Chapter Text
Ian heard the heavy footsteps before he heard the loud slam of the front door. Mickey was upset, Ian inferred, and thought it best to stay on the couch where he sat, the cover tangled in his legs.
“There’s some hot chocolate in the microwave.” Ian was quiet in his words, almost soothing.
Mickey sat his mug directly next to Ian’s before falling back on the couch right next to him.
“I’m guessin’ you had a bad day.” The only acknowledgment he got was a subtle raise of his eyebrows. “Wanna talk about it?” With that he got an even less subtle middle finger. “Ok, then.”
It’s been ten years. Ian knew how to work a pissed off Mickey. He knew to just sit back and wait for the older man to want to blurt out how he felt at the moment. Sometimes it would be a few minutes; sometimes it would be a few hours. It’d never gotten to a few days, thank God. Ian doesn’t think the curiosity would be restrained for that long.
Luckily, his curiosity only had to wait for a few minutes. “Brennan came out today.”
Ian almost asked, “Came out of what?” before he caught himself. It seriously wasn’t something he heard every day, of people “coming out”. And, the news wasn’t really that surprising. “Brennan, like, the guy that hits on you sometimes?” Ian clarified.
Mickey nodded, not yet looking to Ian. Mickey worked with the city as a truck driver for the Chicago Water Department. It wasn’t a job that required much but being able to maneuver around the city in a massive vehicle, and it paid pretty well. He had a crew of guys that he drove around, and though Brennan wasn’t a part of his crew, he’d make it almost like a hobby to make sure that he hung with his crew. Ian was the one that suggested, playfully, that maybe Brennan liked him. It wasn’t until a week later of not thinking about it that it was confirmed. It may have been his slow reactive gaydar, or maybe it was that Brennan had tried a little bit more to flirt with him, but Mickey finally noticed it. And he didn’t do much about it, not wanting to draw attention that he knew and he didn’t want to think about maybe Brennan knowing and getting some ideas.
Ian stared at Mickey once it had gotten silent. Maybe he should have realized why it was so upsetting, but honestly, Ian couldn’t see it.
Mickey glanced over. “So now he knows that I know. Nothing can stop him now.”
“Except, he doesn’t know you are.”
“I know our gaydar may be slow, but I’ve met people with fast reflexes, and who the fuck knows? Maybe Brennan’s one of those people.”
Ian turned fully to Mickey now, taking in his stature and his profile. The reason he heard wasn’t exactly bad, but it seemed a little too trivial for Mickey. It couldn’t be enough to make Mickey so angry. He cocked an eyebrow when Mickey looked to him. “Seriously?”
Whether Mickey wanted to admit it or not, the question spinning in his head that frustrated Mickey to the point of anger had nothing to do about Brennan’s attraction to Mickey. He was more upset with the fact that he came out. And the way he did it. All the truck drivers had the end of the weekly meeting with their Supervisor, Hazel. They all sat around in her office, nearing the end of their meeting. That’s when he’d gotten up, told everyone he had something to say. There stood this statue of masculinity, telling the guys he’d been working with for about 6 months now that he felt he should just put it out there; that it wasn’t that big of a deal, and he didn’t want to say it at first because of first assumption judgment. “I’m gay.” Two words that should have changed everything, and the only thing it changed in that moment was the time. The half second it took to utter the two words; that’s all that changed.
“How did everyone react?” Ian asked when he saw something change in the other man’s face.
He’d hit the jackpot. “They were fuckin’ okay with it! No questions, no awkward silences, nothing! No jokes, no comebacks. They were all so cool with it.”
“Well, I mean the guys you work with are pretty cool.” Ian could only assume this from what Mickey’s told of them. He barely went to Mickey’s job, only once or twice to have lunch, but even then, the guys didn’t hang around much.
Mickey shrugged. “Well, I mean yeah, they are. But I just- how come he gets to just say it and not have people judge?”
“Woah, have you tried to?” If he had, this was news to Ian.
“Well, no.” There was an air of confusion. Even he was starting to wonder why he was so upset. Mickey took Ian’s silence as an opportunity to get comfortable, kicking his boots off and lifting himself so he could lay the covers on top of him. He laid back before letting his body slide until his head leaned against Ian’s shoulder. Mick sighed once Ian had lifted his arm and wrapped it around his body, pulling Mickey closer.
“Mick, you could do it if you wanted to. No one’s stopping you and it sounds like no one would care.”
But there was someone stopping him: himself. Yeah, things were different. They’d moved up north, Mickey had a legal job and he kept in touch with his siblings and Ian’s family and things seemed wonderful. But it was what he grew up with. And though he was able to admit to himself and Ian and the whole Gallagher clan and Mandy that he was, in fact, gay, there was still that thought in the back of his head that kept him from telling anyone else.
The circumstances were this. Ian’s family was cool with them. Mandy was cool with them. But as far as he knew, no one else was cool with him because no one else knew, and he never tried. It was almost a cycle of not telling and not letting anyone know.
Mickey shrugged. “You know I don’t have a good record when it comes with words.”
Ian chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true.”
They’d gone silent, watching some show that seemed too relatable for words.
But Mickey could stop thinking about how he hadn’t told Ian everything. Yes, Brennan came out and everyone accepted that, but there was more to it.
Before the whole not so big moment of coming out happened, Hazel had invited them to have a party at her house with her husband on Sunday. And, for lack of better words, Brennan had asked him out.
Brennan had run up to Mickey after everyone had swiped out. Mickey was only a few feet from his car when he turned to see him. “Hey, are you gonna go to Hazel’s party?”
Mickey shrugged. Sure, he worked with the guys, but he wasn’t necessarily that close with everyone. “Well, I mean, free food, right?” he answered. “And Hazel’s a pretty decent cook. I’ve been over a few times for her work gatherings.”
“How are they, the parties?”
Mickey smirked. “Nothin’ like the ones my siblings used to throw. There’d be a lot more music and a lot more dancin’…and a lot alcohol.” But he guessed the work parties came with the territory of growing up.
“Well, maybe you could make it more fun if you tried. I think we should go.”
Mickey snapped his eyes up to meet Brennan’s green ones. He wasn’t sure what expression he was making, but he could hear the voice in his head saying over and over again, Are you fucking serious?
The guy hadn’t come out 30 minutes ago and already he was asking him out? How fucking bold could two simple words make a person?
Well, he knew three words with a lot of impact.
“Well, I might go. I know whenever we have these things the other guys usually bring their ladies with ‘em…” he trailed off, not knowing exactly where he was going with that. “Maybe.”
“So, Hazel’s havin’ another party,” Mickey stated, not looking from the screen.
He felt Ian’s chest tremble as he laughed. “Have fun.”
“You wanna come?”
Mickey could feel the shoulder he was wrapped in shrug. “Sure. Why not.”
Mickey leaned up a bit to look at Ian straight. “No, Ian. Do you want to go with me?”
He saw the light reach Ian’s eyes. “You mean as your date? As your boyfriend?” Ian’s eyebrows shot up and his smile was wide, almost speechless. “Ok. Yeah. I would love to.”
He watched Mickey settle back into his side, reaching for his mug. He took a sip and groaned. “I should have told you it needed to be warmed up,” Ian mumbled with a smile as Mickey he got up to put the cold chocolate beverage in the microwave.