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"Mick, hurry up! They will be here soon." he said with a sigh. How long could it possibly take to prep a turkey before putting it in the oven?
"Seasoning is key to good food, Firecrotch. Also, I put my love in it. You know it takes time." old man said with a wink.
"You know what? Do whatever you want. Just please stop calling me firecrotch. I'm forty-nine years old for fuck's sake. My hair isn't even red anymore." Ian said, preparing salad and appetizers meantime.
"Doesn't matter. You're still hot like fire, huh?"
"Dad, sometimes I really want to be deaf. Thanks to you." Ian couldn't stop himself from smirking as a new voice entered the kitchen.
"You littl– o-okay." Mickey's words were interrupted with a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
"Give me a minute, honey."
Ian had already finished his work and was sitting on the chair in the corner, watching the interactions in front of him with big heart eyes. Mickey finally finished prepping the turkey and put it in the oven.
"And nooow, where is my babygirl? Here she is!" He pulled the girl into his arms and squeezed.
Ian still couldn't believe his piece of southside trash boyfriend was such a softhearted man. He was literally babying thirteen year old girl.
"Okay, okay stop I'm starting to feel jealous. If I remember correctly, I had another daughter. Edzhe, where is your big sister?"
"She’s studying. What else is she gonna do?" she murmured in her dad's arms, "A hundred percent dork."
"Language young lady! Mick don't laugh, she shouldn't say that."
"Okaay pop, SVEEET POPS IS ASKING ABOUT YOU!"
Silence.
Then, a door slammed hard, and fast footsteps approached.
"What the fuck? Why are you yelling?"
Ian dramatically covered his mouth with his hand and gasped.
"Girls, who's talking to you like that?"
The girls' eyes briefly glanced at Mikhailo Aleksandr 'fuck you, fuck you and especially fuck you.' Milkovich.
Ian turned to his husband, who was softly giggling and shrugging his shoulders.
Mickey needed a miracle to save him from Ian's wrath. Just in time, the doorbell came to his rescue. Without wasting a single second, he was at the door in the blink of an eye.
When he opened the door, the entire Gallagher crew was waiting. Lip was standing right in front of him.
"I never thought seeing your stupid face would make me happy."
"And I love you too, Mickey." Lip said.
Mickey took a deep breath.
"Get the fuck in, all of you."
------------------------------
Thanksgiving had never been easy for the Gallaghers. But a lot of time has passed since then.Now fourteen people were sitting crowded around the rectangular table. It was honestly so weird that they were this grown up and had kids of their own now. Lip shoved a huge piece of turkey into his mouth.
"Oh my! Ian, did you make the turkey?" he said with his mouth full.
"Yes, YES! He insisted that he would do it." Mickey immediately interrupted.
"Seriously Ian, this is the best turkey I've ever eaten in my life."
"I lied, I did it." Mickey said with a poker face.
"..."
"I just realized it's very overcooked."
Ian didn't know how he could explain this to someone who wasn't there but he could have sworn Mickey's eyebrows had ripped off his face and hit the ceiling.
Mickey and Lip had ups and downs since they were seventeen. Nothing had changed even now that they were fifty-one years old. At least they weren't beating each other up anymore. That didn't mean it wasn't funny anymore.
"Jokes aside, Uncle Mickey. Thank you for the delicious meal." Franny managed to say, her face reddish from laughing so hard.
"Thank you honey, I still can't believe that you turned out to be such an angel, coming from a family full of weasels."
"A 'Milkovich' said this." Fiona muttered.
"Fi please, excluding Terry, we're the golden family. Plus how did we get this mixed up with three people from the Gallagher family back then? So ridiculous."
At Mickey's words, Ian smirked at Lip. Fiona was fidgeting restlessly, as if she was dying to say something.
“Come on Fi, we can't wait for you all day long." Lip said.
The conversation at the table seemed to have attracted everyone's attention.
"Actually four." she said, looking at Mickey.
"What four? What do you mean?"
"Four people from the Gallagher family." she said and she went back to her food.
Dead silence.
Ian was the first to piece it together.
"WHAT THE FUCK? FIONA, WHO?"
"Language, Pops!" Edzhe cut in, bursting out laughing.
"Not in this situation young lady. Now Fiona, who?"
"Uhm, Iggy?"
They had lost count of how many times the room had gone quiet today, but once again, a heavy silence took over. It was clear from Jimmy-Steve’s face that he was trying to figure out who the hell Iggy was. And the rest was frozen in their places, their mouths forming small O's.
“I was sixteen okay? And he was funny.” She defended herself.
"Wow so I'm the only one who doesn't have a relationship with a Milkovich, huh?" Carl suddenly said.
"No, you forgot Liam." Ian said.
Carl and Liam instantly made eye contact.
"Yeah sure, sorry Liam."
"What was that?" Debbie asked, narrowing her eyes at Carl.
"What's what Debbs?" This time, Lip chimed in.
"Carl and Liam they looked at each other. Something happened."
Liam sank deeper and deeper into his chair.
"It's not romantic, just a joke between me and Carl."
"About what, which Milkovich? Liam come on!"
When Debbie was curious about something, she wouldn't stop until she saw it through to the end.
Clearly her next victim was Liam.
Fiona gasped.
"There was a little girl who stayed with us for a while. Actually, she wasn't a girl. She had a penis. What was her name? Should I say 'his'? Were you the same age as her, Liam? Oh my! Is she your Milkovich? What happend? Did you touch her?" Fiona said all of this in one breath.
"Her name was Molly and she wasn't the same age as Liam. She was the same age as me." Carl said.
"So did you touch her, Carl?" Jimmy-Steve's voice sounded genuinely interested.
"No, NO-"
"Wait, wait, around that time Carl kept asking me questions about gay people, I remember now. He even asked 'I need to know! Where the gay wieners go?'"
"I don't remember, but I probably just wanted to know!"
"Okay, Carl. We believe you, brother." Ian muttered with a smirk. "Whatever you say."
"..."
“It was Terry, okay? Now just shut the fuck up, all of you.” Liam’s face was redder than anything that is red.
“WHA-“ Mickey’s words were interrupted when the turkey got stuck in his throat.
“Mick, hon, are you okay?” Ian placed one hand on Mickey’s back while gripping Mickey’s hand with the other. After a few moments, Ian let go of his hand and offered him some water. Mickey grabbed it, looking like he was seeing water for the first time in his life. Ian was about to open his mouth once he was sure his husband had calmed down, but Tami was faster than Ian. Tami was a smart woman, she had clearly picked up on the massive tension from the emotional turmoil surrounding them.
“Hey Edzhe why don’t you grab Nick and go to your room, I dunno play with your toys or something.” She said.
“First of all, can everyone please calm down. It’s not how it looks. But yes, son, go with your sis Edzhe.” Carl said, backing Tami up.
“Uhhh okay. Let’s go my fav cousin.” Edzhe said, she lifted him carefully and left the room.
“Liam, speak!” Fiona finally found her voice.
Silence again. Liam was clearly avoiding eye contect with other people. After he how took a sip from his beer, he lifted his head. He focused on Mickey.
“Mickey, I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner.”
“Tell me what?”
“So, you remember your father getting paralysis?” Liam took a deep breath. “I did. It’s all because of me.”
“…”
“…”
Apparently, that eyebrow movement wasn't unique to Mickey.
“Thank god! You stupid, dumb boy. I was afraid that he had touched you, you dumbass. How did that happen dude?”
Liam spilled everything, down to the last detail. His hesitation was clear before he began to speak, but as the story unfolded and he read Mickey’s reactions, he visibly relaxed.
“At first, I felt bad about it, which was pretty weird, because, you know, fuckin Terry... anyway. I'm just glad you didn't tell me or my siblings back then. It could have been bad for you. But looking at it now, I guess I owe you a huge thank you.” Mickey brought the beer to his mouth. “One lucky bullet huh, damn.”
“I can’t even tell you how relieved I am just by telling you. It’s been eating me alive for years. I was so scared to tell you, after all, he was your father.”
“Don’t worry, man. We’re good. In fact we’re better than before.” Mickey winked at Liam.
In this way, serious matters and secrets came to light. The Gallagher Thanksgiving dinner was back to its old glorious, noisy self.”
-----------------------------
As soon as the door shut, “Oh, finally they’re gone. I can have some alone time with my husband, right?” he said with a sly smirk on his face, slowly placing his hands on Ian's hips and he gently pressed himself against him.
“It's been a hell of a long fuckin' time, don't you think, Firecrotch?” He whispered to Ian’s ear. Ian clearly got the hint, because he didn’t waste any time after his whisper. Ian pinned him against the door and kissed him.
Ian knew that Mickey liked being roughed up since he was seventeen, and today he’d had to deal with the Gallagher family chaos. Long story short, Mickey deserved some happiness, and Ian was determined to give him just that.
Ian's hands moved fast, sliding from Mickey’s shoulders to his waist and down to his ass, giving it a brief squeeze before gripping Mickey's thighs. He planned to lift him up and carry him to the bedroom just like the old days.
His plans fell through.
The moment Ian attempted to lift him, the sudden crack from Mickey’s lower back echoed through the room.
“FUUUUCK!” he yelled and pushed Ian back, then he collapsed onto the floor in pain.
“Mick? Mick, hey, are you okay? What happened? Hey?”
"My fucking back hurts like a bitch. Do I have a fucking stupid herniated disc or what? What the hell is this? I can't move. Is it another fucking cramp? Fuck this and fuck you. What the fuck were you tryna do anyway?”
Two more people walked into the room.
“Dad, Pops, what’s happening?” Edzhe’s voice is cracking which meant she’s scared.
“It’s nothing darlin’ your dad just moved too fast, he’ll be fine in a minute." Ian said, slipping his hands under Mickey's arms to try and lift him. "Come on, Mick, let's get you to the couch.”
Svetlana was still quietly judging the situation from the corner. Then, her eyes widened and one corner of her mouth curled upward into a faint smirk.
"Please don't tell me you were attempting what I think you were." she said. And then came the laughing fit.
“Okay, that’s enough. Go to your rooms, it’s bed time.” while saying this, Ian guided Mickey to the couch, helped him lie down and sat down by his upper body. The girls might have been arrogant at times, but they would never disobey their dads. Both said goodnight to their fathers and went to their rooms.
After a moment of silence, Ian took Mickey’s hand. "I’m really sorry." he said. "I just wanted to make you feel good."
“I know, love. But I’m fifty-one. We’re not horny, crazy teenagers anymore.” He reached out and cupped Ian’s cheek. "Besides, you don't need to do anything extra to make me feel good. Just you being here is more than enough. From the very first moment you touched me, secretely, all I wanted was for you to stay with me.” he said with soft, caring voice.
Ian stood up from his spot, pushed Mickey over slightly, and squeezed into the tight space.
He turned to face Mickey. "I know we’re not young anymore, 'cause young Mickey would never say stuff like this to me. Which is honestly a good thing, because if he did, that dumb carrot-top would’ve died of a heart attack a long time ago."
"Yeah, yeaaah, I know. That’s exactly why I wasn’t telling you. I knew you wouldn't be able to handle it. The reason I didn't say anything was never, ever because I'm an emotionally stunted teenage dirtbag." The irony in his voice grew thicker with every word he used.
“Oh my thoughtful husband. I should thank you more.” He lifted Mickey's chin and planted a kiss on his lips. “I love you.”
“I know, I can tell by the look you're giving me." Mickey said, buried his face in Ian's neck.
“What look?”
"The same look I give you twenty-four seven, you stupid. Let's sleep, c'mon." he murmured.
“One last thing.” Ian said. “Fi and Iggy huh… just wow.”
“I guess you guys are like a drug to us.” Mickey said, kissed Ian’s neck.
That night, on that tiny couch, two old men slept tangled up in each other. It wasn’t comfortable at all, but it didn't matter; just being in each other's presence brought enough peace. Yet, that peace didn't stop them from waking up with every inch of their bodies aching the next morning. A brutal reminder of old age... growing old was hard, and it happened fast, but at least they were growing old together, so everything was just fine.
------------------------------
That night, in Svetlana’s room
Svet was sitting on her bed, watching a movie in the dark. A knock came on the door before it opened, and a tiny head popped in.
“What happened, Edz? What do you want?”
"I’m getting bored in my own room, plus it's thundering a lot outside... I got a little uncomfortable," Edzhe's voice sounded a bit timid, and instead of looking at her sister's face, she kept her eyes glued to her feet. "I was wondering may I stay with you tonight."
Even though Svet looked like she was always trying to annoy everyone, especially her little sister, she actually loved Edzhe more than anything. She turned off the movie and lifted the laptop off her bed. Normally, she was the type who loved pitch darkness, you know, typical teenage stuff. But her sister was clearly freaked out. So, she pulled out an orange nightlight from her nightstand drawer, the one she kept just for nights like this. After pluggin' it in, she got back on the bed, waved Edzhe over, and pointed to the space between her and the wall.
Edzhe ran to her sister with a grin that went from ear to ear, settling into the spot she’d shown her. They just lay there, holding each other tight for nearly ten minutes.
"Edz? You asleep?"
"No, Svetty."
"You know you're adopted, right? We found you in a dumpster." Svet chuckled. Even though Edzhe was older now and wasn't falling for this joke anymore, Svet still got a kick out of it.
“I can’t believe I used to cry over that." Edzhe said, a genuine smile on her face. “Like, I seriously thought they picked me up from a dumpster and pops gave birth to you or somethin'.”
“I knew, and you were so damn cute, but your eyes would well up right away, and the guilt would instantly hit me as soon as I saw you cry.” Svet paused for a second, then added with a tiny smirk, “Still funny, tho." This time, they both chuckled.
"And then you would go to our dads and tell on me." Svet said.
"They should have been mad at you, but they always went easy on you." Edzhe rolled her eyes.
"What can I say, lil sis, I'm their golden child." Svet whispered into Edzhe's ear.
"Fuck you."
"'Language, young lady' he said calmy." another burst of laughter broke out. Once they calmed down again, Svet spoke up, her tone serious this time.
"We're really lucky to have them."
"..."
"Let's get some sleep." Svet said while stroking her sibling's hair.
Edzhe buried her face in her sister's neck, and they slept tangled in each other's arms, uninterrupted until morning.