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„But you'll take them, right?“ Mickey sighed.
„Yes,“ for the hundreth time, he was free this afternoon, yes, he would watch Yevgeny because Svetlana was at work and yes, he was going to look after Liam, too.
He was sitting on the couch, trying to enjoy his breakfast beer (it used to be at least two, but due to the redheads constant nagging, it had been reduced to one), while Ian ran around the house, getting dressed and picking up the things he needed for his doctor's appointment.
He nodded relievedly and bent over the couch to push a hasty kiss on his loves lips.
„Fiona will bring him over in like ten minutes. She's on her way.“ Mickey gave him the finger and moved his foot to rock the cradle Yevgeny was sleeping in.
It was early in the morning, but Ian had been up for hours, cleaning, doing god-knows-what and now he was off to get a prescription for new pills.
The money Mickey pulled in from the rub 'n tug wasn't always enough to cover the bill for the medication, nor did Ians temporary gym job pay well, but Fiona and the other Gallaghers chipped in whenever they could so, gladly, they could afford paying for Ians pills.
„Bye!“ Mickey snickered, shaking his head as he let his fingers run through red hair when Ian stood back up. It was still damp from the shower, which had to mean that Ian had gone for a run as well.
He moved over to where the baby was sleeping and gently touched its nose.
„Bye, Yevy. Liam's coming over soon, so you'll have someone to play with. I'll see you later, okay? Be nice to your daddy!“
Mickey laughed and slapped his boyfriends butt.
„Get the fuck out of here already. You'll be back in a couple of hours, man. Acting like you're moving to fucking Canada.“
The redhead shrugged and headed out the door, reappearing only seconds later.
He smiled a teethy smile at Mickey, eyebrows raised meaningfully, as his boyfriend rolled his eyes.
„Come on! You promised, remember? Everytime I leave the house.“ Ian cheered and grinned at Mickey who could only shake his head at his boyfriends twisted request.
He took his time, watching Ians hungry gaze towards him, hands twisted into the beanie he was holding, impatiently tapping his foot onto the wooden floor.
„Bye. I love you. I'll miss you.“
It didn't sound sincere and Mickey definitely regretted loosing that drunken bet to Ian, where he had claimed he could jump higher than the redhead could, but Ian seemed pleased nonetheless.
„Good boy. You too!“
„Fuck off.“
As it turned out, keeping a toddler occupied was way more difficult than the baby and Mickey was more than busy keeping Liam from grabbing things he shouldn't grab and crawling places he shouldn't crawl to, like Iggy's stash of various drugs, taped to the bottom of the sofa table, or the open weapon cabinet in the Milkovich kitchen.
After having decided that his house just wasn't the right place for an active and cheerful Liam on a sugar rush, he simply packed up the kids, Yevy in an old stroller and the youngest Gallagher on his left hand and headed to the park.
It was about to be winter so the air was cold and the playground almost empty, as Mickey sat down on a bench next to the swingset. He turned the stroller towards him so he could have an eye on the still sleeping Yevgeny. The little boy, whose big coat almost swallowed him whole mumbled something Mickey couldn't understand and played with the barbies he was holding.
„Who'd you got there?“ Mickey asked pointing to the little dolls in Liams hands. Instead of an answer, he just giggled and placed a blonde barely clothed woman in his lap.
„Whoa, no! I don't like those down there, man.“ He laughed and grabbed the barbie, making it walk over the bench towards the one Liam was holding.
„Hi, I'm Lily. How are you?“ He moved the barbie as if she were the one speaking and raised one of her arms as if to high five, glad no one was around to witness this unlikely action of his.
Liam didn't answer, Mickey actually didn't think he'd heard him speak more than a couple of words ever, then reached back with the doll in his hand and smashed it against Lily. Mickey gasped dramatically and layed the doll down in defeat.
„Stonecold killer. I like your style, kid.“
He looked at the little guy and had to admit, he was fucking cute with his giant dark eyes and the two teeth light in contrast to his dark skin. He bent down and lifted Liam up to sit beside him, putting one of Yevgenys extra blankets between him and the bench so he wouldn't freeze his little butt off. He reached into the gigantic diaper bag Ian had given him and pulled out a bottle of tea for the youngest Gallagher.
As if smelling that there were drinks available, Yevgeny started moving in the stroller and squealed, trying to get out of the seat belt.
„Mornin, sleepyhead,“ Mickey cooed and lifted the baby out of his stroller and into his arms. Thankful, that he wasn't a big cryer, he gave him his bottle of formula milk and opened his jacket so the little boy had extra protection against the clashing cold wind. He nudged against his neck and Mickey felt that warm feeling spread inside of him, that he usually only felt when looking at Ian or Mandy and sometimes even Svetlana.
He pulled Yevys hat deeper into his face and laughed when he noticed Liams curious stare. His eyes were fixated on the baby, eyeing his every move.
„What's up Liam?“ Mickey laughed at the wonderous expression in the little boys face and scooted closer so he could take a better look. He carefully raised his hand to pet the babys chubby hand and Yevgeny stared back at him warily.
„You wanna hold him, Liam?“, Mickey asked. His eyes lit up and he nodded, carelessly dropping his bottle to the muddy floor. Mickey picked up the baby and placed it in Liams lap, keeping a hand on his back, to make sure Liam wouldn't drop him once he'd lost interest.
The boys stared at each other in wonder and Mickey quickly got his phone out to snap a picture to send to Ian.
They didn't stay at the park much longer, because Liam was tired from the walk, Yevgeny was getting cranky because of the cold and all in all it was just not the right weather to spend the day at the playground. It was a difficult act, trying to push the stroller while Liam, who refused walking one more step was occupying one of Mickeys arm. After only a few meters Mickey stopped their little parade and lifted Liam onto his shoulders.
„Hold on tight, Liam. You're brother will kill me if you fall down, alright?“
Liam mumbled something that sounded like agreeing and grabbed a few strands of Mickeys hair to hold onto.
They ran into Ian when they were only a couple of minutes away from the house. He was coming down the steps of the L, laughing when he saw the trio.
„Hey guys,“ he yelled and waved enthusiastically as he jogged towards them. He petted Yevgenys head, tickled Liam and placed a quick kiss on his boyfriends cold, chapped lips.
„You're done already?“ Mickey asked surprisedly as he watched the redhead reach a hand into his pocket, grabbing his pack of cigarettes and lighting it. He was about to protest, as Ian had stopped smoking several months ago, but Ian took the cigarette and put it between his boyfriends lips.
„How are you back already?“ Ian shrugged.
„There weren't any people waiting so I just went in there and got the description Why? Want some more alone time with the babies?" Mickey rolled his eyes at his boyfriend and gave the cigarette back to him.
„What you don't want one?“
Instead of an answer, Mickey reached up and plucked the young Gallagher from his shoulders and put him down on the ground.
„Don't want him to breathe in all the smoke! Think he's damaged enough from the coke, you know!“ He grabbed the smoke back out of Ians hand and walked a step away from the group before taking a much needed drag.
Ian was eyeing him with a unfamiliar smile as he picked up Liam.
„That's unusually thoughtful of you!“ He smiled fondly when Mickey blushed.
„You complainin?“
„Not at all! Did you have a good time with uncle Mickey today?“, he asked, turning to Liam who had his head on Ians shoulder. The little boy nodded and squealed when Ian tickled his sides.
As dumb as it was, Mickey actually felt very happy about that little nod.
A couple of days later Liam was at the Milkovich house again. Fiona had just started a new job and she mostly worked mornings which meant that nobody could watch Liam, except Mickey or Ian, who both didn't start working until noon.
Ian had worked the late shift the night before and was still asleep and Svetlana had taken Yevgeny to her girlfriends house, so it was just him and Liam, sitting on the couch and watching the cartoons that usually were on TV in the mornings. They were actually pretty funny and Mickey liked watching those stupid talking animals and everything, but he would have never admitted it, so to have Liam as his cover was a lucky coincidence.
It was almost seven, which meant it was time for a bottle of milk for the little guy. He grabbed himself a cup of coffee and sat back down next to the sleepy three-year-old next to him.
„Here you go, little nugget.“ Liam grabbed the bottle and basically started jugging the whole thing. It only took him a few minutes until it was empty and he instantly demanded a refill.
„More!“ Mickey laughed in disbelief.
„Jugging the whole thing... Good boy!“ He went to get said refill and flopped down on the couch, ready for some warm drink for himself.
Liam, who was still wearing an adorable playsuit with diferent animals printed on it, scooted a few inches closer and rested his head against Mickeys arm. It was more than cute and Mickey smiled fondly at the little guy. He had really come to like him in the past few months. He didn't talk all that much (apparently that's what snorting cocaine at the age of three did to you) and he barely ever cried which Mickey enjoyed very much.
After looking around the room to check if anybody else was up, he pulled the toddler onto his lap and continued watching the show. Liam seemed to like his new seat, seeing as he cuddled up in Mickeys shirt and grabbed the hand he had put around the little boy. He took a sip of his coffee (after Liam had almost taken a sip of his beer a couple of days ago, he had switched from beer to coffee, to prevent further damage. Man, was he getting soft..) and gently ran his hand through the toddlers hair.
Liam leaned into the touch and cuddled even closer to Mickey and he didn't know how to handle it. Yevgeny was usually too active to even sit still for a minute and here Liam was, rolled up in his lap, cuddled against him and sucking on his bottle, while watching TV.
„Aren't you the fucking cutest?“ he mumbled, a little overwhelmed with the amount of affection he was getting but definitely not hating it. It was cold in the house because they were trying to save money on heat so Mickey grabbed an old blanket from the backrest of the couch and wrapped Liam up in it. He looked like a little worm and it was really fucking adorable so he leaned back hugged him a little tighter and decided to get some more sleep.
He hadn't gotten back to the house until four the night before, but he wanted Ian to get enough sleep so he had gotten up to hang out with Liam when Fiona had come by.
As a thank you for all the baby sitting, Fiona invited them to sunday lunch the following week. Yevy was still with his mom so Mickey and Ian headed to the Gallagher house alone, giddy and happy after having just completed a very satisfying night of having the house to themselves.
Ian seemed very excited, walking so fast Mickey had a hard time catching up with his significantly shorter legs and he even went as far as grabbing his boyfriends, which, much to his surprise, he let happen.
„Are you getting soft, Milkovich?“ Ian teased, and rubbed his hand with his thumb. Mickey just rolled his eyes and gave him a little smile. For some reason he didn't feel sarcastic or snappy at all today.
The Gallagher house was bursting with people today. All the Gallagher kids and several boyfriends and girlfriends. Even Lip had come home from college, with two giant treys of Lasagne, which smelled delicious if you ignored thinking about if there was actually any meat in there.
The table was being set as they walked in and everybody stopped to swamp Ian with hugs and kisses. They didn't see him as much as they wanted to, now that he was living in the Milkovich house, so everytime they came by everybody acted like he'd just come home from a year long expedition to russia.
The Gallaghers were busy trying to squeeze the life out of their redheaded brother and Mickey stood a little off from everybody else, when something tugged at his leg. Liam was barefoot in only a shirt and his diapers and he reached his hands up to his uncle. Mickey smiled and picked him up.
„Hi, buddy. What's up? Haven't seen you since friday. What have you been up to?“ Liam giggled and babbled something that didn't make sense, at least not to Mickey.
„Yes, exactly! I'm also very excited for the new Teletubbies episode on monday. Gonna be wild, huh?"
Liam laughed and before they could continue their conversation, Debbie snatched the little boy out of his hands.
„Dinner's ready, come on!“
Mickey obeyed. He was very hungry and excited to have some change in diet, as all he was eating lately was healthy stuff that Ian stole from the ensuite restaurant at the gym. He sat down on the chair that Ian had saved him and purred contently, when the redhead stroke his leg under the table.
„I love you!“, he whispered as he leaned close so nobody else could hear him. It wasn't worth the trouble because everyone was being so loud that he could've screamed the words and nobody would have even heard.
Mickey smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss. „You too!“
The food was delicious, the conversation lively and Mickey very happy with the whole situation, so he didn't mind when Ian told Debbie they would stay a little longer for a good old Gallagher Movie Marathon.
It took a few minutes until everybody had found a place to sit but in the end everybody was seated more or less comfortably, Mickey and Ian sharing an armchair.
Carl started Men In Black III and the opening credits were interrupted by Liams intense screaming. Fiona had him on her lap, but he didn't seem to like his seat very much. Screaming and reaching his hands over to his left, Fiona sighed and handed him over to Lip who was sitting next to Mickey.
„Lip I think he wants to sit with you!“ Lip smiled, a little flattered and grabbed his little brother.
„Of course he does. It's the best seat in the house!“, he said as he placed a kiss on his brothers face.
„Noo,“ Liam protested and Lips face fell a bit „Mickey!“
„What?“, Mickey, Lip and Fiona said in unison as Liam ditched his brother and climbed over into Mickeys arms.
„Mickey Mouse.“
Umcomfortable with all the attention he was getting, Mickey blushed, but still lifted Liam into his lap. The boy calmed down immediately and grabbed his juice bottle from Lips hands, snuggling into the soft fabric of Mickeys sweater. The other Gallaghers watched with open mouths as Mickey grabbed a blanket and wrapped Liam up in it, putting his arms around him.
„Why does it look like you guys have done this before?“, Fiona asked, an amused smile on her face. Mickey shrugged and focussed his eyes back on the TV.
„We're wuggle wubbies,“ Liam stated and his brothers and sisters laughed at his attempts to talk.
„What are you, babycakes?“ Fiona asked.
„Nothing. Can we watch the damn movie now?“ Mickey shook his head, trying to get Liam to continue drinking his juice. It worked, but Ian smiled mischievously and cleared his throat.
„I think what Liam meant to say, was that him and Mickey are snuggle buddies.“
Mickey gasped and shot his boyfriend a very unfriendly glare.
„You just signed your death sentence, Gallagher!“, he hissed, intensely trying to remember when Ian could have heard him say that to Liam. He had always tried to be very careful not to say sappy stuff like that when other people were around. Not even Ian.
The family burst out laughing and Mickey just gave them the finger, much to Liams dismay, as he needed that whole arm to snuggle into.
“Well,” Fiona said a tad sourly “I guess Liam's made his decision, then!”
“Damn right, he did!” Mickey mumbled and smiled when Ian laid an arm around him.