From: gallavicher To: follevolo Prompt: Ian comes home (Gallagher’s house) after staying in the psychiatric ward. Rating: Teen Audiences and Up Warnings: This is basic stuff, a bit of language, but nothing too out there Note from the gifter: I know this does not have a lot of Gallagher/Mickey interaction, but I hope you like it anyway. Happy Gift Exchhange! :)
You can also read it on AO3
Welcoming Ian
It was November the 15th when Ian Gallagher was released from the hospital. He knew the date so well, because he had been counting down the days. Mostly it was because of the anticipation, he couldn`t wait to get out of there, to see his family again in a room that is not a visitor room and filled with a lot of different people. But he also felt strange, uncertain and anxious about leaving, because in ward it was safe, in there he couldn`t leave Yev alone, couldn`t yell at Carl for no apparent reason, and lastly, couldn`t cheat on Mickey. He had worked hard on himself, expressed his thoughts to his therapist, and hoped he would be able to live up to his expectations.
He didn`t know who was gonna pick him up. On his last phone call to Fiona she had just said, “We got it all planned out, don`t worry about it.” He had hoped that Mickey would be the one to pick him up, but if Fi had planned it he was pretty sure Mickey was not gonna be a part of it. So when Ian left the hospital and looked around for Fiona or Lip he was more than surprised when a car honked in front of him and Mickey looked out the driver’s window, “Need a ride, hot stuff?” he asked grinning. Ian looked at him in disbelief, “Where is Fiona? Or Lip?” Mickey raised his eyebrows, “Now you`re just hurting my feelings, Gallagher, hop in.” Ian threw his bag in the back and got in the passenger seat. Mickey looked at him and did his half smile and Ian just melted and smiled at him, the biggest fucking smile he had in a very long time. Mickey leaned over and kissed him softly, Ian leaned in and wanted to deepen it but Mickey pulled back. “Later,” he said “Fiona is gonna have my balls if I don`t bring you home right away.” Ian laughed, and spoke in an obviously sarcastic manner, “Glad to see, that you stopped having your life controlled by women.” “Fuck off,” Mickey said “It`s easier to do what she says than to argue.” Ian spent the whole ride looking at Mickey. He knew it annoyed him, because he kept raising his eyebrows and mumbled something about being able to concentrate, but he couldn`t help it. He was just one walking miracle. And maybe he was being sappy and romantic and nostalgic, but fuck, he had almost spent a year in a psychiatric ward after cheating on his thug, after fighting with him and accusing him of stuff, after putting his son in danger, yet miraculously he was still here, right by his side, driving him home. Mickey came to a halt in front of the Gallagher house and turned to Ian. “Okay, I'm supposed to keep you in the car for a few minutes while I run in and tell them you`re coming so they can light the fucking candles on your cake. But honestly I can`t be bothered. So just come on in in about five minutes, ok?” Ian`s face lit up like a fucking Christmas tree, “Alright.” Ian watched Mickey go inside the Gallagher house, the house that had been his home for as long as he could remember. Suddenly he felt anxious, felt like all the people behind that door expected so much out of him and he wasn`t sure if he could deliver, wasn`t sure if his meds would work out, if he would actually get better. He didn`t wanna disappoint them. But he had talked about this, he remembered, about adjusting to life outside and to the pressure other people would put on him, even unintentional. He remembered that he loved every single person in that house and that they had his back, no matter what. He figured it must have been about five minutes now and slowly walked up the stairs. He grabbed the handle, breathed in and out and then stepped in. He was immediately welcomed by screams and a rush of people towards him. Debbie was the first to reach him and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight and burying her face in his chest. He hugged her back with one arm and with the other he tousled Liam`s hair. “Alright, alright, let him breathe,” he heard Fiona. Debbie let go of him and Carl was next, grinning up at him, mumbling something like, “About damn time,” and hugging him shortly. Fiona hugged him briefly but very tightly and Lip looked at him, probably trying to figure out how he was, but then hugged him as well. “Kev and V are coming over later.” Fiona pronounced, “They need to put the twins down first.” The next couple hours went by in a blur, there was cake and a lot of other food, Ian didn`t dare ask how they could afford that. After an hour a strange guy joined them and introduced himself as Fiona´s boyfriend. Ian eyed him suspiciously, but Fiona`s eyes lit up when he entered and he figured that was a good sign. Kev and V came by and brought some liquor which Ian refused, but the others enjoyed. Every single person had asked him at least two times if he was doing okay, if he needed anything and he answered politely but now he was glad to have some quiet. Now Ian was sitting on the couch, Liam asleep beside him, and he looked around the room. Lip and Debbie were in the kitchen, he could hear them chatting about something, Fiona and her boyfriend were sitting on the bench in front of the piano and laughing about something, V and Carl played some card game right in front of him on the living room table. And then there was Mickey, leaning against the wall between kitchen and living room and talking to Kev, they both looked relaxed, looked like they actually became friends and Ian felt his chest ache. This was almost too much emotion to handle. All these people had stuck their neck out for him one way or another and he could feel them being different around him. He couldn`t blame them really, he knew he had done and said some messed up stuff to all of them over the time of his manic phases. He wanted to make it up to them but at the same time he already hated the feeling of being treated like a patient first and a family member second. He got up from the couch and moved over to Kev and Mickey. “Hey man,” Kev declared and shot him a smile. “You alright?” Ian grinned, expressing himself, “Yeah, I would be even more alright if people stopped asking me if I was alright.” Kev laughed, “Fair enough.” Ian looked at Mickey and Mickey looked right back, they stared at each other for a second and Kev laughed again. “Alright, I get it, I`m going,” and with that he moved over to V and Carl. Ian nodded towards the backdoor and Mickey moved right away. They passed the kitchen and Lip looked up, but to Ian`s surprise he didn`t look at him but at Mickey, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Mickey scoffed at him, but nodded back nevertheless. They sat down on the stairs and Ian looked at him. “So, you became friends with my family?” Mickey just shrugged. “Got some shit in common.” They fell silent for a moment and then Ian spoke up again. “Kinda weird seeing you all not staring each other down or throwing snarky comments at each other.” Mickey grinned, “Hey, if you want, I can go in and insult Lip right now, no problem.” Ian shook his head, “Maybe later.” There was another thing on his mind, but he didn`t quite know how to bring it up yet. They hadn`t really talked about Yev when Mickey had visited him. He had asked him once if he was alright and Mickey had just nodded and didn't say much more. Ian had figured he was still mad. But now he kind of needed to know. “So…” he started, stretching it out. “Yev with Svetlana for tonight?” Mickey`s head shot up and he looked at him. Ian could see a full stretch of emotions running over Mickey`s face, from surprise to hurt to softness, before he answered. “Yes,” he paused, “but we have Yev duty tomorrow…you and me…” he added to make it clear and Ian felt immensely lighthearted, and a smile crept up his features. “That sounds fucking awesome.” Mickey smirked, “If you say so…he`s quite a handful.” Mickey pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and took a drag. But then he seemed to remember something and stomped it out. “Oh, fuck, sorry.” Ian glared at him, “Did you just fucking apologize for smoking? I quit like almost two years ago, I think I can handle it.” Mickey scoffed, then shrugged and Ian shook his head. “Listen,” he mumbled, “I got a lot of people in there who will probably treat me like I am gonna break down any second, like I need extra special care. And as much as I understand it, it`s fucking terrifying. So please don`t be one of them.” Mickey scoffed again, grumbled something and then after a few moments of silence he lit up another cigarette. Ian beamed at the gesture and leaned over to kiss him. It was intended to be short, but somehow it deepened and he felt Mickey`s hand in his hair and he reached up to pull him closer and after quite a while they broke apart and Mickey grinned at him, “Welcome home, Ian.”
