Finger Paintings • gallavich

Basic Instinct

Mickey was trying his hardest to distract Yevgeny. Right now they sat in Ian's car, Mickey in the passenger's seat and Yevgeny in the back. They were looking around at a few more apartments and some furniture, though Mickey lied and said it was just for Ian. "I'm telling you, man. The first one we looked at the other day was perfect," he mumbles, passing his cigarette over to Ian.

"Beautiful view, but the kitchen was a little small," Ian said. He was pretty excited for them all to move in. Finally, it felt like everything was falling together. They just had to get over these last few hurdles.

"Ian, come on. It was perfectly fine. Not like your ass is going to be cooking in there a lot." Yev overhears and peaks his head forward, looking at them.

"Why do you care so much daddy?" He asks curiously.

"'Cause I want to make sure Ian gets the best he can for his money," he explains.

Ian nods, "yeah, I don't wanna pay extra for something that's teeny," he explains

Yev nods. "I get it. It's hard to get lots of money. I only have five dollars right now." Mickey chuckles quietly and takes the cigarette back from Ian as he parks the car. It was around seven and the three of them had been hungry for hours, so they agreed to stop at Sizzlers for dinner.

Mickey steps out of the car and opens the door for Yev as the boy climbs out. "You got $5? Wow! Bet you could buy a milkshake with that money," Ian tells him. Once they're parked and step out, the three head inside and get a table. "Yev, What would your dream house be?"

"My dream house would be huge!" He says, grabbing Ian's hand. Mickey smiles at the small gesture as he presses his cigarette out in the ashtray and walks inside. "It would have a big pool! And cars! And a trampoline! Oh, and a tree house!"

"A treehouse?! Maybe I should have daddy help me build one?" He suggests ad he gently squeezes the boy's hand.

Mickey chuckles and hits his shoulder. "Don't drag me into this," he teases. They approach the counter and a hostess smiles at them. "Hi, welcome to Sizzlers. How many?"

"Two adults and one child," Ian says. He then looks down at Yevgeny. "Shouldn't daddy help me build a big treehouse?"

She nods, grabbing two regular menus and one kid's menu. "Follow me," she says before leading them to their table. Yevs eyes widen and he nods. "Uh... duh! I'd love to have a huge big treehouse!"

The hostess laughs softly. "Your guy's son is adorable," she says, setting the menus down.

Mickey smiles slightly, unsure whether to correct her or not. "Yeah..thanks," he blushes a bit. Yev giggles as they all sit down and Ian smiles over at Mickey. It was nice not having to hide in public with Mickey. It felt freeing.

She smiles and nods. "Of course. Your waiter will be over in a moment," she says, walking off.

"Thank you," Ian smiles. He looks over his menu, "what sounds good to you guys? I'm thinking of a steak the size of my face," he chuckles softly.

Yev laughs. "That's a big steak!" Mickey laughs along with him.

"You're right. Ian does have a big head," he teases.

The three of them held light conversation for a while. Yev colored while the other two drank and laughed over stupid jokes. It felt nice like a weight had finally been lifted off of Mickey's shoulders. But he knew he still had one more thing to get past.

"Hey, Yev...  Can I talk to you about something, Bud?" 

Yev sets the green crayon down and looks over at Mickey. "What, daddy?" He asks curiously.

Mickey rubs the back of his neck and glances over at Ian for reassurance. "So, uh, you know how mom hasn't been home for a few days?" Yev nods. "Well, it may be a while longer until she gets him and can see you again. And it's not that she doesn't want to see you because... because she does. It's just that things are complicated right now and, uh, she needs to figure some things out."

Yev frowns and turns to face Mickey full on. "So where is she? Is she okay?" He asks nervously.

"I don't know where she is exactly, but I know she's okay."

"But how do you know if you don't even know where she's at? She could be hurt!" He says, eyes watering up. Mickey sighs softly and pulls Yev into a hug.

"Yev, I promise you mom is okay. She just needs to clear her head for a while and figure things out and I'm sure you'll see her again if you want. But for now... for now we're gonna move out, okay? So that way we won't be alone with grandpa anymore."

Yev looks up at him. "Then where will we live at? I don't wanna sleep outside on the streets like some people do."

Mickey shakes his head and runs a hand through the boy's hair. "We won't. We already have a new place. When we went apartment hunting with Ian, we were looking for a place for all three of us to live in. Do you think that'd be okay with you?"

As much as Mickey wanted to move in with Ian, he could never do it if Yev refused. He didn't want to upset his kid any more than he already was. But the small smile now on Yev's face said it all. "Yeah, I wanna move in with Mr. Gallagher! Then it'd be like having a sleepover every night with him."

Ian laughs and looks over at the boy. "Maybe some nights I can make you my famous double chocolate milkshakes. My younger brothers and sister used to love them."

Yev grins widely. "Yeah, and then we could bake cookies like that one time!"

Mickey couldn't hold back the grin that was on his face from seeing Yev so excitedly. He was happy that finally after all these years they were getting out. That they would no longer have to deal with Svet and hopefully Terry. But Mickey wasn't worried about his father at the moment. He no longer wanted that man to control his life and this was his first step towards doing that and Mickey knew for certain, that this was the right step to take.

Wow okay, I can't believe I've finally completed my first fanfic! Yeah, I know the writing isn't great in many parts but I'm just glad I've finally completed it and I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. I have another fanfic in the makings right now along with a teen fiction novel that are going to be posted within the next month or so. So watch out for those! But until then, thank you for dedicating some time to reading and voting on this. It means a lot.