Disclaimer: I still don't own Shameless.

A/N: I have to strike when the iron's hot, so here's another chapter. Thank you to those who have alerted and reviewed this fic. I'm still pretty new to the Shameless fandom, so please be gentle.

Self Preservation-Chapter Two

Mickey throws the beer can on the ground as he walks up the stairs to his house. He survived the day. Working the day at the Kash and Grab was boring as fuck, especially because he was there all alone. At least Linda didn't bother him by asking stupid fucking questions like "how's Ian doing?" She just told him that for the time being he's going to have to work some extra shifts until Ian comes back.

The ex-con must be in the clear. At least for the time being. His brothers and father didn't come looking for him. And if they knew he was gay they would have barged into Kash and Grab and probably killed him on the spot, no questions asked. His secret must be safe.

Mickey walks into the house and greets, "hey doucebags." But anything else he's about to say stops at the tip of his tongue when he sees Lip sitting on the couch next to Mandy and the younger Gallagher girl on the floor by Mandy's legs. He thinks her name is Debbie. He knows firecrotch has a couple of younger siblings, and faintly recalls him mentioning his younger sister Debbie one time when he insisted on talking when all Mickey wanted to do was fuck.

He can't deal with this. Two Gallaghers in his house, and neither one is the one he wants to see right now. He quickly makes his way into the kitchen and grabs another beer from the fridge. He takes a big chug and only comes up for air when he hears, "Hey, Mick."

Mickey wipes his mouth with his sleeve, "Gallagher. What the fuck do you want?"

Lip moves closer to Mickey and says quietly, "I thought you would like to know how my brother's doing."

Mickey rubs his bottom lip with his thumb, "Why the fuck would I care how your brother's doing?"

Lip looks back into the living room for a second and sees that Mandy is still engrossed with braiding Debs' hair as they're watching tv. Satisfied that Mandy and his sister won't hear what he's about to say, he turns back to Mickey. "I know, Mickey."

Fear for his own well being hits Mickey full force. "You don't know shit, Gallagher.' Mickey bites back as he takes another swig of beer.

"I know, Mickey." Lip repeats quietly as he lights a cigarette.

"And I'll tell you again, you don't know fucking shit."

Lip takes a deep breath, "I know plenty, Mick. I know that you and my brother have been fucking for awhile. I know that Kash shot you because he caught the two of you. And you preferred going to juvie than admit you're gay. I know that you went back in for the second time after Frank caught you and Ian. You wanted to kill Frank because you were afraid that he would open his mouth about the two of you, but my brother begged you not too. So instead you hit a cop to buy yourself some time In juvie. To save yourself if your father did find out." Lip takes a drag of his cigarette and continues. "I also know that you said some fucked up shit to my brother to make him feel like a piece of shit. I know that Frank for once did the right thing and kept his mouth shut, and didn't say shit. Your fucking secret is safe."

All color in Mickey's face is gone when he hears Lip's admission. He fucking knows! And from the sounds of it he knows a lot and has for a long time.

"You done?" Mickey asks uncertainly as he finishes his beer. He goes to the fridge and takes out two. He opens one and offers the other one to Gallagher. There's no way that he can deal with this shit sober.

Lip takes it eagerly and opens it. "No, I'm not." He takes a long sip. "I know that when you got out and was satisfied that your secret's safe you wanted to pick back up with my brother where the two left off before everything went to shit. He was so quick to fucking forgive you, even when I told him not to be. But, that's my brother for ya. He does whatever the fuck he wants." Lip takes another sip of beer and glares at Mickey, "I also know that he was with you last night before some asshole beat the shit out of him."

"He was? He told you that?" Mickey says, trying to sound stupid.

"Don't play fucking stupid, Mickey. I know he was. He may not have told me specifically that he was with you. But, I know. He had that goofy look on his face when he was leaving the house. He only gets that look when he's thinking of you.""

And it's when Lip says that, that it finally sinks in. Lip does in fact know. He just doesn't know what firecrotch has told him. He knows because he's a good fucking brother and knows when Ian is happy or pissed off about something. Mickey knows what look Lip is talking about. He sees that look after firecrotch comes when he's buried balls deep in Mickey's ass. When he tries to cuddle, and Mickey won't have any of it. When he tries to convince Mickey that he's more than the neighborhood thug.

"I know about the two of you, so just stop with the bullshit. I've known for awhile, so you know I won't say anything. If word gets out about the two of you, it's not just you that will get hurt. My brother will too."

Mickey knows he's right so he doesn't say anything. He just takes another drink.

"Ian has a fractured skull. A severe concussion. Broken ribs. One of them nicked his spleen, so the docs took it out. His knee, wrist, and hand are all broken. He should be fine. But he's going to be hurting for awhile." Lip explains.

Lip takes another drag from his cigarette, "He's at Mercy. Fiona's there now. But, she'll be leaving at around seven. I told his nurse Casey that you might be there to visit him later. You shouldn't have a problem. They're pretty lax with visiting hours. Just be gone by the morning."

"Why the fuck would I go to the hospital?" Mickey asks as he takes another swig of beer. Just because he and Ian fuck on a pretty regular basis, doesn't make them a couple. And him visiting Gallagher makes it sound like they're a couple.

"I thought that you might actually give a shit about him. Because when I saw him in the ER before he was rushed to surgery, he asked how you were. If you were okay. And I fucking thought that this thing whatever the fuck it is between the two of you is a two way street. I guess I was fucking wrong!' Lip says loudly.

Mickey shoves Lip hard against the counter, "I guess you fucking are!" He looks toward the living room, looking for any indication that his sister and the Gallagher girl heard their conversation.

Next thing he knows he hears the kitchen door slam, and Lip is gone.

Mickey's tying to reign in his anger when he hears, "What the fuck, Mickey!"

He looks up to see Mandy in the doorway of the kitchen. And next to her is firecrotch's kid sister. It's the look on Gallagher's sister's face that gets him. The same one of fear and uncertainty that his Gallagher had when he came looking for Mickey when his crazy ass mother came back into his life almost two years after abandoning her family. It's that look that pushes Mickey out of the daze he's been in since Lip followed him into the kitchen and told him he knew about him and firecrotch. Since he found out the Gallagher was asking about how he was when he was lying in a hospital bed with several broken bones on his way to surgery to have a fucking organ removed.

And it's that same look that makes Mickey want to run. He has to get out of here. He can't deal with this shit. Just as Lip did before, Mickey slams the back door and gets the fuck out of his house. Not knowing exactly where he's going.

I know there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter. But, when I was thinking of this story this is actually the first scene that came to me. I hope it was okay.

Chapter Three Sneak Peak: Mickey finally sees Ian.