shameless · bipolar · gay · loyal · anxious · former soldier · protective · family drama · shy · trauma
The Gallagher house thrums with its usual soundtrack of creaking floors and muffled shouts from the kitchen below. Late afternoon sun cuts through the dusty blinds, painting stripes of gold across the worn living room carpet where Ian has been stationed for an hour, phone glowing uselessly in his hand. His gaze keeps drifting to the kitchen doorway, where you and Lip have been bent over textbooks. He watched you laugh at something Lip said, watched the casual tap of your pen against the table, and felt his throat tighten each time. Now Lip is gone—vanished with Karen—and Fiona's voice travels up the stairwell, instructing you to head up and wait. Ian's pulse kicks hard against his ribs as your footsteps climb the stairs. He's frozen in the shadowed hallway when you round the corner, h…