#i live for mickey caring about the gallaghers

[elhopper1sm]

TW: Mentions of grooming

Everyone always talks about how Ian contributed to Mickey's character development but never vice versa. Like I truly believe had it not been for Mickey Ian may have accepted grooming or predatory relationships well into his twenties or beyond. Think about the show from Ian's perspective. We learn pretty early on he's the black sheep of the family. Comparisons being made to Monica the most hated member of the family and is closeted. Ian originally tends to hang out with or get with other older closeted men who've probably reinforced his their own internalized homophobia onto him. The Gallaghers are also social outcasts of the neighborhood so finding someone who could put up with his family antics and his own low self esteem. Ian was clinging to people who would show him love or appreciation even if it wasn't quality and he didn't really think he could have more. Then comes Mickey someone who is more destitute than him and of a lower social strata and the brother of his best friend. There are experiences of his life Mickey will understand and won't judge him for. Also Mickey adores Ian. He sees him as basically one of if not the best person ever. Mickey cares deeply about Ian and it's obvious. Even when he's trying to hide it. Maybe that's why in the earlier seasons he feels so quick to sort of mess with Mickey's feelings to see if he loves him it's confirmation that Mickey does love him and he needs that. Notice how after spending time with Mickey he isn't as likely to go to the people who are likely to hurt him. Mickey even keeps him from getting harmed making him feel like he deserves more than that. One of the reasons I believe Ian broke up with Mickey towards the end of season 5 is because he actually feels like he's not good enough for Mickey. Like he'll corrupt him or taint him. Which makes sense why he feels this way. One because when he was in a depressive state while making that decision. And two he was because he's constantly compared to Monica accused of corrupting Frank. Once he breaks up with Mickey he tries to join or listen in on the LGBTQ+ club at Lip's college and see if he'll fit in there. He's trying to find people who make him feel valuable and like he deserves more the way Mickey did. Even up to Season 10 he's still doubting whether or not it will work with Mickey but not because of who Mickey is but because of who he is and what's wrong with him. Which is also why I think Ian pressure Mickey to move to the West Side with him. I think in Ian's brain or own strange logic because Mickey gave him the courage to think he deserved more he thinks but getting him and Mickey into a nice apartment or better upgraded living situation that's his way of letting Mickey know he can and will and deserves to have better. Again a foolish decision to change the area where you and your partner live without asking them but I truly believe. It was because he thought it was his way of letting Mickey know he deserved better.

#shameless meta #shameless #gallavich meta #gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich

[crestfallercanyon]

I think Ian would love when Mickey takes long showers.

The rest of the Gallaghers try to complain, and Ian would shut that shit down immediately. Mickey rarely does something so self-indulgent that isn't, y'know, a violent impulse. This is something that no one else gets to see, this isn't Mickey putting on a toughness show, this isn't anything but Mickey taking care of Mickey and Ian loves that for him. Wants him to have that for as long as he can.

Because here's the thing -- Ian remembers the filthy dirty boy he used to fuck in the Kash and Grab.

While Ian never judged Mickey for it (hell, who hasn't experienced a water shut off or heater shortage in Southside?) he knew that Mickey experienced it worst than most. Half the neighborhood called Mickey smelly for fuck's sake, it was well known that Mickey was not clean.

I also imagine Mickey had to fake-it-til-you-make-it in feeling okay with being that dirty. He stopped taking frequent showers or bothering with any hygiene products because he knew the Milkoviches only had so much hot water (or water in general). Terry got first dibs because if he didn't get what he wanted then his piss-poor mood would dictate how everyone's day's went.

Then, Mickey gave next priority to Mandy. Mandy's a girl, which when he was younger didn't really mean anything to him, until she came home wildly upset about being dirty, about how all the girls wouldn't stop pointing out how awful she smelled, how she got her period and the bloodstains were still in her clothes and she didn't have enough water to clean them out but she didn't have any more clean clothes, and fuck, Mickey realized girls were fucking mean when it came to shit like that, and Mickey never wanted her to deal with that ever again. After that, Mickey made sure Mandy had enough water to stay clean, to be orderly, because Mandy cared and Mandy deserved to feel good about herself.

If his brothers were home, they'd get it next, because they somehow always smelled worse than Mickey did. However, that was rarely a problem, and a lot of the time after Terry and Mandy they didn't really have much left in the tank anyway.

So Mickey learned to not care. Not care about being gross and disgusting and feeling itchy at times. To smell clothes and while it was sharp to his nose it was whatever. So something gave him a rash once, he can fucking live. Everyone seems to look at him like he's even more dangerous when he's filthy, so it comes with its own perks, right? Who cares if some nights he couldn't really sleep. He's a kid, and who fucking cares, he's probably not living that long anyway.

But as Mickey starts having more people care about him (and care more about himself in turn) things change in his head. Even when he comes back in season 7, he is nowhere near as covered in dirt as he was when he was young. And while some of this can be chalked up to not being a kid anymore, that's certainly not most of it. The self-loathing he had no longer manifests so outwardly, he's no longer living in a burn out and die young mindset, and he's got people who he gives a shit what they think about him. He wants to try to like himself the way other people (Ian) likes him. Which means being fucking clean.

So he starts to take long showers. And he realizes that, yeah, he likes the feel of having hot water on him, melting the day away. Likes having the assurance that he can have this without being covered in blood and needing to medically clean out the wound (if he'd even do it then). He likes... taking showers. Being clean. Having clean clothes. And Ian, of course, notices.

So, when Ian can hear Mickey taking a shower, and taking his fucking time and actually taking care of himself, Ian freaking loves it. Doesn't let anyone bother Mickey about the water, doesn't let anyone tell him what soaps to use or not use. It's all for his disposal.

And when Mickey's done, Ian will open the door and join Mickey in with the steamy bathroom. Before Mickey can utter a single word about it (most days he'll try to crack something self-deprecating, not quite broaching sorry but as close as he usually gets; on particularly vulnerable days he will try to genuinely apologize) Ian kisses him. Tells him he smells good. Tells him he looks good. Ian's a big fan of positive reinforcement. He's also a big fan of the smile on Mickey's face when he's feeling good about himself.

Ian of course wishes he could get Mickey to feel good about himself every day, but, it's a work in progress just like everything else. Mickey's got to unlearn a childhood built on the belief that he was barely worth garbage. That takes time. Ian gets it.

An easy place to start, though? Enjoying when his man takes his long hot showers.

#shameless headcanon #shameless (us) #gallavich #mickey milkovich #ian gallagher #this headcanon kind of blurred perspective but oh well #the amount of neglect that all of them went through jesus #period #mandy milkovich #the milkoviches

[noellawrites]

Short Leash - Yandere!Lip Gallagher x reader

requested by @lyssak09 & anonymous

summary: you find out Lip cheated and try to escape, but nothing ever goes as planned.

warnings: captivity, abusive relationship, non-con mentions, restraints

Your eyelid was twitching again. It was beyond uncomfortable and you were exhausted from doing absolutely nothing. All you could do was stare up at the wavy pattern on the ceiling for the fifty-seventh time today as you waited for Lip or one of his siblings to return and let you out of your prison disguised as a bedroom.

Thirty minutes later, loud footsteps pounded through the back door of the Gallagher house. It had to be your asshole boyfriend or one of his batshit insane siblings.

"(Y/n), Mickey and I are home. We're hangin' out downstairs if you'd like to join," Ian called through the door, turning the exterior lock and letting you out of Lip's tiny, unfurnished bedroom.

"Thank god," you huffed, climbing out of the stained bedsheets and slipping out the door in front of Lip's younger brother.

Taking a deep breath, you padded down the side stairs and into the kitchen, tearing into the first bag of chips you saw. Lip wasn't very good about remembering to feed you anything besides beer or cigarettes.

"Jeez, leave some for the rest of us," Mickey laughed. He grabbed a can from the fridge and nudged you gently, not missing your wince.

You thought you covered it well, but you couldn't help the face you'd made when Mickey nudged the same spot Lip had grabbed you and left a bruise the previous night.

"Wait a minute, the hell was that?" Mickey said, glaring and taking a swig from his can.

"Fuck off, Mickey," you rolled your eyes, taking the chips with you into the living room.

"Then what's with these? C'mon, I know abuse when I see it," Mickey said, following you.

Ian stood up, narrowing his eyes at you and crossing his hands over his chest.

"C'mon (y/n), we're friends. And I hear shit, okay? I just didn't want to believe it was true. But we can help you if you just tell us the truth."

"I can't tell you, he'll make it worse just like he always fucking does! He already has all of you keeping tabs on me and trapping me here!" You screamed.

"B-but the lock is for when you sleepwalk--"

"Don't you realize how stupid that sounds? I don't sleepwalk, I never have! Lip just lies so you'll help him keep me here!"

Tears pricked your eyes as your chest rose and fell quickly. Yelling in anger was the most exercise you'd had in months, excluding when Lip would kick and punch you around.

Ian and Mickey exchanged a look, which either meant they thought you were absolutely insane, or they wanted to help you.

"We need to tell you something before Lip gets home from Patsy's," Ian said, taking a step toward you.

"Lip's been fucking that waitress, the brown-haired one with a kid," Mickey blurted. He looked at you with what struck you as pity.

"Sierra?" you sputtered.

All of a sudden, you were hit with the ugly mental image of him fucking her in the alley behind Patsy's, in the back room, probably her apartment too. It made sense as to why he'd been so absent in the recent weeks. Were you not enough, sealed in a dingy room day in and day out, just for him? Did he really need another woman besides you?

It felt like a slap in the face, even more so than the ones he'd regularly inflicted on you. It was betrayal. All those nights you thought he was working late? He was fucking another girl, a free girl, a girl who was a mother and a waitress and an independent fucking human and a girl who was everything you couldn't be.

"I'm sorry, (y/n)," Ian apologized as you sank onto the couch, tears blurring your vision.

"Look, we fucking broke her!" Mickey hissed, gesturing toward you.

"Shh! She'll be fine, let's just give her a minute," Ian responded.

"If you care about me at all, you need to let me out of here," you said, standing up. You took a breath, looking around. There was nothing you needed and barely anything that even belonged to you here. Lip had taken you and left all of your belongings, leaving your family to think you'd simply ran away and started a new life. How wrong they were.

"Here's fifty bucks for a bus ticket. We'll just tell him we forgot to lock the back door and you escaped," Ian promised.

You stepped into a pair of Fiona's sneakers and slipped out the back door. The backyard was illuminated by a lone, dim light. You glanced around. It had been a while since you were last outdoors, but you remembered the L stop wasn't too far. If you could just make it, less than a mile, you could take it to the Greyhound station.

You started quickly down the sidewalk, determined to escape. You could almost deal with being held captive when you thought your captor actually loved you. You thought he really did care for you, but it was all a smoke screen. Lip promised that you'd spend the rest of your lives together. He said it was hard to be without you, that he only hurt you because it was so hard to contain his love for you.

Now, you knew it was all bullshit. He wanted to come back to you but he wanted to fuck around, too. What a dick.

Your teeth chattered as you braved the Chicago night in only a t-shirt and pajama shorts. Still, the chill didn't stop your determination to escape your abusive boyfriend and make your way to literally anywhere but the South Side.

"(y/n), what the hell?" Oh, shit.

--

Your body felt heavy as you drifted back into consciousness. Your head pounded with pain and the taste of blood was stuck to your tongue.

You were back in Lip's room, this time handcuffed to the bed. Lip sat against the wall, smoking a cigarette.

"You're a fucking idiot," he said once he realized you were awake.

"And you're a cheating dirtbag."

"Not like it matters. You'll never leave again."

"What is your fucking problem? Do you get off on keeping me captive while you go out and fuck anything with two legs?"

"You don't get it. I'm trying to get this shit out of my system before we get married and start a family," Lip spat angrily.

"How could you possibly think I want to marry you or have a family after this shit?" you yelled, pulling at your cuffs to no avail.

"Not like you have a choice," Lip shrugged, taking another drag.

"Lip, please. Aren't you tired of this stupid cycle? You hurt me, I try to leave, you find someone else, your family is confused, you tell me I'm yours, and we just do it all again? C'mon, we both know there's more to life than this," you begged.

"There isn't more for you. You're lucky I even want you. You're damaged fuckin' goods, (y/n)."

"Nice try Lip, but I'm not falling for it. Your family knows what you've done, they'll help me."

"They'll mind their fuckin' business is what they'll do. Now let's get started on that family, huh? Here, I even got you a gag," Lip laughed, standing up and coming towards you with a soiled bandana.

You thrashed and screamed, but no one ever came. No one never would again.

#lip gallagher x reader #lip gallagher imagine #yandere lip gallagher #yandere lip gallagher x reader #dark lip gallagher #shameless x reader #yandere shameless #yandere shameless x reader #dark shamless x reader

[golden28s]

no because i need to talk about mickey and ian's tiny little obsession with calling each other "mr milkovich" and "mr gallagher" idk how to explain it but it's like they've been waiting for so long that now they can't stop showing that they're each other's person, they can't stop talking about how they belong to each other, they need to keep telling the world that they're together.

Which reminds me of another silly little obsession but this time is just Mickey's obsession: the rings need to be visible. In the promise rings scene, in s10 when Ian goes to Byron's house to see Mickey and gives him this promise ring, he looks even more hurt when he sees that Ian wears his ring in a non visible place. It actually bothers him that no one can see, that no one will know that he has someone, that no one will see that he "belongs" to someone, that no one will know or Ian won't tell the world about him, about them. Like they're hiding again, like Mickey's hiding again. He notices he doesn’t have his ring in that one scene with Sandy where they're talking about the wedding, he notices and he even asks where is it.

The ring is not only a ring or the symbol of their marriage but also is them not hiding anymore and having sex in the back of a store, is them not living anymore in a constant state of anxiety and fear because what if they found them out, what if they knew about them. It's them telling the world that they're together, that they love each other, that they fought, screamed, cried, hurt each other, tried to elope and have a happy ending but it wasn't their moment and always found their way back and finally they made it.

It's Mickey not being ashamed anymore, it's Mickey being ridiculously proud of his husband, of what they have, of himself. It's Ian knowing Mickey is gonna love him unconditionally, it's Ian trying to not forget that he's worth loving, it's Ian allowing Mickey to take care of him and pretending he doesn't notice the little things he does for him because he's worried and he's an act of service type of person so he doesn't ask much, he does these little things.

So they're obsessed with the idea of telling the world they're free, they're in love, they're together and they vowed a forever. They just need the world to know they're Mr Gallagher and Mr Milkovich because for a long time they couldn't call each other "mine" and it felt like better times wouldn't come, like they would have to live in these shadows like a secret mission.

And now they're proudly in love in the daylight and it's the most exciting thing so they talk constantly about it and never stop looking at their rings, at each other in awe and adoration.

#im emotional leave me alone #I CANT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH THEY FOUGHT FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP #sorry for the typos #gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #shameless

[theitgirlnetwork]

Better

Chapter 8: Future Stuff

Note: Hellooo! Thank you all once again so much for all of the love I'm getting on this story. Everyone is so sweet I could actually throw up so thank you. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. All of the reblogs, notes, comments, messages really motivate me, and I'm so thankful. It's so fun writing this. The only warnings are implied sexual content and strong language but MDNI fr fr. This story is not for the children. Alsooo, I think I figured out the tag list situation, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. So its down below, anyone else who would like to be added, please let me know <3

Taglist:

@th3h0nkz @yezzyyae@comeonatmebruh

Ian and Mickey stare forward at the TV as Lip continues to bounce his leg and blow a cloud of smoke into the air. Mickey irritably fans the air in front of him, cutting his eyes to Ian who silently pleads to him not to say anything. A few more seconds pass and the cheap couch continues to rattle and Mickey gets fed up.

“Fuck! Gallagher, go, don’t go, cheat, don’t cheat, we don’t fuckin’ care!” He yells, ignoring Ian’s glare. “I mean, I’ll fuckin’ tell the princess in a heartbeat, but you sittin’ hear, shittin’ your pants over a phone call is makin’ me wanna kill you.”

“Fuck off Mickey.”

Mickey turns to the blond, only to have his boyfriend place his hand on his chest, shoving him lightly into the other direction, gesturing for him to go upstairs. Ian huffs as Mickey flicks him off before storming up the steps to his room, taking his beer with him. 

The redhead sits back down next to his brother, sighing as he opens his own drink. “Are you gonna?”

Lip looks up, hand buried in his hair for probably the fiftieth time that night. “Gonna what?”

“Cheat. On Charlotte with that old bitch Helene.”

Lip shakes his head quietly, taking a drag from his blunt before passing it over to Ian. “No.” he sniffs. “And uh, Helene didn’t get me kicked out, alright?”

“Okay.” Ian shrugs, grabbing the blunt. “But she didn’t help.”

“Nah.” Lip nods, blue eyes surrounded by red, bloodshot from the lack of sleep he got over the past few days. “She didn’t. But uh, she didn’t say much on the phone. Just that she needs to talk to me. Figured I should see what it’s about. Not a big deal.”

“Is that why you’re pullin’ your hair out and hotboxin’ our living room?” Ian asks, releasing the smoke from his nose.  “Did you tell her?”

“No.” Lip sighs, scrubbing his hand down his face. He reaches over and snatches the blunt from Ian before he could take another pull. “And you won’t either, alright? It’s not a big deal and I’m just gonna tell her to fuck off. Don’t need to freak Bunny out for nothin’.”

Lip had been lamenting over Helene’s call for the past few days.He’d gone silent on the phone in shock when she confirmed it was her and was even more surprised when she asked to meet with him to discuss something. The last time he’d talked to her, she’d ended things and ignored him while he screamed and pleaded for her back outside of her house. It was fucking humiliating. He wanted to show her he was better now. He wanted to show he wasn’t some desperate loser and he didn’t fucking need her, her leaving didn’t fucking faze him. 

He knew he could do that and stay loyal to Charlotte. 

But apparently Ian and Mickey had no faith in him. He didn’t know why he fucking told them in the first place. 

Maybe because he’d hoped it would help get rid of the rock in his stomach he felt every time he spoke to Charlotte and didn’t tell her his sort’ve ex/professor had hit him up to meet.

Lip is used to the feeling of guilt and shame, it comes with the Gallagher territory. A low hum of those two feelings stay with them always. But this feeling was worse. It was loud and aggressive. It was pounding in his ears each time his girlfriend’s sweet voice came through the phone. So, he already felt like shit. He doesn’t need Ian and his cling-on fucking riding him.

“Doesn’t seem like it’s for nothin’ Seems like somethin’ she should know.” Ian shrugs, snatching it back.

“Yeah, just because you’re Mickey’s bitch, doesn’t mean I’m Charlotte’s. Alright? I’ve got it-”

“Fuck you.” Ian frowns, shoving his brother, looking affronted when he shoves him back. 

The two boys begin pushing and shoving at each other, standing from the couch to get into each other’s faces. Voices raising and carrying throughout the house. The front door swings open and a tired Fiona storms through, Liam in her arms, shoving between the two of them. “Uh uh, I just worked for 8 hours with no break while tryin’ to watch Liam. I do not come home to you fighting.” 

The older girl places Liam on the steps, patting his back and telling him to go upstairs and wait for her to tuck him in. She turns back to her other brothers, watching them glare at each other. “What the fuck is the issue?” Lip clenches his jaw irritably, looking away from his sister. He knows that Ian isn’t going to say anything and he does not feel like hearing Fiona bitch about Helene or make some smart ass comment about him already fucking up with Charlotte. “Fuck, fine, whatever. I don’t care what you have going on, Christmas is in two days, you’re not gonna fuck up the vibe in the house for Carl, Debbie and Liam. And make sure you have your shit together on the gift front.” 

Ian pushes past Lip, knocking his shoulder and heading toward the stairs, “I’ve got my shit covered.”

Fiona watches him go up the stairs before looking back to Lip with an expectant expression. “And you?”

The blond huffs out a breath, “I’m handling it.” 

And at the time, he really thought he was.

“It was really nice to see her.” Charlotte smiles, pouring water onto one of the plants on her parent’s patio before moving on to the next. The other side of the line is quiet and she pauses in her motion, pushing her phone closer to her ear. “Bub?”

“Huh?” there’s shuffling on the other end of the line for a few moments before the sound of her boyfriend returns. “That’s good, bunny.”

The woman rolls her eyes, setting down the watering can onto the table and pulling out a seat to sit in. “You’re not listening, Phillip.”

“Yeah I am.”

“Yeah? What’d I say.”

He hums for a moment before raising his voice lightly, attempting to mimic hers. “Phillip, I miss you so much, I can’t wait until I can see you again and climb on top of your big, hard-”

“Yeah, I don’t talk like that. That must be your other girlfriend.” She laughs. Charlotte waits to hear the deep chuckle that she’s grown to love and is only met with awkward silence. “Phillip?”

“Uh, yeah. I’ve actually got to go.”

“Oh.” Charlotte frowns, biting at her thumbnail nervously. She doesn’t like the sound of his voice. He’d been being weird for the last couple of days and she didn’t know where it was coming from. Was it because of that one phone call? Was it too much? Too little? Did she do something wrong? The reasonable side of her told her that the distance might be just getting to him. Their relationship had started with her leaving for an undetermined amount of time. They began with a goodbye, it definitely was wearing on her, it would be reasonable for it to be affecting Lip as well. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later? And um, please remember to get the presents I got for everyone out of my room at V’s okay? S’not much-”

“Okay, so uh, you’re definitely not gonna be back for Christmas?” he asks. 

Charlotte sighs, leaning her chin on her hand and toying with the fabric of her shirt. “I dunno. M’sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ll call you later. Bye, baby.”

As the line goes dead Charlotte groans to herself. As much as she’s enjoyed being home with her parents, she was starting to get antsy. Putting aside how badly she misses Lip, she misses everyone else and her freedom too. Being back in her parents home made her feel like a child again, unable to make decisions about anything. What time to wake up, what to eat, what to wear. She needs a break from her break.

And honestly, she wants the chance to take her new relationship seriously. And she can’t do that while they’re however any miles apart. 

Settled into her new resolve, Charlotte pushes out of her seat and opens the screen door to her house. She looks around the lower level, finding that no one is there and heads up the stairs to look for her mother. She finds her mother in the office and knocks on the heavy wooden door before entering. “Hi, Mom.” 

Charlotte’s mother looks up from her laptop, pausing to push her glasses up on her nose. “Hi, honey, what’s up?”

“Um,” Charlotte shifts on her feet uneasily, running a finger along the paint on the door frame. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Lip takes a deep breath as he stands outside of the café, pocketing his phone as he weighs out the different ways this scenario can play out in his head. 

Best case scenario, he goes in there, Helene looks fuckin’ awful, he tells her where she can shove it and maybe throws in a picture of his new sexy ass girlfriend that he’s fucking obsessed with, conveniently leaving out that he’s unsure if she’s ever coming back to Chicago.

Worst case scenario, she looks amazing, he doesn’t even get to mention Charlotte and this was some kind of sick test that he failed by showing up. His girlfriend emerges from some back room or something and dumps him on the spot for even showing up to talk to his ex. And she…he doesn’t know, starts fucking Helene’s husband or something. 

That last part can’t happen. Lip is pretty sure he’d kill him.

Another minute passes by before he decides to finally go into the shop. Quiet, boring cafe music is softly playing and the smell of coffee fills his nostrils. 

“Lip, over here.” a voice calls over to him.

Lip follows the voice over to a table in the left corner of the restaurant and finds Helene, seated, already sipping a coffee, an untouched mug on the opposite side of the table. He makes his way over and slowly slides into the seat opposite of her. “Uh, hey.”

The older woman offers him a kind smile, drumming her fingers on her cup. Lip absently notices that her wedding ring is not on her finger. “Hi. How are you?”

He looks up, dragging his eyes away from her hand. “Fine, I uh, can’t complain. How have you been?”

“Overall I’ve been well.” Lip nods quietly at her response and starts scanning the room, looking everywhere but her. He hadn’t accounted for this being so weird. A couple beats pass before she speaks again. “Okay, well I think we’re a little too familiar for this to be so uncomfortable. That coffee is for you by the way. It’s black with no sugar the way you like it.”

“Actually,” Lip cuts in, glancing down at the cup. “I don’t take it like that anymore. I, uh, like it sweeter now.” 

Helene’s eyebrows shoot up, “Oh. Okay, we could send it back-”

“Nah, I’ll drink it.” He shrugs, trying to hide his grimace as the bitter liquid fills his mouth, briefly wondering how he used to chug this shit when he was with her. 

“Okay.” Helene shifts in her seat a little, leaning forward. “Tell me what else has changed since we last spoke.”

Lip licks his lips, looking around before letting his blue eyes land back on her. “I uh, left school, or they kicked me out for something…unrelated. So yeah, I’m working. Moved back to Southside.”

“Do you like what you do?” 

“It helps pay bills. Nothing in my field but, it works.” he shrugs again. “Are you, uh back at the school?”

Helene smoothes her left hand over her hair, and his eyes drift back to her empty ring finger. “Yes, I’ve returned as an adjunct, but they’re keeping a close watch on me so you can understand that’s a little bit awkward. But um, I’ve been working through some things since the last time I spoke to you-”

“Right, that was a contingency for you to get your job back, right? The therapy?” Lip bites. He doesn’t know where the comment comes from but he shocks himself and Helene.

“Yes…it was. And I think I owe you an apology.” she says softly.

Lip sits up straighter in his seat. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry, I should have spoken to you, and allowed you to explain what happened. I requested for you to communicate and exhibit maturity throughout our relationship and didn’t extend the same respect to you.” Helene waits for Lip to react, to accept, say something, but all he offers her is another quiet nod. “I’ve learned I have a habit of having high expectations for what people should do for me and very low tolerance for error. It’s likely what caused this relationship to fail and certainly what ruined my marriage.”

The blond looks up at that, immediately alerted by the news she’d snuck into the conversation. She’s divorced. She’d gotten divorced. Despite the fact that he was refusing to acknowledge it, back when they were together he used to dream about it. The day she said fuck her husband and left him completely, chose him entirely. On darker days when he would watch her climb out of bed to go find her spouse, or see them kiss especially intimately in front of him, or she would leave to shower with him just after she and Lip had sex, he would think about how happy he’d be if the older man just disappeared. Went missing. Dropped dead, he didn’t fucking care. 

But the knowledge now that Helene was single brought Lip no feeling at all. He’s shocked at how numb he is to the news. “I’m uh, sorry.” he offers awkwardly. 

“I’ve made my peace with it. Now, I’m trying to make my peace with you.” she smiles, placing her hand on top of Lip’s across the table, smoothing her thumb on his knuckles. 

“Oh, shit-” he jolts, taking his hand back and feeling himself turn red as the table rattles at his jerky movement. “I actually have a girlfriend. And we’re…monogamous.” 

“Oh.” Helene sits back, seemingly startled by his very large reaction before adjusting herself. “I’m sorry, well congratulations. Who is it? That mousy girl who is fascinated with posting pictures of other people’s naked forms?” 

Lip doesn’t bother offering her a fake laugh, instead choosing to open his phone and show her his favorite picture of him and Charlotte together. It’s one that Ian had taken at the Alibi when Lip had been pretending to teach her how to play pool to both get close to her and piss off Kev as the girl bent over the table in front of him. The picture perfectly captures Charlotte’s pretty smile and reminds him of when she was close enough to touch. He holds his phone up for Helene to see and watches the woman’s expression. “This is Charlotte.”

Her face is unmoving as she looks at the girl. “Well, I suppose it’s double congratulations. She’s gorgeous. Is she in school?”

“Um,” Lip takes the phone back and pockets it, “No, she just moved here. She’s working at a restaurant for now, saving up money. I’d have brought her with me but she’s visiting family back where she’s from.”

“And where’s that?”

“Virginia.”

Helene hums, lifting her coffee to take a sip. “That’s far.”

“772 miles.” Lip sniffs, leaning back in his chair. “But she’ll be back.” As he says it his brain wonders if he’s telling Helene or reminding himself.

“I see. And it’s serious?” 

That question gives Lip pause. Because is it serious? He can acknowledge that when he first saw Charlotte he hadn’t hoped for much more than getting her prissy ass into bed and then doubling back once in a while, but not frequently enough for her to get attached. Her stubbornness and Mandy’s existence put a little wrench in his plans but he’d always liked a challenge. But after a while, it was more than that. He’d fucked around and learned things about her. Charlotte is sweet, kind, and funny. She makes him relax and feel less fucking irritated all of the time. She makes him feel needed without making him feel trapped. She cared about his interests, making him happy. His family. She’d made his life better in such a short period of time. 

“To me.” 

Helene nods, offering him a soft smile. “I can tell. It’s the look in your eyes. It’s different now. A good different.” she lets out a sigh and places her cup down again. “Well, I’m happy for you. Though I came here to tell you I miss you and apologize, I also wanted to make up for the part I played in your education ending early.”

“It was unrelated.”

“Well, I certainly didn’t help.” It’s good that she knows that, he thinks. “I want to offer you an internship, not with me, but with a research center I collaborate with. They were looking for someone with an interest and background in science and technology and I immediately thought of you.”

“You didn’t think of one of the hundreds of people majoring in that at the university?” Lip scoffs.

“I didn’t used to sleep with them.” she jokes, rolling her eyes when Lip appears unamused. “I’m kidding. I truly believe you’d be a good fit for this.” 

“Look um, like I told Youens, I can’t really afford to work for free right now, I understand you guys say it’ll lead to something-”

“It’s a paid internship, Lip.” Helene cuts in. She observes the young man, watching as the wheels turn in his brain as he tries to think up more excuses as to why he can’t accept this opportunity. She grabs her purse from where it is hanging on the back of her chair and pulls out a card, placing it down on the table. “Look, I have another meeting to get to, but this is a really good opportunity, if I were you I’d take it. Work in your field and make some decent money. Serious relationships aren’t as free as we’d like them to be, you know.” she says, nodding her head toward the pocket where he’d placed his phone. Helene stands, walking past, briefly placing her hand on Lip’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’d only have to see me around sometimes, we’d be in different departments.”

“I wasn’t worried about that.” He says, grabbing the card.

“Good. Give my regards to Charlotte will you?”

Lip sits quietly as the older woman leaves the cafe, attempting to process what just happened. He looks down at the card one more time before shoving it in his pocket and standing to leave himself, mumbling under his breath, “‘Give my regards’ to my fuckin’ girlfriend. Like hell I will.”

“Okay, Liam, open this one next.”

Lip stands with his arm around Fiona as they watch Debbie help Liam open her present with a bright smile on her face. It’s tradition in the Gallagher household. For the whole month of December, the older three kids hide all of their money that they earn, same as usual, and put it toward the rent and bills. They work extra shifts at their jobs so that Carl and Debbie don’t have to chip in for the month, that way they can get each other and Liam presents. The older three also use anything they have left over to get each younger kid an additional gift. Finally, being the two older siblings they are, sometimes Fiona and Lip scrape together a little something extra to try and get something for Ian. This year, Mickey was here.

At first Lip had found the male Milkovich’s damn near constant presence in their home irritating, but he made Ian happy, and more stable so he tolerated it. As more time went by, Mickey became part of their routine, helping out, hanging out, pitching in money, and then Lip didn’t mind him. But now, watching the fucking thug who’d threatened to bash both his and Ian’s faces in not long ago for one reason or another roll his eyes and pretend to be in different as he offers a messily wrapped army knife to Lip’s younger brother, blushing as Ian pulls him into a brief kiss, Lip thinks he might not hate having him around. Maybe even likes it. 

“Who wants eggnog?” V calls as she carries the pitcher into the room, balancing a stack of empty cups in her other hand. 

“Me!” Carl calls trying to snatch a cup, groaning when the woman pulls it away. 

“Sorry, who’s grown and wants spiked eggnog?”

“Fuckin’ me.” Lip grunts, pouring a glass full and taking a long swig. He’d been in a shit mood all day. Watching his younger siblings open their gifts made him feel a little better, but he’d been hoping that Charlotte would be home by now. It’d been weeks since she’d left and he was starting (had been the whole fucking time) to worry that she wasn’t coming back. He couldn’t imagine that the short time they’d gotten together before she left was all he was gonna get. But then again, that was just his luck.

Fiona’s eyes land on V, a small smile on her face as she widens her eyes in silent communication. Her friend rolls her own in response, nodding exasperated, and nudges Kev. “Huh? Oh.” the man leans down and takes Liam from Debbie and lifts the boy’s bottom to his nose, sniffing his nose. “Um…Lip, man, I think Liam took a shit.”

The blond’s brows furrow as he takes another sip of eggnog. “So change him?”

“He’s uh, not my brother.”

“Oh, for christ sake,” Fiona snatches Liam back, smiling at the little boy’s giggle and shoving him into Lip’s arms. “Go change him will you?” 

Lip narrows his eyes at his sister before sighing out a ‘whatever’ and taking the boy, blowing raspberries against Liam’s cheek as he makes his way to the steps. 

As they get to Liam, Carl and Ian’s room Lip starts undoing Liam’s diaper, holding the clean one under his arm. “You having a good Christmas buddy? Huh? Is it fun? Should we play in the snow later?”

“Lip!” the boy claps, kicking his legs, antsy. 

Lip frowns in confusion as he finds a completely empty and clean diaper as he looks down at his brother. “The hell? What’re they talkin’ about? I knew you didn’t stink to me. Maybe it’s Kev, huh?” he coos, buttoning his brother back up. “Maybe he’s the one who took the shit.”

The blond fumbles around in his pocket and pulls out his phone, figuring hearing his girlfriend’s voice might put him in a better mood. “Should we call Charlotte? We miss her, don’t we buddy.”

“Lottie!” Liam screams, kicking more, giggling loudly. 

“Alright alright, keep your pants on, she’s my girlfriend, kid.” He jokes, dialing her number. The phone rings once before going to voicemail. “And I guess she’s busy. That’s okay, buddy, she’s probably just enjoying Christmas with her parents.” Lip reassures, unsure if it’s for Liam or himself. He grows even more irritated at the painful ache that forms in his chest at the thought that he won’t be hearing from her at all today. He’d called twice earlier too, only to be sent to voicemail twice. 

Hoisting the little boy up, Lip jogs back down the stairs, bouncing his brother as he goes, slowing to a halt when he enters the room and everyone seems like they just rushed back to their seat. “Why the fuck are you all being so weird? And he didn’t shit.” He says placing his little brother into Carl’s arms and going to sit again.

“Wait!” Fiona calls out, fighting back a grin. “Don’t sit down, you have to get your present now.”

“The fuck? You got me a present? Why? We could’ve used that on one of the kids-” Guilt floods him as he thinks about the fact that he hadn’t gotten Fiona anything.

“Will you stop being such a prick and go get your present? We left it in the kitchen.” Ian interrupts, kicking at Lip’s leg. “Go.” 

“What would you even get me-” Lip pauses as a thought crosses his mind. But no. No, that’s not it. It’s no fuckin’ way. He lets his eyes trail over to V who offers him a small shrug before nodding her head in the direction of the kitchen. “No fuckin’ way.” 

Lip all but sprints into the kitchen, ignoring his family’s laughter when he trips a little over the leg of the coffee table and again on one of Liam’s singing toys as he swings into the room.

“Hi, boyfriend.”

And there she is. In the flesh. Bouncing excitedly on her feet once, twice before squealing and jumping into Lip’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Lip catches her easily, wrapping his own arms around her waist and squeezing tightly as he buries his face in her neck, inhaling her scent. “Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me? Charlotte, what the fuck?”

“Merry Christmas.” she chirps, putting her legs down and pulling back slightly, Lip follows suit, holding his arms around her loosely but refusing to fully let go.

“Yeah it fuckin’ is.” he breathes, tugging her forward into a kiss. He feels like his eyes could fucking roll back in his head. It feels so good. Touching her. Feeling her touch him. Kissing her soft lips. When he finally lets her up for air he leans his forehead against hers, matching her smile with his own. “Merry Christmas, Bunny. Uh, thanks for coming back.”

“What?” the girl scoffs, reaching up and tugging the hair at the back of his head lightly, “Are you joking? I had to.” she leans forward, rubbing her nose against his. “You’re here.”

“Fuckin’ missed you, baby.” Lip connects their lips again, hand cupping her cheek to guide her into a deeper kiss as he walks them until her lower back hits the counter.

“Alright, lovebirds, enough of that, I only promised Fiona I’d give you two minutes, it’s been five and a quarter.” Kev calls from the other room. 

Lip pulls back again, letting Charlotte walk ahead of him as he rests his hands on her shoulders following not far behind as they re-enter the room. He watches as she greets all of his siblings, hugging Debbie tightly and kissing Carl on the cheek. Tickling Liam and placing him on her lap as she leans into an embrace from Ian before Mickey reaches over and pinches her cheek. 

She’s back. She’s actually back. Lip didn’t realize how little hope he’d had that she’d come back to him until she’d actually done it. She was here, in his living room, with his family. With him. And the room feels like it has oxygen in it again. He only lets the thought of how scary it is that he feels like he’s breathing for the first time in weeks pass through the front of his head for a moment, though it still rings pretty loudly as he pushes it to his subconscious. 

Hours later the two older Gallagher siblings are cleaning up after the holiday mess. Charlotte had offered to help the younger kids to get ready for bed while Ian and Mickey went to spend some time with Mandy so she wasn’t by herself on Christmas. Kev and V returned home after being over all day, Charlotte promising to spend all day the next day with them, and them giving in with very minimal complaint when she and Lip asserted that they’d be spending the night together. 

Fiona eyes her brother as she scrubs a dish clean, watching as he continuously looks over his shoulder up the stairs. “Just go. I’ve got it.”

“Huh?”

“Go be with her, I can handle clean up, if anything you’re slowing me down, checkin’ every two seconds to see if she’s comin’ down.” She laughs, wiping hair out of her face with her forearm. 

Lip chuckles too, putting down the drying towel and squeezing his sister;s shoulder. “Thanks, Fi.”

“Yeah yeah, don’t be loud, I don’t need any of the littles gettin’ traumatized on Christmas.” She says, placing a clean plate on the rack. Fiona turns to catch her brother before he heads up the steps. “Hey, she’s a good one. And this…this looks good on you so…don’t Gallagher it up.” 

Lip pauses, thinking back to the card in his jacket pocket and the call he’d made earlier that morning. “I won’t.”

Charlotte turns as the door to Lip’s room creaks open, a wide smile spreading across her face as her boyfriend enters the room. “Hi.” she whispers.

“Hey.” he repeats back softly, closing the door quietly so as to not stir his younger siblings. Lip glances down on the floor at the discarded clothes and mess, and tries to kick it aside as he makes his way over to where Charlotte is standing. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Neither can I, if it was up to my dad I would’ve never come back out here, but Mom took my side.” she meets him the rest of the way, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulls her in by her waist. “Missed you. But, it was good to see them. Any updates here?”

Lip has to force himself to look away from her big, brown, expectant eyes. He absently thinks to himself that he’d forgotten how hard it is to be a piece of shit when she’s aiming her soft, affectionate looks at him, as if he was something good. But despite the fact that this surprise was literally all that he’d wished for, he hadn’t had time to prepare to tell Charlotte about Helene or the job. He could already picture the doubt that would form on her face as he told her that he’d be working in somewhat proximity to his professor that he’d fucked for several months, convinced himself he was in love with, and briefly attempted to stalk. He can’t even picture admitting to her he’d gone to get coffee with her.

But the alternative isn’t much better. Having Charlotte look up at him with that wide-eyed, starry look, rose petal lips smiling brightly at him. Showing him that fuckin’ dimple. And all of that being fake? Lying to her face? He couldn’t imagine being able to sleep, sure he can lie on the phone, but holding her afterward is a whole different ball game. 

So Lip chose the only intelligent option. 

Half stories and fuckin’ deny, deny, deny.

“I uh, got a new job, a paid internship. I’ll get to work in science which is cool.” he says dismissively, moving down to kiss her when she stops him.

“What?” she squeaks, smile spreading even wider. “Phillip! That’s so great! M’so happy for you, bubba!” she says bouncing where she stands and clapping her hands together. “We have to celebrate! We…we should go out some night this week. Like, get dinner or go to a bar or…” Charlotte pauses, the look on her face changing. 

“Or…?”

The woman leans forward then, kissing Lip’s nose, cheek, and jaw before dragging her way to his neck. Lip groans, mumbling a ‘fuck’ under his breath as Charlotte presses open mouthed kisses down his neck, tugging aside the collar of his shirt as she moves to the top of his chest, rubbing her hands along his abs. 

It feels good. So good, her soft hands pushing his shirt out of the way. Her lips dragging along his skin. He was immediately hard, clenching his jaw in focus as he watches his sweet girl drop to her knees in front of him, looking up at him through her long dark lashes as she began to pull his belt from its buckle.

Lip’s dreamed of this shit. Hell, he came to this thought for almost all of the nights she’d been gone. 

But there’s this fucking nagging thought in his brain. Fucking telling him over and over how he doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve his beautiful, sexy, kind, loving girlfriend. He doesn’t deserve her using her money she saved from her job to take him to the fucking Chicago Sciene Institute Museum. He doesn’t deserve her begging her parents to let her come back to this shithole so they can give their relationship a real try. He doesn’t deserve the way she looks at him. 

He damn sure does not deserve to have his dick that he used to put where the fuck ever in her mouth.

“Baby, baby, wait-fuck-” he hisses as her hand pauses as it wraps around him in his boxers. “Shit, um, I don’t think we should do this right now.”

Charlotte immediately retracts her hand from him, placing them both in her lap as she sits on the floor looking at him. “Oh. Okay, did I hurt you…or like…do something you didn’t like?”

“No, no you’re” Lip joins her on the ground, bringing her hands to his lips and kissing her palms repeatedly. “Perfect. You’re perfect. It’s me, I’m just…” he hesitates, wracking his brain for an excuse and also cursing himself for quite literally talking his way out of getting his dick wet. “Don’t wanna traumatize the kids on Christmas you know? Plus uh, we should probably wait for a time Carl isn’t home. Did you know he has a crush on you?”

Releasing a nervous breath Charlotte relaxes again, giggling. “Oh yeah, I kinda got that when I was walking up the street one day and he tried to get me to ride on the handlebars of his bike. He tried to push up on his tip toes and whisper ‘wait for me, baby girl’  in my ear.”

Lip chuckles, moving to sit on his butt slowly, silently willing his erection to go down and leaving his arms open for Charlotte to sit in his lap. “He’s a Gallagher, it comes with charm.” he pokes the dimple in her cheek, jolting her in his lap lightly when she snorts. “What you don’t think so?”

“Please, Ian and Liam are carrying the family name on their god damned backs.” she jokes, leaning her head back on his shoulder. “Mm and Fiona, she’s got game too. Pretty sexy.”

“Yeah? You think my sister’s hot, why don’t you go downstairs and sit on her lap, huh?” 

Charlotte turns a little to look at him, raising an eyebrow. “You think she’ll let me?”

Lip’s mouth falls open for a moment before he lets out a breathy laugh of disbelief. “Fuckin’ brat, okay, up you go.” he grabs Charlotte at her middle, pushing off of the floor and putting her over his shoulder before dropping her softly on to the bed, climbing over her and pinning her to it. “Went to Virginia and lost your fuckin’ mind. It’s funny?” he says lowly at her giggles, leaning down closer to her face. “You know what’s funny, Bunny? I still have your Christmas gift.”

Brown eyes go wide and immediately Charlotte is giggling out apologies. “Wait, wait, stop, m’sorryyy.” she hiccups as she continues to laugh, Lip’s fingers tickling her sides. “I want my gift!”

“Ask your girlfriend.” Lip jokes.

“She’s busy-” she whimpers, yelping when he intensifies his fingers movements. “You’re my boyfriend! Sorry! Please!” she laughs, kicking her legs. “Pleaseee” she pouts up at him between unhinged squeals and laughter. 

Lip stares down at the beautiful girl beneath him and can’t help put give her what she asks. Placing his hand loosely around her neck, he pulls her up to meet him halfway, pressing their lips together in a deep, brief kiss. “Need to remember who you belong to, brat.” 

He grunts as he pushes off of the bed and goes to his larger dresser, easily pushing the heavy furniture slightly away from the wall and opening what looked to be a small door to a non-functioning vent. Charlotte sits up on the bed, brows furrowing as she watches her boyfriend pull a huge jar from the opening in the wall behind his dresser, miscellaneous pieces of money, change and what appeared to be checks at the bottom. The jar wasn’t very full, only making it to the first little ridge at the bottom of the jar. As he moves closer, a serious look on his face, Charlotte immediately begins shaking her head. “Phillip you better not be trying to give me money.”

Lip places the jar on the floor in front of her before taking a deep breath and sitting next to her on the bed. “No, I’m not. Or, not really. You remember how my family has the Squirrel Fund that we hide from Frank, so we can pay our bills and eat and shit.”

“Yeah,” Charlotte says softly, eyeing the jar. “I told you before I left that I think I should kick some money in if I’m gonna sleep over.”

“Yeah, over my dead fuckin’ body.” He dismisses. “This is…uh, shit this is embarrassing. I didn’t think about that part, it’s fuckin’ stupid.”

Charlotte watches as her beautiful boyfriend turns a pretty shade of pink as he stares at the floor. She slides her arm under his, intertwining their fingers and grinning when he brings his always intense blue eyes up to her face. “Go ahead, bub, I’m not laughing.”

“Shit, fuck it, okay.” he sighs. “This is the Bunny Bank.”

Charlotte’s mouth opens and closes again as she struggles to follow. “Bunny like me, Bunny?”

“Uh, yeah. I um, started to set aside money to put in this jar I fuckin’ found when you started talking to me again after that Mandy shit because, I dunno, you said we’d start hanging out and I started thinkin’ I wanted to take you to nice places. You deserve to go to nice places.”

“You,” Charlotte tilts her head to look at him better. “You started saving money to take me on dates when I was still friendzoning you?”

“Yeah?” Lip shrugs, laughing to himself softly. “I knew that I was gonna keep trying and I guess I wanted to be ready when it started working. But uh, you beat me to the first date thing, huh?” he says, smoothing his thumb over her cheek.

“You deserve to go to nice places too.” she says in a small voice, leaning into his hand.

“Well, I started putting more in there over time, and uh, you know, one day I’m gonna fill it. And we can use it on dates. Or get you a nice gift like I dunno, a purse or somethin. Or we could…” Lip looks at her intently, scanning her face. “We could save it. Put it toward, you know, future stuff.”

He damn near cringes as he waits for her to pull away. Lip fully expects for Charlotte to recoil away from him, for her to wake up the second he mentions the future and remember that she’s way too fucking good for him. Hell, he’s never even thought beyond fucking a girl for a couple months outside of Karen, and even then, what he felt was nothing like this. She was like a toxic friend that he was sexually attracted to. And even with her he didn’t plan. She was satisfied with a couple of free beers and a quick fuck in the bathroom at the school. Lip knows that shit isn’t good enough for Charlotte. And he’s learned in his time with her that he wouldn’t want her to settle for that. 

He wants to be able to provide things for her, beyond a decent date once every couple of months. That’s why he started the pseudo bank and that’s why he has to lie to her so he can take this job. It’s for her. 

But he knows this is fast. Just because he can see a future with her and his feelings hit him like a fucking truck doesn’t mean she feels this way. She has a nice home away from here. She’s accustomed to nice things and guys who don’t have to take a chunk of their check and save it up to give them to her months later. She should know that she can do better, laugh at his pathetic attempt at romance and walk away. Tell him she’s not some chick from the hood he can impress with a free popsicle, his quick wit and good looks.

Lip is fully prepared to backtrack what he said, saying that any mention he made of the future was a fucking joke and distracting her by eating her out or something. But he doesn’t get the chance. 

He watches in awe as Charlotte reaches down her own shirt, digging in her own bra and producing what appeared to be two twenty dollar bills, folded up and warm from her skin. Manicured hands drop the money into the jar before the girl places her hand back in his, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Charlotte nudges Lip’s arm with her own, and looks at him as if he fucking hung the moon and stars. “I like the last thing. Let’s save it. For future stuff.”

Lip doesn’t even get a chance to stop it. He doesn’t know if it's the confirmation that she sees a future with him too, now matter how long that is. Or maybe it’s the pretty way she’s staring up at him or him still reeling from the fact that she’s here. Or the fact that his pretty little prissy thing literally just produced forty dollars from her bra for them to save as a couple. Hell, he thinks it's probably all of it. But it comes out like fuckin word vomit.

“I love you.” 

#oc #fiona gallagher #ian gallagher #kevin ball #lip gallagher #lip gallagher x oc #lip gallagher x reader #shameless #veronica fisher #gallagher #mickey milkovich #ian x mickey #charlotte fisher #phillip gallagher

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

ok so i was talking about season 4 ian a little while ago, and now that i rewatched season 4 for the 4th time i just need to say yet another thing about ian that sesson that we never talk about.

he was literally staying with monica?? …in a crackhouse. like, he stayed in contact with monica, which we knew, but here’s the full situation from what we know because it’s so wild and upsetting:

ian’s in the army and shit goes south (he tries to steal a helicopter and some other shit but fails) so he runs away. we don’t necessarily know the timeline for his job at the white swallow/the fairy tail, but we know he was staying with ned and he was going kinda wild and smashed his table (other people like that ian-lookalike were there), and so ned kicked him out. but he didn’t go home to the gallagher’s, he called his mom. HE CALLED HIS FUCKING MOM TO COME PICK HIM UP AND HELP HIM. like… ughhhhhhhhhh i can’t. fucking ian. and she does, surprisingly enough. she tells ned where they’re living and he stays with her and this other woman in this fucking crack house and (i believe) she got him the job that led to him being drugged and raped and all of that, and i feel like they very well could’ve done drugs together, and then you know what she does? SHE ABANDONS HIM IN A FUCKING CRACK HOUSE. SHE LEAVES HIM THERE. HE’S SEVENTEEN AND WORKING IN A CLUB AND HE’S VULNERABLE AND UNSTABLE AND FUUUUUUCK… HE CALLED HIS MOM AND SHE LEFT.

why don’t we talk about that?? why is it all, “oh ian looked so hot while starving himself and being on drugs and being sexually abused and mentally unstable and in tight clothes😍😍”, instead of, “holy shit. this is a very traumatized and hurt child who clearly needs help, should not be working this job, and who should be in school. it’s alarming that his family doesn’t seem to care much about his absence, and he is clearly in so much danger”. he was a KID.

and i hear some of y’all saying shit like, “i wonder what would’ve happened if mickey hadn’t found ian at the club when that guy was with him (4x07)”, i don’t wonder! i know! ian would have been raped, and it had so clearly happened several times before. did you see how casual ian was about not only taking the roofie but waking up after being roofied? yeah, of course that had happened. i mean, he ends up not knowing his body count because it’s so high and he was sleeping with so many people for money and since he was underage/intoxicated was it ever really consensual (that’s rhetorical; of course it wasn’t. he is a VICTIM).

this period of time isn’t something to be glamorized and i don’t understand why it is… yeah, i get it, packing nine inches, haha- but still. season 4 is the darkest season of shameless for a reason.

#cw: rape #cw: ed mention #i still gotta finish the fic and edit i made about ian that season #i love him so so much you don’t even know #shameless #ian gallagher #monica gallagher #ned lishman #season 4 #shameless meta

[mmmichyyy]

one phone call

a spiritual companion piece to chapter four of balancing on the ledge - what if they kept in touch when mickey was in mexico?

“Gallagher.”

Ian sits up straight in his bed. Rubs the sleep from his eyes and blinks at his surroundings, adjusting his vision in the dark. A crumpled pack of Marlboros on the nightstand, surrounded by knocked over orange bottles of pills. A lone sock on the floor, from his missed aim at the hamper. A crack of light peeking into his room, reflecting off the snow falling outside the window.

“Gallagher,” the voice over the phone repeats, tinny and far away. “Are you there.”

It's real, he thinks, pinching his arm. This isn't a dream.

“Mickey,” Ian whispers.

A sigh on the other end of the line.

“Hey.”

“Where are you?” Ian asks faintly.

“Can't tell you.” Sounds of a chair shuffling against the floor in the background. Glasses clinking. Muffled voices. A bar, maybe. “I’m alive, though.”

Relief floods his entire body. It's been a while since he heard from Mickey, maybe a couple weeks since he's received a text from an unknown number. Usually it's just a short message, nothing revealing, nothing profound, but every time his phone chimes his heart starts racing in anticipation to seeing Mickey's name on his screen.

Well, not Mickey exactly. Just M or a string of random numbers. Can't be too careful.

“That's good,” Ian manages to say. “I'm glad.”

A moment of silence. A million questions and thoughts run through Ian's head. How are you? What kind of jobs are you doing down there? Are you safe? Tell me you're okay. I miss you. I miss you. I miss you.

But he doesn't. Can't get the words out.

“Jesus Gallagher, did you fall asleep on me?”

“No,” Ian says quickly. “No, I'm just… I'm just surprised you called, that's all.”

“Thought you wanted me to call.”

“I do, Mick.” Ian lets out a deep breath. “But I don't want you to get caught.”

“It's fine. I'm using a new burner.” A pause. “I wanted to hear your voice.”

The slight slurring in Mickey's voice makes Ian go still.

“Are you drunk?”

A huff. “Can't get drunk anymore. My tolerance has gone way up since I got here.”

“Mickey.”

“Gallagher.” Ian can practically hear Mickey's eyes rolling from miles away. “I'm fine, okay? Fuck, I don't even know why I called. I knew you didn't give a fuck about–”

“Don't do that,” Ian cuts him off quietly. “Please, Mick. Don't push me away. I need–” Sighs. “I need to know you're okay.”

“So you can clear your conscience?” Mickey spits out. “So you don't feel guilty for leaving me at the border?”

“You don't think I feel guilty about it every single day?” Ian practically yells. “I do. I think about it all the time. How I could be in Mex– there for you, taking care of you, building our future together. How we could be happy together. But I couldn't come with you. I couldn't drag you down with my shit. If you got caught because of me, I don't think I can live with myself.”

The line on the other end goes quiet. A minute goes by, then another, long enough for Ian’s nerves to shake. Then–

“I don't have a future, Ian,” Mickey finally says, quiet and soft. “This is it for me. This is my life. I'm going to be here for a long time.”

“The heat is going to die down eventually,” Ian whispers. “The charges are bullshit anyway. Everything's going to work out. I promise.”

A small laugh. “You promise, huh.”

Ian has no idea what's going to happen or what the future holds. But what he does know is that this isn't the end of his and Mickey's story together. One day, whenever it may be, he's going to see Mickey again. And when he does, he's never going to let go ever again.

“I promise.”

A flick of a lighter on the other end. Then, a deep exhale.

“I gotta go.”

Ian's heart lurches.

“Promise me you'll stay in touch. You don't have to call, but just text me from time to time and let me know you're okay.” A lump forms in his throat. “Please, Mick.”

Another deep sigh. But–

“Okay,” Ian hears, and the world aligns itself once again. “I promise.”

The snow continues to fall outside, covering the entire neighbourhood with a blanket of frost. Ian wonders what the weather is like where Mickey is. Warm, he hopes.

“Merry Christmas, Mickey.”

“Merry Christmas, Gallagher.”

#kind of a christmas fic but not really #not very cheery but hopeful i would say! #you don't need to read botl but it would be nice if you did :) #gallavich #my words #gallavich fic #ian x mickey #ian and mickey fic #ian and mickey #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #michy ficlet

[astaraels]

Something something dogs love unconditionally dogs follow their people everywhere dogs hide when they're in pain dogs love to be praised dogs get all mopey when they're scolded dogs let out these most dramatic little sighs dogs love it when you cup their face in your hands dogs get skittish easily am I making any sense here.....

It's about how Mickey will follow Ian anywhere—whether it be chasing him down at a nightclub or fucking him under the school bleachers. He can't say anything but he's gotta mark his territory and make sure everyone knows to stay the fuck away from Ian Gallagher.

It's about how no matter what Ian does Mickey will always come back—from his marriage, from prison, from Mexico, from a breakup—and he will go back to Ian because that is his person, that is the only person he trusts. Even when he's angry, all "jesus christ, Ian," he still says "of course I'll fuckin' marry you" because it's a given. It's always a given with Mickey and Ian.

It's about how when he was hurting and in pain, Mickey went to a place where Ian challenged him, where he threw down the gauntlet that changed their relationship completely ("he isn't afraid to kiss me"), and he hid there until Ian found him. Ian tried to coax him out but ended up getting bitten. But he lets Mickey bite and snarl because that's what he needs, and Ian doesn't care if his hands come out mangled and bloody. Ian will kiss Mickey at the other boy's wedding and he'll taste blood on his lips, and he'll hope it's enough. (it's enough it's enough but not enough to change things)

It's about the Mickey only Ian gets to see, who preens when he's praised and scowls when he's scolded. In the bedroom, sure, but just in general as well. How Ian knows him inside and out, how he has to try not to laugh when Mickey lets out that little frustrated sigh and almost stomps his foot when there's the tiniest inconvenience, because he's not living in survival mode anymore and he's allowed to get mad about the little things now.

It's about Mickey being Ian's guard dog and how he went to the person he hates the most, who tormented him for most of his life, just so he could find a way to protect Ian. It's the way he never gave up, not really. Even at the start—the very start—Ian had to hold out his hand, and Mickey was a feral dog who eventually came to appreciate the warmth and comfort that Ian could give him.

It's about the way Ian can do anything and Mickey will still be waiting. How when he's throwing a fit, Ian can take Mickey's face in his hands and kisses him all over. And just because Mickey complains about it and tries to shove off, he still loves it when Ian shows him physical affection. They didn't get that chance for so long, so now they take every opportunity. And it's how Mickey will curl up on Ian's lap, or vice versa, just for the comfort and the warmth and needing to have that connection...

It's about love, and trust, and devotion, and how all of it comes with teeth and hunger, but Ian doesn't mind when Mickey has his claws brandished and is ready to rip throats out, because Mickey is his, and Ian is Mickey's, and they protect each other no matter what it takes.

tagging @m4ndysk4nkovich @holymurdock @swiftfootedachilles @mickittotheman if I'm missing any more of the canine milkovich squad lemme know

#gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #milkoviches x canines #he gets mean when he's nervous like a bad dog #dead dogs are just happy you're here #you'll never recover from that kind of devotion #how do you love? like a fist. like a knife. #shameless

[redwiccanrobin]

(TW: abuse, neglect, emotional manipulation)

Inspired by a post from @m4ndysk4nkovich, go give her love.

When I first started Shameless, I had someone tell me about Monica. They said she wasn’t a bad person per say, it was just Frank’s influence. Frank just dragged her down into the trenches. After her introduction I soon became confused by this statement. Frank is a horrible person, yes. But Monica had a choice to make; stay and be a mother or leave them behind to have her oldest daughter raise them in her place. She chose the latter. She’s a grown woman with agency and she left them. Left them to be abused by her husband.

Later, this same person and I were having a conversation. They sent me this scene and said how Monica had the best of intentions. At first, I was inclined to believe that. Then I sat with this scene, thought of the language that Monica used. Then I turned angry. I turned angry because I realized what a horrible scene this was. Her speech to Ian riffed with manipulation and her ever-present victim complex, trying so desperately to pass it on to her son.

I think Monica saw an opportunity and seized it. Excited that her son is as “crazy” as she is. She’s an utterly self-obsessed woman; saw a chance to create another version of her. She told Ian that no one was going to love her like she did. Told him that Mickey wanting him to get better and take his medication wasn’t love. I know that the person who spoke kindly of Monica would be furious if it was Mickey that used that language on Ian. Would have said it was toxic and abusive. Yet, it’s fine when Monica does it.

One of the saddest things about those words she spoke to Ian in that kind tone of hers was that they worked. Damn it all to hell, they worked. He comes home defeated, feeling like it was true. His siblings and Mickey didn’t love him anymore. He even said to Mickey, “You used to love me.” Monica got so deep in his head that he believed Mickey, this boy who was kind, patient, and caring to him simply fell out of love with him.

Monica doesn’t love Ian for Ian. She loves Ian for the ways that she sees herself in him. She’s an abusive mother. She’s a manipulative mother. She’s a neglectful mother. A mother who blows into their lives every now and again only to leave, behind her a path of destruction that they have to fix. Frank may have been more loud about his abuse. He may have even caused more harm to his children, but that doesn’t mean Monica didn’t have a hand to play. She hurt her children and never cared enough to truly fix it.

I sympathize with Monica for the fact that she struggles with mental health issues. But, at the end of the day, she chose not to take care of it. As silly as it sounds, I’m proud of Ian for the way he turned out. Those words no longer wrapped around him, he took care of himself for the most part. He did make a horribly grave mistake in season 8 and stopped taking his medication, but he admitted it, apologized for the hurt he caused. Monica may have dreamed and hoped that Ian was going to be an extension of her. But he’s not, he’s Ian Gallagher; a loving brother, uncle, husband. A man who works everyday to take care of himself not only for himself but for those he holds dear.

#shameless #shameless meta #ian gallagher

[gallavichfanficlibrary]

✨ Hey guys! ✨

Just wanted to share some recent fics that you may have missed out on :) Just some stories we enjoyed in the last few months. 

First of all, I want to mention several new-ish authors whose works we loved. I'll link some fics but check out their other stories too!

sam_writes_fics

sending my love (from the other side) - post 10x05: ian visits mickey in prison.

hey brother - mid-11x10: mickey and lip talk post-fight.

lalazee

The Thing About Living - AU. In which Ian Gallagher donates a kidney just to get a date with Mickey Milkovich. That’s it, that’s how it goes. Everyone gets a happy ending. (Genuinely one the rawest, most beautiful stories I've read recently. Don't let the heavy theme turn you off.)

Of Going Home - Superpowers AU. A famous superhero Ian is forcibly put on leave from his job and returns to the Gallagher house, a failure all over again. Not only does he not know what Mickey does when the world goes dark, he doesn't know that Mickey is still living southside at all.

pinkpantherman

burnt by fire without trial - they get each other off on a couch. their couch. that's it

look at the situation they got me facin’ - Set in S1, Mickey's POV. PWP with bottom Ian.

roseapothecarys

quiet - 5 times Mickey lets his guard down, as observed by various third parties.

OnlyFans!Mickey series - What happens when your roommate comes home and finds you making a solo sex tape in the living room for your hordes of horny online followers?

***

And some fics separately!

One-shots:

hold steady - Those big hands hold a special place in Mickey’s heart.

to be gentle, to be soft - a series of four vignettes from their third year of marriage.

call me what you want - Post-canon. Ian's POV one night when he can't sleep in their new apartment. A great character study.

Full of it - Mickey knows he hasn't had the best track record, but is tired of the constant surprise from people when he can do normal things.

counting the heartbeats - It’s been a month and three days since their first kiss.

Hot Sugar - To settle a petty argument, Ian, Mickey, Lip and Carl end up at a shooting range and Mickey discovers he has quite a bit of a competence kink.

Drive-by BJ - The nice thing about driving a converted ambulance is all the "head" room it affords you.

Pushing Luck - All about their second kiss. Set after the robbery and before the-sleepover-we-don't-talk-about.

Thirteen Hours - Ian has known for thirteen hours that he’s not crossing the border with Mickey, so he makes the most of the time he has left with him.

all i need in this life of sin (is me and my husband) - Ian wants the two of them to have more friends. Mickey doesn’t.

27 - Ian Gallagher is another year older, Mickey knows exactly how to celebrate.

The Demon Made Me Do It - Mickey allows a demon to possess him, but the demon-Ian-has different ideas about what that means.

baby don't stop - Post-canon. Ian and Mickey settle into the ups and downs of domestic life.

How To Bag A Baddie - Wrong number AU. Ian gets a threat from an unknown number. He gets curious.

and he says, “it’s no big deal,” - Frank headbutts Ian again, and Mickey witnesses the outcome. Needless to say, he’s more than pissed.

The Taming of Mickey Milkovich - Mickey has missed Ian and is being a brat. Ian takes care of that.

Like sunrise on a summer day - Mickey is a famous painter, specialised in doing portraits and Ian is a vampire who hasn't seen his own face in over a century and would very much like to change that.

Warmth - It's a lazy winter Sunday.

WIPs:

Mickey The Unfriendly Ghost - Ian is finally in a position to move out of the Gallagher family home and into somewhere by himself. Things start to go downhill when strange things start happening in his new house.

The Exchange Student - Ian is a British exchange student in Chicago, and Mickey is his 'holiday fling', as much as they can ever have a fling, that is.

Africa - AU. When Ian lands himself an internship with famous wildlife photographer Mickey Milkovich he can't believe his luck. Spending one month traveling through South Africa with his big hero is a dream come true.

second chapters - When Mickey’s PO assigns him a job at the local library, he’s pleasantly surprised—not that he’d ever admit it. Practically lived in the prison library, and what better way to start his new life than with a career he might actually enjoy.

Finished fics with several chapters:

Designs on You - Ian has just moved out of his family home to live on his own for the first time. Working as a paramedic, he’s finally happy, stable, and moving forward with his life. But first, there’s one last remnant of his past self that he needs to let go of: his accidental porn tattoo of his late mother.

Dead Meet - Online dating AU. Ian's life is great but he feels lonely and doesn't want to be single anymore.

We do Each Other’s Laundry in our Hearts Sometimes - A very sweet hybrid AU where the Gallaghers are all bird hybrids and the Milkoviches are all wolf hybrids.

Prelude Motel - AU. When Mickey’s secret spot is infiltrated by an intriguing stranger, all the warning signs are there. Despite the voice in the back of his head telling him to disengage, he can’t help but bite off more than he can chew, running straight back to the spot and the stranger when a job leaves him injured.

***

There are many more fun stories that's been written over the past six months, take a deep dive in the ao3 ;) Plus, we're patiently awaiting the Gallavich Week 2023 to start... So, happy reading! ^^

#gallavich fic rec #lists

[mybrainismelted]

Oooh, Kat, 74 for the Drabble prompt?

Hi Comet!

#74 - “I’m not wearing a tie.” "Mick! Hurry up, we're going to be late!" Ian called from the living room. "Told you already, I'm not going!" Mickey yelled back from where he was lounging on their bed.

Moments later, Ian appeared in the doorway. "You have to go, Mickey, Franny really wants you there."

"She'll get over it. Kid needs to get used to being disappointed in life anyway." Mickey said firmly, not looking at his husband, steadfastly ignoring how good his favorite ginger still looked in a suit.

"She's a Gallagher, she's grown up with disappointment. Come on, she's only going to graduate from the eighth grade once. "

"Why do people care about this shit anyway? It's the eighth grade, pretty sure the schools aren't allowed to fail them anymore anyway, so it's not like it's something special." Mickey grumbled, resolutely NOT looking at his husband.

"Mick...." came the low voice from right beside him this time, causing Mickey to glance over against his will. "If you come with me, we can sneak into one of the classrooms and I'll blow you on the teacher's desk."

And just like Ian knew he would, Mickey raked a glance over his husband's lean form, taking in the way his shirt strained just slightly over his shoulders and biceps, the way his pants hugged his hips just right, and he completely caved.

"Dammit, alright, gimme a minute to get dressed. But I'm not wearing a tie," he insisted as he got off the bed, giving Ian's firm ass a slap on his way by.

"Didn't ask you to," was the response, "but you should bring it anyway, I can think of other things to do with it while we're there."

drabble challenge prompts

#drabble challenge

[metalheadmickey]

Ian and Mickey bring a stray cat home that ends up being pregnant and having kittens, as good as the cat is with the kittens (like all cats I’ve ever seen are good with their babies) this one has been a stray for a while and doesn’t have it in her to feed them round the clock so Ian and Mickey take the kitties to the vet, get them checked over and as they are told to do so, they do night feeds in their robes at all hours in the morning with tiny baby bottles, smiling down at the tiny precious things and glancing at each other peacefully from opposite ends of the sofa, “maybe having a baby with you won’t be so bad, Gallagher”

You've really thought about this! You took us on a journey here! Okay I'm gonna try to keep it somewhat brief, because this could seriously spiral if I let it.

It's three am, and they're already on their second middle of the night feeding with these guys, and honestly, it kind of sucks. They're tired. Mickey doesn't want Ian to keep this up for more than a night or two, so he's got all his fingers crossed that the vet's able to find a foster for them asap. In the meantime, they've got a pretty good system going here.

They've got four kittens to take care of, so they each take two. Their mom does what she can, but she's scrawny as hell, and they know now that she was malnourished from all that time trying to fend for herself. So when it became apparent that there's only so much she can do, Ian decided for both of them that they could pick up the slack. Mickey agreed begrudgingly, mostly for Ian's sake. So now they're feeding them with this formula stuff the vet sent them home with - along with some very detailed instructions - trying not to pass out on the couch with these wiggly little mewling lumps in their laps, tiny bottles held delicately.

Mickey's so tired. And usually that makes him extra cranky and a little mean. But sometimes it makes him soft. The softest. And sue him, the little guys are cute. So it's the middle of the night, and it kind of sucks, and he's exhausted, but also so soft.

Ian looks happy as can be, lounging back on the couch and holding the bottle like he's done this a thousand times before. Of course he'd be a natural at this. Mickey's doing alright, but it's like Ian didn't even need to try. It's yet another reminder that Ian is going to absolutely nail it when it's his own kid, Mickey knows. The thought makes something catch in Mickey's chest.

They're at a point now where it's like they're just waiting until the conditions are right. Living somewhere that has more space, getting their business on steady footing. It'll come together, but it's going to be a bit longer. But it'll happen. Mickey's pretty sure.

"Havin' fun over there?" he asks.

Ian smiles. "Yeah." He yawns. "Tired."

"Mm. Yeah." And then, "Weird to think about doing this again."

"Well, the vet said she'll probably have someone by tomorrow, she's calling that one lady..."

"No, I mean. You know, kids need to..." He trails off and shrugs a little.

"Oh." Ian's face softens. "That's sweet, Mick."

"What?"

"You, thinkin' about kids. I just like it. Like talking to you about it and like, knowing you want to." Because he didn't always want to.

Mickey smiles. "Well, I mean...it'll be good, right? Won't be that bad, doin' it with you."

Mickey huffs a laugh through his nose when Ian positively melts at that. He turns his attention down to the sleepy little lump attached to the bottle, the other one in his lap passed out and doing these painfully cute little kitten twitches in his sleep. It'll be different from this, obviously, he knows. Way more complicated, more loud, more exhausting, a hell of a lot more scary. But yeah, it'll be good.

#these two with cats and with babies....please i am not strong enough #thank you anon #asks #gallavich

[noellawrites]

Overprotective - Yandere!Carl Gallagher x reader

summary: when a Milkovich harasses you, Carl takes things to drastic measures.

disclaimer: reader and Carl are 18+ and this takes place around 11x4.

warning: 18+ readers only! contains pregnancy, verbal & physical assault and verbal descriptions of bodily gore and torture

The last thing you ever expected was for the Milkoviches to move in next door to where you lived with the Gallagher’s, but here you were, living next door to everyone’s least favorite white-supremacist family.

Your husband, Carl, bounded up the steps from your shared basement room, jangling his police belt and halting your train of thought.

“I’m heading to work, see you later babe—” Carl said, kissing you on the forehead.

“—and baby,” he grinned, bending down to lay a kiss on your five-months-pregnant stomach.

“Have a good day at work, sweets! Text me if you need anything,” you called after your husband as he headed towards the front door.

“Be careful today, call the cops if the Milkoviches try to bother you or Liam, okay?” Carl warned, as you nodded. Then he left, in a hurry to catch the bus.

Today was your first day off of work in a while and you had the house to yourself, save for Liam still sleeping upstairs. As far as you knew, Debbie was at work, Frannie at daycare, Lip at his house and Ian with Mickey on a run.

You figured a bit of light cleaning would be therapeutic, then the idea of baking a batch of cookies for your new neighbors couldn’t hurt. Although they had a horrible reputation and you never liked any of them (Mickey and Sandy excluded), you still wanted to be courteous towards them.

—

You nervously made your way up the deteriorating Milkovich porch with a warm plate of chocolate chip cookies, counting your blessings and hoping you wouldn’t be murdered on the spot.

Shortly after knocking, the door opened to reveal a dirty, dark-haired man with longer black hair that you’d only seen in passing.

“Hello, welcome to the neighborhood! My name is (y/n), I’m Carl’s wife and I made some cookies for your-“

“C’mon in, sweetie. I gotta thank you properly for these baked goods,” he growled, leering at you.

You took a step back, down the steps, as you felt increasingly uncomfortable.

“No, that’s really okay. I just—“

“—C’mon, I’d love myself some fresh meat. Although not fresh enough, seeing as a Gallagher’s already had his turn. How ‘bout you let me fuck another baby into ‘ya?” He laughed, low and gutturally like he was about to pounce.

You quickly took another step back, not realizing there was a step down behind you. You gasped as the man grabbed you by the arm and pulled you into his chewing-tobacco-and-blood-scented chest.

You gagged and pushed away from the man, not before he was able to squeeze tightly around your right wrist and keep you in his grasp.

“Us Milkoviches like the cops. You better hope it stays that way, or else your new family will just be some rotting corpses in your backyard,” he hissed into your earlobe.

You let out a loud wail, taking him by surprise as he flung you off of him. Your hip crashed into the side of the stairs as you were finally freed from his grasp.

You stumbled away, cookies flung onto the porch as you ran for the front door as quickly as you possibly could. Slamming it behind you, you shrunk to the ground and let out a series of loud sobs. You positioned a cautious hand around your baby bump as your sobs turned into quiet hiccups.

—

“Liam, dinner’s ready!” Debbie yelled as you brought the last of the sides to the table. Tonight, you had fixed chicken parmesan with macaroni and cheese and green beans for what would be you, Carl, Liam, Debbie, Frannie, and Sandy. Ian and Mickey were still on a run, and Lip was doing some late-night repairs on a motorcycle.

You took your seat next to Carl as Liam bounded down the stairs and Debbie finished helping Frannie in her chair.

“Thanks for making dinner, babe. How was your day?” Carl asked, grasping your hand under the table. He noticed your hand was shaking slightly, which was unusual for you.

“Uh, it was okay. How was yours?”

Carl was about to respond when Liam spoke up. He had been in his room the whole day, which wasn’t normal, but you had brought him lunch earlier and figured he was just tired from school.

“Okay, we really need to do something about the Milkovich family. They can’t keep terrorizing us like this!” Liam shouted, waving his fork around.

“Is this about the poop on your window again? Because-“ Debbie began, Liam cutting her off again.

“No! It’s what that black-haired idiot did to (y/n) today!”

Your eyes widened, as you hadn’t planned on telling Carl so soon and you didn’t want the rest of the family to know and freak out. It hadn’t even occurred to you that Liam might’ve seen, or heard, everything.

“What happened to (y/n)?!” Carl seethed. You could practically see steam coming from your husband’s ears.

“It was really nothing, I—“

“He grabbed her and touched her, then he said something about giving her another baby. I heard it all from my window. I was about to yell at him when she pushed away and fell,” Liam explained, waving his hands around animatedly.

“He WHAT?! That fucker is dead meat,” Carl threatened, dropping your hand and standing up. He hadn’t changed since he’d gotten home, so he still had his work uniform on. His taser, baton, gun, all strapped to his belt.

“(y/n), I’m so sorry. My brothers-slash-cousins can be such jerks,” Sandy apologized, reaching her hand over to you sympathetically. You couldn’t hear the voices around you, they’d all turned to the sound of ringing in your ears. You almost didn’t notice as Carl left out the back door.

—

It was almost one in the morning when Carl returned to the basement, silently stripping off his uniform and rinsing off in the basin.

He climbed under the sheets, naked except for a fresh pair of boxers. As he wrapped his arm around you gently, your body tensed and you sat up quickly.

“What did you do to him?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Carl, I’m not an idiot. you left four hours ago. What took you four hours?”

“(Y/n), I didn’t do anything!”

“Bullshit, Gallagher!”

“You wanna know? Fine! I stole his keys and drove him to an empty warehouse outside the city. I pulled out his fingernails one by one, then I watched him bleed to death. I made him confess everything down to the bruises on your arm. Then, I tossed him in a dumpster and lit the whole thing on fire. Is that all you wanna fucking know? Or should I go on?” Carl yelled, fists clenched at his sides.

He softened when he realized you were shaking and crying again. He reached his hand out gently, and you cowered in response.

“I-I’m scared, Carl.”

“Don’t worry, that asshole is dead and his family won’t mess with us anytime soon.”

“I’m scared of you, Carl! I didn’t think you were capable of something like this!”

“I only did that shit because I love you, and our baby! I want you to feel safe!”

“Well now I’m scared of the person I sleep with every night!”

“Let me hold you.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Just let me hold you, (y/n). It’ll slow down your blood pressure. Lip told me that he held Tami whenever she’d get too frustrated during her pregnancy,” Carl explained.

Maybe you were being too harsh on him. Carl was a Gallagher, after all. Crazy runs in their blood.

“Can you promise to never do anything like that ever again? It’s hard enough for you to be a cop, I can’t have my husband locked up,” you sighed, shaking your head.

“Yes, babe, I promise. Now get under those covers before our baby girl gets cold!” Carl ordered, smiling at how adorable and worried you were.

“You still think it’s a girl?” you grinned, furrowing your eyebrows.

“I really don’t think the world can handle another Gallagher man. Now let’s snuggle,” he laughed, tugging you gently under the covers with him.

“You have a point, Officer Gallagher,” you sighed, melting into his arms once again.

“Goodnight, babe.”

#carl gallagher x reader #carl gallagher imagine #yandere carl gallagher x reader #dark!carl gallagher x reader #yandere shameless #dark!shameless #yandere carl gallagher #dark!carl gallagher

[golden28s]

i said that at some point a post about mickey and physical touch was coming and here it is.

I feel that his constant rejection to physical touch is based on how he has seen that physical touch happen around him growing up. Physical touch meant violence, physical touch left bruises, red traces and meant bleeding. Physical touch meant you did something wrong, meant you made a mistake so it meant anger and disappointment. In Mickey's mind a hand touched you to hurt you, not to comfort you. The only person we see him hugging during the firsts seasons is Mandy because she knows, she lived all that with him and even if the writers didn't show it too much, they loved each other and tried to protect each other. Mandy even tried that Mickey had some happiness in his life every time she insisted on how dumb he was for pretending to not care about Ian or not running after him.

Ian happened and physical touch scared him for a different reason because now it meant intimacy, meant softness, meant vulnerability and let someone in and see and notice and know. And he was terrified of that, he didn't want to allow himself to get too close, too used to Ian. We see probably until their first kiss how scared he is of intimacy, of accepting it and even more of navigating that. And Ian taught him that physical touch is actually softness and comfort, familiarity, warmth and healing. But it's unknown so Mickey's scared, so Mickey pushes it away. He doesn't know how to accept that softness, he doesn't know how to accept the comfort, he doesn't understand physical touch if it's not violent or sexual.

But it's there in him, somewhere, and this new definition of physical touch solidifies probably between s4 and s5. Something clicks, for the first time fear doesn't make him violent, doesn't make him run away, fear makes him protect Ian. For the first time violence won't protect someone he loves, for the first time he needs to find a way to care and protect someone that doesn't let bruises in his knuckles. And it's like an instinct, it's the softness Ian taught him learning how to function. It's him caressing the back of Ian's neck and telling him everything's okay, it's him kissing his forehead and laying in silence next to him, it's him hugging him again and again and again so he knows he cares, so he knows he loves him. And it's also him feeling proud and kissing him in front of all those people that they don't know, it's him accepting himself, defending who he is.

Because the acceptance of this new concept of physical touch comes with the acceptance of who he is, it goes with his battle against internalized homophobia.

But even after this change, after this acceptance in s7, or s9 or s10 or s11 he still only allows physical touch if it comes from Ian. He didn't quite accept physical touch or the intimacy that goes with it, with Byron (i wrote a post about this). He didn't accept physical touch not even from other people of his now family, the Gallaghers. He only accepts Ian's physical touch, he feels safe if it's Ian who's touching him if it comes from anyone else doesn't just reject it, he doesn't trust it.

So physical touch is soft and warm and feels like comfort, and it feels safe if it's Ian. It makes sense because Ian's the only person that actually knows Mickey, he sees him, he understand him and he simply knows so Mickey trusts him. His acceptance or rejection of physical touch is really related to how much he trusts someone, to how much he wants that person to know him, to see him. He's a very selective person so he pushes a lot of people away and has a very close and little inner circle and for him, physical touch, like I said, it's about trust, about feeling safe and letting someone see you without an armor or a wall between you and that person, it's about vulnerability and intimacy.

And he trusts Ian, so he let's Ian touch him. So he lets Ian's physical touch to be comfort, to be healing, to be a safe place to run to.

#gallavich #shameless #mickey milkovich #ian gallagher

[theitgirlnetwork]

Better

Chapter 3. Friends Don't Fuck Friends

note: Hi everyone, thank you for the love so far on this story, I'm having fun writing it. I have a whole plan for this story, and building a universe that it's part of. Please feel free to send me any questions or leave comments below. Also warning: language, mentions of prostitution, i think that's it. <3

“Hey, Lip, pass me that wrench…Lip. Lip!”

“Aye, shithead, wrench, you don’t hear him talkin’ to you?”

Lip unglues his eyes from the ass in spandex red shorts with translucent tights being waved in his face…across the yard. 

“Jesus, V should start chargin’ folks to skulk around the yard, eye fuckin’ princess over there.” Mickey scoffs from his seat on the steps, knocking the ash off of his cigarette. 

Lip looks along the street to see the mailman, a couple of kids on the way to school, and some random drunks paused sporadically, all looking at the same view Lip had been admiring. “Hey, fuck off, fuckin’ pervs. Charlotte!”

Charlotte jolts straight from where she was stringing lights along the banister, whipping around to see the men lined up on the other side of the fence. “Oh, uh, can I help you guys?”

“Sure you can.” one of them leers, leaning on the fence. Lip jumps over, shoving the guy away, curling his lip up at them causing them to back away, scattering fully when Ian and Mickey both stand threateningly on the Gallagher side of the fence. 

“Christmas uniform?” Lip asks, looking at the rest of her outfit, down to the shirt with a bow that said ‘Unwrap Me’. “Let me do that for you.” he crouches down, starting to wrap the rest of the lights. 

“Thanks, I’m trying to get these done before my shift.” she grins, wiping her hands on her shorts. “When I get home I’m gonna try to paint the Santa that Kev brought home black, I think that it’ll be good for Liam to see. And me to be honest.” 

Lip’s eyebrows rise as he stands, leaning closer to the girl. “What, you don’t like white men sneaking in at night giving you presents?” 

“Not,” Charlotte takes a step back. “when they’re married. Or have girlfriends.” 

Mickey whistles from behind him while Ian tries to smother a chuckle.

The blond stands to his full height, cocking his head back. “Thought we agreed to be friends. Change your mind?”

“Not about Mandy. Get permission from her, and we’ll be the best of buddies, kay?” She pats his cheek lightly, and grabs her purse from the stoop. “Ian, Mickey, will you walk me to work?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Free beer?” Mickey asks, swinging his legs over the fence, tossing an arm over Charlotte’s shoulders. 

“Two.” 

“Three! You little hooker.”

Lip sighs as he watches the three of them walk up the street, cursing himself for wanting anything to do with that sexy little suffragette.

“Knew you’d come back.” Mandy smiles, leaning in her doorway. “What? Little skank doesn’t give head? She looks like the type. Too prissy.”

Lip finds himself cringing at the name she used for the sweet girl who lived next door to him. “I didn’t fuck her.”

“Tried to.” she rolls her eyes, turning back into the house, leaving the door open so he can follow. “I don’t get it, she just got here. You go from fixating on Karen to her. I’m the one who takes care of you.”

Lip flicks his cigarette on the ground, tucking his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. Well. Momentary lapse in judgment. Look, I’m sorry alright. But she didn’t know. And believe me, she doesn’t want any fucking thing to do with me now, okay? She wants to be friends…with us. You, mainly.”

“Good.” Mandy hums, grabbing two beers from the fridge, handing one to Lip. “But I don’t wanna be friends with that bitch-”

“She’s gonna be around.” He sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “She’s gonna be around, okay. She’s V’s cousin. V and Kev are family, they live next door. She lives next door. But there’s nothing going on, alright?” He rubs Mandy’s arm. “Seriously. Nothing.”

Mandy stares up into his eyes, biting her lip as she thinks before nodding, kissing his cheek. “Okay. I believe you.”

“So you’ll try, right? To be cool with Charlotte.”

“Fine.” she breathes. “I’ll be cool with the bitch.”

Lip stares back at her, parting his lips to complain again.

“Girls call their friends bitches, calm down.” she holds her hand out to him. “C’mon, I’ll give you a blowie, you look pent up.”

Charlotte hums a christmas song to herself as she scrubs the bar top, pausing to fix the santa hat on her head. 

Ian and Mickey had left after a couple of beers and the bar was relatively slow because it was the day shift. It was a surprise since it was a Friday, but she was grateful for the break. She was going out with V and Fiona tomorrow and she was excited. Excited to hang out with her cousin and Fiona. Excited to meet actual men outside of Lip Gallagher. 

“Hey, Lottie! Table 13 is requestin’ ya. Get to it.”

“Mmkay. Coming.” she chirps. She turns the corner around the wooden post and pauses when she sees who’s sitting there. “Mandy, hi.”

“Hey. What time do you get off?” The girl asks, taking a bite of the fry in her hand. 

“Um, around 8, why?” 

Mandy pops the rest of the fry into her mouth and raises her brow. “We’re going out. We’re friends now. Per my boyfriend’s request.” 

The emphasis is not lost on Charlotte, but this was what she wanted. Ian had told her Mandy can be pretty great when she’s not feeling possessive. She just needs to show the girl she has no interest in trying to take her boyfriend. So she offers the girl a wide smile, and bounces on her feet. “Great! Okay, so, after my shift, I’ll go home, get cute and meet up with you. This is gonna be fun.” she looks at the empty glass in front of Mandy, “how about a milkshake on me?”

“Beer.”

“Oh-kay.”

“Who’re you going with again?” 

“V!” Charlotte whines, her heels clacking on the floor as she rushes across the kitchen. 

Her cousin shakes her head, plopping down on the couch. “I agree with Kev, this is stupid, that girl hates you.”

“Not anymore. I don’t like Phillip like that, and she knows it, that’s why she asked me out. It’s gonna be fun.” she hums. “If I don’t like it I’ll just come home.”

“Look, she better bring you home as you went or I’ll show that little white bit-” the doorbell rings and Charlotte shushes her cousin, running out to meet with Mandy. 

“Hey, girl, you look nice.” she smiles.

Mandy is wearing a short sequin dress with combat boots. She eyes Charlotte in her black tube top dress with slits up the sides, and crosses her arms. “Thanks. Let’s go.” 

“Okay.” 

The two girls head up the sidewalk, Ian, Mickey, and Lip are sitting on the stoop smoking. Mandy’s eyes trail over to Lip, waiting. For acknowledgement. A ‘you look nice’ or ‘thanks for doing this’. But all she got was to follow his eyes over to the girl next to her. Watching them stay there. It felt like torture. It really hurt. Mandy was tired of being the one who gets hurt.

A couple hours after the girls left, Lip is feeling pretty damn satisfied with himself. The girls were out, probably shaking their asses, having a good time. And Mandy is essentially a guard dog so they’ll be safe together. Then, he’ll have them both around, Mandy for screwin’ around, and Charlotte for…well…he hasn’t figured out what he needs Charlotte for yet. But at least all of that hard to get bullshit would go away.

He walks back into his room with some pep in his step, fresh out of the shower with a towel low on his waist. Lip pulls some underwear on and goes to grab a joint from his stash when he hears some vibrating. He follows the sound to Ian’s bed where his phone lays.

“Ian! Your phone! It’s-” flashing brightly on the screen is the name ‘Lottie’ with a picture of Ian with the girl kissing his cheek. Lip brings the phone to his ears “Fuck…hello?”

“Ian? It’s me, Charlotte. Um…can you come get me?”

“Charlotte? Where the fuck are you? Are you okay?” Lip huffs, tugging on some pants and shoving his feet into shoes. “Why are you whispering?”

“Oh, Phillip, hi…can you give the phone to Ian?” her voice cracks a little.

“No, what the fuck, what’s going on?”

“I…Mandy and I got separated and I’m in some house with some random guys that I don’t know. I locked myself in the bathroom, but…I need someone to come get me.”

“Alright, honey, look I’m coming, I just need an address alright. I’m comin’, I just need an address.”

“I…I don’t know, should I go look?”

“No, honey, Charlotte, stay in the bathroom, I’ll figure it out, fuck!” Lip growls, running out of the room and down the steps, swinging the door open and ignoring Ian’s calls. 

When he opens the door, Mandy is standing on the stoop, a smile on her face. “Hey, Lip. You headed somewhere?”

“Where is she?” 

“Who?” Mandy asks, shoving him back softly as he grips her arms. “Where is who?”

“Fuck, fuckin’ Charlotte, where is Charlotte? You left her somewhere?” The blond panics, hair sticking out everywhere, blue eyes wide with panic. 

“How do you know she didn’t leave me?” she asks.

“Are you fucking kidding?” Lip growls, gripping her again. “An address!”

“Fuck, its 303 on Shelby.” Lip pushes past her, Ian and Mickey close behind.

“Christ, Mandy, you took that snowflake to a fuckin’ whorehouse?” Mickey scoffs.

“She belongs there. Boyfriend stealing tramp.”

Lip doesn’t even bother to look back, jingling the spare key he had made to Kev’s car in his hand as he climbs in and speeds off down the road.

Charlotte, has herself tucked tightly against the door, acting as a human barricade. Her knees close to her chest, her eyes shut tightly. V, I should’ve called V. And Kev would have come. But I didn’t want anyone to be in trouble. I’m…I’m scared. 

There’s a loud knocking at the door, for the first time in like forty minutes. “No…” the banging continues and she flinches, trying to use the stern voice V told her to use when her boobs first came in, “No go the fuck away! Fuck off!” 

“Lottie, come on, it’s me. Ian.” 

“Ian?” she shoots up from her spot on the tile floor, yanking the door open and seeing her redheaded friend. She launches forward into his arms, hugging him tightly. “Ian. Oh my God you fucking came.” 

He wraps his arms around her tightly, tucking her head tightly into his jacket. “Keep your head down alright, just walk with me.” Ian quietly leads her out of the house, the sound of pounding music fades and the cool Chicago air surrounds her. Two more sets of footsteps join theirs and the sound of two guns being put on safety clicks in her ears. 

Once they’re in the car, Ian uncovers her face, and they pull forward, Charlotte stares forward quietly. 

Lip doesn’t look back. He doesn’t want to see her tear stained cheeks, or water filled eyes. He doesn’t want to think about how angry this fucking stunt Mandy pulled makes him. And he doesn’t want to face the fact that he’s the reason she was even in there. Instead, he quietly rests his head on the headrest, looking everywhere but the rearview mirror.

When they get to V and Kev’s house, all three men prepare themselves for Charlotte to go running into the house, fall into her cousin’s arms and cry about what happened. But as they pulled up, they sat in silence as her sniffles slowed. She stares at the house, wiping away falling tears before turning to Ian asking quietly. “Do you have a water bottle?”

Ian glances at her before kicking his boyfriend’s seat. “Mick, give her yours.”

“What?” he grunts. Ian kicks again and Mickey huffs. “Yeah, okay, fucksake.”

Charlotte ties her hair back before splashing the water on her face, taking the shirt Lip had loaned her to cover herself with as they left, scrubbing her face. After, she takes her hair down and works a smile onto her face. “Good?”

Lip can’t look. He can’t.

But Mickey does, nodding quietly as the girl hops out of the car and all but skips up the walkway, taking her key out and going into the house. “Great, princess isn’t a snitch. Let’s go home.”

Over the next few days the house is quiet. Or quiet for the Gallaghers. Mandy’s been AWOL since that night and Charlotte’s been keeping her distance. Aside from small smiles she’s been staying away from Lip like he’s the plague. 

Until a week later at 1 am when Lip got up to get a drink and he heard a squeal coming from Debbie’s room. She was supposed to be at a sleepover but forever the big brother he ran anyway swinging the door open, bat in hand, only to find Frank stuck in the window. 

“Hello, son, help your old man in will you?” he slurs, burping before falling limp again. “Quickly, please my boy, there’s some rather attractive girl screaming and throwing rocks at me from outside.”

“Fuckin’ Frank.” he huffs, jogging outside to find Charlotte, picking up rocks and launching them at his father’s dangling ass.

“Phillip! Phillip, you there’s s-some man, trying to break into Debbie’s room. I left my phone inside and apparently no one in this goddamn neighborhood takes screaming seriously! You have to call the cops!”

“You know, I would, but he'll come back anyway.” the blond sighs.

“What?” 

“He’s my dad.”

“Oh.” Charlotte breathes, running a hand through her hair. “Oh, sorry Mr. Gallagher!”

“Don’t uh, don’t apologize to him, he is breaking in. And he’s a fuckin’ drunk.”

“That’s alright young lady. Why don’t you come on inside and pull me in, then we can get to know…” Frank grunts, legs kicking himself a little further in. “Each other better.”

“Fuck Frank.”

“Oh, unless you’ve staked your claim here as well son. Despite the chemistry I felt between us when you were launching rock at my ass, I promised I would never do that to my son again. Begone, Temptress.” 

Charlotte just laughs, dropping the remaining rocks

In her hand, placing it over her chest. “Jesus.” She breathes. Cold air shows the expelling of her breath. 

Lip kicks the ground in front of him lightly, staring at the girl. “M’sorry everytime you’re around me some shit is happening. Did uh…did Frank scare you?”

“Mm no.” She hums. “I don’t scare easily.” Lip scoffs laughing and she rolls her eyes, “okay I do, but I recover quickly.”

“Okay. Okay good.” He smiles at the ground, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. “Um, Debbie is at this lady Sheila’s house. Doesn’t come home until tomorrow mornin’. So uh, he’s not gonna wake her up or anythin’.”

“Good. Kids need sleep.”

Lip watches Charlotte shift her weight from side to side, looking up the street. “So do pretty girls. What’re you doin’ up, you’ve been home from work for a couple hours.” 

The woman’s eyes widen as she looks at him, mouth opening and closing before she decided to speak. “You uh…you watch me come home from work?”

Lip takes a drag from the cigarette and surprises himself when he makes the effort to blow the smoke in the opposite direction, making sure it doesn't blow into the girl’s face. “I…uh just like making sure you get home safe.” He gets closer, dipping his head to get a better look at her sheepish face. “That’s what friends do, right?”

Charlotte shakes her head, grin still on her face as she begins to back toward her yard. “No, nope, we had a deal…and-”

“Hey, I held up my end, it’s not my fault my ex was a psycho.”

“Ex?” Charlotte’s head jerks up, her brows furrowed. “That wasn’t-”

“Not because of you. It was a long time comin’.” And Lip means it. He’d attempted to break up with Mandy more times than he could count on his fingers. And toes. But the girl was fuckin’ persistant and well…good at distracting him. But he never saw their thing as something that would last. It was fun. Stress relief. Until it became stressful. Shit he still didn’t know if she considered him shoving past her at the house and ignoring her since the incident breaking up or a lovers spat. Lip had no intentions of going back though. He’s set his sights elsewhere. 

“I’m sorry. About Mandy.” 

“Yeah? Don’t be.” He sighs, watching her rub her arms in hopes of creating some warmth. “So what were you doin’ out here?”

“I was…feeling antsy. Can’t sleep, back home, when I can’t sleep, I usually walk it off. I only got this far before I saw your dad.” 

“You thought you were gonna go on a walk by yourself? Out here?” Lip asks incredulously. Charlotte offers him a nod and a shrug, reaching into her reindeer pajama pants pocket and producing a small bedazzled can of pepper spray. “Yeah, okay, stay here, bunny, I’ll be back.”

“What? Phillip?” she calls after him as he disappears into the house. “Bunny?”

When Lip comes back out he has a shirt and a jacket on, another jacket in his hands with a hat balled up in the pocket. “C’mere, arms through, let’s go.” he pulls the jacket onto her, zipping her up before pulling the hat out of the pocket and tugging it onto her head.

“Stop, it’s messing up my hair.” she whines, trying to push at his hands.

“Yeah, you want pretty hair or pneumonia?” He grunts, tugging that hat down further, “you look pretty anyway, c’mon. Let’s go on your walk.” 

“Fine. As friends, Phillip. Friends.” She asserts.

“Yes, yeah, friends. Let’s go.” Lip huffs, pulling her closer to him, hanging his arm over her shoulder.

“You couldn’t have grabbed one of Fiona’s jackets? This one is ugly.”

“Brat.”

“These are so pretty. Why don’t they do this in the neighborhood we’re in?” Charlotte asks.

They’d walked a whole away. Lip took her to one of those bougie neighborhoods a little ways away where they participate in some stupid, Christmas yard decoration competition. There are lights, little mangers, and blow up shit everywhere. He’d always thought it was stupid but Liam loves coming over here, and so did Debbie and Ian when they were younger. He’d tried to take Karen over here with Debbie and Liam last year and she’d wandered off and given a blowjob to one of the neighborhood dads. He’d never bothered to bring Mandy, didn’t even think of it.

But before he knew it, during their walk, he’d just led Charlotte here. Her eyes lit up as they walked from house to house. Her cold, soft, smaller hands in his warm, rough, larger ones as she pulled him throughout the neighborhood. Her eyes light up with each new arrangement she sees. They scooted closer, pressing their cheeks together as they took pictures, in almost all of them blue eyes were on her instead of the camera. Watching, relishing in a wide, dimpled smile. 

They walk like they're playing a game, switching her from hand to hand, from his right to his left, back and front. “Seriously?”

“I think it would make the neighborhood kids happy.” she hums. “I love Christmas.”

“I see that.” Lip nods, letting her twirl before pulling her back to him again, wrapping his arm around her with his forearm over her chest. “You uh…gonna go home to Virginia for Christmas?”

Charlotte shrugs, letting her head rest back against his chest as they stop in front of a brightly lit house. “Dunno. If I save up enough to go back home. If not I’ll spend it with Kev and V. And You Gallaghers.” she grins, reaching up and squeezing Lip’s cheek.

“Ha, yeah.”

“Thank you, by the way.” Charlotte mumbles, toying with the sleeve of Lip’s jacket. “I…thank you for coming to get me so quick, and bringing Ian and Mickey. I was…was really scared so thank you.” 

“‘S’okay. I didn’t want anything to happen to you. I like hangin’ out with you. When you let me.” Lip nudges her shoulder forward with his own.

“Yeah?” she smiles, turning her head to look back at him. “Me too. And thanks for taking me to see this too. I like living with V and Kev, but this place is really different than where I’m from. This was nice. Reminds me of home. And I know it’s not your thing. Next friend date, we’ll do something you’ll like to do.” Charlotte promises.

“Nah, this was fun.” Lip shrugs, letting Charlotte break out of his grip, pulling him along with her. “Date huh?”

“Friend date, Phillip.” she corrects. “So think about what you’d wanna do, give me a ballpark and I’ll plan it.”

“Yeah? I know,” the blond moves closer, pushing her hair away from her neck, placing a kiss on her shoulder before bringing his hand to her jaw, kissing her neck and jaw too. “What I wanna do. Hm?” he hums, placing an open mouthed kiss on her skin. 

Charlotte releases a heavy breath, the light whimper in her throat isn’t lost on Lip as he uses his other hand to grip her waist. “Phillip…okay Phillip,” she stammers, pushing at his chest, sighing when he pulls back only slightly, keeping them face to face, sharing air. Charlotte clears her throat, offering him a dimpled smile. “Friends don’t fuck friends.” she pushes him one more time, leaving their embrace and heading back down the street.

Lip stares after her incredulously, adjusting himself before mumbling a ‘fuck’ under his breath and following the girl. “Um yeah, they fuckin’ do!”

“Well we don’t!”

“I went on a vacation there, once, with my ex-boyfriend, it was nice. I loved North Carolina.” Charlotte smiles. 

“Yeah, doubt it was the part that my cousin is from. But, uh, he’s a good kid.” Lip nods, rubbing his thumb along the skin on her hip, disappointed to see the sign to their street up ahead. They’d been out for hours, but it’s only felt like a few minutes. He doesn’t want to take her home yet. “So ex-boyfriend. Is he uh…still around?”

“Why?”

Lip shrugs, ushering her toward her home, stopping her from taking the hat off and mumbling ‘keep it’. “M’kinda hopin’ he’s an asshole, less competition for me right? You gotta get over this friend thing some time. Hopin’ I’m the one who’s around when you do.” 

“Phillip…” she sighs, an exasperated smile on her face when she whirls around to look him in the eye. 

“Bunny?”

“Where’d that come from, huh?” she asks, tilting her head. 

Lip nudges her chin softly with his knuckle. “What, you don’t like that? It’s cute. Like you.” 

“Hm.” she scoffs, leaning closer to his face. “F-R-I-E-N-”

“Lip!” a voice shouts from the Gallagher’s steps. Lip’s head drops in defeat, the muscle in his jaw jumps as he grits his teeth. “Thank God you came home, finally! No one is opening the door! I’m freezing my ass off here!” 

“Jesus, it’s fuckin’ five in the mornin’. What’re you doin’ here?” Lip groans, pushing Charlotte behind him slightly. 

“Oh, my sweet boy, I’ve missed you. I’m so glad to be home. You look so handsome.” shaky, cold hands cup his face causing him to swear under his breath. 

“Fuck, get..get off.” He knocks her hands away. 

“And who is this? You’re really pretty, are you my Lippy’s girlfriend? You guys getting back from a date?” she winks dramatically.

Charlotte looks up at Lip with wide eyes, taking in his tense shoulders, clenched jaw, and steps between him and the woman, a charming smile planted on her face. “Hi, I’m Lip’s friend Charlotte. And V’s cousin. Nice to meet you.” 

“Well, hi, sweetheart!” the woman says cheerfully, throwing her arm tightly around Charlotte, “I’m Monica, Lip’s mommy! C’mon, let’s get you some hot chocolate. You look cold. Is that Lip’s jacket? He never lets anyone borrow his jacket. He’s never been good at sharing…” Monica guides Charlotte to the Gallagher house, only stopping on the stairs to mouth to her son, ‘she’s hot!’ and keep moving. 

Lip shakes his head, scrubbing his eyes tiredly, following them in. “Fuck.”

#lip gallagher x reader #fiona gallagher #ian gallagher #lip gallagher #kevin ball #oc #lip gallagher x oc #phillip gallagher #veronica fisher #shameless #gallagher

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

In light of your John Wells post…I do think Ian and Mickey probably got the best ending out of the Gallaghers. They now have their own apartment and are moving forward in their marriage. The future looks bright for them. But the finale in general was underwhelming in a lot of ways imo.

But I’m curious, what would have been your ideal ending for all the Gallaghers? (Including Mickey since he is technically one by marriage now)

i mean, i do think that ian and mickey had the best endings out of all of the characters (including kev and v) and i loved their ending, there were just a few things that they did in the final season that i wasn’t entirely thrilled with?? like, i loved them in 11x12, but there were a few things i didn’t like overall:

their fight in 11x03, i just feel like they always show so much growth and then go right back to where they had been and resort to violence to solve conflict. i feel the same way with 10x08, they learn so much and grow and then bam- that happens. i get it wasn’t a huge deal and they were fine afterwards, but still.

the lack of communication. ok, this season has the most (HEALTHY) communicating that they do and they definitely grew and i’m happy for them, BUT, the whole iou thing and ian signing the lease without mickey’s knowledge (which i’m about to talk about) was just… ick. i think that, as you said, the future seems bright for them and i’m sure that by now, they have grown even more and i’m aware that they’re still at the beginning of their marriage here, but i just wish that we got more of them actually talking. this also applies for hall of shame because what the actual fuck was all of that??

ian renting the apartment on the west side. idk man, i like the husbands having an apartment and i’m glad that they finally live together without all of the gallagher’s/milkoviches, but mickey really doesn’t seem happy there and i wish that they both got a say. i think that it’s fine, like, i don’t really care, but i definitely wish they stayed in the south side (not in the gallagher house, just in an apartment there) and i can see them moving back once their lease is up, but i did like how they talked about it eventually so i guess i was fine with that.

ian checking other guys out. this isn’t ian slander because he’s my favorite (mickey’s my third favorite character, i love them both), but he has a history with infidelity (a lot of this was because of the hypersexuality from his bipolar, i’m aware. but he also did it when he was stable and on meds so idk) and it’s just kind of another instance where i think that they show growth then go back, i wish that they hadn’t added that because i don’t necessarily think it’s “out of character”, but i think it was unnecessary and a lame thing to add.

there’s a few more things but that’s really it. overall i didn’t dislike their endings at all, i was very satisfied and thankful that they both ended up married, happy, and free, but i think that there were scenes that we needed but didn’t get (for example, both of the deleted 11x04 scenes, especially the one in the kitchen where they ACTUALLY communicate), and i think that there were a lot of things that we didn’t need but got. i love the husbands era and i always will, but john wells’ writing was really lacking in season eleven.

#sorry is this a bad answer?? #i really don’t want anyone to come at me for this because i’m gallavich obsessed and i really did love this era #but it had flaws that nobody talks about #ask #shameless #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #gallavich #s11 #gallavich meta #shameless meta #meta