Where Mickey asks Mandy that question.
———
They'd finished dinner, Iggy had stole some lasagna warm up shit and Colin had done some yard work for Sheila and in return she made them some rolls. Everyone cleared out the kitchen. Iggy left to go see his girlfriend, Colin had to collect at the park, and Terry was out doing whatever shitty dads do. It was just Mandy and Mickey home, she washed dishes and Mickey dried them and put them away. They had clean up duty.
"Anything interesting happen today?" Mandy asked and Mickey dried a plate with a dish towel.
"Nothing really good to report, you?" He asked and Mandy shrugged.
"Nothing really either, it was hot today." She said and Mickey nodded as he put a plate into the cupboard.
"I thought you were staying at the Gallagher's?" He asked and she shrugged again.
"Lips being an asshole, decided to come home, see you assholes." She responded and Mickey smiled.
"Hardly knew you were gone." He teased and she giggled.
"You heard from Ian or anything?" Mickey asked, trying to keep it casual.
He hasn't heard anything from the boy in a couple of days, he was starting to miss him, miss seeing him, miss being with him.
"Nah, I think he's at something for ROTC, hasn't texted me or anything." She says and Mickey nods as he wipes a plate.
"You two are getting pretty close, how's working together?" Mandy asked, clearly trying to start a conversation with her brother.
"It's alright I guess, it's a job and he's a coworker, nothing really to say." He says and she nods.
"Yeah, he can be an ass at times, just tell me and I'll rough him up for you." Mandy says with a smile and Mickey laughs.
"Yeah, thanks." He responds and she grabs another plate.
As he's drying a plate, he can't stop but think about Ian, about how he feels about him, and how Ian feels about him. In his head, he tries to think of a way to ask Mandy for advice without really going into detail.
"Hey can I ask you something?" He asks and she stops washing the plates. She looks up and nods.
"Yeah, what's up?" She asks and Mickey plays with the plate in his hands.
"Uh, for you, I guess, how do you know a guy you've been hanging out with likes you?" He asks and she frowns at the question.
"You mean, me in general?" She asks and leans off the sink, he nods and she crosses her arms.
"Well I would asks him." She says and Mickey nods again.
"What would you ask?" He asks and she smiles.
"I would be straightforward, see if they want to move on from being friends." She says and he chews the side of his mouth.
"What if the guy doesn't want to talk about that stuff." He asks, referring to him, but she doesn't need to know that, instead she shrugs and smiles.
"With me, no guy ever does, might be a little difficult with girls though." She says and he nods, completely ignoring the girl part.
"Okay, so how would you talk about, uh, feelings with someone." He asks and she smiles.
"If you like someone, it's better to admit it before it's to late, if its to late, you'll get hurt, even if it's rejection you'll at least have some peace for knowing the answer." She says and he stares at her.
"What if you're afraid of the answer?" He asks and she smiles.
"If you're afraid, then that means you don't like him at all, you're falling down the deep path of love." She says and all he can do is stare at her, love?
"So you would ask him and tell him how you feel?" He asks and she nods.
"All you can really do, rejections happens to everyone, doesn't make you less of being loved or cared for." She adds and he nods.
"With Lip, it's different, I know he's still hung up on that Karen bitch, what we have only seems like one way, and that's me doing all the work." She says and he frowns.
"Lips an asshole, you always go for assholes." He says and she smiles.
"Yeah, Ian isn't though, he's sweet, don't know why he is when the other Gallagher's are, different." She says and grabs the last plate.
"Yeah, yeah he is." Mickey replies, mainly to himself.
As Mandy washes the dish, she looks over at Mickey who has a slight smile on his face. She's not dumb, she's known for a while now. Not like Ian has been that secretive or stealth about the whole situation. In her mind, she always known, about Mickey. She loves him, even if he's an asshole, and even if he's gay. Being gay doesn't change her perspective on him, not at all. He's her big brother, and she'll wait for the day he's ready to tell her, she'll support him.
No matter what.
Notes:
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed. I always wondered if Mickey ever went to her for advice or if she knew about Ian and Mickey. Personally, I think she knew the first time they hooked up, in her mind I think Ian would have been "a dead man" even after her calling her brothers off. Mickey is protective like that, in that ep, when Ian leaves she has a look on her face. Almost like she's putting the pieces together. Like she's said, "Don't play dumb with me."
