DREAMING OF A TIME AND PLACE // OPEN

[mickey]

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— in some ways, it didn’t feel like it was real. one side leaned against the wooden fence, arm propped on the highest row of wood. he watched with an almost surreal gaze as he watched tamara gently scratch just behind the horse’s ear. the mare stood, content; an awed smile slowly made its way to tamara’s lips. his mom had found her way to the district only about a week ago. after years of thinking that she was permanently gone from his life - much like all the others from his life before the carbines - there she was. and he felt--

eyes wandered briefly towards the ground, features solemn and thoughtful. he felt anxious. he wasn’t the same person that she knew; he could already tell that she was well aware of it already. through brief pauses and hesitations, in the way she looked at him too closely. in the way only a mother could understand that something had changed their son in ways unimaginable. it wasn’t particularly a part of himself he was willingto share; tamara herself seemed hesitant to press the subject. or the fear that she would be leaving soon to go after brock; that she would go missing all over again and he’d have to wait years to see her again. the anxiety felt nearly unbearable at times.

his gaze wandered back, lips twitching briefly as she cooed at the horse.

despite all the anxiety and nerves - more than anything, he was happy.

happy that she was alive. happy that she was here, even while he wasn’t usually the first person to go around expressing that sort of emotion. having her around during thanksgiving, with green, and arlo, and all the people mick truly cared about… there weren’t words.

“i always wanted horses, you know,” tamara admitted, turning her gaze briefly towards mick. she looked back to the horse as she carried on thoughtfully, “to have a stable somewhere, take care of them. but -  i didn’t know a thing about horses. i still don’t. never even rode one before. but here i am... still wanting a horse of my own.”

mick nodded to himself quietly. then, he noted softly, “some day.”

she patted the horse as she added in a wishful breath, “some day.” then there they stood in the crisp midday air in peaceful quiet, as tamara continued to gush over the friendly mare.

as surreal as it felt, mickey had to admit that he could get used to this.

[spoiler=tags ― updated 08/31.][size=8pt]◜BASICS ┊ BURIED MY HEART IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND ◞
‣  ❝ mickey serge ❞ | mick, serge | male [he/him] .
‣ 33 years old . | may fifth; taurus.
‣  currently the prodigy of northstar district
‣  currently co-founder/co-head of st. peter’s clinic in the district alongside lucerne nouvel.

◜PERSONALITY: ISFJ ┊ THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND ◞
‣  aloof . ambitious . blunt . distant . driven . hard-working . passionate . humble . reserved . introverted . intelligent . level-headed . trustworthy . honest . caring . quiet . gentlemanly . kind . pessimistic . unreadable . stoic . withdrawn .
↳ lover of tea and cigarettes
↳ struggles with ptsd symptoms
↳ recovering alcoholic (almost one year sober)

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ BURIED MY GUILT IN A PIT IN THE SOUND ◞
‣ six foot one & one hundred and sixty seven pounds ; reference .
↳ dark brown hair kept very short on the sides and neat
↳ skinny with slight muscle tone
↳ deep blue eyes , often stoic , emotionless

◜ FAMILY ┊ I TRIED AND I TRIED AND I WAS NEVER THE SAME ◞
‣  david serge x tamara serge | father deceased . mother’s whereabouts unknown
‣ only child
‣ currently claims guardianship of arlo - doesn’t consider himself arlo’s parent

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ I'LL BREAK UP THE CHAIN ◞
‣  homosexual ; monogamous | a hopeless romantic .
‣ ex-fiance to elinor rose
↳ engagement fell apart after coming to terms with mick’s sexuality .
‣  ex-lover to edmund stirling-moray
↳ the first guy he had ever been with . helped him become comfortable with his sexuality before coming out of the closet.
‣ current boyfriend of vernon green
↳ currently live together . inseparable .

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ I'M FOREVER CHANGED ◞
‣  [ 9/10 ] physically  |  [ 8/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ very difficult ] | difficulty w/ melees [ difficult ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ difficult ]
‣ [member=1512]elysian.[/member] | dm for any major plots .
‣  friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .[/size][/spoiler]

[GREENIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]In some ways, it didn’t feel like it was real. As for Green, he had assumed that everything he had heard about Mickey’s mother would be nothing more than stories. Mick’s memories. Never did Green think that, one day, he’d actually get to meet her in person.

When he first came to introduce himself to Tamara Serge, he was still in total shock. The nerves were quick to creep in — he’d never done this before, meet the parents. But, it wasn’t long until Green realised why Mickey was so fond of his mother. He boasted that same humble nature of hers, the inquiring mind and quietly curious eye. The way that their temperaments were just so soothing; being around Mick was comforting enough, but a mother’s love was on another level.

Green had been starved of a mother’s love ever since the age of eleven. Nearly half of his childhood, he pined for the nurturing care that could make a young boy feel safe. Green was never afforded the opportunity for security; all he knew was that the world was the greatest danger of all. But, as the days passed by and Tamara began to treat him like family, that unfamiliar feeling of a maternal nurturing slowly crept back, and that feeling was absolutely indescribable for a man who could only dream of this feeling all those years ago.

It seemed like Arlo was fond of Tamara, too. Ever since the word grandmother had been lightheartedly suggested by her, it seemed that Arlo had held onto that thought with hope — as if he’d finally realised how he was, without a doubt, part of the family. And so, once Arlo and Green were finished with daily chores, Arlo’s face seemed to light up at the mention of looking for Mickey and Tamara.

❝ Told you they’d be here. ❞ Green cackled as he and Arlo walked beside one another, Arlo peering up to Green quietly for a moment before jogging ahead to meet up with Mick and Tamara. ❝ Could I feed him some of this grass? ❞ Green heard Arlo quietly asking Tamara as he met up with the group, lips curling into a proud smile as he looked at just how comfortable Arlo was around Tamara. ❝ I told Arlo that if we finished our chores quickly, we could come and find you two. ❞ Green pointed out, walking over towards Mickey before wrapping an arm around him.   

Watching the way Arlo spoke to Tamara as he fed the horse some grass made Green smile, leaning into Mickey before he uttered quietly, ❝ I think he really likes your mom. ❞

[mickey]

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— it was still surprising to mickey. all of the stories he quietly shared with green about his childhood, so often telling them with an unacknowledged awareness that it was with people he’d most likely never get to see again. sometimes the words would sit right on the tip of his tongue, the words unable to fall from a sorrowful mouth; just how much he knew his parents would’ve adored green had they gotten the chance to know him. although green was so far different from the serge family, in some ways mick felt he would’ve still managed to fit in perfectly.

and that much seemed only obvious as tamara grew fonder and fonder of green. mickey figured she would’ve been more hesitant, more uncertain about her son having a new partner -- nonetheless another man. though she hardly seemed fazed at all. each day it felt more like she treated green as a second son, doing all that she could to take care of him in the only way she knew how. as a mom.

observant blues watched tamara’s face turn and light up at the sight of approaching company. “arlo, there you are,” she warmly greeted as he jogged up to her, a grin appearing on her lips. “of course you can. you two finished those chores so fast-” he watched silently as the two went about feeding the horse grass, the two talking happily between one another. his gaze only moved away from the gentle sight to watch as green walked closer, features subtly softening at the sight of green alone.

mickey turned his head to press a short kiss to the side of green’s head, leaning gently into his touch. “i think he really likes your mom.” his lips couldn’t help but twitch at the quietly uttered words, watching as arlo and tamara continued to feed the mare. arlo really did like tamara; and with her fondly calling herself his grandmother, it was only evident that the feeling was mutual. after a moment of thought, he quietly uttered back, “and i think she really likes you, too.”

words that didn’t need to be said to make them any more obvious, but words that still felt like they were needed to be said. not even just for green either, but perhaps to make the gravity of how perfectly things were falling together for mick even more visible for himself. “she considers you family, you know.” he glanced briefly at green before looking back at the other two, watching contemplatively.

there was still so much for tamara and mickey to catch up on. of course mick wasn’t the same person that she knew, and he was certain that she was aware of it, as tamara would sometimes peer curiously over at him. trying to figure out a puzzle that only she once knew. there were no words for a mother to describe what it was like to hardly recognize her own son; there weren’t any words for mickey to try and clear it up himself. humming gently, he nudged green, sparing him a playful glance before looking back towards the other two. "have you ever ridden a horse before, arlo?"

but he couldn’t say that he didn’t try.

[spoiler=tags ― updated 08/31.][size=8pt]◜BASICS ┊ BURIED MY HEART IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND ◞
‣  ❝ mickey serge ❞ | mick, serge | male [he/him] .
‣ 33 years old . | may fifth; taurus.
‣  currently the prodigy of northstar district
‣  currently co-founder/co-head of st. peter’s clinic in the district alongside lucerne nouvel.

◜PERSONALITY: ISFJ ┊ THERE WAS NO ONE AROUND ◞
‣  aloof . ambitious . blunt . distant . driven . hard-working . passionate . humble . reserved . introverted . intelligent . level-headed . trustworthy . honest . caring . quiet . gentlemanly . kind . pessimistic . unreadable . stoic . withdrawn .
↳ lover of tea and cigarettes
↳ struggles with ptsd symptoms
↳ recovering alcoholic (almost one year sober)

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ BURIED MY GUILT IN A PIT IN THE SOUND ◞
‣ six foot one & one hundred and sixty seven pounds ; reference .
↳ dark brown hair kept very short on the sides and neat
↳ skinny with slight muscle tone
↳ deep blue eyes , often stoic , emotionless

◜ FAMILY ┊ I TRIED AND I TRIED AND I WAS NEVER THE SAME ◞
‣  david serge x tamara serge | father deceased . mother’s whereabouts unknown
‣ only child
‣ currently claims guardianship of arlo - doesn’t consider himself arlo’s parent

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ I'LL BREAK UP THE CHAIN ◞
‣  homosexual ; monogamous | a hopeless romantic .
‣ ex-fiance to elinor rose
↳ engagement fell apart after coming to terms with mick’s sexuality .
‣  ex-lover to edmund stirling-moray
↳ the first guy he had ever been with . helped him become comfortable with his sexuality before coming out of the closet.
‣ current boyfriend of vernon green
↳ currently live together . inseparable .

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ I'M FOREVER CHANGED ◞
‣  [ 9/10 ] physically  |  [ 8/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ very difficult ] | difficulty w/ melees [ difficult ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ difficult ]
‣ [member=1512]elysian.[/member] | dm for any major plots .
‣  friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .[/size][/spoiler]