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Oh Malcolm, nope. Abel isn't playing that game with Cain and he doesn't think that Cain wants to play those games either any more. And if he did? He would shut it down immediately.

Though at the question he looks at Malcolm seriously, "you are putting a lot of thought into something he didnt think twice about. He owes you nothing, and you owe him nothing."

He reaches out a hand, gently grabbing Malcolm's arm to give it a squeeze, "don't give a stranger that much power over you."

"It's not about power or... who owes who what. It's about community and who's part of it and who's not," Malcolm tells him. "And if he doesn't think twice about other people, why do you like him?"

"You're assuming he includes himself in that community. I don't think he does, and I don't think he wants to be apart of it either." Because the Barge isn't a community to him, it's a prison, and he never had community there, and he isn't sure he wants to find one now.

Abel turns his head, not looking at Malcolm as he thinks of all the things he could say to that. The list was long, and it was just as complicated as Cain. "He isn't always like that. And when he isn't, and he actually cares, it's...different." He sucks in a breath. These are things he can't even bring himself to say to Cain, and Malcolm is just asking him in the hallway.

"Even before we met, he'd been through a lot, I had no idea why he was like that, just that I hated it, and I never thought I would like him because he was all rough edges, and a total ass. But then you spend time with someone, every single day for a year, and you learn things about them that they don't show anyone else. And I don't have to worry about whether or not I'm good enough, or...that I can speak my mind, be myself? He might still be rough, but...he never made me feel like I should be ashamed of who I am. And he believes in me, to the point that I don't even know what to do with it other than try and see myself the way he does. It's...terrifying actually." Because Abel had been devoted, all in, but he'd never expected to get that back.

He's quiet for a moment, forehead thumping gently against the wall, "And I'm sorry that the only part he lets you see is so angry, but if you knew him like I do, it would be easier to understand."

Edited 2024-10-17 02:32 (UTC)

“Well, I won’t. He chose that on the basis of practically nothing, after… what? Pretending to care about the community by offering them something? Why would he do that if he didn’t want to be part of it? Maybe he resents wanting it, but of course he does want it. Humans are herd animals. Pack hunters. He sees kindred spirits in some of the people here, in a way he hasn’t experienced in your world with the exception of you,” Malcolm notes.

"Or he was bored and wanted something productive to do that he has interest in," He offers, not sure that it was entirely that deep, but Malcolm sure seemed to think it was.

“But not so bored that he’d actually follow through with the thing. Or the antidote to boredom is asking people if they want something and then, when they say ‘yes’, yanking it away and saying ‘too bad’? Because that’s funny?” Malcolm hazards.

"But not so bored that he'd let go of the fact that you irritated him to the point of extremely disliking you the first time you met." Abel returns, arms still folded, "He doesn't play games with people for the fun of it."

“I didn’t do anything!” Malcolm insists.

"Malcolm, I have no idea what actually happened, and I'm not about to ask Cain because that would only make it worse. But I sincerely doubt that your interaction, what ever it was, started as hello, go away, and it was over." He straightens from his lean against the wall.

"Walk me through what happened, don't leave anything out, and maybe I can help you understand."

Oh, here it comes. The part where they forensically examine at exactly which point this became Malcolm’s fault.

“You know what? I think you were right from the start: it’s not worth it. “ He shifts his grip on his bag. “So… how do these energy weapons work, exactly? Obviously that have to be some sort of directed beam…..”

Abel stares at Malcolm a moment, catching his scar between his teeth before he ventures forth.

"Malcolm, are you changing the subject because you're afraid of something, or is it because you spontaneously decided this thing we've been talking about for fifteen minutes is suddenly and strangely unimportant? I just want to be sure."

“It looks like a road I’ve been down a lot now, so now I understand it. You said you’d tell me about the weapons,” Malcolm replies.

"Just because you've been down it, doesn't mean it's the same for every person you meet. But If you'd rather not, I'll let it go." He isn't Malcolm's therapist, he's his friend. He isn't here to push him to do uncomfortable things.

Instead he'll unsnap the band of his thigh holster and offer Malcolm his gun so he can look at it.

"Safety's on, and there are two settings, a stun and a more lethal shot. The guns that Fives are offering have a few more settings than mine."

Malcolm takes it and looks at one side and then the other.

“The ones Tendi mentioned only stun,” Malcolm tells him as he examines it. “I got one for Walter.”

"Mine originally was only a stun gun before that reality bending bullshit happened." He returns, not having felt the need for something like that until he felt like he needed it to protect someone else from something other than a fellow crew member.

"I'm glad she got some takers. I was talking with her about that before we left for the Enposib. I hope he can prove to be responsible with it...I understand that having the ability to disable someone temporarily can give the opportunity for further violence, but...until proven other wise, everyone should have some form of defense."

“His biggest stated beef with the Barge was the lack of defence regular vanilla humans like us have from super-powered and magical assailants,” Malcolm tells him, aiming at the wall and sighting down the barrel before offering the weapon back. “I thought that would make him feel safe without encouraging lethal responses.”

"It is a little scary to think about, and Walter isn't a large man either, which I would think makes him an even easier perceived target if he was worried about it." Abel takes the gun, slipping it back in the holster, snapping it into place.

"I gave Fitz an identical gun to mine. Both are biolocked to myself and him respectively. You wouldn't actually be able to fire mine if you tried to pull the trigger, though I don't believe Fitz has even taken his out of his room. He's not big on violence, more the sort to try and run away."

Edited 2024-10-19 23:07 (UTC)

“More the sort to strike to wound with words,” Malcolm corrects.

"He's rather good with those," Is the compliment that follows. He'd most certainly made him cry a few times when they'd first gotten assigned.

"I don't think he usually cares enough to bother with that though."

“I think he enjoys it and when he doesn’t care, it’s even more fun,” Malcolm suggests.

"You don't have a very high opinion of Fitz, do you?" He asks, not quite sure he agrees with that, at least not in the way that Malcolm seems to think he does.

"I don't have a low opinion of him. He seems like a smart and interesting person. But any time I try to engage him in good faith, he's cuttingly mean for no reason. So it's more like he has a very low opinion of me," Malcolm points out. "He and Cain must get along. They can hang out and talk about how annoying everyone but you and their three friends is."

Abel raises an eyebrow, "I am pretty sure Fitz doesn't like Cain much, and if disliking you is the only thing that might tie them together, that's a terrible basis for a friendship. And while I am not above being petty, I think maybe we should change the subject."

A beat.

"Also It's probably because you work in counseling, which...isn't a good reason? But still a reason."

"Oh; I assumed they didn't like a lot of people, but if it's just me... then I will change the subject," Malcolm tells him. "Is anyone from the Barge making progress on getting in touch with the Admiral?"

"I'm pretty sure that's also true, that they don't like a lot of people, but also, between the two of them, the two things I can think of that they have in common is liking my company and disliking yours. Pretty sure that's about it. And in this case, Opposites wouldn't attract. Fitz would probably annoy the shit out of Cain, and Fitz knows what happened back home, so. I'm not saying he would dislike him just for that reason, but I certainly haven't seen them talking to each other." He kind of hopes to keep the two of them separate anyways because it would be very annoying to have to tell Cain to fuck off if he decided one day he needed to punch Fitz in the face.

Anyways, he stands from his casual lean against the wall to look behind him, check the still empty hall and shrug, "I think there are a few people trying, but nothing concrete yet that I'm aware of. Have you been talking much with the crew? I haven't socialized much and now I'm sure I would rather not."

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