Re: log: pizza and smash - mal and alex
Mal had, at various moments, relished the idea of hurting other people. It was one of his key selfish impulses, and moving away from those feelings was still a work in progress. Of course he'd never relished the idea of hurting someone he cared about, like any sane human being, but there had definitely been times when he might have been less aware of his own strength, both in the possibilities his work opened up and in a certain amount of physical strength he had never possessed when he was younger. He still felt a little out of sorts with himself, a little disconnected. So he took more care than he really needed to when he hugged Alex back. He left a wide margin for error.
When Alex pulled back, his hands found their way into his pockets. He wasn't embarrassed, but he was sure he wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully, Alex gave him a concrete question to hang onto. This could be a good thing, having Alex upstairs, something solid and positive. It was something very small he could do, a drop in the bucket to pay back a thousand debts. Not that it was free entirely of selfishness itself. "Of course you can. It's just empty right now though. Fair warning." He gestured to the door to the apartment. It led out into the space occupied by the store, and the stairs were just down the hall.