empathicfault | IC Inbox

Well, I like you in my cabin, so… I’ll see you there.

[ And so Will is waiting in Malcolm's cabin, sitting on a bar stool and leaning back on the kitchen counter. He watches the front door as it opens, smiling at Malcolm as soon as he has the chance. ]

Welcome back.

Malcolm meets that smile with one of his own. He has a package under his arm, but he deposits it on the counter for the moment, in favour of wrapping his arms around Will to squeeze him tight. Francis already intercepted him to change his stabbed, bloody pants. There’s no physical sign he was in a fight. He gives Will a kiss before drawing back.

“I missed you all day,” he says, though he went to the station without him on purpose. To find him a gift.

He picks up a solid, shiny black box and hands it to Will. Inside he’ll find a device that looks like a particularly sleek helmet with an opaque visor built in.

Will accepts the hug readily, humming happily as Malcolm tells him he missed him. "I missed you, too. Although I'm sure we both had chores to-"

That's when he sees the box. "This is for me?" He raises an eyebrow and opens it. He pulls out the helmet and starts looking it over carefully. He had his own little something to give Malcolm, but the smaller black box rests forgotten on the counter as he looks over the helmet.

He thinks he might know what it's for, but he goes with his least likely suspect as a joke. "You bought me a motorcycle? I dunno...might be kind of hard to ride it in the Barge..." He smirks a little as he looks hopefully back up to Malcolm. Tell him what this does, please?

"It's like..." He's almost giddy but has to search for the right words. "It's like a sensory deprivation tank, except it's portable! I mean. It gives you the same experience as a sensory deprivation tank. But you can use it anywhere. If you're overwhelmed."

Edited 2023-09-21 17:05 (UTC)

He breaks into a grin, hearing about it. "I was wondering if it was something like that. That's perfect. Maybe it'll even help me 'reset' some when I've been on the Barge too long."

The breaches 'helped,' as far as that went, and he's definitely found some respite here in Malcolm's cabin. But a total void? Maybe his brain can finally work out some of the twists and turns it's got this way.

He gives Malcolm a small, mischievous smile, then puts the helmet on. Got to test just how heavy a dark and quiet it gives him, right? He won't be long, honest. Hell, even just not having to worry about whatever expression he's been wearing while he zones out might be nice.

Malcolm watches with gleeful enthusiasm, not moving to turn off the lights or anything. Best to see how it works in a normal room.

One hand fidgets on the edge of the counter, his whole frame eager with anticipation.

It works better than Will expected, although being on the Barge had made him forget the extent of the technology on the station a bit. It's dark and silent and he can barely even feel anything, somehow. After about half a minute, Will tentatively reaches up and pulls it off, blinking like he'd just come out of a tunnel.

"You should try that sometime," Will recommends, setting it on the counter. "But while sitting. I get the feeling that after a few minutes, you'd lose all sense of up and down." His eyes focus on Malcolm and he breaks into a grin, before reaching out to pull Malcolm into another hug. "Now I can take a break anytime. I love it," he says into Malcolm's ear, before kissing just under it. "Thank you."

"I'm so glad you like it," Malcolm tells him, holding him tight. "I knew they had to have things that we wouldn't be able to get at home."

"You were right," Will replies contentedly. "I just never would've thought to look for something like that. It's so thoughtful."

He pulls back enough to kiss him, then gives him a sheepish smile. "I got you something too, but I don't know if I should be trying to follow this up."

"You got me something?" The only person who'd ever given him gifts that weren't obligations was Gil.

Not counting his dad in the Before Times.

"What is it?" he asks eagerly, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet, even still in Will's grasp.

Will laughs, looking down towards the counter. He kind of has to now, doesn't he? Maybe he should've waited until Malcolm noticed the box.

He sort of wishes he had three hands now, though. He somehow manages to reach for the box with one arm without letting entirely go of their hug. It takes a firm grasp on Malcolm's upper arm for a moment, but it works.

He comes back with a small box, with a small thing inside. Will bites his lip as he watches Malcolm open it.

Malcolm opens the box and his eyes widen a little. He looks up at Will.

“This is a ring.”

Thank you, Captain Obvious. He takes it carefully out of the box, like it’s made of something that will crumble or evaporate if he handles it too roughly.

“It’s beautiful,” he breathes. He looks from the finish - gold showing through the cracks, like him - to Will with wonder. “How is this less big than what I got you?” he says, almost accusing, clutching it in his palm to his chest before putting his hand out so he can open it and look at the ring again.

"I-" His words catch in his throat and he swallows them down. "I wasn't sure how you'd take it. But I couldn't let the chance to get something pass me by. Try it on? I was guessing on the size." He'd needed to check before they left port, in case he has to exchange it.

As Malcolm (hopefully) does that, Will continues. "It's made out of a meteorite that got past the defense barrier and scratched the station. Apparently, that's 'lucky,'" he adds with a small smile. "Malcolm, this is a promise, from me to you. I will be by your side as much and as long as I can be. I'm not-"

He half-smiles, then shakes his head, feeling like he's messing this up but continuing anyway. "I'm only not proposing because I'm still stuck here. As soon as I'm free, you better be ready for me. But with everything I do have, right now, I'm with you. Okay?"

Malcolm slides it on his finger and then alternates between looking at it on his finger and looking at Will’s face with the same dopey, charmed expression. When Will finishes, Malcolm holds his gaze, nods, then gives him a gentle, lingering kiss.

“If you were asking me, I’d say yes.” A beat and a crooked smile. “And Shaw would kill us both. But I don’t care about that or whether you’re free. I’m with you.” He nods and his fingers move restless along seams and stitches on Will’s shirt. “And I love it. Thank you.” He kisses him again. “Thank you.”

"Shaw's gonna kill me anyway when she sees that ring," Will says with a chuckle, before Malcolm kisses him and thanks him again. Will leans into it, feeling warm and loved.

But it wasn't just Shaw that was keeping him from making this a more normal proposal. And so, he reluctantly pulls back, just enough to look Malcolm in the eye. He takes both of Malcolm's hands in his own. "It's not just that I'm stuck. It's the way I'm stuck. I'm still on the ferry with Charon, waiting to see which side of the river he leaves me on. I...don't want to even think about it, I know neither of us does- but I could disappear from this place. But I- if I exist, no matter where or how, I'll pass through whatever universal barriers I need to in order to find my way back to you. To where I feel at home."

He feels a little bad, because this is quite heavy to lay at someone's feet all of a sudden. He and Malcolm talk about serious topics all the time, but broaching the topic of the future is a little more difficult for both of them. Still. He wants Malcolm to know he's going into this with clear eyes, and with an unshakeable resolve.

Malcolm doesn’t try not to have emotions around Will. It isn’t even an instinct when they’re together anymore, trying to clamp down on them. Several cross his face, but he holds his gaze.

“If you don’t find me, I’ll find you,” he finally says, quiet but firm. “I can find you. I can go anywhere. If you can’t get back, then I’ll come for you.”

Will watches, quietly. He's not sure, for a short while, if maybe he brought this up too early. But they're both used to hard truths, and working through them. It's far easier to do so when they're together.

Malcolm's decision- not just bracing for the worst-case scenario but deciding to fight it- honestly surprises Will. It shouldn't, but it does. That someone other than the worst monster he knows would do that for him...there's a flash of vulnerability that breaks through the determination in his eyes, and he feels a little like crying. He smiles instead, pulling up Malcolm's hand so he can kiss his knuckles gently.

"I'd like that. We'll find each other then, fate and universal barriers be damned." He meets Malcolm's eyes once more. And when they kiss again, he feels like he's kissing the cosmos. Light and energy pour through them both. "And God help anyone that tries to get between us," he murmurs happily against Malcolm's lips.

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