#me 🤝 lip 🤝 fucking up our lives and falling ass backwards into whatever the fuck comes next

[gardenerian]

I wish you would write a fic where lip introduces tami to joaquin 💐💖

lauren i already told you how much i love this but i have to tell you how much i love this 💕 writing it was.... a challenge to be sure. shout out to @phillipgallagher who had the brilliant hc of joaquin giving lip a job - i didn't quite go there but it's definitely an influence!

The stench of grease follows him these days. It lives in his clothes, his skin, his hair. It feels different than his days in the college dining hall or Patsy's - it's heavy, weighed down with something he doesn't want to name.

This is how he feeds his son.

Lip gets up every day and does what he needs to do, like he always fuckin has. He sweats for his money. Maybe he was always supposed to. Delivering shitty takeout to rich fucks who would rather eat the eight dollar delivery fee than walk twelve blocks for their burgers isn't what Lip ever had in mind for himself. Shit, fixing bikes wasn't anything he'd imagined either. Seems like he's constantly recalibrating.

Climbing the stairs, he thinks about the words he said to Fiona once - "You sure you wanna be directing all your freed up energy there?" - and wants to fucking kick himself. Lip's freed up energy goes towards hiking the stairwells of ten-floor walkups with no fucking elevator.

He's breathing hard by the time he reaches the eighth floor, and he knocks on this fucker's door with what he hopes is the most passive-aggressive sound he can muster. The door swings open and -

"Holy shit."

Familiar eyes widen at the sight of him.

"Lip?"

It takes a moment for his brain to come back online.

"...Hey, man."

He braces for the questions. Where have you been? What are you doing? Why are you doing this? How did you end up here?

They don't come. A hand, big and warm, grasps at his shoulder.

"Holy fuck, man, hey! How've you been?"

He wants to say that it should be pretty evident. He wants to gesture to the bag of tacos in his hand and say the fuck you think?

But the defensiveness that lives under his skin these days dulls a little when he studies his old friend. Joaquin looks good - healthy, bright. He's familiar despite the few years that have aged them both. And more than that, he looks genuinely happy to see him.

"'M alright, yeah," he answers honestly. "Doin' this until something else comes along, y'know. Got a kid at home."

"No shit?"

"Fred, yeah. He's two." He feels his anxiety settle. And he asks the question. "What about you, man? What's up?"

"Just workin', mostly. Started this tech design firm a couple of years ago with a buddy and it just kinda took off recently. It's been good, though."

Lip feels some distant opportunity fall away - maybe something he could have had in another life. With a buddy. In some other time, it could have been him.

He nods because he can't speak. He holds out the bag of tacos, now cold and likely inedible.

"Oh shit, yeah, thanks. Hey, you got time to come in for a beer or something?"

Lip doesn't bother to correct him. That's not a conversation for this hallway. "Nah, man, sorry. Gotta keep movin'. Good to see you, though."

He's already pushing the door to the stairwell as Joaquin calls his own goodbye. Fuck.

That evening, after he's rinsed as much of the stale grease scent from his body as possible, Lip flops onto the couch. Fred is playing with his blocks on the floor; Tami flips through a magazine in the armchair. Not bad.

He pulls out his phone and responds to a few messages in the family chat, then flips through his apps. His mostly defunct Facebook account has a notification, and he clicks the icon knowing what it must be.

"Shit," he breathes.

"What's up?" Tami asks, glancing up from her reading.

"Message from an old buddy I ran into today. Joaquin. He wants to meet up this weekend."

"I've never heard that name. Who is he?"

"Met in college. He was a good guy. My best friend for a while, probably."

"Don't let Ian hear you say that."

Lip rolls his eyes, chuckling. His memories of Joaquin are tied up with those of gut-twisting worry for Ian. Maybe it's not. Joaquin is a looming figure in his memory, one he tried to ignore for his own peace of mind. But maybe he doesn't have to.

"You gonna meet up with him?"

He doesn't hesitate.

-

The coffeeshop sits on the edge of the South Side. It has just enough of an edge for Lip to relax into his seat. But it's still a fucking coffeeshop.

Tami sips at her latte while Fred babbles in her lap. This is who he is: this is what he has. He doesn't think Joaquin will mind. When the man himself sits down across from them, he feels two versions of himself begin to reconcile.

The conversation flows easy, as it always had. They talk about Fred, about his family, about the house. He slips in a couple of mentions about his sobriety - both sides of his face are warmed by twin smiles from Tami and Joaquin.

Joaquin talks about some of his travels, the new business, the guy he’s been seeing. There’s that same feeling of something large and distant falling away. Something that could have been, maybe something that almost was.

He watches Joaquin make faces at Freddie as he chats with Tami about some TV show he’s never seen. And it strikes him.

This friendship - this bond, this care - it was never about what Lip did or what he could be. It was about who Lip was. Who they were. Maybe now it could about who they are.

He’s been so focused on his family for so long. Gallaghers have never been known to nurture longstanding friendships beyond Kev and V. And yet here is someone who might just want to know him again. Even as he is now.

They part ways on the sidewalk, each returning to their homes and own lives. Joaquin claps him on the back, good to see you brother, and invites him to come check out his office in the coming days.

Some things have fallen away. Some may just be coming together.

#basically all of my ideas start with alejandra's headcanons ty my love #me 🤝 lip 🤝 fucking up our lives and falling ass backwards into whatever the fuck comes next #ty for this lauren!!!! #i hope you like #fic #tumblr writing