A.N. Hey guys! This is my first attempt at a Gallavich fic and it's the result of me doing nothing but watching Shameless for the past 3 weeks. I am currently at s7ep02, so bear with me as I am not up to date and this fanfic might not be plot accurate, but I did watch the scenes between Mickey and Ian at the end of season 7, so it's where this fic is coming from. So just focus on Gallavich's last scene together and where they could be three years from there no matter what I might not have seen in s7 and s8. Anyway, sorry for the long intro, enjoy! Please like, follow and review! :)
Find my way back to Mexico
The Sun had just started to rise over the Southside of Chicago. The two older Gallagher brothers were hanging out on the porch steps, sharing a cigarette in silence. Lip was the one to speak first, between puffs.
"You gonna do anything for your birthday?" he asked his brother, passing him the cigarette
Ian laughed slightly, as if the idea of celebrating his birthday was amusing. "Yeah, I don't think so."
"Why not? We could throw you a birthday party, you know, invite some friends." said Lip.
"What friends?" he asked looking at him sideways.
"I don't know man, colleagues, Kev and V, that old man right there." He answered pointing at a white bearded man walking down the street.
Ian laughed. "What a memorable party that would be!"
"Well, who'd you want to invite?" Lip asked.
Ian's smile faded away with the echo of his brother's question in his mind. He knew damn well who he wanted to be there. The only person that mattered, really.
"Wait, no, let me guess," said Lip, "that old man you were screwing, Jimmy's dad, what was his name? Lloyd? Oh no, what about –"
"Mickey." Said Ian under his breath.
"Mickey?" repeated Lip to make sure he heard correctly. "Mickey's gone, man. All the way across Mexico. Hell, he might've even left the continent by now."
"Right…" answered Ian, lowering his head. He knew damn well Mickey was in Mexico, he was the one who left him at the border. There wasn't a day that Ian didn't think of that moment, of what he should've done instead of letting the love of his life go. Part of him really wanted to follow him that day. He would've followed him to the end of the world. But he knew they both had things to figure out and shit to deal with before they could actually be together, and for good this time.
The more Ian was thinking about it, the more it became clear to him: now was the right timing. It never had been the right timing for him and Mickey. Mick was either still deep in the closet, or Ian was acting all crazy because of his disease and the meds he'd been taking. They didn't meet at the right time in their lives and they could never be truly happy because of that. But now was finally the right timing. Ian had his shit together, there was nothing holding him back, and above all, he knew he loved Mickey and he desperately wanted to be with him.
It had just been a few minutes since the brothers had stopped talking, still enjoying what must be their third cigarette in a row, when Ian quickly rose to his feet and headed to his car parked in front of their house.
"Where are you going?" shouted Lip to his brother.
"Mexico!" answered Ian from the street.
"What? Are you fucking nuts?"
"Might be! See ya!" said Ian with a big grin on his face before shutting the car door and driving away.
Lip stayed on the porch for a moment, shaking his head in disbelieve. He eventually laughed slightly and headed back inside the house.
Ian was driving fast down the road to Mexico, the warm wind breaking through the open windows. His smile was so wide, he didn't think he'd ever been that happy before. He turned on the radio, changed the station a few times before he felt his heart sink. There it was, the perfect song. Their song. Ian started singing the lyrics as loud as he possibly could.
We are young! Heartache to heartache, we stand! No promises, no demands. Love is a battlefield. We are strong! No one can tell us we're wrong. Searching our hearts for so long. Both of us knowing, love is a battlefield.
He wanted to cry, thinking back on all of his and Mickey's history. It truly broke his heart to think of all they'd been through. But he kept on smiling a sort of sadder smile, trying to focus on the future they could have together. A few more hours and he'd see him again. The only problem was, he had no idea where Mickey actually was.
Ian lowered the radio and took out his cellphone, pressing a number on speed dial.
"Hey Mandy, it's Ian!" he said with enthusiasm.
"Oh my God, Ian! How are you?" answered the girl on the other end of the line in the same excited tone.
"Yeah good, hum, listen, I need to know where to find Mickey." He answered, sounding as urgent as he could without freaking her out.
"What? Why?" she asked.
"Unfinished business." was all Ian could think of saying.
"Well, last I heard he was in Mexico."
"Yeah, I know that. Where exactly?"
"How the fuck should I know?"
"Come on Mandy, if anyone knows where he is, it's gotta be you. Please."
"Even if I did know, why the fuck would I tell you. Last time I checked, you left him go there by himself. You broke his heart, Ian. If he ever had one."
"I know, I know, I screwed up. I need to make it up to him, I need to see him, to make things right. Mandy please."
Mandy sighed deeply, as if saying fine. "He's running a business down in North Mexico. I'll text you the address. If you fuck this up, I swear to God Ian."
"I won't, I promise. Thanks Mandy." Said Ian sincerely before hanging up.
He got a text message from Mandy a few moments later and he couldn't help but smile again. This was it. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. Ian kept on driving a few more hours before he finally got to Mexico. He asked a few locals where he could find the address Mandy had texted him and got there in no time, his heart beating faster than ever.
Ian didn't know exactly what business Mickey was running, but he knew better to ask. Knowing him, it was probably something illegal.
He parked his car on the left side of the building, that seemed to either be under construction or being demolished, but thinking about it, it was probably just its normal state. There were also a couple of wrecked cars around with shattered glass everywhere.
Ian sat on top of the hood and lit a cigarette, waiting for Mickey to come out at some point.
He had enough time to finish half his pack of cigarettes when he heard the far too familiar voice heading his way.
"Alright, I need your ass right here, with the money, on Friday, okay? Or else I'll have to let you deal with Hernando, and you know how he gets when it comes to money. He's less understanding than I am, okay? Comprendes? Sì?" Mickey was saying to one of his worker, holding him by the collar.
"Sì, sì." Kept repeating the man, clearly terrified of Mickey.
"Alright, get outta here!" he said, giving him a push and watching him struggle to get up and run.
Mickey lit himself a cigarette while Ian watched him as he approached, still not noticing him.
Mickey suddenly rose his eyes to Ian, feeling as he's been watched.
"Fuck." He said, half screaming it, half breathing it.
"Hey Mickey." Simply said Ian as he got off his car, tossing his cigarette.
"How the fuck d'you find me Gallagher?" was all Mickey managed to say amongst all the words rushing through his brain at that moment. Ian could clearly see the troubled look on his face, maybe holding back tears even.
"Hum, Mandy told me." Ian answered.
"This fucking bitch, I swear I'm gonna fucking –" Mickey started shouting before Ian interrupted him.
"Hey no, don't blame her, she had to tell me."
"Yeah, why's that?" asked Mickey, frowning.
"Cuz I needed to see you." Ian answered with a shy smile.
"So what, anybody can just give her a ring, ask where I am and she'll just talk, what kind of bullshit is this?"
"Listen Mickey, I- I want to make things right with you, with us. I know I fucked things up, and I'm sorry, but I'm here now." Ian said, putting his hand on Mickey's shoulder.
"You're three years late, who says I still want your sorry ass?" Mickey answered sharply, slapping the red-head's hand off him and taking a step back.
"I know, I know, you're right, it's just, I've been thinking a lot about what I wanted, y'know. I thought I wanted to live a normal life, whatever that means. I've tried to be with other people, I've tried to get an actual job, I mean, I really tried Mickey, but somehow every time it didn't work and I asked myself what went wrong this time, it always came back to you."
"So what, I'm the reason behind every shitty things that went down in your life even when I'm like a billion miles away -"
"Exactly because you were a billion miles away!" interrupted Ian, "I could never be truly happy because I wasn't with you. And I'm sorry it took me so long to realise it, and I could never say I'm sorry enough about leaving you at the border three years ago, but I just wasn't ready, I dunno, I still needed to deal with some shit. But I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere." He said, taking a few steps forward, trying to close the gap between them.
Mickey kept stepping back, with a face that showed a mix of confusion, anger and sadness. The two men looked at each other for a moment, before Mickey spoke again.
"Ah, fuck it." He said, rushing to Ian to smash their lips together.
Ian responded by grabbing his waist and pulling it to his, while Mickey grabbed his face with one hand and his orange hair with the other. Their tongues intertwined as fast as they possibly could, giving them chills with every touch.
Mickey's men started whistling and screaming at them in mockery, which resulted in both Ian and Mickey flipping them off at the same time, not even bothering to break the kiss.
They did break apart a few minutes later, Mickey still resting his hand on Ian's cheek. They looked at each other with a stare that meant everything. With just that look, they knew that everything would be okay, as long as they we together.
"I've missed you so fucking much Gallagher." Mickey said, hopping Ian would understand how true it was, how he hadn't stopped thinking about him for the past three years.
Ian smiled and kissed him on the head before throwing his harm around his shoulders. "Come on, let's go home." He said, knowing that he was, indeed, finally home.