Your favourite Cheshire grin

Ok guys, welcome! I had a lot of stuff planned for this event but then real life came up and beat my ass. So, I won't be posting everyday. BUT I do have a couple lined up.

This is for the first prompt HOTEL.

Also, unrelated but incredible, @pillowbee posted a beautiful fanart yesterday which fits spot on for this little ficlet, so we've decided that it's the unofficial fanart for it (it really is amazing, go check it out here)

I'll be uploading these to AO3 too, at the end of the month in bulk.

Anyways, enjoy and let me know. Welcome to AUgust!

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HOTEL

Ian really hates this job. Like, hates it, hates it. He has to be on his feet all damn day, lugging around suitcases from the trunks of cars and taxis to the golden luggage cart and then to the rooms and suites of the hotel wearing this vintage style uniform. Everyone thinks that their luggage is the most precious thing in the world. It doesn’t matter if the bag itself is falling apart or if it is one of those bags that cost more than Ian’s entire annual salary. And people can be extremely nice about it, or they can completely ignore Ian or worse, they can be rude. 

He doesn’t appreciate the old men, with wives or partners who hit on him either. They seem to think that Ian comes with the room sometimes, offering him a few bucks for services he hasn’t provided in years. They get angry too, when Ian plays dumb or politely declines. 

Still, he’s grateful for the job and the money. It has allowed him to move into his own apartment, he’s got benefits and insurance, which helps with his therapy and meds. He’s stable and happy for the first time in years and that’s worth something.  It’s worth a lot, actually. Lip and Fiona are no longer up his ass all the time about his health and Carl and Liam actually look up to him. Debbie… well, she’s got her own shit going on. At least he’s no longer trying to smash her head in with a bat, thinking that she’s the MP.  So: progress. 

Ian is setting up for another day of carrying suitcases, he’s wearing his bellhop uniform, he’s got his luggage cart ready. The first car pulls up into the driveway and he waits for it to  park, and then he waits close by to see if whoever it is will be needing his assistance. 

Ian sees the guy coming out of the car and he’s immediately floored. His jaw might have actually dropped to the ground, someone might need to come help him clean up the drool, etc, etc. 

The guy is shorter than Ian. White skin, blue eyes and jet black hair. He’s got more than a few tattoos on his arms and he looks calm. Collected. He gives the valet his keys and he looks around, spotting Ian. 

Ian shakes off his shock just with enough time to notice that the guy has stopped in his tracks and he’s doing a double take on Ian. And well, that just makes Ian’s fucking day. 

“Good morning, sir. Welcome to the Ambassador Hotel. Can I help you with your luggage?” Ian tries his most professional voice. After all, he’s here to work. 

“Yeah, uhm, can you grab those and…” the guy points at three big suitcases and a small bag, “And take them up to my room? The uhm… it’s named after a flower.”

Oh. So he’s one of those guys. 

“The Orchid Suite?”

“Yeah, that one”. The guy glances at Ian one last time before he proceeds to the reception desk. 

The Orchid Suite, along with the Rose and Tulip Suites are the most expensive rooms in the entire hotel. A single night there could run someone thousands of dollars. It’s the usual pick for guys in suits and women in heels. He’s never seen someone who looks like this guy stay in one of those, but Ian doesn’t judge. He’s probably an artist or musician or something like that. 

Ian takes the suitcases to the service elevator and he gets them to the room. The guy will most likely get there soon, since the check-in process for these luxury suites is expedited. Just as Ian thought, a few seconds later the guy is entering the room. 

“Just set those down wherever, thanks”, he says as his phone starts vibrating. “Yeah? Yeah, I’m here. What? No. I need… Calm your fucking tits, Mandy. I am going to take a shower and then I’m going over to your… Well tough luck, bitch. The brat will keep until I fucking get there. Yeah. Yeah. Fuck you too.”

Ian tries not to listen to that entire conversation but he does. So. A woman named Mandy and a brat. Wife and kid? He didn’t notice a wedding ring and he chances a glance at the guy’s hands again, and yeah, no wedding ring. Some pretty cool knuckle tattoos, but nothing else. So apparently not married but most likely straight. What a pity. Ian could have sworn the guy was checking him out downstairs but he was probably wrong. 

The guy hangs up the phone just as Ian is done arranging his bags. “Would that be all, sir?” 

“Yeah, uhm. Yeah. Thanks, Red.” 

Ian doesn’t correct him. The guy hands Ian some bills. It’s a good tip. 

Ian thanks him as he exits the room. Once outside he mourns the fact that he doesn’t get to spend anymore time with the guy and that he doesn’t even know his name. 

The scene repeats itself four more times in the next couple of months. The guy comes in, Ian hauls his suitcases in and out of the Orchid room when the guy leaves. Ian always gets a good tip. They chat politely sometimes. Ian even managed to make a joke once or twice, pulling a delicious smile off the other man. Ian wonders what else he could do to him, if given the chance. It’s not like they are friends, but they know each other. The guy keeps calling him Red and Ian actually likes it. 

Two months to the day when they first met, the guy shows up the day after checking in with a black eye and a split lip. Ian watches him as he goes to the breakfast buffet, loads up on bread and eggs and he sits by himself at a corner table. He eats quickly and he walks upstairs, fast. 

A minute or two later, Ian is being asked to go pick suitcases from the Orchid room. 

Ian makes his way there, knocks on the door, his usual polite smile more forced than usual. The thing is, he wants to know what happened. He wants to know who fucking dared and where can he find them.  But mostly, he wants to know if the guy is ok, he wants to look into his eyes and ask if he’s ok, and then maybe help him take care of that lip wound. It’s sappy and soft and Ian is not quite sure where it came from, but it’s what he wants to do. He’s greeted with a scowl. “Fuck. I specifically asked for someone else”. 

Ian’s smile falters. “Oh?” He steps back, “I can… uhm. I’ll… Sorry for the mix-up, sir. I’ll make sure they send someone else up right away”. He turns to leave. The faster he gets away, the better. Here he was actually worried about the guy but as it turns out, the guy didn't even want to see him. Not even to carry his fucking bags down. 

“No! Hey. Wait. It’s ok. Just… get the bags”. He sighs and he steps to the side to let Ian in. 

He can’t refuse, he can’t make a scene, he can’t let it show that it sort of hurts. He nods and he makes his way inside the room, where he makes a beeline to the bags. Ian makes a point of not even looking at the guy again, since he clearly didn’t want him there. He works fast, he needs to not be there anymore.

“I’m sorry, Red.”

“Not a problem, sir.” Ian responds as he concentrates on his job. “I’ll make sure that this doesn’t happen again”. He’ll talk to the people downstairs, make sure they always send the other guy from now on. 

“Mickey”. The guy has stepped closer to Ian, and he’s looking at him with sad yet sincere eyes. “My name is Mickey”. 

Ian places the last bag in the luggage cart as he looks at the guy. Mickey. Sounds about right. “Ian”, he supplies. 

They both stand there, frozen for a moment, before Ian starts moving again. “I really should take these down, sir. Uhm… Mickey sir”. Great. He gets one piece of information on this guy and now he’s a bumbling idiot. Way to go. Not that it matters anymore. 

Mickey grabs the cart to softly stop it. “I am sorry, Ian. I guess I… Didn’t want you to see me like this”, he says as he whirls his hand around his face. 

“What happened?” Ian asks before he can stop his stupid mouth. 

Mickey stands there, quiet and hesitant. 

“I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I hope you get better soon, sir.” He grabs the cart and he tries to move it again, but Mickey doesn’t let him. 

“Had a run in with one of my brothers. We don’t get along. I usually don’t see them at all when I’m around, but I’ve been visiting because my sister, Mandy, is pregnant and it’s been a difficult pregnancy”. 

That’s more than the guy has ever told him and it all piles up in Ian’s head. Bad brothers. But also, Mandy is not a wife or ex wife and the brat… is his unborn nephew or niece. So there’s a chance that the guy…

“Why are you smiling?” Mickey asks as he raises his eyebrows, a playful little smile on his lips. 

Ah fuck. “Nothing, I’m sorry. I just… Uhm. Those don’t look too bad. Seems like they didn’t really get you.”

Mickey lifts his hand to his lips. “Yeah, I guess they didn’t”.

Ian smiles with more intent now. “I really should take these down now”, he says a little sadly because he doesn’t want to. He wants to stay and ask more questions and maybe even fucking touch this guy, with his hands and his lips and his whole fucking body.

“Yeah, yeah, for sure”. Mickey doesn’t sound so thrilled to let him go either, as he stares at Ian, his eyes roaming over his body and lingering for a moment on his lips. 

Ian takes a chance. He takes out the little note pad he’s supposed to carry around, with the little pen he’s supposed to carry around too, just in case any guest needs anything. He writes his number down and he extends his hand to give Mickey the note. “My number. Just in case you might want to… I dunno. Hang out or…” 

He falters and he starts withdrawing  his hand immediately because Mickey is standing still, looking at him like he just grew another head.

It was worth the shot, but Ian will probably lie in shame over this for the next 5 to 10 business days. “Sorry I… Can you pretend this didn’t happen? I’m sorry, sir”. He really should get a grip. A guy like that? Who looks like that, who books the Orchid Suite? Ian’s just the help, and Mickey didn’t even want Ian to help him today, he requested someone else. Ian’s the help and he’s just a minimum wage, high school dropout with a shady past,  a mentally ill nobody and it’s probably written all over him and people like Mickey don’t hang out with the likes of Ian. He crumples up the piece of paper and he puts it in his pocket as he quickly exits the room.  He  makes his way to the elevator as fast as he can, drops off the bags, loads them up into the car and he announces that he’s going to take his lunch. He doesn’t even wait for Mickey to show up so that he can get his tip. 

By the time he’s grabbing his stuff out of his locker to go home, he’s beat, exhausted and just sad. He wants to go home and pretend this whole day never happened, and he hopes Mickey never brings it up if they ever see each other again.. He checks his phone. A few messages in the group chat with his family, his therapist confirming his next appointment, nothing of note. 

A series of texts from an unknown number. 

Unknown number [11:55 am]: Jesus Christ, Red, I’ve never actually seen anyone “scurry away” until I saw you leaving the room at warp speed. 

Unknown number [11:55 am]: And then I looked for you but I had to make my flight and you also sort of… disappeared? 

Unknown number [11:56 am]: Anyways, sorry if I froze. I didn’t really see that coming but yeah. If the offer still stands, I would like to hang out the next time I’m in town. 

Unknown number [11:56 am]: This is Mickey, btw. 

Unknown number [11:58 am]: Also, if you are wondering how I got your number it’s because the little ball of paper fell out of your pants while you were activating the hyperdrive that you apparently come with. Not stalking you or anything, just had to figure out your awful handwriting is all. 

It’s almost 7pm, there’s no new messages after that. Ian can’t help the smile that forms in his lips while he saves the number on his phone. 

Ian [6:45 pm]: When are you coming back? 🙂

Mickey [ 6:46 pm]: Ah! He lives. Thought you were going to ghost at this point. 👻

Ian [6:46 pm]: Says the guy who looked at me like I was an alien 👽 when I tried to give you my number. 

Mickey [ 6:46 pm]: Next week. Friday morning. And sorry to break it to ya, but you do kinda look like an alien. 

Ian [6:47 pm]: Ha. Ha. Funny 😣. So, burgers Friday night?

Day 1 - Hotel

“We are glad to have you back, Mr. Milkovich, as always.”

“Happy to be here, Red.”

it’s not weird to love it and comment and leave kudos because the author will probably still see it someday and it will make them happy.

it’s not weird to like said author’s work so much that you want to go look for other fics from them.

it’s not weird to go through the authors profile and look for other fics from the ships you like (or maybe some that you’ll give a chance because you liked the author) and maybe bookmark them for later.

it’s not weird to read these other fics and like them too and comment on them because you actually like them and you want to let the author know.

it’s not weird to read fanfiction from 5, or 8, or 10 years ago and actually enjoy and engage with it because it’s perfectly normal to relate to something that’s less than a decade old!

let’s stop treating fanfiction like they’re instagram posts that stop being interesting in 24 hours! fanfiction is NOT social media, fanfiction is art!!! and art doesn’t get old in one day, one year, or even a decade!

and no, this isn’t me saying “write that messed up, disgusting thing” because while, yes, write it if it’s what you want (I myself enjoy writing dark fics, something I believe would be considered “vile” to a lot of people), this is me saying in a world of censorship and capitalism, ao3 really is a treasure.

Then humans start spotting predators, ambushes, and hidden creatures in complete darkness before any of the aliens can detect them.

Apparently, when a human says, "That shadow has a face," the correct response is no longer, "You're imagining things."

It's, "Everyone stop moving."

e.g. mickey coming out in season 4, mickey breaking out of prison to see him, mickey getting himself thrown back into prison for ian and so on.

a lot of fans equate these ‘bigger’ gestures to mickey being more in love than ian is, when in actuality ian just doesn’t have the opportunity to put himself at risk for mickey the way that mickey does.

ian can’t come out for mickey like mickey does, because none of ian’s family would care like mickey’s family does. ian can’t break out of prison because he’s never in prison. ian can’t get himself thrown into prison for mickey, because let’s remember ian had a family and a life he would be leaving while mickey had no family in mexico and was working for a cartel, so not much of a free life either.

even so, when ian does have the opportunity to do something dangerous for mickey, he does it. he drives through the entirety of america with mickey, even though he’s an escaped convict with the whole of chicago after him and not much of a plan. he was about to shiv someone to stay with mickey in prison because mickey was UPSET. not to save mickey’s life or their relationship, just because mickey was sad and insecure about ian leaving. like hello?? (im gonna write more about this in another post because i have more to say on it).

he turns up at mickey’s wedding in s3 despite the potential risk (because he knew terry was there and wanted to kill him) to try and save mickey from a life he would hate, full of lies and control and pain.

and let’s not forget about the other huge gestures of love ian makes that may not be as dangerous but are just as meaningful. he gives mickey two years worth of his savings at the border, when that money obviously means so much to ian since he grew up with nothing and worked his ass off for it. he pushes through his fear of commitment and proposes to him (after beating people up for mickey, which is definitely mickey’s ideal proposal). he tells Lip off for hitting him even when him and mickey are arguing a tonne.

i’d even argue that the porno ian filmed was him trying to do something for mickey. people ignore it because it was clearly a misguided decision and ian was manic at the time and it was a truly terrible situation, but even so, ian saw that they needed money and did everything he could to get them money, not realising the impact it would have. remember, ian’s grown used to seeing his body as a commodity. he seems genuinely surprised that mickey was upset about it, because he probably thought mickey would see his body as a commodity too.

anyway, all i’m saying is that NO mickey doesn’t love ian more than ian loves mickey. they love each other equally. it only may seem like ian loves mickey less or mickey loves ian more (to some fans) because the things that mickey does for ian are more dangerous and life threatening. they’re only like that though because they have to be, and ian’s not in the situation to do that as much.

i know this probably sounds really convoluted, but it’s just my argument to why people seem to think mickey loves ian more or ‘fell harder’ and why that’s bullshit.