when addison picked up fiona's call about lip and ian's arrest, she didn't hesitate for a moment. everything else became inconsequential as she rushed to the police station. their recent argument didn't matter anymore, she needed to make sure they were okay.

as it usually turned out, addison was right. lip's ill-advised venture into car theft with steve had ensnared ian in its consequences. had she lingered after their disagreement, addison might have found herself caught in the same predicament, facing arrest for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

inside the station, tension hung heavy in the air as addison, fiona, and debbie sat in silence. fiona's knee jittered with nerves, addison anxiously nibbled at her nails, and debbie watched with wide-eyed concern.

sensing the need for distraction, debbie reached out and gently took fiona's hand, offering a small measure of comfort.

"no lattes or anything, but they did have hot chocolate for debbie." jasmine, fiona's newfound ally from the pta meeting, chimed in, handing over the steaming drinks. she'd been a big help tonight.

"thanks. and thanks for driving, but you don't have to stay." fiona assured her, gratefully accepting the drinks. "ah, it's cool. i'll hang for a bit." jasmine responded, settling into a seat.

addison observed tony's entrance into the office, noticing fiona sat on the side. he seemed to shrink at the sight of her, attempting to slip past to the back of the office as swiftly as possible. addison intended to say something, but fiona beat her to it.

"tony! did you see them?" she called out, her urgency propelling her from her seat.

"they're still in back." tony informed her with a weary sigh, his attempt to avoid fiona palpable, though addison couldn't discern why.

"when can i see them?" fiona pressed, her worry evident in her tone. "if lip's not charged as an adult you can see them in court tomorrow." tony explained, his voice tinged with resignation.

addison's eyes widened in horror, "charged as an adult?!" she exclaimed, shooting up from her seat to join the conversation.

"he's seventeen. they may charge him with felony grand theft auto." tony elaborated, his words sinking in.

"there's no way lip would steal a car, he's too smart, and ian doesn't even drive!" fiona argued vehemently. addison glanced the other direction, a hand on her forehead in frustration. how could he be so stupid?

"if they didn't steal it—" tony attempted to interject before fiona and addison cut him off simultaneously, "they didn't steal it!"

"they have to tell the detectives who gave them the car and agree to testify." tony concluded his explanation. "if they don't give up a name, lip could do five years."

📸

as they remained seated in the police station, addison was resolute about staying. sydney wasn't going to be awake for hours, she had the time.

"it's almost one. i gotta get going before hal decides i'm having another affair. let me drive you home. you can get some sleep, and then come back first thing in the morning." jasmine offered, leaning down in front of fiona.

"thanks, but i'm gonna stay.. and i don't think you're gonna be able to pry her away either." fiona responded softly, her attention divided between jasmine and debbie, who was sleeping on her lap. "thanks for driving." she added, her voice tinged with exhaustion.

"i'll give you a call tomorrow, make sure everything's okay." jasmine assured her, slipping on her jacket to leave.

📸

eventually, fiona, addison, and debbie returned to the gallagher house. there wasn't much to do sitting around, especially when the officers were telling them nothing.

"jail? why didn't you call me?" veronica exclaimed as she walked through the kitchen. kev, and ethel were over with baby jonah as well.

"jasmine was there." debbie responded, casually opening the fridge. "who?" veronica questioned, her curiosity piqued.

"one of the mom's from syd and deb's school." addison explained, recalling her encounter with jasmine at a previous pta meeting. she had only attended because sydney's math teacher called her stupid, and she wasn't about to let that slide.

"she was there when the cops called. she gave us a ride." fiona added, offering a brief summary of their evening.

"you were there all night?" veronica inquired, pouring out a cup of coffee. "yeah, till they moved them downtown." addison sighed, her exhaustion evident.

"what about a lawyer?" veronica pressed further. "gave them a public defender for their first court appearance." fiona replied.

"fuck that. we need a real one, not some just-out-of-law-school-liberal-do-gooder with a 2000 ghetto kid caseload." veronica argued, going around the table and pouring more coffee.

"she's right. my husband's public defender never met clyde before the arraignment, then he suggested he plead guilty to child molestation and sexual abuse." ethel explained, letting a somber silence overtake the room as everyone glared at her.

"what about dickie day? he helped marty with that arson thing?" kev suggested hopefully.

"marty got six years." veronica reminded him, taking a seat. "well, tony says the judge might just release ian to me. i mean, he doesn't have priors." fiona explained.

"yeah, but what about lip?" kev asked. "they might charge him as an adult." fiona sighed, "he's had a couple scrapes with the cops."

"truancy, shoplifting, drinking, that fight where he fractured tommy sullivan's cheekbone." addison listed off the top of her head, recalling each offense with a sense of frustration. "but no felonies though." carl interjected, shaking his head.

"stolen porsche, you said?" veronica inquired, taking a sip of coffee. fiona nodded silently. "still no steve?"

addison inched down in her seat. she couldn't snitch on steve, and she knew lip and ian wouldn't either.

📸

as they waited outside the police station, tiny flecks of snow began to drift down from the darkened sky. addison shivered, her breath misting in the cold air as she hugged her arms around herself, her eyes fixed on the entrance of the building.

tony's call had brought a wave of relief, letting them know that ian and lip would be released without any charges. addison was relieved, but couldn't help but wonder at tony's ability to pull this off, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

when ian emerged from the building, followed closely by lip, addison's heart skipped a beat. she rushed forward, a mixture of worry and ease flooding her senses.

lip offered a small sarcastic wave as she approached, but addison's response was far from casual. she enveloped him in a tight hug, holding him close as if afraid he might disappear again. their fight didn't matter anymore, and they both knew that.

lip returned the hug, his arms wrapping around her protectively, offering silent reassurance. but before he could say anything, addison pulled away, her expression a mix of relief and anger.

without a word, she delivered a swift punch to his arm, causing him to wince in surprise. then, before he could react, she followed it up with sharp smacks to his chest, so forceful that she was pushing him back, her frustration evident in the force of her blows.

"ow, fuck!" lip groaned, rubbing his arm where addison had hit him, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes as he looked at her. addison couldn't help but smirk, knowing that despite the pain, lip deserved every bit of her retribution. she couldn't stay mad at him for long, not when he was standing there in front of her, safe and sound.

turning her attention to ian, who stood beside fiona, addison felt a rush of empathy wash over her. with a gentleness that belied her earlier outburst, addison wrapped her arms around him in a tender embrace, offering him the same comfort she had given lip, minus the punching.

he responded in kind, his hold on her gentle. "you okay?" she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper. though ian's response was a mere simple nod, it relieved addison in more ways than he'd known.

wrapping his arm around lip, kev exclaimed with a grin, "ah! you guys popped your cherry!"

"yeah." ian nodded with a light chuckle, earning a laugh from veronica. "hey you guys see my dad in there?" kev shouted, making everyone laugh hysterically.

📸

in the gallagher kitchen, everyone was cleaning up after dinner.  addison stood at the counter beside ian, drying plates and stacking them neatly in the cupboard. the absence of lip didn't go unnoticed to her.

"so, uh, where was lip tonight?" she inquired, her voice casual but tinged with a hint of curiosity. "karen's." ian replied as he continued scrubbing a particularly stubborn pot.

addison's eyebrows raised slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. "oh," she responded, a hint of uncertainty in her voice, "i didn't know that was still going on."

ian couldn't help but notice the shift in addison's demeanor, her tone laced with a hint of annoyance. he glanced at her, catching the subtle signs of her feelings for lip that she thought she hid so well.

"yeah, well, you know how it is," ian replied casually, though he couldn't ignore the tension in the air. "they've got their thing."

addison's jaw tensed slightly as she focused on scrubbing a stubborn spot on a plate. "right," she murmured, trying to mask her disappointment. "their thing."

"anyways, forums are— it's so much fun actually, it's really, like, you fill out forms—" jasmine animatedly explained at the table as debbie and sydney cleared plates.

just then, lip stormed in the back door abruptly, the force of his entrance making the door slam shut behind him. "lip?" fiona called out, but he ignored her, his steps heavy as he bolted up the stairs.

addison's eyes immediately shot up at his arrival, filled with concern and confusion. fiona gave ian a significant look, silently urging him to go see what the problem was.

with a resigned sigh, ian headed off to investigate the situation. addison contemplated following him, but she assumed it was karen-related, and she'd heard enough lately. she hated seeing lip get hurt by her over and over again and didn't want to continue now.

📸

arriving upstairs, ian walked into the bedroom to find lip lying face down on his bed in frustration.

"you all right?" he whispered gently, glancing up at his brother. walking over to the bedside table, ian pulled a joint out. "how was karen?"

lip remained silent. "lip?" ian nudged him, hoping for some kind of response.

for a moment, there was only silence, the faint smell of burning paper filling the room. then lip shifted slightly, his voice muffled by the pillow. "she fucking dumped me."

ian's brows furrowed. "were you two even a couple?" he asked, trying to make sense of lip's reaction.

lip groaned and rolled onto his side, "still feels shitty."

ian sat down on the edge of the bed, passing the joint to his brother. "she is kind of a slut."

lip gave a hollow chuckle, accepting the joint and taking a long hit. "yeah, but... so am i," he admitted, the smoke slipping out between his lips as he leaned his head back against the pillow.

"maybe why you two got along?" ian suggested with a small smirk.

lip laughed softly, but the sound was tinged with sadness. he stared at the ceiling, his fingers tracing the edge of the joint absentmindedly. "i think I was kind of falling in love with her," he confessed quietly.

📸

addison made her way to the gallagher house the next day, seeking a break from the chaos waiting for her at home. the house was quiet—too quiet, almost eerie. she hesitated in the doorway, half-expecting carl to jump out and ambush her with a prank or liam to come toddling by. but there was nothing, just the distant hum of the fridge and the faint creak of the floor beneath her shoes.

she wandered further inside, the worn wooden floors creaking beneath her steps. as she rounded the corner of the couch, she spotted lip sprawled across it, one arm draped over his eyes like he was trying to shut out the world. his other hand rested on his bruised hand, cradling a bag of frozen peas pressed against his knuckles.

"hey, what happened?" addison inquired, squinting at the injury with concern.

lip lifted the ice cold bag slightly, glancing at the swollen skin, "beat the shit out of frank."

it wasn't exactly unusual for him to engage in a scuffle with his father, but there was something in lip's demeanor that struck addison as different this time. he seemed more troubled than usual, as if something more significant had transpired.

"again?" addison hesitated before settling next to him, her gaze fixed on his hand as she attempted to get it in a better position for him. "what'd he do this time?"

lip hesitated for a moment, debating whether to tell addison the truth. but as he glanced into her concerned eyes, he decided to keep it simple. "just being his usual, asshole self," he replied vaguely, avoiding the real reason behind the altercation.

"uh.. alright. where is everybody? i've never seen this place so empty," she said, glancing toward the door as if someone might burst in any second.

"uh, fiona's next door with liam, ian's at work, debbie went with sydney to steal newspapers for the coupons, and i've got no clue where carl is." lip explained, listing off the top of his head.

addison nodded, fiddling with the edge of her scarf. the silence that followed wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it was charged. lip didn't fill it with one of his usual sarcastic quips, and that threw her off. she tilted her head, watching him for a moment. "what about you? why aren't you out with karen or—"

lip cut her off, shaking his head. "not today," he said bitterly. the name clearly struck a nerve.

addison blinked, taken aback by his tone. "oh. uh, okay," she said quietly, unsure what else to say. she wasn't great at navigating whatever mood lip was in right now.

lip let out a sigh and leaned back against the couch, his eyes flicking toward her. karen's face flashed in his mind—her sneer, her laugh, the way she had tossed him aside like he meant nothing. his anger twisted into something reckless.

his gaze drifted to addison, who sat quietly beside him. she wasn't like karen. she wasn't hard or manipulative. she didn't know how to weaponize her charm or leave people wrecked in her wake. she was soft—wide-eyed, innocent, and trusting. and right now, she was exactly what lip needed to distract himself from the betrayal still burning in his chest.

addison gazed down, fidgeting with her fingers, "so, um.. what do you want to do?" she asked, her voice betraying a hint of uncertainty.

in a sudden, unexpected motion, lip's hand found its way to addison's waist, eliciting a startled gasp from her lips. "lip—" she began, but her words were cut off as he gently cupped her cheek, drawing her closer and initiating a passionate kiss.

addison was momentarily taken aback by the intensity of it all, her body tensing as lip's lips melded against hers with a tender urgency. it was like she was floating outside of her body.

when lip finally pulled away, his gaze met hers for a moment. addison blinked, feeling flustered by the intensity of the moment. "um, thank you?" she mumbled awkwardly, in shock of what just transpired.

lip chuckled softly, the sound sending a shiver down addison's spine. without saying a word, he leaned in to kiss her again, his lips meeting hers with a gentle urgency that made her heart flutter.

as the kiss lingered, lip's hand instinctively threaded through her hair, drawing her closer as their bodies pressed together. despite her initial hesitation, addison found herself yielding to the intoxicating sensation, her muscles relaxing as she melted into his embrace.

with a soft sigh, addison sank back onto the couch, allowing him to hover above her. feeling emboldened by the fervor of their embrace, she shifted her position, straddling lip's waist as she deepened the kiss with a newfound sense of urgency and passion.

as lip's lips left hers, trailing a path of fiery kisses down her jawline and neck, addison's breath caught in her throat. she bit down on her lip, her fingers tangling in lip's tousled hair as she surrendered herself to the pleasure of his touch. in that moment, with lip's touch igniting a fire within her, addison knew that she was completely and utterly lost to him.

with a gentle yet firm grip, lip's hands found the hem of addison's shirt, silently asking for permission to remove it. addison's heart raced with anticipation as she nodded, allowing him to peel the fabric away and reveal her bare skin beneath.

without a word, he lowered his lips to hers once more, his movements filled with a raw intensity as he gently guided her back onto the worn couch cushions them. addison's fingers trailed along lip's back, her touch desperate and seeking as she gripped onto him with fervor, her nails digging into his skin in an attempt to anchor herself to him.

sensing her need, lip broke the kiss for a brief moment, swiftly discarding the shirt he wore, his movements fueled by a desire matching addison's own.

empowered by the heat of the moment, addison summoned the strength to flip them over, her movements fluid and confident as she straddled lip, their gazes locking in a fiery exchange of desire and anticipation.

lip smiled, a hint of disbelief flashing across his face. he hadn't expected this—not really. but now that it was happening, he didn't want it to stop either. addison's lips curved into a smile as she surrendered to the kiss, her mouth trailing along lip's neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses that elicited a shiver from him. "god, addy..." he murmured, his voice laced with desire as she continued to explore his neck with her lips.

in a swift movement, lip rolled her back onto her back, his kiss deepening as addison responded eagerly, her legs instinctively wrapping tighter around his waist, feeling the hardness of his member pressing against her.

sharing knowing look, a smile tugged at lip's lips as he gently unwrapped her legs, his kiss lingering on hers for a moment longer before he began a slow descent down her exposed body, his lips moving with tender reverence.

lip pressed soft kisses against her chest before trailing a line of kisses down her stomach, each touch sending a shiver of anticipation through addison's body.

addison's back arched involuntarily as she stifled a moan, his fingers deftly hooking around the band of her pants and panties, slowly pulling them down her legs.

as the last pieces of clothing fell away, lip deftly removed his pants, sliding them off with ease. pausing for a moment, he met addison's gaze, silently offering her an opportunity to change her mind, knowing it was her first time. but addison's nod spoke volumes, her eyes