Okey, so this is my first fanfiction ever,
English is also not my native language, so please be kind.
(You are welcome to correct me)
It's set in season 1 or/and 2, but Ian and Mickey have never met before.
There's no Kash and grab and Ian is not out.
I'm gonna try to update as often as possible.
(I don't own Shameless or any of the characters.)
Hope you enjoy.
/Alice Star
'
Town was cold. But that wasn´t surprising. It was almost midnight. In Chicago. In September.
He strolled down the streets, slowly. Hands in pockets, eyes on the ground.
He wasn´t ready to go home for bed yet, even though he had been working for almost 10 hours.
He needed some alone time, and he got it. The streets were eerily quiet and empty. He knew most people probably filled all the bars at this time. In the 2-3 hours, at closing time, the streets would be full again.
He passed the Alibi, and he was right, the small bar was totally packed with shadows and loud shouting. He was just to pass the entrance when someone almost came flying out through the door. He seemed to have tripped on the door mat and staggered side to side for a few steps until he finally fell towards Ian.
Ian took a step aside and let the man fell to the ground. He watched, with amusement, as the very drunk man, with great effort, crawled back up, brushing off dirt from his already dirty, sloppy jeans.
"The fuck you lookin´at?"
He growled and gave Ian a poisonous glare.
Ian tried not to smile.
"Nothin´"
He answered and shifted his eyes to the side, showing he wasn´t looking. The man muttered some swear words and began to stumble down the street. Ian watched him and hoped he wouldn´t fall over again. He then turned and were about to walk the other way when he noticed the scarf on the ground. He had probably dropped it when he tripped out. Ian picked it up and contemplated if he should run after the man or turn it in in the bar. Kev probably knew the guy.
But before he had decided the man were out of sight and a pack of drunk people pushed themselfs through the door, leaving Ian no possible way of getting in.
So instead he hung the scarf round his neck and walked on home. He could leave it to Kev tomorrow, he thought.
The house was dark except for the kitchen light shining through the window. Ian tried to open and close the door as quiet as possible, but apparently he hadn´t been too careful cos Fiona jumped in her chair when he closed the door behind him. She sat with the computer in front of her and a beer beside her.
" Oh, fuck Ian! I thought you were asleep." She whispered.
Ian joined her leaving his jacket and scarf on.
Fiona looked at the watch.
"You´ve been working this late?" She asked.
"Nah, I took a walk after my shift."
He stretched for Fionas beer and took a small sip. Fiona noticed the scarf and nodded her head towards it.
" You found that in a dumpster?"
Ian were fingering on the tassels, and in this warmer temperature he could feel its smell. Beer, smoke and sweat.
"Someone had dropped it outside the Alibi when I passed. Thought I´d give it to Kev tomorrow."
Fiona scrunched her nose. "Smells like Frank." She said while pushing back the chair with her thighs, closed the computer and were ready to go upstairs. "You free tomorrow?"
"Yep." Ian inhaled the words. This Monday Ian´s class were on a field trip, it was optional and as he had been working so much lately he thought he had the right to take a day off. And the gym were closed on Mondays, for some reason, so no work today either.
"Good, then you´re picking up Liam after day care. I´m going on a job interview." It wasn´t a question, it was an order.
Ian nodded and Fiona quietly run upstairs. In the Gallagher house you had to learn how to run without a sound if you wanted some peace at night.
Ian sat at the table for a while, inhaling the scarfs smell. There was something he couldn´t get enough of. Not the beer, smoke or sweat. Something very distinctive. He shook off his thoughts after while, hung his jacket and scarf on the hook beside the door and went to bed. He fell asleep pretty quickly to the sound of his brothers snoring.
"BREAKFAST!" Ian turned at the sound of Fionas´ voice. But he didn´t leave bed, he just wanted to go back to sleep.
Even though his eyes were closed he could feel his brothers fingers flicking in front of him.
"Oi! Breakfast."
"Fuck off, Lip." he moaned as he turned around, planting his face deep into his pillow.
"Late night, huh?" Lip said but didn´t wait for an answer and Ian could hear his footsteps leaving the room.
When Ian finally crawled out of bed the house was quiet. He didn´t bother putting on clean clothes. He just stepped into the sweats he wore yesterday.
He came down to the kitchen and to his surprise (or maybe not) saw Carl sitting at the counter gulping from a bowl with milk and cereals.
"Any coffee left?" Carl nodded, his mouth full. "Yo, why´re you still here?" Ian realized it was almost lunch time.
"Sick." Carl said with his eyes in his bowl.
Ian raised a brow and smirked.
"Which class are you avoiding today?" Carl met Ians´ glare, mirroring his smirk.
"Math."
Ian swallowed his coffee and put the cup in the sink, grabbed an apple from the fridge and were about to return upstairs when something hit him. He turned to Carl again.
"Hey, if you pick up Liam today I won't tell Fiona about skipping classes. Deal?"
Carl sighed but accepting the deal with a nod.
Ian smiled. It was so easy manipulating his younger siblings sometimes. Now he had all day free. He could go back to the Alibi and leave the scarf to Kev, or even better return it to the man in person if he was there again today.
He took a quick shower and put on something clean. He jumped down the stairs, ruffled Carls hair before grabbing his jacket from the hook and slammed the door behind him.
The icy cold air filled his lungs as soon as he stepped outside. He shrugged and searched his jacket for his cigarettes. He lit one before stepping down the porch.
When he entered the bar Kev grew a big smile.
"Hey, kid! No work today?" Ian shook his head.
He had gotten a job at a local gym a few months ago. It fitted him very well. Even though he spent most time of his shifts in the reception, or cleaning the locker rooms he had free access to the whole gym when he got off. He also didn´t really mind the reception because from there he could drool over all the biceps and six packs growing bigger and stronger for every day.
"You want a beer?" Kev asked, but began tapping before Ian even got to answer.
Ian reached in his pocket for some money.
"Nah, it´s on me today. Not every day we get to see your face here." Kev smiled.
"Thanks!"
Suddenly the door busted open. Ian´s heart pounded, he really hoped it would be the scarf-man. But disappointment hit when he noticed it was Frank.
"Ian! My favorite son!" He yelled as soon as he saw Ian sitting in the bar.
"Go away Frank, you´re not getting any money." Ian mumbled with his eyes in his beer.
Frank raised his arms. "Is that how you treat the man who raised you?" he seated himself a couple of chairs from Ian. Ian didn´t answer, instead he took off the scarf and showed it to Kev.
"You don´t happen to recognize this? Some drunk dropped it here, outside, yesterday."
Kev shook his head. "Nah, man, that could be anybodys´. Alot of drunks dropping things here, ya know."
"Yeah, well he made a pretty noticable exit. He pretty much flew out the door. Almost knocked me over as I passed. Around midnight? Right before a group of people also left?"
Kevin squeezed his eyes, clearly thinking real hard.
"Hm, how´d he look like?" he asked after a while.
"It was pretty dark, man... dark, messy hair? Baggy jeans, and..."
"Ah, that must be Mickey!" Kev cut off without hesitation. Ian´s eyes grew bigger.
"As in Milkovich?"
Frank heard the notorious familys name and mumbled "Fucking Milkoviches."
"Yup" Kev snorted. "Another beer?"
"Ehm, s-sure." Ian stuttered. Still with big, surprised eyes.
Kevin shook his head when Ian tried to pay him.
"Just give me a free day pass to the gym later." He smiled.
Frank immediately raised his head.
"Well, well, well! So that underage kid, with all the money suddenly gets free beer, while this poor ol´man, who comes here every day, practically paying for your food, gets to dry out?" He raised his arms and looked up to the ceiling, almost yelling: "What have I done to deserve this kind of unfairness?"
"Shut up, Frank." Ian and Kev said in sync.
"Well then, maybe I just go and find another bar who treats this man with respect." he scoffed before staggering out.
"So you want me to hold on to that?" Kev asked, nodding at the scarf. "Mickey will probably be back as soon as Terry comes home."
Ian thought for a while.
"Nah, I can drop it off on my way home." He downed his beer, pushed out his chair and waved good bye.
"Say hello to V from me, by the way!"
"Sure. See ya, kid!" Kev nodded and waved.
Ian stood on the other side of the road to the Milkoviches house. Maybe this was a bad idea. I mean, he had never really met Mickey. Even though he knew Mandy, Mickey´s sister, very well, as they had the same classes, Mickey never seemed to be home whenever Ian and Mandy were studying there. And he also knew that even his hard ass brother was afraid of Mickey.
But then he found himself taking a deep breath and crossing the road. Just as he were about to open the gate the front door opened and Mickey stepped out with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. He saw Ian standing still, like a statue, with his hand on the gate.
"Who the fuck are you?" He asked while lighting the cigarette. Ian cleared his throat.
"Ehm, Ian. Gallagher."
Mickey inhaled the smoke.
"Another Gallagher, huh?" he scoffed. "How many are there now anyways? You multiply like every fucking second. What you want then? Spill it out fast, gotta be somewhere." He walked down the porch, approaching Ian.
"I think you dropped your scarf yesterday, outside the Alibi." whirling off the scarf and stretched out his arm for Mickey to take it.
Mickey looked at him with a skeptical expression on his face. One brow raised.
"You stalkin´me or something?"
A harsh "No." exited Ians mouth. "I passed the Alibi when you came falling out from there."
"I don´t fall." Mickey said with a low voice, finishing off his cigarette and flipped it to the side with the help of his thumb and middle finger.
Ian smiled at the sentence. Mickey clearly didn´t remember anything.
"Well, I just thought you wanted it back. So here." Ian waved it in Mickeys face who quickly moved his head to the side so he wouldn´t get the tassels in his eye. And then jerked it out of Ian´s hand.
"Wow, Gallagher. What did I do to deserve a personal delivery?"
Ian almost blushed and shrugged. "Kev thought it probably was yours and I was in the neighborhood anyway."
"Well, thanks then." Mickey slung the scarf round his neck and began walking. "See ya, Gallagher." He said without looking back at Ian.
Ian just stood there. Sort of dumbstruck.
He had no idea what he had expected to get out from this sudden urge to return things to Mickey Milkovich in person.
He knew about Mickey´s reputation, and it wasn´t a good one. Mandy had updated him on his whereabouts and what doings a couple of times. She always described her brother as a selfish piece of shit who never did, or even tried, to fix up his life. Knocking down innocent people and robbing stores. She did however admit he was pretty protective and he never trusted the guys she brought back home.