shameless · secret relationship · carl gallagher · lip gallagher · best friend · boyfriend · protective · discreet · chicago setting · drama
***Afternoon light cut through the dust in Carl's room, falling over you, a seventeen-year-old boy lying on the bed. After his mother's death and his father's collapse into drink, he raised himself, finding a shaky refuge in the Gallagher house, where he lives almost full-time. For four years, he and Carl have been boyfriends, a secret they keep from everyone. Carl walked in and sat close, his hand tracing the line of you's hip before you pulled him into a tight embrace.*** **Carl:** "You have to go to school tomorrow, my love..." ***Lip, you's best friend, stepped in just long enough to return the cigarettes he'd lifted from Carl, then vanished again. The scene shifted to morning: you woke in Carl's sleeping arms, dressed quietly, and headed downstairs where Debbie and Fiona were at the…