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“Gallagher-Milkovich? Milkovich-Gallagher? It’s a little long, isn’t it? We should make it just Milkovich, or Gallagher. Hey, what if he ends up going to one of those schools where kids call each other by their last names. Like in Harry Potter. Then we definitely can’t use both our names…” Ian trails off and doesn’t seem to notice Mickey glaring at him.
“Harry Potter?” he repeats, raising his eyebrows. He shakes his head ‘cause he should’ve known that Ian would take every little detail into account when it came to doing shit like this. Granted, naming your kid is a pretty big deal. Honestly, Mickey’s still having a hard time believing that the day has come when they’re actually figuring out the details.
“Alex Milkovich sounds better than Alex Gallagher, right? How about in the official papers we have it hyphenated, but for everything else it’s just Milkovich?”
Mickey thinks about it, before nodding. “Yeah, I guess that sounds alright,” he grins a little and loves the way Ian’s eyes light up. “Not like we need more Gallaghers running around.”
*
“Oh, you have a gorgeous child. ”
Ian smiles up from where he’s crouching in front of the stroller. “Thank you.”
He finishes adjusting the small blue beanie and stands up. The middle-aged lady starts making gooey noises at Alex, and Ian almost rolls his eyes because this happens all the damn time and he’s always late to things. But it’s obvious that Alex loves the attention with all the gurgling and giggling. They’re supposed to meet Mickey in front of his work, but Ian texts him just in case, saying that they’re held up a few blocks away.
“You and your wife must be so proud.”
Ian looks up from his phone, “Actually…”
“Hey, let’s get outta here,” Mickey says suddenly from behind them, making both Ian and the lady jump in surprise. He gives them a strange look and goes to Alex’s stroller, greeting him with a kiss on the forehead.
“Oh, excuse me for assuming! You and your husband have a lovely baby. Have a wonderful evening,” she scuttles off before Ian can reply.
“Husband, huh?”
Ian raises his hands in defence, “Hey, I never said anything.”
Mickey grins.
*
“YEAHHH, GOOOAL. Did you see that, Mick? He’s basically running the whole show. All eyes on Alex!”
Mickey rolls his eyes and tugs at Ian’s arm so he’s sitting down again. Basically every parent has their eyes turned towards them, but it’s not like Mickey’s not used to it by now. He raises is eyebrows at some shmuck who’d given them a strange look.
“They should cut the shit and make him captain.”
“They’re five, Mickey. I don’t think they have captains in peewee soccer…Or do they?”
“How the hell should I know?”
Ian pauses and thinks about it for a moment. “Gonna go talk to Coach.”
*
“Laser tag?”
“C’mon, you know he’ll love it.”
Mickey snorts. “Are you sure this is for him, and not for you?”
“Okay maybe it’s a little for me, but it’ll be fun! You’re playing too, right? We’ll be like the unbeatable, power-trio family.”
“Did you even ask him if likes laser tag, or are you just pulling this outta your ass?”
Ian rolls his eyes, “Well I didn’t want to get his hopes up without talking to you about it. Let’s ask him now.”
Ian gets up and Mickey quickly follows him. They go to Alex’s room, where he’s playing his DS like he usually is.
“Hey kid,” Mickey asks before Ian can get to it. “How’d you feel about laser tag for your party?”
“Laser tag?” Alex looks up and shrugs. “Thanks dad, that’d be really cool I guess.”
“See! He’s basically jumping for joy.”
“Alright, alright,” Mickey finally says. “Laser tag it is.”
They leave his room and Mickey shakes his head. “Why does our kid gotta act like a teenager when he’s eleven?”
Ian smiles and puts an arm around him, “It’s all apart of growing up, Mickey.”
“Growing up, huh? Says the guy who pitched the idea of throwing a laser tag party on the grounds that he’ll get to play.”
“Hey, I just wanna show off to everyone how great we are at this shit.”
“The parenting or the laser tag?”
Ian beams, “Both.”