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[abrightboy]

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[conning]

[Neal's whole demeanor absolutely softens when Malcolm voices an opinion, one that invites more people in who will care about him, who won't act like he has no emotional stake in what's happening.] Black, green, or herbal?

[He steps back so Malcolm can open the door more, heading to put the kettle back on.]

[pharadyne]

Black, please. Milk and three sugars. [He has a feeling he's going to need the boost.]

[abrightboy]

Did you hear about the murder? Not. The one you thought was happening here. The incident with Will and Avalon.

[pharadyne]

No?

I'm not aware of any incident between Will and Avalon, but it sounds as if it might have been the sort of thing that would have been nice for the wardens of the inmates in question to inform other wardens about.

[He pinches the bridge of his nose.]

So, who murdered whom?

[abrightboy]

Avalon threatened to hurt Will like before and to finish him this time. Will killed them. Now Shaw has him under constant supervision at all times twenty-four hours a day and I don’t know what direction that’s going in because she won’t explain.

[pharadyne]

I see. [He decides right then he'll talk to Rawne later, find out what's happening on the Avalon side of the equation to keep Avalon from carrying out that threat, but for now he'll put a pin in it and focus on what's in front of him.]

And the agonized scream earlier? Was that do to with Shaw?

[conning]

"That," Neal says, tone once again acidly delicate, "was the result of Jesus calling saying he needed to talk to Malcolm because Will told him what happened. Then telling Malcolm not to try being Will's warden, which he hasn't been. And he said, in all his infinite knowledge of their relationship, that Will and Malcolm might need some distance from each other right now and that Will needs his warden, not a boyfriend."

He fills one of the infusers as he talks. "Malcolm rightly called him on his concern, at which point he told Malcolm he could yell and be as defensive as he wanted--which Malcolm wasn't doing or being--but if Shaw said he was overstepping, he needed to back off. Malcolm saw Will after it happened for--what did you say it was, twenty minutes? Thirty? So, yes, overstepping by miles, wildly intrusive, particularly given he hasn't called Rawne--more restraint than I would have--or done more than ask Shaw for the fucking reasoning behind her choice to glue herself to Will and allow him absolutely no privacy for an indeterminate amount of time."

Neal takes a deep breath, pausing to check how the water is coming. "At that point I stepped in because I wasn't in the least interested in another episode of This Is Your Life: Barge Asshole Edition where the object is to convince Malcolm that he is in fact the one to blame for every bad turn in every fucking conversation in which he's ever taken part."

He fetches the kettle and pours the freshly heated water carefully over the infuser, far more carefully than necessary. "Jesus told me to ask Will what he said, at which point Malcolm asked Jesus to elaborate on that. He wouldn't. Because I was present. But he would absolutely bring up the fact that Will said something, dangling it out there like a worm on a lure to get a private conversation with Malcolm later."

The absolute disdain on Neal's face as he brings Norton his cup is tempered a little by the way he relaxes at the other man's presence. He kisses Norton's temple and sets the mug down in front of him. "When Jesus continued to refuse to answer, and then told Malcolm to talk to Will himself after spending the first half of the goddamned conversation telling Malcolm to stay away from Will, Malcolm expressed his displeasure. Which is what you heard."

[abrightboy]

“And then I threw up for a bit,” Malcolm adds.

[conning]

Neal makes a face at that. He had a Thing about vomit, but that's hardly important right now. He gets the sugar and a tiny little container of cream and sets them down next to Norton as well.

[pharadyne]

"Thank you, love," he says casually as Neal brings him cream and sugar. He adds them to his teacup as he sorts through everything he's been told.

"A few years ago, a warden tried to separate two inmates who were going steady. One of the inmates in question was assigned to that warden. It didn't go well. No violence or anything--well, no violence about that--they just both refused to break up."

[abrightboy]

"I know she can't make us break up. But... what if she doesn't let me see him? She's supervising him 24/7. What if she just won't let me be where he is or alone with him at all indefinitely. What did they do about that?"

[conning]

Neal's voice is smooth as silk gliding over the edge of a blade. "What they did about it is less significant in this scenario than the fact that you have two former inmate friends, one of whom is an expert at getting in and out of forbidden spaces unassisted and the other of whom has--some relevant talents of his own."

Neal glances at Norton with a smile, not wanting to share what isn't his to share, but he doesn't think Norton will mind the implications.

[pharadyne]

Norton flashes a quick grin. "Absolutely. Mind you, I don't think the situation's come down to gaol break operations yet. Everything's still in the post-murder early chaos and confusion stage of things." He waves his hands around in wild gesticulation to go with his words. "Even if Shaw hasn't set a particular end to her extremely close Miss Surveillance State supervision, it'd be difficult to keep it up long term. For one thing, her wife might object at some point."

He pauses to take a dainty sip of his tea.

"Hmm, speaking of surveillance state, I'd operate under the assumption that Shaw monitors Will's network communications. She's the background and temperament for it. Maybe planted a teensy tiny futuristic microphone or transmitter or some other sort of thingummy like that on his communicator."

Norton always assumes it's possible (even if unlikely) that someone, somewhere is monitoring his network communications. Five years of working in signals intelligence before being recruited into Torchwood will do that to a person. But where Shaw is involved, he thinks it's raised from a distant possibility to a very likely probability.

[abrightboy]

“Shaw has always monitored his communications,” Malcolm tells them. “All of them. Always. And I hope she does hear what I said this morning, even though I think she can only creep his side.” He pauses and looks back and forth between them, his eyes wide and vulnerable. “You guys would help me see him if she locks him down?”

[pharadyne]

"I knew it! I knew I was right to be paranoid!"

He clears his throat and settles himself down.

"Anyhoo, yes, I should imagine so. A few days of lock down to sort out what's going on and determine what needs to be done long term is one thing, but if it stretches on too long that becomes an unreasonable punishment for what was...if not entirely self-defense, exactly, certainly provoked." He shrugs. "I might get accused of undermining another warden's authority, but I'm comfortable with that. I'd wait a week, however. Everything else aside, Will did murder someone and a week with Chaperon Shaw is better than a week in Zero. After week there'd be a stronger case to be made that continued lock down is excessive for the circumstances."

[abrightboy]

"A week?" He looks from Norton to Neal and nods. "I can do a week, if it comes to that." It's a time limit; the longest he'll have to potentially go without seeing Will. That's all he wanted. Some of the tension ebbs out of him.

[pharadyne]

"Then it's settled. If there's no change after a week, we make other arrangements."

And if a teensy bit of Norton's motive for going above and beyond in supporting Malcolm and Will's relationship is lingering fear that Neal might leave him for Malcolm if Malcolm became available, well, he'll just keep that bit to himself. It's not the only reason. He does consider Malcolm a friend. And he does think that total lack of privacy perpetuated for too long could become disproportionately punitive for the circumstances. But he's honest enough with himself to know it's not just altruism driving him.

[conning]

Neal nods slowly, satisfied, his own temper cooling a little as Norton takes point. It's a relief to calm down, which is a strange feeling. He slips an arm half-way around Norton's waist and hooks his thumb over the top of Norton's slacks. Not suggestive--steadying. Grounding. Letting someone else pilot the emotional forklift for a few minutes.

"Sounds good to me."

[abrightboy]

“Thank you so much. Both of you.” He splays a hand on his own chest. “Really. I just. Feel like I’ve been shouting into a void all day. I don”t know what I’d do without you. Thank you.”

[pharadyne]

"Always glad to be a calming influence," he says, usually being more the opposite. "And to help a friend. I can't imagine how I'd feel if someone said I wasn't allowed to see Neal indefinitely, but I'm very sure there's be sneaky assignations before long." He glances up at Neal and rests a hand on his shoulder.

[conning]

Neal's expression softens out of the tension he's been carrying most of the day. Neal reaches up to give Norton's hand a squeeze. "Oh, without a doubt."

[abrightboy]

"Everyone else made it sound like I was being selfish," Malcolm admits. "Like what I wanted was more important than what was good for him. But he wants to see me, too."

[pharadyne]

"Sounds to me like both you and Shaw want to help Will but have different notions what that entails."