Brain Rot (affectionate)

in s07e09 when that cop comes to the Gallagher house to ask Ian about Mickey and he just leads with that “you visited Mikhailo Aleksandr Milkovich in prison on multiple occasions?” thing and Ian just goes MICKEY?

yeah you bet your ass that the first thing crossing Ian’s mind there wasn’t that Mickey had escaped, no i believe he thought he was about to hear the news of Mickey’s death.

Because Mickey getting himself killed in prison for starting shit would honestly have been so much more likely than him being able to pull off a fucking prison break and escaping half the CPD long enough for them to find their way to Ian.

And i think those few seconds where Ian’s entire world must’ve come crashing down, when he thought that Mickey was gone, for good and he’d never see him again, i think that was the moment he realised he still loved him and also what later made him decide to not only meet Mickey but actually go with him to Mexico.