Proud In Life

Chapter 5: Every Bipolar Person

  Mickey and Ian had been invited over to dinner at the Gallaghers- well Ian but they just excepted that they were a pair now. Thing was that Debbie had asked him to come over early- God knows why but she was a sweet kid so he agreed- even though Ian would be training at the hospital for another three quarters of an hour.

  The older two Gallaghers openly hated him and it made him uncomfortable because he couldn't beat on Fiona cause she was a girl and he couldn't beat on that asshole Lip. It was fucking uncomfortable be he did these things cause he was going to be marrying his ginger dork and that would mean the million Gallaghers would legally be his family. Besides, the younger three were okay, more than okay. Debbie was sweet even if she was going through teenager shit, Carl seemed to worship the ground he walked on which he wasn't even going to deny was awesome, and Liam was just- God Gallagher had really made him gay- adorable.

  Smoking to calm his nerves, the ex-con made his way over to the Gallagher house, not even bothering to knock before entering. Inside he found that it was just Fiona and Debbie in the kitchen, the house uncharacteristically quiet and empty looking without a couple of dozen people rushing through.

  "Hey Mickey," Debbie greeted as she saw him, Fiona looking up with lips drawn into a tight line.

  "Hey little ginger. What'd you want me here early for?" Mickey asked.

  "Wanted to ask about this wedding. I'm a girl I need to know the details and haven't seen you or Ian since Ian told us weeks ago," Debbie told him, leaning forward against the counter as Fiona stayed silent.

  "Right um... well what do you want to know?" Mickey asked uncomfortably, unable to stop himself from glancing over at the eldest Gallagher.

  "Well Ian said that the wedding was in two months and that was like almost a month ago so what day is it?" the youngest sister asked happily.

  "Don't know," Mickey muttered in return. Truth was that he was disappointed that they had to postpone but Ian hadn't even considered that when he said that he had to wait for his test and that fact had made him fall a little more in love.

  "What do you mean you don't know? Ian seemed pretty sure," Fiona spoke for the first time.

  "His EMT test was on the same day we planned so we cancelled. Haven't reset the date," Mickey told her shortly, glancing over to see a rather disappointed looking Debbie.

  "At least he knows where his priorities lie there," Fiona snorted earning a scowl from her sister.

  "Actually he came home all upset cause he'd have to wait six more months. Never even crossed his mind to move the wedding, that was my idea so he could get that job sooner fuck you very much," Mickey snapped indignantly. 

  "Really, you. Um Debbie here take this and pop off to the store and grab some milk," Fiona handed over some money before shooing Debbie out of the door.

  Then it was just him and Fiona. Shit. The woman turned to him then with a look of determination on her face that could only mean trouble. He was almost scared of what she was going to say about him or about Ian, he was fed up of it. Mickey had gone through so much shit with Ian and sure he had been an asshole for years but he loved Ian and he wasn't afraid to admit it anymore. Mickey knew that he would die for his Gallagher, would do anything to keep him safe and his fucking family needed to get their judgemental heads out of their asses and realise that.

  "I can tell you now your marriage will be short and unhappy," Fiona said in a quiet deadly voice, raising a hand when Mickey opened his mouth," Ian is bipolar. Do you know what all bipolar people do at one point or another? They try to kill themselves. A lot of them succeed. Our mother for example, Monica bipolar and suicidal. Don't know if Ian told you this but a few years ago on Thanksgiving she slit her wrists and we found her right there in that corner bleeding out, convulsing and crying. Every bipolar person tries it at one point or another. Ian will too and if you're not watching close enough you'll be a widow before you're thirty. Just think about that when you're standing up there exchanging vows to always stick by each other and remember that Ian won't be able to hold to those vows. Sad as it is that's reality and you'll be Mickey Milkovich gay Southside widower- so lost and broken and pathetic that you won't even have this fearsome rep you seem so fond of."

  She finished speaking and turned with one last glare before she too left the house with Mickey mouth gaping. Ian had told him about his mother trying to kill herself before just after he had admitted his disease to him. It hadn't really crossed his mind though that that was a regular thing, a common thing for people like Ian to do.

  Shit what should he do? He couldn't lose Ian but was it wise marrying a ticking time bomb? Hell no he was not going to think about Ian like that. Not now not ever. Fuck Fiona for getting in his head. Fuck her for trying to split them up in such a cruel way. What the hell did she think she was going to achieve? Mickey leaving Ian and just upping the chances that the red head would off himself.

  He found himself looking at the corner of the kitchen where Fiona had gestured and all he could see was Ian slumped there convulsing like Fiona said, tears on his beautiful face as he sat in a pool of his own blood. Impossibly Mickey felt ill at the thought of the blood but it was Ian's blood, the thought of Ian bleeding out and dying. What happened if one day he came home and found Ian there dead? It would break him, Fiona was right about that he would be left lost and broken.

  "Mick?" he heard, the familiar voice cutting though his thoughts and yet he still couldn't tear his eyes away from that damn corner.

  "Mickey are you okay?" Ian asked, grip suddenly on his arm making him jump.

  Turning quickly, he buried his face in Ian's neck and breathed in the familiar smell of home because Ian was his home, his everything. Ian wrapped him up in his arms then and Mickey clutched at the front of his shirt, they were strong arms full of life. Ian was here right now and he needed to stay that way, he couldn't leave Mickey. Mickey needed him. 

  "Mick, it's okay. Let's go home and talk, it'll be okay," Ian crooned into his hair and Mickey realised then that he was full on sobbing into his fiancee's neck.

  The humiliation of it didn't quite register because this was Ian, his safe place. He had never felt this hopeless at the thought of his future with Ian before and it was all fucking Fiona's fault, ruining everything like a bitter bitch. Ian would be fine, Mickey would make sure of it.

  "I love you so much," Mickey breathed once he had stopped crying.

  "I love you too Mick, lets get you home. Whatever happened Fiona can wait," Ian said, pulling back and guiding him with a gentle arm around his shoulders.