Only You - [Lip Gallagher]

mutual agreement

"Hey, you leaving for camp today?" I ask Carl as I walk in the house, he nods and hugs me tightly, "I just wanted to say thanks for always being there for us and I love you." Carl says as he squeezes me, I hug him back, "I love you too, baby boy." I kiss his forehead, "Have fun at camp okay?" I tap his chin, making him smile as he leaves with Frank.

I decided to try and take the high road this time, I'm not going to show Lip he hurt me at all, "Where were you last night?" Fiona asks as she is rushing around to leave, "Kev and V's." I say, "You and Lip okay?" She asks and I glance up at him, "Yeah, we're fine. Not together but fine." I say, she looks at me, "What?" I shake my head and wave her off, "Mutual agreement." I lie, "Okay, let me know if you need anything. I'm off to work." She taps my chin and leaves the house. "Mutual agreement?" Lip asks, I ignore him and continue to start the breakfast burritos for Debbie's daycare kids, "Sadie." Lip calls out, no response. He punches the wall and leaves the house, "What's his problem?" Jimmy walks into the kitchen, "He cheated on me and he's mad at me because I won't talk to him." I respond, "He needs to get a grip." Jimmy scoffs and takes over the eggs, "Says you, Jimmy-Steve." I joke with him and he flings a piece of egg at me, "Asswipe." I throw the same egg back at him, "See you later, you're good to help Debs hold the fort down?" I ask as I back towards the door, "Yeah, I got it." Jimmy waves me off, "Bye, call me if you need me." I say and turn towards the door and leave. – Kev asked me to help him open the truck this year since his foot s still broken; only thing is, Lip will be there but I'm doing it for Kev. I told Ian to meet me there so I can fall back on him when it gets awkward, Lip doesn't handle me being upset with him well.

"Hey." I announce myself as I walk up to the truck, "Hey." Ian says, opening his arm for me to side hug him, I do and he holds me close, "So what were you saying?" Ian asks Lip, "Mandy's sister's mom died and she's all alone up in Milwaukee and we're gonna go up to get her so she can avoid child services." Lip explains as he messes with the engine. "So kidnap?" Ian asks with a chuckle, "Provide transportation to a safer haven." Lip corrects, "Bad idea." I mutter, "Oh she speaks?" Lip says sarcastically, I roll my eyes. "Look," Ian starts as he follows him into the truck, I follow closely on his tail, "Crossing state lines with a minor to the Milkovich House of Horrors seems like abuse." Ian says, "Yeah, Mandy literally got pregnant with her father's child." I say from right outside the truck as he tries to start it, "Like your dad is any better?" Lip snarks, "My dad has never fucked me." I cross my arms, "But he beats the shit out of you right?" Lip looks at me, I'm silent, "Exactly." Lip mutters just as the engine revs, "You're such a dick." Ian says, walking out of the truck and grabbing my arm gently, leaving the junkyard.

"Fuck him, Sade." Ian says as we walk home, "It's fine, he's right." I sigh, "No, fuck that. You don't deserve that shit, he treats you like shit." Ian lectures, "Mickey treats you like shit and you still love him." I point out, "We're fucked up, aren't we?" Ian chuckles, "Yeah and we loved two fucked up men to make it worse." I smile and wrap my arm around his torso, he around my shoulder and we continue to walk back home.

++

"Can you two time me in the pool? These kids can't count." Debbie asks us as we walk up the yard, "Sure, yeah." I agree and we sit at the edge of her makeshift pool since we haven't fixed the big one yet,  "Woah, 53 seconds Debs!" Ian says, "Only 39 seconds to go." Debbie says as she takes a deep breath and goes back under. She's practicing for when she goes to the public pool, Frank told her some kids are gonna hold her under water and she's been obsessed with being able to hold her breath for as long as possible.

After several hours of Debbie holding her breath and all her daycare kids have gone home I decide to go inside while Ian stays with her. I walk inside to see Fiona taking a baking sheet full of chicken nuggets out of the oven, Lip walks in right after me with Mandy and a little girl, "Hey, where you been?" Fiona asks Lip, "Milwaukee, uh, guys, this is Molly, Mandy's sister." He introduces us, "You have a sister?" Fiona furrows her eyebrows, "I do." Mandy hesitates, "Uh, Molly, bathroom?" She asks her sister and goes to walk into the bathroom just as Debbie barges in, soaking wet, "You guys! I'm up to 75 seconds!" She exclaims, "For what?" Lip asks, "Prepping to be drowned at the city pool." Ian says, "Oh, cool. Well Debs, this is Molly, Mandy's sister. Can you show her the bathroom?" Lip asks and Debbie immediately brings her upstairs, "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea. Molly isn't exactly a girl." Mandy whispers to us, "Trans?" I ask, Mandy shakes her head, "Her mom was so fucked up she convinced Molly she is a girl, birth name is Molly and everything." Mandy explains as she rushes upstairs, "Jeez." I mutter, "Milwaukee?" Fiona asks, "Look, her mother OD'd and she called Mandy." "Uh, so why are you involved?" Fiona asks as she squeezes ketchup into a bowl, "He's Captian Chivalry now." Ian says sarcastically as he grabs a beer, Lip glares at him, "Look, she's a girl that needs shelter while we figure out the next step." Lip explains, "Lip, stop worrying about other people when you have plenty to worry about here." Fiona says, Lip glances at me then quickly back to Fiona, "I know how it is to be in the system and I will always do what I can to keep kids out of it." Lip explains, "Apply that energy elsewhere." I roll my eyes and mutter, "Can she stay here for a little?" Lip asks, "We're full up." Fiona says, "Not with Carl gone we're not." Lip points out, "Take her to her father's." Jimmy recommends, "Terry molests his daughters, can't do that." Lip says , "Should of led with that." Jimmy says awkwardly and Fiona sighs, "You don't need to be playing house with Mandy Milkovich." Fiona whispers, "Yes or no?" Lip asks as he plays with a chicken nuggets between his fingers, "A week and she's gone." Fiona agrees and Lip smiles, "Got it." He says and goes upstairs. Fiona sighs and shakes her head, "What?" Jimmy asks, "He's playing house with a Milkovich and it's pathetic, you know what kind of signals this sends to girls like Mandy." She whispers, I let out a long sigh and Fiona side hugs me, "It'll be alright, he's not stupid enough to let you go too far." She kisses my temple, "At least I hope." Fiona mutters.

++

Lip and Mandy are standing off to the side whispering to each other as Ian, Molly, and I are watching Debbie in the pool. "How long?" Debbie says popping out of the water and wiping her face, "Ninety two seconds!" I shout as I look at Ian's watch and we all cheer for her, Lip starts splashing me with water, I look at him and he's smirking with a cigarette between his teeth. I roll my eyes and ignore his advances.

Later that night I decide to sleep in Carl's bed since he's not here. As I climb into his bed I see Mandy kiss Lip, my jaw drops and Lip walks in the room, "What are you doing?" Lip asks as I finish the climb, laying down, "Sleeping in Carl's bed, don't you have your own room to go to?" I ask, "Mandy and Molly are sleeping in my bed." Lip explains, "So go lay with them since you know Mandy is clearly your new girlfriend, playing house with her and all." I say, "I played house with you first and look how that ended up." Lip scoffs and walks away, "Fuck you, Lip." I say, jumping down from the bed and pushing past him, "Sadie." He calls for me and I hear his footsteps trail behind me, I don't respond instead I keep walking outside with my hands clenched by my sides, "Sadie please." Lip grabs my arm tightly and turns me around, "Sadie, I know I'm an asshole." He starts and I look away avoiding my tears from falling, "I know I really fucked up this time and we both know I'll probably do it again because I'm fucked up but I'll try my hardest and what I did with Mandy and Blake was a mistake and I will never ever do anything like that again." Lip apologizes pathetically, "Fuck you." I say and break free from his grasp and continue to walk to Kev and V's. "What happened?" Kev asks as I storm inside and walk upstairs to the guest bedroom, I ignore him, "Just let her be, Kev." I hear Veronica say lightly.

"Baby," V calls me as she slightly opens the guest bedroom door, "You alright?" She asks softly sitting at the edge of the bed, I sniffle and sit up, "No." She hugs me and rubs my back, "What did he do?" "He kissed Mandy and the other day he had sex with another woman and tried to do what she taught him on me." I cry, "Oh hell no." Veronica says in disbelief, I nod. "I'm sorry baby, men are just stupid sometimes. Look at Kev," Veronica tries to cheer me up, "Hey!" Kev calls from outside the door, "Just come in and stop stalking." I say, he comes in with a smile and sits on the other side of me, "Lip loves you, he talks about you all the time and how he wants to have a future with you." Kev says as he plays with the ends of my hair, "Then why does he do the stuff he does?" I ask, tears fill my eyes again, "Because he's a teenager and teenage boys do really fucked up shit sometimes to the people they love." Kev explains, I sigh and close my eyes tightly, pushing away the tears. "Just stay with us for a couple days, get your mind off it. You two live together so it's even harder for you, two teenagers in a fairly new relationship already living together; it's hard for a guy." Kev rubs my back and wipes a tear from my cheek, "Yeah, when Kev and I moved in together it was so different and weird at first, I couldn't imagine meeting Kev at sixteen/seventeen and living with him within six months and only knowing him for a year, I'd lose my mind. You two just need time and space." Veronica comforts, I nod, "Okay." I agree and they both kiss my forehead, "We love you and we're always here for you." Veronica says as she taps my chin, "If you need anything, you know where we'll be." Kev says as they walk away closing the door behind them.

"Guys," I call for them before they're too far, "Yes?" They pop back in, "Thank you for being like my parents, I really need you guys." I say and they come back in the room and give me a group hug, "We're so happy we can have a daughter we don't have to financially care for." Veronica jokes, "Especially one as smart as you so you can take care of us when we're old." Kev teases, "You're gonna be like Stan living at the top of the Alibi for the rest of your life." I laugh at him, "Oh fuck off, don't stick me up there." Kev nudges me making me smile, "I won't, I'll take care of you guys." I say and they rest their heads on mine, "We love you." V says, "I love you guys too." I say softly

I love Kev and Veronica with all of my being.