The Road Home

[abrightboy]

Raylan's loose ends had been tied in Kentucky and Malcolm's were as tantalizingly close as they'd ever been. He and Raylan made the trip to New York with the intent of discovering the fate of the girl in the box, so they could head down to Miami without... baggage.

They would have to start with the revelation Jessica and Ainsley had made to Malcolm right before Raylan was shot, sending Malcolm back to Kentucky: that Eve had infiltrated the Whitly family to learn more about the Surgeon's victims.

Malcolm let them into the New York loft - a space he considered theirs now, more than his, since they decided they might weather the hurricane season there after moving to Miami - smiling as Sunshine tweeted greetings. Once the door was shut behind Raylan, he opened the door of her cage. Ainsley would have fed her diligently, but nobody would have let her out to fly. Sunshine took off across the loft and Malcolm grinned, watching her go.

He looked at Raylan. "We can still bring her with us when we leave, right?"

Comments

[tinstar]

The recovery had been long and getting up to New York was a positive thing for once, for Raylan. He enjoyed the drive up and 'Road trip Malcolm' in all his company, but he was equally glad to be at Malcolm's apartment. It was still going to take some work and time for Raylan to see this place as the collective 'theirs' verses just 'Malcolm's', but now that their future seemed certain, he could. Could start to try, anyway.

Hanging his hat on the rack, Raylan grabbed their bags and headed towards the dresser across from the bed to drop them there. Not bothered with unpacking, he ambled back towards Malcolm, shrugging off his jacket while he did and smiling at the exuberant bird.

"What? Of course. We can't just leave her here by herself every day." He bet the poor thing got lonely. "And you just got back, what she's gonna think if you up and leave without her again?"

He tossed his jacket over one of the stools and leaned there, smiling at how much Malcolm cared about such a small creature. It was cute. "We're gonna havta get screens though. We can't just have no open windows in the spring."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's eyes widened slightly.

"Screens aren't normal down there? We will get them," he vowed. "They can't be hard to install...." A beat. "It can't be hard to find a professional to install them," he corrected. He didn't want Sunshine flying into one and knocking it free.

He shrugged off his own coat. "I think we should show up at Eve's office in the morning. She didn't answer my calls for months. I don't see what could have changed between now and then. Last I heard, she didn't know my mother and Ainsley had figured her out."

[tinstar]

Raylan chuckled. "Not in your tax bracket they don't." Properties were too nice, next to areas that didn't have a huge bug issue. But they needed them, yes. No way he was going to let Sunshine stay in a cage when she didn't have to. Hell, they could build a small aviary if Malcolm wanted.

He nodded at Malcolm's suggestion. "Might catch her off guard, get you a little more than you're betting for. I don't suppose you know the last time she tried to talk to your mother? "

[abrightboy]

"My mother said she came by a couple of weeks ago, with an idea who the bracelet that came from the girl in the box might belong to. But Ainsley scared her off, asking personal questions. She'd done some digging."

He sighed and moved into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

"A little further digging and she thinks Eve came to our family looking for information on this victim specifically."

[tinstar]

"It is kinda odd that she's asking after the one that's most important to you personally, though maybe that's just luck." Somehow he doubted it.

"That'll be the best place to start then. Your last lead... How deep into Eve herself has Ainsley dug? What kinda 'personal' questions?"

[abrightboy]

"About her adoption and where she came from originally...." He paused. "When I went out with her, JT's wife wanted to see me profile someone, and I didn't want to, but Eve volunteered...." He pressed his lips together and looked at Raylan guiltily. "That was why she originally walked out of the date," he admitted with a wince. "But I found out then that there was a female family member.... a mother or sister or something, that she lost as a child. It was the reason she got into a law practice working against human trafficking. Anyway, if she's missing someone and - for whatever reason - she thinks the Surgeon may have taken her...." He shrugged. "It's the only thing that makes sense. The question is who the woman is and why she thinks she was a victim of the Surgeon." He paused. "If she has a photo of this person she's looking for, though.... I can tell her if it's the girl I saw."

[tinstar]

Raylan nodded slightly, eyes steady on Malcolm as he talked, his own mind churning as Malcolm added information to it. "Family does a lot to someone, when they wanna find or protect it." He couldn't help but think about the remaining Crowe family, those that survived Harlan. Hell, those that didn't.

They were all shit, except the boy maybe, but he still felt fractionally sorry for their fate every once and awhile.

"I'll let you lead the questionin'," he said with another little nod. "If she really did this all to find her sister, her mother, whoever she is, she's gotta have a photo. Unless she was adopted out of Bosnia or something?"

[abrightboy]

"North Carolina," he supplied. He leaned on the counter and looked over at Raylan again. "Annnd I may have told my mother we'd have dinner over there tonight."

[tinstar]

North Carolina. Well, nothing special there. He'd have asked at what age, but Malcolm dropping that social bomb on him made him wince and sigh.

"I guess I sorta knew that would happen." He scrubbed one hand over his face. "Make sure you're in one piece and all." He took a deep breath. "Okay. When do we have to be there and am I allowed a drink before, during, and after."

[abrightboy]

"Seven o'clock," Malcolm told him. "And you can drink at any intervals you see fit, but she actually wants to make sure that you're in one piece. You'll recall getting shot in the face?" he pointed out. It was a lot easier to be flip about it now that the danger had passed. "I told you she likes you," he said with a smirk.

[tinstar]

Raylan scoffed a laugh, face turning down briefly before looking over at him. "Several inches away from my face, thank you very much." He studied Malcolm's face. "You really think so?" There was a hint of reserved relief; he didn't want Jessica to dislike him. He shook his head.

"Well, I guess we'll see won't we. It a full affair? Ainsley and all?"

[abrightboy]

"She didn't mention, but I don't see her missing it. She texted me to check on you a few times while you were recovering," Malcolm told him. "Do you want some tea or do you want to start with scotch in light of this information?" he asked with a cheeky look as he took the kettle off the stove.

[tinstar]

"Scotch please, I think I've earned it after that drive," he requested, running a hand through his hair and still feeling the echo of the stitches that were there. The way the scar changed the feel of it as he pushed his hair back.

"Suppose I oughta shower and put on a fresh shirt before we go too, but I'm sure there's time for that.... You gonna be okay facing Eve?" He wanted a gauge of how wound up Malcolm was about it; he knew this was important and not just because of Miami.

[abrightboy]

"Lots of time," he assured, taking down one mug and then a crystal tumbler and the bottle of scotch.

He looked over at the question.

"I don't know. She might slam the door in my face rather than talk to me. I'm not sure how called out she's feeling by Ainsley or how much she's still scared of me after... the date from hell. I'm mostly concerned about not getting to talk about it at all and losing the lead."

[tinstar]

"I'm sure you can talk her into talkin', even if it's through a door. If she really cares enough, if she's really intent on gettin' her answers, she'll talk to you. You know how to push buttons; I don't think you're gettin' out without answers."

This all told Raylan what his role was in this, in more detail. He was there to support Malcolm, not a strongman, or the law.

"And if, for some reason, you need me to step out.. I can do that too." Whatever was needed in the moment. "But that'll be tomorrow." He gave Malcolm a warm smile. "Next few hours are just for us. Any ideas on what you wanna bring down to Miami?"

That was a better subject.

[abrightboy]

He very highly doubted that he would want Raylan to step out. Raylan was his rock and this was going to be hard. But he was right: if she wanted answers as badly as he did, she could set everything else aside.

He brightened when Raylan mentioned Miami.

"My weapons, for sure. I don't think we'll need any of the furniture from here, but I might take some more of my clothes."

Some more because a good amount of them were in Kentucky already, and everything in Kentucky was going to Miami.

The parakeet fluttered over him and landed in front of him.

"And Sunshine, of course." He looked at her. "I didn't forget you," he assured her.

[tinstar]

Raylan smiled, shifting over so he could slid an arm over Malcolm's shoulder.

"I really feel like we're almost there. Like we're just a few weeks away from startin' that chapter." And he couldn't be happier. "One thing at a time." But his eye was clearly on the prize. He pressed a kiss into Malcolm's hair and stepped over to uncork the scotch bottle and pour into the crystal tumbler.

"I want to maybe build her a little aviary. A place where she can fly around out in the sun like a real bird."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looked at him with something like wonder, which blossomed into a broad smile.

"I'd love that. I hate keeping her in that tiny cage, but I had just moved and then... I didn't know how long I was going to stay here. It's portable."

He turned and leaned up to press a kiss to Raylan's mouth.

"That's the best idea ever."

[tinstar]

He loved Malcolm and so loved his pets and the devotion and simple joy that Sunshine brought him was a simple kind of joy that Raylan found himself missing.

"Well, we'll keep the portable for travel." But Miami was going to be their home. He smiled as Malcolm came over and collected his kiss, one arm moving back around his shoulders. "She deserves more room to move around. Some real sun and fresh air. Does everyone some good."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm nodded his agreement enthusiastically. "Fresh air. I'm not sure she'll know what to do with it," he laughed. "Oh! We can use the little cage to have her at the wedding," he said, a sudden idea that came to mind. He paused, thinking about it, then looked up at Raylan. "Is that dumb?" Did people invite their emotional support animals to their weddings?

[tinstar]

Raylan chuckled. "No, but she might not know what's goin' on. Just there for the air. If you're okay with that.." He was happy to have her set up as a guest.

"She deserves just as much fresh air as you've got," he noted with a smile towards Malcolm. "Told you that you deserve some happiness." Was Malcolm going to tell him that he was leaving now? He doubted it.

"I might watch some useless TV til it's time to leave, enjoy this scotch. You gonna join me?"

[abrightboy]

On the contrary, Malcolm smiled sweetly up at him when he said he deserved happiness. Raylan brought that happiness. Raylan had invited him to have it every day.

He nodded at the invitation, slipping reluctantly from Raylan's arms to finish making his tea, wrapping both hands around the warmth of the mug as he followed him to the couch.

"It'll take some time to plan the wedding after we find the house. There's still a lot of time to iron out details. But I like that I can see the shape of it."

[tinstar]

"I'm more focused on the house than I am the wedding. That's gotta come first." He couldn't let his excitement get ahead of himself. Grabbing up the remote, Raylan started clicking through channels aimlessly, enjoying Malcolm's weight against him.

This was the happiest he'd been. Half their shit was in the rearview and they were workin' on the rest.

"Though I won't say that the wedding doesn't tend to haunt my thoughts a lot. I can't believe we're having it barefoot on a beach." But he was grinning stupidly while he said it, elated beyond words.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's grin spread to match.

"Our wedding is going to very much be our wedding and not... society's perfect picture of a wedding," he said, snuggling into Raylan's side, resting his head on his shoulder. "That's what I want: something we do for us. Our promise to each other."

And maybe he was stupidly happy about the idea of something he never dared to consider for himself before. He'd been conditioned to believe he was fundamentally unmarriable for his whole adult life.

His grin barely faded when it reemerged. "But I'm really excited to find the house, too."

[tinstar]

"We'll need to get a good photographer." He wanted pictures they could pour over later in life.

Settling the channel on some ballgame that was being replayed, Raylan turned his focus down to Malcolm's face, turning the tumbler in his hand on his knee. "I'm excited to watch you find the house."

Watching Malcolm be happy and happily tear through real estate agents seemed like it oughta be sports in its own right.