Miss me? (A gallavich story)

The Hangout

Authors note: I know, I know. I suck. I apologize for abandoning this work for a hot minute. I can give you a list of excuses considering the past 5 to 6 months at least has been bad. But I just wanna say I appreciate and love all of my readers. On my bad days, I read through your comments and I feel better. So whether you are an og reader whose been here waiting for almost a year, or a new reader who has only had to wait a couple of days, here you go. <3

Mickey's knee bounced, and he was finding it increasingly hard to sit still. Mick was normally not an apprehensive person, and that knowledge was what was making Ian feel more and more annoyed every time that he felt the slight movement of the couch that Mickey was causing, and was reminded that this was out of character behavior for him. After another minute, Ian leaned forward and firmly gripped Mickey's leg, partly to get the bouncing to stop, partly because it gave him a petty sort of satisfaction to glance over at Shawn and see that he was pointedly looking at the place where Ian's hand met Mickey's thigh.

"So Shawn... how do you like working at the liquor store?" Ian finished, not sure what exactly to ask this kid.

"Well," Shawn started, squinting at Ian's hand as Ian began to stroke his thumb in small circles on Mickey's knee. He quickly caught himself though and was back to smiling before Mickey noticed the odd stare off between the two guys.  "I like it well enough, it's pretty quiet. Sometimes it can get kinda dull. Mickey has certainly livened up the place though." He smiled over at Mickey, which made him clear his throat uncomfortably, in hopes that he would draw attention away from the fact that Shawn's words made him smirk a bit.

"I'm gonna grab us some more beers," Mickey announced, still clutching a half full bottle in his hand. He wasn't sure how he was expecting the night to go when he first invited Shawn over to their place, but this was not it. When he reached the kitchen counter, he chugged the remainder of his first beer and popped open three more to bring back with him.

***

"So... nice place." Shawn stated, glancing over at a painting of a woman hanging above the tv that Ian had found at a Goodwill a few days prior.

"Thanks." Ian muttered, staring down at the floor, trying hard to not roll his eyes at him, wondering what was taking Mickey so long.

"Listen man, I can tell that you already don't like me, which tells me that Mickey has probably told you everything about our interactions. I wouldn't like me either if I was you. Yes, I like him. But I would never act on that. You have nothing to worry about with me. Besides, Mickey's crazy about you."

Ian nodded and finally looked up to meet the blonde boys eyes. As much as the anxiety in his brain didn't want to trust him, his words sounded genuine. Mickey tried to keep a tough face, but Ian knew that he wanted friends, someone outside of just Ian that he could shoot the shit with, confide in, etc. Maybe he should give this Shawn guy a chance.

Ian looked up as Mickey came back to the couch, his hands full with beers.

"Okay," Ian said as he stood up from his seat, he walked up to Mick and took the beers out of his hands, placing them on the coffee table next to him. "We're gonna go out," he stated, gesturing to the three of them.

"You serious Gallagher?" Mickey asked with a hint of hesitancy in his voice.

"Yeah, it'll be fun."