Chapter Text
Tami’s walking around the kitchen in Gallagher’s house when she hears a loud and joyful laugh coming from upstairs.
It sounds like Ian. At least she thinks it does.
She’s not used to to this fucked up family yet so she’s not so sure if it is really Ian who the laugh belongs to but she can guess that by deduction. It’s early in the morning Debbie and Carl are still sleeping or if not they’re nowhere to be found, Lip is who the fuck knows where doing everything but talking to her about Fred.
Or well maybe not Fred in particular but about them. About their future.
So yeah she knows he’s not home and that leaves only two suspects - or maybe just one really because the truth being told if either Ian or Mickey are here that means the other one is here as well.
They’re just like that for some reason. Always together, always loud as fucks and always making her weirdly uncomfortable.
Tami doesn’t get it if she’s being honest. How could you be so close with someone you know so little about? But she’s not here to judge - she’s here for her child and it’s childish father.
Which isn’t fair really, why would she and Lip be so far away from each other while having a literal kid together, when Ian is oh so lovey dovey with some guy he met in prison for god’s sake?
Tami doesn’t get it.
She puts the kettle on trying to ignore the happy pair upstairs when she hears the door creak open.
“Hi” says Lip as he takes off his shoes. Before Tami gets a chance to answer another cheerful sound comes downstairs. She can see the corner of Lip’s mouth lift slightly.
“They've been like that since I woke up.” She says leaning against the cabinet, “They’re creeping me out I won’t lie.”
Lip snorts at that “Why? Did my brother show you his blowing up vans skills or something?”
“Ok maybe I didn’t express myself clearly enough - Ian’s not creeping me out, he’s alright… for now I think? I don’t know, haven't spoken to him much but he’s your brother and besides the fact that he had just been released from prison I’m fine with him. He seems to love Fred so I’mma give him a chance.” She finished her discourse and took a breath. “It’s the other one I have a problem with.”
“Mick?” Lip asked as he sat down at the table. “What did he do?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe I’m just not so sure about a literal criminal living under the same roof as my son!” she claimed raising her arms to the air.
“Mick’s harmless.”
“How’d you know! You can’t be so calm about this.” Tami doesn’t believe what she's hearing.
“Well you’re the mother of my child.” He says slowly “Even if Mickey was a serial killer you’d be completely safe here.”
The kettle had finished boiling the water as Tami opened the top shelf to get herself a mug - and maybe she thought about taking out one for Lip too but she stopped herself.
“Oh yeah I’m sure about that” She said sarcastically and put a teabag in the cup.
“Tami, you are the mother of my child which means you are a part of my family.” Lip ran his hand through his hair if you’d ask him - he's tired of Tami’s mood swings. “I’m Ian’s brother, my family is his family and Mick would never hurt Ian.”
“You don’t know that! My god both of you are so god damn stupid!” She laughs to herself. “You all don’t even know the guy yet you treat him like some kind of a gift! Carl talks to him all the time - no wait I’m sorry whenever he gets a chance cause to find this convict somewhere without Ian is a miracle. Debbie acts like she’s in love with him and well maybe she is! She’s young and with a baby on her hip I guess she’d settle for anything.”
Lip made a face at that but before he could say anything Tami continued “And Ian, oh Ian this poor man is bewitched! He’s dickwhipped or some other shit he’s acting like the sun shines out of that man’s ass! Which is fine it really is he just got out of jail he’s not in his right mind but YOU Lip what the fuck? Why are you so okay with this? Don’t fucking look at me like that! If it was about me I wouldn’t give a crap but It’s about Fred! Fred need a safe space to grow up and if you’re not willing to find a place for us then I have all the fucking right to complain about Ian’s prison fuck-buddy living under the same roof as me!” She finished and turned around to make the tea.
Lip scratched his eyebrow not sure what to say “Well what do you want me to do with him then?” he asks unsure.
“I don’t know! Ask him when he is going to stop playing house with Ian and leave.”
“Uh I think the answer is pretty obvious. Never.” Lip says stretching legs under the table feeling quite uncomfortable right now. He’s feeling weird; he’s siding with Mickey here. He laughs inside at the thought.
Tami, a little more calm now takes her cup of tea, sips a little and then asks “How?”
“Well you can try to convince Ian otherwise but I’m pretty sure Mickey’s like the love of his life or whatever you call that shit.”
Tami looks at him weird.
“From what I know they’ve been fucking since the fucking beginning of times. I’m pretty sure Ian was fifteen or somethin’ ”
Tami chokes on her tea “What?”
“Yeah Mick’s like… well he’s family. Not just to Ian but to all of us.” Lip takes a breath and looks at his- well whatever they are to each other. “You might dislike him, I wouldn’t blame you. I hate him dearly most of the time but he’s family and he loves Ian so that’s all I care about.”
Tami has no idea what to think. Silence fills up the Gallagher kitchen for a few minutes.
“So… what am I supposed to do now?” Tami asked hesitantly.
“What do you mean?”
“Do I like… have to get along with him or something? Is this southside thug like a determinant here? If he likes you - you get to be in the family?”
Lip laughs at that. Full teeth fucking smile.
“I’ve never looked at it this way but” He thinks for a second “I’d be nice for you to talk to him. Mick can be complicated and will annoy the shit out of you but uh you’d rather be on good terms with him than not I guess.”
Suddenly they hear the stairs creak and no one else appears but Mickey Milkovich himself. Wearing long green shirt that Tami can only assume is Ian's and blue boxers that Lip is certain are Ian's.
“For fuck’s sake what are y’two doing here” Mickey asks opening the fridge doors and almost hitting Tami with it.
“Talking about what a piece of shit you are. Nothing unusual. Did my brother already fucked you that you’re up at this hour?” says Lip smirking.
“Very funny Philip, you should quit your job and host a comedy show. No wait, you don’t have one.” Mickey says as Tami watches him take out two glasses and pour orange juice to one and water to the other. “To answer your question, no, he did not but just in a second I’m gonna ask him exactly for that, fuck you very much Gallagher.”
Mickey doesn’t say anything else. He takes the drinks and some old yogurt he found in the fridge upstairs without sparing a thought to Lip and his whoever the fuck she is.
“Charming” Tami snorted and finished her tea.
“I mean if you’d call waking up early to come down here and take water and food for your lover so he can take his meds without getting out of bed, charming.” Lip takes a breath “then yeah, I guess Mickey Milkovich is charming like that.”
Tami’s quiet for a second.
“I didn’t think about it that way. I guess I don’t think It suits him he doesn’t seem like the romantic type, more like quick fuck and fuck off type.”
“You’d be surprised." Lip laughs a little again and can’t believe he’s siding with a Milkovich. Or maybe it’s just the thought of Milkoviches being a constant part of their lives. Even if there’s only one left.
And maybe just maybe he’d wish for there to be one more. The one he used to argue all the time with but now he’d side with her with a heartbeat.
“What’s with the look on your face?” Tami asks unsure what to do with Lip's empty stare.
Lip swallows and looks right into Tami's eyes. “I’d do everything to have what my brother has.”
And suddenly Tami can’t breathe. She’s speechless with one thought on her mind.
Maybe I can give you that
After a minute she came to her senses and decided to end the silence “What? A Milkovich?” She laughs softly.
Yeah. Lip thinks without a second thought and immediately beats himself for it. He’s not a kid anymore and he knows. He knows Mandy’s not coming back. He’s not Ian, he cannot make Milkoviches appear out of nowhere besides he doesn’t want her to come back. He has a life now: a son, a mother of that son. He's clean, he’s stable and he’s happy.
But at the back of his mind he thinks.
Karen wasn’t supposed to come back either. And she did.
“Nah more like… have this certainty. He knows. He has always known. Milkovich became his world when Ian was fucking fifteen it’s fucking” Lip’s fidgeting nervously now “It’s fucked up. My brother looked at Mickey fucking Milkovich nine years ago and was like THAT’S IT and I- I can’t even-”
Suddenly Tami comes to the table, sits on a chair next to Lip’s and takes his hand into hers. She holds him tightly so he can calm down and look at her properly. “Hey, we’re going to figure it out. We had a baby while hating each other so th-”
“I didn’t hate you Tami.” Lip squeezes her hand “but you’re so fucking annoying sometimes”
They both laugh at that. Still holding onto each other.
“We’re gonna make this work. For Fred and for us.” she says quietly and then adds “also if your brother can have a years long lasting relationship with a southside thug then what’s stopping us?”
“Well my brother and his southside thug love each other. Like no one I’ve ever seen so…”
Right. Love.
Tami’s quiet for a moment and then squeezes Lip’s hand back.
“We’re gonna figure this one out too.”