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Mickey stood up and took his plate into the kitchen, dumping it into the sink. He came back over and put a hand on Ian's shoulder. "I'm gonna go take a nap. You need anything?"
Ian shook his head. "I'm good."
"Don't study too hard." Mickey squeezed Ian's shoulder once and headed upstairs. Both of them kept late hours these days and so naps were common practice. Ian would have loved to join Mickey and get a few hours of sleep before he had to head to the club, but his GED wasn't going to take itself.
Ian looked back down at the practice test he was working on when he realized that Fiona had stopped eating and was just staring at him. "What?"
"How do you know that you can trust Mickey now?" Fiona asked. "I mean, he's the reason you left right?"
Ian nodded. He wasn't exactly proud of the decisions he'd made back then and he knew they weren't exactly Mickey's fault, but technically Mickey was the reason he'd left. He just hadn't been able deal with everything that had happened between them. "But he's proven himself. You know he has."
Fiona sighed. "I guess. It's just...how do you know ?"
Ian put his pen down and sat back in the kitchen chair. "This isn't really about Mickey and me is it?"
"Sort of?" Fiona deflated, slumping over and leaning on her elbows. "Not really. It's just with Jimmy back and saying all the right things..."
"It's easy to say the right things," Ian said even though he'd watched Mickey struggle to do just that. Then again that meant Mickey rarely said anything that he didn't really mean unlike Jimmy who was always saying what Fiona wanted to hear. "It's harder to back them up. Mickey doesn't lie to me and he proves that with his actions—even when it's hard or painful." He paused remembering Mickey standing in front of a room full of homophobes and declaring that he was gay. "Especially then. From what I saw Jimmy always took the easy way out."
"Yeah," Fiona agreed. "But there's just something about him...it's hard to stay away."
Ian snorted. "Trust me, I know the feeling. But how many times are you going to let him hurt you? Listen, love is great. Sex is great. But if I've learned anything over the past year it's that trusting someone to be there during the hard times is what really matters."
Fiona looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time. "When did my little brother get so wise?"
"Unexpected benefit to bipolar disorder is that you'd be surprised what you can learn in therapy." Ian smirked. "I know that isn't the Gallagher way, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Hell, I even dragged Mickey to a couple of sessions."
Fiona started laughing. "Did he actually talk?"
Ian sobered and looked down at his hands. "He takes my treatment very seriously, so yeah he talked. Hated every minute of it, but relationship drama is one of my biggest stressors and can trigger episodes, so he did what he had to." Ian smiled at Fiona. "He couldn't get out of there fast enough though. You'd think he owed the psychologist money the way he moved."
"You know," Fiona said thoughtfully. "When you had your first depressive episode, I was afraid he'd be as bad for you as Frank is for Monica, but he's not is he?"
"Frank is selfish. Mickey is anything but. Even during the bad times he always sacrificed for me…just not in the way I wanted." Ian looked straight into his sister's eyes. "Listen, my relationship is far from perfect, but if you really want my advice I'd say make Jimmy earn it—and not with gifts or words because those don't really mean anything. If he doesn't step up then cut your losses."
"Are you seriously asking Ian for relationship advice?" Lip asked as he came into the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.
"I think I'm insulted," Ian said.
"Don't be." Fiona pointed at Lip. "He's just jealous that nobody in their right mind would go to him for relationship advice."
Ian laughed. "Truth."
Lip sat down at the table and gave them both a pained look. "How is it that the guy dating Mickey Milkovich has the healthiest relationship—maybe the healthiest relationship in the entire history of this family?"
Ian grinned. "I guess I'm just lucky."
Lip shook his head and glanced at Fiona. "Surely one of us can find someone better than Mickey?"
"Okay now I know I'm insulted." Ian stood up. There was no way he was going to get any more studying in this afternoon and he had better things to do than listen to Lip's fucked up view on relationships. He really wished that Lip would stop ragging on Mickey, but he didn't see that happening any time soon. "So I think I'm going to go find my boyfriend and have lots of sex while the two of you mope in here."
"TMI man," Lip said.
Ian rolled his eyes and jogged up the stairs. He was actually planning to curl up next to Mickey and take a nap, but Lip didn't need to know that. If Lip thought he and Mickey were fucking then he'd leave them alone. And who knows, maybe they'd find time for a quick blowjob before work.
As far as Ian was concerned his relationship might not be perfect, but it was pretty great.