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“I don’t get it,” Ian says one morning, speaking over the sizzle of bacon in the direction of his older brother. Lip looks up from his computer in confusion, raising an eyebrow and waiting for him to continue. “You and Mickey, I mean.”
“What about us?” Lip asks, taking a sip from his coffee.
“Mickey is still in the closet and all,” Ian points out, lips quirked up a bit. “Doesn’t that bother you?”
Lip pauses in his typing, now giving his brother his full attention. “Why would that bother me?”
Ian shrugs, moving around the kitchen. “Well, you know, you can’t act like a couple in public. Go out on dates or punch someone for flirting with him.” Lip snorts at that, knowing how many times he’s wanted to grab Mickey and show whatever chick was flirting with him that he’s taken. “Doesn’t it get too much?”
“No, not really,” Lip answers honestly, leaning back in his chair. “We keep our couple shit private anyway. Even if he was out, he’s not very expressive around people, you know? It wouldn’t change anything.”
Ian hums, nodding. “I see. But wouldn’t you prefer if he was out?”
Lip frowns, thinking back to a conversation he once had with Mickey at the beginning of their relationship.
”Is there a reason I’m never allowed over to your place?” Lip asked, legs dangling over the edge of the roof and looking out over the city, tilting his head back and downing a quarter of his beer. Mickey doesn’t answer for a moment, taking a long drag from his cigarette with a heavy sigh.
“My dad’s kind of a prick,” he answered, handing the cigarette to Lip.
“I knew that much,” Lip chuckled, blowing smoke into the wind. “He homophobic or something?” Mickey doesn’t answer, staring down at the ground stories down, legs swaying gently. Lip made an “oh” sound, following his gaze. A couple down below are walking together, hand in hand and laughing lightly. “Does he know?”
“Fuck no,” Mickey breathed out, shaking his head. “If he did, I’d be dead. Literally. He would rather have his kid be dead instead of a faggot.”
Lip reached out and took his hand gently, feeling Mickey jerk and almost yank his hand away. Mickey looked down at their hands, watching Lip trace his thumb over his tattoos. “Is that why you’re not out?”
Mickey scoffed, looking at him with a pained smile. “That, and the Southside is a shit place to be gay. My dad just… fuck, I don’t know. He took me and Iggy out a lot with my cousins to find and beat up faggots a lot when I was younger.”
“Christ,” Lip sighed, stubbing out their cigarette and wrapping his arm around Mickey’s shoulders, ignoring his glare. “Don’t give me that look and listen to me.” Mickey huffed and gestured for him to continue, sitting stiffly against his side. “You can come over to my place as many times as you need, you hear? We can keep our relationship there, nowhere else, until you’re ready, okay?”
Mickey shifted, staring down into the alleyway below them again. “You’ll wait?”
“Technically, I only ever came out to my family that I swing both ways,” Lip hummed, squeezing his arm around his shoulders. “It’s no one else’s business who I fuck or date, and it’s no one business who you fuck or possibly date.” He grinned when Mickey’s lips quirked up, leaning down and kissing his cheek. “We’ll be safe and keep everything at my place. Terry won’t ever find out, okay?”
Mickey nodded slowly, glancing at him with a relieved smile. “Yeah… okay.” He shifted again then hesitantly leaned his head against Lip’s shoulder, the tension slowly leaving his body. Lip smiled, pressed his lips to Mickey’s head, and enjoyed the cool summer wind stories up where no one could see them.
Lip sighs, shaking his head. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Why?” Ian asks, looking at him curiously.
“Family drama,” Lip shrugs, getting to his feet and closing his computer. “I gotta go pick him up now.”
“You guys coming back for lunch?” Ian hums, setting the hot pan in the sink.
“Most likely,” Lip smiles, grabbing his jacket and keys. “I’ll call you if we change plans.”
“Alright, be safe,” Ian calls after him.
Lip takes the family car to the Milkovich house, texting Mickey to come on out as soon as he parks on the edge of the road. It takes a couple of minutes before the short Milkovich emerges from the house, quickly moving from his front door to Lip’s car.
“Terry home?” Lip asks, looking around at the other houses.
“No,” Mickey answers. Lip nods and leans over to him, connecting their lips in a quick but heated kiss, biting his bottom lip and tugging as he pulls away. Mickey huffs softly against his lips, grinning a bit. “Fucking tease.”
“I try,” Lip grins, pecking his lips one last time before sitting back down, shifting out of park and heading down the road as Mickey buckles up. “So Fi is making lunch for everyone today around noon.”
“That gives up an hour to fuck,” Mickey says with a smirk, winking at Lip when he looks at him.
Lip smirks back, reaching over and squeezing his thigh. “My room or back of the car?”
Mickey hums in thought, glancing over his shoulder at the back seat. “Been a while since we damaged the seats.”
Lip chuckles, turning the corner in the opposite direction of his house. “Back of the car it is.”