the nerves Mickey had left.
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“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you call me your boyfriend.” Ian whispered to Mickey later that night in the darkness of their bedroom. “It got me all hot and bothered.”
“That’s obvious after that performance.” Mickey muttered back raspily, still feeling thoroughly blissed out.
“Say it again.”
“No.”
“Say that I’m your boyfriend.”
“No.”
Ian started to place kisses down Mickey’s chest until suddenly he bit down hard on Mickey’s nipple. “Jesus, Gallagher! What the fuck?!” Mickey cried, attempting to push Ian off of him.
“Say that I’m your boyfriend.” Ian replied innocently before he leaned down and continued to kiss at Mickey’s chest again, apparently hoping to ease the pain.
“Not after that.” Mickey grumbled as he started to get lost in Ian’s kisses and let out a loud groan as Ian moved further south. Right before Ian reached his ultimate target though, he pulled away from Mickey.”What the-”
“No.” Ian sassed back. “New rule; I only give blowjobs to my boyfriends.”
“Fine, just come back over here.” Mickey murmured as he pawed at the air towards Ian.
Ian rolled back over onto Mickey and stared at him, waiting.
Mickey took a deep breath. “You’re my boyfriend, Ian. I never thought I had to tell you that.”
Ian beamed down at him and it made Mickey feel one hundred percent better. “You don’t. It’s just nice to hear sometimes, Mick.” He then moved his way back down Mickey, working on completing his earlier mission.
Mickey sighed happily.
Having a boyfriend was pretty great.
“Mickey! Mickey!” Ian called as bust through the door after a double shift. He had been working at a diner close by, trying to make some money while he figured out what he wanted to do in the long run. Today, he figured it out.
“Mickey? Mickey!” Ian continued to call, running through their apartment looking for the man in question. He made his way into the bathroom where the shower was running and pulled back the curtain. “Mickey, guess what!”
Mickey jumped and whirled around to look at him. “Jesus Christ, Gallagher. What the hell?” he asked as Ian shed his clothes and climbed into the shower. Ian soon started pressing kisses all over Mickey’s face giddily. Mickey laughed before shoving the redhead off of him. ”Are you high?” Mickey asked suspiciously.
“Never again, Mick.” Ian replied with wide, excited eyes. “I’m going to become an EMT.”
Mickey blinked and held a hand up to stop Ian as he leaned in for more kisses. “Ian…” Mickey started, sounding a little unsure.
“What?” Ian asked defensively as he backed off. “You don’t think I can do it?”
Mickey turned away from him to turn off the shower and climb out. “I didn’t say that.” Mickey mumbled as he wrapped a towel around his waist. Ian soon followed him out of the shower and the bathroom.
“Well it sounds that way.” Ian accused before taking a deep breath and running his fingers through his wet hair. “Mickey, I ran into Jenny, remember the nurse from the bus, at the dinner today and we talked for like two hours.”
As he spoke Ian noticed that it was eight, so he briefly left the room to take his medication. That was when he noticed Mickey watching him carefully. Suddenly, the reason for Mickey’s doubts became clear.
“Is that what this is about?” Ian snapped as he threw his pill bottle at Mickey, who caught it and looked ashamed. “I know that I’ve had a couple of off days lately, but I’ve been taking my new fucking pills, Mickey. This isn’t mania talking or anything. Everyone, especially you, always tells me that this fucking disease shouldn’t stop me from doing anything I want to do.” Ian bellowed, hurt by Mickey’s doubts.
Mickey opened his mouth and looked like he wanted to say something, but Ian quickly kept talking. “No. Fuck you, I can do this and I’m going to prove you wrong.”
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Ian hated sleeping on the couch, away from the comfort of his bed and the comfort of Mickey, but sometimes it was just necessary. He was hurt by his boyfriend and wanted to be nowhere near him at the moment. If it weren’t so late, he’d probably be halfway to Mandy’s by now.
Instead, Ian laid on their couch for hours, thinking and rethinking about everything.
In the months since Ian and Mickey had arrived in San Diego, Ian had been a little lost. It’s not like he had expected to move across the country and just have everything fall into place, but he thought it would be a little easier than this. The only thing that was really right in his life was Mickey, who he’d discovered by a freak chance and who was never part of the original plan. Honestly, if it weren’t for Mickey, Ian would have probably moved back to Chicago by now.
Getting reacquainted with and listening to Jenny talk about her work tonight though had sparked something in Ian that he’d been missing for awhile. He knew he could do this… too bad Mickey didn’t.
Lately, Ian had his off days, but that was expected and he had been relatively stable in the long run. He took his pills twice a day everyday. He ate healthy enough and worked out daily. He was doing everything he could do to be functional and he was doing as well as he could. Fuck if he was going to let this disease take over him and ruin his life like it did Monica.
Ian was shaken from his thoughts by the pressure of a body laying down on top of him. He remained quiet as Mickey cuddled into his chest.
“So would we call you EMT Ian? Are you going to drive the ambulance?”
Ian stiffened but made no movement to push the older man off of him. “Don’t mock me, Mickey.”
“I’m not.” Mickey sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed that shit about your meds.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” Ian sniffed at him.
“I’m trying here, Ian.” Mickey rubbed his face tiredly into the fabric of Ian’s shirt. “Tell me what this nurse said.”
“It’s stupid, forget about it. Let’s just go to bed.” Ian started to nudge Mickey off of him only for his boyfriend to grab him by the shoulders and forcefully push him back down on the couch.
Ian sank back down into the cushions as Mickey shimmed his way up his body, lining their faces up and effectively pinning Ian to the couch. “Tell me about it.”
Stubborn as usual, Ian tried to turn his head away, but Mickey stopped him.
“Ian, tell me about it.”
After a few moments of silence, Ian finally relented. “It would take like two months. I have to go to classes on the weekends, take some tests and go on some ride alongs. It’s probably stupid, but I would be able to-” He stopped short of finishing his sentence until Mickey poked him in the ribs, signaling him to continue. ‘I would be able to help people, Mick. That’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do.”
Mickey remained quiet for a long moment and Ian grew uneasy under his intense stare.
“Okay. Sign up.”
Ian squinted at his boyfriend distrustfully. “Really?”
Mickey gave him a small smile in return. “Yeah. You want to do this and you think that you can do this. I believe in you.”
“You didn’t believe in me earlier.” Ian retorted, still not wanting to get his hopes up.
“Ian, you came charging into the showering yelling about wanting to go back to school and become an EMT. It was a little confusing and jarring. That’s the first time I’ve seen you get excited about something like that. I’m sorry, but just promise that if you feel overwhelmed or stress, you’ll tell me. Don’t bring your pride into this, Ian.”
Ian squinted at the man perched on his stomach before relenting. “I was thinking about using the money Clayton sent us to help pay for it.”
“Daddy Warbucks didn’t send us anything. He sent that money to you.”
“I know but we were going to use it to help buy a car.” Ian said uncertainly.
Mickey waved him off. “That can wait, man. This is more important. Besides, I have a thing for buses.”
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Every Saturday and Sunday for two months, Ian was in class… and he loved it.
He learned about the human body, triage, vital signs, toxicology, bandaging. He learned it all and he couldn’t get enough.
Mickey played the perfect dummy for him, allowing Ian to practice all of his new techniques on his waiting body. Ian was 100 percent sure Mickey even got a little off on it.
Ian Gallagher had found his calling and it felt so good.
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“So is there going to be some sort of graduation ceremony or something?” Mickey asked one night as he lounged around on the couch with Ian studying next to him.
Without looking up from his textbook, Ian answered his question. “Not that I know of. I think I just go and take the exam and see how it goes. I already got that job offer, so all I really need is the certificate.”
“Can I go with you?”
Ian looked up at Mickey and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Go with me where?”
“To your test tomorrow.” Mickey muttered to him, leaving his focus on the television. “I’ll sit outside and wait to see how you do.”
“Why? It’s going to take like five hours. Is that really how you want to spend your day off?”
“You’d be there.”
Ian’s face softened and he practically turned into mush. “You’ve missed me.” He cooed at Mickey as he set his textbook down to scoot over and straddle himself across his boyfriend’s lap.
“No.” Mickey replied roughly, but his face said otherwise.
“I’ve been right here.” Ian said gently as he placed soft kisses along Mickey’s jaw line and up to his temple. He smiled when he felt Mickey’s arms wrap around his waist and pull him even closer.
“You’ve been preoccupied.” Mickey mumbled, burying his face into Ian’s neck.
“It will all be over tomorrow, Mick. I’ll have my new job, you’ll have your job and we will become that boring old couple who doesn’t have sex because we’re too tired.”
Mickey pulled his face away from the column of Ian’s neck and looked at him. “We will never be that tired and boring. No sex, fuck that bullshit.” He leaned forward and kissed Ian thoroughly just to prove his point.
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“I passed!”
Ian, with a gigantic smile that threatened to take over his whole face and waving a sheet of paper in the air, raced over to a waiting Mickey, yanked him out of his seat, and swooped him up in a huge hug.
“I passed, Mickey.” Ian pulled away and stared down at his boyfriend in wonder. “I actually fucking did it.”
Mickey beamed up at him before pulling the newly certified EMT down for a quick kiss.
“I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Sure, they had arguments. It was almost impossible for them not to. Mickey was hotheaded and defensive to a fault. Ian was stubborn and oversensitive. The lethal combination could make some of their fights brutal.
This time was a little different though.
Normally after an argument, one would storm out, be gone for a couple of hours, and then come home. Leave, be gone, come back. Sometimes it was Ian, the other times it was Mickey. They always made up though.
During some of their pricklier fights, one of them would end up in L.A. for a few days, commandeering Mandy’s spare bedroom and her patience. They always came home in the end though.
As mentioned, this time was a little different.
It had been over a week since Ian had left the apartment after their worst fight yet. It had been stupid, but nasty words were said and punches were thrown.
After a couple of days, Mickey had been so fucking worried. No return home, no calls, no texts; nothing from Ian. If it weren’t for Mandy, he’d have had no idea where his boyfriend was. Turned out Ian had been staying at the same motel he and Mickey had spent their first week in San Diego. It would almost be romantic if the situation didn’t fucking suck.
Mickey didn’t go after him though. The fucker wanted to leave, Mickey would let him go.
His resolve lasted only a few days before Mickey decided he would give the redhead a total of ten days until he broke the motel room door down and dragged the younger man home.
It was the end of the ninth day and Mickey was laying in bed, smoking through a pack of cigarettes and attempting to watch television. If this thing with Ian didn’t kill him then the thirty extra packs of cigarettes he’d smoked that week would probably do it.
As usual, his thoughts were centered on Ian. What was he doing? Was he taking his pills? When Mickey showed up at the motel, would Ian want to talk to him? Would he and Mickey be okay?
The alert of a text message dragged Mickey out of his head. He was tempted to ignore it, figuring it was Mandy calling him stupid or some shit like that. Though reluctant, he reached over to the other side of the bed and grabbed his phone off of the table.
one text message: IAN
Mickey felt his stomach clench and his heart about jump out of his throat. He scrambled to unlock his phone and read what the message said.
Your favorite movie is on FX.
The bastard had always been bad at initiating text conversations. Curious, Mickey changed the channel and saw that Double Impact was on. He smirked.
Fuck Van Damme.
Mickey had so much more to say but didn’t, hoping to see where Ian was going with this.
I’m sorry, Mick.
Come home, Ian.
He didn’t hear anything back. Ten minutes later, he heard the front door open.
It was officially day ten and Ian was home.
They’d be fine.
“Let’s do something this weekend.”
His boyfriend ignored him and continued to watch a rerun of the Real Housewives of Atlanta.
“It’s the first weekend in forever that we’ve both been off. I want to have fun.” Ian’s eyes lit up as he came up with a new idea. “Let’s go camping on the beach!"
Mickey finally looked away from the screaming woman on television. “Why the hell would we do that? We have a perfectly good bed right here.”
“A bed that we sleep in every night. It’s time to mix it up.” Ian insisted. “We can have vacation sex.”
“It ain’t a vacation. It would be us fucking on the hard ground.” Mickey insisted right back.
“When did you get so particular, Mickey? Don’t forget that I know all of the weird and gross places that you’ve had sex.”
“Because you were right there with me, Gallagher.”
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“I can’t believe we are spending our weekend camping. We could be like four rounds into a fuck fest right about now.”
Ian threw the tent bag at him. “Stop bitching and set this thing up. Unless you want to sleep outside under the stars? That would be so romantic.” Ian pretended to swoon.
Mickey flipped him off as he dumped the contents of the bag out and started to read the instructions.
“Are you really looking at the instructions?” Ian asked as he started to unpack some of the food. “It should just open right up.”
“Obviously it doesn’t, asshole, and not all of us have ROTC training.” Mickey grumbled as he struggled to put one of the stakes into the ground. Ian smirked at his boyfriend’s failure and walked over to help him out.
“Watch this.” Within minutes, the tent was up and a smug look at taken home on Ian’s face.
“I hate you.”
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Later in the day, Mickey and Ian, the only two left in their secluded corner of the beach, sat shoulder to shoulder watching the sunset over the ocean.
They’d spent their time at the beach wrestling in the water and playing in the sand followed by grilled hotdogs and chilled beers. It had been the perfect day.
“Admit it, Mick. This hasn’t been that bad.” Ian prodded as he dropped a kiss to Mickey’s shoulder, tasting the salt water left over from the ocean.
Mickey leaned back on the towel behind him and stared up at Ian with a happy look on his face, saying nothing.
“It’s almost romantic, isn’t it?” Ian prodded some more, subtly moving his hand up Mickey’s leg to the waistband of his swim trunks.
“I’ll never admit to that.” Mickey’s eyes widened as Ian used his hand to swiftly pull down his swim trunks. “What the fuck, Gallagher?”
“It’s time to go skinny dipping.” Ian called over his shoulder, already naked and halfway to the water. “Maybe we can start that fuck fest you were talking about.”
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It was even later in the day and Mickey and Ian sat shoulder to shoulder, cramming as many s'mores as they could into their mouths.
Ian looked over at his partner and noticed remnants of marshmallow splattered all over his lips and cheeks. It was so fucking cute.
“Come here, you idiot. You look ridiculous.” Ian said fondly as he grabbed a hold of Mickey’s face.
Ian leaned in and kissed Mickey softly on the mouth, tasting the unique combination of Mickey and chocolate. He soon moved his lips up to Mickey’s cheeks, slowing licking them clean. When finished, he immediately returned his lips to Mickey’s, kissing him lazily.
Suddenly without warning, Ian was on his back with Mickey straddled above him. The older man looked down at him with a soft look in his eyes before he leaned down and kissed Ian just they way he had kissed Mickey moments earlier.
They made out slowly and deeply, letting the nightlight wash over them. Minutes passed as lips and tongues tangled together, each boy losing themselves to the moment.
“Time for round two.” Mickey muttered into the small space between their lips.
Ian pulled away and stared up at Mickey, who was basked in the moonlight.
“You going to fuck me, Mickey? Fuck me under the stars?”
Mickey did just that.
------------
It was early the next morning and Mickey and Ian were wrapped up around each other, using each other’s bodies as blankets and pillows even though they had both.
“Thank you for this.” Ian whispered quietly, not wanting to break the calm.
“Nah, thank you.” Mickey whispered back just as softly, watching the sun rise through the flap in their tent.
What a great day.
It was a Tuesday when Mickey got the call saying the Gallaghers wanted to come to California to surprise Ian for his 21st birthday.
It had been about two years since Ian had seen any of his siblings, so Mickey was forced to agree. Apparently Fiona had bagged another rich dude who was willing to pay for their flights as well as a hotel room. Thank fuck.
Mickey had only ever really had the pleasure of getting to know Debbie Gallagher. The younger redhead had become his go-to call whenever Ian was having a bad day. Debbie knew exactly what to say to Ian (and Mickey) to make things a little better.
The other Gallaghers were complete mysteries. He’d heard all about Fiona and her mothering tendencies, he’d heard the horror stories about Carl and his experiments, he was as confused as anyone when it came to Liam being black. Other than that, he really knew nothing nor did he care to know. The only Gallagher that Mickey really had an opinion on (besides Debbie) was Lip.
Lip Gallagher could rot in hell as far as Mickey was concerned. In the last year and a half, Ian had heard from his brother a grand total of four times, each time ending badly. Ian acted like it didn’t matter, but Mickey saw right through his bullshit. What a great “best friend” Lip was.
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On the morning of Ian’s birthday, Mickey woke him up with a blowjob. Mickey worked his boyfriend’s dick with a slow and lazy purpose, willing to stay in bed and just do this all day. The birthday boy’s fingers soon found themselves latched into Mickey’s dark hair and lightly pulling, trying to get him to speed up his work. Mickey did as he was instructed and continued to swallow Ian down as far as he could, humming Happy Birthday around his cock. He felt Ian shake with laughter above him then heard him gasp and the grip on his hair get tighter. He took that as the signal that Ian was close and with one last expert suck, Ian was gone.
Mickey pulled his mouth off with an obscene pop and slowly moved up Ian’s body to rest on his chest.
“Happy Birthday.”
Ian returned Mickey’s lazy smile with a luminous one of his own. “Was that my present?"
“I’m just getting started.”
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The plan was for Mickey and Mandy to bring Ian to a restaurant where the Gallaghers would be waiting. Going out to eat was a luxury for them. Thankfully, Fiona’s sugar daddy was once again paying.
Ian was on cloud nine and obliviously happy as the hostess ushered them towards the back room until suddenly pandemonium broke out. From every direction, there were Gallaghers rushing forward to hug Ian. Mickey watched from the sidelines as a shocked Ian stood still for a second before a huge grin broke out on his face and he returned the exuberant hugs.
Mickey was suddenly yanked into the celebrations by Ian, who was proudly showing him off to his family. Mickey wilted under the scrutiny until Debbie plowed forward and pulled him into an embrace.
“Mickey! It’s so nice to finally meet you in person.”
After that, things got a tad easier. Fiona thanked him for taking care of her little brother, Carl obsessed over his tattoos and juvie record, Liam called him Mickey Mouse, Mandy and Debbie became fast friends. It was all good and well until he felt Ian stiffen next to him.
“Sorry, that took longer than I expected.”
Mickey had seen enough pictures of Lip to know that he was looking at the oldest Gallagher brother. He quickly and discretely reached down and gave Ian’s knee a squeeze. The redhead smiled back at him reassuringly before standing up to greet his brother.
“Lip. You’re here.” Ian sounded stiff and it only made Mickey want to punch Lip harder.
“Yeah, man. I had to finish some homework up for school, but I couldn’t just pass up a free trip to California.” Lip tried.
The tension in the room was thick. Mickey turned to glare at Fiona, noting her guilty face. She’d said nothing about Lip coming and if he had known, he would have shot that down real quick.
Lip must have noticed the tension too. “Ian, you want to go outside for a second? Have a quick chat.”
“Maybe later.” Ian said indifferently as he sat back down in this seat. Mickey, who was unable to play it as cool as his boyfriend, smiled smugly at Lip’s taken aback face and reached down proudly to give Ian’s knee another squeeze.
------------
Things were calm from there… until they weren’t.
------------
“Mickey Milkovich, the reason my brother has stayed in California away from his family.” Lip drawled as he made his way over to Mickey later in the evening.
“Says one of the reasons he left Chicago in the first place.” Mickey shot back before taking a sip of his beer and staring at Lip unblinkingly.
“You don’t know me, asshole.”
“I know enough.” Mickey said simply, trying to control his temper.
Lip ignored him. “You don’t know my brother either. This whole thing is stupid.”
Mickey was officially pissed but before he could lay into Lip, Ian was by his side. “God damnit Lip, we’ve talked about all of this before. If you have such a problem with it, then why did you even come?”
“Forgive me for wanting to wanting to see my little brother?”
“You’ve barely talked to me since I’ve moved and now all of a sudden you want to see me?” Ian ran a hand through his hair. “As much as you like to think I am, I’m not stupid, Lip. You are only here to size up my life and my relationship with Mickey.”
Lip glared angrily at his little brother. “Ian, this isn’t healthy. You run away from your family, you meet some guy on the bus ride out here, you move in with him immediately and you just expect me to be happy with all of that? You should be doing so much more with your life than shacking up with some lowlife.”
Lip was cut off by a seething Ian.“He’s not a lowlife and even if he was, what would that make you and me? We are all from the same neighborhood, you elitist asshole.”
Mickey knew by this point that he should cut in. He grabbed a hold of Ian’s arm and gave it a squeeze. “Ian, it’s alright. We’re cool.”
Ian looked him in the eye and forced himself to relaxed. “Okay.” Ian turned back to his brother. “I’m happy, Lip. I’m so fucking happy and that should be all that matters to you. Stop taking whatever problems you have with your own life out on me.” He then grabbed a hold of Mickey’s hand and pulled him back to the festivities and to the Gallaghers Mickey didn’t want to kill.
------------
“You planned me a surprise party.” Ian said later that night as he fucked Mickey slowly into their mattress.
Mickey was unable to do anything but loudly moan in return as Ian ran his hands all over his body and licked into his mouth.
“You planned me a surprise party and that is the sexiest fucking thing ever.” Ian panted and emphasized his point with deeper and harder thrusts into his boyfriend.
Mickey’s vision cut out for a second and then he saw stars. He soon gathered enough sense to arch his hips upward, meeting Ian thrust for thrust and causing both of them to groan at the feeling.
It didn’t take long for Ian to fall apart over him, eyes closed and head thrown back. The sight alone (plus Ian’s skilled hand around him) caused Mickey to follow quickly. Ian collapsed on top of him and stayed there, not pulling out and resting his head in the crook of Mickey’s neck.
Mickey relished in the feeling.
For a few minutes, the only sound in the room was their heavy breathing until Mickey heard Ian say something against him.
“What’s that, mumbles?”
Ian lifted his head, cleared his throat, and looked deeply into Mickey’s eyes. “Thank you.”
Mickey looked away from Ian. “I answered a phone call, man. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Ian rolled off and away but dragged Mickey with him, effectively switching their positions. “You planned something with my sister, you picked out the restaurant, you kept it all a secret, you put up with my siblings.” Ian paused his list to pet a hand through Mickey’s hair. “That’s just what you did today.”
Mickey ignored the praise. “Don’t get used to it. This shit was exhausting.”
“I’m sorry about Lip.” Ian whispered.
“Don’t apologize for that asshole.” Mickey paused before deeply sighing. “He cares about you, Ian. He just has a shitty way of showing it.”
Ian reared back in playful shock. “Who are you and what have you done with Mickey Milkovich?”
“I’m trying to be serious here.” Mickey snapped.
Ian stayed quiet for a second as he started to run his fingers up and down Mickey’s spine. “I know, you’re right. It’s just easier to stay mad at him for now. We’ll be fine again someday.”
“You okay with that?” Mickey mumbled into Ian’s chest.
“I’m perfectly fine with everything and where I’m at right now, Mick.” Ian hauled Mickey up until their faces were lined up. “You make me so happy.” He emphasized every word with a kiss.
Mickey pulled away with a grin. “You’re such a fucking sap.” He looked down at his boyfriend as he ran his hand down the side of Ian’s face. “Happy birthday, loser.”
Sometimes Ian wanted romance. Tonight was one of those time. He had decided earlier that day that he wanted to something nice for Mickey. The brunette had been putting in long hours at construction sites lately and it was starting to take a toll on him.
So Ian took advantage of his day off and decided he was going to make Mickey dinner. He googled recipes; he went to the grocery store and spent more than necessary; he even bought some damn candles.
He was halfway through peeling the potatoes when he got a call. Assuming it was his boyfriend, Ian grinned as he answered the phone.
“Hey. Are you on your way home? I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“Is this Ian Gallagher?” A strange voice asked. Ian froze in place and felt his blood run cold.
“Who is this?” he asked, his voice wavering. He had a bad feeling.
“Mr. Gallagher, my name is Nurse Reynolds. There was an incident involving Mickey-”
“What the hell do you mean incident? Is he okay? What happened? Where the fuck is he?” Ian barked out question after question as he regained movement and ran around the kitchen to turn off the oven and stove.
“He will most likely be fine. He fell off a scaffolding and they have him in surgery.” Nurse Reynolds told him, trying to be soothing but failing.
Mickey had fallen off a scaffolding. Mickey had fallen off a scaffolding . Mickey had fallen off a scaffolding. Ian scrambled to find his keys and make his way out the door. “What do you mean most likely? What fucking hospital is he at?”
“Sharp Memorial.”
------------
Ian felt like he was going to throw up as he rushed into the surgical ward and flung himself against the front desk.
“Milkovich. Mickey Milkovich.” He panted while trying to regain control of his voice and his senses.
“Are you family, sir?” The nurse asked, barely looking up at him from her computer.
“Of course I’m his fucking family.”
“May I ask how? We are only allowed to tell family or his foreman about Mr. Milkovich’s current condition.”
“He’s my goddamn boyfriend, now tell me where he is.” Ian barked, ready to lean over the desk and find out this information by himself. “Look mam, I work at this hospital. Just tell me where I can find him.”
The nurse raised an eyebrow at him before turning to punch something into the computer.
“Third floor.”
That was all Ian needed to hear before he raced off towards the elevator. When he finally reached the correct floor, he was inundated with construction workers.
“Mickey!” Jesse, one of Mickey’s coworkers, cried as he made his way over to Ian. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you myself. I had to fill out some paperwork as a witness.”
“What the fuck happened?” Ian attempted to say in a steady voice. These people did not need to know just how terrified he was.
“We were just doing some work and then all of a sudden the thing started to buckle. I was able to get off in time, but Mickey just went down.” He put his hand on Ian’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “He’s probably going to be fine.”
Ian shrugged the hand off of him and started to pace, ignoring everyone else in the room. There were guys everywhere and the mood was somber.
These people didn’t really know Mickey though. To them, construction worker Mickey Milkovich was in surgery and they would probably lose a good worker for a while.
To Ian, Mickey, his Mickey, was in surgery and his whole world was upside down.
“Ian, why don’t you sit down?” Jesse suggested.
“Fuck off.”
With that, Ian continued to pace.
------------
“Milkovich?”
Ian rushed over to the doctor, not caring if he looked desperate.
“Me. That’s me.”
“You must be Ian.” The doctor gave him a small smile which was the first thing in hours that made Ian feel a tad better. “Mickey’s fine and in recovery. We checked for internal bleeding but found none. The main issues were his arm and leg, which were both broken. We had to place pins in his leg and arm. He will most likely make a full recovery after some physical therapy. He also has a slight concussion, but we are monitoring that as well.” She paused and smiled again. “He’s a little out of it now, but you are welcome to come back and see him.”
Ian didn’t have to be told twice.
------------
Ian did not rush to Mickey’s side the moment he saw him. Instead, he took a moment and just stared at him from the door. Mickey was laying in bed, dressed in a blue gown and his leg and arm propped up in slings and his face was covered in scrapes and bruises.
He grabbed a chair and dragged it close to Mickey’s side, running his hand through Mickey’s hair and down his face.
Of course Mickey would open his eyes the moment Ian has tears in his.
“Ian...” Mickey rasped out. “Are you really crying?”
Ian let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob before coughing to try and regain some composure. “Fuck you.”
“I just got hurt, Gallagher. You are supposed to be nice to me.” Mickey mumbled, his voice still dry.
Ian grabbed Mickey a glass of water and helped him drink it. “I can’t believe you actually fell off a scaffolding, asshole.”
“I didn’t fall, it buckled. It’s not like I did it on purpose.”
“I don’t know, Mick. You have been saying that you could use a vacation.”
Mickey let out a soft laugh. “I think there are easier ways to go about that.” He brought his hand up to tangle his fingers together with Ian’s. “I’m sorry.”
“What the fuck are you apologizing for?”
“Scaring you.”
“Damn you must be on some good drugs.” Ian paused. “I wasn’t scared.” He had been more than that, but Mickey didn’t need to know.
Mickey smirked at him like he knew the truth anyway.
Ian leaned forward to softly kiss the injured man.
“I love you.” He whispered against Mickey’s lips. They didn’t say the words often, but he figured now was as good of time as any.
“Love you too.” Mickey mumbled back before that damn smirk made its way back on to his face. “You going to take good care of me, nurse Ian? Going to check my vitals in that sexy ass uniform of yours?”
Mickey’s favorite type of days were the ones where he knew he didn’t have anything planned. The days where he didn’t have to listen to the sounds of cranes or dump trucks; the days where he didn’t have to lift a hammer or mix concrete; the days where he was able to lay in bed as long as he wanted and do whatever the hell he wanted.
When these special days coincided with Ian’s day off, everything was just one hundred times better.
------------
It was a Sunday morning when Mickey woke up to the feeling of an empty spot in bed next to him. He sat up sleepily and listened carefully, hoping to place his boyfriend’s current location in their apartment and succeeding when he heard pans clanging from the kitchen. Mickey stumbled out of their bedroom, following the noise, and was met by the sight of Ian standing at the stove, flipping pancakes and singing.
The redhead spotted him over his shoulder and beamed at his sleepy partner. “Good morning! I thought I’d make us a grand breakfast. I’m talking the works. Bacon, eggs, pancakes. If you had stayed in bed a little longer, I probably would have brought it to you.”
Mickey shuffled out of the doorway and made his way over to Ian, wrapping his arms around his waist and snuggling into the taller man’s back.
He felt Ian lean back into him and chuckle. “Someone is cuddly this morning.”
“Someone is fucking chipper this morning.” Mickey murmured into the fabric of Ian’s shirt.
Ian gently extracted himself from Mickey’s arms and nudged him towards the kitchen table. “Go sit.”
“You going to tell me what’s got you in such a good mood?”
“I was cleaning this morning-” Ian started to say as he arranged their meal on plates.
Mickey grunted. “Of course you were.”
Ian ignored him and brought the food over to the table. “I was cleaning this morning and I found something exciting stashed away in a drawer.”
“What?” Mickey asked, already stuffing bacon into his mouth.
“Guess.”
It was too early for this shit. “Ian.”
His boyfriend huffed at him. “Fine. Be boring.” Ian pulled something off the counter and passed it across the table to Mickey.
He picked it up and stared at it, laughing. “This is your bus ticket from the Greyhound. Why the hell do you still have this?”
“Notice anything special about the date?”
Mickey looked at the top left corner. “It’s today’s date.”
“I know.” Ian rolled his eyes when he noticed Mickey obviously not catching on to the exciting development. “Mickey, it’s our anniversary!
Oh. Everything finally clicked for Mickey. “Oh… wow.” He said in wonder.
“I know.” Ian replied, taking on the same tone as his partner. “Our three year anniversary… can you believe it?”
Mickey’s eyes were still glued to the ticket. “Wow.”
“I mean I know how long we’ve been together but to sit here and actually think about it.”
“Yeah.” Mickey said, staring at the ticket for a tad longer before putting it down and looking up at Ian. “Happy anniversary, I guess.” He added a little sheepishly.
Ian’s eyes sparkled as he reached over and grabbed Mickey’s hand, returning the sentiment. “We should do something special today.”
“Nah, I’m good to just hang out around here.”
“Really? You just want to hang around here all day?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure we can figure out some stuff for us to do.” Mickey wiggled his eyebrows at his boyfriend. “We have to consummate the day anyway. We are a little late.”
Ian threw his head back in laughter. “It’s very likely we’ve fucked on this day before. We practically have sex every day.”
“Good point.” Mickey conceded. “Let’s just stay in all day. Finish breakfast, fuck, shower, fuck, relax in bed, fuck, eat some lunch, fuck, play video games, fuck, I’ll make us a special dinner if you want, and then we can fuck again… and again. That sounds like the best fucking anniversary if you ask me.”
“So I gather you want to fuck around with me today?” Ian sassed as he got out of his seat and made his way over to Mickey, tipping the smaller man’s head back so he would look up at him. He leaned down and planted a soft, sweet kiss on Mickey, who immediately reciprocated.
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” Ian ask softly, staring down at Mickey tenderly.
Mickey looked up into Ian’s large green eyes with the same tender look and grinned.
“Yeah, man. I’ve got all I need right here.”
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Forever to go.