Malcolm x Raylan: Cowboy Surprise

[tinstar]

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.

Comments

[tinstar]

"Only if you don't ignore the distances," he replied with a playful sense that didn't survive long in the face of Malcolm's expression and the idle touch. Then he got two more ideas to tangle with, in rapid succession and he couldn't help but feel like they were dancing around something important to Malcolm.

"I don't even know what a morning suit is." First things first. "You okay with me going to bat sometimes instead?"

[abrightboy]

"Of course, if that's what helps." A beat. "....If you want company, though, you can text me. If you don't, though... I get that. That's okay too," he said matter-of-factly.

[tinstar]

Raylan narrowed one eye a little. "You didn't ask me about women because you're missin' it, right? You didn't exactly expect this, didn't make a.." What'd he say? "A conscious decision to not be with them anymore either."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm laughed in surprise.

"Oh my god, no. I never... had a preference either way, you know."

He held out his hand. "Give me your phone."

[tinstar]

He wasn't sure how to take that sudden laugh. Leaning back a little, Raylan fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it over, opting to wait and see what Malcolm was going to show him like it might change something.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm's phone was turned off, and he wanted to show Raylan what a morning suit looked like.

He scrolled through images until he found one he thought was representative and held it out for Raylan.

"That's a morning suit. They have the tail coats, see?"

[tinstar]

This is how it was going to be - them having two or three conversations at once.

Raylan looked at the picture, eyebrows curling up. "That is.. something." He glanced over at Malcolm. "Regular suits aren't an option, are they."

[abrightboy]

"Of course they are. We can get married in jeans, if we want to." He tilted the phone so Raylan could take it back. "Would you rather something like that?"

[tinstar]

"I think getting married in jeans might actually kill your mother," he chuckled. "But a tuxedo feels.. like something you wear to a gala or something and 'morning suits' looks like somethin' we'd wear at.. Polo. Or meeting the Queen. I'd be more comfortable in a suit. I.. shouldn't tell you about what I wore at my last wedding, should I."

Surprise, it was a suit.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm considered him.

"...Flip flops?"

He was trying to think of something that Raylan would be embarrassed to mention.

[tinstar]

Raylan laughed. "If we're gonna do that, we might as well go full shorts and hawaiian shirts too. But I will be buyin' another pair once we get down there. They're comfortable. We don't have to match, ya know. Complimentary colors and accents but.. Maybe we find something as uniquely suited to us as each other, hmm?"

[abrightboy]

"...I think I want to match you. Maybe with different accents," he said as he considered it. "What kind of suits did you have in mind?"

[tinstar]

If he hadn't already been smiling, that would have done it. As it was, his smile broke into a softly surprised little quirked half grin. Malcolm's attention made him feel like he was part of conversations, instead just something to talk at about all his decisions like Winona often had.

"Something with a waistcoat maybe. Duster length suit jacket. I dunno if you'd call that a morning suit or not. The shape of that back end of the jacket changes everything. I don't want it to look like I came in off work to marry you on break or somethin'. Marryin' you isn't casual." He didn't want it to look like it was casual either.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm grinned. "Well, we can get them made to whatever specifications we want," he said. "We can make something that's unique to just us."

[tinstar]

Raylan hummed and leaned in to steal another kiss before taking his phone back and dropping it beside them. "I'm glad we got time on it. It'll let me think."

He stole another kiss for the hell of it before pulling back. "I feel like maybe watchin' some TV and then goin' to bed, what'd'ya say?"

[abrightboy]

"Yeah, that sounds nice," he agreed, grabbing one more kiss before getting up from Raylan's lap, then offering him a hand up.

Once inside, he poured a glass of scotch, holding it up towards Raylan. "Do you want one of these or another beer?" he asked.

[tinstar]

"One of those, please," he said with a long finger directed at the glass as he tossed his beer bottle in the trash. "Feels like we oughta celebrate a little, right?" Grinning, he came over to collect it. "You gonna join me or should we spike a cup of tea."

He wasn't teasing. Tea was something Malcolm did and a shot wasn't a glass. Couldn't hurt that much.

[abrightboy]

"I will have one," he said with a broad smile, pouring it. One glass wouldn't hurt much. He collected it up and followed Raylan to the couch to curl up with him.

"What's good?" he said of the TV. "Is there a baseball game on?"

[tinstar]

"Let's see," he started as he sat down, trading his glass momentarily for the clicker so he could move through the menu, elbows leaning on his knees as he did so. He didn't get far before he ran across something better.

Raylan looked over after highlighting one 'Red River'. 1948 by the summary. "How do you feel about old westerns?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm grinned as he wandered over to sink onto the couch next to Raylan.

"I feel like I'd like to get to know them better," he replied, taking a sip of his drink.

[tinstar]

Raylan grinned in return at that answer and happily clicked it on so he could lean back into the couch, slouching down a little so Malcolm could fit against him more comfortably. As the credits started rolling, Raylan couldn't help but keep his smile.

"I used to watch Rawhide and Ponderosa when I'd go to Aunt Helen's. I've always liked westerns. Louie Lamour books too."

[abrightboy]

"I would not have guessed that about you," Malcolm teased, snuggling up to him. "What's this one about?"

[tinstar]

Raylan flashed him a playfully stern look that broke into a smile as he took a sip of his scotch.

"A cattle drive up from Texas, I think it is, ultimately. John Wayne is the main guy, finds a kid along the way and takes him in, raises him as his own. Been a while since I seen it myself."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm set his glass on the coffee table when it was empty, draping the now free hand over Raylan's knee.

The movie was fascinating, less for the subject matter or the old style of acting than for the insight into Raylan's childhood entertainment and how it had impacted him.

But being awake for over 48 hours was a stretch, even for a chronic insomniac who'd been living a roller coaster two days. The warmth and the scotch and the gentle pace of the film had Malcolm nodding off without really realizing he was sinking into sleep.

[tinstar]

Raylan's glass followed soon after and they shifted a little so he could put one leg up on the couch, reclining them both a bit more. There was a reason Raylan had suggested going to bed after a little TV and while he did love Red River, it probably wasn't the best thing to put on with the intent of actually getting in a bed.

Raylan didn't fall asleep in front of the tv often, but Malcolm's weight and the eventual steady breathing that he didn't quite consciously register as sleep worked his magic on him too. He hadn't been up for 48 hours straight but he was running on 4 hours sleep over the last two days and he didn't realize he was slipping into unconsciousness soon enough to do anything about it.

The last thought he had was 'We'll get up to go to bed in a few minutes', then nothing.