Ian threw his head back in laughter. His hand came down to rest on his stomach since it was hurting so bad from laughing. "You're actually serious?"

Mickey chuckles softly and sips his beer. "I'm being dead ass serious about this. I'm a fucking pimp. Yevgeny didn't make that shit up. I mean don't get me wrong, he's got a good imagination but it ain't that good. That's why I was bleeding out and shot a week ago. Cause I got into some argument with some dude who hit one of my girls. Been doing this for maybe.... five years now? Around the time Svet had Yev. But dealing? Hell I've been doing that shit since I was thirteen."

This was what Ian had wanted all along. To just to be alone with Mickey and to talk. Talk about everything and anything. Sure, talking about Mickey being a pimp wasn't exactly what he had expected, but Ian would take it. Any alone time he got with the man he cherished.

"Listen, I know you're south side, but so am I! And I've never once considered pimping out my sisters or friends. Or even my wife if I had one. But now after knowing how much cash you've been pulling in, might even pimp out myself," he jokes. Mickey laughs and nudges his side.

"It's a lot of fucking hard work. Cause every time a clients got a problem with my girls, I gotta handle it. And as you know they aren't always the friendliest of people."

The two of them sat alone on the Gallagher's couch. Music blared from the radio and the rest of the Gallagher group, along with a few others Mickey didn't know, were either talking, dancing or drinking. It was New Year's Eve and Mickey had been damn lucky to get out of the house. Mandy had offered to keep Yev for the night since she knew how badly Mickey wanted to hang out with Ian. She was willing to give up one night of clubbing so her brother could be happy.

Svetlana, on the other hand, had been harder to get away from. Mickey had practically told her to shove it before he left the house. Mandy, Mickey's favorite person in the world right now, had called and said Mickey was going to hang with her for the night so he was off the hook and off of Svetlana's radar.

"You ever think of doing something that isn't illegal?" Ian teases, causing Mickey to roll his eyes.

"Hard to make good cash anywhere without at lest a high school diploma. Especially if you've got a record," he says. Ian raises an eyebrow.

"You got a record?"

Mickey nods. "The first time I was sent to juvie that shit was able to be wiped clean cause I was a minor. But, uh, I met Svet when I was seventeen years old. So I was still seventeen when I got her pregnant and I didn't wanna deal with that shit. So I ran away. And fuck if I knew that running away could land you behind bars. So long story short, stole some of my dad's cash and ran off. He was so pissed about the money he called the cops on me and got me locked up for stealing and running away. Spent like... a year I think it was in jail," he says.

Ian nods a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. There had been brief moments where Mickey had told him about his dad but he never went into detail about the man like Ian wanted. He wanted Mickey to open up to him but Ian knew that would be almost as difficult as rocket science. "You say shit about your dad a lot... what's he like?" Ian asks quietly. The second the words slipped from his mouth, he regretted it. Mickey quickly stood up off of the couch and downed his beer.

"I'm gonna get another one. You want one too?" He mumbles, only glancing at Ian for a second.

Ian gives him a small, forced smile and nods. "No, thanks," he says.

The last thing Mickey wanted was to start off the new year talking about his dad. He wanted to just enjoy the night with Ian. He wanted to drink with him, laugh and hell maybe even fuck around a bit if they could get any alone time in the Gallagher household.

"You care that you still live with your siblings?" Mickey mumbles, flopping back down on the couch next to him. Ian shrugs and shakes his head.

"It can be a lot at times. They're loud and obnoxious but I don't mind. I'm actually looking at apartments on the north side right now." Mickey raises an eyebrow, sipping his beer.

"No shit? You're going north side, huh?" He teases. Ian laughs.

"I mean it's just an option. Could always take you with me," he says. Mickey rolls his eyes, glancing over at Ian.

"Maybe in a perfect world," he says, lips already wrapping around the beer.

The one thing Ian was willing to die trying for was getting Mickey to dance with him. His original plan was to get him drunk because the one time he had seen Mickey drunk, he was lighter. More laid back, but it turned out to be a hell of a lot harder to get the man drunk than Ian had originally thought. So he was on to option two which was begging. "Hey, I gotta an idea."

Mickey raises an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Wanna dance with me?" Ian asks, smiling.

Mickey snorts. "No fucking way."

Ian pulls on Mickey's hand. "Please? Lip's dancing and goofing around with his girlfriend. I wanna do that with you."

Mickey laughs and shakes his head. "Ian, my leg is still bad."

"That's bullshit! You've been off those crutches for like five days now!" Mickey shakes his head again.

"Yeah, rather not fucking embarrass myself in front of your family, Gallagher cause news flash, I kinda like you."

Ian grins a bit and places his hand over his heart. "Did I just hear Mickey Milkovich say he likes me?"

"Fuck you is what you heard," he grumbles, flipping him off. Mickey felt his heart rate pick up at just the mention of dancing in front of everyone. He liked Ian and from what he knew so far, his family liked him. And Mickey didn't want to fuck things up before they even began. Micky couldn't remember a single time he had danced other than once. But he was high and at his friends house. And the dancing was more of a stumbling, drunken walk other than dancing. For one, Mickey wasn't confident enough to just get up and dance. Especially with another man. He felt clumsy and stupid doing so. Sure when other people did it, especially couples, they seemed smooth and confident. And it was kinda hot sometimes.

So Mickey was dead set on not dancing in front of his boyfriend's family. Sure he had excepted the fact that he was gay and that it wasn't changing any time soon. But that didn't mean Mickey was out and proud about it. Staying deep in the closet had been working good so far and he was planning on sticking with it for as long as he could.

"Please, babe?" Ian asks, puffing out his bottom lip. Mickey groans. He hated when Ian threw the puppy dog look at him because it was hard to resist.

"One fucking dance and that's it. Not two. Not one and a half. One dance and that's it," he says, chugging his beer. Ian's eyes lit up and he nods quickly.

"One dance, got it," Ian says, grinning widely. Mickey was already prepared to horribly embarrass himself, but seeing Ian grin like this would be worth it. He loved seeing Ian smile and knowing that he had made him do so.

Mickey groans as he was practically pulled off of the couch. Ian then goes over to the radio and flips through the stations before landing on "Colour my World" by Chicago. "Perfect," he whispers. The song had just began so Ian quickly turns around and grabs Mickey.

"I've never slow danced before so I, uh, I've got no clue what I'm doing," Mickey whispers. Ian smiles softly, placing his hands on the older man's hips.

"Don't worry. Just put your hands on my shoulders and follow my lead." By now Carl, Liam and Debbie had long since gone to bed, leaving on Fiona and Lip down stairs with them. And everyone else who wasn't a Gallagher had left. The two of them chatted in the kitchen which Mickey was grateful for because he doubted he'd be able to do any of this with them in the room. Ian was grinning like an idiot by now. He gently held on to the shorter man's hips as they swayed to the music. Mickey was stiff, his movements robotic and not smooth at all, unlike Ian. Ian was relaxed and swaying carelessly to the music around them, enjoying every second he got with Mickey. "You're so handsome, Mickey," he whispers.

Mickey gives him a shy smile and looks down at the space between their feet. "Stop that..."

"Stop what?" He whispers. Ian wraps his arm around mickeys waist, pulling him against him.

"Stop complimenting me and shit."

"Why?"

"Because I... I don't like it," he whispers. Mickey looks up, staring at a spot just above Ian's shoulders.

"You are though," Ian whispers. He leans in and kisses mickeys cheek, then his jaw and then his neck.

Mickey rolls his eyes, resting his forehead against Ian's. The two dance silently for the remainder of the song. Ian's hands had found their way back to Mickey's hips, holding them gently. Mickey had his arms wrapped around Ian's neck, a small smile on his lips.

For Ian the song ended too soon. Way too soon. He had felt Mickey start to relax towards the end, just swaying to the rhythm with Ian. "Okay, you happy now?" Mickey asks.

Ian grind and leans in to kiss him deeply. His lips were soft and warm against Mickey's, a welcoming feeling. Mickey's hand automatically came up to rest on the side of Ian's face, stroking his cheek gently as they kissed.

"Very," Ian whispers, smiling breathlessly at Mickey.

________________________________

Around three am, long after everyone else had gone to sleep, the two of them decided to follow. They both stripped down to their boxers and climbed into Ian's bed. Mickey let's out a quiet yawn, pressing his back to Ian's stomach. Ian smiles and kisses the top of his head before closing his eyes. Neither one of them spoke until Ian was nearly asleep.

"My dad's an asshole," Mickey whispers.

Ian cracks open his eyes. "Hmm?" He mumbles, half asleep. Mickey flips around in the bed to face Ian.

"You asked about my dad so I'm telling you. He's an asshole. He's the reason why I can't come out and actually do shit in public with you."

"Cause if he knew he'd disown you or something?" Ian asks, trying to piece it together. Mickey laughs.

"I wish. No, he does know. He found out I was gay, but he thought he fixed it.

Ian frowns. "The fuck does that mean?"

"It means he caught me in bed with another man before and man did he go crazy. He beat the shit outta me, surprised I didn't pass out. Told me no son of his would be a faggot and he was gonna fix it. So he called Svet. She was a whore, still is, but she was working for someone else and my dad called her to fuck the faggot out of me. And, uh, we couldn't stop till I enjoyed it or whatever and so I had to fake it. And now here we are today with my wife and my kid."

Ian could barely stand to listen to Mickey speak. The story was just too horrendous for him. "Fuck Mickey I'm so so-"

"Don't. Don't want your pity or your sorries. It's not your fault it's mine," he whispers. Ian quickly shakes his head.

"That's where you're wrong, Mick. That isn't your fault either. It's not your fault that you just wanted to be you. You wanted to be happy and it got fucked over. It's your dad's. He's a psychotic evil prick who was just trying to ruin your life. But you don't have to let him win. He hasn't ruined your life, Mickey. I mean hell sure you've got a wife you don't want and a kid you didn't plan for but still. You love Yev more than anything and Svetlana, I'm gonna help you with that problem. We'll figure this out together Mickey."

Mickey flashed him a small embarrassed smile. "Thanks, Ian," he whispers. Ian nods and kisses his forehead.

"Of course," he says, rubbing Mickey's back. "Now get some sleep. We'll worry about this shit in the morning."