Alone Together (Gallavich)

fourteen 1/2

mickey

It wasn't often that I got the house to myself so as soon as Mandy left to go visit dad, I took advantage of my opportunity; pizza bagels for breakfast and lunch so far with a side of beer while blasting music and playing video games was something I could get used to. When I went to grab another beer from the fridge, I heard a knock at the door, immediately making me roll my eyes. I slammed the fridge and shut the music off before angrily moving to the door.

I swung the door open in frustration and stood in the doorway.

"It's Christmas morning, the fuck do you - oh."

It was Ian, who immediately looked a little disappointed at my reaction.

"Hey."

"Uh, Mandy's not home right now," I said, not really wanting to have to talk about yesterday, yet another occasion where I stormed off from Ian.

His face dropped even more as he shoved a little box in his hand into his jacket pocket.

"Oh no, I wasn't, um, I was just - sorry. I'll just go." He started to turn around and walk down the stairs before I stopped him.

"No, Ian. Shit. You can come in."

I moved over, opening the door even more and standing in front of it, showing him I really did want him to come in and it wasn't just a pity invite. He looked at me for a second, clearly trying to figure out those exact intentions. I scratched my nose with my thumb and raised my eyebrows at him.

"It's fucking 2 degrees outside Red, you gonna get your ass in here or what?"

A small smirk came to his mouth, making me feel relieved that I hadn't been too rude when I first opened the door.

Once we were inside, we went into my bedroom and sat down on the edge of my bed. Ian just looked at me, as if he was waiting for me to say something which made no sense considering he came to my house in the first place.

"So?" I asked, hoping to get some kind of conversation started.

He shuffled a bit on the bed, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out the box he shoved into there moments ago on the porch.

"What's that?"

The redhead held the box out to me with a little smile on his face. Grabbing it, I kept my eyes on him, waiting for him to explain what it was while I opened it.

"I got it in St. Louis at the greyhound stop on my way back yesterday. It's probably stupid, I don't know, but it made me think of you so I had to get it, and wow that sounds way cheesier out loud than it did in my head."

Once I got the lid of the box off and could see what it was, I couldn't stop the smile that was creeping on my face. I picked up the bottle opener from the box and read the writing on it.

"Yeah, it says Fuck U, but look," he explained, grabbing the metal from my hand and flipping it around before giving it back to me. "The U is the Arch, just upside down, clearly."

The way his face lit up when he showed it to me - I just kept on smiling.

"You are such a fag Gallagher," I laughed, putting the bottle opener back into the box, closing the lid. "Thank you."

His smile grew more too as he looked at me. "Yeah well, Merry Christmas I guess."

Guilt ran over me suddenly. "I, uh, I didn't get you anything though."

Either he didn't hear me or didn't care because before I knew it, his hands were on my thighs and his lips were on mine. As always, my body melted into his, the rhythm of our mouths sending warmth through me. I pulled the neck of his jacket close to me, trying to eliminate any space between us. His hands were still on my thighs but they were moving up and down along my leg, making me twitch a little and move my hands to the bottom seam of his shirt. I could feel the warmth of his skin through the thin piece of cloth, only causing me to want him more. I moved my fingertips underneath his shirt and let my hands find their way around his stomach and back. Quickly I was snapped out of it by Ian pulling away.

"What," I sighed out.

"I'm sorry, I just- I just don't get it."

"Get what?"

"When we're alone together everything is great, ya know? I can't be the only one here who realizes that. But it's like the second you snap back into reality for whatever reason, you want out. It's like you're disgusted by me or something and I really don't want to go anywhere further if that's how you feel. Fuck, Mickey," his eyes were watering now, his breath hitching slightly. "It's enough to get used by some old perv at work. I-I don't fucking need someone else pulling that shit on me. Especially not someone that I care about." His head dropped to the floor as he sniffled, trying to stop himself from crying.

"Ian." He didn't move. "Hey, look at me, alright?" I put my hand on his shoulder as he lifted his head slightly. "I'm not disgusted by you. I just- Look, when you and I are together Ian, I'm free. I feel like I'm exactly where I should be."

"So then what's the problem?" He was now looking at me again.

"The problem is that if my dad found out, if anyone found out and somehow it got to my dad, none of this would matter because he would make sure to kill me himself."

"He's not going to kill you Mick."

"You don't know my dad. He's locked up right now for stabbing a guy who he saw hugging some other dude outside the laundromat. If his own son was taking it like a bitch how do you think he'd react?"

His face seemed to understand but his eyes were still a little sad.

"I'm sorry, ok?"

The slight nod he gave me in response didn't feel like enough yet.

"I care about you Ian. Trust me, it'd be a hell of a lot easier if I didn't, but I do. I want-" I stopped myself, not sure if I was really there yet.

"Want what?" The way the glimmer of hope appeared in his sad eyes at the start of my sentence sold me on continuing.

"I want to be with you Ian. The fuck can I do?"

My eyes looked around his face, from his lips to his forehead, until they met his eyes again. He slowly moved closer to me, letting his eyes trail to my lips as well. I leaned into what I knew was coming next, what I hoped would feel as it always did.

"The fuck can I do," I whispered out before closing the space between our faces, doing everything I could to make sure Ian knew where I wanted to be in that moment.

Part two coming soon!! Just saw that this is #4 in Gallavich right now which is just... thank you guys soooo much!!! So much love for each and every person who shows this story love. Keep it up :)