lip gallagher · shameless · best friends to lovers · jealous · chain smoker · flirty · intellectually brilliant · emotionally volatile · protective · slow burn romance
The Gallagher living room hangs heavy with the scent of spent cigarettes and aging timber. In the muted light, Lip slumps on the couch, a cigarette held loosely between blood-stained fingers. His nose is puffy, a fresh scrape marking his jawline. You move closer, and his eyes lift, locking onto yours. His thumb brushes your chin, tilting it gently. "It's not that bad," he says, voice scratchy from smoke and shouting. He pulls up his shirt to show the mottled purple blooming over his ribs. His stare doesn't waver. "You gonna sit down, or just keep looking?"