Accomodations
(for @mhunter10 who kept giving me suggestions on this series ...though im not sure she remembers)
Lip helps Ian out with building some renovations to make life easier for Mickey as his illness progresses. Mickey isn't too happy about that.
“What happened to only needing my help for an hour or two?” Lip asks jokingly.
“Sorry,” Ian says as he lays another plaster of wood by his brother. “Didn’t think it’d take so long to make a fuckin ramp.”
“I’m just surprised Mickey was fine with this. Seems a bit in denial…”
Ian gives a guilty expression.
“He knows you’re doing this right?”
Ian shrugs. “He’ll find out when he wakes up.”
“Jesus, Ian,” Lip laughs. “Make sure I’m not here when that happens huh?”
Ian rolls his eyes and hands Lip the hammer. He asked Lip for help accommodating the house to fit Mickey’s… needs. Though Mickey could get like fairly okay for the time being Ian didn’t see any harm in getting a head start. It’ll be easier to explain to Mickey when the house is finished.
“Looks like that’s not gonna happen though…” Lip mumbles.
Ian gives him a questioning look.
Lip gestures his head to behind Ian.
“Fuck is this?” Mickey groans, his voice groggy.
Ian closes his eyes. “Shit,” he says softly, only Lip being able to hear it and his brother looks away.
“Awkward…”
Ian turns and stands up. “Mickey! I uh… thought you were sleeping.”
“Yeah well clearly I’m not anymore.” Mickey says, grumpily, rubbing his eyes.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the couch,” Lip says.
Mickey looks at Lip with a hint of anger but also like he didn’t notice him until now. He looks at the work Ian and Lip are doing and his brows furrow.
“…What is this…?” He asks again, slowly, accusatory.
“It’s just…” Ian sighs, no way around it just tell him. “A ramp. For…well.”
“Ohh,” Mickey starts and Ian breathes a sigh of relief that he didn’t have to elaborate. Mickey got it.
“You and Philip here thinking of becoming professional skateboarders huh?” Mickey continued. Oh he got it alright and clearly he’s not happy.
Ian rubs his eye with his hand in frustration. “Mickey…”
He opens back his eyes to Mickey shaking his head. “You just can’t wait huh?”
“What?” Ian says, his face with slight disgust. He knows where this is going.
“Can’t wait for me to get sick enough so your fucking work can be put to use can you?”
Ian bites his lip and looks away from Mickey. “You know that’s not true.”
They hear someone clear their throat and look towards Lip.
“Look I don’t mean to interrupt-“
“Then don’t.” Mickey snaps back. “I’m gonna take a fucking shower.”
Ian shakes his head as Mickey walks back into the house.
“I mean he did sleep for like 4 hours I’m not saying that-“
“Oh shit!” Ian interrupts Lip and runs inside behind Mickey.
He makes it to the bathroom meeting an even less happy looking Mickey.
“And what exactly is this shit?” Mickey asks uncrossing his arms and pulling back the curtain forcefully.
He reveals the white shower grab bar he installed earlier in the day.
“Look, Mick. It’s not like you’re not gonna use it…” Ian starts.
Mickey nods, looks towards the object, and starts pushing on the buttons to release it.
“What’re you doing?”
“Getting rid of this shit.” Mickey gets the right amount of pressure and the bar comes off. Damn suction things. “There.”
Mickey walks out of the bathroom carrying it and throws it in the bedroom.
“Mickey! For fucks sake.”
Mickey gets back in the bathroom and slams the door shut.
Ian breathes in harshly, exhausted from this damn dance they do all the time since they got the diagnosis. Ian sits on the bed for a quick minute, running his hands through his hair and down his face. He gets up and heads back outside to finish up that project.
They’re out there for another half hour and head inside as soon as they’re done, both sweating from head to toe. Ian offers Lip a beer soon realizing Mickey wasn’t out. What is he sulking in the bedroom?
Ian rolls his eyes at the thought and finishes the water he had got himself. When Lip gets to the end of his beer Ian excuses himself.
“Well I’m gonna shower all this fuckin sweat off. Thanks for the help again.”
Lip takes the swig. “No problem, man. Need anything else just let me know.”
Ian smiles back at his brother as Lip disposes of the bottle and heads out the door.
He starts taking off his shirt as he heads to the bathroom. He stops when he realizes the water is still running. He furrows his brow. “Mick?” He knocks on the door. “Mickey, come on. I get you’re pissed but you really don’t need to waste the hot water.” Ian gets no answer causing him to roll his eyes. “Come on, man. Jesus.”
Ian waits and still hears silence besides the shower running. “Mickey?” He asks again, his gut now giving him a feeling. He jiggles the handle and upon discovering it’s not locked starts to open it. “Mickey? You in here?” he calls out again. He notices it’s empty though Mickey’s clothes are on the floor and the towel is still on the rack.
“Ian?” He hears, so softly and against the water hitting the tile he can barely make it out.
“Mickey?” Ian calls out again and pulls the shower curtain back. He finds the dark haired man sitting on the floor of the shower, his legs to his chest, and his head in his hands.
He looks up to Ian, water dripping from his hair. Ian’s heart is in his throat and he almost wants to cry but he doesn’t let Mickey see it.
“What happened?” Ian asks softly.
“I,” Mickey shakes his head slowly. “I just got so tired.”
“Did you fall?”
“No.” Mickey breathes in harshly and Ian notices he’s shivering slightly. Mickey buries his head in his arms again.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Ian assures him and rubs Mickey’s leg. “It’s okay.”
Mickey nods, still not showing his face again.
“Let’s turn this water off, huh?” Ian speaks softly again. Almost like talking to a child. He didn’t like this. He moves his arm over to the faucet and turns it off. He rubs Mickey’s bare back. “Mickey…”
Mickey looks back at him. His face showing shame.
“It’s alright.”
Mickey nods, accepting Ian’s words. Ian grabs the towel and drapes it over Mickey’s shoulders. He rubs him with it trying to dry him off a little. “I’m gonna get you some clean clothes, okay?”
“Okay,” Mickey says quietly, his body still shaking from the cold.
Ian comes back in a few minutes later with clean clothes and he helps Mickey out of the shower. “I got you,” he repeats over and over.
Mickey sighs and wipes his eyes. “I’m... I’m sorry.”
Ian brushes his apology away. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get you warm and dry okay?”
Mickey nods again, putting on his dry sweat pants as Ian takes the towel away and gives Mickey a t shirt and an old, but comfortable, sweat shirt.
Mickey, now fully dressed, stays seating on the closed toilet seat. He can’t look at Ian just rubs his eyes. “So fuckin embarrassing.” He mumbles but Ian hears him.
He says nothing just rubs Mickey’s upper arm until he swallows his embarrassment and is able to look up at his boyfriend.
Ian just offers a sad smile. “You want to go back to bed? You know it’s okay to-“
Mickey swallows and nods.
A few days later he’ll apologize again for his reaction and Ian will give him a hard time about it, jokingly. And after resting for a while Mickey will try to take his illness seriously.