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Ian had been going through a lot since his diagnosis.
Well, a lot was an understanding when it came to the Gallagher house. His older and younger siblings tried to do everything they could to help Ian with his bipolar episodes, but it wasn’t always so simple. Fiona wanted to get Ian back into the hospital, but Lip was against it, afraid it would only make things worse. Debbie was blaming herself for not keeping a better eye on her big brother while Carl and Liam were a bit clueless when it came to their brother’s illness.
Then, there was Ian’s boyfriend, Trevor. Trevor was used to dealing with a lot of chaotic things with his job as a social worker, but Ian Gallagher was as chaotic as it came and not just because of his illness. Ian’s life was an entire circus in itself. However, he had come to really care about the ringmaster and the many acts that floated in and out of 2119 South Wallace. Still, there were still things that Trevor was finding out about his boyfriend and especially his boyfriend’s past.
Mickey Milkovich was the largest part of Ian that Trevor had yet to understand.
He knew a few things about the Southsider, but nobody seemed to want to talk about the man, especially around Ian. Trevor knew that Mickey had been someone incredibly important to Ian, especially during the beginning phase of his illness. Trevor had been surprised to hear that it was Mickey who had convinced Ian to seek treatment after the latter had run off with the former’s baby.
Around the Gallagher house, Milkovich seemed to be some sort of Saint in ways. When Ian wasn’t around, Trevor heard Fiona and Debbie talking about the ex-boyfriend as if he was still a constant fixture in their lives. Carl would make comments about how much he missed the gun-toting asshole and even Liam would mention Mickey and Mickey’s sister, Mandy, and how much he missed them when the bullies were getting more relentless at school.
Lip was one of the only ones that tried to not speak about Ian’s former flame around Trevor, but even the eldest Gallagher brother slipped up at times. It was actually from Lip that Trevor learned the most about the tatted thug. One evening, Lip had let it slip how Milkovich had come out after his son’s christening. Trevor was shocked to hear how public he had made it but was not surprised to hear how his homophobic father had reacted. Even if you weren’t from the Southside, everyone knew Terry Milkovich and how much of an asshole he was.
Still, it remained a surprise every time Trevor learned something new about Mickey. The latest was that he was recently released from prison and was out on parole. Trevor and Ian had found out a few days before when Mickey’s parole officer had shown up at the house to speak to Ian about Mickey’s former work ethic at the Kash and Grab. Trevor had never seen Ian’s eyes light up the way they did when he spoke about Milkovich. Even when he was just describing how Mickey would help stop the neighborhood kids from stealing Snickers bars, it looked as if Ian was talking about a work of art rather than a street thug.
Trevor was worried that Ian would break down again after the return of Mickey, but he seemed to be taking it rather well. Well, that is until a panic attack had taken over earlier in the evening and Ian had collapsed onto the floor, shaking and gasping for breath.
As soon as it happened, Trevor had yelled for Fiona. Ian was laying in the middle of the hallway, his eyes wide and his hands clawing at the scuffed-up floor. When Trevor had tried to help him up, Ian had shoved away from him, not wanting to be touched.
"Did he take his meds?” Fiona asked. Trevor just shook his head because he didn’t know. Ian had been doing well with his EMT job and he thought that he had been taking the necessary stabilizers for his illness, but Trevor couldn’t be sure.
“He hasn’t taken them for three days,” Debbie announced as she came out of the bathroom holding the orange bottles. “I counted them.”
“Dammit, Ian,” Fiona sighed as she tried to reach for her brother. Ian, however, wanted nothing to do with his siblings.
“No! No!” Ian said, backing up from them, pressing himself into the wall behind him.
“Ian, come on,” Fiona said softly.
“Don’t touch me!” Ian yelled back, raising his hands in front of his face in a warning.
“Fi,” Lip said from the other end of the hall. The eldest Gallagher sister looked at him and Lip gestured for everyone to go downstairs. Exiting into the living room, Carl remained at the top of the stairs just so he could see Ian and make sure the ginger didn’t throw himself off the second-story railing. “This is just like that time at the lake,” Lip said.
“What time?” Trevor asked as he glanced up at the second floor.
“It was last year,” Lip said. “Something set him off and Ian went into full shutdown mode. He wasn’t taking his meds and then he just...snapped. He wouldn’t let any of us touch him.”
“What did you do?” Trevor asked and then everyone in the room went silent as the sibling looked at each other. “Guys?”
“We didn’t do anything,” Liam said. “Mickey did.”
“Mickey Milkovich?” Trevor asked and Liam nodded.
“He was the only one who would calm him down,” Debbie explained. “Dammit, I should have noticed that he was starting to spiral.”
“It’s not your fault, Debs,” Lip said, offering his sister a comforting pat on the shoulder.
“Well, what did Mickey do that was different?” Trevor asked. “Can’t we just do that?”
“It wasn’t what he did,” Fiona said. “It was because…” she trailed off.
“It was because he’s fucking Mickey,” Carl piped up from above them.
“Maybe we should call him,” Liam offered. “Maybe he could talk to Ian?”
“I already texted him,” Lip said with a sigh.
“You what?” Trevor asked, struck.
“I texted him SOS as soon as I heard Ian yell the first time. He’s on his way,” Lip said. Trevor sighed, collapsing into the armchair in the corner.
“Just like that?” Trevor asked as his hand played with the charm around his neck. Liam just shrugged.
“It’s Ian,” Liam said as if it was obvious.
The yelling upstairs continued and Carl cringed every time he saw his brother throw himself to the ground or grapple for some invisible thread to hold onto. Fiona was pacing as she waited for Mickey to show up. Debbie was holding the pill bottles, staring at them as if they had personally offended her. Trevor hadn’t seen the Gallaghers this rattled before. He also had never seen them so determined to let one of Ian’s ex-boyfriends become the savior of the day.
It was only another ten minutes or so before the front door opened and Fiona stopped pacing. Trevor looked up just as a dark-haired, tattooed, and clearly annoyed man walked in. “Alright, I’m here. What he do now? Steal another fucking baby? Rob a bank?” Mickey asked as he faced the Gallaghers. His eyes landed on Trevor for a second before looking at Fiona.
“He didn’t take his meds,” Debbie said, approaching Mickey with the bottles. Mickey frowned at her as he scratched at his temple with his thumbnail.
“He’s in full-blown shutdown, Mick,” Fiona said. “We can’t touch him and he’s not responding.”
“Ah, so like that fucking time at the lake,” Mickey remembered. Lip nodded and Mickey sighed before glancing up at the second floor as he heard Ian cry out for the first time. Trevor didn’t miss the way Mickey flinched as he heard Ian struggling. There was almost a desperate look at him as he stared upstairs. However, it was gone after a second as Mickey turned back to the Gallaghers. “Did you hold him down and shove the pulls down his throat like you do with a fuckin’ dog?” Mickey asked, slipping back into his usual demeanor.
“No,” Debbie said. “He won’t let us touch him, remember?” Mickey groaned as he snatched the bottles out of Debbie’s hands.
“Fucking Gallaghers,” Mickey said as he trudged up the stairs, passing Carl with a quick ruffle of his hair. Carl didn’t seem to mind as Milkovich moved past him and into the hallway. “Ian Gallagher!” Mickey sang as he disappeared up the stairs.
Trevor and the Gallaghers didn’t move as they listened to what was going on upstairs. Carl had snuck back down the steps to give the men upstairs some privacy, but it didn’t do much considering how loud they were being. Suddenly, there was a loud crash as if someone had been slammed into the wall. The sound of pill bottles crashing to the ground littered the air. “Fuck! Ian, come here!” Mickey yelled.
“What the fuck, Mick!” Ian answered and Trevor was glad to hear him speak rather than just yelling or crying. There were more sounds of fighting before Mickey grunted in pain.
“You son of a bitch!” Mickey shouted. “You’re just fucking lucky I didn’t bring Svet as back up, you fucking carrot top. Stay still!”
“Who’s Svet?” Trevor asked as another banged reverberated from upstairs.
“Mickey’s Russian hooker, ex-wife. Baby momma to his kid,” Lip explained. Trevor didn’t have the opportunity to respond to that when suddenly Mickey shouted again.
“You bite me and I will not hesitate to do it back!” Mickey yelled. “Don’t fucking test me, Gallagher. I know where Carl keeps his handcuffs, fucker!” Another loud crash and Ian grunted in pain.
“Where did you learn to do that!” Ian shouted.
“Cell Block D, bitch! Stay still!” Mickey yelled and then Trevor could hear the sound of pills being scattered on the floor. Debbie was sitting across from him on the floor, rubbing at her temples. “Ian!”
“This is not going well,” Liam said.
“Just give him a second,” Lip said, wringing his hands. Fiona was in the same position as she stared up the stairs, trying to see what was happening. Trevor jumped then as Ian shouted something that clearly wasn't English.
“Where the fuck did you learn Ukrainian?” Mickey said which only made Fiona look at Lip in complete confusion.
“Don’t look at me,” Lip said. “That motherfucker reads too much.”
After a few more minutes of banging and crashing, it was silent. Ian was still grunting, but it sounded more muffled as if someone was covering his mouth. “Ow! Shit!” Mickey suddenly exclaimed. “I fucking warned you, dick!” Ian then cried out in pain after that and then the house shook as if someone had been thrown to the ground again. “Open up now before I break your fucking jaw,” Mickey was said. “Then your EMT ass is gonna have to go all 911 on your own fucking face.”
“Fuck you!” Ian shouted and Fiona slid to the floor, trying not to let the yelling get to her, but it was too late.
“Fuck, Ian, I don’t care if you fucking snort them, just take the goddamn pills so I can go meet my fucking dick of a PO,” Mickey said. “Do you want Debbie to feel like shit for the rest of the day, huh? What about Liam? He’s fucking worried about you, you psycho. Lip had to call me, me, because you wouldn’t let anyone put their goddamn hands on you!”
“Don’t touch me!” Ian said, but it sounded a little less hostile than before and Trevor could tell Ian was getting tired.
“I think we are well past that, asshole,” Mickey said. “You may be mister Army, but I can still fucking take you especially when you’re acting like this. Now, do I gotta go get Iggy and Colin to hold you down so I can shove these down your throat, or are you going to cooperate?”
Trevor looked at Debbie for answers. “Mickey’s brothers,” she explained and Trevor nodded. It was quiet for a moment then, no scuffling, no swearing, just silence. Nobody moved and nobody spoke as they waited for the fighting to start up again.
Eventually, Mickey spoke again. “See, was that so fucking hard?” Mickey said and then it was quiet and everyone strained their ears to listen, but all they could hear was a faint whisper coming from Ian. Mickey then laughed and groaned as he got to his feet, his work boots knocking into the baseboards. “Nah, fuck you, bitch,” Mickey said with a lighthearted chuckle. It was another moment before Mickey jogged back down the stairs, fresh blood blooming from his hand and his face. “Mission accomplished, motherfuckers,” he announced, shaking off some pain in his arm.
“What happened?” Carl asked, gesturing to the blood on Mickey’s hand.
“Oh, bastard bit me,” Mickey said, showing Carl the half-moon wound on his hand. Mickey shrugged, not surprised by the act as Trevor clearly was.
“Did you bite him back?” Debbie asked.
“I fuckin’ warned him,” Mickey said with a nod. Mickey then looked at Trevor. “Who’s this? Another new half-sibling I’ll have to lock in a fuckin’ shipping crate?”
“This is Trevor,” Liam said. “Ian’s boyfriend.” Trevor gave him a quick wave. Mickey just chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second before nodding.
“Right, well good luck,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “He took his meds, but I hit him pretty hard. Gonna need something for the headache,” he said to Fiona as he passed her. Fiona reached out and stopped him before he could leave.
“Thank you, Mickey,” she said.
“Yeah, whatever,” he said, but his tone was soft.
“I mean it,” she said as she looked at him and he could see the worry in her eyes. Fiona always put too much pressure on herself and Mickey had always seen it because he understood. He, too, had spent his childhood looking after his siblings. Always having to make sure Colin and Iggy didn’t get arrested and of course, protecting Mandy from Terry. With a sigh, he pulled her in for a hug. Fiona didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around him and tuck her chin against his shoulder.
Mickey wasn’t a hugger except when it came to the damn Gallaghers, and he sometimes needed it more than they did. Mickey then pressed a kiss to her cheek before stepping out of her embrace. “Hey,” he said, getting her attention, “you’re still family to me. No matter what.”
Fiona smiled then. “Family,” she agreed.
“Alright, enough of this soft shit,” Mickey said. “Later Gallaghers!” Mickey moved past Fiona and rubbed Liam’s head before grabbing Lip’s hand as the latter thanked Milkovich. Mickey played it off, but he knew Lip was being sincere.
As soon as the door slammed behind him, Fiona ran upstairs to go help Ian. Trevor, who had been watching the entire thing with a whole lot of questions could only think of one thing to say. “So, that was Mickey,” he said. All the Gallaghers nodded.
“That was Mickey,” they chorused as the circus finally closed its curtains.