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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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."

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.

"Great. Shall we?" he replies, even though he's the one following Malcolm. "But don't let me near that shelter. It could get dangerous." They could end up with their new house full of dogs.

The trip doesn't take long- in fact, getting to a copy place so Will could write a number and then laminate the note (it will be on a tree, after all) takes longer than the phone itself. Will carries himself like he's on holiday- he pretty much is, isn't he? Regardless of their reasons for this visit, it's a break.

He sees a quaint shop that seems to be a cafe and chocolate shop and tugs Malcolm gently in that direction. "How about we check out out? This is the sort of place that tends to have really good coffee." They might as well take it a little slow and enjoy themselves.

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.

There are so many chocolates. The display counters are full of them, all beautiful. There are a number of specialty drinks, as well as parfaits made with mousse.

Will asks for just the strawberry for Malcolm, and something less sweet for himself. He ends up with an espresso bean trifle.

"I had no idea a place like this still existed," he admits to Malcolm, as they put together their order. He even likes it. It's strange what he notices when he doesn't have a constant awful headache.

“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.

Will chuckles at the Hallmark comment. "Ah, a twist on the classic. I'm the country bumpkin and you're the big city guy, and you come here to show me the magic of Christmastime in the country," he summarizes. He nods, content. He remembers something like that when he and Harkin were sharing dreams. Another breach that Red's been through. He wouldn't mind doing that again.

"I'll eat what you don't want, Malcolm. Always." He's not always big on sweets, but he's more than happy to enjoy treats if it means Malcolm gets to try them, too. "How's the taste?"

He smiles when Will says 'Always'. He takes another bite.

"It's really nice. Very smooth texture too. Not too sweet. Very... fruit."

"Sounds great," Will replies. "Mine's got the interplay of bitter and sweet. I'll probably be up an extra hour tonight. They did not skimp on the espresso."

He's silent for a moment, taking in the sights and the smells in here. It's fairly crowded- he expects some level of crush of the emotions of everyone around them. There's a few tired people, one lady who's just about at the end of her rope with her toddler. But the majority are in much the same space as they are- pleasantly surprised and enjoying the break.

"I'm a little surprised. Even this world, I see differently when I'm with you." He looks thoughtful, then shakes his head. "Maybe it's merely that I'm no longer tethered to it." If he sat down and really looked into it, would he condemn this world as strongly? Would he insist that Molly needed to leave?

Edited 2025-06-18 02:40 (UTC)

"Things look different when you're happy, compared to when you're sad," Malcolm points out simply, taking another small, careful bite.

Will's struck silent for a moment, and a slow smile creeps onto his face. "I suppose that's true."

There's a brief silence as they both eat, Will clearly savoring the flavor as he runs his tongue over his lips. He looks at Malcolm, then his gaze dips down to the table between them. "It took me so long to even understand what 'being happy' and 'being sad' was. During most of my childhood years, I thought it was being next to someone at the right time."

Malcolm smiles and clicks his spoon against Will's playfully.

"Isn't it?"

Maybe not in the way he thought.

"And here I thought I was a hopeless romantic." Will snorts and shakes his head, but he's beaming underneath the layer of snark. He lets out a laugh and eats some more of his trifle.

That's when he feels a chill down his spine- a searing cold that goes straight down to the spinal cord.

He looks up, pulling himself from his rose-colored mindset for a moment. He doesn't show off being alarmed, but he does look around. He listens and he breathes deep, taking in scents.

The woman with the toddler is finally leaving. The other customers are mostly still here, generally in no hurry to leave. There's people walking past the window and a couple on the other side of the street. It smells like the mountains, and one of the customers had a workout and didn't shower before they stopped here. He notices the distinct smell of old books for just a moment before the door closes and that fades, as well.

There's nothing. He turns back to Malcolm.

"Sorry. Don't think I'll be able to fully relax until we're out of here."

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?"

"He's not alive," Will replies, too loudly and forcefully for an ice cream shop. It earns him stares he's used to. Well, so much for being inconspicuous.

He licks his lips, takes a deep breath, and lets it out in a sigh. By then, the chatter has started up again. Will murmurs to Malcolm, far more quietly, "I saw to that."

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