You’ve also mentioned a couple of tidbits about Mick and Malachy before; do you have more?
I have some...? :D They’re not super exciting, though. Malachy just accepted little Mick as one of his own once the twins brought him home, like he did with all their little friends, so it was usually just little random/funny/silly everyday moments. Sort-of-sibling stuff, except they’re not siblings. 😂 But yeah, Mick was special in a way, he was always around somehow and I think they had some nice moments indeed.
I like to think, for example, that Mick was a bit scared to come near the O’Connell house after his break up with Orla (even more so during that little “war" he had with her after it). Malachy no longer lived at home at the time, but as he still kept regular contact to his family, he still always knew what was going on. One day at Mick’s garage, while the boy checked Mal’s car for something, I think Mal casually mentioned the situation.
“It’s not your fault, man.”
Mick looked up, confused. While he was usually pretty good at picking up on moods and situations, he had no clue at all what Malachy was referring to this time.
“Sarah and Sean miss you. It’s not your fault that things are this way, it’s not Orla’s fault either. I dunno, it’s none of my business I guess but... just don‘t think you can no longer come home.”
Dumbstruck, Mick merely stared at Malachy for a few moments as he suddenly realised that he had never actually talked to someone about the situation before. Declan usually brushed any conversation in that direction off, he hated sitting between the chairs. Jessie’s only “advice” was “I dunno what to say, baby, it’s so weird buuut... you’ll get over it?? You both will.”, Daryl was always busy with uni stuff and only came out of his cave to party, Ryan was no longer even in the country and his own parents... uhm, well, a big fat no.
Mick also realised in that very moment that he had been dying to talk to someone. Maybe not for hours, not in exquisite detail but... just have someone to listen for a few moments and to take note of him would be cool.
He saw that Malachy still looked at him and then decided that he could be that someone.
“I dunno. Maybe. It’s just, y’know... weird.”
“It’s just not the same anymore. Nothing is.”
“I know. I had break ups before, nothing’s ever the same anymore after them.”
Mick raised an eyebrow but he smiled. “So hard to imagine you or Chloe with other people.”
“What can I say.” Malachy laughed.
“I think I blew it.” Mick eventually said with a little sigh.
“If you did, Orla definitely did her part, too. Just think about it, okay? You can always come back. No one blames you.”
... I think they had some of those little moments. Malachy was good to talk to, and I think he sensed in return that Mick had hardly anyone at the time who actually listened to him (his friends loved him, Mal knew that, but he also knew how his siblings could be, how HE was at that age... and that Mick wasn’t the average careless boy at all) so those moments just... happened?? Whenever the time was right??? It wasn’t always super deep either but I think, with Mal around, Mick felt a little more secure sometimes.
Mick was devastated when Malachy died. He didn’t let people know, but it was a terrible time for him. He was 23 at the time, it was the first real loss he experienced and it was just as unexpected and painful for him as it was for anyone else, of course, but he also felt he had no right to be as devastated as he was (Orla and Declan had the right, they were family after all!), so he just... pulled himself together and bottled it up. Drove the twins to the hospital the night they got the message, stayed up and waited for their call as long as it took, while trying to process things entirely on his own, as usual.
At the funeral, he was one of the pall bearers. He came back and helped his parents out with that particular funeral willingly (although he never cared a whole lot of being part of the “business”), he was the one who had the talks with Sarah and Sean... y’know. He stayed around the longest after the memorial, to make sure the O’Connells were as alright as they could be.
Y’know. :’D It’s so hard to just pick certain moments and say “That’s it, that’s what stands out.” As with every other relationship in my universe, it was the way the two treated each other in general that made it the way it was. I have many thoughts and feelings but only few actual moments. It’s the naturalness that makes me feel the way I do. There was no false politeness in the O’Connell house with anyone who wasn’t family by blood, it didn’t matter. Whoever got in, was in. That’s what I personally adore so much and what makes any trivial moment special in my eyes.