“It can’t be something that’s not possible,” Malcolm tells him. “Your abuser can’t just be… cut out of you like he’s a tumour. He’ll always be part of you. And I think you’re even aware of where he is in you and… what he gave you that wasn’t… horrific. And what was. And I think that’s the most anyone can do with that. I… have a hard time accepting that my father gave me things that weren’t awful. I… remember when I thought he wasn’t awful, but… it feels like it was… fake. And that makes everything that I got from that time feel cheap. I think you have a healthier relationship with that part of your life and that part of you than I do. I don’t think Hannibal is the stumbling block,” he muses. “And total pacifism hasn’t been required of any graduating inmate that I know of, so I don’t think he’d just pick on you.”

Malcolm gives him another kiss because his mouth is right there and he can while he thinks.

“It’s about deserving a second chance, right? Living a better, richer, happier life than the first time. You sacrificed yourself to protect people from him. Maybe it’s about protecting people while also protecting yourself.”