Trauma At Its Finest (Lip Gallagher X Male Reader)

Ch 65. Russian Roots

"Kev, honey, what are you doing?"

Kevin is sitting on the couch, holding a box. He looks up at V with a smile. "You remember how the Russian mafia somehow convinced the government that we're blood-related brothers?"

"And that Y/N has been lying to you about it? Yeah." V still carries a bit of disdain about the whole situation, even though Kevin has mostly moved past it. "What about it?"

"Well, turns out they forgot to send Y/N's dead mom's inheritance." Kev says enthusiastically. "This came in the mail today. Apparently, they had trouble collecting her belongings and sending them over. Something about it being linked to the mafia or whatever. But yeah—here it is."

V sits down beside him and peers into the box. Inside are several items: a diamond wedding ring, an old plushie, and a stack of photos. One photo in particular catches her eye. Curious, she picks it up. It shows a newborn baby in a young woman's arms, the woman smiling tiredly at the camera.

"Is this Y/N?" V asks.

"No." Kev grins. "That's Y/N's mom."

V laughs. "Seriously?"

"Apparently his mom's name was Katarina."

V hums thoughtfully as she studies the photo. "Weird how he never mentioned her."

"Doesn't surprise me." Kev replies. "A month after this picture, she OD'd."

V keeps staring at the photo, something unsettling nagging at her. "Kev... doesn't she look a little... young?"

"Yeah." Kev rummages through the box. "They mentioned somewhere that she was a teen mom."

"Guess America isn't the only country with a teen pregnancy problem." V mutters. She places the photo on the table and starts helping Kev search through the box. "Shouldn't we get Y/N?"

"Yeah, yeah—later." Kev says distractedly. "Oh!" He suddenly pulls out a letter and squints at it. "What's a legal action form?"

V takes it from him and starts reading. "Not sure..."

The letter is stamped with a Russian government seal. As she reads further, her expression slowly shifts—from curiosity to disbelief.

"Kev." she says quietly, eyes wide. "Get Y/N."

-

Sitting on the couch, Y/N reads the letter. Apparently, it states that he has been identified as part of an inheritance case, and that his grandmother is trying to legally claim him as family to get the process moving forward. The letter also includes instructions on how to contact her.

Kev places a supportive hand on his little brother's shoulder.
"Y/N, you know what this means? You're going to meet your biological family. ...Well, besides Vlad and that other brother."

"Huh..."

Y/N stares at the paper, never expecting something like this. He never really desired to get to know his biological family; he felt satisfied having Kev as his brother, being married to Lip, and raising their own little family together.

"What are you thinking?" V asks gently.

"I... never really asked for this." Y/N admits, looking up at Kev and V. "This is kinda sudden."

"I get that." Kev replies. "When I found out I had loads of uncles and aunts, it was a shock too. But I went and met them."

"Which wasn't pleasant at all..." V mutters under her breath.