great news, briloved! totally using this as an excuse to write gallavich and andriel. 5. bar/restaurant au + 30. holiday fic, except i don't try very hard to make it fit the prompt or canon bc i'm me and this is my party. also p.s., as promised, this was written on my phone. directly under the ask. in a parking lot. it's not getting edited. it's also why i had to post this as a screenshot, bc i accidentally posted before it was finished and had to delete it so you couldn't see (;
outline:
• after graduation, dan gets a job coaching in chicago, so all the foxes are visiting her for the holidays
• neil drags andrew to the alibi this rundown bar he found bc he can't imagine kevin day, queen of exy, being caught dead there, and he needs a break
• mickey and ian come in to celebrate their engagement, which happens in november in this au bc i say so
• ig set the year after dan graduates for aftg, and obviously s10 for shameless, no i will not be taking questions
send me two prompts and a ship // read on ao3 // read on tumblr
"Why?" Andrew asks, peering up at the sign hanging over the rundown bar. The Alibi Room.
"Because I wanna get away from Kevin for a bit." Neil answers.
Andrew slides his gaze to Neil, his expression blank. He looks back up at the sign. "You're the one that wanted to come to this little family reunion. Why are you and Her Royal Highness fighting now?"
"We're not fighting." They are, but Neil didn't want to get away from Kevin just to have to talk about him. Neil is sure Andrew hears that statement for what it really means, so he's grateful when Andrew let's the subject drop and reaches for the door handle. They'll likely have to talk about it later, but for now, Neil follows Andrew into the warmth of the bar.
The inside of the bar is just as, if not more, rundown than the outside, with greenish-yellow lighting and decor that, aside from the flat screen television mounted on the far wall, probably hadn't been updated since the early 1980s. It has enough customers scattered around at tables and the bar that the chatter would drown them out if they want to talk in relative privacy, but not so many that it's overwhelming.
At the end of the bar closest to the door and furthest from other customers, Neil orders whiskey for the two of them and watches in silence while the unusually friendly bartender tries to make conversation with Andrew. "I've seen some of you guys' games on TV, but you know, I just don't get the sport," He said as he poured the first drink and places it in front of Neil. "I mean, not that you guys aren't totally impressive and all, but I don't get what the point is. I owe a gym, you know? If you guys are ever looking for a place to work out in Chicago."
Andrew gives the bartender an unimpressed look the entire time he's talking. Once he receives his own drink, he turns away from the bartender entirely, bored gaze focusing on the baseball game playing on the television for a few moments. Neil opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off before he gets the chance. "I'll throttle you if you make a comment about wanting to watch Exy right now." Neil closes his mouth and bites back an amused smile as Andrew turns forward on his bar stool again, choosing to stare at the wall behind the bar instead.
The baseball game isn't Exy, so Neil doesn't really care, but it is mildly more entertaining than staring at the wall, so Neil returns his attention to it before too long. He's finished his drink and ordered another by the time noise erupts from the doorway. Beside him, Andrew tenses, but doesn't make to leave. Neil sees Andrew watching him in his peripheral vision, so he turns to see what the commotion is about.
A rowdy group of people that's nearly as large as the Foxes were Neil's freshman year filters through the door. One of them, a sparkly eyed brunette who can't be much younger than Neil breaks away from the helm of the group to pound his hands on the table closest to the door. "Ladies and gentlemen," He announces once most of the customers have turned their attention towards him. He takes a step back from the table, giving a sweeping gesture towards two men still standing near the entrance, wrapped up around each other. "May I present the future Mr. and Mr. Gallagher-Milkovich?"
----
The taller Future Mr. Gallagher-Milkovich - Neil thinks he heard someone call him Ian, but he's not one hundred percent sure - is probably the biggest lightweight Neil has ever seen, even after two and a half years of college. He's had one beer and Neil isn't even sure if he finished it, but he's up, stumbling around the bar with his betrothed. They must be regulars here, since the other customers got up to help the giant wedding party in moving tables off to the sides of the bar to create space for a dance floor. Neil is also pretty sure that the person who offered up their smartphone to play slow songs over wasn't someone who came in with them.
When the song ends, another one that Neil doesn't recognize starts, but the grooms break up from each other. The dark haired one goes to retrieve his own beer from where he left it on the table, and Ian makes his way to the bar alone.
There's a shot and a glass of some clear liquid waiting for him when he arrives. Neil didn't see the bartender make the drink, but he hopes it's water. Even the shot seems ill advised. He leans over, grabbing the bartender by the arm and tugging him into an uncomfortable looking hug.
"Thanks, Kev. For... like. Everything." Ian whispers, except he's drunk and it's not that quiet, since Neil can still hear him over all the other noise in the bar. The bartender, Kev apparently, pats his back and grins when they pull apart. "Of course, man. You guys are family."
He reminds me of Nicky, Neil thinks, watching Ian hold Kev hostage in an across the bar hug. He decides it best not to mention that to Andrew, who still hasn't made to leave, but has been getting steadily more tense the more strangers that filter into the bar.
He thinks it's strange, given Andrew seems to have no problem with all of the unfamiliar people that swarm around at Eden's Twilight. He's ready to chalk it up to the fact they're away from home, but he's startled out of his thoughts when Ian turns away from the bar. His arm catches on the drink he'd been ignoring, and he turns just quickly enough that it sends the drink sliding off the bar and into Andrew's lap.
Ian looks entirely surprised, like the glass had materialized out of nowhere, but after a second for the shock to wear off, he's quickly pulling napkins from a dispenser and stepping closer. Neil is about to warn him off, but Andrew hisses, "Don't." It's only when Ian stops, handfuls of napkins inches away from Andrew's wet lap, that Neil realizes he was talking to Ian, not Neil.
"Are you okay?" Ian asks, taking a step back and setting the napkins on the bar in front of them instead. He moves slowly, and Neil can't tell if it's because he's trying to keep himself steady or if it's because of whatever he sees on Andrew's face that he feels he needs to fear.
"I'm not the one marrying a cartoon mouse." Andrew deadpans. Once Ian has backed off a few steps, Andrew grabs the napkins he was offered and starts using them to try to wring some of the water out of his soaked t-shirt. Neil isn't sure it's going to do him much good.
Neil is right, it doesn't do much good, as after a minute, Andrew gives up. He finishes the remainder of his whiskey and drops the wad of wet napkins into the empty glass on the bar. Then he turns to Neil and says, "Give me your jacket. We're leaving."
Neil offers up his jacket without another word and watches as Andrew breezes out of the bar. He starts digging in his jeans pockets in search of his wallet so he can pay for their drinks, but is interrupted by Ian, who is still lingering by the bar.
"No, no! Wait, let me.. Let me pay for them. 'M sorry I ruined your date."
Hearing his scheme to avoid Kevin with Andrew referred to as a date makes Neil hide a grin, a private joke with himself, though he's sure he'll share it with Andrew later. He won't say no to free drinks, though. "Okay. Sorry for crashing your engagement party."
Mickey, who Neil gathers is Ian's fiance and not a cartoon mouse (though he's about as big as one), approaches to wrap himself around Ian's side. Ian rests his cheek against the top of his head and grins like the happiest person in the world.
Ian waves when Neil turns to leave, and Neil idly waves back before opening the door. He exits the bar into a cloud of Andrew's cigarette smoke and walks past without stopping. When he feels Andrew fall into step beside him, he thinks he may be willing to go back and fight Ian for that happiest person title.
black, green, blue, periwinkle, mauve, vermilion, lavender, umber😌, forget-me-not (no one in particular, but just like best friend energy -- i feel like we could comfortably hang out), razzmatazz (i accidentally typed razzmat-ass at first and honestly i should have kept it), saffron, timberwolf <3, tangerine, chartreuse, burgundy.
i'm trying to be picky and not just list Every Single (positive) color bc, as my bio says, i AM a benja lovebot and i WILL profess my love from the rooftop (*cut to the scene from aftg w andrew and neil hanging out on the rooftop* 😙)
🌈🌈🌈
"*cut to the scene from aftg*" bri you're so. Can We Kiss? i love you so much omg. i also struggled not sending you every positive color. biconic of us.
