Shameless au (chris sturniolo)
disclaimer: This episode is inspired by Season 1, Episode 6 (“Killer Carl”) of Shameless. All characters and events have been adapted and reimagined for this fic.
a/n: this is the first actual chapter of this au!! i hope y’all like it <3
It started with a phone call.
Kim was behind the bar, wiping down the counter, barely halfway through her shift when her cracked phone buzzed in her apron pocket.
A sharp, professional voice replied.
“Is this Kimberly Gallagher?”
Kim’s stomach sank immediately.
“This is Mrs. Donnelly, principal of your brother Carl’s school.”
“Ms. Gallagher… Carl has been involved in multiple incidents this week. Fighting, truancy, and today he was caught selling candy out of his backpack.”
“He called it his ‘business.’”
Kim pinched the bridge of her nose so hard it hurt.
“We need you to come in tomorrow evening for a meeting to discuss Carl’s behavior. Does 5:30 work for you?”
“Yeah, yeah that’s fine. I’ll be there.”
“And we need his parent or legal guardian present.”
“I’m his sister. I raise him.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Kim’s voice sharpened, exhaustion bleeding through.
“His father is not, he’s not around.”
“Then perhaps,” Mrs. Donnelly said coolly, “that is something the Administration for Children’s Services should be made aware of.”
“I’m simply saying we take child welfare very seriously. Be here at 5:30. With a parent.”
Kim stared at her phone, regretting picking up.
The next morning, snow fell in ugly gray slush.
Kim stood in her kitchen, pulling on her boots with shaking hands.
Carl sat at the table, chewing cereal like nothing was wrong.
Lip leaned against the counter, arms crossed.
Ian muttered, “He’s gonna get expelled.”
“I’m not getting expelled.”
“You are ten! Why are you still acting out in school?!”
Kim stared at him, genuinely speechless.
Then she whispered to herself
“Good luck. Frank’s probably asleep in a dumpster.”
She didn’t even want to think about it.
A knock came at the door.
Hood up, hands in his pockets, snow clinging to his lashes.
He took one look at her face and frowned.
Kim let out a laugh that wasn’t funny.
Chris leaned past her, spotting Carl.
“What’d you do now, kid?”
“…So it was definitely something.”
Kim sighed, stepping outside onto the porch with him.
She dug into the pocket of her hoodie, fingers trembling slightly as she pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes.
Kim shot him a look like really?
She slid one between her lips, flicked her lighter.
The flame shook in the wind before catching.
The first inhale burned like punishment.
Then let it out slow, smoke curling above her head into the cold.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
The neighborhood was too quiet.
Snow fell in dirty flakes over the streets of South Side Chicago.
Kim stared down at the porch steps.
“They want to have a meeting to discuss Carl’s behavior,” she said quietly. “But they want a parent there. Or they’re calling ACS.”
Chris’s expression shifted.
Her voice came out rough.
“I’m not even legally anything.”
Chris didn’t speak at first.
He just looked at her, like he was trying to understand how she was holding herself together.
Kim laughed under her breath, bitter.
“Frank can’t even show up sober to breakfast… and now suddenly the school wants a parent.”
“They’re threatening you.”
Kim flicked ash off the cigarette, hands shaking harder now.
“I’m scared,” she admitted, almost like it disgusted her to say it out loud.
“If they take him… if they take any of them… what am I even doing all this for?”
“You’re doing it because you love them. And they need you.”
Smoke filled her lungs again.
Chris stared at her for a second.
Then, simple as breathing
“Chris, you can’t. You’re not—”
“I’m an adult,” he cut in. “And I’m there all the time picking him up. Half those teachers probably think I live here.”
Kim huffed, despite herself.
“They might think you’re my boyfriend.”
“I’m serious, Kim. You’re not doing this alone.”
The principal’s office smelled like old coffee and pencils.
Carl sat in a chair, swinging his legs.
Kim sat rigid beside him.
Chris lounged back like he was at a bar.
Mrs. Donnelly looked between them, unimpressed.
“A family friend,” she repeated slowly, “is not a parent.”
Kim’s voice was strained.
Mrs. Donnelly’s lips pressed together.
“That is not a sustainable legal arrangement.”
A woman in a blazer stepped in.
Kim’s stomach dropped through the floor.
“I’m Ms. Harris,” she said. “From Children’s Services. I was asked to sit in.”
Chris’s posture changed instantly.
Mrs. Donnelly folded her hands.
“We have concerns about neglect.”
“I’m not neglecting him. I work. I feed them. I—”
Ms. Harris raised a hand.
“We just want to understand the home environment.”
Kim blinked rapidly, trying not to cry.
Then Chris leaned forward slightly.
Chris smiled, polite as ever.
“Can I speak to you privately for a second?”
Ms. Harris’s eyes narrowed.
Chris’s tone stayed smooth.
“Just something that doesn’t need to be said in front of the child.”
Mrs. Donnelly looked unsure.
“There’s an office in the back.”
Kim watched him go, stomach twisting.
What the hell is he doing?
Inside Mrs. Donnelly’s personal office…
A family photo on the desk.
A mug that said World’s Best Principal.
Mrs. Donnelly crossed her arms.
Chris shut the door behind him gently.
Like he knew exactly how to talk to people like her.
“I’m gonna be honest with you…”
Kim’s nails were digging into her palm.
Carl looked like he might throw up.
Ms. Harris was already writing something down.
Chris walked back in first.
Mrs. Donnelly cleared her throat.
“We’ve come to an agreement.”
“And what agreement is that?”
Mrs. Donnelly folded her hands.
“Carl will begin counseling through the school.”
“And as long as progress is made… we will postpone any further investigation at this time.”
Kim’s lungs finally filled again.
Like she’d been underwater.
Carl muttered, “This is bullshit.”
Chris leaned back in his chair.
Like he hadn’t just walked into a fire and talked everyone down.
What the hell kind of man was he?
Outside, the cold slapped Kim in the face.
It was already dark out, streetlights glowing against the falling snow, the city washed in that blue-gray evening quiet.
Carl stomped ahead down the sidewalk, hood up, muttering under his breath.
She was still stuck on one thing.
Chris walked beside her like nothing had happened.
“…What did you say to her?”
“Don’t do that. The principal.”
Kim stopped walking for half a second.
He kept going, hands in his pockets.
“No, seriously. She was ready to open a case. And then you come back in and suddenly she’s like oh we’ve come to an agreement.”
Chris shrugged like it was nothing.
Kim rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the smile tugging at her mouth.
“Mm,” he said. “I’ve heard that.”
Chris unlocked it, nodding for her to get in.
Kim slid into the passenger seat, the heater blasting warm air over her frozen hands.
For the first time all day, she felt… light.
Chris started the engine.
Kim turned toward him again.
“So you’re really not gonna tell me?”
Chris leaned back in his seat, cocky as ever.
“You’re such an asshole.”
Kim shook her head, smiling despite herself.
Then she looked out the windshield, watching the snow fall under the streetlights.
He didn’t answer right away.
By the time they pulled up to the Gallagher house, the block was quiet, porch lights glowing faintly through the snow.
Chris parked at the curb.
Carl was already out the door.
Then she leaned over and hugged Chris.
Chris froze for half a beat
then his arm came around her automatically, holding her close.
When she pulled back, he pressed a small kiss to her forehead.
Chris’s eyes stayed on her a second too long.
Kim stepped out into the cold.
Chris followed, shutting the car door behind him.
For one moment, standing there in the dark snow…
it felt like maybe everything was okay.
A girl’s voice called from across the street.
A girl stood by a car, pretty, bundled up, smiling like she’d been waiting.
“I’ve been waiting for like an hour for you?”
Slowly, Kim turned her head toward him.
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