empathicfault | IC Inbox

Will hums thoughtfully, even as his hand brushes up and down over Malcolm's shoulder and upper arm. "What makes you say that? Did they have meet-ups that didn't include you?"

“Yeah. I actually skipped out of an activity I did regularly to attend… their movie night.”

That’s a little on the nose when he thinks about it.

“And I think they were involved in plotting to overthrow the company we worked for.” A beat. “Without me.” If that needed clarification. “I liked it there.”

Will lets out a little snort of disbelief. "What was this place, anyway? Was it evil? You said it was some sort of research facility...what did it research?"

He'll address the rest later, but that second part seemed slightly more contextually important.

“Lots of stuff, I guess. I was working on some sort of time-space portal thingies,” Malcolm tells him. “Shaw said there were human experiments going on. I guess I looked into it and didn’t find anything compelling? It’s already getting fuzzy.” And he’d had more pressing issues than Breach stuff when he got back.

Will makes a face at the phrase 'human experiments' and rubs at his eyes. "Yeah, I've heard how that goes. That...there might've been something to that. I've never seen us have a breach where nothing suspicious is going on." Although maybe he'd just gotten 'lucky'.

"Time-space portals do sound fun," he admits, with a small smile. "And you had another activity during their movie nights? What was it?"

"...I played a strategy card game with some friends from work. It was called Wizard Council," he admits. Then there's a hesitation before he adds "And I... flirted with the girl that worked at the bar really badly and awkwardly but somehow she still wanted to talk to me." He pauses. "Shaw was going to try to help me with that... situation."

"Okay, so- you sound like you were pretty 'in' to me. Shaw was helping you out. It sounds like you could've gone to movie nights sometimes if you wanted. And there was a group of people you played card games with. That's...a lot, actually." At least it is as far as Will's concerned.

He smiles then, slightly mischievously. "What was the girl like? I don't know, I think you undersell how cute you are when you're awkward. She might've appreciated it."

“Shaw was helping me. But they had movie night the only day I always had other plans. And she trusted Neal.”

He pauses at the question, though Will telling him he’s cute when he’s awkward pleases him as much as any compliment from Will. A lot.

“…It was Laura Moon. She owned the bar.” He looks at Will uncertainly. “She seemed… actually interested when I talked to her.”

Will grins and nods. "She might've been. Hard to say with these different worlds." Especially with how they fade for most people.

He shifts a little, more to get Malcolm more comfortable than anything else. "I think..." he starts, reaching up to run his fingers through Malcolm's hair. "You had more connections there than you realize. And you might have more here too, it's just- filtering through your real-life memories. But if I say any more, I'm going to risk sounding hypocritical."

He plays with Malcolm's hair a little more, thoughtful, then adds, "You know you have me here, right? It's always nice to feel included, but- we're our own group. Always."

Malcolm nods thoughtfully at the first part, soothed by Will's fingers in his hair. The calm it brings helps him see things more clearly. He suspects Will knows that.

At the second part, he smiles softly. Warmly.

"I do know that. And if I had a thousand friends, I'd still come back to just you and me at the end of the day." He pauses, glancing down for a moment, drawing a pattern on Will's knee with his fingertip while he gathers his thoughts, then looks up. "I think... everyone that was... relatively easy for me to get on with leaving so close together is... still making everything hard. Even breaches when I'm not even me. Or... at least, coming back from them."

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