An Unlikely Family

Summary: Mickey was stuck babysitting Yevgeny, but he didn't know anything about how to raise kids. Luckily, Ian was there to teach him.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless.

This was written for the Gallavich Week 2 Day 6 prompt: Ian and Mickey as dads (planning having kids, getting their kids, interacting with their kids – including or not Yevgeny).

There's also implied Svendy in this, but only a little bit.

Mickey sighed blissfully into Ian's mouth. As much as he had resisted against it in the past, he had to admit that he loved it when they kissed. It wasn't until Ian's Bipolar Disorder had reached its lowest point, and Ian had pushed him away, that Mickey had even fully begun to appreciate such a small act of love.

He'd really missed being able to kiss Ian when he was sick. The younger boy's disorder was hard on the both of them. In a way, it was almost worse than the time that Ian had left for the army. It made Mickey feel so helpless. He couldn't just chase after Ian and drag him back like before. Instead, Ian's mind was the problem, and no amount of rational arguing was going to make him come back.

Mickey had spent so many nights awake with worry, wondering if the normal Ian would ever return back to him. Luckily, he did.

Thanks to his medicine, and Mickey's care, Ian started to act like his usual self again. He hadn't gotten depressed or manic in almost a month. Even his sex drive was back, raring and ready to go. It was an immense relief for both of them.

Soon enough, they were eager to celebrate. They clawed at each other's clothes and attacked each other's mouths in a make-out session that was long overdue. Ian leaned over Mickey and slowly pushed him down until he was lying on the couch. He spread the older boy's legs and climbed in between them, pressing down firmly and grinding against his cock.

Mickey rocked back against Ian gently, swallowing the redhead's groans of pleasure. Ian's tongue rubbed against his, sending shivers down his spine. He grew hard, and soon it was too much for him to handle. He needed Ian in him as soon as possible.

Ian ignored Mickey's grunts of impatience. Svetlana and Mandy had left the Milkovich house to them for the day, and he planned on taking full advantage of it. Ever since they were teenagers, they'd had to keep quiet to hide their relationship, and they hadn't been able to enjoy themselves at a leisurely pace. But finally, there was nothing left for them to worry about anymore: they were out to everyone they knew. Ian kept Mickey pinned down and ran his fingers over the smaller boy's inner thigh teasingly. He definitely intended to take his time.

Unfortunately, someone else had other plans…

Without any warning, the house echoed with loud, high-pitched screaming. The unceasing, bloodcurdling cries rang in their ears, emanating from the other room. Ian and Mickey shot apart quickly, eyes wide in alarm. The romantic mood between them had been shattered, and it was all thanks to the baby Yevgeny.

Mickey pushed Ian off of him and sighed. "God damn it," he growled. "Why the fuck do I have to do this babysitting shit, again?"

"You're the one who agreed to it," Ian reminded him with a laugh. "Besides, I think it's nice that Svetlana and Mandy actually got to go out and have fun together for once."

Mickey got up and stomped out of the room. "Yeah, well, I never woulda agreed to it if I'd known the little shit wasn't gonna shut the fuck up," he muttered under his breath as he left.

Ian chuckled and lay back on the couch. He closed his eyes and waited for Mickey to return.

Minutes passed, and then a half hour, but Yevgeny still continued crying, louder than ever. Finally, Mickey walked back into the living room with a sour look on his face, holding the shrieking baby away from him like it was infectious.

"How the fuck do you shut this thing off?" he grumbled. He had looked after the baby before, but never for very long. His job was usually just to watch the kid to make sure he didn't put something sharp into his mouth or anything. Svetlana had always been around to take over for the hard part.

Ian couldn't help laughing at his poor boyfriend's disgruntled expression. He sat up and walked over to him calmly. "Did you change his diaper?" he asked.

"There was nothing in it," Mickey sighed.

"Has he been fed recently?" Ian asked again.

"Svetlana fed the little fuck literally right before she left," he barked, growing more and more impatient. Yevgeny started squirming and screaming even louder, so Mickey had to shout over him to be heard.

Ian looked thoughtful. "Well, you'll never get him to shut up if you hold him under his armpits like that," he observed. He reached out to take the baby into his own hands and cuddled the little red-faced boy close.

Tears fell down Yevgeny's cheeks and he fidgeted unhappily. Ian smiled down at him comfortingly and rocked him gently in his warm embrace. He began to sing a quiet lullaby that he'd used many times on his younger siblings. The young boy calmed down instantly and stared up at Ian with wide eyes, his mouth hung open in amazement. Ian's body heat and his low, humming voice mesmerized and soothed him into silence.

Mickey also watched Ian, transfixed with admiration. He couldn't believe how good the younger boy was with kids. Mickey'd never taken care of his siblings before like Ian had, so he was completely clueless about how to raise children. Ian made it seem so easy.

"You wanna try?" Ian asked in a hushed voice, trying not to irritate the kid any further.

"Uh…" Mickey eyed Yevgeny warily. "Nah, I'm good."

Ian pushed the baby towards him anyway. "Use this hand to support his head," he instructed, "and then this hand goes behind his back."

Mickey fumbled awkwardly, but he did as he was told. Once Mickey had a good enough grip on Yevgeny, Ian pulled his hands away and smiled at them both. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight of the two Milkoviches as they both eyed each other in discomfort. Neither the father nor the son knew what to make of each other yet.

At least Yevgeny had stopped crying.

"So… what the fuck was his problem, anyway?" Mickey murmured, trying to hide his uneasiness.

"He was just lonely, probably," Ian explained with a shrug. "Everyone needs a little love and affection sometimes, even Milkoviches." He looked over at Mickey knowingly. Mickey chewed on his lip and looked away, determined to hide the fact that his stomach had filled with butterflies.

"I dunno how to do that 'love' stuff," he grumbled.

"Sure you do," Ian insisted. "Just hold him and sing to him every once in a while. He'll be able to feel it, and he'll go right back to sleep."

"Never learned any of those songs," Mickey admitted. "My parents never did any of that shit."

"I can teach you some if you want," Ian offered. "Or maybe I can get some of Liam's old story books for you to read to him. That works too."

Mickey was quiet for a moment. His eyes flickered from Ian to the baby. Finally, he nodded in defeat. "I guess books'd be okay."

A huge smile spread across Ian's face. Mickey scowled at him, but he didn't mind.

"You know… you're actually a pretty good father," Ian praised happily. "I admit I hated it when I heard that Svetlana was pregnant, but… Yevgeny's actually pretty cute."

Mickey snorted. "Yeah. The little shit ain't so bad."

"Does that mean you're planning on staying in his life?" Ian asked curiously.

Mickey looked down at the kid and sighed. "He's here, there's nothing I can do, and it's not his fault." He seemed to think that was a good enough answer to Ian's question.

Ian nodded in understanding. "D'ya think… you would've ever wanted a kid under different circumstances?" he asked carefully.

"Not really," Mickey replied simply.

"I mean… we could adopt," Ian suggested. "Have our own family someday."

Mickey fell silent, finally understanding what Ian was getting at.

To him, the concept of marriage and kids had always meant a life sentence of faking it with a woman. Before he'd outed himself to everyone, he'd just seen it as an inevitable annoyance of life. But now that he was free, the idea of a "real family" seemed different to him somehow. It was no longer impossible for him to imagine spending the rest of his life with the man he loved, and actually, the idea didn't seem so bad after all.

Mickey sighed. He wasn't ready to say that type of thing out loud. Not yet.

"We're already family," he answered instead.

Ian beamed at him warmly, content with that answer. He wrapped a hand around Mickey's neck and pulled him closer. Yevgeny snored in Mickey's arms underneath them as they kissed, lulled to sleep by the love and warmth all around him.

The two boys savored the moment, finally realizing what it felt like to have a loving family that was all their own.