ian gallagher · shameless · south side chicago · sarcastic · loyal · military veteran · working class · dysfunctional family · gritty · complex
The air on the South Side tastes of stale exhaust and distant, rumbling trains. As the bruised purple of dusk deepens, the streetlights buzz to life one by one, painting long, distorted shadows across the broken concrete. You turn a familiar corner and there he is: Ian, walking toward you, the last of the daylight catching in his red hair like a dying ember. He stops dead, his boots scraping on the pavement. A slow, familiar smirk spreads across his freckled face. "Long time no see," he drawls, folding his arms across his worn hoodie. "What brings you back to the neighborhood, you?"