Work Text:
BREAKFAST!"
Before even opening his eyes, Mickey raised his hand up to Ians bed to check if he was still there. It was empty. He got up, put on a shirt and went downstairs where he could already smell pancakes and bacon. One of the perks of living at the Gallagher residence was the fresh breakfast every morning. When he reached the foot of the stairs he took some time to adjust to the busy scene that was displayed in front of him. It would still take him a few more weeks to get used to the loudness and crowdyness that was the Gallagher family. Sure, at the Milkovichs things were crowded and loud too, but it was a lot diferent than here. Back home, the house was always full of Mandys boyfriends, ex-cons who were looking to go into bussiness with Terry, multiple alleged cousins that Mickey had never seen before or lately the whores he had tried to rescue from their miserable job conditions. There was always yelling, fighting, discussing and just general bad temper in the air, while at the Gallaghers everybody cared for each other, looked out for each other and genuinely loved each other. Something he hadn't experienced his whole life, except for maybe Mandy. Mickeys eyes searched the room for his favorite ginger.
Carl and Debbie were sitting at the table, stuffing their faces. Next to them Lip was feeding Liam in his highchair. Ian was standing in the kitchen in front of the hotplate telling Carl a story about something that had happened to him during his in the army. Mickey scuffed towards him and reached for one of the mugs standing on the counter. „Move!“, he grouched when Ian got in the way between him and the coffee pot.
„Good morning to you, too!“ Ian laughed and poured coffee into his boyfriends mug. Mickey nodded in an attempt to thank him, then leaned against the counter while Ian fixed him up a plate of breakfast. „Did you sleep well?“ Ian asked while flipping a pancake. Mickey shrugged. „Think I'm gonna get fucking paralyzed sleeping on the floor.“ Ian smiled and handed him his plate. „Maybe you should come sleep in my bed then, huh?“. Mickey rolled his eyes in response to Ian winking invitingly and sat down opposite to´the youngest Gallagher, Liam. He had just put the first bite of his pancake into his mouth when Fiona came downstairs.
„Guys, school! You're gonna be late!“´She handed everyone their lunches, then Debbie, Carl and Lip got up, grabbed their bags and left the house.
„Ian, you said you can watch Liam today, right?“ Fiona asked, while putting on her jacket and an old, dirty scarf. Ian nodded and turned off the hot plate.
„Take your time. I don't have to work at all, today. See you later!“ He placed a little kiss on her cheek and closed the back entrance behind her as she followed her siblings.
„Alright, I'm gonna go take a shower! I'll be right back!“ Ian took off his shirt and threw it onto a pile of dirty clothes next to the washing machine. Mickey just nodded and continued eating. When he was sure Ian wasn't paying attention he looked up and watched the ginger disappear up the stairs. He had gotten a lot more muscular in the past few weeks and the older boy had to force himself to look away before Ian could catch him staring.
Mickey finished his breakfast, put the dirty dishes in the sink and was about to head upstairs to see if Ian needed his assistance in the shower, when he heard a hiccup and a little laugh. Fuck, the little one was still there. Mickey bit his lower lip and stared at the small, dark skinned boy reaching his hands towards him. He had no idea what to do with children. He'd never even held one before.
The boy seemed to get upset when Mickey didn't focus all his attention on him and he started crying.
„Shit!“, Mickey mumbled and took the kid out of his longchair. He held him uneasily and started to walk around the kitchen in an attempt to calm him down.
„Shh, dude, chill. Um, everything's gonna be fine!“ Mickey had no idea what to say so he just decided to make it up as he went along. The baby's crying started to get a little bit calmer and he sat down on the sofa with him in his arms.
He desperately tried to find a way to sooth the baby boy. If he remembered correctly Mandy used to like it when he sang to her before she went to sleep. The problem was that he couldn't think of any song suitable for little kids. Fuck it, he thought, it wasn't like Liam would understand or remember what he was singing anyway.
„Now hush little baby, don't you cry
Everything's gonna be alright
Stiffen that upper lip up, little baby, I told ya
Daddy's here to hold ya through the night
I know mommy's not here right now and we don't know why
We feel how we feel inside
It may seem a little crazy, pretty baby
But I promise mama's gon' be alright“
He felt stupid. His singing voice was the kind of bad that nobody should ever have to listen to and he wasn't really sure if that was the right melody. Thankfully, nobody was around to listen to him making a fool of himself. Liam had stopped crying during the song but as soon as Mickey stopped singing he began to whine again.
„Jesus, still with the crying, dude? Shh, Liam. Please stop. Your brother's gonna be downstairs any minute now. He's just taking a quick shower and then he'll come right back to you. He'll know what to do!“
Liam raised one of his little hands and gently touched Mickeys cheek. He didn't dare to move. He just stayed completely still while the little boy was examining his face.
„Shit, you're cute. But don't tell anyone I said that, okay?“ He couldn't believe what he was doing but something about those small, warm hands exploring his scarred face and those dark, innocent eyes looking at him made him turn into a ball of softness and warmth.
The young boy proceeded to look at the tattoos on his knuckles. „Fuck U-Up!" He laughed a sarcastic, unhappy laugh. "Don't ever get a tattoo, little one! At the time, you'll think it's a good idea but shortly after you will definitely regret it. I know I did. It's true, though. If anybody hurts my family, or Ian or you-“ he pointed to Liams tiny nose, „I will fuck them up. As dumb as it sounds!“ Liam chuckled when the older boy touched his face and Mickey couldn't help but smile.
„So what should we do now, you little cutie, huh?“ Liam smiled again and pointed his little index finger at something behind Mickey. With a sense of forebording he turned around.
„This totally ruins your street credibility, you know?“ Ian was sitting on the bottom of the stairs facing towards the old, smelly couch that Mickey and Liam had been sitting on and smiled a bright, happy smile. Mickey jumped. „How long have you been listening?“ he asked fearfully.
„Long enough!“, the redhead laughed as he got up and sat down next to his boyfriend.
„So what are we going to do now, you little cutie, huh?“ Ian asked and rumpled Mickey's hair.
„Fuck off!“ But he couldn't keep a straight face. Especially not, when they decided to watch a movie and Liam snuggled up to him and fell asleep in his arms.