Once again the loud buzzer wakes Ian from his slumber. He sits up and sees Landon pulling his jumpsuit on. Ian jumped up and did the same, carefully placing the piece of gum under his pillow. "COUNT!" A guard yelled and both men went into their spots. "Gallagher you working today?" Landon asked. Ian looked up and shook his head. "Nah, day off." He said and Landon nodded. They both heard footsteps and stood up straight. Ian had hoped it would be Mickey who would come in but it was Officer Fox. He slowly came in the room and looked at the two men. "Hello ladies." He greeted with a smile. Landon shook his head but didn't say anything. "What was that inmate?" He asked. "Got something to say?" Landon cleared his throat and stared back out the officer. "No sir." He said and Officer Fox smirked. "Heard your getting out, would be a shame if someone messed that up, right Gallagher?" Fox said turning his attention to Ian. "Yes sir." Ian said and Fox walked up to him. "Couple of more weeks for you Gallagher." Fox said while eyeing Ian up and down. "Ren's been asking about you, wondering if your coming back, he writes, but you don't write him back." Fox said but when Ian was gonna answer Mickey walked in.
"Everything okay in here gentlemen?" Mickey asked looking straight at Ian. "Just mandatory inspection when an inmate mouths you off." Fox said while pushing Ian in the middle of the room. Mickey swallowed the lump in his throat and stared at Ian. "The fuck man, he didn't even do anything." Landon said and Ian shook his head, a sign for him to stop talking. "What's that inmate?" Fox asked loudly. Mickey focused his attention back to Fox. "Arms up." Fox said and Ian put them up. Fox touched his arms and slowly went down his sides. Mickey looked away for a second when he heard another guard. When Mickey looked away Fox cupped Ian's ass. Ian groaned in disgust and Landon scoffed. "Clear, boys." Fox yelled. Mickey looked at Ian, but Ian stared at the floor. "Have a nice day gentlemen." Mickey said as he left the cell. Landon nodded to Mickey and Ian stayed in his spot waiting for Fox to leave. "Remember Gallagher, Ren doesn't like to be kept waiting, you brought in a lot of money, he wants you back." Fox said and left the room. Ian felt like he was trapped in a room and couldn't breathe. He exhaled loudly when the sight of Fox left. Landon went up to him. "You okay dude? I saw what that freak did." He asked and Ian nodded. "I'm fine, wasn't the first time, anyway." Ian said as he grabbed his shower stuff. "With him or in general." Landon asked while grabbing his stuff as well. They left the room then his eyes looked at Mickey who was still standing by their cell. "Both." He said and looked at Mickey. He shifted his eyes back to Landon and both men walked to the showers.
"Hey have you guys heard anything about Officer Fox?" Mickey asked as he took a sip of his Coke. "Heard he's a major asshole." Marsh replied. "Yeah man heard he really treats the inmates bad, like bad bad." Winston said and the others agreed. "Why's he still here?" Mickey asked and they all scoffed. "His dad owns the prison." Winston said and Mickey shook his head. "Why, he say something to you?" Cadence asked and they all looked at Mickey. "Not me necessarily, an inmate." Mickey said and they all nodded. "I also heard he threatens the inmates so they won't say anything." Cadence added and Mickey looked at her. He doesn't know why but he felt this absolute need to protect Gallagher. He got up from his seat and tossed his lunch. He said his goodbyes and walked towards the cellblocks, specifically C.
"You good?" Landon asked while Ian did pushups on the ground. "Yeah why?" Ian puffed out. "Cause that's like 100 pushups now, your making me feel fat." Landon said and Ian laughed. "Is this cause of this morning, Fox is a creep, we should do something about it." Landon said and Ian stopped. "Do something?" Ian asked and Landon nodded. "Hell yeah, eyy I still got that shiv somewhere in here." Landon said as he jumped up and began looking around. Ian laughed but a voice caused both men to jump. "I'll pretend I didn't hear anything from you Mr. Gonzales" Mickey said and Ian turned to him. "Oh it's just you." Landon said and still searched. "Meaning?" Mickey asked with a scoff. "Your nice, don't really have any complaints from me." Landon said as he flipped through his books. "You have complaints?" Mickey asked while stepping into the room. Ian sat back on the floor, smiling. Landon nodded, "Just one." He said and Ian shook his head. "Cut it out before he gives you a strike." Ian said and got up from the floor. "Not my fault he stood there while he touched you." Landon said but instantly regretted when Ian quickly turned around. Ian glared at him and looked at Mickey. That feeling was weird for Mickey. A feeling of protection and fear. He touched him, he touched Gallagher. With consent? Doubt it. Mickey cleared his throat and stood up straight. "You have a visitor Gallagher." He said and Landon looked at Ian. "You got the wrong Gallagher." He said while laughing. "Ain't no one been here to see him since he was first here." Landon said and Ian shook his head. Mickey stood there waiting for Ian. "Eyyy maybe it's Carl and Liam, tell little man I said wassup." Landon said as Ian and Mickey walked out the cell.
"Sorry about Landon, he really doesn't know when to shut up sometimes." Ian said and Mickey laughed. "It's aright, I don't have a problem with him." He said and Ian nodded. They both walked with silence after that. Ian looked up and saw that they passed the visitation room. "Uh Officer Milcovich, we passed the room." Ian said but Mickey kept walking behind him. Ian looked forward and took a deep breath. What was he going to do? He thought and then Mickey told him to stop. Ian stopped and Mickey went in front of him to open the door, a janitor closet. "Get in." Mickey demanded and Ian walked in. Ian stood in the room and faced the wall. Mickey walked in as well and locked the door. "Whatever you're gonna do, just make it fast." Ian said with low voice. "What?" Mickey asked and Ian turned around. "Oh, sorry it's nothing like that." Mickey said while turning the lights on. Ian blinked his eyes when they lights came on. "Huh?" He asked, confused. "I just wanted to talk to you, alone." Mickey said and Ian did nothing but stare back at him. "What did you want to talk about?" Ian asked stepping back to lean against the sink. "I wanted to ask about what happened this morning, with Fox." Mickey said and Ian glared at him. "Nothing happened." He said quickly. Mickey scoffed, "Gallagher, your cell mate kinda already gave it away." Ian shook his head. "Then I guess you already know, can I leave?" He said stepping towards the door. Mickey moved in front of the door. "I just want to make sure your alright." Mickey said and Ian laughed. "Why do you give a shit?" He asked looking into his eyes.
"Is it a crime to care about someone?" Mickey asked and Ian laughed. "If that someone is an inmate and an officer, yeah I pretty sure it fucking illegal." Mickey shook his head and stared at the floor. "I don't know why, I just do." He said and Ian looked down as well. "You like me, right?" Ian asked and Mickey looked up at him. He didn't say anything but Ian smiled. Ian stepped closer. "Don't try denying it Milcovich, I still have that gum in my cell." Mickey smirked and watched Ian step closer to him. "We can't." Mickey said slowly. Ian stopped and looked at the smaller man. "I won't say anything, not even to Land, I promise." Ian said and Mickey smiled. "Look Ian, I just want to take things slow." Mickey said not realizing he said his actual name. Ian looked at him and smiled, "You know my name?" He asked. "Kinda took a peek into you file." Mickey said bashfully. "And you want to take things, slow." Ian said with a smile. "My names Mickey." He responded and Ian smiled back at him. "I really don't know what the hell Im doing, I shouldn't even be..." Ian stopped him. "Hey, look I don't know what I'm doing either." He said and Mickey looked at him. "All I know is that I feel safe with you, everything disappears, that first time I saw you, I felt safe." Ian said with a little laugh. "I haven't felt that feeling in a long time." He continued and Mickey smiled. Ian looked down at his lips then back at him. Before he could make a move, Mickey spoke. "We should be getting you back now, count."
Ian gave a shy laugh and nodded. "Whatever you say Officer." He said sarcastically and Mickey shook his head while opening the door. "Meet me here tomorrow again, we can talk some more." Mickey said and Ian nodded. They walked in separate directions and Ian found his way back to his cell. He walked in with a dopey smile and laid on his bed. "That was a long visit." Landon said while sitting on his own bed. "Yeah, couldn't stop talking with them." Ian lied and stared at the picture of his family. "Hmmm that sound nice." Landon said calmly. "Kinda weird isn't it." Landon said and Ian looked at him. "Visitation stops at 2." He said and Ian's eyes widened. "Also very strange, you have this." He said as he pulled out the tiny piece of gum. "We sucking dick for gum now Gallagher?"
