empathicfault: (Measured Discussion)
Will Graham ([personal profile] empathicfault) wrote2023-02-20 08:07 pm

PSL: Travels outside the Barge (w/Malcolm)

Piloting their new ship is a little difficult. It takes reading the (somehow enclosed) manual back-to-front and learning the control panel, now situated in what looks like a little closet on the window side of the living room. It's in the new hallway that leads to the small courtyard, which Will intends to decorate once they get this one chore done first.

Thankfully, the majority of the controls are intuition-based, going off the person who puts their hand on a small orb on the panel. The rest, as it turns out, is tweaking. And luckily (or otherwise), no tweaking is necessary for their first flight.

They're heading to Will's home world.

But Will doesn't specify where, just a year later than he left. he inadvertently brings them to where he'd left. The door opens from a wall of Hannibal's cliffside home, and looks out onto the driveway. The Dragon's wings are still there, staining the cement. They overlook the grey day and the churning seaside.

Will finds himself stuck in the doorway, unsure whether he's compelled to walk out and remember or slam the door shut and take them elsewhere.
abrightboy: (unsure)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-21 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
When Will stills in the doorway, Malcolm stands on his toes to try to look over his shoulder, then cranes his neck to try to see out the window, then looks at his husband with concern.

“Will? What’s wrong?”
abrightboy: (gasp)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-21 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm peeks outside, glancing around.

“Does anyone live here now?”
abrightboy: (curiosity)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-21 04:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm follows him. He understands what that stain is made of.

"...What happened?"
abrightboy: (take a breath)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-27 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm is always riveted by either type of explanation, but Will’s perspective would win out if he had to choose.

He looks towards the window, then his eyes trail… towards the cliff.

“This happened the night you died,” he whispers as he realizes.
abrightboy: (gasp)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-27 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm walks around the stain now, to examine the pattern on the ground. He also struggled with some of the moralizing on the Barge and how it applied to every inmate but not to every warden. Like only inmates could be bullied.

They've barely stepped beyond it and the relief has been palpable.

He looks over at Will. "You made sure he was dead before you took care of the other monster."
Edited 2025-03-27 15:33 (UTC)
abrightboy: (looks to you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-30 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm walks to the edge and looks down. Waves crash over rocks. He looks at Will.

“Do you… feel like you’re the real you now?” he asks. Or does being with anyone make that an impossibility? He watches Will’s face, but reaches for his hand.
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-30 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm smiles softly.

“I don’t want you to feel like you’re being… forced to feel a certain way ever again. I want…” He looks at their linked hands, the matching beaded bracelets on their wrists, then he looks up at Will’s face. “I want everything you let in from me to make you feel safe and valued and free and… warm.”

He looks over at the house, then looks at Will again.

“Thank you for showing me the place where doors opened for you… and you chose who not to be.”
abrightboy: (concedes happily)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-30 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm’s smile at the compliment is almost bashful, but his eyes sparkle brightly at it too.

He glances at the abandoned building as they pass, then looks at Will sidelong.

“How long do you think it’s been since… the cliff?”
abrightboy: (tries to understand)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-31 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm nods, holds Will’s hand a little tighter.

“Do you think Molly thinks you’re dead? Are we going to give her a heart attack?”
abrightboy: (looks up at)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-31 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
They step inside the ship and Malcolm tugs on Will's hand just enough to pull him into a gentle kiss.

"Do you want me to come with you or do you think it'd be better if I stay in town?" Or on the ship.
abrightboy: (empathizes)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-31 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
“I don’t want to make things awkward for you. And… I don’t want you to be obliged to explain me to her on top of everything else.”

He glances around the controls, then looks at Will.

“And I’m sure I can amuse myself in town,” he says with a small but warm smile.
abrightboy: (understands you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-03-31 10:21 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm follows Will out, looking around as they emerge into the street. He smiles and looks at Will.

“This is the area where you lived?”

He always enjoys learning more about Will, even if the details are small and/or only Will-adjacent.
abrightboy: (looks to you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-01 04:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm watches Will's face, rather than the newspaper. Will can read the date without his help.

"I... wish I could say it wasn't that bad, but... it was so bad," he says with a wince. "That wasn't reassuring," he chides himself. He glances around. "A small town will definitely fare better than a big city," he adds honestly. "And it's even better if she lives outside of town." He looks at Will. "Does she still live in the house where you lived?" Because maybe he'd like to see it from a little bit afar before briefly parting ways with Will.
abrightboy: (excited to tell)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-01 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm squeezes his hand and then holds on tight, but at the invitation he tries not to look too excited, though he fails.

“That’d be okay?” he confirms. He really doesn’t want to impose. But. A house Will lived in!
abrightboy: (just glad)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-02 09:05 am (UTC)(link)
He keeps hold of Will’s hand, which is probably how he manages not to walk into anything as he looks around on their way through town.

“This kind of place for sure is better for you than a city. I’ve never lived in a small town. Does everyone really know everyone? …I guess the Barge is a small town. I don’t know everyone there. Maybe it has higher turnover than an actual town…”
abrightboy: (presses lips)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-05 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
“That’s the reporter, right?” Malcolm confirms much more soberly. He knows what it’s like, their lenses in your face all the time on the worst days of your life. “I hope she didn’t find them that interesting when you weren’t there anymore.”
abrightboy: (looks away in thought)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-09 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm nods soberly.

“I’m… familiar with that glint. I know what I’m looking for.”
abrightboy: (curiosity)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-09 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm looks up at it, his eyes a little wide, then he looks at Will.

“You lived here?” So lovely and rustic and isolated. “Did you love it?”
abrightboy: (empathy)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-09 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
“He had a hold on you already,” Malcolm says quietly. “What did you do when you lived here? Not FBI work,” he assumes.
abrightboy: (looks to you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-09 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
“I… know we’re all supposed to want a particular picture of domestic life,” Malcolm concedes. “But… maybe you just weren’t designed to live in just one place. You were made on a houseboat. You’re built to be a nomad. Your vessel is your true home. Maybe you’ll have some ports you’ll make cozy because you want to stop there again and again. Like LA. But… it’s not your fault or hers that you couldn’t be something you’re not,” he points out softly. “Or that the messaging has always been so overpowering that you couldn’t know you weren’t that.”
abrightboy: (concession)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-11 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
He does like it when he manages to stumble into pleasing Will just by saying what naturally comes to his mind. He squeezes Will back tightly and smiles at the brush of his lips. He nods at ‘wish me luck’, smoothing out Will’s collar slightly, his hand sliding almost reluctantly away from the contact after a second.

“And if not, break a leg,” he jokes, but his unserious smile turns serious. “I love you,” he promises.
abrightboy: (understands you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-13 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm is busy while Will is in the house. He’s had an idea for a housewarming gift for Will for a while, but now that they’re near a town, he can work on it.

When the main door of the ship opens, Malcolm is pulling shut the bathroom door and stepping into the entranceway, a smile ready to remind Will that there is always someone here that’s happy to see him.
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-13 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
He gives Will what he hopes is a reassuring look before he looks at Molly and looks at him and then back again. Did he tell her he’s traveling with someone?

“No. Right. Of course. I would too! Hi! Nice to meet you. I’m Malcolm,” he tells her, offering his hand.
abrightboy: (unsure)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-14 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
The barking sets off baby yips from behind the bathroom door, which makes Malcolm wince - surprise ruined - but he tries to just carry on like there’s nothing to know.

“Well, he’s a dog guy. We have a bird, too. Do you want something to drink?”
abrightboy: (well?)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-14 09:27 pm (UTC)(link)
“Courtyard. Yes. That’s where all the dogs are,” Malcolm confirms, backing up as they walk until he is ‘casually’ leaning on the bathroom door until they’re past it.

“If she wants to see the bird or the snakes, that’s cool too. I’m going to make some tea,” he adds, peeling off in a different direction, towards the kitchen.

And Will’s nose might scent the wet dog food he is definitely not putting on a little plate while the kettle is heating up.
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-14 10:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm is still less of a natural at initiating touch than Will is, but he’s getting more confident and as Will closes the door, he offers his arms.

“I don’t suppose you’re up for a little more excitement in the form of a semi-surprise in that you can probably already hear and smell it………” Malcolm muses, pressing a kiss to his jaw.
abrightboy: (excited to tell)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-14 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm grins and gives him one more kiss before letting go and running over to the bathroom.

He returns with a brown puppy with big blue eyes in his arms.

"I found him at the local shelter. He didn't even flinch at my scent!"

He piles the puppy into Will's arms as soon as he's close enough, then looks up at Will's face.

"I wanted to get you a housewarming gift, since we moved into our forever home."
abrightboy: (concedes happily)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-15 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
"I know a rescue isn't the same as a stray," Malcolm acknowledges. "And I'd never get a surprise pet for... literally anyone else... but.... you were worried about bringing any more of your dogs from home on this journey and I thought... you just need dogs that are part of this journey. Once we were on the journey." He grins. "You think he'll fit in?"
abrightboy: (engaged)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-15 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm laughs with delight as the dog tries to lick Will's face and hands. He blinks and looks pleased at Will's conclusion.

"I did? Oh good! Well, he'll have lots of places to run with us," he says happily.

He crouches down across from Will and reaches out to scritch the dog behind the ears. "Hi, Franklin," he says with a grin. He looks at Will. "The guy at the shelter was telling me that a puppy mill got busted out in the countryside and the healthy animals - or the animals they had nursed back to health - had just come available today. There were more choices than usual. But I just felt like... this one wanted to come with me," he explains, still smiling faintly. He's never felt really connected to a dog the way Will does, but this one still stood out somehow in a way he couldn't explain.
abrightboy: (unsure)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-17 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
"...I never had a dog before. But... we're building our family now, right? So... I guess... he's ours because it's time for that?" Malcolm supposes.
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-18 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
He puts his hand on his stomach. “I don’t know if anxious is the right word. It doesn’t feel like that. It feels more like… when you told me. How you felt.” He pauses, thinks, then looks at Will warmly. “Maybe I’m still not used to being chosen for me and it still feels like a big responsibility.” He smiles softly. “I don’t want to let either of you down.”
abrightboy: (just glad)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-04-18 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
His smile broadens, brightens and he squeezes Will’s hand.

At the suggestion, he looks at the dog and then looks at Will and nods. He lets go of his hand to step over to the dog and scoop him up.

“Come on, Franklin, let’s meet your brothers…” he looks at Will to make sure he’s coming, then heads into the courtyard.
abrightboy: (just glad)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-05-07 08:48 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm laughs and sets him down so the sniff-fest can begin in earnest. As he straightens up he looks at Will, shifting a little closer to him.

“I know it’s a hard day…” The whole Molly situation, that is. “But…” He glances around, then looks at Will again. “It still barely feels real. All this. Doing this. That it’s all ours and we can do this.” He reaches for Will’s hand. “That it’s just us now and only people we invite to our life.”
abrightboy: (amused by you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-05-30 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
“Are we going to pop over there and then come back here?” Malcolm asks, using Will’s hand to tug him into his arms, where he can gaze warmly up into his face. “We probably don’t want to go over there with Molly in tow. She doesn’t seem like much more of a ‘wait in the car’ person than I am…” he muses, giving his husband a soft kiss. Well, his mouth is right there; it wouldn’t be reasonable to resist it.
abrightboy: (excited to tell)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-01 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
He doesn’t mind the kiss lingering at all. He likes it when he manages to distract Will.

At the new information, his eyebrows go up and he grins. More places? More places Will wants to show him, from his life before.

“I saw a place in town where we can get one of those phones!” Malcolm exclaims, letting go of Will to head excitedly towards the control room.
abrightboy: (excited to tell)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-11 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm looks up at the sign and grins.

"I love a good coffee," he says happily, following Will into the shop, still clutching his hand.

"Do they have something like a strawberry mousse?" he asks, even as he's scanning the menu on the wall behind the counter.
abrightboy: (just glad)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-11 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
“It’s perfect. It’s like a Hallmark movie,” Malcolm says, taking a careful, small bite of mousse. “We might have to save Christmas when we’re done eating, though,” he jokes. He takes a sip of coffee. He considers his mousse, then glances at Will. “Are you going to be able to have some of this?” Most of it. Probably most of it.
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-18 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
He smiles when Will says 'Always'. He takes another bite.

"It's really nice. Very smooth texture too. Not too sweet. Very... fruit."
abrightboy: (blankie)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-18 02:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Things look different when you're happy, compared to when you're sad," Malcolm points out simply, taking another small, careful bite.
abrightboy: (concession)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-19 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm smiles and clicks his spoon against Will's playfully.

"Isn't it?"

Maybe not in the way he thought.
abrightboy: (gasp)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-19 11:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm notices when Will becomes suddenly vigilant, though someone who didn't know him would not. His own spoon hovers above the dish as he watches Will's face. He knows Will is in that zone where he's extending his sense all around him, feeling out all the people nearby.

His tension eases when Will's does, though his spoon doesn't go right back into the dish.

"...But it's okay? He's not... here?"
abrightboy: (makes a point)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-06-20 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm is accustomed to being stared at with vague unfounded suspicion. He barely notices.

“That’s a relief,” he assures Will.
abrightboy: (confounded)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-07-04 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
“Well, they’re from here? So their energy is… in this world… somewhere. Right?” He doesn’t know that much about it; if he’s honest, he feels like… not even a third wheel to that training. Like winter tires in the summer, stored in a shed somewhere. But he gamely tries.
abrightboy: (regretful)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-07-06 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
“You’re like the UV light and they’re the bodily fluids at the crime scene?” Malcolm hazards. Will Graham: the only UV light that can see the stain inside people.
abrightboy: (concedes happily)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-07-06 11:01 pm (UTC)(link)
“It goes over well with a very specific crowd,” Malcolm notes with a grin. Himself, for one. And others that are… less of a support when it happens but just want to milk it like a cow full of answers. He knows about those too. “It’s not weird,” he says matter of factly, taking another little bite of dessert.
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-08-20 02:33 am (UTC)(link)
"I don't want to be euphemistic about it, but I do want you to be... you." He manages one more bite, then pushes the rest of his dessert towards Will. "Also it's just really cool when you do the thing," he says with a grin. He pauses, then frowns faintly. "That doesn't sound like them, does it?"
abrightboy: (excited to tell)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-08-20 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
That recognition - of what he sees, of what Will sees in him - brings the biggest lovesick smile to his face.

"Do you think he still works for the FBI?" Jack of course. "They wouldn't have fired him?"
abrightboy: (teasing)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-08-20 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm smiles, considering it.

“No, you’re right, that’s creepier.” He glances around. “He came to this town looking for you? At your home?” He’s pretty sure he knows the answer to that question, but the one that follows it is the one he’s truly curious about and he looks at Will’s face as he asks. “What do you think your life would have been like if he hadn’t come?”
Edited 2025-08-20 23:37 (UTC)
abrightboy: (looks to you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-08-21 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
“Because you couldn’t show her all of yourself,” Malcolm surmises. “And she’d know there was a wall she couldn’t get past.”
abrightboy: (secret smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-02 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm takes the bite this time. Chalk it up to the exceptionally good mood being acknowledged as Will’s most suitable spouse gives him.

He wants to be clear on the parameters of the request, though. Thankfully he has never faced chastising or recrimination from Will for wanting a request to be even more specific or explicit.

“It’s okay if you hit him, but don’t let you kill him?” he asks as they emerge, again, onto the picturesque street.
abrightboy: (concession)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-02 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
“I would like to get a good lick in,” Malcolm admits, the warmth of Will’s hand in his feeling like it’s spreading through his whole body. “I know what sort of damage he did for his solve rate. You were just a tool to him. Until you fashioned him into a tool for you.”
abrightboy: (secret smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-03 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
"They're always so happy to see us."

He didn't think he'd be able to feel it like he does; he'd never connected with a dog before in his previous life.

He looks a Will sidelong.

"I can't really blame them. I'm really happy to see you if you've been in a different room, too," he admits.
abrightboy: (looks up at)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-06 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm laughs when Franklin angles specifically for his attention and he crouches to scratch behind his ears.

He looks over at Will in all seriousness.

“How did you do that? You told him he’s mine and it’s like he knows.”
abrightboy: (excited to tell)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-06 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
When Will explains about the dog, he studies the puppy's face for a moment, like something will be revealed. But then Will mentions their next activity.

"We're fitting so much into a day!" He enthused, following Will to the console room, Franklin trailing after him clumsily.
abrightboy: (eyebrow)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-07 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm grins.

“Let’s see what a self obsessed team leader keeps in his fridge,” he suggests, glancing around and heading for the kitchen.
abrightboy: (he knows)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-08 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
“But he doesn’t want more than that. Other people do. Or they might, but he convinces them otherwise when they’re vulnerable. Young…” He glances at Will. “Sick. Guilty.” He looks at the board. “Desperate. Ambitious. Hungry.”
abrightboy: (curious questions)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-10 07:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm just follows him through the house, glancing around as they go, until he feels compelled to ask about it.

"When did his wife die?"
abrightboy: (empathy)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-10 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Do you still feel him here, even though he's gone?" Malcolm asks quietly. He doesn't mean Jack.
abrightboy: (looks to you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-10 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)
“It is yours, though,” Malcolm points out. “If you think about it, Jack never did anything but favours for Hannibal. Not the least of which was handing you to him on a silver platter. You’re the one that has a real quarrel with him. And I do, because he was careless with you and could have broken you and he was okay with the possibility of that outcome, just like Hannibal was. When it comes down to it, both of them only wanted you for what you could do with them. For how they could… use your ability to direct you and glorify themselves. Laying him out on the carpet… that’s your righteous anger talking.” He steps close enough to lay his hand over Will’s heart. “Your justified rage. Your street justice. Your… fitting farewell to all this.”
abrightboy: (teasing)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-11 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm gives him a sly smile.

"I assume you don't mean pancaked at the bottom of a cliff.'
abrightboy: (what do you think?)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-11 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
“I love Goya,” Malcolm whispers. “It was a nice touch. No other artist captures the desolation of the soul the way he did.”

Even while he whispers, his head is tilted slightly, listening for Jack’s footfalls or his voice.
abrightboy: (unsure)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-11 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm stays where he is for a moment, until Will knocks Jack down. As Will issues his warning, Malcolm casually steps over and picks up Jack’s gun. He takes out the clip with practiced ease and then empties the chamber before thumbing each bullet out of the clip one by one.

“Glock 19M. A standard issue FBI sidearm.” He examines it, holding it with his free hand. “You clean it about half as often as you should. Careless. Didn’t your firearm instructor at Quantico tell you that could result in a misfire?” He tosses the gun away from himself and finishes emptying the clip before dropping it on the floor.
abrightboy: (smile between friends)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-12 01:24 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm, on the other hand, smiles.

"Will killed him," he says happily. "He did tell you that you should be glad he isn't here to kill you. It seems like it would be a lot easier."

He steps over to the fridge, looking at a picture there. A picture of Jack and Bella. He studies it a moment, then looks at Jack.

"Then again, maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing for you. You were a workaholic while she was alive, but even that doesn't give you life anymore, does it? The work? It's hollow. Everything's hollow. Even now, determined and angry, your face is still hollow."
abrightboy: (tries to understand)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-12 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm looks at Jack, studies him, tilting his head a little bit. He notices Will's change of palour, but doesn't match it. He's analyzing.

"If you were ever good at this job, it's been a while. Your heart isn't in it anymore. So how do you know it was Lecter and not an acolyte or admirer picking his moment to become a copycat?" he asks with simple curiosity. "Will wasn't here to consult. So... how can you be sure?"
abrightboy: (amused by you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-12 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm just smiles at Will at the warning. He looks at Jack. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but if he is alive it's your lucky day. Will will probably kill him."

Jack just watches him until his attention wanders back to the photos on the fridge.

But Will probably hears one scream from the other room and when he returns, Jack's broken hand is pinned to the kitchen table with a butcher knife from the block on the counter and Malcolm is perched on the counter beside the block now, eating a Twizzlers from his pocket.

He looks up when Will returns. "I missed both the ulnar and median nerves on purpose. He's welcome."
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-12 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm catches his look and smiles modestly, gesturing at Jack with his Twizzler.

"I already stabbed him," he says, heading to keep pace with Will for their door. He's not beyond Jack's earshot when he points out "it's fine if you kill him..."

They're inside the ship with the door shut by the time he adds "Just make sure he gets to know you like me better first. And that you think I'm hotter than he is."
Edited 2025-09-12 23:26 (UTC)
abrightboy: (unsure)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-13 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm sobers as he considers that, his hand absently finding fabric to cling to at Will’s waist.

“I’ll do it to save myself or someone else. But… I don’t think I can do it in cold blood.” He looks up at Will with suddenly concerned eyes. “Don’t let him take you with him this time,” he pleads in a sudden burst of urgent, earnest words.
abrightboy: (hates to break it to you but)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-13 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Malcolm presses his lips together. More than anything, he doesn’t want to lose Will, but… “We can’t just leave him here to hurt people. He’ll never stop. Just… I mean, I know he’s always in your head. That he always will be to some degree. Just don’t let him get under your skin. Don’t let him dance you into making a mistake.”

He’s not, these days, worried about Hannibal seducing Will away from him.

“I think… I think we might be the only people that can stop him. So… let’s go get him.”
abrightboy: (looks to you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-14 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm picks up the call.

“Hello?” is all he offers the caller.
abrightboy: (teasing)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-14 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm’s smile changes. It’s not a pleasant thing anymore. There’s darkness in it.

“Going? Oh. It’s all done. He’s an absolute angel now. Works at a food bank. Sings in a church choir. Helps old ladies across the street. What’re you up to these days?” he asks like they’re old friends. “I imagine you lost your licence to practice psychiatry and any other type of medicine because of all the murders and the padded room. That’s a drag. Are you managing to keep busy?”
abrightboy: (amused by you)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-15 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
“Ah. The Thrones. Shining like fire and enacting God’s justice. That’s where I’d put him too. So… what? Are we best friends now? That’s fantastic,” Malcolm enthuses without giving him a chance to answer. “I love that for us.” He doesn’t bother covering the receiver with his hand when he shouts as if to another room, though he does lower it from his face a bit. Small mercies. “See, Will?! I told you he wouldn’t try to kill me out of jealousy just because I’m sleeping with you and he wishes!” He brings the phone back to his ear. “So do you need a ride or something? Can we pick you up somewhere?” he asks breezily. “We could have the best road trip ever. Do you know how to play the licence plate game?”
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-20 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, like I said. He's absolutely ethereal." He meets Will's gaze. "Shines like a star," he says with complete confidence. "See you soon."

He hangs up before Hannibal can respond.

"Are... we sure we want to give him the high ground? Maybe we should pop inside the house first and check on the condition of Molly and her son."
abrightboy: (head tilt)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-20 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm puts his hand on the door, to prevent Will opening it for a moment.

"Let me go first," Malcolm says in a soft, grave tone. "I can get him to release the hostages. But only if he can't see you. I'll connect with you on the phone and keep mine in my pocket so you can hear everything. So you know when to come out. He'll have me by then, but I'm not prey." Not like Molly and Wally. He gives Will a wicked little smile. "I only look like it."
abrightboy: (resigned smile)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-21 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
Malcolm hums as the kiss breaks. “You’re going to make me forget what I was doing,” he teases with a grin, giving Will one more brief but ardent kiss.

He takes a breath and moves to open the door, when he pauses and gives Will a cheeky look. “I hope he can smell you on me,” he says wickedly, then presses the call button on his phone, slips it into his pocket, and lets himself outside, closing the door behind him.

“Oh. Hey. You’re taller than I was expecting. I guess we’ve both got something to be jealous of now,” Malcolm says glibly. He looks at Molly and Wally, then looks at Hannibal, his face saying ‘Really?’ “I can’t really blame you for being out of the loop while Will was dead, but those hostages are so last year. I think you know he doesn’t run with bunny rabbits anymore. You saw to that.” Credit where it’s due, after all. “He runs with wolves now.”
abrightboy: (he knows)

[personal profile] abrightboy 2025-09-21 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
“Oh, we just came from Jack’s place,” Malcolm says with a slight cringe like they showed up to a gala in the same dress. “In fairness, we didn’t know you were here or that you and I would hit it off so well,” he points out.

He glances over at the contraption.

“I see you’re a fisherman these days, like Will.” He looks at Hannibal. “You’ve baited your hook and now you’re waiting for your fish to bite. I’m more of a hunter, like you used to be. A predator of predators. There’s a term for that, isn’t there? Apex predator? Here’s the deal: Will does intend to come out, but” He holds up one finger. “Only if you let them go unharmed,” he says, tilting his head to indicate Molly and Wally. “You get to keep me, though. Hell, I’ll even put on the straitjacket if you want.”