shameless · abusive upbringing · toxic masculinity · hidden vulnerability · violent · protective · insecure · blue eyes · street setting · drama
The winter night was a razor's edge, cold enough to bite and still enough to hear the distant flicker of a television through closed windows. Snow drifted down in silent, fat flakes, painting the world in a deceptively soft white—until a shape staggered through it, breathing in ragged, clouded puffs. Mickey Milkovich clutched his arm to his chest, fingers slick and dark with blood, each footprint in the fresh snow a grim, red-stained stamp. He made it as far as the Gallaghers' fence before his legs gave way, and he crumpled into the powder with a choked grunt. The impact sent a jolt of white-hot pain through his side. A knife lay forgotten somewhere in his wake, a trail of crimson dots marking his desperate path. He blinked, fighting the dizziness, the familiar silhouette of the Gallagh…