PSL: Travels outside the Barge (w/Malcolm)

[empathicfault]

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.

Comments

[empathicfault]

Molly gives him a withering glare- learned from Will at some point, no doubt. But at least annoyed is better than terrified. She puts her hands on Walter's shoulders before they make their way through the door.

Will and Hannibal haven't moved. Will looks less tense, halfway through the bark of a laugh that never comes out unless he is, in fact, very tense. He knows Hannibal wants Will's eyes on him, so he keeps them there for now. He can hear the door open, however...

"Mrs. Graham, I-" Hannibal starts, but Will immediately interrupts.

"Don't." It's loud and forceful. "She deserves more apologies than any of us can give her. Give her the dignity of a swift exit."

The words are chosen carefully, to appeal to Hannibal's nature. Apparently, Hannibal agrees, because he merely nods.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm stays between them and the scene on the lawn, but he doesn't walk to the house with them, he circles them about halfway between the house and Will and Hannibal until he hears the door shut and lock.

Then he heads towards them, angled to end up beside Will.

[empathicfault]

Molly keeps her head on straight, thankfully. She and Wally move fast and it doesn't take long before she's moved back into the house. Will knows she'll be moving after this. She's not the type to let sentimentality endanger her family.

In that short amount of time, Hannibal has asked Will about his visit to Jack. "If I'd known you were planning to see him, I would've asked you send my regards."

"I'm sure he feels them, anyway," replies Will. "Considering I broke his hand, and then Malcolm stabbed it."

Hannibal notices Malcolm coming around and nods acknowledgment at his arrival. "You do find the most interesting people, Will."

[abrightboy]

"Will and I are the same," Malcolm tells him plainly. Will understands what that means to him. Why it's significant. "Maybe that's what you find interesting," he suggests to Hannibal.

[empathicfault]

A small smile comes to Hannibal's lips. "Just so."

Will looks satisfied, his shoulders relaxing somewhat now that they're through the touchier part of this plan. He holsters his gun. "It's time we took a trip together, don't you think?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Hannibal replies, taking a moment to brush a leaf off of his jacket.

Will glances at Malcolm long enough to give him a small smile. "I think I'll take him to Florence," he says, turning towards their door. That it won't be a Florence from either of their worlds? That's a certainty.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm pauses. He's not sure about the gun being holstered, he's not sure he likes that pronoun.

"...We're taking him, though, right?"

[empathicfault]

Oh. Will hadn't noticed the pronoun, himself. He's not sure he likes it, either. He looks to Malcolm and nods, seriously. "We are."

That is, of course, the sort of subtle sign that Hannibal takes note of. But it's too late to do anything about it now. "You can pick which one, if you want," he tells Malcolm, squeezing his upper arm as he opens the door to their ship.

"Come on in," he tells Hannibal. He gets the vague-but-striking feeling like he's inviting a vampire into his home. But it's actually worse, isn't it? It won't be for long, he tell himself as he heads inside. He positions himself in the kitchen, between the door and the living room.

Hannibal does not question any of it, instead taking in the details as he steps inside.

[abrightboy]

He can choose which one? Is one of them an active volcano? No, no, okay he'll play... relatively nice. He does offer Will a smile at the arm squeeze and when they go inside the ship, he goes into the cockpit to set their course, but he's keep one wolf ear on the other room.

[empathicfault]

Will can follow Malcolm's train of thought- he stifles a chuckle at the obvious bad blood. Will would accept it, if death was what Malcolm chose. He knows it'd be a heavy decision for him, after all, and it isn't as if Hannibal doesn't deserve it.

But it's better that Malcolm picks. Will has the chance of bringing Hannibal to some place he frequents, merely by accident. Their initial arrival here was enough of an example of that.

Malcolm is down the large hall before too long, and Will moves back into the kitchen. "We can't bring you back with us, even if we wanted," he tells Hannibal. "Where we live, it's a place for redemption."

"You do sing in the church choir," Hannibal says, interest coloring his tone. "Take care that God doesn't see fit to collapse your life on top of you."

Will laughs, reaching for the Scotch and a couple of glasses. "After you, I've been very cautious with what I've built." It's not entirely an insult, despite what it sounds like.

"And yet, you have not tried to kill me again, despite the danger I pose to your carefully-built life. Nor do you seem to intend to. May I ask for what purpose?"

Will had been waiting for this. He's surprised Hannibal took this long in asking. He hands Hannibal a glass of Scotch and pours one for himself. "As much good as it'd do for everyone else, I don't want you dead. I'd been ready to write off where I'd come from entirely, but-" He takes a sip of alcohol. "Something pulled me back. This is my way of being done for good."

"Removing me but not killing me is being 'done for good?'"

Will nods and hums. "Since it is an option. You can settle in a place that wasn't entirely meant for you. And maybe, if you're as exceptional as you think you are, you'll find your way back to me someday."

"As exceptional as you think I am," Hannibal corrects, a self-assured smile on his lips.

Will pauses, then nods again.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm finishes setting course and moves into the doorway, but doesn’t fully enter the room. He lingers on the threshold. This isn’t his healing, but he wants Will to know he’s there to support him. And he wants Hannibal to understand he’s watching and will fuck him up if he has to. Even if he doesn’t believe that Malcolm can.

[empathicfault]

There's a slight shift in Hannibal's stance, as he changes his weight from one foot to the other. More weight on the heels of both feet, slightly more bend at the knee. That's all the indication Malcolm gets that he's aware of the man at the edge of the kitchen.

Will notices Malcolm, though. He moves fluidly, as relaxed as he tends to get around Hannibal. He smiles in Malcolm's direction. "You found a good spot already?"

It's his way of inviting Malcolm in- well, that, and the arm he holds out to offer up the space next to him for Malcolm to slide into. It may be Will's healing, but it wouldn't have happened without Malcolm. He should be here to appreciate it.

Hannibal looks over, as if he's just noticed Malcolm's arrival. "I must admit to being endlessly curious about this ship of yours. It's quite tastefully appointed, for a transport. Under better circumstances, I'd request a tour."

"But you've been a terrible guest," Will replies, knocking back the remainder of his drink. "And we can no longer trust you with the knives. Recreating my murder dreams, really, Hannibal? Talk about a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm nods at Will’s question and at the outstretched arm, he’s noticeably happier as he takes the offered place, hip to hip with his husband.

“Unprofessional,” he agrees sagely.

[empathicfault]

"Do we not all have strange reactions when we are mourning?" Hannibal asks, in reply. "I can admit, it was not my most creative endeavor. In the absence of you, I felt compelled to bring more of you into the world."

And it had worked. Here he was.

Will's smile is a little strained. He was ready to banter, and he should be indignant on Molly's behalf. For the harm done on Hannibal's childish whim. But he can't seem to rustle up any more emotions for her, now. "...I didn't mean to leave you alone," he says, quietly. He squeezes Malcolm a little closer as he says it. All of them share that loneliness, and he knows how painful it can be.

Hannibal glances down at his drink before sipping it. "And yet, you endeavor to do the same now," he replies, rather briskly. His hand grips the glass he holds more tightly.

[abrightboy]

"He didn't mean to leave you alone but he didn't say he forgives you," Malcolm tells him. "He died for you. That's what you get to keep."

[empathicfault]

Hannibal appears to take that in rather morosely. Will's death in such a way was not what Hannibal had wanted. "Forgiveness is an act that requires two," Hannibal eventually says, parroting prior words. "The betrayed and the betrayer."

Will watches as Hannibal shifts the glass in his hand. "And we've both taken those roles, before. 'Forgiveness' might be an alien term, at this point."

The glass goes through one more rotation- one more test of its weight- before Will commands, "Don't. You mess up another house of mine and I might really never forgive you." His tone is the same he uses when admonishing one of his dogs for tearing up a cushion.

Once the glass is placed (gently) back on the counter, Will's tone softens again. "I'm not leaving you alone this time, Hannibal. This isn't a goodbye. It's a scavenger hunt. The edges of every world lead to endless possibilities, and that's where we've always lived. You'll find your way to me. Or to Clarice."

Hannibal raises an eyebrow, and Will smirks. Teasing Hannibal with information he doesn't know is one of the best ways of keeping his attention.

Will leans his head towards Malcolm's and hums. "Are we there already?" he asks his husband, quietly. This has been genuinely good, but any longer of a discussion and it might turn into a fight.

[abrightboy]

"I suppose it's not nothing that you'll admit you've been both, even if it is only to manipulate him," Malcolm notes.

At Will's question, Malcolm glances towards the control room and nods.

He looks at Hannibal.

"He let me choose where to drop you and I didn't choose a hole. Don't press your luck looking for more mercy than that."

[empathicfault]

It says something, that Will had Malcolm do it. A level of trust Hannibal is unused to seeing Will give to anyone.

"You might wish I still ran with rabbits," Will notes, as if reading his mind. "But maybe Malcolm's in a good mood today." He nods his head towards the door. This is your cue, Hannibal.

The man closes his eyes and takes in a full breath, letting it out in a sigh. He opens his eyes to bid them adieu, but Will has somehow made close- about three feet in front of Hannibal- without any noise. He's holding something sharp--

It's a tie pin, a gold Victorian cross encrusted with rubies and a diamond. It was something Hannibal left when he was last on the Barge during a flood, along with sketches, a number of recipes, and multiple tongues (thanks, Harkin). "Here," Will says, tucking it into Hannibal's front jacket pocket. "To get you started."

Hannibal catches Will's wrist and holds him there for a moment, and looks into Will's eyes. "I have missed you so," is what he says, voice quiet and pleading and not at all with his usual decorum.

Will watches with a blank face until the words. Then he smiles, gently. "I look forward to our stars being the same once again. Good luck, Hannibal." The man might actually need it, for once.

He pulls away, and Hannibal lets him. Will rejoins Malcolm on the other end of the kitchen. Hannibal opens the door.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm takes a step forward when Hannibal grabs Will's wrist, but when no attack follows it, he makes himself stay there. One quick surge forward before he remembers restraint.

"I'd say it was nice to meet you, but it really wasn't," he says as Hannibal heads towards the door. "Interesting, yes. Nice... not so much."

[empathicfault]

Will's smile slides quickly into an amused grin. Hannibal nods his head in a gracious acknowledgement, looking towards Malcolm. "I will take 'interesting' as a compliment, from you. Thank you, Malcolm."

Will realizes Hannibal never got Malcolm's full name, and it's what powers his pleased smile as he kisses Malcolm on the temple. The move is simple possessiveness. He will miss Hannibal, but he always does. Will has chosen his life, and chosen to allow Hannibal the chance to crash through it again. He's sure of what he and Malcolm can handle together.

"Goodbye, Hannibal."

"Until next time."

And with that, Hannibal crosses their threshold. He's kind enough (if 'kindness' is even a factor here) to shut the door after himself.

Will closes his eyes and leans against Malcolm, hugging him more fully. He can feel tears forming and he's not entirely sure why, just yet.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm turns into him as well, wrapping his arms around him.

He remembers how he felt when he thought the Marahals shot his father. He knows what it's like to know what someone is and to know they poison you and also to not want to lose them.

"At least you know where he is. I liked that, when my father was in prison. I couldn't control how he was or what he did to me but I could control the exposure. Like the shutter of a camera."

[empathicfault]

Will could reply with an offhand comment about how he thought this was the best solution, or how Malcolm had a good point about the exposure (despite Will's historical lack of control in that area).

But he's just quiet, for awhile, and he hugs Malcolm back. It feels like he's been held in place for so long by what he thought he knew. And now that he's freed from it, he can feel his tired muscles sagging with the weight of it all.

"Thank you. For letting me do this." It took an enormous and extraordinary amount of trust and understanding. But Malcolm has always surprised him in that category. "...and for being here. With me."

[abrightboy]

“I’ll always be here with you,” Malcolm murmurs. He had some concerns - mostly about what Hannibal might do; Will had alleviated his concerns about the possibility of leaving him for Hannibal a long time ago - but now that it’s done, he feels calm.

He lifts his head to give Will a kiss.

“Always. Anywhere.”

[empathicfault]

"Always." Will agrees. They both knew the extent of that 'always,' much further than most would find sane or healthy.

But Will would never give it up. It works for them, and that's all it has to do. He kisses Malcolm again, slowly and gently.

"Let's- well, let's bounce around a few places just to be careful. Then to our spot in the woods?" There's no way Hannibal could follow them anywhere, truly. That doesn't mean it's easy for Will to accept that they don't need precautions. He's not fighting any hunches when it comes to safety, at the moment.

"We could show Franklin the place."

[abrightboy]

Franklin! Their new puppy. He grins up at Will. His new puppy? He'd almost forgotten with what was going on. Oh. Does that make him a bad dog owner? ...No. Stop that. He grabs Will's hand and takes him to the cockpit, even though it's only a few steps away.

"Do you think there's a 'random destination' setting in here?" he asks, surveying the panel. He's fine with hitting a few random places; he wants Will to feel safe in their safe place.