please can you share your top ian & mickey fics
okay but my disclaimer is that i’m not the best person to answer this question because i’ve barely scratched the surface of how much fic is out there & i also don’t really expect my tastes to be universally appreciated 😅 so please approach this with that in mind
Welcome Home by em_harlsnow
outsider POVs set after mickey is released from prison in s10. feels very much like missing scenes that could have happened. i’m especially fond of the liam section.
fill-in for the period around terry’s death. i love the complicated, messy grief of that arc, and this expands on it even more.
learn to be still by roseapothecarys
choking/breathplay exploration. every now and then posts go around bemoaning the lack of fic from the top and/or dom POV, and those posts are right because i love that POV here. (i’m pretty fond of all this author’s PWPs tho, ian’s pov or not).
sleeveless by IetjeSiobhan
ian desperately has to fuck his husband after running errands with him. this is the correct level of horny they should be in their daily lives.
watching by catgrassplantdad
they make a sex tape <3 HoS was good for something! hallelujah!
AU where they meet when ian is dancing/hooking and mickey has a career going on as an interior designer. it’s really messy and angsty. i really like how ian’s background here has made him super self-sabotaging and how without that teenage romance between them, mickey is a lot less open to dating someone like ian.
a snapshot exploring mickey’s complete lack of boundaries during that era when ian was manic (and they didn’t know). this really captures the vibes of everything that was wrong with them in that same complicated tone as canon.
Risks Not Worth Taking by SweetCresta
ian’s feelings about lip dragging mickey to the motorcycle shop heist. another missing moment that feels right explored here.
bookmarks by IetjeSiobhan
post-canon where they’ve recently “adopted” the daughter of one of mickey’s cousins and are trying to navigate the parental politics at her school. my favorite part of this is the prevailing sense of “god i wish my husband were here” for every scene where ian is left without mickey (lol).
Gallavich POV Outsider Prompts [Series] by restapesta
exactly what it sounds like. i’m especially fond of the sue one that takes place a bit post-canon.
hockey AU. i read this really early on, before HR was even announced, and lowkey kept wistfully thinking about it while i watched HR.
These Foolish Games by Suzy_Queue
workplace AU mixed with a wrong number AU. like i don’t know how to describe this, but it’s basically full romcom hidden identity shenanigans. you have ian falling for mickey’s persona via text but being irritated by his real life persona, and mickey really liking ian in real life but not knowing how to convey that and finding ian’s text persona a little off-putting. the interplay of all that is just really fun.
perfect fit by catgrassplantdad
fisting. which i’m honestly shocked canon didn’t ever try to imply because no way size queen mickey didn’t demand it.
your blood is my territory by saltandanchor
AU where they meet when ian is dancing at fairy tale. i love this one because it sticks to where they might be if they’d never had each other in their lives, and how that makes them really fucking messy and dysfunctional.
keep you by my side by biblionerd07
post-canon outsider POV from a nurse treating mickey during a hospital stay. reading this feels like watching an episode of the show with all the chaos and secondhand embarrassment that implies.
the sensitivity that took place in your eyes. by mick_exe
PWP set between S4-S5. this really captures that tender-like-a-bruise feeling of that era. like they’re happy and sweet but it makes you anxious because you can see the red flags they can’t.
If love is a labor I'll slave till the end by AvocadosUnderTheEaves
post-canon of mickey adjusting to having actual, real privacy in their sex life. this one is so charming and funny and very—yeah everything here WOULD happen like that.
an ever-evolving observance by dershoimvik
ian character study. i love everything this fic is doing. just—peak of what fanfic can be over original fiction because the latter will never have the scaffolding to support this kind of experimental writing.
Highway of Hedonism by Pielope, Roryonic
AU where ian and mickey don’t hook up like in canon but are kind of in each other’s orbits when mickey runs away and ian spontaneously joins him. ian is manic in this fic (refusing to take his medication) and mickey doesn’t know/understand what’s going on with him. it’s a very messy time. despite that, there’s still so much of that dynamic of mickey growing softer and more caring as he worries about ian.
There Rid the Dragons by lilbatfacedgirl
dragonriders of pern AU. this fic was so good it almost tricked me into picking up the pern books again. anyway, i love this one for making me wait the right amount of time for mickey and ian to “reunite” and work out their issues. like yes this is a fic about dragons but it’s also masterful second chance romance which is my favorite trope.
Bon Appétit by romanticalgirl
AU where mickey is a new chef at the restaurant ian is a waiter for. i love this one for the horrible impression ian has of mickey until he gets to know him. i’m just such a sucker for ian seeing the goodness and beauty of mickey when everyone else can’t.
You Can Bite Me by Shamelessquestions
a vampire AU but like... there’s so much happening in this fic by the end. mainly though i’m a simple woman and i love how intense ian gets in this fic about protecting mickey.
You make me feel human by Dragona
AU where ian is an assassin by trade but presented as a serial killer instead of like, cool action star assassin, ya feel? i really like how this fic is structured — makes for an especially good time as a re-read.
Wipe You Clean With Dirty Hands by ProstheticLoVe
AU where ian and mickey don’t really meet until prison (from how it’s set up, it seems ian and mandy don’t become friends so neither do ian and mickey). i can’t help myself — i love when they meet at rock bottom moments because watching them grow together is such a big part of their appeal to me.
anyway yeah!!! i love post-canon a lot and angsty AUs haha