Ch. 2

Mickey paced up and down the alley behind the Quiznos he was managing. He had walked in 15 minutes late and earned a glare from his employees when he immediately left through the back door without a word; a pack of cigarettes in hand. Cigarette butts surrounded his feet as Mickey grabbed his phone out of his pocket to call his sister Mandy. Mandy had, thankfully, moved back to Chicago while Mickey was still in prison. After one too many trips to the hospital because of her abusive boyfriend, Mandy wised up and came back home. Once Mickey got out of jail, Mandy moved into a two bedroom apartment with a friend five minutes away from him.

"What the fuck do you want Mick? You know I'm asleep this early in the morning," Mandy complained.

"Good morning to you too sunshine. Wake your lazy ass up. I need to talk to you," Mickey said hurriedly.

"Lazy? You know I have work later shithead," Mandy snapped angrily.

"Oh give me a fucking break. Just because you were up late blowing guys doesn't mean I have sympathy for your sleep schedule. Now tell me, have you been keeping in touch with Ian?" Mickey questioned.

"Ian? Ian Gallagher?"

"No, Ian McKellen. Of course I mean Ian Gallagher! How many fucking Ian's do we both know?" Mickey snapped.

"Calm your tits, fuckwad. No, I haven't heard from Ian since I left. I tried to get in touch with him when I came back, but he wasn't around the old neighborhood anymore. I heard he's a teacher or some shit on the north side," Mandy explained.

"You heard? Heard from who? And why didn't you feel the need to say anything to me about it?" Mickey whined.

"I don't remember who I heard it from, and I didn't tell you because bringing up Ian's name is like saying Voldemort around you. Any time someone mentions him, you get all hysterical. I figured you wouldn't want to know. Why are you asking now?"

"Guess who Yevgeny's new teacher is."

"You're shitting me! You saw Ian? How is he?" Mandy asked excitedly.

"How the fuck should I know? I went up there to sign Yev up for school. I didn't have time to chit chat with raggedy Anne," Mickey explained.

"So, let me get this straight, you run into the love of your life after eight years, and you had nothing to say to him?" Mandy questioned curiously.

"You can shove that 'love of my life' bullshit up your ass. I moved on a long time ago. There was nothing to say. I don't give a shit about the stupid redhead," Mickey declared taking one last drag on his cigarette.

"Then why are you calling me now to ask about him," Mandy countered. Mickey could just see the smug grin on her face as she spoke.

"Shut up. I have to get to work," Mickey finished as he hung up on her quickly.

The rest of the day passed without incident. Mickey was so busy at the restaurant, he only thought of Ian six times instead of every minute of the day like he thought he would. Mickey took surprisingly well to being a manager. The first year out of prison he had to resign himself to making sandwiches for Svetlana's idiot customers. Any time he had to deal with one of the smug assholes that came in, he would just grit his teeth and remember that it was much better than any job his parole officer would come up with.

The second Svetlana saw that Mickey was willing to pay his dues, she moved him up to manager. Mickey certainly had experience leading a group, but he was a bit more used to guns and knives than lettuce and tomatoes. Still, his job paid the bills, made Svetlana happy, and kept him out of trouble.

As Mickey arrived home, he was greeted by a pleasant sight. Taylor, his boyfriend of six months, was inside waiting for him stretched across the couch. The first two and a half years Mickey spent out of jail were all about surviving. All Mickey could think about was keeping his head above water and trying to make a life for Yevgeny. He ventured out to the local bars for the occasional back alley romp or bathroom quickie, but there was no one that he felt was worthy of coming into his world. When Taylor started coming into the auto place where Mickey worked part time, he was completely oblivious to his stares and flirtatious conversation. When Taylor started bringing his car in every other day for windshield checks and other nonsense repairs, Mickey finally started taking the hint.

Taylor was a tall, lean, rugged blonde. Mickey never thought for a second he would be in a relationship with a Mads Mikkelsen look-a-like, but he quickly found out that Taylor could hold his own in Southside. Taylor was a no-nonsense graphic designer who didn't flinch when Mickey told him about his past. Taylor made it very clear that he had been through his own shady past but now he had no room for drama in his life; Mickey was happy to oblige. Mickey slowly but surely opened up, and allowed Taylor to soften the hard shell that he had become. After a couple of months, Mickey had even introduced him to Yevgeny. Things finally seemed to be settling down in his life.

After such a surreal day, Mickey was happy to grab a beer and settle in next to Taylor. However, his mind could not stop from flashing to thoughts of Ian. As they watched TV, Mickey could only picture the clear blue eyes and stark red hair that used to haunt his every thought in prison.

"Hey, what's up with you Gizmo? You seem more tense and brooding than usual, and I didn't think that was possible," Taylor jokingly asked.

"Ah, it's nothing. I just uhhh…" Mickey hesitated.

"What happened? Is Svetlana giving you shit again about keeping Yev over for a few extra days?" Taylor questioned.

"No, no. It's really nothing. I just ran into somebody today that I haven't seen for a while," Mickey answered evading Taylor's curious eyes.

"Who did you see? Was it your dad?" Taylor pried apprehensively.

"No, nothing like that. I just ran into my ex, Ian this morning," Mickey admitted as he stole a quick glance at Taylor. Mickey could not gauge Taylor's expressionless face.

"Ian?" Taylor asked blankly. "Tattoo Ian?"

"Yes, that Ian," Mickey responded exasperatedly. "Look, I don't want to get into a whole fuckin' conversation about it. I just thought I should tell you because he's going to be Yev's teacher at this new school. It's not a big deal, so let's just nip this in the bud before it becomes a thing alright."

"What do you mean 'before it becomes a thing' Mick? It's already a thing! We can't even have sex without the reminder of your ex-boyfriend permanently attached to you! It was one thing when all I had to worry about was a stupid, impulsive tattoo, but now I have to worry about the actual person too?" Taylor stressed as he bounded from the couch onto his feet.

"You don't have to worry about shit Ty. Why would I tell you about it if something was going to happen? I've told you before, and I will tell you again…I moved on from Ian a long time ago. We're not going to keep having this conversation. This tattoo means nothing to me…..Ian means nothing to me. So just relax." Mickey reassured.

"If it doesn't mean anything then get it removed," Taylor suggested.

"You know I can't afford that. I barely have enough to take care of myself, Yevgeny, and this shithole apartment. Where exactly do you think I'm going to get the money for a tattoo removal?" Mickey questioned angrily.

"I'll pay for it myself. It's a small price to pay to make this little threesome a twosome finally," Taylor offered.

"When did you get to be such a jealous little bitch? I didn't say I wanted to blow him. I just said he is going to be Yevgeny's teacher. He is no more involved in our lives than that," Mickey noted.

"I'm not being jealous, I'm being practical. Judging by the tattoo and what you've told me, this guy really did a number on you. There's no room for both of us in your life. I'm just trying to protect you," Taylor said.

"I don't need you to protect me alright? I know how to take care of myself," Mickey said coldly.

"Alright tough guy. Call me when you're not acting like a completely obtuse asshole," Taylor said as he walked out of the door.

Mickey rolled his eyes and slumped back down on the couch after he watched Taylor walk away. His hands raked down over his face in exasperation. Mickey thought he would be able to handle himself if Ian ever came back into his life. Things were already going to hell in a handbasket, and Ian hadn't even been back in the picture for 24 hours.

Mickey spent close to an hour chain smoking and trying to figure out how he would make it up to Taylor. After several phone calls went straight to voicemail, and his texts went unanswered, Mickey was surprised to hear a knock at the door.

"I knew you'd be back you little bit….what the fuck are you doing here?" Mickey asked abruptly.

"Still the same old charming Mickey I see," Ian replied with a shy smile. "I'm guessing you were expecting someone else?"

Mickey quickly recovered from the shock of seeing Ian again so soon, "well, what can I say? I'm a classic," Mickey deadpanned. "What are you doing here?" Mickey asked again.

"Well I was just at Fiona's, so I thought I would stop on by and see my old pal Mickey," Ian answered with a smirk. Mickey stared back blank-faced.

"I asked around to a few people about where you lived. I just wanted to see if we could clear the air…." Ian began.

"Clear the air? We haven't spoken in eight years Gallagher. I haven't been looking for you and you haven't been looking for me so I'd say the air is pretty goddamn clear from here," Mickey explained.

"Right, I guess that was a poor choice of words. Look Mickey, I love my job. Now that Yevgeny is in my class I don't want there to be any problems. I want us to get along for the sake of Yevgeny."

"Problems? Are you fuckin' serious right now. The way I remember it, you would always show up at my doorstep with a problem. Actually, it was very similar to you coming to my door right now. I guess some things don't ever change," Mickey remarked coldly.

Ian shook his head in frustration, "That didn't come out the way I meant it. I didn't mean that you were the problem…Huhhhh, can I come in for a minute?" Ian sighed. Mickey looked apprehensive for a moment. He wanted to slam the door in Ian's face, or punch him and throw him down the hallway. However, all he could think to do was stand back from the door and let Ian in.

"Have a seat," Mickey said as he gestured to the couch he and Taylor were occupying just an hour before. Mickey strolled into the kitchen.

"Do you want a beer Gallagher?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Ian replied. Mickey grabbed two beers from the kitchen and handed one to Ian. Instead of sitting next to him, Mickey made his way back to the doorway of the kitchen to stand and face Ian. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Mickey spoke up.

"Well, you came all the way over here and asked to come in. I was thinking you may have had something more to say," Mickey said more harshly than he meant to.

"You would have thought this would be a little more planned out, but I'm having some trouble coming up with the words Mick," Ian admitted.

"You know what I always liked about you Gallagher, is that you always had the balls to say how you felt all of the time. I hate to see you lose that," Mickey said.

"Yeah well, I'm not exactly the same person Mick," Ian sighed. "All I wanted to say Mickey…..is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way that we left things all those years ago. I never meant to hurt you. Between my bipolar disorder, my crazy family, our volatile relationship, and just being 17, I just didn't know how to handle things back then. Apparently, I don't know how to handle them now either," Ian joked.

"Yeah, no shit," Mickey said with a begrudging smirk.

"I never seem to know the right words with you Mickey; you've always had a weird effect on me," Ian admitted.

"I know the feeling," Mickey replied.

For a few moments the two just stared at each other. There was so much Mickey wanted to say to the man standing just two feet from him, but he was at a loss for words. He hadn't expected an apology, and he wasn't sure how he felt about the one he just received. Looking at Ian, Mickey suddenly felt a heavy feeling in his chest that he couldn't quite place.

The sound of Mickey's phone ringing startled both Ian and Mickey back into reality. Mickey grabbed his phone from his kitchen table and saw Taylor's face looking up at him. A wave of guilt washed over him as he pressed ignore and set his phone down. As he turned back to face Ian, he saw the tall redhead stand up and walk towards the door.

"I hope we can be friends Mick. It was really good to see you again." Without another word, Ian opened the door and walked away. Mickey stared at the closed door feeling more confused than he had in years. Not knowing what else he could take today, Mickey went to his room, collapsed on the bed, and slept.