"Fuck you been?"
Ian jumped up as he stared at Mickey who was hunched over the coffee table, scribbling something on paper. Ian sighed and shut the door behind him, kicked off his shoes and threw the key he stole from Mickey onto the coffee table. This time it was Mickey who jumped at the shrieking clatter of the key.
"Shit," Mickey croaked, looking up at Ian tiredly. Ian felt a little bad for some reason, feeling as if he had disrupted the older man.
"Sorry, Mick," Ian slumped down on the couch and pulled his phone out. "You been busy today?"
Mickey gave Ian a concerned look. He didn't answer for a minute, just stared at Ian's face. The redhead was too busy swiping across his phone, not even bothering to spare a glance at the blue eyed boy. Mickey repeated his earlier question, "Where you been?"
Ian shrugged, closing his phone and stretching his legs out. "Just took a walk to clear my head."
"Be careful," Mickey said seriously. He cleared his throat and turned his body fully towards Ian. "Ian, the cops are on your ass for murdering Kash. You're a suspect."
Ian's throat closed up. He tried to sit up, pay proper attention, but he couldn't seem to move. It made sense, what with him just meeting Larkin and the whole thing going suspiciously-
"Ian," Mickey raised his voice, starting to get angry. "You hearin' me? The cops are onto you. You talked with any recently? Anything suspicious?"
"Nah," Ian coughed, slowly sitting up. He put his head in his hands. "Nothing like that. Fuck, Mick, what do they know?"
"They know Kash and I had beef, they know you and I were fuckin' around before you disappeared and they also know Kash was killed in the time you were gone." Mickey sighed loudly and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know how the hell they haven't already arrested your ass."
Ian's heart began to pound in his chest, harder than before. "Mick- Mickey, what do we do?"
"I don't know, man. You chose the perfect fucking time to get convicted though, huh?"
Ian nodded dryly. The two men sat in silence for a while, time ticking away slowly. Ian felt his chest start to sink, his stomach curling in. The stress on Mickey, the look on his pale face, it was all enough to make Ian feel like shit. "Everything is so fucked up."
Mickey stood up and walked over to the kitchen. "So fucked up."
"You know what you should've tattooed on your knuckles?" Ian commented as Mickey returned with a can of coke. "Fucked up. Eight letters right?"
Mickey snorted as he cracked open the can and sunk back down on the couch, this time closer to Ian. "That would just look weird."
"If you could pull off blonde hair then I think you could pull off weird knuckle tattoos."
Mickey shrugged with a sideways smile and brought the drink to his lips. "They're stupid fucking tattoos, man."
Ian stretched out his legs onto Mickey's lap and put his head back on the armrest of the couch. He closed his eyes. "They're not stupid, Mickey, they're scary. They're you."
Mickey glanced at Ian with bittersweet fond. Ian seemed relaxed, head tilted back, eyes rest fully shut. Mickey couldn't seem to remember the last time he had a moment like this. A moment where Ian's legs in his lap felt so... domestic. Where he felt like this, just this, is something he could do forever.
Yet it never seemed to be something he could have forever.
"I'm gonna call Maria tomorrow," said Mickey quietly, sipping his coke. He averted his eyes as soon as Ian opened his own. "Sort this thing out."
Ian didn't reply. He slowly sat up on the couch and put his head in his hands. Mickey didn't move, just started at Ian's back with a blank expression. His heart felt heavy with dread. As the minutes went by, Mickey began to feel more and more worried that the man before him wasn't the Ian he first knew. This Ian was a murderer, this Ian whom Mickey thought could never hurt a fly killed a man. Mickey knows he's no better, him and his family have all got some kind of blood on their hands as does half the rest of Chicago, but Ian... Mickey never imagined he'd become one of those people. That was one of the reasons Mickey liked him in the first place.
Subconsciously, Mickey's hand came down to rest reassuringly on Ian's back for a few seconds before he stood up and recycled his empty can in the kitchen. As he walked to his room he caught site of Ian staring off out the window, his face blank and empty. A single tear rolled down the side of his pale face, red surrounding his green eyes.
Mickey cried that night as well.
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"Iggy around?"
Jamie turned his head towards Mickey and looked his younger brother up and down. He then shrugged and went back to the newspaper he was reading, tapping the ash of his cigarette on it. "Nah. Ain't seen him since yesterday."
The Alibi was fairly quiet and half empty as usual. Mickey cursed and turned around, running a hand through his hair. He turned back to Jamie. "What 'bout Colin? Seen him anywhere?"
"Something wrong, Mick?" Jamie asked, blowing smoke in the air. He had an annoyed expression on his face. "In case you forgot, you got another fucking brother named Jamie and he's sitting right in front of ya. Guess what else? Both my hands work, so I can help you out just as much as Colin or Iggy can."
Mickey sighed and approached Jamie. "I need Maria's number and address. Figured one of those two might have it. It ain't personal, Jamison."
Jamie rolled his eyes and took one last inhale from the cigarette before burning it out on an ashtray. He spun around on the stool and pulled his phone out, and tapped a few times before handing it to Mickey. Mickey took the phone and stared down at the number labeled 'Maria'. He gave Jamie an incredulous stare.
"Iggy gave it to me a while back," Jamie explained quietly. He avoided Mickey's eyes. "Said I should give her a call, talk things through-"
"Let me guess," Mickey interrupted, looking back at the phone screen. "You never did."
Mickey took Jamie's silence as a yes. He sighed heavily and sent the number to himself through text before setting the phone down on the countertop of the bar. Jamie grabbed his arm just as he was about to leave.
"Ian got caught, didn't he?"
Mickey's eyes widened before he shook his brother's hand off of him and took a step back. "No."
Without another word, Mickey turned and rushed out of the bar hastily.
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"You're fucking late."
Ian glanced up at James and huffed, readjusting the hood of his sweater over his head. He then shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at James. "I got held back."
James looked around carefully before passing Ian a backpack full of drugs. "They're all labeled with the addresses and names. Be extra careful since you're delivering in broad daylight. That means take your fucking hood off and your hands out of pockets, since you look more suspicious than an pervert at a playground."
Ian did as James said, but provokingly. James stepped forward and Ian felt the blunt head of a gun pressed into his abdomen. He choked on a gasp, tilting his head upwards to be eye level with James. James' eyes were a dark blue and his face showed no sympathy. "Don't you ever fucking be late again, and don't you ever antagonize me in anyway again. Don't forget who you're dealing with."
Ian let out a gush of air as James turned and walked away, shoving his piece in the back of his jeans underneath his shirt. Ian shuddered.
On the train ride to the first address, Ian wondered why the hell he was still doing these runs for James, especially since he's being investigated by the cops literally at that very moment. He wasn't sure James would let him go, and despite all their problems, money is still a need. Mickey's been working less and less at the garage ever since Ian came back, being too busy dealing with his family and Ian's problems. Ian's own family was also struggling, what with Fiona juggling jobs constantly and Lip gradually losing focus more and more as his life seems to fall apart. Frank didn't even seem to be in the picture anymore nowadays, but that wasn't anything new. The point is, Ian realized, that since he's probably going to get convicted for the murder sooner or later whether Mickey likes it or not, he might as well use this easy, fast pace job to save up money for his family.
At least that way he can become of some use to his family, even if he'll be gone.
The train jostled forward to a stop and very few people got off, since it was the stop that led to the rattiest part of Chicago, rattier than where Ian lived. It was the same place he had seen Larkin yesterday. His stomach turned with fear at the thought of running into a policeman here. Ian opened the bag and checked the address of the first package he saw and entered it into his phone GPS. He zipped up and again shrugged the heavy backpack up his shoulders and left the train station.
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Mickey dialled the number into the thick, metal square keys of the phone booth, his finger lingering on the last digit. He unconsciously pressed the phone harder to his ear. Without another thought he quickly pressed down on it, hearing the phone dial on the other end. He closed his tired eyes, not sure if he wanted Maria to pick up the call or not. Either way, he felt nervous at both results. He fiddled with the wire of the phone, breathing heavily.
"Who is this?" Maria asked flatly, picking up after the fourth ring.
Mickey's eyes shot open. "Maria! It's uh, it's Mickey. Your son."
She was quiet for a few seconds. "Mickey..." she finally breathed.
"Maria, we need to meet up. Just me and you. I got some things I wanna talk to you about, I think you might know what. Where you at right now?"
"How... how did you get this number? Where are you calling from?"
"A payphone, and I got it from Jamie. Where are you right now? Still in New York?"
"Why you at a payphone?"
"I don't know," Mickey croaked, looking out at the people walking around the street. "Made me feel safer or some shit. You in New York or not?"
"Yeah, yeah," she sounded confused and stressed. "We'll meet up. I- uh, I'm flying to Chicago tomorrow anyway."
Mickey furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"
Maria was hustling around with something in the back and Mickey strained to hear her when she spoke. "I'm meeting up with Iggy."
Mickey was taken aback. "You guys are that close now, huh?"
"We talk a lot. Everybody needs their mother eventually, huh?"
The phone began to blink red light as Mickey's calling time started to run out. He contemplated putting in more quarters, wanting to talk to Maria more, know what she had been up to this whole time, but decided against it. Instead he muttered out a goodbye and said he'd text her the address to the Milkovich house before hanging up.
Mickey leant forward and pressed his forehead against the phone, his eyes closed as he breathed slowly. What he was to ask of Maria tomorrow was something he'd never imagine he would ever have to do to her.
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Lucky for Ian, it seemed the cops weren't doing much of a morning patrol today as they usually would. He had already gotten through more than half of his deliveries without any problems or interruptions. The more he thought about it, the more Ian realized that he might just be alright with doing this potentially, for the rest of his short life.
Finally, upon delivering the last item Ian reached the trains just in time. The ride back was quiet and uneventful, and Ian couldn't help but feel envious towards the people on the train who seemed to have no problems whatsoever in their lives. They all seemed at peace. Still, Ian knew that everyone has troubles and difficulties in their lives. No matter how they seem to the naked eye, no matter how happy they show themselves to be, everybody has their own demons. Even those who are considered above everyone else, whether they are the wealthiest or the poorest of people, they all have tragedies and they all have things that haunt them. Ian knew this, because he was one of them.
Time flew by and soon Ian was standing ahead of the Milkovich door, a half smoked cigarette perched between his lips. He took one last inhale before flicking the cigarette to the ground and exhaled as he opened the unlocked door and slammed it shut behind him. Mickey wasn't in sight.
"Mick?" Ian called out, dropping his empty bag on the couch. He walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. "Mickey, you home?"
Ian heard footsteps behind him as he turned on the tap and watched the water pour into the glass he held. He craned his neck to see Mickey slowly walk into the kitchen with his eyes casted downwards, bare foot and tentative. Ian closed the tap and turned around, leaning back against the sink as he sipped the water.
"You alright?" the red head asked.
Mickey shifted and took a seat as the kitchen table. "We gotta talk."
Ian's stomach sank as he walked towards the table and sat on the chair next to Mickey. He set the cup down on the table. "What is it?"
"I'm... meeting up with Maria tomorrow."
Ian's heart jumped to his throat. "What? Why?"
Mickey's leg began to shake nervously. "I'm gonna get her to take the fall for you."
Ian scoffed, taken aback. He stared at the blue eyed boy for a while, waiting for a fucking punch line or something. He got nothing. Mickey was serious. He was fucking serious. "No."
Mickey sighed. "Fuck do you mean, 'no'?"
Ian leant forward and stared Mickey in the eye intimidatingly. Mickey gulped and tilted his his head back. "I'm not letting Maria take the fall for some shit I started. This is my fault. I'm taking the responsibility for once in my shallow fucking life."
Ian stood up to leave the table but Mickey grabbed his arm before he could even move. He turned back and glared at Mickey who seemed calmer than usual, his entire persona was nervous and too quiet.
Mickey let out a long, deep breath. "When Maria comes tomorrow, she's going to offer taking the fall for you. I know she will. And her and I are going to figure something out while you sit your ass down in hiding somewhere and keep away from anything even slightly risky. We both don't need you fucking this up anymore than you already have."
This time, Mickey was the one who leant forward menacingly, except he was more frightening than Ian was. "You're not going to jail."
Ian said nothing as Mickey stood up and pushed away from the table, walking to his room and shutting the door behind him. Ian felt his entire body hang heavy with guilt as he was completely trapped in a situation that seemed to have no reasonable way out. He knew one thing though: there was no way he's going to let someone serve time for a crime he committed himself. If there's anything Ian has ever believed in, it's justice. And Ian has to serve it rightfully.
For now though, as everything in Ian's life seemed like a closed box pressing him into a tight space, he let himself take out his pain in silent tears equal to the glass of water before him.
Mickey stood in his own room, breathing harshly and staring out of the window at the sunset before him. He tried to grasp at good memories to lighten himself up, but he was left with nothing. No matter how this played out, whoever takes the fall, Mickey loses someone close to him. It made Mickey wonder if his life was destined to be a shit show. If being miserable and hopeless forever was merely his fate.
Either way, Mickey convinced himself that this, all of it, was a life he deserved.
----
((IT SEEMS THAT WE NEED TO GET SOMETHING OUT OF THE WAY VERY BRIEFLY.
I DONT KNOW WHY THIS MAKES SOME READERS SO ANGRY, BUT I'VE NOTICED THAT A LOT OF CONFUSION IS BEING SPREAD ABOUT MICKEY'S NAME I USED IN THIS BOOK: MICAEL.
I'VE ADDRESSED THIS BEFORE BUT HERE WE GO AGAIN:
I WROTE THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS OF THIS NOVEL LONG BEFORE SEASON SEVEN AKA THE SEASON WE OFFICIALLY FOUND OUT MICKEY'S REAL NAME.
SO. THAT MEANS I TOOK A RANDOM NAME THAT COULD BE RELATED TO THE NICKNAME MICKEY. MICAEL. C'MON, IT'S NOT SO BAD IS IT?
BUT YES. LIKE THE REST OF YOU, I NOW KNOW HIS REAL NAME IS MIKHAILO ALEKSANDR MILKOVICH. I WILL USE THAT FROM NOW ON. NOT MY FAULT SHAMELESS REVEALED IT IN THE SEVENTH FUCKING SEASON LMAO NO SHADE
ANYWAY, LOVE TO YOU ALL AS USUAL. THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT AND IM SORRY I DISAPPEARED FOR SO LONG IT'S BEEN A ROUGH YEAR BUT IM BACK!! LOVE YOU ALL!
ALSO, WHAT THE FUCK. WE HIT 100,000 READS!!! OH MY GOD!! I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN! YOU ALL AMAZE ME EVERY DAY.
I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND VOTES SO MUCH. YOURE ALL GOING TO LOVE/HATE THESE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS <3
sorry for the long author's note but I just had to let it all out. dont give up on me yet!! -king