Chapter Text
Chapter 21
There was a knocking at his door. Will glanced at his phone, debating whether or not to open it. It was early in the morning, and he didn’t have any messages. So it couldn’t be Alana, then. A couple of days had passed and she had called and texted frequently, and he had only responded so she wouldn’t show up at his door unexpectedly again. The same went for Beverly.
There was a faint fluttering of hope in his chest, and this was the only motivation for him to stand up and open the door.
Freddie Lounds smiled up at him brightly.
Will immediately went to shut the door again. She put her foot in the doorway.
“Fuck off,” he said monotonously, debating whether it was worth it to break Freddie’s foot.
“Will, hear me out. I think we can help each other,” she insisted, her foot not moving.
Will scoffed. “Yeah. What could you possibly help me with?”
Freddie edged the door open further with her foot so they could properly see each other again. “Let me inside, and I’ll tell you.”
Will tilted his head and sneered at her. “Does that usually work? You show up at people’s doorsteps, bullshitting that you can help them, and they let you in without further ado? Please.”
“Will, I’m serious,” she said meaningfully, her eyes wide.
“All you want is an interview.”
“Yes,” Freddie paused, “but I can give you something in exchange for that.”
“And what’s that?” Will said nastily, still considering breaking her foot.
“Information,” she said. “On the whereabouts of Hannibal Lecter.”
Will paused, his jaw set, before opening the door to let her in. “Why would I want to know where he is?” he said, walking to his living room as Freddie followed.
She sat down on his couch, smirking at him. “Come on, Will. I’d think the answer is obvious.”
Will took a place at the seat opposite her, and crossed his legs. “He tried to kill me.”
“Or so the story goes.” Freddie paused, crossing her legs as well and leaning forward. “That’s not really true, though, is it?”
Will stared her down, not saying a word, until finally she let out a laugh and leaned back. “Okay, let’s cut the shit. Do you want the information or not?”
Will was quiet for a while, watching her. “Tell you what. You give me the information, and I’ll decide whether it’s good enough or not to allow you to interview me.”
Freddie shook her head. “That’s not how –”
“I don’t care if that’s not how it works, Freddie. I have no reason to help you with anything. Make sure your information is good enough, and you’ll get what you want.”
Freddie pursed her lips, thinking. She glanced down and raised an eyebrow. “What happened to your hands?”
Will smiled. “I did some googling the other night. Like I said, I have no reason to help you with anything.”
Freddie grinned at him before nodding. “All right. The FBI aren’t telling you anything, are they?”
Will shook his head. “With Jack still in the hospital I’m not getting any information, no.”
Freddie looked at him thoughtfully for some time. “Lecter hasn’t left the country. They don’t even think he’s left the state. With the injuries he has, it’s not that surprising. But still… you’d think he’d flee as soon as he could. Why do you think he’s stayed, Will?”
Will was quiet for a moment, observing Freddie. Then he stood. “Yeah, that information wasn’t good enough for an interview. You can see yourself out.”
“I’d be worried if I were you, Will. Unless…” she paused, tilting her head. “Unless you’re waiting for him to come see you.”
Will raised an eyebrow. “Get out.”
Freddie stood up, sighing and brushing down her skirt. “All right. But think about this. This interview wouldn’t just be for me. It would also be a way for you to… reach out to him. To send him a message. Get my drift?”
Will smiled. “Get out of my house, Freddie.”
She smirked at him. “Call me when you change your mind.”
The door shut behind her, and he stood there in the living room for a long time, thinking about what she’d said despite himself.
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His days consisted of sleeping and lying on his couch. The feeling of constantly being watched accompanied those days, but he tried to ignore it as best as he could. He knew the FBI had enough reasons to think if Hannibal was going to turn up, it would be at his house. And if it wasn’t the FBI watching him – he didn’t let himself continue on that trail of thought for too long.
False hope was even worse than loneliness.
He still hadn’t gotten his dogs back. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t bring himself to go to his neighbour and collect them. It felt… final, somehow. No matter how much he missed them – and he missed them a lot – getting his dogs back made the fact that he was returning to his old life absolute. His life before Hannibal.
He couldn’t bring himself to accept that yet. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to.
But it was better to keep that in mind rather than expect Hannibal to show up at his doorstep at any given moment.
He needed to keep up appearances, of course – he’d had lunch with Alana a couple of times, drinks with Beverly. Couldn’t let anyone know how much he was actually missing Hannibal. How he had already known who Hannibal was before the Dragon got to them, although, admittedly it wasn’t that long before.
And speaking of appearances, he had agreed to meet with Beverly in a couple of hours. As little as he actually wanted to get out of the house, he was grateful it was Beverly this time and not Alana. Alana meant well, she really did, but she had that way of getting under his skin by being too sympathetic and too concerned for his wellbeing. With Beverly, he knew there was no bullshit. He could relax a fraction with her.
He was reconsidering that when a few hours later, she asked him, “So have you been drinking yourself to death again then?”
Will gave her a sour look, popping a piece of food into his mouth. Beverly raised her hands in defense. “Hey, don’t give me that look. It’s not like it’s an unusual thing for you, and I know how shitty you’ve been feeling.”
Will chewed and swallowed, avoiding her gaze. “No, I haven’t, actually. I’ve only had a couple of glasses since I got home from the hospital.”
Beverly nodded. “Good. I can’t have you being a wreck. Not right now.” She waved her fork around for emphasis. “You haven’t been coming into work, so I’ve been trying to think of what you could be doing all day long.”
Will raised an eyebrow. “I… haven’t felt up to working just yet.”
“I know. And that’s fine, for now. But soon Jack’s going to come out of the hospital, and things are gonna go back to normal again. You can’t stay in this… limbo, forever.”
Will snorted. “Back to normal? I don’t think that’s possible anymore.”
Beverly was quiet for a moment. “I guess that all depends on whether or not we’re going to find Hannibal Lecter.”
Will made a non-committal sound, avoiding her eyes.
“Do you want us to find him?” Beverly then asked quietly.
Will glanced up at her, frowning.
She sighed, leaning back in her chair. “Look, I would understand if you didn’t. I don’t know him like you do. And for all the evidence, everything he did… he’s… something other than human. Something we don’t have a name for yet. But I understand, Will… I know that he was more human with you than he ever was.”
Will still said nothing, looking down at his food and furiously fighting the burning feeling in his eyes.
“I’ll never pretend to understand how he felt for you,” Beverly continued. “But I do know that it means a lot, coming from someone like him. And I can’t imagine how much this all must suck for you.”
With that last sentence, she nudged his leg with her foot, making him look up at her. She gave him a sad smile, and Will forced a smile back.
“I’ve got a bottle of scotch at home, if you’re interested in getting shitfaced with company tonight,” Beverly then said, her voice carefully playful.
Will chuckled. “Nah, I think I’m good. Kinda…. want to keep my head clear for now.”
He knew how close he was to his breaking point right now, and he knew that alcohol would just encourage him to tip over.
“Fair enough. Like I said before, though….”
“I’ll call you when I feel like I’m starting to get bad. Yeah.”
She nodded, and they finished their meals in silence.
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Will stood on his porch, and paused when he saw the door was open. He clenched his fists, suspecting Freddie had taken the liberty of inviting herself in while he was gone. The house was quiet when he stepped inside, pitch-black, none of the lights having been switched on.
His heart gave a small flutter, and he crushed it down, quietly closing the door behind him and slowly walking towards the living room.
He saw a dark figure sitting on the couch, absolutely still. His breath stopped in his throat, and he switched the light on.
“Hello, Will,” Hannibal said, looking at him with his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap.
Will stared at him for a moment, his face grim, before walking to his drink’s cabinet and pouring them both a finger of whiskey.
He handed a glass to Hannibal before sitting down opposite him. Hannibal was looking as immaculate as ever, not a single crease in his suit and his hair neatly styled the way he always wore it. The only thing different about him were the circles under his eyes, which were more pronounced. Will took a breath and closed his eyes, leaning back into his chair.
“What the fuck, Hannibal.”
Hannibal tutted at the language, not giving any further response.
Will searched for words for a long time, until he finally uttered, “Explain.”
Hannibal tilted his head. “Are you angry with me, Will?”
Will scoffed, the sound desperate in his ears. “You left, Hannibal. You fucking drugged me and then you left. I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”
“I have never been far.”
“Whatever happened to our plan, huh? To leaving all of this when everything with Dolarhyde was done?”
“Will, I was hurt. Too hurt to travel, too hurt to do anything to help us. I needed time to recover.”
Will was quiet for a moment. “You’ve been watching me.”
Hannibal shook his head. “Chiyoh has, after I asked her to. I was in no position to be watching you myself.”
“Where have you been staying?”
Hannibal took a sip of his drink. “A safehouse.”
Will scoffed again. “How many of those do you have around the world?”
Hannibal smiled. “A few.”
Will leaned forward. “You could have at least told me what you were going to do. You fucking drugged me.”
“I had to. You and I both know that if I hadn’t, you would have never agreed to this. We both needed time to recuperate. I had been shot, Will, in case you had forgotten. However resilient I may be, even I need proper care and time to recover from that.”
Will’s hand was tight around his glass. “You could have at least left me a message.”
Hannibal shook his head. “That would have been too risky. It was already extremely risky for me to not leave the country, never mind send you a message when the FBI and Freddie Lounds have been watching so closely.”
Will shook his head wordlessly, his lips thin with anger.
Hannibal gave a small smile. “Do you want to punch me again, Will?”
Will clenched and unclenched his fists, considering this. “Yes. But I won’t.”
“Are you too afraid it’s going to end up like it did the last time we fought?” Hannibal’s voice was mocking, but Will knew better by now.
“No. I want you to acknowledge that you hurt me, for once. You’re not perfect, Hannibal – despite what everyone says, you’re human. You make mistakes.”
Hannibal was quiet for a long time before setting his glass on the table, standing up and walking over to Will. He reached out a hand, and Will stared at it, not moving.
“I’m sorry, Will. I’m sorry I hurt you. It’s the last thing I want to do,” Hannibal said softly, still holding his hand out. “I sometimes feel it is necessary to do certain things in order to achieve greater goals. I do not always take into account the pain I may be causing you. Forgive me, mylamisis.”
Will heaved a great sigh before taking Hannibal’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. Hannibal pulled him close, Will’s face in his shoulder. Hannibal’s hand ran along his cheek and they moved so they were facing one another. Will closed his eyes, relishing how unfathomably right it felt to be back together. He leaned forward and kissed Hannibal. The kiss was desperate and hungry, and Will pulled back before it could go too far.
“What now?” he whispered then. “I know you have a plan. What do we do?”
Hannibal smiled, before pulling away and walking to Will’s drink’s cabinet. “May I?”
Will nodded and Hannibal stood with his back to him, pouring them two more glasses of whiskey.
“I understand Jack is alive,” Hannibal then said, handing the drink to Will. The latter nodded.
“Good for him,” Hannibal said sincerely.
Will snorted, taking a sip and running his hands through his hair. “You were going to kill him.”
Hannibal nodded. “I’m glad I didn’t have to.”
There was a short silence, and Will took another drink. “How’s your stomach?” Will then asked quietly. He gently moved Hannibal’s shirt upwards to reveal his bandaged abdomen.
“Better, with many thanks to Chiyoh. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”
Will tilted his head, frowning. “I still need time to figure out the exact relationship between the two of you.”
Hannibal smiled. “I’m afraid it’s more complicated than simple words could explain.”
Will sat down again heavily. “You never answered my question.”
“Which one was that?”
Will snorted, his limbs feeling heavier by the second. “The one about… what we’re going to do.”
“You were right, Will. I do have a plan. You’re not going to like it, I’m afraid.”
Will frowned. “Why not?”
“Because I’m going to need you to be unconscious for a while.”
“I don’t think so,” Will snapped, slumping back on his seat. He paused, and looked at his drink. “Wait…”
“Let me take that,” Hannibal said, carefully taking the glass from Will’s hand before running his hands through Will’s hair.
“You…” Will swallowed, struggling to speak. “You put something… something in the drink. You… drugged me… again.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask for your forgiveness one more time, Will,” Hannibal said gently, regret in his voice.
“No…” Will murmured. “No, fucking… no.”
The last thing he saw before sinking into darkness was Hannibal’s face staring down at him, remorse in his eyes.
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Will had the strange feeling he was floating. He could feel himself moving, but he wasn’t moving his legs. His feet weren’t touching the ground. It was incredibly confusing and he wanted nothing more than to find out what exactly was happening to him, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t open his eyes. He heard a soft groan, and realised it had come from his own throat.
“He must be awake,” he heard a voice say, but it sounded like it was underwater. In fact, his head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, and concentrating on even a single sound was so difficult it threatened to summon a headache.
He had the strangest sensation of being lifted into the air, until he was set down on something soft and forgiving. He let out another moan, not being able to utter anything else.
“Hush, Will,” came a gentle voice. A voice he would recognise anywhere, at any time.
“Hannibal,” he said, or at least he tried to say. It came out more like, “Hunmmph.”
“Sleep, my love,” came the same voice that comforted Will to his bones. “Sleep.”
And so Will did exactly that.
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Will woke up in a strange bed, in a strange bedroom with strange light coming in through the windows. He was alone.
He tried to call out, but his throat was so dry all he could manage was a rasp. He glanced beside him and saw a conveniently placed glass of water on the bedside table. He reached out for it, almost drunkenly, and finished it all in one go.
He had an incredible headache. It was one of the worst ones he’d ever had, and it creeped into his skull, pounding and becoming worse with the minute.
He groaned, throwing the blankets off of himself and standing up with difficulty. As he made his way down the hallway and down the stairs, he realised he could smell bacon cooking.
He padded through the unfamiliar house, following the smell of food until he ended up in the kitchen. Hannibal was standing there with his back to him, cooking what appeared to be breakfast. Will had no idea what time it was, or even what day.
“Will,” Hannibal said, turning around and walking over to him. “How are you feeling?”
Will stood still for a moment as Hannibal did several small checks; feeling his pulse, checking his pupils.
“Headache,” Will managed to ground out then, and Hannibal pursed his lips before leaving the room, swiftly returning with a couple of pills which he handed to Will.
Will swallowed them with the glass of water Hannibal gave him, and sat down at the table shakily.
“Where are we?” he then asked, his voice still rough.
Hannibal waited a moment before answering. “Florence.”
Will was quiet for a long time. “Florence, Italy?”
Hannibal turned to him with a small smile. “Yes.”
Will closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “How.”
“With some time.”
“You drugged me. Again.”
Hannibal looked at him with regret. “I did.”
He joined Will at the table, setting down plates of bacon and scrambled eggs before them.
“Hannibal.”
“Yes?” Hannibal asked, looking up.
Will leaned forward, gaze piercing into Hannibal’s eyes. “If you ever drug me again, I will fucking kill you. And I mean that.”
Hannibal’s eyes narrowed a fraction, and he gave a nod. “Understood.”
“Why did you do it?”
Hannibal gestured to Will to dig in before answering. “I made it look like I abducted you. Surveillance footage will confirm that. Chiyoh acted as your nurse while I was your partner, and we transported you in a wheelchair.” Hannibal paused. “No one will know, Will. It is obvious that you are unconscious the entire time. Everyone will think I abducted you.”
Will was silent for a moment, processing this. “Why?” he then asked incredulously.
Hannibal raised an eyebrow, his eyes on his plate as he ate. “I know how much those relationships meant to you, Will. I didn’t want them to be ruined because of me.”
Will frowned, leaning back in his chair. The headache was starting to subside, thankfully, and he was able to concentrate better for it.
“Why Florence?”
Hannibal paused, and he looked up with a smile. “I’ve always liked Florence. I want to show it to you.”
“Where’s Chiyoh?”
“Gone. She’s helped me tremendously with everything, but now there’s nothing left for her to do. I assume she’s gone back to her own life.”
“How long have I been out for?”
Hannibal looked down again. “A few days. You woke up throughout, of course, and I continued to put you back to sleep.”
“Hannibal…”
Hannibal paused, tilting his head at Will. “Yes?”
“What… what does this mean? Is it over?” Will asked slowly.
Hannibal nodded. “It’s over. There’s nothing left to worry about, Will.”
Will stood, swaying slightly. Hannibal stood as well, hand going out automatically to steady Will.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Will then announced, and turned without another word.
Once he had finally located the bathroom, he pulled off the pajamas he was wearing, stepping under the hot water. He stood under the water for a long time, not doing anything. When he heard the door open he didn’t even look up.
A few moments later Hannibal opened the shower door. “Mind if I join you?” he asked quietly.
Will shrugged, not looking at him. Hannibal stepped in with him, and they were quiet for a while as the water ran over Hannibal.
“Will, what’s the matter?” Hannibal then asked gently, his hands on his Will’s arms.
Will shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess it’s… it’s a bit much, right now.”
Hannibal nodded. “Do you want me to leave you?”
Will shook his head, closing his eyes and letting the water run down his face. “I just… is this real?”
He felt Hannibal pull him close, his mouth at his ear. “This is real, Will. I am here. We are here together.”
Will bit his lip, and his arms snaked around Hannibal. “Thank fuck for that,” he whispered, and he felt rather than heard Hannibal chuckle.
Will leaned back abruptly. “Just so you know, I’m not okay with the whole… secretly feeding me people for months thing.”
Hannibal nodded solemnly. “I completely understand.”
“So don’t feed me people.”
Hannibal tilted his head. “But…”
Will grit his teeth. “But do whatever you want.” He softened. “It’s who you are, and I’m not going to try and change that. Just… promise me that they will always deserve it. Don’t murder innocent people.”
“I only kill people who deserve it, Will.” Hannibal sounded amused.
Will scoffed, not replying.
“Will,” Hannibal then said, sounding urgent. He gripped Will’s face. “It’s over, Will. We’re safe.”
Will looked at him for a long time, not saying anything. Even though he knew Hannibal would never say so, and if he didn’t know him so well he’d never be able to tell, he could see uncertainty growing in Hannibal’s eyes with every second that passed. Finally, he smiled, running his fingertips over Hannibal’s lips.
“I know,” he whispered, and the realisation of it finally sunk in, settled into his skin, the marrow of his bones. “I know.”
Hannibal tilted his head, his hand at the back of Will’s head. “Are you happy?” he asked quietly, and Will heard the unasked questions that came with it. Are you having second thoughts? Are you regretting this? Do you want to go back?
“I’m happy,” Will whispered, and he kissed Hannibal, deeply and with everything he had. He pulled away briefly, already breathless. “I love you,” he then said quietly.
Hannibal smiled, his face lighting up as he ran a hand through Will’s hair. “And I love you.”
“Is all of this going to work out? Are you sure we’re safe?” Will then asked, not being able to shake the fear.
Hannibal pursed his lips, thoughtful. “I don’t know with certainty. And if we’re not, we’ll simply move somewhere else. That is… if you’ll come with me.”
Will was quiet for a while. “I’d follow you anywhere.”
Hannibal leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the corner of Will’s mouth. He leaned back, his eyes hungry. “Turn around,” he murmured.
Will happily complied, hands pressing into the steamy glass of the shower door.
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“Freddie Lounds is dead,” Will said quietly.
“Is that so?” Hannibal said with a gleam in his eyes, the plastic suit covering his clothes shining in the low light of the living room.
Will sniffed. “Yep. And get this, she was murdered on the same day she came to visit me to ask me for an interview. What a coincidence.”
“A rather unfortunate one, for her.”
Will looked up at him. “Was this a parting gift to the FBI?”
Hannibal gave a small shrug. “Mainly to Jack. Although I must say I’d been planning on killing Miss Lounds for a while. The opportunity had finally presented itself.”
“Huh,” Will said, his tone revealing nothing.
Hannibal leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m going out, as you can see. Don’t wait up.” The last sentence was said with a discrete smile.
Will raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “I wasn’t planning on it.”
They considered each other for a while in silence.
“You want to know what he’s done to deserve me… visiting him tonight,” Hannibal then said quietly.
Will tilted his head. “I want to know what this person has done to deserve you murdering and then cannibalising them, yes.”
Hannibal’s eyes narrowed a fraction. He apparently decided to let Will’s rudeness slip, however. “He raped and murdered a twelve-year-old girl.”
Will blinked, swallowing harshly. “Police?”
Hannibal shook his head. “Incompetent. They haven’t managed to find him.”
“But you found him?”
Hannibal gave a gracious nod.
Will scoffed before sighing. “I’m not even going to ask how because you’ll give me some cryptic answer about ‘having your ways’. But what I don’t understand is why you’re acting like some vigilante killer. That’s not who you are.”
Hannibal tilted his head, taking a while to answer. “Because… I suppose I’m trying to take your feelings into consideration.”
Will stared at him. “How… thoughtful,” he said quietly.
Hannibal gave him an exasperated look for the sarcasm. He paused then, trailing a gloved finger down Will’s face before reaching out a hand.
“You know…” Hannibal said softly before pausing, seemingly in thought as he stared down at Will. “You are always welcome to join me,” he said carefully after a long moment.
Will looked at him for a long time, the dark feelings he had now accepted as part of his identity seeping into his bones. He gave a small shudder, remembering Dolarhyde. How good it had felt. How good it had felt sharing that experience with Hannibal. His common sense was screaming at him to say no, screaming at him to be disgusted by the mere thought, let alone the offer Hannibal was making him. Despite all this, he could feel a small smile tugging at his lips.
He looked up at Hannibal, who was waiting patiently, and took his hand, letting himself be pulled up. Hannibal gave him a rare grin, leaning forward to kiss him, before they both left the house and disappeared into the darkness of the night.