No One's Born Broken

[abrightboy]

For tinstar.



Gil came and went. Dani came and went. Ainsley came and then left with their mother, who refused to even hear him out about telling the truth. He stared through the window at the motionless man in the bed for some indeterminate amount of time, his hand clutching his phone in his pocket.

Finally he let his eyes leave the figure through the window and he took his phone out of his pocket. He stared at that for a long moment, then scrolled through his contacts until one name rolled onto the screen: Raylan Givens.

He looked through the window, then looked at the name. Then he pressed it.

Comments

[abrightboy]

Malcolm would be thinking that thought on the way home, most likely. Or when he was trying to sleep the next night.

He got to his feet, his hand still sudsy as it slipped around the back of Raylan's neck while he leaned into a tender, lingering kiss.

"Since keeping my eye on the ball in this case is keeping my eye on you, that's a task I can handle."

[tinstar]

For all the rinsing Malcolm had done, the front of him was promptly resuded as Raylan pulled him against him so he could match that kiss the way he wanted to. Like they could stay here forever if they were sweet enough about it.

"Then we're all set."

It wouldn't make the morning easier but for now, it was a nice blanket to drape around their shoulders.

Turning them, Raylan stepped back into the water and let Malcolm start rinsing him off, helping by using the offcasting water to clean up the reapplication of soap their kiss had deposited.

[abrightboy]

Once they were all rinsed off, Malcolm reached for the towels, handing one to Raylan before taking one for himself.

He toweled his hair off first, leaving it touseled and damp while he dried off the rest of himself.

"Do you want another drink before bed?" Malcolm asked, glancing over.

[tinstar]

Taking the towel, Raylan followed a similar suit, only really drying off his legs and undercarriage with a brief swipe over his chest before wrapping the towel around his waist with a nod.

"Yeah, I think I would actually." It would help him keep his mind off the idea that he was going to wake up alone in a bed again. "You going out there to pour it or should I? Are you havin' one?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm nodded. "Thought you might want to check on the baby while I pour."

He pressed a kiss to Raylan's mouth.

"I'll have one with you."

He dropped his towel on the floor and wandered back to the bedroom to get dressed for bed and pour the drinks.

[tinstar]

Raylan nodded, hand slipping around Malcolm's waist briefly as he was kissed and taking a long second to enjoy the view of Malcolm's shapely bare ass wiggling away from him. Shaking his head with a little breath, Raylan followed and only bothered to pull on his sleep pants with no boxers before he followed Malcolm out.

All he needed was a long seconds peek over Willa's playpen to catch and gauge the steady rise and fall of her chest.

With a smile, Raylan reached down and brushed a little wisp of her hair off her forehead before rising back up and meeting back up with Malcolm to take his glass as they came back into the bedroom. "Sleepin' like the baby she is," he promised as he quietly closed the door behind them.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm nodded, taking a sip of his scotch.

It was good that somebody could sleep.

He lingered close to Raylan for a moment, then stepped into him, wrapping his free arm tightly around the Marshal's middle, resting his head at his collarbone.

[tinstar]

It was. Raylan hoped that Malcolm would join them in it, at least for a little while.

He saw the slight hesitation, the decision of if to give into emotion again and was glad to welcome Malcolm into his arms, wrapping his free one around in turn to hold him tightly.

"What time do you leave tomorrow," he finally asked in a low, private tone. The glass in his hand made him a little braver to the asking, a comfort that had held him for many years.

[abrightboy]

"My flight is at six-thirty," he said, slightly muffled by Raylan's skin.

"Should probably get a taxi for five-thirty." He lifted his head. "Can I lay down with you until then?"

[tinstar]

"Only if it's okay that I fall asleep at some point." Raylan shifted, bringing his hand up to cup Malcolm's face, drawing him into a gentle, chaste kiss. "Wake me up before you go. I don't want to miss saying goodbye and makin' sure you get in that taxi safe."

[abrightboy]

He nodded. "I'll try to sleep, too," he said.

He knew Raylan worried about that.

He kissed him again and then one more time then buried his face in his shoulder for a moment before taking another sip of scotch.

[tinstar]

This felt like the longest they'd gone so far being silent with each other and Raylan let it linger around them, the taste of a fresh sip of scotch on his tongue for a long few minutes. Raylan kept his arm around Malcolm, an easy consistent weight until it wasn't enough again.

Downing the rest of his drink, Raylan broke away to set his glass down. "Come lay down with me. We don't have to sleep yet; I just want to hold you." The offer came with an outstretched hand and a soft sadness in his eyes.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm went with him more than willingly.

"Don't let me fall asleep without restraints," he said, crawling onto the bed with him, curling up against him and nestling his head in Raylan's shoulder after placing soft kisses on his neck there.

[tinstar]

Raylan wrapped his arms around Malcolm, lazily tangling their legs together so they could fit all of them in one space, settling with a deep breath and a kiss into Malcolm's hair. This felt better.

"Don't let me fall asleep without not letting you fall asleep," he joked quietly. He desperately wanted, one night, to go to sleep with Malcolm like this, the way Raylan was used to. But things like that took time, so he'd enjoy being able to now.

"It's gonna be okay darlin'." Maybe that was for both of them.

[abrightboy]

Every time he thought it couldn't be harder to leave, it was harder to leave.

God, it was tempting to forego the restraints and just stay like this. It felt safe. But the overarching fear that he could hurt Raylan in that state still held him back.

He nodded at Raylan's reassurance. It did make him feel calmer. Raylan's voice made him feel calmer. The way he said 'darlin'' made him feel calmer. He lifted his head to look at his face for a moment, then pressed a soft kiss to his mouth and laid his head down again.

[tinstar]

They laid there for a good 45 minutes before Raylan caught himself starting to drift off, coming back to wakefulness with a sharp inhale. If he was serious about not letting Malcolm hurt him, he really did have to follow through with the promise to not let the man go to sleep.

Pulling back a little, Raylan peered at the angles of Malcolm's face in the night's light.

"You still awake down there," he rumbled softly.

[abrightboy]

"Hmm?" he mumbled, stirring. He'd also been drifting off. His eyes snapped open as he realized. "Oh." He turned and fumbled for the far cuff. "Thank you," he said as he slipped it on and worked at buckling it.

[tinstar]

Working out the one nearest to him, Raylan helped him strap in and covered them back up, curling as close as he could and breathing out a deep sigh again.

"I love you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to Malcolm's shoulder. It felt like Malcolm should know before they both passed back out. The four o'clock hour would come far too soon and the now empty day looming ahead of them still gnawed behind the dawn.

[abrightboy]

The restraints jangled as he reached for Raylan in return, grasping his arm where it came across him.

"I love you, too," he whispered. "I'll be back soon."

By the time the alarm went off, Malcolm hadn't even had time for a night terror. The noise jolted him awake, but he was grounded quickly by the comforting weight of Raylan's arm. He rolled just a little, just enough to kiss Raylan's shoulder, before rolling the other way to pick up his phone and turn off the alarm.

[tinstar]

As much as Raylan's body desperately wanted for him to be knocked out for a significantly longer time, Malcolm's alarm and all the shifting that came with it woke him up too, breathing in deeply as Malcolm kisses his shoulder and letting it out in a quiet, passing groan of protest as he rolled over.

No, he was going to stay right here, cracked eyes watching what he could of Malcolm as he moved around.

"You'll text me when you land, right? Let me know you made it in one piece?"

[abrightboy]

"When I land. When I'm waiting for my mother to get ready. When I can't sleep tonight..." he replied with a weak smile before pulling his t-shirt off over his head.

He went to the closet to find a suit to wear and settled on a sedate blue one, throwing it across the foot of the bed as he chose a plain white shirt next, tossing it on top of the suit before padding out to the bathroom to clean himself up.

He returned from the bathroom damp and naked and started getting dressed, looking over at Raylan. "Any interesting cases on the go?" he asked.

[tinstar]

Raylan hummed a note of acknowledgement as he watched the bits of suit get thrown on the bed.  While Malcolm was in shower, Raylan swung his feet outta bed and sat there, running a hand through his hair with a yawn.

He glanced over as Malcolm came back in and again when the question was asked before he shook his head. "Nah. Nothing interesting. Just pushin' Ava more, tryin' to get Boyd.." Trying to get out of Kentucky. "Though he does always seem to have a new way of doin' an old, outused idea, so that might change. I'm sure I'll catch you up over a call if it does."

Pushing up to his feet, Raylan walked over and gently stopped Malcolm so he could cup his face and draw him up into a kiss. "I'm going to start some coffee. Maybe you'll have time to have some."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's face followed him a moment after the kiss broke, his fingers trailing along Raylan's elbow.

"I'd like some," he said, picking up his shirt to tug it on over his shoulders. "Try one of the blends we haven't opened yet."

[tinstar]

He hummed again, nodding as he reluctantly stepped away and made his way into the kitchen. He glanced over at Willa's playpen as he started filling their water kettle. Letting it heat up while he riffled through the cabinets, Raylan got down a couple of the closed bags and glanced between them before setting them both down and opting to decide when the water was hot.

He didn't pay much of any attention to which one it was, when he opened and spooned some into the press, but the bag was sealed and left on the counter. Suddenly, he realized he had no idea how long this was supposed to sit for before getting pressed and could be found frowning at the French press as he tried to remember.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm was tying his tie as he walked out of the bedroom, shoes already on his feet, and he also looked down into the playpen as he passed it before walking to Raylan's side to slid an arm around him and kiss the back of his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He looked at the french press. "It smells good." He looked over at the playpen. "She's not going to notice if I don't say goodbye, is she?"