tinstar | Malcolm x Raylan: Cowboy Surprise

Malcolm x Raylan: Cowboy Surprise

Art was suspicious right off the bat when Raylan took a week off with the express note that his phone would be Out Of Order til the next Monday, but the Chief Marshal wasn't going to look gift horses in the mouth. Not when it suggested he'd have a few days of peace, until Raylan caved to turning his phone back on again. Still, he watched the younger Marshal walk out of the office and promised himself to check into the state of Harlan within 3 days to make sure that the place wasn't on fire. The smoke would reach him before he called, he was sure.

But Art didn't have much to worry about - Raylan had no plans on staying in the state for his vacation, beyond one day spent closing up Arlo's and securing it the best way he could before getting on a plane to New York City. He wanted to surprise Malcolm - it'd been near two months since they'd last seen each other and frankly, Raylan was tired of missing him. They'd called and texted, stayed in a fairly consistent, if odd houred, touch but it wasn't the same.

Once he landed, Raylan rented a car and navigated his way towards Malcolm's apartment, stopping to grab a bouquet of flowers. It was.. Extra, but Raylan didn't want to show up empty handed, just in case. Thirty minutes later, Malcolm's door buzzer was being hit, like Raylan was here to deliver something. Well, he was, but that was half the fun.

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It was. Raylan couldn't argue the semantics of the underlying point, but the kiss to his shoulder brought a broad closed smile as he leaned a little into the retreating kiss.

"You're gonna have to teach me how to make your tea," he said softly, eyes meeting Malcolm's. He wanted to know so he could bring Malcolm tea like he brought Raylan coffee. "And when you're most likely to take it. So I can bring you some while you're pouring over a file or something. That's my daydream."

If Malcolm was curious.

Malcolm was curious and the revelation made his eyes widen slightly.

"I like coffee in the morning," he said. "First thing in the morning. Herbal tea after that." He took a bite of rice. "Too much caffeine or caffeine too late in the day ramps my anxiety." He looked at Raylan. "I can show you how to make it after dinner. It's nice after dinner."

"After dinner," he agreed with a soft smile as he took a bite of the lo mein and started digging in. For a man as lean as he was, Raylan had always had the ability to eat, by and large blamed on his very active lifestyle, and since he normally ate alone, he didn't have to even think about how it looked.

But it only took a glance over to Malcolm's almost demurely small bite and careful attention that he paused to take a breath and consider not eating so ravenously.

"I wanna have a library wall somewhere. In Miami. To match your weapon wall in New York."

"I love a good library," Malcolm said happily. A great idea.

He didn't expect anyone to eat like he did. He wished he didn't. He rather enjoyed how heartily Raylan dug into a meal. Malcolm gestured towards his lo mein when he paused. "Is it okay?"

It was something he'd wanted since he got into reading but Arlo would have torn it down and mocked him, and it wasn't worth it. Someday he wanted to just sit down and enjoy a book again. Maybe he could do a little of that tomorrow while they laid around.

"Hm?" He glanced at the food and huffed a smile. "Yeah. Great. Of course, if I wake up tomorrow with food poisoning, I will retract that statement. You just kinda remind me that I should probably not eat as quickly as I do. Helen used to tell me it'd give me a stomachache but it never did."

His mother had told him the same thing but Raylan just.. couldn't talk about her that casually.

"Give you a stomachache?" Malcolm questioned curiously. "Based on what?" A beat. "Well. It gives me a stomachache," he conceded, "but that isn't normal."

"Just based on eatin' fast. I saw other kids get it. Fat kids mostly," he admitted with a half huff of a breath that might have suggested humor but he wasn't making jokes. "Never me though, no matter how quickly I scarfed something down. Still, I try to make it look.. respectable in public."

"You're not in public," Malcolm pointed out. "You're at home."

"Yeah," Raylan agreed with a half pull of his smile. "Doesn't mean I shouldn't take it easy once and a while." And, as though to show that he wasn't put off from it by the conversation, Raylan took another bite.

"Why'd you order so many plates though?"

Malcolm glanced around at them.

"I don't know. I guess I figure you might want some variety. Or something later. Or something in the morning." He shrugged a shoulder. "I don't really keep food around. There should be something around, right?" He pointed towards the beef and broccoli with his fork. "And I am giving serious consideration to a piece of broccoli."

"We're gonna have to talk about grocery shopping," he said with a grin as he glanced at the beef and broccoli. "But if it might inspire you, we'll order like this from everywhere. I sure won't go hungry while I'm here, that's for sure."

"I'd be willing to go grocery shopping.... with you," Malcolm told him with a pleased look, taking another small bite of rice. He looked at the food again, and then at Raylan. "Can't have you going hungry. What kind of a host would that make me?"

"You really don't even go grocery shopping? Not even for mineral water, licorice and jello?" Or was jello a treat? Still, Raylan was smiling.

"The kind that doesn't have to worry so much about it. And if I'm home, I'm not exactly a guest, now am I." If they were using Malcolm's logic.

Malcolm laughed. "Well I have licorice," he said, pointing at a jar on the counter. "Gil brought me a big pack when I was in the hospital." He smiled at Raylan. "And you're the keeper of the jello supply," he teased. He leaned over to press another kiss to Raylan's shoulder. "I want you to feel at home here."

"I'm working on it," he hummed as he slipped off the chair so he could curl himself chest first against Malcolm's back, and wrap his arms loosely around his waist. "We can add to the hat you're holding for me, for a start, with some of the clothes I've got in my bag."

He pressed a kiss to Malcolm's neck before pulling back to lean on the barstool, one foot coming up to rest on the lower rung as he got his glass in hand.

"Don't think I didn't notice that beer that's still at the bottom of your fridge either."

Malcolm grinned.

"Well I was hardly going to drink it without you," he said, but he was clearly delighted - to be held, that he noticed the beer, that he was leaving more clothes. What a perfect day.

"That would be a surprise. Jury still out on that broccoli?"

After a swig, Raylan picked up and finished eating what was in the container before dragging over the fortune cookies and tossing one towards Malcolm's plate as he opened the wrapping around his own.

He considered the broccoli a moment more, then stabbed a small piece with his fork and ate it. He managed a little more rice before the cookie was handed over.

"I've never tried to eat one of these," he confessed, unwrapping it. "What are they like?"

The fact that Malcolm was even attempting something outside his norm for eating was something to be celebrated, but Raylan didn't want to fawn over it and lose whatever progress Malcolm might have made by being too much like his mother

"Pretty bland and tasteless, you'll love it. But the fun part is the fortune inside." Raylan cracked his in half and pulled out the sheet of paper tucked inside.

"Your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life.," he read, shaking his head slightly with a lift of his eyebrows as he tossed the paper on the island in front of them. "I don't know about that. I think I like your daily affirmations more, besides the fact they don't come with lucky numbers."

Malcolm laughed.

"But it's true. You said it yourself: it's all about having the right perspective," he teased. He cracked his cookie the way Raylan did and pulled out the piece of paper. "A faithful friend is a strong defence. I can't argue with that," he said cheerfully, setting the paper down. He took a nibble of the cookie. "It tastes like... slightly sweet cardboard. But it's lighter than I was expecting."

"Perspective only does so much," he countered well naturedly before grinning at Malcolm's fortune.

"They're a nice treat after some of the grease or heavy flavors that linger. Bit of fun after dinner. Are you going to eat anymore of anything?" The question came as Raylan started collecting and tossing his trash away - the purpose of it was only to know if he should start putting food up or not.

"Hm? Oh." He took a look at the various items on the table and considered it, then settled on "No," but did take another careful, experimental nibble of the cookie.

He watched Raylan for a moment.

"...Are you glad you came?"

Sure, they had a good day out, but he'd also gotten knee deep in the Whitly family.

"Net positive so far?"

With a nod, Raylan started pulling the cartons off the island and transferring them into the fridge. The question made him smile crookedly at Malcolm as he finished his task. "Yes. Very net positive."

That done, Raylan came back around to lean on the counter next to Malcolm with a reassuring lift of his features. "Even with your mother and sister and all of it. All I wanted was to be here with you and I am. What's not to be happy about?"

It wasn't chiding in the slightest, but Raylan was happy and saw no reason to keep it under his proverbial hat.

"Besides, there's no one out here who wants to kill me.. Yet. Less interruptions on my day to day life."

Malcolm slid off his stool, leaving the rest of the cookie sitting on the counter.

"There might be a person or two that wants to kill me, but they won't dare come around if you're here," he said, leaning up to press a lingering kiss to his mouth.

"Mm, that means that they have to know I'm here though," he answered after the kiss, keeping his face close to Malcolm's as an arm slid around him. Raylan wanted to protect Malcolm from all the terrible people and shit that came his way and while he knew that he couldn't stop all of them from eventually coming, knowing they were was a boon to them both.

"I'm sure it'll only take one example. Considering how many people are still talkin' about Tommy Bucks." Even the Mafia down there. "Just can't let shit go," he huffed with a crook of his lips.

Raylan leaned down to close the scant distance and kiss him again. "Mm, you're only giving me two signals. Cuddling on the couch and watching TV, or going to bed with no intention to sleep for at least a half hour," he hummed."

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