empathicfault | IC Inbox

Will listens, but his look of confusion and concern doesn't really settle at all. Will hadn't been sure what Iris and Harkin's status ended on but he'd been trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth during the Turning.

But...yeah, that this was a special circumstance made sense. He lets out a sigh. "Did she say it like that?" He doubts it, but he'd like more details. "How did she put it?"

He closes his eyes for a second, and thinks. Thinks. He opens his eyes and looks up at Will.

"She definitely said it was rubbing their faces in it, talking about them being back. And all that. She said she had to stop herself from interrupting everything to stop me."

Will looks distant, briefly, and hums thoughtfully. "She didn't interrupt things, though. I caught a little tension, but nothing unusual to our group. If anything, the ire was towards Lark." And not unreasonably so, in Will's opinion. "I don't think you ruined anything."

He rubs at his face, eventually brushing back his hair with his fingers. "And if anything was off, it's because no one came back to us with the results of the whole...mess with Iris and Harkin. And I get that, but it's not our fault if that means it gets awkward."

"...She did say that someone should have told us," Malcolm recalls. "She said she should have, actually."

He pauses.

"I still hurt their feelings, though. I still owe them an apology."

Will nods at hearing that Maggie thought so, too. The rest? It has Will half-smiling. He leans over and gives a kiss to Malcolm's temple.

"You are," he says definitively. "A very good person. I don't know if you owe them an apology. But if you want to ease any possible hurt caused, then that's a good thought."

Will kisses him - at work! - and calls him a good person and he can't help a dreamy, almost dopey, smile.

"You don't think Sweeney is mad at me?"

"I don't think so. He does shove things down..." Will chews on his lower lip, thinking that over.

He looks up to Malcolm again, smiling. Realizing what he's about to say, and how much he means it. "Still, he's family, right? I don't know how you're both handling that, but it's...closer than Pack, to me."

Malcolm smiles softly.

"You know... I thought they were the same thing. But. Maybe they're not?"

Will shakes his head. "They might be closer to each other than most things, but...no. If they were the same thing, I think I would've been a lot more comfortable with the concept of family."

“You weren’t comfortable with that?” Malcolm hadn’t noticed. The evolution of their little family has seemed very natural to him. Right. “…Did… people who didn’t really value you try to call you that?” he asks.

"It's more that I didn't really have one. Just my dad, and he didn't have any idea what to do with me. There was a couple of times, when he was fixing up a boat and let me help, that I thought I might've...felt it. That's it."

He draws his knees up and leans slightly more fully against Malcolm. "Hannibal did call me family, though, yes. And it was manipulative. But it was also true." He takes a deep breath in and lets it out in a sigh. "I think family are the people you are connected deeply to, through fate or circumstance. You don't choose your family. You do choose to be Pack. And you are both, to me."

When Will leans closer, Malcolm nuzzles against Will’s jaw, a gesture of comfort that he doesn’t notice has come naturally to him with Will. His finger fidget absently at one of his buttons. He smiles at Will’s conclusion, though.

“You chose me for both,” Malcolm says and his tone makes it clear how stupidly happy that makes him. Maybe he thought Will was interesting and attractive, but he wouldn’t have considered he had a chance there if Will hadn’t initiated the idea. And maybe he was a wolf first, but it was Will who suggested he could be one too and they could have another connection that way. Will offered him what felt like impossible dreams until they became real and Will understands the significance, for Malcolm, of someone choosing him. Choosing him and not changing his mind. Choosing him when there were plenty of other options. “And I choose you.”

Will accepts all the attention readily, something he never thought would come naturally to him. He looks pleased as he leans farther into the nuzzling, making it easier for Malcolm.

As for what Malcolm says, it's true- Will could've let the moment pass, could've pressed down his jealousy over Malcolm's awkward non-flirting with Shaw, ignored the unseen attention Malcolm was getting from Norton and Neal. He could've let it all go and worked on his own mess of a relationship history by himself.

...but it's not in his nature to deny himself, anymore. So where does choice fit in, there? Perhaps it's all merely semantics. Besides, hearing Malcolm choosing him back has him grinning like a kid with a school crush.

"Mmmhmmm," is his very eloquent response. And then, "I love that I make you smile like that."

Malcolm grins down at his knee. “It’s starting to feel more natural. Smiling.” He looks up with a grin that says he’s teasing when he adds “It doesn’t even make my face hurt anymore.”

That makes Will laugh a bit. "Same here, if I'm honest. Still hurts my face, though." His eyes are twinkling. He lets out a happy sigh that coincidentally lets him breathe more of Malcolm in.

"Hey," he says, after a moment. "I'd like to...talk to you. Just- more about future plans," he adds, before Malcolm gets worried. "I know we're getting deals after I graduate, but...I wanted to make sure. I want to stay on until Harkin graduates. It might be a while. Are you okay with that?" He realizes it could be misinterpreted and adds, "I'm sure we'll go visit people, get off the boat sometimes, but as far as where we're living...I want it to be here."

“I’m okay with that,” Malcolm says. “We have to take care of our family, right?” he confirms. “…I never told you,” he suddenly realizes. “When you were in the… coma. One day, when he came to get the dogs for their exercise, he asked me when I was going to ask you to marry me. So I… told him that we’ve already talked about it. I hope that’s okay.”

Will chuckles a bit. "It is, it's very okay. Damn, I probably should've talked to him about it myself, but I'm not all that great at...being a good sibling. I'm glad he's got a couple of others that are better about it."

He's not, really. He's a jealous and possessive creature and he would rather have his brother all to himself. But that- and his feeling like he doesn't have a good handle on actually taking care- has him giving space to Red's other Breach family. It's fine, as long as he doesn't think about it too hard.

"Anyway- I'm glad he knows. I'll tell him about our plans, too. I just don't want him to think...I'm another person promising to be there for him. Especially if we get dragged out sometime." He licks his lips. "First day after I graduate, let's head to Lark's world, yeah? Just in case that matters for...where we go back to, if we get lost." He doesn't want to risk them going to separate worlds, especially if they don't have their transportation yet.

Malcolm had talked in vague terms about the ring Will had given him after the space station when people saw him wearing it and asked, but he hadn't spoken, specifically, about marriage. That felt... more private. But he hadn't thought Will would mind Sweeney knowing and he's glad he was right.

The suggestion lights up another smile. "I'd like that. And you can see our house for real. We can set it up and stuff. So it's ready any time we want to stay."

It is a little more private, but- well. Harkin's family. Malcolm was right on the money.

At Malcolm's confirmation, Will lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. It was just a stray thought that had them both pulled back 'home' and with no way to return, he just- he couldn't stand that. But they'll set it right as soon as they can. Make Lark's place 'home'. "That sounds great," he replies. "I'm still not sure how much we're going to take to Los Angeles, but I suppose we'll see. I'm used to colder weather."

But thinking about it is honestly relaxing. He's never been so full of plans before- well, maybe when he was working with Jack on catching Lecter. "Lark said I'd probably like most of the Pack there. I might even be looking forward to meeting them. A little."

"We'll be right by the water! Maybe we can have a boat!" He's been keeping the secret of the fully stocked fishing room, complete with a fly-tying station, that he had Lark install for Will and he will giddily do so right up until Will walks into it. He pauses. "...Do you know how to drive a real boat? You must do, right?" He grew up on one. He knows how to fix them. It would seem to follow.

Will has to grin now. Of course they'll have a boat. If they're lucky, it'll even be close to their house- it's supposed to be beachfront property, right? "Well, it's more piloting, unless you're talking a motorboat. But yes, I do. I'm used to sailboats and- as you might guess- the big clunky setups that are the houseboats. I imagine I can figure out just about anything else pretty quickly, too."

He shifts in position slightly, looking up at the ceiling as he casts himself into this possible future scenario. "I could teach you anything you want to know. We could even get a bunch of parts and a decent hull for cheap and fix one up ourselves. By the time you get done with that sort of project, you know it better than your own body."

Malcolm's eyes widen. "We can build a boat engine?" he exclaims. "Ourselves? A working boat engine?"

Will is delighted by this reaction- Malcolm can probably see that, even if it doesn't actually show up on his face. "We sure can. Just have to take it slow and careful and...honestly, a little lazy. That gives it time for problems to pop up. I, uh...I actually fixed up a boat and sailed it across the Atlantic, once. To Europe. Had a couple of minor issues, but nothing too big."

“We could park our timeship for a bit and just…… sail around the world? On a boat we made?” Malcolm clarifies, even more awestruck and excited.

"It'll take a while to make it, but- yes," Will says, punctuating it with a grin. "Why not? We'll be able to do anything we want. We can even get really clever with it and keep the timeship on the boat...just in case we need a miraculous getaway. For some reason."

Will appreciates that this became the topic of conversation. Sometimes Malcolm just needs reminding that he has a lot to look forward to. Even perceived harms are not that big in the grand scheme of things, here.

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