empathicfault | PSL: Travels outside the Barge (w/Malcolm)

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.

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It's a shame that their ship is soundproof, because then Malcolm would get to hear Molly tell Will that "Sure, it's weird, but it's just a door," and that it's not entirely unexplainable.

Will opens the front door for her, and suddenly Malcolm's greeted with his husband and Molly Graham. She's a shorter woman with dyed blonde hair and high cheek bones. Her general style is very much based on practicality. She's a get-it-done sort of person. And right now, her eyes are widening to saucers as she takes the place in.

Will would place a hand on her back to steady her, but he's very much avoiding touching Molly. He catches the smile on Malcolm's face and gives him an apologetic smile in return. "Hi, sorry. She wanted proof." Because of course she does. Will had been so worried about talking to her that he never got this far in his offer.

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.

Meanwhile, Molly is looking at his other hand- the ring finger. "Oh, you're- uhm, Will's husband. Of course." She reaches up to shake his hand. "From the...afterlife rehab clinic."

Even she realizes that she's tripping over her words. But polite meetings as her worldview breaks apart wasn't on her schedule for today. "Sorry, I'm not usually-"

She's cut off by the sounds of barking from Winston and Buster, currently in the courtyard. Molly's face softens, and she's threatening to smile for the first time since Will approached her. "Of course you have dogs here."

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?”

Will, inevitably, hears the yips and his eyes widen a little. A smile slowly spreads across his face, regardless of how he tries to stifle it.

"No, no," Molly replies. "That's okay, I just- is that Buster and Winston? Can I see them?"

Will finally lets himself smile and nods at Malcolm. "They're in the courtyard, right?" He knows what Molly wants. To see the dogs, of course. But also to peek around the place and make sure it's not some sort of trick somehow. If she's going to commit to being relocated to a different universe- to taking her son with her- she has to know that this is real and not some sort of elaborate...something.

“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.

Will is so tempted to go open that bathroom door, but he's at a very touchy stage in this whole thing. So instead he guides Molly around, through the living room and down the hall to the courtyard. She tries to keep up polite conversation, even now. Will tries to tell her she doesn't need to, but she interrupts- this is how she's staying sane at the moment.

Further talk is interrupted by more barking as Will opens the door to the courtyard. Molly is very much the same as Will, when it comes to dogs. She immediately forgets that they're in a space that should not exist and homes in on Buster and Winston. It's about five minutes of pets and praises until she starts coming back to herself.

As they leave the courtyard, Molly's expression turns more serious. "I need time, Will. To think about this. We're rooted here, you know that."

"I know," he tells her. "And we can stay for a few days. We can even come back for you later. But the time difference is hard to predict, while we're on the Barge. The longer it is, the less reliable we'll be."

She nods, biting her lip. "Uh...okay. I'm going to go and think about it, then. And meet Wally. He's going to be back from practice soon."

"Ah- damn, I forgot to get a burner phone. We'll be traveling a few places while here. But I'll pin the number to the tree, okay? Just call it if you need me."

Will opens the door for her again, and after a couple of pleasantries (including an 'it was nice to meet you, Malcolm' from Molly), she exited. She still did a double take upon leaving, but tried to keep it to herself.

And Will heaves a heavy breath out, as if trying to expel all the things they talked about in one fell swoop. He smiles tiredly up at Malcolm. "Thank you. I think that went...better than it could've, certainly."

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.

Will reaches for him immediately at the sight of the open arms, hugging Malcolm and immediately relaxing. It had been nerve-wracking inviting Molly in here- this is his safest place in all the worlds. But she had to see it for herself. And she and Wally might both be here if she goes for it.

At the mention of more excitement, Will grins. "As long as I'm the surprise-ee, I think my heart can take it. Please-" He pulls away enough for Malcolm to see the twinkle in the eye. "Show me?"

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."

Will is struck speechless for a moment, when it's not only a dog but a puppy. And Malcolm got him from the shelter (if it's 'local' it's the one Will worked at). "Oh, wow...hello, little guy. Welcome to your new home. You're not scared of us because everyone here are monsters, huh? We're just smellier ones."

He rubs the puppy's belly and the dog wriggles with delight. It's clear he wants to run, so Will puts him on the ground. The puppy skitters around on the floor with his awkward legs and contents himself with sniffing everything he can reach. "Malcolm, this is...I didn't get you anything. And usually I advise against surprise presents of pets, but-" He shakes his head and finally looks up to meet Malcolm's eyes. "This is really special. Thank you."

"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?"

"Oh, I think so. We'll need to play with him more while he's a puppy, though. Buster's not going to be able to entirely keep up with him." He has crouched down on the floor to pet the pup while he says this. Said rescue then jumps up with his little unstable legs to try to lick Will's face. He quickly figures out the hands are much easier. No hesitation whatsoever.

"Okay, then. You're definitely a Franklin," he says in between a couple of laughs. He scritches behind the dog's ears and looks up to Malcolm. "You don't know, but you nailed it. This little guy's a Blue Lacy. Rare, beautiful breed- but they're high energy. Just like Jet, he probably got dumped at the shelter because he was starting to get too active. He'll be little terror when he's more mobile. You might've saved him from being passed around."

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.

Oh, and this dog would probably love running around with them as wolves. With a lack of fear, even at this stage, will be so nice for later training.

As Malcolm explains how he got him, Will tips his head a little to the side. Something about his eyes change, like he's understanding something new. His grin softens into a pleased smile. "That'll happen sometimes, when a dog picks you. It means that this dog is yours just as much as he's mine."

"...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.

Will considers that. "...everything we do, every big decision we make, we're going to do it together from now on. So that rings true. But the fact of the matter is that you chose him for me, and he chose you for you. Huh, Franklin?"

The puppy, who has been trying to throw a toy in the air for himself, responds with a happy "bark!" Not that he knows what's going on, but the responsiveness is nice. Will takes pity on him and throws the toy and the pup stumbles happily towards his prize.

He looks up to Malcolm. "Are you okay with that? Anxious about owning a dog?"

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.”

Will smiles back and reaches out to take hold of Malcolm's hand. "I know," he says softly. "And I don't believe that's even a possibility. But even if you somehow do something I'm disappointed about, I'll still love you. Always. And dogs-"

He cuts himself off to look at Franklin, who's currently wrestling with the toy.

"Let's just say I think it'll do you good to have one." He grins. "Do him good, too. You want to carry him over to the courtyard? Have him meet his new pack?"

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.

As soon as Will opens the door, the two adults bound over and attempt to sniff at the puppy, tails wagging furiously. Winston gives some small little woofs, while Buster is surprisingly silent. Will had decided to forget leashing them- it looks like that was the right choice.

"Guys, this is Franklin. Be nice to him, okay? He's still learning how to get around. Franklin, this is Buster and Winston. What do you think?"

Franklin wiggles happily in Malcolm's arms, all limbs all of a sudden.

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.”

The two adult dogs circle around the puppy, sniffing and wagging their tails. Franklin tries to lick their noses, continuing his ongoing campaign to taste as much of his world as possible.

Will watches them while squeezing Malcolm's hand. He's already satisfied that the introduction was a success, so he looks up to Malcolm. There's a warm, quiet smile on his face.

"It is. It's all ours. And I want to see it all with you." He stares down at the dogs again, charmed as Buster starts leading Franklin around the courtyard. "...I didn't expect to be this happy today. Not while we're technically at my 'home'. But you do seem to make the impossible happen."

The corner of his lips ticks up. "Not that I'm calling off our more violent goal today." He's been looking forward to his petty little revenge against Jack."

“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.

Will chuckles at thinking of Molly 'waiting in the car,' enough so that he's a little surprised by the kiss. He leans into it, eyes closing as he basks in the warmth of Malcolm's love for him. It causes the kiss to go on a little longer than Malcolm probably intended. Will figures he won't mind.

"No, Molly's not coming with," Will rumbles, amused. "My plan was to get a burner phone, leave the number on the tree, then head out for a bit. Not just for Jack- there's a few more places I want to show you. And Molly would probably like a day or two to consider, without us living in her tree."

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