▸ i loved you first.

ii. unexpected reunion

;

After everyone had said their hello's to the man who had been gone for months, they all got settled in the living room. Debbie, Carl, Liam, Fiona, Lip, and even Caleb, but no Ian. Just the simple thought of the redhead not being in the household at the time was enough to put Mickey on edge. Where was he? Working at another strip club? Screwing some random guy? Running off with his sorry excuse for a mother again? The possibilities were endless with this one, so of course Mickey's head was full with thoughts of that, and only that.

Everyone around him seemed to be laughing and having a good time compared to the times when they would all just try to fit onto one couch and blandly watch the television because they had nothing better to do, and of course Mickey was undeniably grateful to have been bailed out by that random Caleb guy, but he couldn't help but feel an uneasiness deep in his stomach.

It disappeared moments afterwards though.

The sound of the front door swinging open could hardly be heard over the dysfunctional family's laughter, so of course no one noticed the person who had entered until the spoke,

"Having all this fun without me?" the familiar voice called out above the others, causing everyone to quiet down and turn their heads. "There you are, stranger!" Fiona called back, beaming with happiness as she gestured him over by patting the seat beside her, but before the male could move, Caleb was already at his side with a warm smile, his arm sliding around the redheads waist as he leaned down just slightly in order to place a kiss on his lips after greeting with a soft "Hey, babe.". Coincidentally enough, that's when Mickey decided to turn around to acknowledge who had entered the house, finally snapped out of his own drowning thoughts. Ian being kissed by Caleb definitely wasn't what he wanted to see.

So, being one to act on impulse, Mickey stood up and furrowed his brows, eyes widened in annoyance and, well, disgust, "What the fuck?!" he shouted, causing the two to quickly pull out of the kiss and look towards the distraught man awkwardly. Ian, however, widened his deep blue eyes in surprise and parted his lips to speak, but nothing came out. Just silent air.

"Mickey, listen, man-" Caleb began, but got cut off,

"No no no, you shut the fuck up," he started, eyes full of hurt, betrayal, and anger flicking over to Ian, "You'd wait, huh?" he chuckled bitterly, the only thing between Mickey and the couple being a couch full of confused family members, "Great fuckin' waiting."

Ian had been quiet the whole time, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, just like Mickey had been moments before his jealous outburst. Seeing Mickey so upset about a measly kiss was different. Hell, it was as if he actually cared. The redhead had remained unconvinced about Mickey's supposed feelings for him, even if the infamous 'L word' was used moments before their break up. He had his reasons for doing so though. He was sick. Mentally sick. Bipolar, to be specific. Mickey only cared about 'fixing' him, as if he were a broken toy worth saving. But Caleb, he accepted Ian for who he was, and for that, of course he had a preference leaning towards the fireman rather than the south-side piece of trash he once fell for.

The shorter male pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows at the two, the silence being painfully awkward, but as he continued to stand there without an answer, he eventually just threw his arms up and shook his head, starting towards the front door with a soft scoff, "You two deserve each other." he finished pettily, leaving the household with a slam of the door. He couldn't believe he had been bailed out of prison, and gone through the agonising waiting time, ony to get fucked over in the end. The least the world could do was give him a break.

He heard the door open just as he was about to walk out the front gate, a voice causing him to halt in his path, "Mick, wait!" he turned, seeing the stupid redhead he once loved. He still loved. He didn't say anything though, just stared as if waiting for the other to continue, which he eventually did, "You can't just do that. You can't come back here after being /in prison/ for /half a year/ and expect me to welcome you back with open arms. I said I'd wait, and I did," he earned an unimpressed scoff from Mickey after that sentence, but ignored it and continued on anyway, "but an offer came around and I chose to take it. You can't be mad at me for moving on." Ian had positioned himself just at the bottom of the steps, standing a meter or two away from the dark-haired male, who still seemed conflicted about the whole situation, within good reason. No, he couldn't be mad, but he still was. He would argue that it was just in his nature to be shitty over public displays of affection, but he knew deep down that the truth was pure jealousy, amongst the residue of his past feelings. Ian was his, and he was Ian's, it had always been like that and he wasn't exactly jumping at the idea of a change.

"Do you love him?" He asked in a voice that held a sulkiness to it as well as it's usual firmness.

Ian could just see the hurt on the shorter male's face, and in all honesty, it /killed/ him.

"...No."

"Bullshit."

"Could you really blame me if I did?"

"Fuckin' aye!"

There was silence after that, frown plastered on both of their pale faces. Ian's blue pools full of sorrow had welled up with tears, but he didn't dare let any fall. This felt just like the last time they were standing in these exact positions, when the split up. It was tear-jerking, to say at the least. "So, what, you're just going to go home and have a cry about it, huh, Mick?" he asked ironically, it being ironic considering it was Ian that was almost in tears about it, and the previous frown that had settled on the others face contorted into annoyance. "Fuck you, Gallagher." he said simply in a scarily calm tone, his words full of venom as he turned on his heels and walked out of the front gate finally, making his way down the street towards his own house with quick steps.

Ian watched silently, tears threatening even harder to spill.

This was his fault.

His fault Mickey was being like this.

Could he do anything to stop it? Maybe? Possibly?

It didn't matter. All that mattered now to Ian, was getting back inside with his family and... new lover.