Trauma At Its Finest (Lip Gallagher X Male Reader)

Ch 20. Horrible New Year

It's close to New Year's, and everyone is excited about what the next year has in store for them. With his life back on track, Lip wants to finish his third year and move on to his fourth, working toward graduation. Y/N is looking forward to getting married, now only having to wait until halfway through the year. Not only that, but the couple is expecting their next son in just two or three months. Things are looking bright—not just for them, but for everyone.

However, the start of the year doesn't go as smoothly as expected.

Lip is awakened by a loud explosion. Since it's that time of year, fireworks are going off more frequently. The Gallaghers usually ignore them, but his fiancé doesn't.

Lip slowly opens his eyes and sees Y/N getting out of bed, reaching under his pillow to grab a pistol. Alarmed, the blonde instantly sits up.

"Y/N?" Lip calls out as Y/N quickly rushes toward the stairs. "Shit...!"

Lip scrambles out of bed to follow him.

Another firework goes off, and Y/N, armed, scans the area. Lip catches up just as the armed and stoic man reaches the front door and throws it open, pointing his gun outside.

"Y/N! Y/N!" Lip calls out, trying to ground him.

Y/N's breathing is heavy as his eyes dart around. Lip quickly grabs his arms, trying to lower them.

"It's alright, Y/N. It's just fireworks." Lip keeps his voice calm and steady as the armed man stares emptily at him. "Breathe, Y/N. Everything is fine. You're safe."

After a few tense seconds, the suffering man finally seems to relax. Still, he looks like he's not really there. He lowers his gun, making Lip sigh in relief.

"We're safe, Y/N. You don't need the gun." Lip gently gestures for him to hand it over, but Y/N hesitates. Instead of giving it up, he turns around and walks back inside.

Lip watches him disappear into the basement, already dreading what midnight will bring.

-

"Y/N almost shot someone again?" Debbie asks while feeding Franny.

Everyone is gathered around the kitchen, having breakfast. The only person missing is Y/N, who's still downstairs.

"Yep." Lip replies, taking a bite of his toast.

"Does he got BTSM or something?" Mickey questions.

"You mean PTSD." Ian corrects his boyfriend as both men prepare their breakfast.

"I sometimes chat with veterans." Carl chimes in. "A lot of them get triggered this time of year."

"You think Y/N has PTSD?" Lip frowns, struggling to understand how that would be possible.

He'd get it if his fiancé was triggered by something specific, but this reaction—the way war veterans react to fireworks—confuses him. Then, he remembers an incident months ago: Y/N had been with him when Carl set off some fireworks, and his fiancé instantly grabbed his weapon, looking terrifyingly on edge.

"If he doesn't, then I'd love to know why he almost shot me." Kaitlyn comments, casually doing her nails.

"But how?" Lip shakes his head. "Y/N isn't a soldier."

"You don't know that." Carl points out. "It's not like we know much about his past."

"He got those scars somewhere." Ian adds, backing up Carl's theory.