#And that she was just following in Ian’s footsteps because she wanted to feel the way he does about MQ

[ciderjacks]

me watching the newest MQ episode: wow this is so good, really reminds me of why I love this show so much! And I love how the characters were written and developed here, it felt like whoever was writing and directing this ep really understands these characters and how to write them we—

*directed by Danny Pudi*

me: ohhhhhhh of course

[arrowflier]

hi arrow! for your speedwriting, if you vibe with the prompt: gallavich go to fright fest together for the first time 👻 (them experiencing the decorations/scary street actors specifically would be amazing i think)

Thank you Ray!

"So?" Ian asks, walking backward with arms spread wide to either side. "What do you think?"

"I think it was crazy to spend sixty bucks a pop is what I think," Mickey retorts. "What's wrong with sneakin' in?"

Ian's arms drop, and though he would refuse to admit it, he pouts.

"If I hadn't gone through the line for tickets," he says, "I wouldn't have been able to tell the ticketer that it was my husband's first time here." He raises a brow, and adds, "and she wouldn't have comped that fast-pass upgrade."

Mickey's ears feel warm, the way they always do when Ian flaunts their still-new titles.

"I guess the decorations are cool," he gives in, and the beam Ian graces him with is worth it.

"Just wait 'til you try my favorite ride! It's across the park, but it's worth the walk!"

Ian is practically vibrating with excitement, bouncing on his heels. Every time he bounces up, his head aligns with some creepy clown guy standing behind him, making it look like he's the one wearing the awful red wig.

Mickey chokes back a laugh, and gestures with one arm.

"Lead on.""

-

Ian wasn't lying--they really are crossing the entire damn park. They pass half a dozen rollercoasters, a haunted mansion, some ride where you get to shoot stuff with lasers--Mickey is definitely coming back to that one--all glowing an eerie reddish-orange against the darkening sky.

The crowds thin a little as they go, too, shifting from kids and parents to edgy teenagers and a handful of other couples. The noise dissipates as they leave the main area, and so do the lights. The actors are gone, and the regular attendants. They're just walking through a darkened theme park in the middle of the night, the pavement growing cold beneath them.

Somewhere behind them a child shrieks, and laughter follows. The echoes are tinged with a malice that makes Mickey's shoulders hunch under his jacket, makes him draw it tight against the night wind.

"Somebody's having fun," Ian comments, but Mickey isn't so sure.

There's more laughter. Closer this time, louder.

"Hurry up man," Mickey says, and picks up his own pace. "I wanna get there before dawn."

He wants to get somewhere, at least. Somewhere with lights again, and people. Where he doesn't hear his own footsteps echo and feel the need to look back over his shoulder as harsh laughter closes in behind him.

In his haste, though, he's only made it worse. Because the next corner they turn leads into a tall tunnel of metal and piled brush, and suddenly they're completely alone.

"So, uh, how much farther we going?" Mickey asks, and walks as close next to Ian as he can. There's not much light in the tunnel, just a few colored bulbs and the little moonlight that makes it through overhead, but he's close enough to feel Ian shrug.

"Think we're almost there."

Mickey stops.

"You think?" he asks. There's a weird feeling climbing up his back, up his neck. "Or you know?"

"I mean, I'm pretty sure." Ian stops too, turns back to him. "Why? Something wrong?"

And no, nothing's wrong. But also, yes.

"Damn it Ian," he hisses, eyes closing as he runs a hand through his hair. "Can't believe I let you talk me into this."

Ian taps his shoulder, but Mickey shrugs it off.

"I thought we were gonna go on rides, maybe shoot somethin', scare a few kids," he goes on. "Not wander around in the dark, probably halfway out of the park, with no fucking clue where we are!"

"Mickey," Ian says quietly, and taps his shoulder again.

"Don't Mickey me!" His breath is coming fast, and he pinches the top of his nose. Breathes through his mouth instead. "I need to--"

One more tap on his shoulder, and he drops his hand, spins around and shoves.

"Mickey!" Ian shouts, and Mickey wants to push him again, needs to push past and out of this dead-end tunnel and out of this goddamned park and--

And Ian had said that from behind him. Which means...

Mickey opens his eyes, and stares in startled red. Red from colored contacts, which go with the kid's plastic fangs and black cape. Red that's surrounded on all sides by white, eyelids stretched in shock.

"Um," Mickey says, feeling both a lot more settled and a lot more embarrassed by how much the night had gotten to him. "Sorry?"

The kid just blinks at him. Behind, Ian laughs. And instead of echoing with malice, it lights up the tunnel like the sun.

“Sorry kid,” Mickey repeats. Ian is still laughing when he turns and takes his hand. “Shut up,” Mickey orders, swallowing the giggle that lightens his own chest, “and let’s go find your coaster.”

[theboysfromaustin]

April 15, 2020

The redheaded woman stepped onto the porch nervously.  Victoria took a deep breath, pressing the bell, listening to it ring.

He was her brother, he had to take her in….right?

The lock clicked and the door opened, a teenage girl scanning her up and down.  “Um, is -” The girl leaned back, “DAAAAAAD! YOUR BITCH SISTER IS HERE!” “WHAT?!” There was an angry yelp from upstairs.

The girl smirked, “Yeah, he'll be right down.” 

Victoria stepped back, hearing fast footsteps approaching.  Nanami moved out of the way.  “Hey, Gav, what's -” “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!” Gav lurched through the doorframe, “YOU.” “Gavin, I…” “No!” Gav shook with rage “You…it's your fault!  I lived on the streets because of you!  I almost died!” “Gavin, I need help…’ 

Victoria looked at him, pleading.  Ian and Kazuo peeked around the doorframe, Nana leaning on the wall, smirking.  It had been a long time since any of them had seen Gav this angry.  Gav stared at her, eyes narrowed.  “My husband's leaving me, he's honna take my kuds, and mom and dad won't help me…they told me to come…here…”

“Here.”

She flinched - Gav's tone was icy.  Gav stepped forward.  Kazuo looked to Ian, wondering if Gav was about to need his services as a lawyer.  “Here.  With the other freaks.” “Gavin…” “QUIT CALLING ME THAT!  Get…get the fuck out of here before…before I do something I regret…” He slammed the door, shaking, and stalked into the kitchen.

“Dad?” “Gav?” “Honey…”

Gav stood over the sink, sobbing.  Ian hugged him from behind, “Let it out, love.” Kazuo leaned on him, “You did the right thing.” “Who…who the fuck does she think she is, asking me for help?!  She…she got everything….I got nothing…I had to…I had to steal and beg to live…I ate from the garbage…I suffered…nearly died, because of…”

He trailed off.

Deep down, he knew Victoria was also a victim of their parents.

Nanami looked out the window.

Victoria was still there, legs shaking.  She had no money, nowhere to go, and her brother had rejected her.  She knew why, and really couldn't blame him.  

Tears started streaming down her cheeks.

Nana felt a twinge of pity and turned, watching her dads.  She knew all about Gav's past, but also knew he was generally very forgiving.  With a sigh, Nanami stepped onto the porch, “Victoria?” The redhead sniffled, “Y-yeah?” “Sit down.  Let’s talk.” They sat in the wicker chairs, the girl studying her aunt - a very lawyer-like move.  “You’re his daughter, aren’t you?” “Yeah…he came into my life when I was 2.  He's been a great father to me.”

“I feel terrible about…everything.”

And you should!  Nana held her tongue, “It's…something that's always eaten at him.  It's amazing that he made it here.  My other dads gave him a home…and a family.  God knows, he was lacking a family.”

Victoria looked away, “I was the wanted child, and I lorded it over him.  I exposed him, and I…I shouldn't have come here.”

Gav sighed, straightening up, “I…don't feel good…” “Hey, c'mon,” Kazuo took Gav's shoulder, “You wanna go take a nap?” “I…where'd Nana go?” Ian was staring out the window, “There.  She's talking with…” Gav stiffened, then purposefully strode for the front door, Ian and Kazuo following.  He was quiet, collected as he stepped onto the porch, staring at Victoria.  She flinched, standing, “Gav…I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I was such a miserable little bitch, I was so afraid that…that mom and dad would turn on me next that I…I can’t even begin to make up for it, but I’m sorry, and I’ll…I’ll go now,” she turned, getting ready to leave, no plan at all.

“Wait.”

She paused, her brother’s voice quiet.  “Victoria, I…” He swallowed hard, “For a long time…a long time…I’ve held on to extreme anger towards you, and towards our parents.  I was so miserable from the point where I understood just how fucked-up and unfair things were, and I held onto that.  It got worse when they showed up here, trying to take me back, rip me from…” He looked at Nanami, then back at Kazuo and Ian, “They rejected me, then tried to take me from my new family…It wasn’t your fault.  It was never your fault, you were corrupted by them.  And I shouldn’t judge you for being a victim.”

“Gav, I…”

He hugged her, tears streaming down his face.  Victoria looked shocked, but so did everyone else.  Slowly, she reciprocated, “I’m sorry…brother…” “Thank you,” he straightened up, looking to Ian, “Can you…help her?” Ian hesitated for a moment, thinking back on everything, but if Gav could forgive, then so could he, “Yes.” Nanami studied her fathers, watching them.  She was young, and they were her role models - and she trusted them implicitly.  “Would you like to stay until you get things settled?” Kazuo leaned on Ian, “We have room.” It was an air mattress on a frame, but better than the couch.  “Thank you, that would help a lot…I want my kids…you guys understand, you’ve raised,” she looked to Nanami, “A very smart, capable girl who’s a very good listener.”

Ian beamed, knowing that was all true.  “Ian’s the best damn lawyer in the country,” Gav grinned at his partner, “He’ll set you right.  You can still turn your life around, Victoria.  We’ll help you.  We can build a relationship from scratch, both of us get past what our parents did to us.” “It’s time to break free.” “C’mon in.  I’ll show you around…

Show you the life I’ve built.”

[psifitopia]

QL mythology

Honestly, critics are such idiots.  Okay, I rarely agree with them, but if you check out rotten tomatoes, half of them panned QL, because of how it’s handling it’s connection to the original show.   Spoilers under the cut.

THEY COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG.

Janis Calavicci being bitter, because she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps?  Maybe, maybe not being a ruthless bad guy??  SWEET.

Magic being the soldier that Sam Beckett leaped into, when he saved his brother Tom and now heading the Quantum Leap project??? PERFECT.  I was close to tears, when he was talking to Ian!  

Ben intentionally leaped, contrary to plan in order to get to a particular time.  Yes, that is a mystery I’m willing to see dragged out over a season or two!   That is something worthy of a slow reveal, while we see Ben helping people and how it affects him and how he sees the world!   

The possibility of Sam Beckett finally making it home, the thing I HATED about the OG QL finale!  :D  

PLUS: 

Everything about Addison is beyond wonderful.  She’s conflicted, angry, forgiving, suspicious, trusting and complicated.  Her feelings are so HUMAN.  Her love for Ben just shines and it’s beautiful, without compromising her strength.  She’s strong enough to love when it is HARD.  

Female villains!   Strong, boss ladies choosing evil, because women are human and they do that sometimes!  

[yoakkemae]

Alex HC requests! How has he handled the loss of Jack? What about the friends he made across various adventures? How would he react to learning about Arty’s friends, The People?

All these years later— how does he feel about his parents, his uncle, and their killers?

Alex has not handled the loss of Jack well. She was really one of his few tethers keeping himself from snapping too far into his trauma, and, without her, it's very clear that Alex doesn't have anything really holding him back. He's untethered, he's a ghost -- without her, he might as well not exist. Slowly, as time moves forward, he's becoming more and more like himself, but it's a colder, darker version of the boy that he used to be. He can still be snarky, he can still be sarcastic, but he doesn't smile anymore.

The few people he's met through his missions (that are still alive) either rarely talk to him (Smithers/the Point Blanc students) or he rarely talks to (Sabina/the Point Blanc students). I used James Sprintz as a plot point a few times to get Alex to where I need him to be, but they definitely have not talked since Alex rescued him, and the other boys, from Point Blanc. Sabina is a close friend, but one that he knows his life has already ruined, so he stays away from her in my universe for him. Smithers sent him gadgets before Alex went on the run, but they're not in close contact. Essentially, even though Alex has saved and touched so many people's lives, he removes himself from their lives.

I feel like meeting The People is just like uh, "Well, of course fairies and shit have to exist." I don't think he'd believe it without seeing proof, but upon seeing proof, he'd just accept it and try to learn as much as he can about them and their culture because the more information he has, the better.

I think he still holds his mother to a bit of a pedestal, because -- well, why wouldn't he? All he really knows about her is that she's a nurse, and she's the least morally grey adult figure that he has never had in his life. I think John also falls a bit on the pedestal treatment because Alex has only ever heard good things said about John from literally everyone he has ever met, including both of their enemies. I think he knows that his dad probably killed good and bad people for the sake of his mission, but I don't think that would have distorted his view of John as much.

Now, Ian is in his own separate category. He loves Ian, he truly does, but there are parts of him that wonder if Ian had groomed him for the life of a spy. That maybe Ian wanted him to follow in John and his footsteps and that he was never going to tell Alex the truth. There's a really good part of one of the short stories written for Alex that I'm going to link here that I think encapsulates what Alex thinks about Ian. One of the most unfortunate aspects about his wondering about Ian's motivations is that Ian is dead. Alex is never going to be able to ask Ian why, to ask Ian if he really did will him away to MI6 or if it was a manipulation that Blunt created. And so, Alex will always have bittersweet feelings about Ian.

The same goes for Yassen; he's in his own bittersweet category. He's the one who killed Ian in the first place, which caused Alex to have to become a spy, but he's one of the few adults who has told Alex to get out of the life time and time again. However, what Yassen never realises is that it's never quite in Alex's control. Could he refuse MI6? Sure, but what would that cost him? Literally everything, and so for Alex, it's better for him to go under MI6's thumb than to try to get away because he knows he won't be able to get away. Yassen has also tried to save Alex, usually to his own detriment, but he has also tried to kill Alex's friends. Alex hates him a little bit for killing Ian. Alex wants to sit down with him and talk to him because he's one of the few people who really knows who John is. Everything is all mixed together into this tumbling mess of "I hate him but I want to know everything that he knows".

Ash, however, he hates. Yassen might have killed Ian, but he had no real connection to Ian aside from the fact that Ian was John's brother. Ash was John's best friend, best man at his wedding, and the reason why John and Helen got together, and he killed them both anyway just because he held a grudge against Yassen and MI6. At least Yassen killed Ian due to professionalism, Ash was just selfish and didn't think about anyone other than himself.

[kiingocreative]

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The Everyman, The Explorer, The Rebel with a cause. Any of these sound familiar? They are just a few of the character archetypes developed by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung in the 20th century. After studying the myths, legends, and fables of cultures around the world the world, he noticed similarities among the character’s patterns of behavior. He called them archetypes which means “original pattern” and they have been used in countless stories throughout film & television alike. Here are a few you should know…

The Everyman; Ian Lightfoot “Onward”

“I Am Just Like You, I Promise!”

There’s nothing unique about the Everyman… except they’re usually destined to be the savior of the world. They are the average joe, the good guy, the workaholic, etc. You’ve seen them enough to know them well. You may even feel like them yourself. But do not discount the Everyman. While they may live a mundane lifestyle, their core desire is to belong. That desire is usually what drives them to live so uneventfully. Because uneventful people don’t raise suspicions. They can easily fit into a group. And that’s all the Everyman wants. However, this can come with a price. The Everyman Archetype is often prone to denying their own points of view/perspective in the attempt to seem compatible with the majority. They fear being thought of as different or weird.

Ian Lightfoot desperately wants to be an Everyman when he truly is a Magician. Born with untapped magical powers, he could be a famed wizard. But he would rather just be able to go to school and ask a group of kids to come to his birthday party. He’s not up for adventure in the least until going on one might be the only way to fulfill his lifelong wish of spending a day with his late father. That’s the thing that truly makes the Everyman shine. Pressing their backs against a wall and making it clear that only by stepping outside of their norm can they ever hope to get it back.

The Explorer; Mr. Carl Frederickson “Up!”

“Adventure is Out There!”

The Explorer has one thing on their mind; adventure! They believe that the world should and must be explored. Think of Tommy from the Rugrats or Dora from Dora the Explorer. Nothing drives them more than the thought of going someplace and doing something new! Pixar’s loveable senior citizen character Carl Frederickson is no different. His primary goal throughout the movie is to get his home to Paradise Falls following in the footsteps of his favorite explorer Charles Muntz.

The Explorer is a highly mobile character. They have no ambition to sit still and that’s because their core goal is to seek out new things, experiences, and people. However, this can often be their downfall and result in them getting into many dangers along their way. Carl battles a thunderstorm, talking dogs, and a world that entirely new to him just for the sake of adventure and to fulfill a promise he has made to his wife. What a guy!

The Rebel; Izzy Richardson “Little Fires Everywhere”

“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!”

If you haven’t seen this Hulu original limited series based on the Celeste Ng novel by the same name, YOU NEED TO! Not just because of its expert use of several of Jung’s archetypes (the Ruler (Elena), The Rebel (Izzy), The Creator (Mia), The Caregiver (Linda), but it’s just an incredible mini-series whose plot and characters develop beautifully.

Izzy Richardson, admittedly one of my favorite characters, is the youngest of the Richardson’s and the black sheep of the family. In typical Rebel fashion, Izzy serves the story in one primary way, she shakes things up. That is the key characteristic of the Rebel. They are dissatisfied with the current state of their world and do most everything in their power to change it; or at least make it as unbearable as possible.

When considering this archetype, it is important to note that they don’t have to be themselves a typical rebel, holding up banners and painting black stripes on their faces. Neither do they have to be fighting against an oppressive government like Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games) or Fred Hampton (Judas & The Black Messiah). They could be rebelling against a teacher, principal, employer, or in Izzy’s case her mother, who takes on the archetype of The Ruler (more on this later). Sometimes your character may seem to fall into the Rebel archetype (Katniss) other times they seem to be born this way (Izzy/Fred). What’s most important is that this character is driven by the need to liberate or be liberated. They will fear or fight against any form of tyranny, oppression, or unfair treatment. And sometimes they win (Katniss). And other times… not so much. In Izzy’s case her rebellious nature leads her to a bitter end which I will not spoil!

The Creator/The Inventor; Willy Wonka

“There is no world I know to compare with your imagination.”

You may think that the creator has their head in the clouds… but, quite the opposite. They may be one of the most in tune with society. It is not that the Creator is out of touch with reality, they just are not married to it. They dream big and long to see those dreams become a reality. They may be jaded or joyful. Introverted or extroverted. Charismatic or socially awkward. So long as they are actively pursuing the actualization of some innovative idea, invention, or creation for others or themselves.

Let’s consider Willy Wonka. A man who has completely isolated himself from society and created a world in which he could live in peace and in harmony. You might think that the movie should be over. There’s nothing left for the Creator to do, he’s created it. Right? Well, creation is only half of what the Creator longs. They are also driven by longevity. The idea that something they make can and will outlive them. Which is the entire reason Wonka has invited the children to the factory. It was his hope that he would find in one of these lucky winners the successor that would continue on the legacy he began.

The Caregiver; Evelyn Couch “Fried Green Tomatoes”

“Here, let me fix you.”

We all know someone who falls into the caregiver archetype. Someone that we are constantly going to for love, comfort, and well… care. They seem to be driven by the act of caring for others and you rarely see them doing much for themselves? I immediately think of Evelyn Couch from Fried Green Tomatoes. Obviously I can’t say this with any true confidence, but she may be one of the only Caregiver archetypes that are also the protagonist. Usually, a caregiver will be a friend or ally of the protagonist as their addition to the story is to aide them as they pursue their own agenda. It would make for a pretty boring story if all we ever saw was the protagonist helping others reach their goals and never actively pursuing their own. Right?

That may be what makes Evelyn Couch such an interesting character to watch. She goes from being this doting housewife to taking some true command of herself and her environments. She never stops being a caregiver. We know this by the actions she takes near the end of the film (which I won’t spoil). What’s most essential for the Caregiver archetype is their almost primal instinct to nurture and care for other people. But much like Evelyn Couch, to their own detriment. They can be too extending, having little or no boundaries when it comes to those they love. They are often portrayed as nurses, teachers, mothers, elders, house spouses, as these are people, regardless of culture, who are almost always considered caring.

These are just a few of the archetypes noticed by Carl Jung. Hundreds more have been uncovered and hundreds more will. As foreign and otherwise excluded cultures become visible in film, television, and literature, we find humanity within them more and more. We see how we’re alike, how we’re different, and how the stories that have been told in all our cultures keep us connected and entertained.

However, I would be remiss if I did not warn against the dangers of having archetypes fall into the mundane and often offensive category of tropes & stereotypes. These are 2D figures within your story which 1.) don’t seem to have been well-drawn & 2.) employ counterproductive & oversimplified ideas of people and their cultures for the sake of entertainment. DON’T DO THIS! Remember archetypes give pattern and purpose to your character while helping us understand subconsciously who they are and how they move the story along.

So, what are some of your favorite archetypes?

[jetaime-jespere]

Prompt #125

Back on these, after a slight hiatus. Set during 6x18, if Lauren had a different ending. Slight Emily x Ian, more in memory only.

#125: Make A Wish

“Make a wish, Lauren.”

The voice behind her is as cold as the gun placed at her temple with a sure hand, his other clamped firmly on her shoulder. That voice is completely devoid of the lust it used to hold when he would speak to her, when it was the two of them, him and her, in a world of their own. A world that was dangerous yet exhilarating, yet a place she somehow never questioned if she belonged. Not that she had a choice. It started as an obligation, part of the raw deal that came with infiltrating an international terrorist organization. There was no limit in her quest to prove her loyalty, she quickly learned through the nights she spent in his bed, the mornings that followed. He worshipped her body with his own, took her past her own limits only to lull her to sleep in his embrace. She earned his trust but he also gained hers, and only after he uttered the words I love you did Emily realize just how entrenched she was, the only way out meant sure death for one of them. Ensuring her own survival meant further entangling herself in lies and believing them with all her heart. If you play, you play for keeps. The only thing she didn’t expect was for the lies to become the truth, because after a while, each time she repeated his sentiment, she meant it just a little more until she wasn't sure she knew the difference anymore.

Except this isn’t Tuscany or Galway, Rome or Dublin. Gone are the beautiful views from the balconies of his villa, where she could at least pretend like this wouldn’t all end horribly one day. The green pastures of Ireland don’t exist here, the springtime sun is gone. Instead, her ankles and wrists are bound to a chair in the middle of a cold warehouse in the middle of Boston, and she has mere minutes left to breathe, because she’s about to die at his hand.

“Lauren, are you ready to pay for what you’ve done? I told you I was going to take your life.” Emily closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths. It’s been years and yet hearing his voice again, even after all this time, is like a window into the past.

Her security was built on a web of fallacy, it had been all along. Hushed promises behind closed doors in sound-proofed rooms in the middle of European cities that it was over, that she was safe, were mere falsehoods. She left Lauren Reynolds and the world of Interpol behind years ago, a conscious choice that was never regretted, only remembered from time to time in the quiet silence accompanied by the unrelenting pull of too much alcohol. She never lingered on it for too long, wouldn’t let herself go down that path, until she had no other choice, when she saw the messages from Sean that pulled her right back in.

Ian Doyle had escaped from prison. The moment Sean uttered those words Emily knew he would find her eventually; it was only a matter of when. She just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. There was hardly any time to get things in order, to arrange for them to be taken care of, to ensure her team would be safe in the days, weeks, months, even years after she was gone. Whether that meant disappearance or death was anyone’s guess, but not a choice she’d have to worry about because it wouldn’t matter. Emily lured him out of hiding in DC, followed him to Boston a few days later as he rampaged his way through her friends systematically one by one. It essentially stole any chance of saying goodbye, and she’d turned away from them one last time, through the doors of the BAU, only giving in to the sob she’d been holding in her throat once she was safely in the car.

“Are you afraid?” Ian asks, his hand moving from her shoulder to the side of her face. His palm is rough, hardened from his years in prison, yet there’s something fleetingly reverent about it. Emily always marveled at the contrast of his hands, responsible for the pain and suffering of so many, could be so gentle and adoring with her. But that was long ago; the tables have long been turned.

“No,” she lies, and he just laughs, brushes his thumb over her jaw almost adoringly.

She straightens her back, her arms trembling and her heart pounds through her chest. The gun cocks in her ear; she feels it brush her temple again.

“Make a wish, Emily. It’s time. You have ten seconds.” When she hesitates, her body tensing at his words, he chuckles. “Close your eyes. Sometimes it helps.”

She obeys, and, it’s Aaron’s face she sees, brief moments in time as her life flashes before her eyes.

“Ten.”

It takes almost a month to speak of the first kiss (it happened after a few too many beers one night with the team) and two more weeks before there is another. The second time around they’re stone cold sober (it’s better that way), and when he asks if she’d like to go out with him sometime, she blushes with a resounding “yes.”

“Nine.”

Their first date is one she’s always held close to her heart. He’d made reservations, planned dessert, and on a whim, she bought a new dress just for that occasion even though there were more hanging in her closet than she could count. This one was dark green, with an open back, and she knew right away it was the one. Except they never made it to the restaurant, because a case in Memphis called them away the morning before. She only smiled when there was a knock at the hotel room door late on the evening that should have been spent with their heads bent together over a table in the back of a picturesque Italian restaurant. But instead he held a bag of takeout, wearing a grin while uttering the words “Plan B?”

“Eight.”

He’s still inside of her for the very first time, unable to focus his mind on much of anything because Emily is still panting his name in his ear, when he decides he doesn’t want to be with anyone else, ever again.

“Seven.”

In Colorado, mere hours after the compound went up in flames, Aaron can hardly be objective as she ambles toward the hospital exit with discharge papers in one hand, the other cautiously guarding her broken ribs. Her face is bruised, her clothes dirty, and while Reid is just a few feet away dozing fitfully in chairs, Aaron goes right to her, thumbing her cheek in a rare display of public affection. “I’m alright. It’s not as bad as it looks,” she tells him bravely, even though she’s already sore, muscles aching, exhaustion starting to cloud her every thought. “I just want to go home.” In those moments, Aaron realizes he is the closest thing to home she has right now, and he doesn’t leave her side for the rest of the night.

“Six.

As she stares at JJ’s newborn son cradled in her arms, Emily wonders, with a fleeting glance at Aaron, if she’ll ever have the chance to do the same thing. Now, she never will.

“Five.”

On many mornings, Aaron wakes her up with coffee on the nightstand and gentle hands pulling the covers from her legs, pushing the hem of his shirt past her hips as he settles her legs over his shoulders. Her eyes aren’t even open before she’s already rocking her hips up towards him, an uncoordinated hand grappling for something to hold onto. The way he moves, slow and determined, is a contrast to the speed at which they’re used to, frantically moving from one case to the next. He’s taught her to be patient; he’ll get her there eventually, but she’s not in the mood to wait this morning. “Aaron,” she breathes his name, but he shakes his head in tandem with the flicks of his tongue. “Soon,” he assures, a promise he’s never broken. And true to that promise, he sends her spiraling into bliss a few moments later.

“Four.”

“I want to tell Jack,” Aaron says one evening when they’re sitting in traffic in the middle of Dallas, on the tail end of a case as she gazes out the window. “About us.”

“Three.”

“Can Emily stay for dessert too?” Jack asks innocently, his face covered in spaghetti sauce as the plates are cleared from the table. It’s about time they told him why his father’s pretty friend from work was spending more time than usual at the apartment, why a sweatshirt was left on the couch the week before, why there’s an extra toothbrush in the bathroom and a few extra bottles in the shower. It’s been something they’ve held off on, Haley’s death still fresh and the timing not quite right. But the look on Jack’s face tells him everything they need to know, and Emily’s heart swells when Aaron smiles and murmurs, “sure, buddy.”

“Two.”

The two and a half years they spend together, in some semblance of the word, one way or another, are some of the happiest she’s ever known, the most peace she’s ever felt.

“One.”

I hope you can forgive me, for never telling you the truth, she thinks as she pictures the hurt and pain that will darken on his face when he finds her body. Emily knows they’re coming, but they’ll be too late. Tell Jack I’m sorry too.

Her eyes flutter closed again on their own accord as her lip trembles in unbridled fear. It’s so silent in the warehouse she hears the gentle scrape of Ian’s boots on the ground as he steps back, taking a steadying breath of his own, his finger curled around the trigger.

This is it. Make a wish.

The gun fires; she’s acutely aware of the throbbing echo in her ears as the sound reverberates, which confuses her, because it’s not supposed to be this way. It’s a dissonance of sounds - things she shouldn’t be cognizant of because the bullet that pierced the air is supposed to be in her head. But another voice - she recognizes this one instantly too - bellows something she can’t quite decipher, calm and steady, accompanied by the thunderous footsteps of a team of agents that sweep into the room. Glancing down at the concrete ground Emily sees Ian’s body, his gun a few feet away. A pool of blood seeps around him, her stomach lurches at the sight of his head split open, and she has to look away toward the small window, where the dawn of another sunrise has started to bleed through the sky.

They made it.

“Emily!” It’s the same voice as the one from moments before, and when she realizes what just happened, Aaron is already kneeling in front of her, frantically working at the plastic zip ties that have cut welts into her wrists and ankles. He’s shouting at someone that isn’t her, something about hurry up, and soon she’s freed, but her limbs don’t want to work correctly or coordinate at all. They don’t have to, because strong arms are pulling her into his chest, her chin hits his vest, and the scent of him nearly splits her heart in half as he lowers her to the ground.

And for the second time since this hell began, she starts to cry, her fingers clenched around the fabric of his shirt. Through the deep sobs she attempts to speak, apologies that aren’t even close to coherent, the adrenaline that’s coursed through her already starting to give way to exhaustion. But words won’t work either, and he shushes her with a finger to her lips, matted hair pushed out of her face as Aaron thumbs away the tears that collect in her eyes.

“It’s over,” he soothes, repeating the words over and over, until they both believe it. He’s unaware of the extent of her injuries, won’t risk adding to them as he signals for a medic. She breathes through the tears, her chest heaving, the only thing she’s remotely aware of is the beat of his heart, unsteady against her own.

It’s over, she reminds herself as she takes one last look at Ian’s dead body a few feet away, a reassurance to herself that this is in fact real, that he can’t haunt her again. And as she lays on the ground, enveloped in the protective embrace of Aaron’s arms, Ian’s words linger in her mind.

Make a wish.

[apolloloki97]

"Solid as Stone" Ian Gallagher x Mickey Milkovich

Summary: What if when Monica came back, Ian went to find Mandy that day, but found Mickey. Instead of going right to the store for a hookup, Ian runs away distraught after not finding his best friend. Mickey can't help but follow and comfort the redhead he has clearly fallen for.

Or when Ian is freaking out, Mickey is there to comfort him.

Word Count: 2679

Warning: Swearing

Song I Wrote To: “Stone" by Jaymes Young

Note: This is just a bit of an AU what if kind of thing. I just liked it and I love comforting and soft Mickey and I know that day he could tell that Ian was torn.

-----------

Monica was back and Ian didn’t know how to deal with any of it.

As soon as she rolled back into town, Ian felt as if he was suffocating and he had to get out. He didn’t even care if Terry was home at that moment, he needed to see Mandy.

His thoughts kept flicking to Mickey but he knew that regardless of the kind of situation they were in, Mickey would throttle him before he even considered offering Ian a comforting hand. Mickey had been very clear about the nature of their relationship if you could even call it that. Ian knew that there was more to them just random hookups, but he didn’t have time to unpack any of it at the moment.

Mandy had to be the one and he needed her now.

Ian arrived at the front of the Milkovich house and barrelled up the steps, his breathing still labored. His fist made contact with the wooden door, frantically begging someone to open up. It took a moment before the front door was wrenched open and it wasn’t the Milkovich sibling Ian had wanted to see right then, but one he was always wishing to see no matter what. Mickey, who had a cigarette in his mouth, seemed surprised at Ian’s frantic look. “Gallagher?” he asked.

“Mandy, is she here?” Ian breathed out, trying to see behind Mickey and into the house.

“What?”

“Is Mandy here?” Ian asked again, his breathing still sporadic. “I need to see her.” Mickey frowned as he took in the state of Ian as the younger boy seemed to be running off pure anxiety. Something was definitely wrong with him and it surprised Mickey as he realized he was incredibly concerned about Ian Gallagher. However, after all the time he had spent around the kid, he had come to pick up on all of Ian’s idiosyncrasies.

“She’s not here,” Mickey told him, glancing over his shoulder where Terry was passed out on the couch. “She went away with Iggy for a couple of days.” Ian let out a breath, still very jumpy, as he looked back and forth, trying to figure out what he was going to do. “Gallagher, the hell is wrong with you?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he rushed out as he glanced behind him, almost as if he expected Monica to be running after him, but the street remained silent. “I… I gotta go,” he stammered before nodding to himself, turning around, and half-stumbling down the steps. Mickey watched after him for a few seconds, still very confused at Ian’s behaviors. Ian shuffled out into the street and then Mickey nearly jumped out of his skin as a car screeched to a halt right in front of the redhead. Honking blared through the neighborhood as the man behind the wheel cursed at Ian who was raising his hands in apologies.

As soon as Ian was out of the street, the car sped off, leaving Ian to stare at it for only a second before he moved to run down an alley in between the houses, still somewhat out of it. Mickey glanced back inside his house for a second before swearing, “Fucking Gallagher.” Grabbing his coat, he shut the door behind him and took off after the redhead.

It didn’t take long for Mickey to pick up on Ian’s trail as the kid had the loudest footsteps on the Southside. Mickey kept telling himself that the only reason he was doing this was that he wanted to know if Ian was on something and if he could get a hit. However, behind the denial, he knew the truth. He did care about Gallagher and he could tell Ian was going through something.

It was only another block that Mickey finally found him. Ian was on the ground, his back against the wall of the empty alleyway and he was breathing harder than he was when he had shown up on Mickey’s porch. Slowly, Mickey approached him, keeping an eye on the redhead’s hands. He knew Ian well enough to know that the kid could punch just as well as anyone on the Southside and he wasn’t looking forward to being on the other side of one of those freckled fists if he startled him.

“Gallagher?” Mickey tried, but Ian remained frozen, his eyes only on the cold asphalt. “Gallagher,” he tried again, but still, Ian remained oblivious to his presence. With a sigh, Mickey ran a hand through his hair before finally stepping right into the other boy’s view. “Ian?” he asked, softer this time. Ian’s breath stuttered for a second before his eyes flicked to the worried blue ones above him.

“What do you want?” Ian asked and while the words sent a dagger to Mickey’s heart, it was a valid question. Why had he followed him? Ian had no reason to trust that Mickey Milkovich cared for him. Mickey hated that he had led him to believe that he was only using him for sex, but he understood. Mickey was never one for affection, but it wasn’t as if he had any role models to learn from. Colin had tried to somewhat raise his younger siblings, but there was only so much he could do. Mickey was on his own in this department, but he was hoping Ian could be the beginning of his effort to show the compassion he clearly felt.

“What happened?” Mickey asked, finally crouching down to get on Ian’s level. The boy in front of him looked frailer than Mickey had ever seen him. The Gallaghers were known to be tough sons of bitches, but everyone had their breaking point, Mickey supposed.

“My mom,” Ian said. “My mom came home and just fucked it all up.” Mickey nodded, understanding immediately. If you knew about the Gallaghers and especially if you knew about Frank, you knew about Monica. Terry hated the woman and Mickey finally could see why. If the way Ian was acting was evidence of how her kids felt when she came back, she definitely should have stayed gone.

“Hurricane Monica,” Mickey simply said. Ian looked at him in surprise. Mickey sank to the ground next to Ian, their shoulders almost touching. “Fiona’s mentioned her a few times at the Alibi, Frank, too. I think we all get the picture enough to know she ain’t exactly mother of the fucking year.”

“That’s an understatement,” Ian said and Mickey was glad to hear that his breathing was sounding a little better. Ian let his head fall back to rest on the bricks behind him. “She always does this, Mickey,” Ian began and Mickey remained quiet, just letting Ian talk. “She comes into town and makes it seem like she’s going to stay. Debbie and Carl don’t deserve that shit.”

“Neither do you,” Mickey said automatically. Ian’s eyes flickered to Mickey’s who was just staring in front of him, his hands playing with the cigarette he still held.

“She’s my mom,” Ian tried to rationalize.

“So?” Mickey said, finally looking at him again. “Frank is your dad and he’s a piece of shit. Terry is my dad and he’s...he’s… fuck he’s the fucking worse.” Ian could hear the hesitancy in Mickey’s voice. Everyone knew how horrible Terry was, but Ian was starting to think there was more to the racist asshole than nobody else knew. “My father hates me,” Mickey finally continued. “He hates me and he doesn’t even know that…”

“That you hook up with guys?” Ian offered, not wanting to push Mickey by slapping the “gay” label on him. He had learned his lesson with that before.

“He’d kill me if he knew,” Mickey said. “And if I had the chance to get the hell out of dodge to be away from him, I would. I don’t care if they’re our parents, they don’t owe us shit if they’ve never been parents, you know?” Ian was quiet for a minute before he nodded, letting out a shaky breath.

“I don’t know what to do, Mick,” Ian said, casually dropping the nickname he had been trying out for a while. If it was any other time, Mickey would have made a comment about it, but he just enjoyed the rush that went through him at Ian saying his name.

“What do you want to do?” Mickey asked. “Cause that’s all up to you, man.”

“I want her to get the fuck out,” Ian said. “If she’s leaving again, it’s gonna be on our terms this time, not hers.” Ian struggled to keep his hands still and his emotions in check. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of Mickey. This was why he needed Mandy.

However, Mickey Milkovich surprised him as he always did.

Tattooed fingers suddenly covered freckled ones and Ian’s hand was enveloped in a warm and firm grip. Ian looked up at Mickey who was looking at him with actual concern.

“Don’t let her ruin you,” Mickey said firmly.

“She’s already done that,” Ian said, trying not to focus too much on the hand in his.

“Says who, huh?” Mickey countered. “Who says you’re fucking ruined? You’re not. You’re…” Mickey trailed off for a second. His eyes flickered from Ian’s lips and then back to his face. “You’re damn solid, Gallagher. A fucking tower of stone, so don’t think that some woman can just come back and fuck with you just because she’s your blood. Blood don’t mean shit when it comes to family anyways.”

Ian was looking at him with wonder in his eyes. He had never seen this side of Mickey and he was already mourning the fact that he may never again for a while once they left that alley. In case he was right, Ian clutched onto Mickey’s hand tighter, letting him feel the other boy’s pulse beneath his fingers.

“Thanks,” he breathed, almost afraid to speak any louder in case it shattered whatever peace they had built.

“Still wish Mandy was here instead?” Mickey asked and there was no malice behind it.

“Absolutely not,” Ian admitted as he glanced down at Mickey’s mouth. They were silent for a moment before Ian asked about something Mickey had just said. “Would you really leave to get away from Terry?”

“I wouldn’t go far,” Mickey admitted, looking at him through hooded eyes. “I could never go too far from you, could I? Who’d run after you when you’re going out of your fucking mind?” Ian smiled, trying not to laugh.

“I don’t know, I’m sure I could find someone,” he said and then boldly continued, “maybe Kash has a friend around his age.”

That did it.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Mickey growled as he grabbed onto Ian’s neck and slammed his lips against the other boy's mouth. Ian reacted immediately, tugging Mickey closer to him. Mickey’s heart was slamming in his chest and he knew it was risky to kiss Ian out in the open, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He had been wanting to kiss him since the first time he had seen Ian smile. It wasn’t until they had sex for the first time that that need to kiss him had intensified tenfold. Mickey grabbed at Ian’s coat, trying to make the distance between them nonexistent.

When Ian slipped his tongue into Mickey’s mouth, Mickey was done for. He could never go back to just having sex after this. This was...indescribable and he needed it all. Mickey was as inexperienced as it got when it came to kissing men, but Ian seemed to be a master according to Milkovich. Ian ran his hands up Mickey’s arms and then up to his neck where his large hands took hold of Mickey’s face as he continued to devour the other boy’s mouth.

Eventually, they both needed to breathe and Mickey was the first to pull back, though he didn’t go far. “That was…” Ian began, his breathing heavy but this time for a completely different reason.

“Long overdue,” Mickey finished, his breath matching pace with Ian’s. “I didn’t mean to do that like this. You know in a shithole,” he said, gesturing to the disgusting alley.

“Our whole neighborhood is a shithole,” Ian pointed out causing Mickey to smile slightly. Ian couldn’t help himself as he pressed another kiss to Mickey’s lips before leaning back again. “Don’t think I’m not going to take advantage of being allowed to do that now.”

“Who says this ain’t a one-time thing, firecrotch?” Mickey asked, raising one of his very expressive eyebrows.

“Me,” Ian said simply and Mickey rolled his eyes, but didn’t move away from Ian. His expression then turned concerned once again.

“Feeling better?” Mickey asked and Ian nodded.

“Getting there,” Ian admitted, referring back to his Monica meltdown. “You helped quite a bit,” he said cheekily and Mickey just snorted. “Thanks, Mick,” Ian said and Mickey could hear all the sincerity behind his words. Mickey nodded and then sat back beside Ian, their shoulders pressed together as if they were afraid to not be touching each other.

“Don’t think you can’t come to me when you’re in trouble, Gallagher,” Mickey said. “I ain’t gonna fucking turn you away. Not you.” Ian nodded again and then leaned his head on Mickey’s shoulder.

“I don’t want to go home,” Ian admitted. Mickey leaned into Ian and nodded.

“Me either,” said Mickey as he thought about his father back on their worn-out couch.

“Monica has to go,” Ian whispered.

“I could make that happen, you know?” Mickey said casually. “I still have that uncle down at the foundry.” Ian jabbed him in the ribs, but Mickey knew he was smiling.

“No thanks,” Ian said with a sigh. “Murder wouldn’t look good on you.”

“Please,” Mickey scoffed, “everything looks good on me.”

“And off, too,” Ian added and that got Mickey’s attention. Ian was looking up at him and when Mickey met his eyes, he could see just a hint of mischief in his green eyes.

“Are you coming onto me, Gallagher,” Mickey said.

“Always,” Ian said as his hands pushed into Mickey’s dark hair.

“I ain’t havin’ you get on me in some back alley,” Mickey said. “I have standards, asshole.”

“Then it’s a good thing I have keys to the store,” Ian said with a lower voice. Mickey chewed on that thought for a second before jumping to his feet and dragging Ian with him.

“You are a fucking menace,” Mickey whispered to Ian who just beamed at him, and then Ian’s smile turned softer.

“So, I’m solid huh?” Ian asked, looking at Mickey who wasn’t running away for once.

“As stone,” Mickey agreed. “You’re gonna be just fine, Red. Monica issues or not, you,” he said, poking Ian in the chest, “are gonna be fine.” Ian could have cried then, but he settled on grabbing Mickey by his coat and kissing him hard. Mickey kissed him back, still trying to get used to the feel, but he figured he’d get the hang of it soon.

Ian pulled back first this time and smiled at Mickey, grateful that he had been the Milkovich sibling to answer the damn door. “Thanks,” he whispered.

“You already said that,” Mickey reminded him.

“And I’ll keep saying it, dumbass,” Ian teased and then began walking backward, gesturing to Mickey to follow him.

Mickey just smiled and jogged to catch up with Ian. As the two of them headed to the store, Mickey forced himself to watch where he was going because all he could focus on was that Ian was back to being Ian and he, Mickey, had helped bring that smile back. Cautiously, he took Ian’s hand for just a fraction of a second before letting go. It was brief, but Ian knew what it meant. Sure, he was solid, unmoving, but to Mickey, Ian was his rock, the one that kept him grounded when everything else was trying to pull him away and if he’d let him, Mickey also wanted to be that for Ian.

[unbridgeabledistances]

Prompt: Sandy and Debbie break up and Ian and Mickey each take a side. During the fall out Ian worries that Mickey has the same complaints about Ian that drove Sandy to break up with Debbie. But in the end Mickey reassures Ian that their relationship is nothing like theirs.

hi!<3 thank u so much for this prompt, it was so fun to write! hope u enjoy:)

also this scenario could take place anytime between ep 2 and ep 3 of s11, because ian still has his warehouse job

**

“Jesus, Debbie, calm the fuck down. You’re being dramatic”

“Sandy, if you call me dramatic one more time, I swear to god. I’m not trying to be controlling I’m just asking you where you were last night, which is a perfectly reasonable question—”

“Reasonable if you were my mother, maybe, but I can go wherever the fuck I want without you needing to smother me all the time! I was on a run with Terry, because I have no money and don’t really know what to do with myself, and I’m never fucking good enough for you, and that’s literally all you need to know—”

“Trouble in paradise,” Mickey commented as he poured Ian some coffee, breaking the silence in the kitchen, where everyone was staring at their breakfasts and listening to the voices shouting upstairs.

Ian rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Debs isn’t known to be the most… secure partner in a relationship.”

“You can say that again,” added Liam, wrapping his poptart in a napkin and shoving it into his backpack. “I’m just gonna eat on the way to school. It doesn’t seem like this screaming is going to stop anytime soon, and while you and Mickey having sex twice a day is bad enough, Debbie and Sandy having a lover’s quarrel has somehow pushed me over the edge.”

Ian smirked and sipped his coffee. “Can you drop Franny off on the way?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Liam led Franny out of the kitchen, where Ian and Mickey remained, listening to Debbie’s shrill voice drifting through the floorboards.

“Fine, if I can’t know what’s going on in your life, I guess you don’t need to be in mine anymore!”

“Are you fucking serious, Debbie? Why do you need to know where I am, you can barely handle knowing the whereabouts of your own kid—”

Ian and Mickey traded raised eyebrows while Ian silently took a bite of toast.

“Sandy, get out of this house! I don’t need you and your illegal bullshit anyways, all you’re doing is putting me and Franny at risk with Terry and all of his issues—”

“Okay, little miss perfect, but don’t expect me to give a shit when you come crawling back.”

“Fine!”

The door upstairs finally slammed, and seconds later Sandy came stomping down. She looked at Ian.

“Your prissy fucking sister is a pain in my ass. The sooner your whole family realizes that your garbage father is as bad as Terry is, the sooner you’ll hop off of your superiority complex over the Milkoviches and realize that your way of surviving is literally the same as ours.”

Sandy shoved past the kitchen table and out the back door.

Ian breathed out a laugh. “Well, that was an eventful morning.”

“I’ll say,” Mickey agreed, looking at the door Sandy had just walked through. “Do you think I should go talk to her or some shit?”

Ian shrugged. “Nah, I’m sure it’s fine. I’m sure Sandy’ll grow up and apologize for whatever illegal shit she was doing with Terry, Debs will calm down, and everything will go back to the way it was.”

Mickey looked slightly uncomfortable as he placed his mug down on the table. “I mean, she has got a point. I’m sure whatever Sandy was up to was no big deal, Debbie doesn’t need to be freaking out.”

Ian scoffed. “Yeah, if getting involved in all of your dad’s shit is no big deal. Sandy could at least tell Debs whatever she’s up to, that sounds pretty fair to me.”

Mickey stood up, clearing their plates and walking over to the sink. “Whatever, Gallagher. I’m just saying Sandy does have a point about you being marshmallows. If she’s not telling Debbie what she’s up to, it’s probably for her own good.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Mick? Last time you disappeared on a run with your dad without telling me where you were, I literally thought you murdered our PO. How is that better than just telling me you’re hawking some stolen guns or whatever you get up to?”

Mickey distractedly wrung his hands with the dish towel, looking sightly pissed and defensive that Ian would even bring up that onslaught of memories, of their almost-wedding and Ian’s rejection at the courthouse and everything that followed.

“I don’t know, asshole. Maybe because Sandy’s right, and you all can be a little judgy about all the illegal shit. I get that you’re a goody two shoes breaking your fucking back in a warehouse, but that doesn’t mean that everyone needs to work their ass off to make minimum wage like you. I used to do shit for my dad all the time, so does Sandy and she doesn’t need anyone to be her keeper.”

Ian rolled his eyes, taking a final sip of coffee and standing up. “Alright, whatever. I’m gonna be late.” He pecked the top of Mickey’s head as he put his mug in the sink. “Enjoy your hard day’s work of watching TV and jacking off.”

Mickey turned and flipped him off as Ian strode out of the room.

Later that day, as Ian was mechanically checking expiration dates on an order of off-brand crackers, he couldn’t help but replay he and Mickey’s conversation from that morning over and over in his mind. Was Mickey seriously going to defend Sandy for sneaking with Terry behind Debbie’s back? He knew Mickey didn’t give a shit about making minimum wage right now, but was Mickey really going to spend the rest of his life following in his dad’s footsteps, depending on his next heist for cash? And, worst of all, did that mean he was going to live a life of feeling like he needed to hide every move from Ian? Ian knew what he was signing up for when they got married, that being with Mickey always meant some level of scamming and schmoozing; but for some reason, he thought that now that Mickey and his dad had fallen out that Mickey’s existence would stop being so constantly on the brink of incarceration.

He’d expected marriage to be a partnership—but so far, it felt like he and Mickey were on different pages about pretty much everything.

When Ian finally made it home and stumbled in the front door, tired and bleary, Sandy was still noticeably absent from the Gallagher house. Debbie and Franny were in the kitchen, along with Liam who was muddling through his homework at the table. Ian went upstairs and found Mickey laying on their bed, watching some sort of video on his phone at full volume. He didn’t look up when Ian came into the room.

“Hey, Mick. Can we talk for a sec?” Ian asked, taking off his hat and coat and gingerly placing them on the bottom corner of the bed.

Mickey still didn’t look up from his phone. “Don’t know what the fuck you want to talk about.”

Ian sat on the edge of the bed. “Did… Sandy and Debbie make up yet?”

Mickey huffed. “What d’you think.”

“Guess not. How’s Sandy doing?”

“Don’t know, haven’t heard from her yet. Figure she’s just off somewhere blowing off some steam.”

Ian approached the next topic with caution.

“So, uh, I was thinking. And I think we need to talk again about, y’know, our mutual expectations.”

“This shit again? Listen, we already did this, I know we agreed that we aren’t fucking other people—"

“No, no I mean about other stuff. Not even the money stuff again really, just like… if you’re ever going to go back to doing the shit that Terry does. For example.”

“What the fuck are you even talking about man, you know I don’t talk to that asshole anymore.”

“I know, but—what if you want to do stuff with Sandy, or someone makes you an offer for a big job? What if you end up in jail again? What if you feel the way Sandy does and you feel like you need to hide all this stuff from me, meanwhile I’m just here working my ass off trying to make a life for us—”

Mickey paused the video and finally looked up from the phone.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Gallagher?”

Ian ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I just… I don’t want you to not tell me shit, the way Sandy was with Debbie. I’d rather know what illegal bullshit you’re up to, even if you think it’s going to piss me off. I… I don’t want to lose you again. I don’t want you to have to lie to me, and I don’t want you to go to jail again. I just wanna be on the same page.”

Ian inched his hand over the covers and placed it on top of Mickey’s as he kept talking.

“I know we’ve been fighting a lot lately, not agreeing on stuff. But I just…want you to know that I’m in this. I love you, I’m your fucking husband. I want us to work together, and I don’t want you to think that I can’t handle anything, or that we can’t tackle everything together.”

Ian looked down at their hands, letting the silence swell as he traced Mickey’s palm with his thumb.

“Hey, Gallagher. Look at me.”

Ian met Mickey’s eyes—Mickey was looking directly at him, unguarded and open. It reminded him of the look on Mickey’s face when he had tried to break up with Mickey the first time, back when they were both kids sitting on the front stoop and Mickey had sprinted over when Ian called; when Mickey had split himself open, had told Ian how much he loved him, through sickness and health and everything they were about to go through.  

“Sandy’s got her own bullshit to learn. About people caring about her, caring where she is, caring if she throws her life away. But I’ve been here this whole time, and I’ve learned that. Why do you think I used to throw myself into as much risky bullshit as I could, before I was locked up? I was losing myself in everything, because all I ever wanted was this.”

He put his hand up to Ian’s face—a small gesture, but probably the most intimate touch he’d given Ian in weeks. It stung like ice and fire on Ian’s cheek, like electricity was flickering where his fingertips met Ian’s skin.

“I’ve pointed a glock at my asshole dad’s head and been willing to take the bullet for this. I’m not getting involved in any shit that can take you away from me, Gallagher. Am I going to stop forging my payroll for my PO? Or stop selling shitty expired brownie mix? Probably not. But I’m not gonna do anything risky, anything that might take me away from you for good. Never was.”

Ian sighed. He was being stupid, and he knew that. But between all of their senseless bickering the last few weeks, he couldn’t help but worry that Mickey was feeling more and more indifferent about this whole marriage situation, or getting restless about being pinned down. He listened earnestly as Mickey continued talking.

“How many times have I told you—my family was never there for me. You’re the only family I need. And I made that shit official when I put a ring on your finger, or I guess when I forced you to put one on mine. I’ve always been there for you, I’m always gonna be there for you. We fought long and hard enough for this, Gallagher. You just gotta believe in me.”

There it was—that fondness in Mickey’s eyes, the softness that he tried to hard to hide, but showed up anyways as he was tying Ian’s tie, or holding him close through a wave of depression, or kissing his forehead when he gave Ian his meds. Mickey was never going to let anything come between them again, not after all the pitfalls and heartbreak they’d been through—Ian realized that now, even more than he already had.

“I know, Mick. I believe you.”

“You’d better, asshole. Now c’mere.”

Mickey led Ian’s chin forward, and their lips met—just a ghost of a touch, at first, but it made Ian grab the back of Mickey’s neck and pull him in closer, fiercely slotting their lips together again and again.  

They broke apart, and Ian smiled sheepishly. “Sorry for freaking out.”

“I’m all yours, Mr. Milkovich. Whatever shit our families get into can’t change that.”

[tabloidtoc]

Us, May 3

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Pregnant Meghan Markle: My Baby, My Way

Page 2: Red Carpet -- rufflemania -- Hollywood style stars are tier-ing it up in this flattering design with feminine flair -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Kaitlyn Dever, Margot Robbie, Logan Browning, Nicola Coughlan

Page 3: Lizzo, Maude Apatow, Lucy Boynton, Jessica Alba, Lily Collins

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Anya Taylor-Joy vs. Isla Fisher vs. Regina King in Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Shonda Rhimes on the intense backlash she received over Rege-Jean Page's exit from Bridgerton, Kelly Ripa on her most embarrassing interview, Luke Bryan on his mother LeClaire's Instagram fame, Blake Shelton on The Voice's new coach Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon joking about wearing bottoms that aren't sweatpants

Page 8: Contents

Page 10: A Final Farewell to Prince Philip, his four children Prince Charles and Princess Anne and Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were among the loved ones who participated in the emotional ceremony, feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William (and his wife Duchess Kate) put their differences aside after the intimate service, due to Covid-19 protocols the grieving Queen Elizabeth stayed socially distant from the other 29 people who attended the funeral for her husband of 73 years

Page 11: ACM Awards 2021 -- Maren Morris teamed up with her husband Ryan Hurd and won Female Artist of the Year, Thomas Rhett won Male Artist of the Year, Carrie Underwood took the stage

Page 12: Hot Pics -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore an orange coat during a visit to NYC, John Stamos plays a coach on the TV show Big Shot, Zach Braff goofed around on the set of Cheaper by the Dozen in L.A.

Page 13: Eva Longoria on her trampoline while aboard a yacht in Miami, Howie Mandel arrived to the set of America's Got Talent dressed as a bug in Pasadena

Page 14: Jon Hamm and his rescue dog Splash strolled around the neighborhood in L.A., Heidi Klum in all white in Pasadena, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry take a stroll in L.A.

Page 15: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes held hands after dinner at Il Segreto in L.A., Patrick Dempsey shot a scene for his show Devils in Rome

Page 16: Rachel Brosnahan in a blue dress and carrying a clear umbrella on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in NYC, Lin-Manuel Miranda at the opening of a vaccination center for Broadway workers in Times Square, Trisha Yearwood feeds one of her rescue pups

Page 18: Gen Z Has Spoken -- these celebs are making the young kids proud -- Baggy Jeans -- Hailey Bieber, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bella Hadid

Page 19: Middle Parts -- Busy Philipps, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, baguette bags -- Dua Lipa, Elsa Hosk, Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner

Page 20: Seeing Double -- stars bear a striking resemblance to their famous counterparts -- Elizabeth Banks and Chelsea Handler, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Nina Dobrev, Betty Gilpin and Jodie Comer

Page 21: Rob Lowe and Ian Somerhalder, Jaime Pressly and Margot Robbie, Isla Fisher and Amy Adams, Rupert Grint and Ed Sheeran, Kyle Richards and Kacey Musgraves

Page 22: Clueless Crew -- stars are totally buggin' over Cher Horowitz's style in yellow plaid -- Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Katie Holmes was rollin' with her homie beau Emilio Vitolo Jr. in NYC, Vanessa Hudgens, Dianna Agron

Page 23: Gabrielle Union

Page 24: Stars They're Not Like Us -- Jay Leno took one of his vintage automobiles out for a spin in L.A., Chrissy Teigen and John Legend took a selfie with a fan while grocery shopping in Beverly Hills, Kylie Jenner has custom vending machines

Page 25: Carrie Underwood in her massive walk-in closet, Denzel Washington signs autographs for fans in NYC, Megan Thee Stallion on a private plane, Drake and his bodyguard in Beverly Hills

Page 26: Stars They're Just Like Us -- Sarah Jessica Parker catches a yellow cab after working at her shoe store in NYC, Brad Paisley picked up five pizzas to go in Montecito

Page 27: Kelly Osbourne handed out goods at a drive-thru food distribution event at the Islamic Center of Southern California, HGTV's Egypt Sherrod transformed her closet into a meditation space in Atlanta, in between filming Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T take a selfie

Page 28: Hollywood Dads -- Scott Porter on parenting his two kids McCoy and Clover

Page 29: Jonathan Tucker on life with twins Hayes and India, parenthood is a lot tougher than Jovi Dufren imagined, Maksim Chmerkovskiy can't wait to show son Shai his work

Page 30: Love Lives -- Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are showing no signs of slowing down -- the pair enjoyed a night out in L.A. hotspot Delilah where they were holding hands and laughing and they're not hiding the fact that they're dating but they just don't want people in their business -- they're a good match and are each other's best friend

Page 31: Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber may look like the picture-perfect couple, but Justin admits that their first year of marriage wasn't what he expected, saying it was really tough and there was just a lack of trust and he blamed the strain on his own personal struggles and said before he didn't have someone to love or someone to pour into but now, more than two years after exchanging vows with Hailey, he has that

* Kacey Musgraves' romance with Dr. Gerald Onuoha is giving her butterflies -- the pair are so happy they found each other and while Kacey, who split from her husband Ruston Kelly last summer, is trying not to get too ahead of herself, her connection to the Nashville-based doc is off the charts and it's got the potential to go a very long way

* Today's Savannah Guthrie is thankful to have husband Michael Feldman in her life, especially given the demands of her early morning work schedule

Page 32: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are getting serious -- all the details on their whirlwind romance

Page 33: Adapting to parenthood has been a breeze for Emma Stone and she's soaking in all the precious moments of being a mom for the first time -- she and husband Dave McCary welcomed their baby daughter in March and Emma is super protective and a very hands-on mom and Dave is also hands-on and helps with their daughter -- thanks to the little one, Emma's marriage with the comedian has also gotten stronger and having a baby has brought them closer in a way they never expected -- Emma is looking forward to getting back to work; she's taken this time off to embrace motherhood and her number one priority is to raise a healthy baby so that's what she's focused on right now

* Britney Spears is setting the record straight -- despite her ongoing conservatorship battle with her dad, Jamie Spears, she is doing totally fine, assuring fans that she's extremely happy and she has a beautiful home, beautiful children and she's taking a break right now because she's enjoying herself -- although the legal drama with her father is heating up, Britney is staying strong and she has this wonderful ability to see the positive even when the odds are against her

* Keeping Up With Us -- production for the Downton Abbey sequel is underway, Mossimo Giannulli is a free man, Chrissy Teigen returned to Twitter 23 days after announcing that she was leaving the platform, Vanessa Bryant remembered her late husband Kobe Bryant on what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary, Helen McCrory lost her battle with cancer at age 52 according to her husband Damian Lewis

Page 34: A Day in My Life -- Whitney Port

Page 35: Colton Underwood is ready to live his truth -- during an interview on Good Morning America, the former Bachelor came out as gay, saying he's run from himself for a long time and he came to terms with his sexuality earlier this year and he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been -- now that he feels like he can finally breathe, Colton is excited for his next chapter, which fans will get to see on an upcoming reality show with Olympian Gus Kenworthy -- a huge weight has been lifted off of Colton's shoulders and he is looking forward to being his authentic self

Page 36: Moms Tell All -- Happy Mother's Day! From milestones and manners to rules and nanny-bans, celebs and insiders talk about raising kids in Hollywood

Page 37: Bindi Irwin says life at home with her daughter Grace Warrior has been positively blissful and her family with dad Chandler Powell is so full of love, adding that the newborn has already met some of the wildlife at the Australia Zoo where Bindi and Chandler live and work and of course she's seen some crocs and really lit up when she saw them -- while the Aussie conservationist is sad Grace won't get to meet her late dad Steve Irwin, Bindi's brother Robert Irwin and mom Terri Irwin have been by her side constantly and Robert is obsessed with Grace and has been helping out so much and her mom has been the biggest guiding light and she's already taught Bindi so much about being a mother, both in how she raised her and by showing her things day by day and Terri is quite the baby whisperer and she's so great a calming Grace down when she's crying -- first-time father Chandler is also a natural with Grace and he's been the most supportive and involved dad and together, he and Bindi make such a great team -- for now, Bindi, who stars with Chandler in Crikey! It's a Baby!, is hoping Grace will follow in her animal-activist footsteps, saying having three generations of strong women working as conservationists is a dream come true

* Jennifer Garner said teaching your kids is a lifelong job, and certainly values are something you have to show them -- Jennifer, who shares kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex Ben Affleck, is staying true to her word and has led by example when it comes to things like kindness and patience and she won't let anyone in the house to judge or speak ill of people, and she enforces the same wholesome, traditional values that she was raised with and the kids have been taught to be loving, hardworking and fair -- Jennifer has always taken a kids-come-first approach to parenting, and it shows as they bake together, enjoy movie nights, read books and have very active lives and it's a very healthy, happy household filled with laughter and love

Page 38: Gwen Stefani has her hands full with her sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, but she wouldn't want it any other way -- Gwen's a tomboy, so having three boys wasn't daunting for her at all, plus she has fiance Blake Shelton by her side to pitch in with parenting duties and Gwen and the boys have a blast at Blake's ranch in Oklahoma where they enjoy riding their ATVs, and they play baseball and football -- it's not all fun and games, though because Gwen is big on boundaries and manners and she doesn't want to raise Hollywood brats and it's important to her that her sons be gentlemen

* Meghan Markle's pregnancy with Archie was no walk in the park, as she revealed during her bombshell TV interview with husband Prince Harry, the couple had concerns over whether or not the royal family would provide security for their son and claimed there were conversations about his skin color -- but this time around, as Meghan and Harry gear up for baby No. 2 at home in L.A., she's doing everything her way, without the royals and Meghan and Harry feel blessed that they're able to raise their daughter in the U.S. and can live by their own rules and make the decisions they feel are best for their children; having independence is the most important thing for Meghan and she's got free rein to be exactly the kind of mom she wants to be -- her parenting style is really like most mothers out there, and she's been craving pasta and doing yoga two times a day as her due date nears and she keeps a lot of art supplies out to foster creativity and healthy snacks around and she's a devoted mom and wants the best for her kids

Page 39: Kate Hudson has a lot on her plate, so the mom of three, who shares son Ryder with former husband Chris Robinson and son Bingham with ex Matt Bellamy and daughter Rani with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa, knows when to put her foot down as things can get a little overwhelming at times for Kate, but when she says no, it absolutely means no, and the kids respect her very much because of that

* Gigi Hadid, who shares daughter Khai with boyfriend Zayn Malik, wants to spend every waking moment with her precious little girl -- Gigi could easily afford to employ a team of nannies but chooses not to and she prefers to do everything herself and besides, she can't bear to be away from Khai for more than a few hours

* Candace Cameron Bure's three grown kids are flying the coop, but she's still super involved in their lives, despite slowly becoming an empty nester -- the mom of Natasha, Lev, and Maksim with former hockey player Valeri Bure says it's been a very transitional time and she's been trying to help them make decisions they feel good about and it's challenging, but they're figuring it out

Page 40: Oh, Baby! Meghan Markle's due date is just around the corner, and here are all the details

* Bump Brigade -- Halsey, Gal Gadot, Shawn Johnson East

Page 42: 10 Years of the Cambridges -- a look back at Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton's solid marriage for their anniversary

Page 44: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: What Really Happened -- cheating and lies? The truth behind J.Lo's split from fiance A-Rod

Page 45: Friendliest Exes -- these former couples managed to stay close after going their separate ways -- Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz

Page 48: Gifts for Mother's Day

Page 54: Entertainment -- Ben Barnes on Shadow and Bone

Page 58: Fashion Police -- the most daring Oscars looks -- Bjork, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron

Page 59: Rachel Weisz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga

Page 60: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me -- Julia Michaels

[arrowflier]

Hi! Love your daily speedwrites and I look forward to them everyday! Can you write a fic where Ian and Mickey are like in their mid to late 30s/early 40s and they're dealing with their preteen kids? Babysat my niece (11) and nephew (7) today and boy they're a handful. Made me wonder how Ian and Mickey would handle the kind of meltdowns I dealt with today. Thanks!!

Here goes nothing! I don't remember being either of those ages and have no kids in my life lol so we'll see how this goes.

"Ian, have you seen your daughter's shoes?" Mickey calls from the living room.

Ian, busy putting together lunches in the kitchen, rolls his eyes and shouts back, "Which daughter?"

"Jesus, Ian, I'm right fucking here," Mickey complains from behind him, having apparently extended his search to the space under the kitchen table. "And which one do you think, asshole, the one that can't tie her shoes yet."

"Really?" Ian muses as he slices a sandwich in two and places each half in a separate ziploc bag. "I thought you were working on that, Brit had it down when she was six."

"That's because the Brat," Mickey answers as he moves on to poke through the mess of jackets and bags at the back door, "takes after me. Kid handles shit."

"And Mina doesn't?" Ian asks, affronted, and Mickey straightend up just enough to give him an annoyed look.

"No, she doesn't," he says, then expands, "your little Minnow keeps following in your footsteps."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ian questions.

And, as if on cue, a blood-curdling shriek sounds from the next room.

"Give it back!" comes a different voice, cutting through the wordless scream, and Ian and Mickey meet each other's eyes with twin looks of horror.

"Not it," they claim at the same time, then Mickey is shoving Ian through the archway into the other room.

"Already dealing with her other stupid shit," he mutters under his breath, kicking at the back of Ian's leg when he doesn't move fast enough. "You get to deal with this stupid shit."

Then he abandons Ian and high-tails it back to the kitchen, leaving his husband to face two screeching children on his own.

Ian sighs at the image before him. Little Mina is clutching a book to her chest, yelling in her sister's face as Brit tries to take it back from her. Brit is clearly getting increasingly frustrated, and when she starts clawing at her little sister's arms, Ian steps in.

"Hey, hey, no," he chastises, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back. "You know we don't do that."

Mina struggles in his hold, but he tightens his grip until she stops, pouting sullenly and glaring daggers at Mina, who had finally stopped screaming when Ian appeared.

"But she took it," Brit whines, halfheartedly slapping at Ian's hands. "I was reading it, and she came up and she took it from me."

Mina just blinks innocently, her big doe eyes shining. "My book," she asserts, hugging it and twisting her body back and forth.

Ian represses the urge to roll his eyes at her.

"Mina," he starts gently--maybe too gently, by the way Brit immediately scoffs--, "You can't even read yet."

"Can too," Mina insists. "Daddy let me read the...the...," she pauses, searching for the word she wanted. "The letter!" she finally finishes triumphantly, and Ian feels his eyebrows rising.

"Did he now?" he asks, but Brit cuts him off with a snort.

"She means a letter," she tells their father. "Dad taught her one letter yesterday, and now she thinks she can read!"

Ian sighs again. It feels like he's always doing that, lately. Thankfully, he's saved from having to continue the mediation by Mickey popping his head in from the kitchen.

"Hey, bus is here!" he informs them. "Come on rugrats, get moving. Mina, come here so I can get your damn shoes on."

Mina goes running, dropping the book to the ground now that new events have her attention.

"But my book," Brit whines when Ian starts pushing her toward the door at the opposite side of the room.

"Will be here when you get back," he promises. "And you can even read in our room after school if you want."

"Can I lock the door?" Brit asks as she gets her own shoes on and grabs her backpack.

"We'll see," Ian compromises, and takes the lunchbag Mickey passes to him as he enters the room behind a running Mina in her light-up tennis shoes.

He tucks the bag into the backpack Brit is already wearing, opens the door, and ushers them both out. The girls both run down the front steps and along the sidewalk to the corner where the school bus awaits, looking back at their dads once they get in line to board.

Ian lifts a hand to wave goodbye.

"Thank god they're someone else's problem for a few hours," Ian murmurs, his smile barely shifting as he continues to wave them off.

"Tell me about it," Mickey agrees, hiding his own face in a mug of stale coffee.

"You're on laundry duty, by the way," Mickey adds as the bus pulls away and they turn to head into the house. "Had to strip the sheets again this morning."

Ian lets his head fall with a groan, and Mickey just pats him on the back on his way inside.

"And you better hurry up," he tacks on, "cause we got pickups today, Red."

Ian groans again, planting his hands on the porch railing so he can lean over and glare at the ground. If he had realized having his own kids was this much harder than watching his siblings, maybe he wouldn't have pushed so hard for it.

With a final sigh, he gets up, and gets to it.

[lyselkatzhappynerding]

Band of Brothers bibliography

Non-exhaustive list, only my 506th PIR Easy Co/101st Airborne related readings so far:

🦅 Stephen Ambrose - Band of brothers

Only kinda mandatory because the show is based on it but to be taken with a pinch of salt.

🦅 Dick Winters - Beyond Band of brothers

Very interesting to read Winters' own words. Although not my fav because it's (unsurprisingly) very factual and analytical. Good for historical/chronological reference.

🦅 Cole Kingseed - Conversations with Major Dick Winters

Interesting, mostly focused on Winters' leadership qualities

🦅 Larry Alexander - Biggest Brother

❤ A fave! The approach is more personal and human (also most of the nuggets about Nixon are from this book).

🦅 Don Malarkey/Bob Welsh - Easy company soldier

❤ A fave!!! Little warning, it's pretty melancholic, I always cry a lot rereading. (If I loved TV!Skip before, I totally fell in love with he real guy after that, second hand feels and all)

🦅 William Guarnere/Edward Heffon/ Robyn Post - Brothers in battle, best of friends:

❤ A fave!!! This one is both hilarious and devastating -because war is hell. (I usually reread a chapter after Malarkey's to soothe my poor little heart.)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton - Shifty's war

❤A fave!!! Biography written with 1st person POV, Shifty's voice is beautifully captured. (It's so heartwarming, I'm in perpetual beaming "Awwwwww" mood)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton - A company of heroes (anthology):

❤A fave. Individual focus on a selection of biographies with testimonials from their family. (I totally fell in love with Smokey reading this one)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton - We who are alive and remain (anthology): Global retelling of the whole story with multiple accounts.

🦅 Larry Alexander - In the footsteps of the Band of brothers, Return to Easy Company's Battlefields with Sgt. Forrest Guth

What the title promises! Prepare the travel bucket list!

🦅 David Kenyon Webster- Parachute infantry

I was a little refractory at first, because it looks like it was a big referencee in the writing of BoB and I'm still salty about Ambrose's work.

That being said, it's interesting as an individual's experience of the war and gives little details on the sceneries and every day activities of a private.

🦅 Chris Langlois - How Easy Company Became A Band of Brothers

❤ A lovely book for younger audiences from Doc Roe's grandson. Beautifully illustrated by Anneke Helleman.

🦅 Ed Shames/Ian Gardner - Airborn, the combat story of Ed Shames,Easy company

(Quite salty) POV from the (at some point) 3rd platoon leader (A little mention of Nixon, whom Shames found difficult to work with, in S2)

🦅 Marcus Brotherton/Lynn Compton - Call of duty: I've tried to read that one several time but it just doesn't speak to me

🦅 Donald Burgett - Currahee/The road to Arnhem/Seven Roads to Hell/Beyond the Rhine

Easy reading, the whole ride from an Able company paratrooper's POV, same kind of personal memoirs packed with interesting details like Webster's (with less complaining 😂).

🦅 Ian Gardner - Tonight We Die As Men/ Deliver Us From Darkness/ No Victory in Valhalla

Following the 506 PIR 3rd battalion. A bit heavy but interesting for a larger view of the actions (from the battalion Doc Roe couldn't find in Bastogne, lost his way)

*The short documentary film "Seize and hold Carentan" by N3DLand follows this battalion.

🦅 George Koskimaki - D-Day with the Screaming Eagles/ Hell's Highway/Battered Bastards of Bastogne 

Very information packed collection of personnal recollections. A bit confusing if you are not already familiar with the subject.

(I only picked bits of each book so far, wanting to find out what happened to the 326 airborne medical unit. Also interesting for Lipton and other vets' recollections)

🦅 Charles Whiting - American Eagle

Very interesting, from an non American POV. I learnt about some stuffs only mentioned in passing or not at all, like the disaster of operation tiger in Slapton sand, or that the higher command wasn't exactly confident about the efficiency of such airborne units until Bastogne.

🦅🏥 Paul Woodadge - Angels of Mercy: Two Screaming Eagle Medics in Angoville-au-Plain on D-Day

❤ Medics!! The title says it all. Beautiful story. The medics are from the 501st PIR

*There's a WWII Foundation documentary "Eagles of Mercy" about this.

🦅 Robert Bowen - Fighting with the Screaming Eagles

Interesting personnal account from a glider's pov (401st glider infantry regiment) and life as a POW captured in the Battle of the Bulge.

🏥 Martin King - Searching for Augusta: the forgotten angel of Bastogne

❤ Remember the black nurse "Anna" in Bastogne? Her real name is Augusta Chiwy and that's her amazing story. (Just be aware that the author is a bit "salty" towards Renée Lemaire, more likely about the spotlight she received while Augusta was forgotten for so long)

*The book has a documentary counterpart.

🦈David Kenyon Webster - Myth and maneater: The story of the shark

❤ Don't mind the sensationalist cover choice from the publisher who finally accepted to publish it (posthumously), profiting from the cinematic success of Jaws.

It's beautifully and humorously written, very interesting and surprisingly ahead of its time (1960s) viewing sharks as much more than bloodthirsty monster.

[valaks]

Hey Valaks! I love your blog and your writing!

Please could you do 1, 10 and 18 for the writing asks?? 🌺

Thank you for the ask! I have added a cut to hopefully not be that person clogging up the feed XD

1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

I have a few collabs outstanding like Gemini and a Kabir/Alex sequel to Reunion (It’s rated T at the most so still kid friendly) with Lupin and Devil Went Down to Georgia with Galimau. My utter love for both of my collab partners for pulling me through at a time when I’ve been really struggling. I have a WIPs List but I’ll confess to not having touched most of them in quite sometime (partly from life, partly because I’m not sure how interesting they’d be to anyone else other than me which influences my writing more than I would like to admit):

Good Intentions: Smithers never thought he’d be anyone’s moral compass, he was no angel to sit in anyone’s shoulder but trying to keep Alex Rider from following in the ruthless footsteps of his father or worse his former handler, Alan Blunt is as close to hell as he can imagine. (Wherein Alex becomes head of MI6 we watch his morality slip away form the eyes of an increasingly frustrated and heartbroken Smithers - it all culminates when Alex uses a child “just as an informant, simple information gathering” but hidden behind the charming smile of John Rider and the brutal coldness of Alan Blunt’s words is Alex Rider dying as he says them (Smithers just hopes there’s still a part of the boy he once knew in there to mourn)

Walk the Line: Alex thought he was done with SCORPIA. But they kept creeping back into his life in the most unexpected of ways. He thought he could at least count on it being on the other side until he gets teamed up with Walker, his former classmate and current CIA spy. Unfortunately he still hasn’t been able to figure out whose side Walker is really on - attempted deep cover op like his dad, repatriated rogue spy back on the “good” side, or SCORPIA double agent? He doesn’t know but at least he’s nice....in that obnoxious American way.

Temperamental: (Sequel to Sentimental which isn’t all that popular and you would need to read it for the sequel but basically amnesiac Yassen whose memories stop pre John’s betrayal set during the Stormbreaker mission and features him trying to come to grips with the use of chemical weapons against children and how to handle Alex once he snaps back to reality which is where this starts) Yassen had promised Alex Rider that he would be safe from the world of spying but fate had other ideas. In the days after Sarov’s failed plan, Yassen scrambles to find where MI6 have hidden his wayward charge without drawing Rothman’s attention. A request from one of their existing clients to look into suspicious activity at his son’s former school prompts Yassen to investigate under the guise of offering security. He should have known where there was trouble there would be Alex.

10. How would you describe your writing process?

Lordy do I ever not have a good answer for this. Typically it involves an idea hitting me and then the determination: would this idea work better as a short to post on tumblr (because the set up would take away the tension or would require a multi chapter which is not really my strength), as a prompt to lob out into the ether for someone better and brighter to touch on, or a fic. Once fic is decided I determine whose perspective the fic would be the most interesting from either because it would create the most tension or their internal monologue/background knowledge would add the most to it. Then the summary is written and a title is chosen. If it’s something I’m really passionate about and I already have it in my head I tend to write it all in one go, if there’s more I need to chew on then it’s a series of dates with the Evil Writing App. The final determination is whether it’s good enough for Valaks or if it gets sent to an alt account.

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

Allegedly. I’ll try to go in order of posting -

Ruthless has a sequel where Alex just goes *quiet* once the initial dust as settled it’s unnerving to everyone because they’re not used to having to wonder just what Alex is thinking, at least not behind closed doors but what happened isn’t exactly something that can be recovered from easily, not when Alex isn’t sure who all’s in on it no matter what they’ve told him. Failure is the AU where I considered what would happen to Alex to make him want to torture.

Alibi was originally going to have Yassen show up in the end but I found it far more fascinating if MI6 was just testing Alex so out went Yassen and in went Ben. The sequel to it was torn apart and turned into Warm Reception because I wanted to trope flip SCORPIA comes to Brooklands and decided that it was more logical to have a small fight in Mrs. Bedfordshire’s lobby than anywhere else and I wanted to explore some side characters instead of Ben.

Providence’s sequel thoughts ended up inspiring Gentleman’s Agreement but I did write a small short for it “Yassen and Alex encounter each other on mission. Surprisingly they are working to mostly the same goal - Yassen needs to kill the millionaire who Alex needs to get information from. “I suppose I could answer some questions for you, Sasha. /In Russian/“ “Is now really the time for a language lesson?” he ground out in frustration but the man pointedly ignored him “/Fine but I don’t know some of the words/“ “/Then there is no better way to learn/“

I mentioned the Sentimental sequel but changing Sarov to come first and probable for almost a month before Yassen figures out he’s missing made the most sense. It was also a bit of fun at the Yassen would absolutely take Alex away from MI6....just to throw him in a school and throw away the key. Almost had him send him to Point Blanc but decided that wouldn’t quite fit all that well and wouldn’t be as interesting as if Alex had already gotten his feet back under him with MI6 and now sees that Yassen was right that MI6 would just use him until he’s dead but that doesn’t mean Alex wants to be anywhere near Yassen. Julia Rothman might have other ideas when she finds out what her newest second in command is hiding.

Gentleman’s Agreement.....there’s a lot of thoughts on Sequels and AUs, a lot of them have been written by better people, but that fic was written in 45 minutes so there wasn’t much time to recharacterize or change scenes. It did get Turncoat aka the Alex saves Yassen fic I wanted so badly.

Blood Brothers is a fic I really worked hard on considering how John would feel about his son being thrown into SCORPIA assuming Alex was of age. A rocky marriage was characterization that didn’t quite fit what I imagined would have happened but did fit the story so it stayed in. It was a fic that was supposed to get expanded on - the competition between Hunter and Yassen and Nile and Alex who is desperate to beat his Dad and his “apprentice”. I think two teenagers thrown against each other with a bit of a bone to pick, especially Yassen and Alex who can both hold a grudge even if one runs hot and the other runs cold, would have been compelling and a little fun but the premise and specifically John’s characterization doesn’t quite work out to me.

Found and Legends both have their plotting done but it’ll never see the light of day

Little Moments and Sweetest Thing were my guilty pleasure writing pieces for a while and I have about 1000 DMs of scenes for both of them that are lost to the sands of time and an embarrassing amount of self indulgence

Mates has a follow up ending for those who needed resolution in the comments of it. I’m not sure I did a good job of showing that Tom was in a semi abusive relationship since a lot of people seemed to blame him for him and Alex’s breakup. Most of my headcanons for how their relationship goes have them splitting much sooner just because of Tom’s own home life and either being unable to relate/talk to Alex and drifting away because his Mom throwing a plate at his head isn’t being hung over crocodiles but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt or because Alex is just too dangerous/jumpy to be thrown back into a school environment and lashes out even unintentionally especially not under the pressure of being seen as a failure. School is also a barometer of just how much he’s lost of himself and his childhood, bonus points for Alex being completely upfront with Tom about everything he’s done

In My Sights has an AU where this is all post Christmas at Gunpoint and Yassen is there because he knows Ian is already at Sayle’s factory and will have to be...handled. So two weeks of just getting Alex trained for the protection he might need, connecting him to resources, etc. Ian finding out that Yassen had been there was part of a draft at one point which was included Alex wondering about an all too sincere goodbye from Ian “who never hugged him” but I can’t find the snippet anymore ;__;

A Warm Reception was an alternate version. Originally I wanted it to be Alex watching his last chance at normality slip from his fingers and then the crushing realization that it was something that was his own doing, not even MI6 but Skoda who he had picked a fight with and the accompanying breakdown but then decided that Mrs. Bedfordshire was the right way to go upon writing the summary. Because everyone loves some Outsider POV

Adopted was supposed to be a one chapter throw away trope flip of K Unit adopts Alex. I kept it pretty consistent with Amitai and Lil Lupin’s K Units, tried to add in some more characterization just in how they treated some of the details. It has an alt ending/chapter where they find out Alex is Cub when they pull him from Three’s tender mercies almost by accident. I was persuaded into light humored fluff via guilt trip.

The Truth and Other Deadly Weapons has Ben acting exactly like he think he would in front of everyone but my AU was that this interaction happened in the field and absolutely shattered Ben’s trust in him partly because he had worked for the other side and partly because even if it ‘wasn’t as bad as it looks’ it showed a severe lack of judgment. It also featured several chapters of Alex running into the glass ceiling that is having “Member Malogosto Class of 2004” on your resume. Was going to feature Alex running into Walker as well and into problems within MI6 and the CIA but that was eventually cut and it was kept to one chapter.

Guardian....Guardian holds a very special place in my heart. I was given the prompt of a Monster Fic and I wrote what I knew but the interesting parts were all the ones that come after the story but might come across to a general audience as Hogwarts School of Prayers and Miracles. The plotting done post this was going to feature baby Angel Alex reuniting with his parents but...they were strangers to him and so he stayed with Yassen more and more, followed him, learned from him....it encompassed everything from the dynamics of broken families to reflections on theology and references from the Good Book....which is why it’ll never see the fandom but has a very special place in my heart.

In another, more perfect world Glocking Around the Christmas Tree is the Die hard fic this fandom deserves but as Lupin and I untangled the plot of the movie more and more we just couldn’t make it into anything that would be coherent on paper so it was changed and changed and is now a half finished sad abomination that sits on my works list only because Lupin would kill me if I took it down.

Hot Shot was supposed to feature my current favorite character that is not Nile Abara, John Crawley but I wimped out and changed it at the end because I swore I would write the Crawley fic that we all need. Hear me out: John Crawley knew and worked with John and Ian Rider, was respected by both of them, was recruited by SCORPIA within one year in the field, is the Chief of Staff of MI6, the man who “no one gets a knife in the back without him signing off” and is also the man who walks his dog to check on Alex. There’s a mentorship waiting to happen there, preferably in a nice work study program during college where Alex finally gets to see the repercussions of his missions and Crawley helps try and pull him back from the black mark that SCORPIA would have put on him.

My personal fluffy favorite is the spinoff of Devil Went Down to Georgia where Joe Byrne did pull Alex out post Skeleton Key and brought him home. There’s a pretty extended one about where Tom ends up after Mates. There’s also an actual sequel but ask me no questions and all.

Skipping a few collabs and Febuwhump fics but Burning Questions was just supposed to be Branded - a fic where upon being captured by Razim he is brought in and forcibly branded to differentiate the appearances of Alex and Julius (since Razim has decided to have him killed after shooting the Secretary of State). As a result of the pain levels spiking when Alex actually sees that the SCORPIA logo is branded onto his cheek Razim considers that emotional pain might be something to investigate. There’s a couple thousand words on it, one day I might polish it up.

First Impressions is supposed to be a mirror verse of Alex working for MI6 which includes Three as Blunt, Rothman as Jones and of course Sagitta as K Unit while he’s up against his father as Yassen and Yassen as Crawley. But it was cut down significantly even if the ideas are pretty fun to consider.

Sorry this was probably more than you bargained for but it was fun to get everything out there so thank you for asking

[galactichoneybee92]

The Problem With Spinning Out and Zero Chill

Okay so spoilers. All the spoilers. Go into this at your own risk because every possible spoiler for both shows. Also: I will be speaking about these two shows with the assumption that readers have seen both and as such, will not need a summary of either. Okay, still here? Cool. 

I have no big hot take, just some observations that I would like to put out into the universe in regards to Netflix’s two most recent ice skating shows. Because I have a lot of thoughts, and also one big question for anyone who can maybe help me? 

For starters, Spinning Out and Zero Chill are both Netflix originals that premiered around approximately the same time, both of which feature figure skating as a backdrop for a lot of interpersonal drama surrounding the characters. It’s wonderful, because while I’m not very invested in sports I adore figure skating- It’s beautiful and fun to watch even if you don’t know a lot of the technical aspects or the names of the moves. However, for centering around the same sport the two shows are very different. Also, Spinning Out has already been confirmed to have been cancelled after the first season, while the future of Zero Chill is still up in the air.

In regards to personal preference, I liked Spinning Out a lot more than Zero Chill. It had a love story for me to invest myself in, as well as some messy, dramatic family dynamics, and overall the show was a lot more mature. I suspect that this may have actually been to the show’s detriment but that’s for later. In contrast, I found Zero Chill to be fluffy to the point of an ABC Family special. 

Do you remember those? Shows like Switched at Birth or Secret Life of the American Teenager, that tried to tackle big mature topics while keeping things family friendly? Do you remember how the writing was usually pretty sub par and the drama all seemed super contrived because there was only so much they could actually do within their given boundaries, so they made a much bigger deal out of small issues than they deserved? Yeah. Zero Chill felt like that. For example, the “hazing” from the hockey team was to...put balloons in his locker? And that was a...major diss? Worth getting super pissed? Idk. It’s just that, without the confines of being family-friendly day time programing, I have come to expect more from Netflix original programming. 

Alternatively, Spinning Out may have veered too far into the dark and gritty spectrum. If I had to guess where it failed, I would say that it introduced A LOT of drama, all within the first season and at times felt, overwrought. I think Spinning Out could have done with slowing down and taking a breath. Draw things out. Have the mother slowly escalate her abuse, stop and start with her medication, stretch out the love triangle between Kat, Justin, and Marcus. When I first started watching I thought that maybe Marcus would be Kat’s Luke Danes. Like throughout the show she dates other people, but eventually she realizes that she loves him and they end up together but...nope. The show established pretty early on that we were not going to have an epic, interracial friends to lovers romance. And I loved the enemies to lovers romance we got between her a Justin (Though I really think it should have taken longer. I liked that they hooked up before and that he was kinda low key pining but stretch it out. Sloooooooow buuuuuuuurn. Make it goooood. I want to feel the pining.) but it did feel like the cop out answer. And then they immediately introduce a black female character because apparently in the year 2021 we still have shows with exactly 2 black characters that are there to date each other. Like fuck, even South Park has made fun of that trope, it’s time to move past it. 

Secondly I think that it’s super out of character for Kat to ever go off her medicine, even if it is to help her skating. It’s the same way I felt when they introduced Ian’s mental Illness in Shameless. Like, maybe it’s a thing that people do and if you’ve known people that act this was in these scenarios than sure, maybe I’m wrong. But it just feels like they go to so much effort to show the effect that their parent’s mental illness has on them and their life when left untreated, they establish the characters as grown up too quickly, forced to mature due to their parent’s poor choices, and then just decide to have them follow in their mother’s footsteps when the plot demands more drama. I hated that as a choice for Ian and I hated it for Kat. Partly because I feel like it’s very out of character and cop-out writing, and also because I feel like if they had to do it at all it should have been later on in the series. 

One advantage that Zero Chill had for me over Spinning Out is that at least the characters were consistent. In this case I’m speaking mostly about Kayla, but also some of the others. Sure, I found Kayla’s impulsivity annoying instead of charming like I feel was the intent, but I liked her friendship with Skye arguably more than Kat’s friendship with Jenn. Mostly because Skye was pretty chill throughout the entirely of the show while Jenn would go from hot to cold and back. Do I think it’s stupid that Kayla and Skyle’s big storyline was “I want to skate with my BFF but regulations don’t allow it?” Yes. You’ve already established that Kayla doesnt care about competitions. The only time she ever did was because she wanted to skate with her OTHER BFF. So like....just skate now? You have Skye’s mom’s approval at this point, it doesn’t have to go anywhere. But at least the two seemed to genuinely be friends. Kat and Jenn started off with potential but then turned fairly toxic. Kat was never that supportive of Jenn, always wrapped up in her own stuff and Jenn just got crazy at the end there. I understand her being upset about Justin but then she learns that Kat is bipolar, you think theyre cool, and then she immediately throws that back in Kat’s face at the first inconvenient moment. 

Can I just say though, how much more interested I was when I thought the secret figure skater was someone on Mac’s hockey team? I was trying to guess which boy it secretly was and I thought that there would be a subplot about her trying to convince him to figure skate with her, but he would feel pressured by his parents to play hockey instead. And that would work as a foil to Ava, who wanted to play hockey but was instead forced to figure skate. And there would be an eventual romance because what can I say, I’m here for the romance. But no...it was Skye and then there was just that subplot about Mac wanting to date his sister’s only friend. And like, when I was trying to guess who it was I thought it might be Bear and that would be her romantic interest but....no. Bear just, also likes Skye. 

Also, is it some unwritten rule that for every white girl figure skater with brown hair, there must be an Asian best friend? This isnt a complaint, just an observation. 

And clearly I don’t ONLY have complaints. I thought that both shows ahd a promising premise, and I loved the relationship on Spinning Out. When Zero Chill actually bothered with real issues instead of contrived nothing issues, I think it did it pretty well. I liked the friendships and family dynamic better in Zero Chill, but wished that it would have been a little more mature like Spinning Out. I liked that the characters in Spinning Out were mostly adults and that it had a more adult tone, but I wish that they had dialed the melodrama back just a bit. What I really want, I supposed, is a combination of the two shows which leads nicely into my question for you all: 

I remember browsing Netflix months ago and seeing a figure skating show advertised, however it wasn’t either of these shows. It feels like these two shows were once one, and then got split up into two because I am completely unable to find the show I originally saw a commercial for. 

In that original ad there was a brother and sister, one who played hockey and one who figure skated. But the hockey brother was jealous of the sister because he felt like their parents prioritized her figure skating. So one day, before a big performance of hers, he met her right before the performance and yelled at her about how unfair everything was and it shook her up and when she went out on the ice she wasn’t focused. She slipped and fell, split her head open on the ice, and her confidence was shaken. 

But like...that wasn’t either of these shows so what the hell was it??? Were they once one? Was there some other show that hasn’t been released yet? Did I see it in a dream???? 

[drakewalkerfantasy]

Part 1: Forbidden dance. Unsaid words... (Ian Kingsley x F!MC)

Author’s Note: This is rewritten dancing scene from chapter 15 book 1. This scene was perfect by its own but I needed to add more to it as something obviously was missing. I’m publishing it before today's chapter will be released. Please comment and reblog. 

All rights belongs to Pixelbery, most dialogues used from the chapter except some parts I rewrote adding more detailed or spicing them up :)  All characters including my love Ian Kingsley belongs to PB, except my MC Alison.

Please let me know, if you want to be added or removed from tag list. This will have two parts.

Waiting: NSFW/18+/M + angst

Pairing: Ian Kingsley x MC (Alison)

Words: 4248

Alison slowly walked through the dance floor, navigating among waltzing couples, trying to avoid them as best as she could. She felt otherworldly in this place, like a stranger coming from another world. Feeling foreign among the crowd she not belonged to, among the people, she not cared for... Her white princess-like dress was fluttering around her ankles. Her golden curls cascading down her shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face. Her teeth digging nervously into her bottom lip, and her sparkling eyes hesitantly wandering through the crowd, trying to spot the only person she would want to dance with... the only person she couldn’t openly be with.

She sighed dreamily when her big baby blue eyes finally spotted him loitering by the stage. She halted in her tracks, contemplating if she should approach him. She knew that this was the risk no one was willing to take, but when their eyes met across the dance floor all the reasons why just disappeared. Her eyes softening while she was looking at the only person in this place she gave a damn about. The person who was standing like a thousand miles away, on the opposite side of the dance floor. Alison stood still for a moment before making a decision that could ruin them both. And before she could change her mind, she started to walk toward Ian. Her eyes solely on him. Her gaze, not wavering from his, at least until the moment he swiftly turned around, ducking into the wings. Alison's eyes widened, and she gaped in shock at the empty space that he left behind him. Cautiously she looked around to make sure she hadn't been watched, then lifting the hem of her dress from the floor, she followed him, making her way backstage.

“Alison,” she heard a quiet voice calling for her after she entered the backstage. Her eyes adjusting to the dim light as she turned to face the man she wanted to spend her evening with.

“I thought you were trying to run away from me.” she half-joked, half-wandered if that was the reason he went in there.

“I'm sorry. I was aiming to find somewhere we wouldn't be seen, and I hoped you would follow... I hoped...,” he goes silent for a moment looking down uncertainly before lifting his gaze to meet Alison's, smiling softly at her before extending his hand. “I hoped you would have this dance with me?”

“Only because you're so charming.” Alison laughed softly taking his hand, feeling how his other hand gently circled around her waist. The two of them started to sway to the music filtering in from the ballroom.

He pulled her closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder, the smell of his cologne warm and comforting.

“You look stunning,” he whispered into her ear. His lips skimming along the rim of her earlobe making her shudder from the pleasant warmth spreading through her body.

“You're looking particularly classy yourself.” She murmured, pressing her body even closer to his, bathing in the warmth radiating from him.

“I couldn't help noticing you making the rounds like a true socialite earlier.” Ian breathed in to Alison’s ear, his thumb leaving light circles on her bare back just above her waist.

“It's one of those necessary evils, I guess. Go to the gala, play schmoozical chairs with people who eat gold nuggets for breakfast.” she shrugged with a lift of her shoulders, letting him guide her through the waltzing steps.

Ian laughed quietly, but his expression quickly sobered.

“It's funny, thinking back to when we first met, I could tell you weren't from around here,” he said pausing for a moment before continuing. “Now... you feel almost like you were born into this world.”

“Ian...,” Alison said. Her voice barely above the whisper, wondering what his reply will be to the question she was about to ask. “Did you like that Alison better?” she finally asked not daring to look him in the eyes. The next words she spoke rushed out from her before her brain could even catch up with what she was saying. “The Alison from the bar that was still naive and innocent? Still reeling from that first showdown with Poppy? Did you... did you like her better?”

Softly Ian touched her cheek, running his hand over the smooth skin of her face, carefully lifting her head up with the tips of his fingers.

“You're still the same vibrant, intelligent, witty Alison I had met that day. And I'm exceptionally fond, and proud, of you.” Ian said softly, his eyes meeting hers. The rueful smile touched his lips and he sigh sadly before continuing. “But I know Belvoire isn't a kind place. I see it every day in my classes. I just hope it hasn't tarnished you in ways I can't see.”

“And if it has?” Alison asked holding her breath for his reply.

“Then I hope you will one day feel comfortable telling me about it, so that I can help rid you of that tarnish.” Ian whispered against her lips. His forehead pressed to hers, feeling her exhale sharply at his confession. “All I want, is to be someone you can rely on.”

“I do rely on you. More than you even know,” she said quietly.

“I suppose I just wonder, if you do win this, what pressures will you face in the coming year?”

“I mean, the obvious answer is Poppy trying to dethrone me. Which, honestly, I don't even care,” she shrugged, lifting her hand to his face. Her delicate fingers tracing the worry line on his forehead, while Ian steered her into a slow circle, peering down into her face.

“Really? You don't care?” mused he.

“Ian, I'm not like Poppy! I'm not obsessive about the rankings!” she replied with a soft smile that lifted the sides of her lips.

“And yet, from what I've gathered, she is. I can't imagine her letting you live in peace.” he sighed, the anxiety slowly creeping inside him and the feeling that something bad about to happen firmly settled inside. He could feel how his heart clenched and he squeezed Alison a little bit tighter bringing her closer to him, soothed by the sound of her steadily beating heart. He slowly took her hand with his. His fingers wrapping around her wrist gently, twirling her in a slow circle, feeling the fluttering pulse point under his touch.

“I get that you're worried, but... I just want to focus on us right now,” she breathed when he brought her back into his arms. His hands wrapped securely around her waist. Her face pressed into his neck, feeling his warmth. Her lips brushing against his pulse, making it to beat faster under her touch, murmuring against it. “This is probably the only moment we'll get together tonight. I don't want to think about anything else.”

As a reply to her plea he wrapped both arms around Alison, squeezing her tightly, before coming to a standstill in the center of the backstage area. Their eyes met when Ian brought his lips to hers, kissing them gently.

“You're all that I want to focus on to. You're all I ever want to focus on. I care about you a great deal, Alison,” he said, feeling how his heart squeezed painfully in his chest.

“Then just hold me, Ian” pleaded Alison snuggling closer to him, feeling how his hold tightened on her.

The two of them danced close, feeling safe in his arms and relaxing for the first time since stepping into the ballroom.

“Ian?” she called his name muffled by the skin of his neck, where her lips were still pressed to.

“Yes, Alison?” he breathed. His face buried in the nape of her neck inhaling the sweet scent of violets, while his hands drew lazy circles on her bare back.

“Thanks for looking out for me. It means a lot to have you here tonight,” she said lifting her head to look him in the eyes.

Ian tilted his head and pressed his lips to Alison’s for a chaste, lingering kiss.

“I'm rooting for you, Alison. If you want to win this gala, then I want that for you, because I want you to be happy,” he said, trying to hide as best as he could the worry and sadness from her. He parted his lips ready to say something more, to reassure her that everything will be okay no matter what. But just before he could they heard footsteps approaching, making them both tense in each other’s arms.

“Yeah, hang on, I think I saw them backstage!” they heard someone to speak, the footsteps even closer than before.

Ian pressed his lips to her forehead closing his eyes with a sigh, making her heart flutter, but in a sad, painful kind of way. In that fleeting moment she wished for more time with him, for the chance not to hide. Wishing for them to have all the time in the world to be together without being scared of Poppy’s blackmail or the judgment of anyone else.

She lifted her gaze meeting Ian’s filled with sadness and pain. The tears of anger for prejudice fogged her eyes and the determination filled her when she grabbed his hand pulling him with urgency and strength toward the back exit.

“Let’s go,” she whispered in a hurried tone, running out of venue pulling Ian behind her, thankful to the darkness that swallowed them the moment they stepped outside.

As soon as they were at a safe distance, she breathed a sigh of relief letting go of Ian’s hand. Her heart soaring feeling finally free for the first time since stepping to the grounds of Belvoire and getting pulled into this popularity race. The race she even wasn’t sure she wanted to be a part of... The race where she should have pretended to be someone who she wasn’t, still trying not to lose herself by becoming another Poppy... And now here and in that moment she finally could be herself, without worrying about anyone else’s opinion... about worrying to become someone who she despised.

Quickly she kicked her shoes off, feeling how her bare feet sank in the cool evening grass. The feeling overwhelmed her and she could feel how the laugh started to bubble inside her until she could no longer hold it back. She threw her head back letting it flow freely through the summer’s air. Her golden hair bouncing when she turned her head toward Ian, meeting his intense gaze winking at him before starting to run toward the lake, that she knew was hidden among the trees.

It didn’t take Ian long to start chasing her. His heart thumping loudly in his chest watching her disappear among the trees. Alison’s laugh filled the air. His eyes following her every move not able to tear his gaze away from her. Chasing after the girl he shouldn’t have chased after. Chasing after the girl who unknowingly to herself stole his heart, making him reckless and ready to give up everything he was working for so hard. His laugh joined hers while they ran freely through the field. Far away from prying eyes and prejudice. Far away from everyone who would be able to ruin their future, not caring for anyone except each other. His eyes focused on Alison running in front of him, white dress was fluttering in the wind.

Before long he finally caught up with her. His hand reaching for hers interlacing their fingers together feeling the sparkles of electricity the moment they touched. Slowly... carefully he turned her to face him, pulling her closer. His lips meeting Alison’s in a soft lingering kiss, silencing her laugh.

Gently he guided her backwards to the tree behind them, their bodies pressed together as one. His hand placed on her waist while another was still holding hers. His thumb circling over her knuckles, while his lips were moving in unison with hers. His tongue slipping inside meeting hers eliciting a soft moan from Alison’s luscious lips, the ones he wanted to kiss so badly, the ones he never wanted to stop kissing. Her tongue sliding against his. Her hand snaking around his neck pulling him closer, intensifying the kiss. Carefully, he lowered her to the grass his lips leaving hers sliding along her jaw line toward the neck kissing and sucking on the pulse point fluttering under his caresses till the moment she started to whimper, writhing beneath him.

“Please,” she moaned, raising her hips to meet his. Her body pressing firmer, not leaving any space between them, making him groan in appreciation when her body skimmed along his hardened length. He lifted his head after leaving a final kiss to her pulse point before meeting Alison’s gaze. His eyes almost black from desire and his lips moving to hers murmuring softly against them.

“Are you sure...,” he groaned moving against her, making her feel how much of affect she made on him. His hips rolling against hers making her hips thrust forwards, grinding against his erection. His hand skimming along the soft globes of her breasts, not able to resist the temptation. The other hand running along her body squeezing her backside feeling with satisfaction how her body trembled under his touch.

“Yes, please...,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. Her hips jerking up to meet Ian’s. His hand gently squeezing them before pressing them back to the ground kneeling between her legs. His eyes drinking her in as a vision, as a lake goddess laying in front of him. Her white dress spread on the grass crumpled around them. Her chest heaving and her lips swollen from the kisses they shared just a moment ago. His eyes lingered for a moment longer on her flushed cheeks before meeting her wide blown eyes, when his hand reached to the back of her dress sliding the zipper down. His lips meeting hers again, kissing her slowly, putting in that kiss all emotions he felt toward this amazing woman in his arms. His hands touching every inch of her bare skin that got exposed to him, lowering her dress. His eyes getting darker when he reluctantly pulled away drinking in her bare form beneath his still clothed body. His lips skimming along the curve of her shoulder sucking gently on her skin, while murmuring praises to her beauty, reminding her how much she meant to him, but still holding on the three little words he was willing to say, but wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear them. His lips moving up tracing the line of her neck. The fingertips of his right hand running down her body, starting from her collarbone, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. His lips following them just a moment later, leaving a trail of small, soft kisses along the path that his fingertips made. The soft moan escaping her throat when he hooked his fingers beneath the waistband of her white lace panties kissing her navel before dragging them down her long legs, leaving her completely bare in front of him.

Ian sucked in the breath not able to tear his eyes away from the girl that occupied his every dream, and was constantly in his thoughts during the day. Their eyes fixed on each other when he stood up, starting to peel the layers of his own clothes discarding them to the grass, hypnotising her by his every move. Her eyes moving to the dark path of hairs down his body, making her mouth water when she seen the prominent bulge in his pants. She watched him reaching to the belt, unbuckling it slowly before throwing it away. The next came the button. With one prompt flick of his fingers he popped it open, sliding the zipper down before letting his pats drop to the ground. She gulped audibly watching how the last layers of his clothes got discarded and his thick veiny length bobbed against his sculptured abs.

Soon, he was kneeling between her legs, lapping on her juices, like a starved man in the desert drinking the sweetest nectar he ever had. His fingers joining her mouth stroking her folds gently igniting a roaring fire inside her. Her moans and gasp reaching his ears, getting louder and sweeter with every stroke of his fingers. Her hands grasping his hair as if holding for the dear life. Her hips rolling in rhythm with his tongue. He could feel how close she was, but before she could fall over the edge in the realm of pleasure he stopped, hearing the sigh of protest falling from her luscious lips. Slowly he started to move along her body kissing every inch of her marble skin as if she was a fragile glass that would break if he would kiss harder. His feather-light kisses made Alison lightheaded craving for more... craving for the only person who would take her apart before making her whole again. The three little words forming on her lips ready to fall from them as a sweetest moan he ever heard, but she held on to them tighter not sure if he would be ready to hear them... not sure if that would scare him away.

With the great effort she pushed that thought away, pushing the words she knew were true further just in time for his lips reaching for hers and capturing them in a soft lingering kiss. She could feel how his length pushed gently between her folds, disappearing inside her slowly. It took everything in him not to rush, not to thrust inside her when he heard a softest sweetest sound escaping her lips. His length throbbing painfully hard while he hold on with great difficulty letting her to adjust to his size. His hand cupping her cheek making her eyes to flutter open to meet his. His lips ghosting against her lips not breaking the gaze.

“Look at me,” he whispered, his lips ghosting against hers, while he slowly started to move inside her. “I want to see your eyes every time I would bring you close to your pleasure, every time you would moan my name falling over the edge. I want to savour this,” he groaned, moving painfully slow inside her, making her gasp when the tip of his cock brushed against the sweet spot deep inside her. “I want to savour you.” He added moving inside her tantalisingly slow, while catching to every moan and gasp she made, drinking in the look of pure bliss in her eyes. His hand still cupping her cheek, brushing the thumb gently over it, when she reached toward him mirroring his movement. He leaned forward, feeling the softness of her palm against his stubble. The quiet groan joined her moans in the summer’s air. His other hand grazed her temple softly, before leaning on it above her. His hips moving agonisingly slow. His throbbing length almost leaving the heat of Alison’s depth completely before entering her again, eliciting a soft gasp from her plump lips.

With every cell of his body he could feel how hers trembled underneath him nearing to the release, bringing him closer to his. He lowered his head pressing the forehead against hers. His lips softly moving against hers without breaking their gaze, their moans and gasps muffled. Their eyes and their lips telling everything what they couldn’t say with words. The every joining of their bodies sending sparks of electricity through them, feeling how the pleasure slowly build reaching the peak. The pleasure snapping through them in waves, bringing them to the highest they ever felt. Their breathing mingling, their lips brushing, their eyes fixed on each other while they slowly came back from their highs.

After long, sharing small kisses and light touches, they finally helped each other to get dressed. Alison gently fixing Ian’s bow, while his hands brushed the sides of her dress before resting them on her waist. His forehead pressing to hers inhaling her sweet gentle scent of violets. His hand finding hers and his lips brushing against her temple in a flitting kiss. Without saying anything he squeezed her hand gently leading her back towards the venue. His heard pounding, the sadness feeling him with the new founded power. And before they could even notice it, they stood in front of the backside entrance hidden from unwonted eyes by the shadows of the magnificent building. Alison hidden her face in his chest, feeling how Ian’s arms wrapped around hers waist, holding her tighter against him not able to let her go. Both wanting for that moment to never end. Both knowing that the end was inevitable.

“Best of luck, Alison.” Ian said, reluctantly loosening his hold on her, stepping back with a pained look in his eyes. The soft smile filled with sadness touched his lips before he turned around ready to disappear in the darkness.

“I don’t need luck,” she replied with determination, making him stop in his track and turn to face her. Ian’s questioning look meeting hers. “With you I don’t need luck,” clarified she, stepping closer to him before continuing in a soft whisper, her lips just a breath away while she spoke. “as with you I already have all the luck in the world and everything I ever wanted.” She said before skimming her lips in a flitting kiss over his turning back to the venue.

For a moment Ian stood still trying to process what Alison just said. His eyes following hers every move wanting to pull her back in the shadows and run away with her as far from that place as he could. But instead he stood there watching her wave at him before disappearing behind the corner. The feeling that something terrible about to happen settled deep inside him, but he shook it off reluctantly moving in the direction of the car park. It was only a couple of minutes before Ian heard a bloodcurdling scream coming from the direction where Alison disappeared. His heart dropping from a bad feeling paralysing him, until he started to run in the direction where the scream came from. As soon as he turned around the corner the scene that opened in front of his eyes made him stop dead. His eyes focused on the small figure laying in the pool of blood, soaking in it. The blond hair scattered across the ground, while the silver cabriolet made its way away from the scene.

He could feel how his legs started to carry him toward her, ignoring the curious glances that the forming crowd thrown toward him. His lips parted in a silent prayer, when the single thought passed through his brains “Be okay... please be okay.” His eyes welling up filling with tears when he dropped to his knees near to Alison laying on her front. Carefully he rolled her over. His hand taking hers, when her eyes fluttered open with a groan of pain.

“Alison...,” he breathed, brushing away the locks of her bloodied hair from her forehead. His fingertips gently brushing her temple, making her eyes focus on his for a moment before closing again. Her features pained, and her pulse weak. Her breathing intermittent. “Please Alison, hold on... please hold on,” Ian begged her, cupping her cheek, his lips just a breath away. His hand fumbling with his phone urgently dialling 911. His voice seemed so far away, but Alison still tried to hold on, just as he asked her to. Not ready to give up. Not ready to let him go. Not ready to leave him. Her breath hitched and she could feel how her fingers got number, while the pained groan left her lips.

“They will be here soon,” he whispered lifting her on his knees. His trembling arms wrapping around her. His heart pounding and his hands shaking, praying for her to be okay, praying for the ambulance to be on time. But his voice stayed confident, trying for her not to catch how scared he was, how paralysed he felt. His fingers drawing soothing circles on her back. “Please Alison, open your eyes. Please just look at me. You need to open your eyes and look at me,” he whispered, rocking her gently in his arms, watching how her eyes fluttered open with a big difficulty, trying to focus on his.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. His eyes never leaving hers as if, if he would break the gaze the thread that kept her alive would snap. The fear of losing her was paralysing, but he tried not to show it to her. Fighting that fear with every single cell in his body. Remotely he could hear the ambulance siren getting louder, watching how her eyes slowly fluttered closed before opening once again parting with even more difficulty than before. He could feel how her breathing became weaker hopping that the ambulance wasn’t too late, hopping that it wasn’t too late for them. His lips lowered, leaving a fluttering kiss to her temple, feeling how her weak pulse became barely perceptible. His lips parting and before her world could go black once again she could feel the wetness of his tears mixing with her own and the faint words that only she could hear. The ones she wanted to say but couldn’t. I love you.

To be continued...

Tagging: @annekebbphotography @choices-bound @god-save-the-keen @obsessedheehee

[littlespoonevan]

Gallavich + facing each other in bed, andd caressing each other's faces before falling asleep :')

sooo i don’t know if this was meant to be a prompt but i made it one lol. i’ve been wanting to write about the aftermath of 4x11 for a long time and exercise my hurt/comfort muscles so here’s my take on what happens after mickey’s coming out scene

enjoy :’)

*

The walk home is quiet, the only sound theirfootsteps on the wet pavement and their hushed breaths forming little clouds inthe air. Ian doesn’t hold Mickey’s hand, no matter how much he wants to.Tonight has already been too much without something like that pushing him overthe edge. Instead he lets their arms brush with every second step.

It surprises him though when they reach his streetthat Mickey’s the one to reach out and take his hand.

Ian looks at him but doesn’t stop walking, doesn’twant to give Mickey time to try and pull back. Mickey’s expression is hard tomake out in the dark with the dried blood still all over his face but Ian can atthe very least tell he doesn’t want him to say anything. So he squeezes Mickey’shand and tows him toward the Gallagher house.

Kev must’ve text Fiona when shit went down becauseshe’s still up when they come through the front door, sitting braced on thearmchair with a mug of what’s most likely spiked coffee between her hands. Sheflies out of her seat when she takes in the sight of them.

“Holy shit, what-“

“We’re fine,” Ian cuts in, keeping his voice low inan attempt not to wake anyone else up. Mickey doesn’t need an audience rightnow.

Fiona clamps her mouth shut though she looks like she’dmuch rather be talking. She must see something in Ian’s expression thoughbecause her eyes flicker to Mickey and then, briefly to their hands, and shenods. “Want me to call V?”

Ian shakes his head. “S’not as bad as it looks,” hepromises. “We’re gonna get cleaned up.”

Fiona nods again, hesitating a moment before shespeaks. “Terry back in lockup?”

Mickey answers this time and Ian can tell he’s tryingto joke but the bone-deep exhaustion and barest hint of anxiety evident in hisvoice makes it fall flat. “For a long fuckin’ time hopefully.”

And Ian can’t take it anymore, feels a burning needto get his hands on Mickey. To take care of him, to hold him, to salvage thishorrific fucking night. “Night, Fi,” he whispers, slipping his hand out ofMickey’s to grip his shoulders and steer him gently in the direction of thestairs.

It says a lot about how close Mickey must be tobreaking point that he doesn’t even protest, just lets Ian guide him.

Ian lets go of him once they reach the bathroom butonly to close the door. When he turns back around Mickey is standing listlesslyin the middle of the room and Ian nods to the closed toilet seat. “Here, sitdown,” he says, nudging around Mickey to get the first aid kit from under thesink. “You can take a shower in a sec, let me just clean the worst of it first.”

Mickey huffs a tired laugh as he sits down. “You finda new career without tellin’ me, Gallagher?”

Ian bites back a smile and kneels down in front ofMickey so they’re eye to eye. “Picked up a few things when Ned was getting a bulletoutta your ass.”

Mickey laughs again but it’s really more of anexhale. There’s faint smile on his face though. “Fuck, man. My head hurts.”

Ian winces in sympathy as Mickey closes his eyes –whatever the fuck Terry did to his ribs makes his chest ache with every breathso he gets it. “You think it’s a concussion?” he asks softly as he digs out theantiseptic wipes from the first aid kit, keeping one hand on Mickey’s knee –less to keep him steady and more because he doesn’t feel like letting go of himright now.

“Dunno,” Mickey shrugs half-heartedly, keeping hiseyes closed as Ian wipes the dirt and blood from his face. “Probably justfuckin’ tired.”

“Probably,” Ian agrees. “Your nose doesn’t look thatbad. Doesn’t look deep enough for stitches.”

Mickey cracks an eye open and appraises him. “Christ,Ian. Maybe you should become a nurse.”

Ian laughs, gently though – he learned his lessonearlier. “I’d get plenty of practice with you around.”

Mickey huffs again, his almost-laugh. “You want me toreturn the favour?” he asks when Ian’s finished with his face, fingers idlyfolding around the collar of the coat Ian’s still wearing.

“I’m good,” Ian assures him, swaying forward to pressa kiss to Mickey’s temple. “Let’s just shower and go to bed.”

The words look to be a relief to Mickey and he nods,letting Ian haul him up to stand again. Ian sets the water running while theyget out of their clothes, testing it with his hand before climbing in andMickey follows behind him. Ian pulls him under the spray and reaches for hisshampoo, squirting some onto his hand and reaching for Mickey’s hair.

Mickey lets out a quiet breath, closing his eyes whenIan’s hands run through his hair and Ian feels some of the tension in his ownstomach unfurl as he washes Mickey’s hair, working out the dried blood. Mickeyreaches for him at some point, seemingly intent on doing the same for Ian.

His fingers curl around Ian’s jaw at first, thumbshelping the water wash the blood off Ian’s face before he starts working on hishair. Ian’s not sure how long they stand like that until he can’t take it anymoreand closes the distance between them, pulling Mickey into his arms.

Mickey releases a shuddering breath as Ian’s armsclose around him, his own arms twisting across Ian’s back as his fingers clutchat Ian’s shoulderblades. His face is buried in the crook of Ian’s neck and Iancan feel the way his breath stutters. He knows the weight of what’s happenedtonight is finally hitting Mickey full force.

And he can’t help feeling an unbearable type ofguilt. For pushing Mickey, for making him choose, as if anything about thisentire situation has been as simple as Mickey wanting to keep them a secret. Hejust- it’s fucking irrational and stupid but it hurt feeling he couldn’t be with Mickey the way he wanted to, likethere was this whole other life being planned out for Mickey that Ian would oneday be exiled from. It’s selfish and he hates himself for putting Mickey inthis position but he promises himself he’ll do whatever he has to now toprotect Mickey, to put him first with whatever shit they’ve got coming theirway. He has to.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, carding his fingers throughMickey’s wet hair and speaking the words into Mickey’s shoulder. “I don’t knowwhat I expected to happen.”

Mickey shrugs against him, arms tightening just slightly.“Was gonna have to happen sooner or later.”

Ian pulls back a fraction to meet Mickey’s gaze, offeringhim a sad smile as he runs a finger under the cut on Mickey’s forehead. “Notlike that though.”

Mickey looks at him, a resigned look on his face ashe sighs. “Ian, it was always gonna happen like that. Whether there were fiftypeople in the room or just me and him. It was always gonna be like that. Atleast this way there were some fucking witnesses.”

Small blessings, Ian supposes.

“I’m still sorry,” Ian tells him. “I never wanted youto get hurt.”

“I know,” Mickey says, voice quiet as he leansagainst Ian. “Can we crash now? Feel like I’m dead on my feet.”

Ian nods and shuts off the water. Ian finds themtowels to dry off before going into the bedroom to get boxers and t-shirts forthem both. The only one in the bedroom is Carl, fast asleep in the top bunk.Liam must be in Fiona’s room and Ian reminds himself to thank his sister in themorning for giving them some modicum of privacy.

He returns to the bathroom with their clothes andafter changing and shoving their dirty towels down the laundry shoot they maketheir way back to the bedroom.

Mickey completely forgoes his makeshift camp on thefloor to follow Ian straight into his bed and Ian tries not to react toovisibly. Can’t believe this is actually happening. He can count on one hand theamount of times they’ve shared a bed for real. And while he wishes this wereunder different circumstances he’s going to savour the moment for all that itis.

His bed is too small for them to have much space butIan doesn’t care. By the looks of it, Mickey doesn’t either considering the wayhis legs immediately tangle with Ian’s under the covers. When they’re settledIan lifts his hand, smoothing the hair back off Mickey’s forehead before lettinghis fingers cradle his cheek.

He can just about make out the way the corner ofMickey’s mouth lifts in a smile at the touch.

They stay like that for a minute, still except forthe way Ian’s thumb brushes lightly over Mickey’s cheekbone. Then, tentatively,almost as if he’s never let himself dare try this before Mickey’s hand comes upto rest on Ian’s neck.

Ian’s too tired to grin the way he wants to so hejust lets his mouth twist up in a closed-mouth, contented smile. His eyesprobably give him away anyway.

“Did you mean it?” he whispers after a while. “Whatyou said before – about feeling free.”

Mickey tenses and Ian can tell so he keeps his thumbmoving across Mickey’s cheek, twists his legs around Mickey’s even moretightly. Tries to ground him in whatever way he can.

“Yeah,” Mickey says finally, soft and defeated.

And Ian doesn’t want him to think those words are aweakness, not when they’re the bravest thing Mickey’s ever said to him short ofwhat he’d done less than an hour later.

“For me too,” Ian says then, voice quiet and far tootender. “I’ve always felt free with you,” he explains. “Nothing’s ever made mefeel the way you do. Don’t think anything else could.”

He can feel Mickey’s eyes on him and he’s not surewhat Mickey can make out in the dark but eventually, the hand Mickey’s has onhis neck moves and curls around Ian’s jaw. In the next breath Mickey tips theirforeheads together and Ian’s heart squeezes painfully in his chest.

“It’s you, Gallagher,” Mickey whispers. “Don’t knowwhat anyone else has to offer but I don’t want it. Just you.”

Ian kisses him then because he can’t not. Just agentle press – one that he tries to infuse with as much love and devotion as hepossibly can. He doesn’t move away when he pulls back, keeps his foreheadagainst Mickey’s and the scant inch of space between their mouths. It’s barelyclose enough.

The words Ilove you are on the tip of his tongue and he wants to say them. Over andover again until there isn’t a single doubt in Mickey’s mind. But there havealready been so many confessions tonight he’s not sure if either of them cantake much more.

So instead he touches Mickey’s bottom lip with thetip of his thumb, then the corner of his mouth where a barely-there smile stillsits and whispers, “Night, Mick.”

Mickey’s fingers run through his hair before trailinghis cheek until they finally find their way back to Ian’s neck and fall torest.

“Night, Ian.”

*