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Chapter Text

Ian had always hated the way his sister infantilized him.

Certainly, she had brought him up and for a very long time, he could not deny being actually a child, even if his life was far from a normal child's life. But now he was an adult, and Fiona continued to treat him like a kid.

Happy to finally have enough money to be able to help his family financially, he had wanted to offer his first salary to Fiona, but the latter had not really welcomed his gesture as he had hoped.

Rather than thanking him, she had lectured him, accusing him of wanting to spend all his money rather than putting it aside for the times when he would need it.

Ian did not understand why she wanted him to keep this money rather than use it for her and their family as she did with the money she earned. Especially since Fiona had at least four part-time jobs and she still struggled to get by.

She had been deaf to his arguments and had left the house leaving him alone in the kitchen.

Ian had hesitated a moment to leave the money on the counter or in his sister's room, but he knew perfectly well that it would annoy her even more and that she would send it back to him immediately. 

Besides, if Carl or Frank, unfortunately, found it first, they would use it for very different purposes.

Frustrated and upset, he finally had kept his money with him and had gone back to the small apartment he shared with his boyfriend.

Seeing the latter nowhere, and finding nothing to do in their apartment, he decided to go out looking for a place where to spend some of this problematic money.

He drank glass after glass until he no longer knew where he was or how much money he still had in his pocket, without succeeding in driving away his annoyance.

Feeling his bladder about to explode, he slipped away to the back of the building to empty himself into the alley, convinced that even if the bar had toilets, they should not be much cleaner than this aisle.

He muttered a few words, his head pressed against the wall of the building before feeling a feeling of relief take hold of him.

He let out a nervous giggle as he realized that after fantasizing about being able to help Fiona with his first salary before going to party with his boyfriend, the thing that had finally given him the most pleasure of the day was to empty his bladder.

He turned around, lamenting before immediately stop when he saw someone sitting nearby. 

He quickly unbuttoned his pants and walked over to him apologizing before stopping dead, realizing that this man might not in fact be one.

He had a disproportionate head, and his body seemed covered with hairs.

Ian approached him a little more, hoping to be able to discern reality despite all the alcohol he had ingested, but his vision remained the same.

“Who left a giant plush here?” He questioned out loud before raising his hand to judge the softness of the giant plush's fur.

He jumped and backed away quickly when the plush began to move and remained silent for long seconds before timidly approaching the big plush again and asking.

"Are you alive? Are you a haunted plush? "

The plush remained silent and motionless, causing Ian to get closer. He jumped again when it moved its head towards him, but kept walking to sat next to it.

"Are you bewitched by a demon or something like that? Are you going to eat me?"

Taking the silence of the plush for a no, Ian relaxed a little more.

"What does a giant plush like you, do in a dark alley? Did you also want to pee? Do giant plush pee? ”

He stayed silent a few moments thinking honestly about this question, his gaze fixed on the plush.

"You are not very talkative ... I’m just the opposite, I really like to talk, Lip says that sometimes I talk too much- Lip is my brother. But don't listen to what he says. He's a pretentious moron. ”

Realizing what he had just said, Ian started to panic. He had always been pissed off at Lip's pretentious side but never dared to tell anyone for fear that it would happen to Lip's ears and that he would get angry.

"Don't tell him I said that!" Ordered Ian panicked before adding with a nervous laugh.

"It’s right, plushies don’t speak…" 

He raised his hand again to put it on the fur that covered the plush's head and which looked so soft, but the plush jumped up to dodge the contact.

“I'm gonna stop! I promise I'm not gonna do it again! ”

He raised his hands in a sign of surrender hoping that it was enough to calm the fear of his curious interlocutor until finally, the latter sat down next to him.

"I like talking to you ... you know how to listen to people." Ian said with the most serious tone in the world.

"You know... I didn't have a great day. At first, I thought today was going to be a special day, but my sister didn't want to hear anything, and my boyfriend was not even there when I got home. "

The plush turned his head to Ian who stared into its eyes for a moment before continuing.

“I wanted to spend the evening with him to celebrate my first salary but he is I don't know where." 

Ian was not usually in the habit of openly admitting being gay to strangers, but this case was an exception and the alcohol flowing in his veins also helped him to forget the fears that usually accompanied this subject.

"Ah! Are there gay plushies? I don’t know a lot about plushies sex preferences… Are you all asexual. ”

He laughed at his own question before adding seriously.

"I couldn’t be abstinent or asexual- I know it's not the same thing- But I love sex too much for that. One of my exes tried to explain to me all this lgbt stuff with the all asexual shit, but I didn't get it all. It’s not because I’m gay that it’s easier for me to understand all this stuff… He was pissed because I couldn’t imagine being asexual, but I also couldn’t imagine being straight! That's too disgusting! I don't give a shit about what people do or not do in their bed, but that doesn't mean they can't do or can't not-do it- You understand?!? ”

Ian laughed as he thought about the only time Frank had given him good advice.

“Frank once told me that you don't care who has sex with whom. That the only thing was to find someone with whom to do it preferably without paying...  So, are asexuals looking for someone with whom not to do it? Are you Plush looking for someone with whom not to do it?”

For a second Ian thought he heard the stuffed toy laugh, but when he approached it again he couldn't hear any laughter anymore.

Convinced of being fooled again by the alcohol flowing through his veins, he looked up at the sky.

"I really say huge bullshit when I'm drunk... And I talk with a plush... You are a plush... I wanted to spend this evening with so many people but I'm here talking with a giant moving plush."

Ian's little laughter had now turned to tears and he looked sadly vague.

A loud noise echoed in the alleyway and the plush rose before walking to a door that Ian only noticed at that moment. It put its hand on the doorknob, ready to open it before turning around and coming to stand in front of Ian, his eyes still filled with tears.

Ian's eyes widened and his breath stopped when the big plush gently placed its hand on his head, tapping him kindly.

Before he could do anything, the giant plush shifted again and disappeared from the aisle.

* - * - *

Ian had staggered to his apartment and had collapsed on his bed without paying attention to his boyfriend sleeping next to him until the morning where Greg had made him a scene.

Ian had wanted to recall Greg that he had gone to drink alone because he had not found him when he came back even though he knew very well that he wanted them to celebrate his first salary together. But he was sure that this statement would backfire on him immediately, so he didn’t.

Greg was a busy man and a talented lawyer. He had supported Ian financially while he was preparing to become EMT without asking him anything. 

He had welcomed him into his apartment and paid for all their outings and their trips.

Money was never a topic of discussion between them, except when they were arguing and Greg used the situation they were in as an argument against Ian.

Not wanting to argue with him, Ian just listened to Greg and validated each of his arguments apologizing for his behavior, even if he didn't mean it.

After he got off his chest, Greg quickly prepared for work and left the apartment without another word.

Ian sighed and dropped back onto the bed, trying to remember what he had done the night before.

The vision of a surreal discussion with the giant plush came to his mind and for a moment he questioned his memories.

Unable to decide whether he could believe his mind or not, he simply decided to push these strange memories to the back of his mind and focus on something much more realistic.

He had his day off and planned to take advantage of it.

He saw out of the corner of his eye the money he had placed the night before on his bedside table and thought that now that Fiona had refused it was probably smarter to put it in a bank account.

He got up from his bed and went to the kitchen to pour himself a large glass of water hoping to flush out the last residue of alcohol which clouded his mind when the ringing of his phone resounded in the apartment.

He smiled tenderly when he saw Mandy's face appear on the screen and immediately picked up the phone.

“How is my best friend?”

"Not so good ... I just realized that you had your first real pay as an honest man yesterday and that we didn't even go to celebrate that."

Ian let out a little laugh as he remembered all the times he had talked with Mandy about his first salary and all that went with it.

"It doesn't matter…"

"It doesn't matter?!? I was counting on you to offer me a drink! At least if you have enough to pay it after helping Fiona. ”

Ian sighed and ran a hand nervously over his face. 

He hadn't been able to speak with Greg this morning about what had happened with Fiona and was convinced that his companion did not want to, but he still needed to talk about it to someone. 

He usually preferred to avoid overly depressing subjects when speaking with Mandy to make the most of the few moments they could have together, but this time would be an exception.

He calmly told her about his argument with Fiona. And before realizing it, he also told her about his argument this morning with Greg, just keeping his strange discussion with this giant plush for him.

Ian had already suspected that Mandy was not a fan of Greg and the nervousness that she displayed quickly confirmed his doubts.

“This guy is a moron who doesn't deserve you! How can he yell at you when he wasn't even there when you got home?!? "

"Don't worry Mandy, it doesn't matter-"

“It matters! This guy is a pretentious moron with a stick up the ass who thinks he's better than everyone else and he deserves to be brought down to earth! ”

Ian could not suppress a little laugh when he couldn't prove his friend wrong. He had always hated the pretentious side of Greg but had always made sure to ignore it to dwell on his qualities.

He stayed chatting with Mandy on the phone for a good hour, gradually forgetting all of his worries, and promised to meet her the same evening to pay her as much drink as she wanted.

Chapter Text

Knowing that his boyfriend would probably not be home until very late, Ian had sent him a message to prevent him that he would spend the evening with Mandy and that he could join them if he wanted.

To the delight of the young woman, Greg had quickly turned down the offer leaving them alone.

They had both drunk more than they should and were now laughing openly at each other's jokes regardless of the disapproving looks of the other customers around them.

Finally kicked out by the bartender, they stumble towards another bar where to quench their thirst.

The customers of this new bar gave Mandy a very different look, and she quickly let one of them seduce her.

Before she left she tried to motivate Ian to do the same, but even if the idea of spending the night with a man was really tempting and that he knew that nothing would happen with Greg tonight, he had a completely different man in his mind, at least if he could call it that.

The bar they were in was only a few blocks from the alley where he had met the giant plush and he was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to find out if it really existed or if it was just a creation of his imagination.

He let Mandy go and left the bar to join this alley as quickly as possible.

He smiled as he recognized the places thinking at least one part of his memory was real, however, the silence reigning in the alley reminded him that the rest of his memory was more than unrealistic.

He went towards the door that Plush had borrowed to disappear and pressed the handle. Unfortunately, it remained perfectly closed, preventing him from discovering if behind this one hid the kingdom of giant plushies.

Disappointed, but unsure of what else to do, Ian sat down in the place that Plush occupied the day before and closed his eyes.

He knew he shouldn't have given up hope on the stupid encounter he had surely imagined, but he couldn't help but be frustrated.

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the newcomer until the latter hit him violently on the arm.

Ian quickly opened his eyes, ready to fight with his attacker before realizing who was in front of him.

He smiled stupidly, and barely restrained himself from taking Plush in his arms remembering at the last minute that it did not like being touched.

The latter tapped him again and Ian realized what he was trying to tell him and shifted apologetically.

"Sorry I took your place."

He watched Plush settle down next to him before staring into the void.

Without really understanding why, Ian was extremely happy to find himself again with this giant plush in this alley.

On closer inspection, and with a little less alcohol in the blood than the day before, Plush was obviously the mascot of some establishment in the area, but despite this revelation, Ian preferred to continue to imagine that it was a giant plush, living with other plushies like it, and not a human in a costume.

"I spent the evening with my best friend ... but she left with a guy."

Ian perceived a little laugh but continued his story.

"She wanted me to do the same... To find a guy for a quicky to forget my problems... She doesn't like my boyfriend. She finds him pretentious and I can't really blame her. Greg is totally pretentious, but he has a lot of qualities- ”

Ian stopped dead when Plush turned to him. Even if no expression could be read on his face, he understood that Plush was waiting for the list of these so-called qualities.

“He is… He…”

Although he really wanted to list Greg's qualities, Ian suddenly had trouble finding them.

He was pleasant to look at, but not really handsome. He was sometimes funny, but most of his jokes were offensive. He was combative, but only when it would bring him something. 

It is also impossible to qualify him as generous, honest, or even protective.

Plush turned its gaze again to plunge it back into the void, letting Ian slowly realize that he was unable to really find qualities in Greg.

Without really understanding why, and almost regretfully, he finally confessed.

"He wants me..."

They both remained silent, motionless until a knock resonated from the other side of the door, pushing Plush to get up.

Again he placed its hand on Ian's head, stroking his hair furtively before disappearing on the other side of the door.

* - * - *

“Ian! Ian! Do you listen?"

Ian looked up from his plate to look at his brother sitting in front of him.

"What’s going on? You've got an issue at work? You look totally exhausted." Lip said with a sigh.

"Sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

Lip was not really wrong apart from the fact that it was not the job that kept Ian awake, but rather the truth that had come to him when he spoke with Plush.

"What do you think about Greg?" Ian questioned. 

Lip dared an interrogative eyebrow before responding with a small smile.

"He's not my type. I prefer them with more boobs and less stuff between the legs. ”

"I'm not talking about this. What do you really think about him? You like him."

Lip's smile disappeared to make way for a harsher expression.

"I think this guy is a pretentious moron who treats you like shit and the only reason I haven't punched him in the face yet is because of you."

Ian looked down, unable to look at his brother after hearing him say out loud what he barely dared to think.

Aware of his brother's doubts, Lip put his hand on his and said calmly.

"I really think you would be happier without him, but it's your choice, not mine."

"Can you help me get my stuff home?"

Ian had asked the question in a barely audible voice without daring to look up.

"We can even go do it right now if that's what you want."

Ian felt relieved not to feel judgment in Lip's voice, and even more relieved that he would soon be separated from Greg.

He did not want to drop him by text or in ghosting but was planning to recover all his belongings before admitting to him that he wanted to leave, just to make sure Greg can't fire him out of the apartment before he can get his stuff back.

* - * - *

Ian slowly took a puff on the spliff he had just rolled, letting the smoke permeate his lungs.

He had been back home for a few days and even though he still found it difficult to admit he loved being home again. 

Of course, Fiona was still as maternalist with him, his young siblings made far too much noise and Lip monopolized Mandy when the young woman came to see him, but none of this rivaled the discomfort which he knew now, had followed throughout his relationship with Greg.

The latter did not really like the idea of separation and quickly came to threats.

At first, Ian had let him talk until Greg told him that he should never have been in a relationship with a guy from such a horrible family.

Ian had no problem hearing people speak ill of him, he was quite used to it, but he would never let anyone speak ill of his family.

The situation had deteriorated further, going from threats to a simple punch to a violent fight.

Ian had managed to make Greg regret his words, but not without also bearing traces of their separation.

Upon returning home, Carl had offered to avenge him, Lip had been relieved that they had recovered his things before their official separation and Fiona had finally accepted his money now that he was living with them again, adding a new positive facet to this break-up.

“Yo Gallagher! Mandy’s here? ”

Ian looked up to place his eyes on Mickey, who had stopped in front of the little garden gate. The latter sketched a grimace when he saw the bruises on his face.

"Did your girlfriend learn that you were cheating on her?" He asked laughing.

With anyone else, Ian would have countered with a remark implicating the mother of his interlocutor, but surely not with Mickey.

Firstly because he knew his mother when she was still there and as strange as it may seem he liked her and that he knew that none of the Milkovich children had liked when people talk about her since her departure. 

Ian didn't know if she was gone or "gone," he just knew that she wasn't here anymore and that Mandy didn't want to talk about her. 

“Mandy is inside with Lip.”

Mickey's face tightened when he heard this statement. He knew Mandy had a crush on Lip and didn't like the idea at all, mostly because he didn't like Lip.

“Go get her. It’s not natural for a Milkovich to be so close to Gallaghers. ”

He immediately looked away and hastened to take a cigarette out of his pack and light it.

Ian sighed trying to chase away the pain that Mickey's words had created in him, and waited until he was on the other side of the door to let it show on his face.

Mickey was probably right, it was not natural for their families to be around each other, especially the way he hoped. However, that hadn't been enough to keep him from fantasizing about him for all these years.

"Everything is fine Ian?"

Ian displayed the same neutral expression on his face that he showed in front of Mickey, hoping that his sister was not trying to ask more questions.

“Mickey is outside, looking for Mandy.”

Without warning, Fiona started shouting Mandy's name before ordering her to come down, startling Ian in the process. 

Even if he had left the family home only a short time he knew it would take him a while to get used to their way of communicating.

Fiona smirked before asserting happily.

"There, it's done."

* - * -*

Ian felt like he could never be happy, as if fate forbade him.

When everything was going well at work he had issues with his family, then his boyfriend. And now that he thought he had solved all of his problems, the most dangerous and tempting of all came back to the surface. Mickey Milkovich.

Ian had always found Mickey attractive and quickly discovered that behind hard fronts he was hiding a very different personality.

However, he had made sure to keep at a safe distance from him. 

Mandy had accepted the fact that he was gay without any problem, but he would certainly be different for Mickey, especially if he discovered that he was very interested in him.

However, even though he knew he had to keep these feelings to himself, he wanted to talk to someone about it, he needed to talk about it. And he only saw one person who could listen to him without question.

Chapter Text

Ian shifted to make space for Plush as soon as he came out into the alley.

This time he wasn't drunk at all and came right there after work.

"I wanted to talk..." he said shyly hoping that the person in front of him agreed to stay and listen to him.

Plush dropped to his side, sighing, making Ian smile.

"I broke up with my boyfriend... And I went back to live with my family... And I saw this guy again-"

Instinctively Ian began to play nervously with his fingers. It was the first time he had talked to anyone about this and even if there was no way it could get to Mickey’s ears, he was anxious.

"I have known him for a long time, he is my best friend's brother and I have always- I always wanted- I like him. For a long time…"

Ian smiled when he realized that he had finally admitted it out loud after all these years.

"He's super cute, even if he would kill me if he heard me say that. He is short but very strong, probably more than me. He's gorgeous blue eyes and an ass to die for- ”

Ian stopped dead when he saw Plush suddenly stand up. He immediately apologized, hoping he hadn't disturbed it too much.

"Did I shock you?"

Ian interpreted his interlocutor's nod as a no and displayed a shy little smile.

"Do you think I should tell him? He would surely hate me if I told him. I don’t think he’s like his father. He was a fucking homophobe. He still is, but he's in prison… I hope he stays there forever. ”

Plush turned his head towards Ian who smiled sadly before explaining.

"Terry was a horrible father to my friend and her siblings and I'm sure they are happier without him. Do you think it makes me a bad person to want him to stay in jail? ”

Ian felt relieved by the answer Plush silently gave him and sighed before continuing his explanation.

“His father is a homophobe, but not his sister… And I don't think he is either. Then there is a big difference between not being a homophobe and being gay… Do you think I should tell him? ”

This time he got an answer to his question. An answer unfortunately very different from what he hoped for.

He tried to hold back the tears but failed miserably and therefore contented himself with wiping them with the back of his sleeve.

Plush stood up and seemed to hesitate for a moment before placing his hand on Ian's head before finally doing so and staying there until the fateful knock on the door called him back inside leaving Ian alone.

* - * - *

It was 3 am and Ian was still trying to fall asleep without any real results. 

Since his return from Greg's apartment, he had to sleep in the same room as Lip and therefore couldn’t turn on the light to occupy himself while waiting for sleep to come.

“Ian?”

Ian turned to his brother's bed, obviously just as awake as he was.

“I know you are old enough to make your choices, but be careful. Just because you are attracted to someone doesn’t mean he's a good person. You might regret telling him... He's not like his sister. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

Ian felt his heart racing after his brother's words. 

Fear knotted his stomach while an improbable and disturbing idea took hold of him.

Was it possible that Lip was the person hidden in Plush? He certainly didn’t see Lip working in such a place, hurting his pride, but he knew his brother needed money to continue his studies and Ian couldn't imagine another way to explain how Lip knew about Mickey. 

He may have accepted the job and hidden the truth from his family out of pride.

In this case, it meant that he had heard everything, for his first salary, for his now-ex-boyfriend, but especially for Mickey.

None of them said another word that night, but Lip's words spun in Ian's head until the morning fueling his doubts every second.

Lip pretended to ignore the fiery looks of his younger brother when he woke up, but Ian knew he couldn't move on until he had these doubts.

He walked over to Lip while he was making coffee and asked in the most confident voice possible.

"How do you know- Who told you for- Who told you?"

Lip sighed, only now realizing that it was all true.

"Mandy... I thought she was wrong but I preferred to warn you just in case. Watch out Ian, not everyone at the Milkoviches is like Mandy. ”

Lip left the room leaving his brother alone facing new doubts.

* - * - *

After having doubts about Lip, now Ian had some doubts about Mandy. 

Just like Lip, it was quite possible that the young woman worked under this mascot costume without wanting to inform anyone. 

And Plush never having said a single word, it was impossible to know if it was a man or a woman.

Certainly, there was still the possibility that Plush was a total stranger and that Mandy had just discovered his feelings for Mickey in some other way.

However, the fact that she called him the day after his first meeting with Plush did not help Ian to believe that it was simply a coincidence.

This idea disturbed him all day, causing him to forget all the clues proving that Mandy and Plush couldn't be the same person and preventing him from concentrating properly on his work, earning him several warnings from his boss.

Determined to get rid of his doubts, Ian called Mandy as soon as his service ended.

“Ian! I was just thinking about you! We make a party Friday evening at home. You come?"

"Yeah... If you want."

"What's going on? Are you okay?" Mandy asked, worried about her friend's very monotonous tone.

"Did you say anything to Lip about me and Mickey?"

The question caught the young woman off guard and it took her longer than usual to answer.

"I didn't want to- He said bullshit about Mickey and I said that another Gallagher did not think at all like him, on the contrary... After that, he did not want to drop the subject and I ended up telling him that you probably have feelings for Mickey. ”

"How do you know?" Ian questioned nervously, admitting at the same time his feelings for the young Milkovich.

"I know you, Ian… I know when you are interested in someone and I noticed the way you looked at Mickey."

Ian tried to calm down by breathing deeply and Mandy did her best to help him, telling her friend that Mickey didn't know and that she wouldn't tell him anything.

"Why did you call me the day after I got my first salary?" Asked Ian hoping to be able to get rid of all his doubts.

Mandy frowned, not understanding why Ian was asking this question.

"Your name came up in a chat that morning and it reminded me that you should have your first pay the day before. Why?"

"Is that all?"

"Ian are you ok? I'm worried. I'm sorry I told Lip about your feelings. ”

"I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

Mandy was very unconvinced of her friend's assertion, and Ian could easily feel it.

"I'm fine." He said again, trying to appear as sincere as possible.

He knew if Mandy was the person hiding under Plush she would have taken advantage of this moment to reveal the whole truth as she had done for her discussion with Lip.

Ian now had to face the facts, it had all been a coincidence and Plush wasn’t part of his knowledge.

* - * - *

Ian remained motionless for a few moments, his back against the wall of the restaurant from which Plush usually went out.

He had seen him through the restaurant windows, surrounded by children yelling around him, and had wanted to come in to talk to him but had finally given up for fear of breaking the weak bond that united them.

He went to the alley when he heard the back door creak and stopped dead, noting that the giant Plush he used to see had no more its head, this one resting a few steps from the door when the occupant of the costume was throwing up his guts against the wall.

Ian's footsteps caught the man's attention and he straightened up, wiping away with his hand the vomit that had remained at the corner of his mouth.

"What!?! You never seen someone throw up? Get out of here! ”

With these few words, it was as if the reality of the world had collapsed on Ian, reminding him that the relationship he thought he had with this giant plush was just a one-way discussion and nothing more.

The only compensation, if there was to be one, was that this guy was indeed a stranger and his secrets would remain secrets forever.

* - * - *

Ian readily accepted the beer Mandy handed him when he arrived. He had a difficult week and was happy to finally be able to relax and clear his head.

Even though he had seen Plush's real face and could no longer ignore the fact that he was a stranger, he still had trouble matching their discussion and this guy's attitude when he had spoken to him for the first time.

"Ian, about Lip... You know-"

"Don't worry. I’m not mad at you." Ian promised before admitting that he had been a bit stressed for the past few days and had panicked for not much.

Mandy displayed a shy little smile in response and simply offered to join the rest of the guests in the garden enjoying the sun.

Like every time he was with Mandy, Ian had the impression that time was passing faster than usual, the hours passing more and more quickly as the beers were drunk.

Mandy put her hand on his shoulder and stood up, announcing that she had to go to the bathroom and ordering Ian to follow her.

"I think you can do it on your own." Ian said laughing.

"You think I'm going pee when the door can't close and there are all those assholes in my house?!?"

Ian sighed but got up to follow Mandy.

He sat down next to the bathroom door to wait for his friend before laughter from Mickey's bedroom caught his attention.

Ian knew he was forbidden to enter, at least if you didn't want to piss off Mickey.

He got up and walked to the bedroom, quickly followed by Mandy who left the bathroom.

Ian recognized Iggy and Colin, but also the head of the mascot which Iggy held in the hands.

"Iggy if you don't want Mickey to kill you, you better put this thing on immediately and get out of his room!"

Iggy laughed louder and put on the mascot's head before making big gestures towards his cousin who was just as amused by the situation.

Mandy grabbed the mascot's ear and brutally tugged on it, removing it from his brother’s head before kicking him on the crotch.

Iggy collapsed to the floor and Colin and Ian looked at him with pity, nervously holding their balls and wincing as he imagined the pain he must be feeling.

"Out!" Growled again Mandy before putting the mascot's head back in Mickey's closet.

"You haven't seen anything Gallagher!"

"It's Mickey's?"

"I just told you that you hadn't seen anything!" Growled Mandy, turning around.

She calmed down a bit seeing no fun on her friend's face.

"It's Mickey's?" Asked again Ian, unable to say anything else.

Mandy nodded.

"This stuff pays better than being a bouncer. If I weren't so claustrophobic I would do it too, but I panic with just the idea of putting this on. ”

"It's Mickey's?"

“How many times will I have to answer you?!? Yes, it's Mickey's. He brought it back because one of his colleagues borrowed it from him without telling him and threw up on it. His boss is so stingy that he didn't want to have it cleaned… Mickey brought it home to try to get the smell of vomit out. ”

Again Ian wanted to ask Mandy if this mascot head really belonged to Mickey as if asking this question again would change the answer.

"Sorry Mandy, I have to go..."

Mandy tried to catch Ian before he walked through the door but to no avail.

Chapter Text

Ian had done everything to avoid Mandy's calls and spent most of his time outside the house for fear of meeting her or worse of meeting Mickey.

He hadn't returned to the alley since Mandy's party and still didn't know what to think about what he had learned.

If it was Mickey's costume as Mandy said, it explained why Plush hadn’t wanted to talk to him. 

It could also explain why Mandy called him, at least if he imagined that Mickey was the one you talked about him to his sister.

However, that didn't explain why Mickey hadn't said anything about their last meeting.

Why he remained silent after Ian admitted to being gay, let alone why he said nothing when he openly admitted to being attracted to him.

Ian groaned in despair as he remembered that moment again, regretting each of his words.

Unable to make up his mind to go home, he walked through the door of the first bar he found to spend all the money he had on him. He came out two hours later, totally drunk and with only one idea in mind, to return to this alley.

Miraculously he managed to find his way to the back of the building. 

He stopped in front of the door before rushing over and pounding on it as if his life depended on it.

An extremely large man violently opened the door, knocking him to the ground.

"What do you want?!?"

"Plush!" Ian replied in a voice distorted by alcohol.

"What?!?"

"Don't worry Joe, I'll take care of him." Said Mickey, placing his hand on the man's shoulder.

He walked past him and went out into the alley before closing the door behind him.

"I don't want to see you! I want to see Plush!" Ian said, pointing an accusing finger at Mickey who was not wearing his costume.

"I WANT TO SEE PLUSH!" Ian asserted vehemently again.

"Ian calm down."

Ian tried to get up and stagger forward to Mickey.

“I don't want to see you! You are a liar! I want to see Plush! I like him! ”

Mickey grabbed his arm and pulled him before he punched him hard in the stomach.

“Sorry, Ian…”

* - * - *

Ian felt his whole body hurt. He tried to straighten up, but his head was spinning and his stomach tensed in pain with each movement.

"You better not throw up on my bed."

Mickey's voice pushed Ian to get up and open his eyes despite the pain that this action brought him.

It took a few moments before he realized that he was in the room of young Milkovich and not on his own.

"Why am I here?" Growled Ian, before trying to calm the urge to vomit that took hold of him.

"You were completely drunk... I couldn't leave you passed out in this alley otherwise Mandy would have killed me. And I couldn't take you to your house either because you kept talking about me. ”

Ian frowned, unable to remember the night before without a single word.

"Plush…"

Mickey sighed long before asserting angrily.

“This nickname is so stupid!”

"You're Plush." Ian said as if to convince himself of the reality of the facts.

"I told you to stop with this stupid nickname. I'm not a fucking plush. And if you're going to tell anyone that I work there I kill you. ”

Ian tried to stabilize on the bed, taking a few moments to quell his urge to vomit.

"Is that why you didn't say anything to anyone about me? By fear that I will find out that you are working as a mascot and tell everyone? ”

Mickey hesitated a moment to lie before remembering that it was potentially his one and only chance to tell Ian the whole truth.

"No. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to tell others. "

"You told Mandy the first time we saw each other." Affirmed Ian himself astonished by his sudden lucidity.

"I didn't say anything... I just said your name in a conversation and she remembered everything on her own. "

"Why? Why were you so nice? "

"I don't have the right to be nice?" Asked Mickey, crossing his arms, annoyed by Ian's assertions.

"Why didn't you say anything when you found out I was gay."

“It didn't concern me-”

"What about when I said I liked you?"

Mickey looked away, unable to figure out what to say to Ian. 

He knew precisely why he hadn't said anything, but barely admitting to himself he couldn't see himself saying it out loud in front of Ian.

The two of them remained motionless, staring ahead, unable to say anything before Ian's nerves burst out nervously laughing.

"What?!?"

"That's why you didn't want me to touch you, right?" Ian questioned without being able to calm his laughter.

Mickey frowned before reminding Ian that he didn't learn he was gay until after, and that if he didn't want him to touch him there it was because the second before he was peeing against a wall and that in his state it was impossible that he did not have some on his hands.

Mickey's remark gradually dissipated Ian's nervous laughter until silence fell on them again.

"Are you going to beat me up?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm gay."

"And?" Mickey asked, coming closer to Ian until he looked him in the eye.

"And you're beating up on gays..." Ian said, hesitating for a moment to make his sentence a question.

Mickey rolled his eyes, sighing before walking towards Ian, nervously biting his lower lip.

He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but at this point, honestly, he couldn't turn around, even though the situation was terrifying.

"I'm not my father." He said standing in front of Ian staring him straight in the eye.

Ian felt Mickey's eyes drop down his body and linger on his crotch before going back to fix on his face and showing a satisfied smile.

"You have ten seconds to take your clothes off or to get out of my room."

Ian stood motionless at Mickey’s assertion, unable to accept what his words implied.

“And without throwing up.” Added young Milkovich with a small grin, gently slipping one of his fingers under Ian's t-shirt.

Ian didn't wait for another second to obey, and drew Mickey to him still unable to understand what luck had brought him to this situation, but unable to back down.

Mickey replied to his kiss but stepped back quickly for a moment, to grab the lubricant and condoms he kept in a box under his bed.

Ian tried to grab him by fear of seeing him go, but Mickey's smile reassured him.

He let his gaze wander around the room as Mickey got down from the bed and grabbed the box to put it on the bedside table, knocking over the empty beer cans and the full ashtrays.

He grabbed his t-shirt to get it over his head, but stopped, noticing the fixed gaze that Ian was putting behind him.

He turned and saw the head of his stupid mascot costume hanging from the loose closet.

"You know how boring it was to lug your ass and this thing across town? People already think I lug a dead body when I bring this stuff home, but with you half unconscious, I should be happy nobody called the cops. "

Ian let out a small laugh as he imagined the scene before resting his gaze on Mickey with a different expression on his face.

Mickey gripped Ian's hair firmly, forcing him to tilt his head back to better look him in the eyes without letting the slightest trace of malevolence appear.

"Plush was nicer." Affirmed Ian, putting his hand on the waistband of Mickey's pants.

The latter let the young Gallagher undo the tie and get rid of it before climbing on him astride, crushing his hand on his chest to force him to lie fully on the bed.

"Shut the fuck up and I'll show you how nice I can be."

Ian knew it, the expression that Mickey displayed on his face would probably have scared more than one, but he, on the contrary, was only excited by Mickey's promises and amused by the idea that if he found himself today in this bed with the man on whom he had fantasized for years it was thanks to a giant plush.