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Are they gay?
Nah, they’d have to be fuckin’ idiots to be gay and cuddling up on the bus…
But no straight dude puts his arm around another guy just sitting on the bus, right? And they’d get fuckin’ beat to shit for just this anyway. Although no one seems to fuckin’ care.
Fucking hell. Why do I even fuckin’ give a shit?
Mickey pulled his eyes away from the couple (maybe?) at the front of the bus. However, after about two seconds, his eyes were back on them. The one closest to the aisle, the blonde, had his arm around the redhead, who was leaning into him. He had no fucking idea how they managed to be so calm about their current positions. They didn’t appear to be worried that they might be beat up at all.
He just couldn’t believe it. The idea that maybe this was possible consumed him, and he found hope rising in his chest. When the blonde kissed the redhead on the temple, his heart about stopped in his chest. His blue eyes darted around, wondering if anyone was going to do anything about it. However, no one seemed to give a shit.
When he moved to New York City, he had expected it to be different, but he certainly hadn’t expected it to be this different. He thought that maybe gays would still have their fuckin’ teeth knocked out for being together. Of course Mickey knew that homophobia definitely was still going on around the whole world, but he didn’t know that there were some places it was less likely that you would be killed. He assumed the danger would always haunt him, following him home.
Mickey was so consumed by his thoughts that he almost missed his stop. He quickly pressed the stop button, pretty much openly staring at the couple now. He rose to his feet as the bus rounded the corner and approached his stop. Holding onto the poles, he eased himself down the stairs without falling with the movement of the bus.
He was almost next to the couple now and, when the blonde glanced at him, he quickly looked away. After a moment, pasting on his best scowl, he peeked back at Blondie to see him whispering to his boyfriend. The redhead also glanced up at Mickey then, green eyes piercing into him. Mickey snapped his attention back to the front of the bus as it came to a full stop.
He walked quickly, trying to get the fuck off this bus so he didn’t have to think about this anymore. As he passed the couple, he tripped on something and fell, almost cracking his head open on the ticket machine. However, he still hit the floor pretty hard and could feel blood running down his forehead from it. He heard a yell and rolled over groggily to see Blondie with his foot stuck out and a smirk on his face.
‘What the fuck?’ Mickey groaned, touching his head and frowning at the blood on his fingers.
‘Jake, why the fuck did you do that?’ the redhead snapped, shoving his boyfriend.
‘Fucking homophobic asshole glaring at us,’ Jake snarled. ‘I’m not going to fucking take that shit lying down, Ian!’
Mickey pulled himself up, noticing that everyone on the bus was now staring at them. The bus driver appeared unmoved by the whole situation, and probably just wanted Mickey to get off the bus so he could get home to watch fuckin’ Wheel of Fortune or some shit. Mickey scowled at him a little for his lack of help before turning to the couple. The redhead looked pissed and, for a moment, Mickey was sure it was at him.
‘You can’t just go tripping people you assume are homophobes, Jake!’ the redhead, Ian, snapped.
‘I’m not fuckin’ homophobic anyway, asshole,’ Mickey growled at Jake. ‘I’m—’
He couldn’t even believe himself. He had been about to say it. Admit to some randoms what he could barely even admit to himself some days. His instincts had kicked in a little later than preferable, but still in time before he actually said it. He adverted his eyes from the wide, green ones staring at him.
‘You’re what?’ Jake snapped.
Mickey clenched his jaw, rubbing at the side of his nose with the arch of his thumb before storming off the bus. He ignored Ian’s call of ‘wait!’. The driver shut the doors and drove off before Ian could follow him, thank God.
Mickey decided he would start catching the subway from now on. The city bus was fuckin’ shitty anyway.
*
Unfortunately, there was no subway that would get him to his job fast enough. He had checked after Mandy had cleaned up his forehead. His sister had almost panicked when he came home with way too much blood pouring down his face, smeared a little where he’d wiped at it. She thought Terry had finally found them, but relaxed when he told her the real story. She encouraged him to catch the bus anyway, show that fucking assuming asshole that he wasn’t afraid of him.
Mandy also secretly thought to herself that the redhead sounded fucking cute, so she kind of wanted Mickey to get to see him again. She also knew her brother found him cute as well. Before he started the actual story, he had spent a good five minutes describing what the redhead had looked like, while he called the asshole ‘Blondie’. Mandy already knew that the redhead had bright green, puppy-dog eyes, and a great body. She also knew that the guy’s hair was more of a firetruck red than ginger. Mandy had smirked throughout the whole description, thinking about how pathetically smitten Mickey already was with this perfect stranger.
Mickey complained that he didn’t want to come across “those assholes” again, but quickly relented when he realised that catching the subway meant he would have to get up a half hour earlier. That morning, though, there had been no sight of the redhead and his boyfriend. He figured that he was probably in the clear and decided to just keep catching the bus.
So, there he was, sitting near the front of the bus on the way home from work the next Tuesday afternoon. He figured that way he could make it to the door without anyone trying to fuckin’ trip him again.
Mickey just about shit himself when Ian climbed on. Not because he was scared of him, but because he didn’t want to have a fuckin’ conversation with him about it. The guy already seemed like the kind of person who would hunt him down to apologise and talk it out. Ian looked up after scanning his bus card, scanning for empty seats. There were plenty, but when Ian locked eyes with Mickey and the latter shrunk down in his seat and hoped he was invisible, the redhead made his way to the set of seats directly in front of Mickey. He was just thankful the kid had the good sense to not sit next to him.
‘Uh, hi,’ Ian said, seeming a lot more skittish than he had the other day.
A blush was forming on his cheeks, which Mickey’s own cheeks mirrored. He really didn’t want to talk about this. He was almost tempted to tell Ian to fuck off, but something in him, that he couldn’t define, held him back.
‘Hey,’ the brunet responded gruffly, hoping that that would be it.
Ian hesitated for a moment, but then his features turned determined as if he was telling himself to buck up and just do whatever it was he wanted to do. ‘Look, I’m sorry about Ja—My boyfriend. Well, ex now, but yeah. I’m sorry about him. I had no fuckin’ idea he was going to do that shit. It was uncalled for.’
Mickey shifted awkwardly in his seat. ‘Don’t gotta fuckin’ apologise for what that dickhead did.’
The redhead shrugged in response. ‘Someone’s gotta apologise, and it ain’t gonna be him. Anyway, I’m still sorry.’
Mickey nodded and almost sighed in relief when Ian nodded as well, turning around to face the front. However, he also kind of wished deep down that Ian would turn back around and start up a conversation about something else. Mickey gazed at the back of his head, biting his lip and wishing he wasn’t so socially fucked and wishing could talk to Ian. He eyed the earphones now in Ian’s ears, thinking he wouldn’t even know where to begin to even get his attention, let alone come up with a conversation topic. Huffing, he pressed the stop button at his stop and clambered off, pretending he didn’t see when Ian waved at him.
*
The next time he saw Ian on the bus, he couldn’t (and also kind of didn’t want to) avoid him. The redhead stumbled onto the bus in a rush, noticing all the seats besides the one next to Mickey were taken. Some event must’ve been on that everyone was heading home from, but Mickey didn’t know what. It had been a week since he’d seen Ian, the exact same time as usual, and Mickey was surprised when Ian sat down next to him, offering a smile. He was shocked the kid had even remembered him.
‘So how did you manage to secure the only empty seat on the bus full of people?’ Ian asked, smirking a little.
Mickey shrugged in response. ‘I don’t know, man. People scared of me, maybe?’
Ian’s smile turned crooked, pulling up widely at one side, which was fuckin’ endearing for some fuckin’ reason. ‘Maybe it’s the knuckle tattoos and perpetual scowl?’
Mickey schooled his features into that very scowl, trying to hold down the smile pulling up at the corners of his mouth. Ian caught it, though, and grinned in response. Mickey immediately turned to look out the window as the smile broke through. Fuckin’ alien-lookin’ motherfucker.
They sat in silence for the rest of the ride, Ian pressing against Mickey lightly every time they turned a corner. Mickey held himself stock still, moving the opposite way to the bus to try and move away from Ian. It didn’t help, and he found himself holding his breath every time Ian’s warmth seeped in through his shirt.
When they approached Mickey’s stop, he swore internally because he knew he would have to awkwardly manoeuvre around Ian to get out of his seat. He hated doing that with anyone, let alone a fuckin’ hot redheaded bastard, who was smirking because he seemed to have realised the same thing. When the bus came to a stop, he scowled at a grinning Ian and shoved past him.
‘Fuckin’ giraffe,’ he grunted at Ian’s long, dumb legs.
Ian once again did a dumb wave as Mickey left and Mickey rolled his eyes, flipping him off in response.
*
The next Tuesday afternoon, Mickey felt a little nervous as they approached Ian’s bus stop. He half-wished Ian wouldn’t be there, but he knew he’d feel disappointed if he wasn’t. As it turns out, Ian was there and he was carrying a small paper bag. Mickey frowned as Ian grinned and came over to sit down next to him. There were plenty of empty seats around them.
‘So this is a thing now?’ Mickey huffed in pretend annoyance.
Ian smiled in response. ‘You can act annoyed all you want, but I know you want me to sit with you.’
‘Don’t be so sure, man.’
Ian held up the paper bag and opened it, pulling out a huge chocolate chip cookie for Mickey. ‘I bet you want me to sit with you now.’
Mickey eyed the cookie for a moment, not really wanting to give in, but it looked fucking delicious and he was starving. Flipping Ian off, he grabbed the cookie and stuffed it into his mouth.
Ian laughed. ‘I work at a bakery; I get to take home the leftovers. Normally I give it all to my family, but I figured you deserved a cookie for your troubles with Jake.’
‘You can stop apologising anytime.’ Mickey rolled his eyes. ‘Wasn’t your fault, man. Dude was a jackass, but it wasn’t your fucking fault.’
Ian shrugged again, which Mickey found weirdly infuriating. He wanted Ian to talk to him, speak words so that he didn’t have to continue the conversation himself. Mickey was bad at that. They sat in silence for a while, Mickey brushing the crumbs off his pants.
‘Where do you work?’ Ian finally asked, looking up at him hesitantly with those gorgeous fuckin’ eyes.
‘I, uh, I’m working at a gas station right now, but I’m at night school to get my mathematics degree.’
‘Oh, really?’ Ian smiled, grabbing out a cookie for him to eat. ‘What do you want to do?’
Mickey shrugged, glancing out the window to avoid eye contact with Ian, who was staring so intently. It was like he was actually listening, and cared what Mickey had to say. ‘I don’t really want to do anything. I just want to get a good fuckin’ job. Probably going to wind up an accountant or something. Bit boring, but I get to do math, which I’m good at, and I’ll be making alright money.’
Ian nodded. ‘Yeah, I understand. I like working at the bakery, but it’s not my dream. I used to dream of being in the army, but, uh, that didn’t work out, and now my dream is just to be comfortable. Fuckin’ glad I left my hometown, man. That’s pretty much half my dream done.’
‘Where you from?’ Mickey asked.
‘Chicago. Southside.’
‘No shit, man? Me too!’ Mickey found his mouth grinning without his goddamn permission and immediately settled it back into a smirk. After a moment, he recognised Ian properly for the first time. ‘You’re a fucking Gallagher, right? We were on the same Little League team. Well, before I pissed on first base and got kicked off the team.’
Ian nodded eagerly. ‘Oh my fucking God, you’re Mickey Milkovich! I can’t believe I didn’t even know your name until now.’ He cracked up.
Mickey was going to say something else, but realised they were near his stop. He quickly pressed the button and the bus screeched to a halt. He quickly glanced at Ian, nodding at him in goodbye, before rushing off the bus. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt so desperate to get off the bus. Maybe it was because the moment he stepped off the bus, it hit him: he liked Ian fucking Gallagher.
*
Despite the initial freak out of liking Ian, Mickey grew comfortable with it within the week before he saw Ian next. After a lot of jerking off and lying awake thinking about it, he had accepted it. He found it was a lot easier being okay with this shit when his father wasn’t around, and when Mandy was so encouraging about it.
So he continued to look forward to seeing Ian on the bus each week and having a conversation with him. Each week, Ian brought Mickey a cookie before starting to ask him questions. Ian wanted to know everything about him, it seemed — from his favourite colour to his mother’s maiden name.
Mickey wasn’t sure if Ian knew he was gay, but he assumed that since Ian did a lot of flirting that he did. At first, that also panicked Mickey, but he had become better at being okay with everything. It had been hard, but he was finally at the point where if Ian asked him out, he might just say yes. Of course he would still prefer it be a private date, not in broad daylight, and not too sappy. Yeah, it was a hard process to go through, but he was proud to be getting there.
He had gone through a small stage of denial about liking Ian, but after desperately chasing after the bus to make sure he got the right one — the one that Ian would get on too —- he realised there was no denying it. He was actively sprinting after a bus to make sure he saw the guy he liked that day, and the idea of waiting another week without seeing Ian was kind of depressing. He knew he liked him; he was okay with it. Now if only he knew what to fucking do about it.
*
Mandy had heard all about Ian sitting and talking with Mickey every Tuesday afternoon for a few weeks now, and Mandy already loved the kid. However, she was also fucking sick of listening to Mickey pine — no matter how much he denied it, that motherfucker was pining like a little bitch — after Ian. She would be okay with it if they were actually dating, but they weren’t, and it was getting a little sad now. So, when Mickey had grumbled one Tuesday morning about having to work late, clearly upset since that meant he would probably miss Ian, Mandy decided to catch Ian and get these idiots to just fucking ask each other out already.
Mandy thought herself as sort of a martyr that afternoon as she boarded the bus to Mickey’s work. She didn’t know where Ian got on, so she decided to catch the bus to Mickey’s work and get back on in time for when Ian would get on. She was like a saint, spending her hard-earned cash to get two fucking idiots together. Sort of like cupid.
Finally, after the mind-numbingly boring ride to Mickey’s work, she hopped on the bus back home. She sat up straight every time the bus came to a stop, but most times there was no redhead. At every disappointment, she slumped further and further into her chair, worried that she had missed the right time. She was sure she hadn’t, but maybe she had timed it wrong. Damn it, she should’ve listened to Mickey more when he yammered on about this crap!
Just as she was giving up hope, a head like a bright red beacon popped through the open doors of the bus. He smiled at the bus driver and scanned his card before looking around. When he frowned, Mandy smirked. Clearly the guy was upset that Mickey wasn’t on the bus. As soon as the doors shut behind him and he took a seat near the front, Mandy sauntered on up to him. She casually slid in next to him, ignoring his confused face as she smirked.
‘Hello, gorgeous,’ she purred.
‘Uh, hi,’ Ian responded.
Just to be a massive asshole, Mandy leant back in her chair and got comfortable before turning her head back to face him. A sly grin spread across her face as she casually stated, ‘You’re just as cute as Mickey said.’ Mickey really said nothing of the sort, but Mandy fucking knew when her brother thought someone was attractive.
His head snapped up embarrassingly quick and she almost lost it at the hopeful puppy look on his face. ‘You know Mickey?’
She nodded and didn’t say anything more, stretching a little just to make him sweat in anticipation. God, she was enjoying this way too much. ‘I’m his sister,’ she finally said. ‘Mandy.’
Ian shook her outstretched hand. ‘Ian.’
Mandy smirked. ‘I know.’
The corner of Ian’s mouth turned up in a crooked, pleased smile. It was fucking endearing for some fucking reason. ‘Oh.’
‘Mickey’s working late tonight,’ she supplied at his prompting look. ‘Seemed pretty bummed out about it, too, so I decided to visit his little bus buddy in his place. Speaking of which, where’s his cookie? I’ll eat it for him.’
The redhead quickly pulled it out of his bag and handed it to her. It almost seemed like a bribe to answer his coming questions with the way he shoved it into her hands. ‘So…Mickey talks about me?’
He looked so cute and hopeful Mandy had to smile around her cookie. ‘Yeah, all the time. “That motherfucker said ‘Van Double-Damn today’. I mean, what the fuck?” “Whose hair is that fucking red, Mandy? It’s not even fuckin’ bottle red. Explain that shit to me.” I mean, Christ, eventually it’s like…I had to meet you to even know what he was talking about anymore.’ She paused for a moment, taking in Ian’s dopey grin before saying, ‘He likes you.’
Ian’s eyes widened. ’He said that?’
Mandy shook her head and Ian slumped. However, Mandy was quick to rectify the situation. ’I mean, he didn’t need to say anything though. It’s fuckin’ clear. Despite the fact that your boyfriend was a shit when you first met.’
Ian scowled a little as if to himself. ‘Yeah, that was a dick move. I had thought maybe Mickey was homophobic too, but I wasn’t sure so I wasn’t going to fucking hurt him over it. Jake gets carried away sometimes, but I dumped his ass anyway. Kind of a moot thing now.’
The brunette scowled too. ‘Good. Fucker made my brother bleed all over my new goddamn shirt.’
Ian chuckled a little. Mandy liked Ian. He was nice, gorgeous, and pretty funny. She immediately approved if he and Mickey would ever get their act together to go out already. She wasn’t really sure how to proceed from there, though. She normally would just be blunt about it, but she was so hopeful for this to work out that she wanted to be careful.
She hesitated before asking, ‘So…you like my brother?’
Ian’s cheeks turned red and he stared down at the green, plaid shirt he was wearing. He picked at the buttons for a moment before mumbling, ‘I mean…yeah…I guess…sort of…maybe.’
‘Maybe?’ Mandy repeated. ‘Jesus fucking Christ, Ian, do you like him or not? Don’t be a fuckin’ pussy about it.’ Careful plan was pretty much out the window with how frustrated she was getting now.
He paused for a second before blurting out, ‘I like the way he smells.’
Mandy was too exasperated to even appreciate the cuteness of that. At that moment, she could just about throttle the idiot. She wanted a clean-cut answer. She took a deep breath, noticing the bus was coming up to her stop, before deciding the smell thing should be enough of a judge and said, ‘Ask him out then.’
‘I don’t know, Mandy. I mean, how do I even know he likes me?’ Suddenly Ian looked like a nervous teenager discovering their first love and Mandy softened.
‘He gets that look in his eyes when he’s with you.’
‘How do you know? You’re not here when he’s with me.’
Mandy rolled her eyes, not even bothering. ‘You’ll know it when you see it. Just ask him out, jackass.’
The bus came to a stop and she got up, leaving Ian in his thoughts with a simple wave.
*
Mickey had been weary the moment he left this morning. Mandy had waved him off with a smirk on her face, which just made him fucking nervous. What the hell did this bitch have planned and how the fuck was she managing to fuck with him without even being around?
By the time he caught the bus, he had forgotten about it and was too excited about seeing Ian again to really think about it at all. However, he stopped dead in his tracks and Mandy’s smirk flashed through his mind when he boarded the bus to see Ian already there. He was seated just behind priority seating, the usual paper bag in his hand and a grin on his face.
Mickey approached him hesitantly, really fucking confused. He slid into the seat next to Ian, frowning. ‘Hey.’
Ian smiled at him, ignoring Mickey’s clear bafflement. His eyes seemed to be searching for something in Mickey’s. ‘Hi.’
He handed Mickey his usual cookie and Mickey took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. Ian was saying something, but he wasn’t really listening. He was thinking about why Ian being randomly early reminded him of Mandy. He almost dropped his cookie when he realised. Fucking Mandy was fucking smirking because she fucking did something. Something to do with fucking Ian and that’s why fucking Ian was acting fucking weird. He scowled, turning to Ian and interrupting his half-formed sentence.
‘When did Mandy talk to you and what did she say?’
Ian tried for an innocent expression, which was just fucking pathetic to be honest. After a moment of Mickey’s responding flat glare, he broke, ‘Last week when you were working late. We just had a casual conversation.’
‘About what?’
‘Life…Maybe a little about you as well…’
Mickey’s glare hardened further. Fucking Mandy. ‘What about me?!’
Ian stared at him with wide eyes, clearly not wanting to upset Mickey any further. ‘Just about how you talk about me sometimes to her, that’s it!’
Mickey ran a hand down his face, absolutely fucking mortified. ‘Fucking Mandy.’
Ian was silent for a moment and Mickey could almost feel him deliberating something. The brunet took a deep breath as Ian opened his mouth, ready for whatever would come.
‘Do you want to go out with me sometime, maybe?’ Ian stuttered. ‘I mean—you don’t have to—I—I just—I was going to ask in a better—’
‘Chill, Gallagher. Don’t burst a vital organ trying to get that out.’ Mickey laughed a little before sighing in resignation. ‘You don’t have to ask me out just ‘cause my sister said so, man. Don’t let her bully you into doing something you don’t want to do.’
Ian frowned. ‘I decide for myself what I want, and I do what I want. And I’ve decided I want you.’
‘Are you saying you’re going to do me? Bit forward there, man.’ Mickey snickered, now relaxed since he knew Ian actually wanted to ask him out. He could afford to tease the redhead a little.
‘Oh my fucking God, Mick, would you just answer me already? You’re making me nervous, here.’ Ian shifted awkwardly in his seat, staring down at the paper bag.
Mickey let a smirk slip onto his face. ‘Give me another cookie and we’ll see.’
Ian lifted his head, scanning Mickey’s expression before grinning and handing him another cookie.
Mickey took it off him, taking a bite and smiling before laughing out, ‘Fucking Mandy.’
Ian nodded. ‘Fucking Mandy.’