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[abrightboy]

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[abrightboy]

Malcolm does want. He shifts when Will does to take him up on it.

“Thirty-three when I got here. So… forever, I guess. You?”

[empathicfault]

Mmm, nice. Will plays idly with Malcolm's hair for a moment before his hand settles over his partner's shoulder. He notices one of those bright insects in the corner of his peripheral vision, having thought it was Sunshine before. He must've let it in when he arrived.

"Forty-two, when I got here. Huh, usually I'm the younger one in the relationship- you know, all three or four I've had before."

[abrightboy]

"Three or four; no wonder you're so good at this," Malcolm hums dreamily. "Do you think you'd stay with me if Hannibal came back here? Do you think the Barge could redeem him? Or did the Admiral send him away because he couldn't change?" Malcolm pauses, then frowns faintly. "I'm not sure I want you to change."

[empathicfault]

Will's ready to laugh and mention that the only 'real' one was Molly, and everyone on this ship owes her thanks for 'socializing' him a little. But he's only through half a chuckle before Malcolm asks about Hannibal. And then keeps asking questions, and every single one is worthy of a long discussion.

Will chuckles anyway, because that is so very Malcolm, and he loves it. "We all change. We are becoming new things constantly, always slightly different than we used to be. It's a matter of whether those changes are directed by us or not." He kisses the top of Malcolm's head. "I am the master of my fate now, and I choose to change with you, not apart. And if Hannibal came back here...well, then we'd all change together. I think....we'd dance."

Will's lip curls up into a hopeful smile as he envisions it. "Hannibal would pick the music, I'd lead. It would be horrible and wonderful and exhilarating, probably all at the same time. You could learn just how many traits I share with Hannibal- how many traits you share with him, too. And when we were done, maybe you'd be able to go back home and I could help you with your father- whatever form that takes."

[abrightboy]

“I don’t want to be like him,” Malcolm murmurs, and it’s not clear whether he means Hannibal or his father. He rolls slightly to look up at Will without actually dislodging himself as something occurs to him. “You’d still come with me in the end?”

[empathicfault]

Will smiles and nods a little. "Mmmhmm. I'd love to. And you don't have to be like him." Whichever 'him' that means.

"You're unique, a one-of-a-kind, priceless, uncarved jewel. I want you to decide your own fate, too. You'll...probably have to fight for it." That's just the way to ensure agency in one's world. "But I'll help."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm sits up, turning to fully face him for a moment - just searching his face - and then kissing him earnestly.

[empathicfault]

Will allows the scrutiny, looking back at Malcolm with open admiration. The kiss is somewhat unexpected- he thought there'd at least be some more questions and maybe some lazy disagreement (probably worse later, honestly). So when he's kissed, Will melts into it, pressing his lips into Malcolm's just as much.

And even though he expected some resistance, he also knew Malcolm would understand. He knew it'd be something he could accept and maybe even embrace over time. Everything would be all right. He will help Malcolm find contentment. Will makes that promise to himself as the kiss continues.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm shifts while they kiss, until he’s straddling Will’s lap, so when the kiss breaks, he’s looking down into his face and a little dreamily at that.

“What were we talking about?” he murmurs with a little grin.

[empathicfault]

Will's chuckle is soft, and he sounds a little dreamy, too. "Have you ever heard of the Japanese art of kintsugi, Malcolm?"

This is not what they were talking about, but he's going somewhere with this, honest.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm considers that.

“Is that the one where they repair pottery so you can see the cracks?” he asks.

[empathicfault]

"Mmmhmmm," Will acknowledges, eyes heavy-lidded as he looks at Malcolm. "They repair them with gold or platinum, mixed in with the lacquer. The idea is that instead of hiding imperfections and trying to cover over scars, you highlight them. Use them to make the broken pieces stronger and more beautiful."

He reaches up and gently touches Malcolm's face, near the temple. His fingers trace near the hairline and back around the shell of the ear. "Sometimes, when I look at you, I see the golden lines tracing back and forth. The places where you've repaired yourself, where you're stronger now. I'll see obsidian on me, but that's...starting to change, too." He turns the hand near Malcolm's face towards himself, so that palm faces him. He curls the fingers a little, watching the light shift over it. "The gold is starting to peek through."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's smile broadens and he takes Will's hand, keeping it palm up to set a kiss in the middle of it. He looks at his face again and slides his hands across his shoulders and then around behind his neck.

"You see gold in me?"

[empathicfault]

Will's smile widens at the kiss. The hands on his shoulders and neck have his eyes fluttering shut for a brief moment.

"I do," he replies. "All the hard work you've done, your whole life...running in shining lines along the contours of your body, over arms and feet and...there's a lot on your fingers," he adds, unsure why. Maybe that's just something Will enjoys focusing on.

"It's rare that I get to 'see' something so...uncontroversially beautiful."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm pulls his hand back onto Will's shoulder so he can turn it over and examine it, then he looks at Will again.

"What's making you turn golden?"

[empathicfault]

"You don't really have to ask that, do you?" Surely Malcolm knows and just wants to hear him say it. Well, Will is happy to oblige. "It's you. Of course it's you, and how much you've helped me already. Carefully helping me put some of my pieces back together."

[abrightboy]

He hoped. He didn't know. Not for sure. But at the answer, he smiles with undisguised happiness.

Sometimes he feels like he doesn't help anyone here. But Will was right when he pointed out that was catastrophizing.

And he helps Will.

"I always, always will," he promises.