Text Overflow: It's just a flesh wound

[tinstar]

[Continued from: here]

[Raylan took advantage of having several hours to bring his hotel room back into something resembling tidiness, as well as taking a shower and grabbing a nap - Sleep wasn't something anyone got a lot of around Malcolm Whitly, but he'd long learned how to live and work on smaller amounts of sleep.

Dressed but with his button up open and no shoes on his feet, Raylan answered the door with a pull of a smile.] Managed to make it one piece I see. C'mon in. [ He shut the door behind him as he continued.] Flight okay?

Comments

[tinstar]

[The faint pinch between Raylan's eyebrows eased a fraction but didn't vanish completely as he shifted his head the slight bit to be looking at Malcolm straight on. As much as he wanted this to be easy, for both their sakes, it wasn't. He wasn't.]

Why'd you really fly down here? [Speaking of surprises.

Not stupid enough to assume he knew, Raylan could only guess. He wanted to hear it from Malcolm anyway - there wasn't a better way to beat back doubts than verifying, and Malcolm hadn't lied to him yet.]

[abrightboy]

You invited me. [Matter-of-factly, but he could only hold the straight face for half a second and he laughed lightly at himself.] Okay. What I told you was true. About not wanting to tell anyone at home that I was injured at all, much less worried about the injury. I really don't want them to start telling me to wait in the car again. But.... [He reached up and threaded his fingers through Raylan's hair.] When you joked that I should come down here, I jumped on it because I wanted to see you again.

[tinstar]

[Always a sucker for levity, Raylan couldn't stop his face from breaking into a huffed smile as he rolled his eyes, and it lingered there as Malcolm continued. He knew Malcolm was smart enough that, if he really had to, he could have figured out how to tend to the wound himself, the highly motivated learner that he was and the exception to that wasn't missed.

Raylan took another deep breath as his head moved into Malcolm's hand a little. Yes, he liked that touch.]

If you hadn't, I don't know if I'd ever have come to New York again. [Said with a grateful note because Raylan knew how he was. He was a runner, and had been since he was a kid.] Something about you and.. where you come from, how New York is.. lets me do this. You're not stained with the bullshit of Kentucky. The religion, the phobia.. the Toxic Masculinity. [Malcolm had been right when he said that it was a poison on the place.]

[abrightboy]

[Oh, that pleased him. He smiled, running his fingers slowly through Raylan's hair again.]

Does that mean you will come back to New York now? Because if you won't, I'll have to come back to Kentucky again, [a teasing warning; he's not just going to give you up at this point, Raylan Givens.] and we've seen how much I don't thrive among the people here. [He'd pointed out the Raylan the first time he came to Kentucky that he was used to getting shit from a certain type of men for coming across as effete. He was an intellectual, he dressed nicely - a little too nicely for some tastes; the fact that he couldn't shut up to save his own life in most situations did not help him ingratiate himself with people who decidedly did not want to be known. He'd learned a lesson in the bar that morning, but it was too late to be applied in this town. He knew Raylan wouldn't let him get hurt if he could help it, but he didn't want to put Raylan in that position.] Though I do like your backyard. You can't just go and shoot bottles in New York City.

[tinstar]

[The subtle tonal threat had his smile spreading at the playful challenge underneath it.]

I suppose it does. [If Raylan had his way, he'd spare Malcolm all the uglinesses of Harlan County and where he came from.] But no more Galas. [He cautioned with a finger.]

The space out here is pretty nice. S'why I like Miami. You can get outta town in an hour and get a whole lotta nothin'. Lotta swamp land too, though I avoid those parts unless I have to. But I'm sure New York has something worth it, beyond you. Bet they have batting cages too.

[abrightboy]

No more Galas. [A promise.] But I'm sure there are batting cages. Baseball is popular in New York. Gil loves it. [He ran his fingers through Raylan's hair again.] We'll find something to do that you'll enjoy. Maybe we can go to a baseball game. Yankee Stadium? I've never been to one.

[tinstar]

[Raylan's smile got broader, more like a little boy lighting up at an idea.]

I'd like that. I've always wanted to see a game in Yankee Stadium.

[He rubbed his hand down Malcolm's side and up again as his stomach rumbled.]

C'mon. I hear some fried chicken and warm beer calling my name.