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Ian loves the 4th of July. He supposes that makes sense, considering the fact that he wanted to be in the army, but he mostly just loves fireworks. He loves the colors, how they explode across the black sky, and the he loves watching the sparks fall through the air. He also loves the noise, the loud booms that echo throughout the city. It’s easy to sit back and watch the sky light up, the noise blocking out all other sounds.
He also loves the way 4th of July brought the Gallaghers together. They always ended up scraping together enough to buy burgers or hot dogs for everyone at a place down the street, and they all would sit in the back yard in a circle, laughing and joking. Frank never showed up; he was always out at some bar, getting drunk off his ass, and Ian was perfectly okay with that.
They were never all together for the fireworks. He and Lip usually went out, and sometimes Debbie or Carl tagged along. The rest stayed at the house, scattered across the front lawn.
That summer, Ian was especially excited for 4th. He and Lip and Mandy were going to watch the fireworks together, and Ian hoped that he would be able to convince Mickey to come along.
Ian loved having Mickey at the store. Mickey was slowly starting to open up, talking more about himself and his family. They spent the days teasing each other and fucking in the freezer, and Mickey was starting to feel like much more than just somebody he was fucking.
However, when Ian started to follow Lip out the door as he left for the Milkovich house, Lip stopped him.
“Hey, listen man, I was thinking that maybe it could just be me and Mandy tonight.”
Ian raised his eyebrows. “Are you serious?”
Lip had the decency to look sorry. “I just want to hang with her, ya know? Watch the fireworks.”
Ian snorted. “Oh, I’m sure watching fireworks is all you two will be doing.”
Lip shook his head. “Look, I’m sorry. You could stay here with Debbie and Carl, I’m sure they’d love to have you here. Or go ask Mickey, you guys seem to be friends now.”
“Fine,” Ian said. “Go with Mandy. I’ll find something to do.”
Lip grinned and ruffled Ian's hair. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Ian muttered as the front door slammed behind his brother.
Sighing, Ian went to the kitchen and pulled the extra six-pack out of the fridge.
“Fiona!” he yelled. “I’m going out!”
“Be safe!” she shouted from the backyard, but Ian was out the door before she even finished her sentence.
***
Mickey answered the door.
“What the fuck do you want? You assholes forget something?” he asked, pulling the door open. He stopped when he saw Ian. “The fuck are you doing here?”
Ian held up the beer. “Wanna go watch the fireworks?”
Mickey raised his eyebrows. “No.”
“Oh, come on, Mick!” Ian said. “It’ll be great! I’ve got beer, and fireworks are awesome. Plus, there’s the added bonus of being with me,” he said, and Mickey snorted. “It’ll be fun. Promise.”
Mickey sighed and looked over his shoulder. The house looked empty, and he turned back to Ian, a small smile on his face.
“Fine,” he said and Ian grinned.
***
A few summers ago, he and Lip had discovered the perfect place to watch the fireworks. Ian doesn’t remember what exactly they were doing, but somehow they had found themselves on the roof of an abandoned warehouse a few blocks away from their house a few minutes before the fireworks. They had gone off early that year, and so the two of them had watched them from the roof of the building. You could see them ten times better up there than from anywhere on the ground, so most years they climbed up there to watch.
Ian hoped that Lip hadn’t gotten the same idea as him and brought Mandy.
When they stopped at the front of the warehouse, Mickey turned to Ian and stared at him, his expression blank. Ian waved his hand, gesturing to the door on their right.
“Come on, we’re going up,” he said.
“You want me to go into an abandoned warehouse at night,” Mickey stated. “Is that what’s happening?”
Ian laughed. “Why, you scared?” he joked, and Mickey glared at him. Ian walked over to the door, tugging it open. “Follow me.”
He could hear Mickey muttering behind him, and he had to press his lips together to keep from laughing again.
When they got to the roof, Ian let out a sigh of relief. The roof was empty.
Mickey glanced over the edge at the sidewalk far below.
“Fuck, you trying to kill me, Gallagher?” he asked, and Ian smiled. He sat down on the ground, patting the spot next to him.
Mickey glared again, and then plopped down next to Ian, grabbing a beer and opening it. Ian took one too, and the two of them sat in silence for a few minutes.
It wasn’t until Mickey asked, “Like what you see?” that Ian realized he had been staring. He grinned and leaned back on his hands, holding Mickey’s gaze.
“Yep,” he replied, popping the ‘p’.
Mickey looked surprised, like that wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting. He turned away quickly, looking straight ahead and taking a sip of his beer.
“When is this shit supposed to start, anyway?” Mickey mumbled, and Ian tried to wipe the goofy smile off his face.
He shrugged. “They usually start around 9, depending on when it gets dark,” he said. Ian looked at his watch. “It’s 9:10 now, they it should be just a few minutes.”
Mickey nodded and pulled out a pack a cigarettes, lighting one and taking a long drag. Ian drank his beer and watched the lights of the city, fighting the urge to look over at Mickey every 15 seconds.
A few minutes later, Ian looked over to find Mickey watching him. He grinned and opened his mouth to mimic Mickey’s words from earlier, but just then the first firework exploded to life above them.
They both looked up as the second one shot into the air, exploded in a shower of blue and red sparks. They came quickly after that, one after the other, spraying green and purple and red and blue and gold sparks across the night sky. Some of them sizzled afterwards, and the sound of them was deafening. Ian smiled as he watched them.
A few minutes into the show, Ian looked over at Mickey. He was staring at the fireworks with wide eyes, his beer dangling loosely from his fingers. There was a look of wonder on his face, and in that moment Ian really, really wanted to kiss him.
He didn’t, though. He couldn’t risk ruining the moment, couldn’t risk him pulling away and asking, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
So he watched Mickey instead. Watched the fireworks light up his face as he grinned, took a mental picture of the happy and amazed expression on Mickey’s face. He knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. He wished Mickey looked this happy all the time.
Mickey looked over suddenly and met Ian’s eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds, the fireworks booming above them. And much to Ian’s surprise, Mickey Milkovich smiled.
Ian grinned back and scooted a bit closer, so he and Mickey were pressing against each other from their knees to their shoulders. He tensed, waiting for Mickey to glare and move away, but he didn’t.
“Happy 4th of July,” Ian whispered, his voice barely audible above the loud bangs of the fireworks.
He didn’t think it was an accident when Mickey’s hand moved to rest against his own.