Chapter 3: Enamored

"You've been going back to the fights?" Ian asked one evening as he and Mickey lied post coital on a small patch of grass. The laceration on Mickey's hand from the bear trap had healed, only to be replaced and outnumbered by deep scratches and bite marks. And Ian did know Mickey had been going back to the fights, since Mickey has had to cancel on a few of their nightly outings recently, but this was a conversation Ian had been putting off for some time. Still, he treaded lightly.

"You know I have to," Mickey answered. They hadn't talked about this yet, but Mickey was pretty sure Ian was aware the situation was out of Mickey's hands. Mickey felt Ian gently stroke a cut he had above his right eyebrow before Ian pressed a soft kiss to it. Gallagher always did sweet shit like that. That delicate fucker - literally. Even when Ian fucked him so hard his eyes rolled in the back of his head it's only after Mickey specifically requested it. He may be testy and push Mickey from time to time, but ultimately Ian would let Mickey have more control.

"I know," Ian replied. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I'm sorry," Mickey murmured, though he's not sure why.

"I'm not asking for an apology, Mickey. Shit, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just… letting you know I care."

"Thanks," Mickey said, smiling ever so slightly.

Ian started trailing a hand over Mickey's brand. It was the rune symbol for power, which Ian guessed made sense. Mickey was a lot stronger than any half-wolf Ian had ever met, as strong as a purebred even. "Why do you only have one, uh, mark? One brand?" Ian asked, deciding to change the subject. "Why do you have a brand at all?"

"Terry made us get them."

"But he's human."

"Yeah, that's kind of a contradiction," Mickey remarked before he continued. "He thought purebreds wouldn't give us such a hard time if we had them. My mom tried to talk him out of it, but…"

"I am surprised they let you into the fights," Ian said, which made Mickey raise an eyebrow in question. "Uh, not that I have a problem with you being half wolf. You know I don't. I mean, I literally had my dick inside you just a few minutes ago."

Mickey chuckled as Ian fumbled over his words. "Anyway, my mom's pack was a bit old school. They did have a thing against mutts, or whatever." Ian fixed him with a look at the derogatory term, but Mickey rolled his eyes and went on. "Still, my mom, for whatever reason, wanted Terry. I guess he wasn't always such a prick, not the I or my brothers and sister ever got to know that side of him. My mom was exiled from her pack, so we weren't allowed to receive their mark, and then Terry made us get brands."

"Mandy hasn't turned eighteen yet, has she?"

"No." Mickey knew what Ian was implying. It's a thought that had been occupying Mickey's thoughts more frequently. If Terry decided to brand Mandy, Mickey didn't know what he'd do, or how he'd react. "She turns eighteen on the next full moon."

Ian nodded. After a short silence he asked, "Wanna go again?"

Mickey didn't answer, and instead straddled Ian's waist in response.

"You smell like him, you know?" Mandy pointed out as she appeared in the doorway of Mickey's room when he returned from the woods.

"Jesus," Mickey replied, startled. "Smell like who?"

"The wolf you've been fucking. You're lucky Terry's not a werewolf. He'd beat the shit outta you first whiff he caught."

"The fuck are you talkin' about?"

"There's no point denying it, Mick. I can smell his scent all over you," Mandy replied as she tapped her nose with her forefinger. She joined her brother on his bed and they sat cross-legged facing each other as she waited for Mickey's response.

"Do Iggy and Colin know?" Mickey asked, avoiding his sister's stare.

"Dunno, maybe. If they do, they haven't said anything to me about it," Mandy answered to Mickey's relief. "And even if they don't know you've been fucking someone, they at least know you're gay. We may be half wolf but we still got a wicked sense of smell. This isn't the first guy you've fucked, just the one you've been with the most."

"Oh, so you're outing me now? Not even gonna wait for me to say it?"

"Like you were ever gonna."

"Alright, douchebag, why don't you tell me what's goin' with you and that Jackson girl, huh? What are you doin' sniffin' around her and her human family at the lake for?"

Mandy opened her mouth to say something but no words would come out. She didn't have an explanation so she attempted to derail the conversation. "Since when do you have anything against humans?"

"Don't. Just think it'd be a little more difficult to explain the whole werewolf thing," Mickey clarified. "Unless… she already knows?" Mandy refused to look at Mickey and remained tight lipped. "She knows?!"

"We haven't done anything!"

"Yeah, but you definitely wanna if you told her everything."

"You're one to talk. What have you been telling this guy you've been seeing?"

"Nothing," Mickey replied.

"Oh, bullshit, Mickey! You've never fucked around with anyone this long before, and you wouldn't be unless you actually liked him," Mandy countered, which was true. Several weeks had gone by and Mickey would sneak off at night whenever he could and either returned late or didn't come home at all. He was absolutely enamored with Ian, even if he hadn't said it yet. "Wait a minute," she said as she realized something. "Is this why you're always stealing Karen and her family's food? Because you knew we were hanging out?"

"Hey, boy, girl, I don't give a shit. If someone's tryin' to get with my little sister I gotta see if they're worthy first."

"By stealing their food? Mickey, what the fuck! Karen is totally gonna hate me when she finds out it was you!"

"Don't see why she would. I'm the one stealing her mom's barbecued ribs and her dad's beer."

"I can't fucking believe you right now," Mandy sighed as massaged her temples. She remembered this wasn't even supposed to be about her, and tried to steer the conversation to it's original course. "Gonna tell me who it is?"

"Who?" Mickey asked, feigning ignorance. He chuckled at Mandy's glare before he answered. "You don't know him. He lives in the city."

"Oh, a city wolf, huh?"

"Fuck off." This is why Mickey never told any of his sibling anything about anything. He wasn't afraid of them like he was of Terry. No, Mickey just knew they'd take the piss out of him with every embarrassing little detail they learned of him. After all, that's what siblings did.

A few moments of content silence passed between the siblings before Mandy asked suddenly, "Does it hurt?"

"What, anal sex?"

"Oh, my god!" Mandy exclaimed, shoving her brother's shoulder. "No! No, I mean… getting branded."

There it was. Mickey knew Mandy didn't come to his room just to give him shit about Ian. "Mandy, I'm not gonna let that happen to you."

"How?" Mandy asked.

"I don't know, but I'll figure it out."

Mandy was certain Mickey meant that, but she had already come up with a plan herself. "I've been thinking…" Mandy started slowly. "We're werewolves, Mick. We might not be purebreds but we're still stronger than the strongest human in the world. There's four of us, and only one of Terry."

"Mandy, hold up-"

"No, this could work. You know it would."

"You're talking about killing him."

"What other solution is there?" Mandy demanded. "Mickey, I don't want to get branded. I don't want Terry beating up on Iggy for not being strong like you, or beating Colin for not being able to turn without a full moon. And I don't want to see you withering away from all those fights until there's nothing left like mom did."

Mickey swiped his bottom lip with his thumb apprehensively. "No, alright… just, no. We'll think of something else. I'll think of something else." When Mandy didn't respond Mickey asked, "Hey, you trust me?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"Alright, then let me deal with it."

"Where are your parents at?" Mickey asked as he and Ian walked alongside each other to the lake. It was quickly becoming one of their favorite spots, second to the oak tree.

Ian almost stopped in his tracks. It wasn't like Mickey to ask personal questions of him, but he was happy Mickey was taking an interest. "Monica left after Liam was born. Just took off, haven't seen her since. Frank… I guess sort of just faded away. Sometimes he'd be gone for months at a time. Debbie used to get pretty upset about it, until he broke her heart too many times she eventually stopped giving a shit about him like the rest of us. He's been gone for like two years now. If he's still alive it'd be a fucking miracle, or a curse, not really sure which."

Mickey took in the information with a nod. "What about your grandparents?"

"Grammy Gallagher's in prison for having a meth lab that blew up and killed two college kids in the process," Ian deadpanned.

"Jesus," Mickey swore under his breath. "Grammy Gallagher goes hard, huh?"

Ian laughed happily beside Mickey. "Why are you asking me all this? Not that I actually mind, though."

Mickey shrugged. "Just thinkin'."

"About?" Ian asked, to which Mickey only shrugged again. "Now how's that fair? I answered your questions but you won't answer mine?"

"I gotta sort some stuff out." Mickey wanted to tell Ian he was trying to come up with a way to get Terry out of their lives for good without killing him. He even wanted to ask for help. But more than that, Mickey wanted Ian to be safe; and he couldn't make sure of that if Ian got involved in whatever plan Mickey came up with. "I'll tell you when it's sorted."

Ian frowned. He didn't like the cryptic answer Mickey gave him but he decided not to push further. "Ok."

Upon arriving at the lake Ian was about to remove his shirt but stopped when Mickey took off his own. He stared unabashedly as Mickey stripped in front of him. And admittedly Mickey was kind of putting a show on for Ian. He liked the way Ian looked at him. Like he was perfect, regardless of the fact he had so many scars from the fights, both physical and emotional.

"Have I ever told how beautiful you are?" Ian murmured.

Mickey glanced at Ian and then turned his eyes to the lake. Knowing how Ian felt for him and actually hearing it were two different things. He tried to ignore the growing fire in his chest with a lighthearted remark. "You gonna take your fucking clothes off or just keep staring?"

"I think I'm just gonna keep staring."

Mickey rolled his eyes but smiled regardless. "Fine, whatever. Stay here, I'm takin' a swim." Mickey approached the dock and turned into his wolf to run and jump off it. When he resurfaced he was back in his human form.

"Show off," Ian mumbled. He followed suit, removing his clothes and shifting, to join Mickey in the lake.

When Ian didn't come up for air Mickey looked around himself with worry. "Ian?" Before his concerned turned to panic he was dragged under the water. As soon as Mickey was submerged Ian released him and came up the surface of the water laughing. "You fucking asshole!" Mickey hollered when he resurfaced again and retaliated by dunking Ian's head into the water. They remained in the water for several minutes wrestling until all the contact made their skin feel hot despite the cool of the lake.

They floated in the water only centimeters away from each other. Ian leaned in for a kiss but only met Mickey half way and waited for the other boy to close the rest of the distance. Mickey did, and hummed contently against Ian's lips as Ian slipped his arms around Mickey's waist. To Mickey's surprise Ian broke the kiss abruptly and started swimming back to the shore.

Mickey followed and as soon as he reached the grass Ian captured his lips again. Ian rolled on top of Mickey and ground his hips against Mickey, who let out a hushed moan. Ian trailed his lips along Mickey's jawline to the back of his ear like he always did when he was on top. He then kissed down Mickey's neck and chest but stopped to suck on his nipples momentarily. Mickey reached both hands into Ian's wet hair and tugged on it lightly. Ian smirked but did as was signaled and settled between Mickey's legs to take him into his mouth. Keeping his hands on Ian's head to steady him Mickey arched his back in pleasure. Before long his breathing became strained and Ian pulled off him before Mickey came.

"I want you to fuck me."

It was barely a whisper that Mickey hardly heard what Ian had said. "What? Isn't that where this always goes?"

"No, I mean… I want you to-. I want you inside me."

Mickey stared wide eyed at Ian. "You can't say shit like that to me."

"Why not?" Ian asked, a deadly smirk playing on his lips. He snaked up Mickey's torso to whisper hotly into his ear. "Does it turn you on? Knowing I want you to fill me up with your cock?"

Mickey hissed as Ian gripped his dick pleasurably. "Fuck… You know you can't just take a dick because you want to right? Like, that takes practice."

"You outta know."

"Keep it up, jackass. See where tha-" Mickey's words were curt off when Ian began jerking him off.

"Who says I haven't been practicing?" Ian asked, cocking his head to the side.

"You've been getting off without me, Gallagher?"

"Only to be ready for right now. I think about you when I do it."

"Jesus," Mickey huffed. Without further delay Ian took two of Mickey's fingers into his mouth and sucked ardently. When his fingers were appropriately coated Mickey removed them from Ian's mouth and reached behind him. His fingers circled around Ian's asshole before gradually slipping one in. Ian moaned without indignity as he eagerly pushed against Mickey's finger. Still, Mickey took his time to stretch Ian out. When he finally did add a second finger Ian bit down on his bottom lip.

"Mickey… please," Ian whined.

"Hold up. Fuck, I thought I was the impatient one." When he felt Ian was loose enough he removed his fingers. Ian got up off of Mickey, who was about to start throwing his fists. "Where the fuck are you going?!"

Ian dug around in his discarded clothes for the lube that he brought. He tossed it at Mickey's chest when he returned. "See? I came prepared."

Mickey rolled his eyes and uncapped the bottle to slick himself up as Ian settled on top of him once again. He threw the bottle of lube off somewhere and lined himself up with Ian's ass. Ian braced his hands on Mickey's chest and lowered himself onto Mickey's dick. As he sank down they both released a sigh neither knew they were holding back. "You good?" Mickey croaked when Ian had yet to move. Ian could only manage a nod in response.

After another few moments he bent down to kiss Mickey fervidly and steadily began lifting and lowering his thighs. Mickey couldn't put much into the kiss, distracted by Ian riding him. He gripped Ian's hips firmly as Ian began to increase his pace.

At last Ian broke their clumsy kissing to sit up and watch all the ways Mickey came undone beneath him. He had been on top of Mickey many times before but never like this, and it was truly a sight to behold. Likewise, Mickey couldn't look away from Ian even if he wanted to. The way his brows furrowed in concentration, the way he kept biting his lips to keep from moaning too loudly, the way his wet slicked muscles caught the moonlight. Mickey could hardly bare it. He couldn't keep himself from thrusting up into Ian and that must have been well received because Ian yelped in surprise and started riding Mickey faster and harder. Ian began babbling incoherently, and the more he went on the more Mickey tried to elicit such sweet sounds from him.

"Mickey… I, fuck. I lo-"

Ian's words were abruptly cut off by Mickey surging forward to crash his lips to Ian's and flipped their positions. "I know," Mickey whispered when he pulled off Ian's mouth. "I know." He knew how Ian felt, how he himself felt, and he was fine with that. Hearing it out loud though was something he wasn't ready for, nor was he ready to return Ian's unspoken confession. Instead he tried to convey his feelings in the best way he knew possible at the moment. He thrusted in and out of Ian, locating that spot that would drive him over the edge. When Ian gave another yelp he knew he found it and focused on hitting Ian's prostate over and over again.

"I'm gonna come, Mickey," Ian warned as his legs hugged Mickey's waist tighter. Mickey wrapped a hand around Ian's dick and began pumping him in time with his thrusts. Soon, Ian was spilling into Mickey's hand as he threw his head back, moaning through his orgasm. Mickey thrusted into Ian a few times more and quickly reached his own release. He stilled briefly before gingerly pulling out of Ian.

"Holy fuck," Mickey proclaimed, wiping the back of his hand over his sweaty brow and collapsing next to Ian.

"Yeah," Ian sighed in agreement. "You good to stay out? Don't wanna go home tonight." As it turned out, Mandy wasn't the only one who figured out her brother was messing around. Although, Lip was a lot less teasing and more full on pissed off. Lip couldn't understand why Ian didn't confide in him, or why Fiona didn't confront Ian; and it wasn't like Ian was doing that great a job at keeping Mickey a secret. Ian would always stay out late and sometimes he wouldn't come home until the next morning, so Lip finally had enough of Ian's radio silence and started arguing with him on one of the evenings Ian actually came home. It got loud rather quickly and Fiona and the rest of their siblings woke up to find Ian and Lip moments away from turning into their wolves right there in the Gallagher kitchen. Since the heated argument the brothers had yet to make up.

"Sure. You alright?"

"Lip's just being an asshole as per fucking usual. What about tomorrow night?"

"Can't," Mickey answered simply.

"Are you going back to the fights?"

"Nope."

"Is this because of what I said… or almost said?"

"Nah, man. It's not that." Mickey still didn't elaborate so Ian remained unconvinced. Mickey clicked his tongue. "It's not," he repeated. "Told you, I gotta sort some stuff out."

Ian sighed and didn't press further. He wasn't sure what to make of Mickey's enigmatic mood tonight. Ian curled up next to Mickey, desperate to feel him against his skin again. He was absolutely enamored with Mickey. "We should wash off before we head to the oak tree."

Mickey ran his fingers through Ian's fiery red hair affectionately. "Ok."