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— although mick often chose to err on the side of caution nowadays - increasingly hesitant to get himself into situations that might be full of potential dangers - he had his reasons as to why. he remembered the haunting uneasiness that often plagued him. paranoia chilled him to the bone as he watched those close to him fall. he spent so much time paranoid about losing those around him that he hadn’t accounted for how much he had lost of himself. then, at the end of it all, mickey came to realize that he knew, more than anyone, what it felt like to lose everything. to lose the ones he loved. eyes darted towards vernon almost subconsciously. he couldn’t lose anyone else again; it’d absolutely break him.
so he made it almost a rule at that point. avoid violence. choose this life of peace he had finally found with green. his gaze lingered on the other man as they walked among the trees, opting to gently bump his side against him. choose happiness. taking a deep breath through his nose, eyes moved to look ahead. “we should be there any moment, now.”
still, there would always be exceptions to this rule of his. there was always an exception.
when eddie visited him and talked about his plans, mick would be lying if he said he even thought twice about the dangers of it all. there were some people in this world mickey simply couldn’t say no to; he’d go to the ends of the earth for those he cared so deeply about. the luxury of loyalty. in his eyes, his dear friend was one of the few people close enough to experience that luxury from mick. if edmund ever needed help, the older man was always there in his corner, willing to offer what he could. if it meant scoping this place out for him, seeing what was going on in this ghost town, he would be quick to take a quick look around.
dragging green along wouldn’t have been his first idea usually - he hated the idea of even potentially putting him in harm’s way - but as they walked, he couldn’t think about having it any other way. it was reassuring to know he wasn’t alone as they walked along, walking closer and closer to the little town among the forest. he stood close enough for their arms to gently brush against one another’s. for once, he didn’t have to go alone. he released a gentle breath through his lips, looking noticeably more at ease. he’d never have to go somewhere alone if he didn’t want to.
as they strolled into the small town, the sight of the run-down homes made his skin prick with unease. eyes darted around, slowly taking his gun into his hand. it looked like a place that had been forgotten with time, left behind to rot with the concept of the world people had once known. the air was permeated with a heavy tension. eerie, almost. moss covered a few neglected houses, others shrouded in vines and deteriorated wood. as deserted as the place seemed, mick couldn’t shake the nagging feeling. he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. chalking it up to be his own paranoia, he shook it off.
eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “vernon.” he moved closer towards a house in the center of the town. one of the few that didn’t look nearly as decrepit as the other home surrounding it. this, mick figured, looked like a place worth checking out.
he wasn’t surprised that when he tried the door, it opened with ease and a slow creak. he glanced over his shoulder towards vernon, offering a short nod of assurance before they both headed into the house. slow steps walked along groaning floorboards, gun held in a ready position as they walked past empty rooms through the hall. as neglected as the house seemed, there were still signs that it was occupied - or at least used to be.
a flash of a figure disappearing into a room at the end of the hall made mick visibly still. he looked over his shoulder towards green, who already seemed intrigued in scoping a different room of the house out, starting to step into another room. oblivious of what mick had seen; had mick actually seen what he thought? there was no other option than to check it out. he walked down the hall, closer towards the half-open door. gun raised up closer to his chest, he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob. slowly starting to open the door more and more until--
the muffled sound of a man shouting had him turn his head abrupt down the hall, holding his breath in a short gasp of air. the stiff air around them felt almost suffocating as it was distantly filled with the sound of a scuffle. his blood went cold. vernon. he briskly turned away from the half-open door to go down to the room he had last seen green go into. if he hadn’t already felt horrified, chilled to the bone with almost crippling fear - fearing the worst, always fearing the worst in life or death situations - the sight of another man going after green would have easily brought such a sickening feeling to his stomach.
“get out of my fucking house, you good for nothing-” the man didn’t seem interested in taking green out of the house. if anything, the man seemed far more interested in taking green’s life, right where he stood. cornered. trapped. knife wielded in one hand, the man gritted his teeth and shouted as he rushed at the blonde.
mick didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, the stale air briefly filled with the echoing sound of a gunshot. heart pounding anxiously in his chest with alarm, he watched as the man crumpled to the floor with dying gasps. his gaze instinctively looked towards green, as if silently trying to see if green was thinking the same thing as he was. "are you okay?"
they had to get out of there. fast.
— although mick often chose to err on the side of caution nowadays - increasingly hesitant to get himself into situations that might be full of potential dangers - he had his reasons as to why. he remembered the haunting uneasiness that often plagued him. paranoia chilled him to the bone as he watched those close to him fall. he spent so much time paranoid about losing those around him that he hadn’t accounted for how much he had lost of himself. then, at the end of it all, mickey came to realize that he knew, more than anyone, what it felt like to lose everything. to lose the ones he loved. eyes darted towards vernon almost subconsciously. he couldn’t lose anyone else again; it’d absolutely break him.
so he made it almost a rule at that point. avoid violence. choose this life of peace he had finally found with green. his gaze lingered on the other man as they walked among the trees, opting to gently bump his side against him. choose happiness. taking a deep breath through his nose, eyes moved to look ahead. “we should be there any moment, now.”
still, there would always be exceptions to this rule of his. there was always an exception.
when eddie visited him and talked about his plans, mick would be lying if he said he even thought twice about the dangers of it all. there were some people in this world mickey simply couldn’t say no to; he’d go to the ends of the earth for those he cared so deeply about. the luxury of loyalty. in his eyes, his dear friend was one of the few people close enough to experience that luxury from mick. if edmund ever needed help, the older man was always there in his corner, willing to offer what he could. if it meant scoping this place out for him, seeing what was going on in this ghost town, he would be quick to take a quick look around.
dragging green along wouldn’t have been his first idea usually - he hated the idea of even potentially putting him in harm’s way - but as they walked, he couldn’t think about having it any other way. it was reassuring to know he wasn’t alone as they walked along, walking closer and closer to the little town among the forest. he stood close enough for their arms to gently brush against one another’s. for once, he didn’t have to go alone. he released a gentle breath through his lips, looking noticeably more at ease. he’d never have to go somewhere alone if he didn’t want to.
as they strolled into the small town, the sight of the run-down homes made his skin prick with unease. eyes darted around, slowly taking his gun into his hand. it looked like a place that had been forgotten with time, left behind to rot with the concept of the world people had once known. the air was permeated with a heavy tension. eerie, almost. moss covered a few neglected houses, others shrouded in vines and deteriorated wood. as deserted as the place seemed, mick couldn’t shake the nagging feeling. he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. chalking it up to be his own paranoia, he shook it off.
eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “vernon.” he moved closer towards a house in the center of the town. one of the few that didn’t look nearly as decrepit as the other home surrounding it. this, mick figured, looked like a place worth checking out.
he wasn’t surprised that when he tried the door, it opened with ease and a slow creak. he glanced over his shoulder towards vernon, offering a short nod of assurance before they both headed into the house. slow steps walked along groaning floorboards, gun held in a ready position as they walked past empty rooms through the hall. as neglected as the house seemed, there were still signs that it was occupied - or at least used to be.
a flash of a figure disappearing into a room at the end of the hall made mick visibly still. he looked over his shoulder towards green, who already seemed intrigued in scoping a different room of the house out, starting to step into another room. oblivious of what mick had seen; had mick actually seen what he thought? there was no other option than to check it out. he walked down the hall, closer towards the half-open door. gun raised up closer to his chest, he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob. slowly starting to open the door more and more until--
the muffled sound of a man shouting had him turn his head abrupt down the hall, holding his breath in a short gasp of air. the stiff air around them felt almost suffocating as it was distantly filled with the sound of a scuffle. his blood went cold. vernon. he briskly turned away from the half-open door to go down to the room he had last seen green go into. if he hadn’t already felt horrified, chilled to the bone with almost crippling fear - fearing the worst, always fearing the worst in life or death situations - the sight of another man going after green would have easily brought such a sickening feeling to his stomach.
“get out of my fucking house, you good for nothing-” the man didn’t seem interested in taking green out of the house. if anything, the man seemed far more interested in taking green’s life, right where he stood. cornered. trapped. knife wielded in one hand, the man gritted his teeth and shouted as he rushed at the blonde.
mick didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, the stale air briefly filled with the echoing sound of a gunshot. heart pounding anxiously in his chest with alarm, he watched as the man crumpled to the floor with dying gasps. his gaze instinctively looked towards green, as if silently trying to see if green was thinking the same thing as he was. "are you okay?"
they had to get out of there. fast.