Gallavich Week Part 4

Club Zero

Summary: Ian and Mickey got back together after Ian was dishonorably discharged from the army. Svetlana hasn't been in the picture since Terry went back to prison (and she had never been pregnant in the first place). Ian was fined and sentenced to community service. He's been living with the Milkoviches since getting back to Chicago. Ian convinces Mickey to go to a trendy nightclub downtown, but things go terribly wrong...

Part 4 of my Gallavich Week series, for the "different worlds" theme. It's a crossover with the Dresden Files (which is also set in Chicago). It's okay if you don't know anything about the books/show—I will try to explain things and characters to the best of my ability! If you want a little bit of background info, however, wikipedia is a great place to start: wiki/The_Dresden_Files Enjoy...!

Ch. 1

It was Friday evening and Ian had just gotten back to the Milkovich house after working eight hours of community service under the boiling August sun. This month, they had him assigned to pick up garbage from the side of the highway. It was miserable work, especially when coupled with the fact that he wasn't getting paid a cent for it.

Ian had debated stopping by his house to see his younger siblings and to possibly help Debbie clean up after the day care had finished, but he had a feeling Fiona would have been home by then, and he wasn't up for another fight. His big sister had been furious with him ever since his return to Chicago. She said it was about the principle of the whole thing and the fact that Ian had effectively ruined Lip's chances of going to MIT, but Ian suspected the real reason had been the lawyer's fees and the fine she'd been forced to pay on his behalf. She had taken a personal loan from her boss/boyfriend Mike. Despite the fact that Ian promised her that he'd pay her back as soon as he could, Fiona had been treating him like crap, constantly reminding him of what a dickhead he'd been. It had gotten to the point where Ian couldn't take any more of her criticism and guilt-tripping, and had just moved in with Mandy.

It didn't take much for Mickey to forgive him for leaving. Ian had kept in touch with Mandy the whole time he'd been gone, so he knew that Mickey had been wrecked by his departure. They picked up their relationship right where they'd left off before that horrible morning when Terry had caught them. As soon as Svetlana had left, Mickey had put his furniture back to its old layout and all the old posters were back on the walls. He'd even burnt Svetlana's frilly comforter in the backyard with Mandy. They didn't talked about Svetlana or any of the events related to her ever again.

Ian hadn't talked to Mickey about moving in—he'd fully intended on sleeping on the couch—but to his surprise, when he'd shown up at the Milkovich house with his duffel bag in tow, Mickey had led him straight into his bedroom. Half of the drawers had been emptied and ready for Ian's clothes. They didn't need to have a conversation about it—just the gesture was enough. This was something Ian had started to learn about Mickey: the cliché that actions spoke louder than words. Sometimes he wished he hadn't been such an idiot and had learned it earlier. It would have saved everyone a lot of time, money and heartache.

Ian had been back in Chicago since February, and had been living in the Milkovich house for five months. He had gone back to high school to finish out his senior year, but the few months he'd missed meant he would have to repeat most of his classes in the fall. He had been working at the Kash and Grab on the weekends in order to contribute some money for food. He was thankful to both Mickey and his sister for their understanding: he worked so many hours doing community service that he couldn't get any sort of real job yet.

Ian had stopped asking Mickey what he did for a living now that Terry was gone; the older boy's reluctance to answer Ian the first twenty times he'd asked was an obvious admission that it wasn't a legal job, and Ian was okay with that. He was a Gallagher, after all. They did what needed to be done to survive.

Mickey got back from work only an hour or so after Ian, giving the redhead time to shower and change into clothes that weren't drenched in sweat. Ian had made some pasta and garlic bread for dinner. He would have made a lot less if he'd known that Mandy wouldn't be joining them, but he hadn't gotten her text message until after the noodles had boiled.

"How was your day?" he asked Mickey.

Mickey shoved a slice of garlic bread into his mouth, moaned in appreciation, and Ian couldn't help but smile at him.

"Same shit, different day. You?"

Ian shrugged his shoulders. "It was over ninety degrees out today. It sucked," he answered.

That was the only conversation they had during dinner. When they finished eating, Ian put the leftovers away while Mickey put the dishes into the sink. They'd become so domestic that even Ian was getting a little sick of it. Each night was the same routine: dinner, movie/TV, beer/joints, sex. It wasn't a bad routine, per say, but Ian wanted to do something different. It was Friday night! They should be going out and having fun!

"Hey Mick," Ian said, stopping the older boy before he could sit on the couch and started their cycle over again. "Let's go out tonight."

"Out where?" Mickey asked apprehensively. Ian knew that although Mickey was comfortable being with him and admitting his feelings for Ian, he still was not okay with being "open" about their relationship to other people. Mandy and Lip were still the only people who knew about them. As far as everyone else was concerned, they were just friends who used to work together.

A few weeks earlier, Ian had convinced Mickey to go to the gay bar his mom had taken him to. Some old guy had bought Ian a drink and things had not ended well when Mickey had punched him out. They'd both been thrown out of the bar. Ian never told Mickey how good it felt whenever he got jealous—he didn't want to encourage his violent reactions—but he had definitely been grinning for the whole night afterwards.

Ian smiled at the memory, but quickly remembered what he had been planning on asking Mickey all day. "I heard about this nightclub called Zero from one of the other guys I do community service with." When Mickey didn't immediately object, Ian continued. "Well, he's from the North Side. He said it's a really exclusive club downtown that caters to the rich snobs from his neighborhood that want to indulge themselves. It moves around the city, so you can only go if someone tells you exactly where it is. He said he'd put our names on the list for tonight... So, what do you say?"

Mickey shrugged his shoulders and gave a noncommittal grunt, which told Ian that he was considering it. "Please?" Ian begged, "I really want to go out... We never go anywhere... and I promise I'll make it worth your while when we get home!" Ian added, giving Mickey a lascivious grin.

"Okay, okay... fine. Stop begging; you sound like a little bitch," Mickey said. Ian almost squealed with excitement but held it in because of Mickey's comment. He turned and went into their bedroom, bringing out a pair of Mickey's jeans and a black button-down shirt that he'd already picked out for Mickey in case he had agreed. Mickey raised his eyebrows at Ian. "And if I'd said no?" he asked.

Ian smiled at him again instead of answering.