Chapter Text
Alana was in her office at Georgetown when Hannibal sent her a message to invite her to dinner.
She replied promptly. Of course she’d love to dine with Hannibal, always. But when Hannibal informed her the other guest was going to be Will she was caught off-guard. She knew Will had resumed his therapy with Hannibal –and that already had baffled Alana –but that he was going to be again a guest at Hannibal’s dinner table? After accusing him of being a cannibalistic serial killer?
So yes, Alana was surprised and a bit suspicious, but the dinner could help her shed some light on this ambiguous situation.
Hannibal had been vague when asked about his new-found relationship withWill and Will… him, she didn't understand anymore. Alana could admit to herself that Will was not her favorite person at the moment. But she was worried about him, so she was going to give him an opportunity to redeem himself.
She was really looking forward to this particular dinner.
***
The first reunion of the three of them since Will’s incarceration was bound to be awkward, there was no way around it. Alana had gone in prepared to play intermediary all night.
What she hadn’t expected was the level of camaraderie between Hannibal and Will, the ease with which they moved around each other. Nor to feel like she was the one intruding. It was a petty thought – and an ungenerous one, since she still claimed to have Will's best interest in mind – but when she saw the way they communicated with just their eyes, the little touches, she couldn’t totally suppress the juvenile need to point out she was Hannibal's partner.
Realistically, she knew her jealousy was unfounded, yet she couldn’t help the feeling of unease growing inside of her.
Freddie Lounds enigmatic words weren’t helping her mood either and, with that conversation in mind, her paranoia grew wings when Hannibal dragged them all into a contorted debate about paradoxes. How loving something and eating it could not be mutually exclusive?
“Freddie Lounds thinks the two of you are a paradox.” she all but blurted out.
The two men stopped talking and turned to stare at her as one. Alana lickedher lips, a bit unnerved.
That wasn’t how she had intended to broach the subject, but there was no way back now.
“She sees something no one else sees.” she went on, looking purposefully at Will and feeling a twisted sort of pleasure in seeing the man grimace at her words.
“What’s that?” asked Will, eyes averted.
Alana slowly chewed her food, glancing at Hannibal, but the man’s expression was the picture of polite interest.
“That neither ofyou is the killer she’s writing about, but together you might be.” she answered.
She picked up her wine glass and took slow, deliberate sips, looking from one man to the other, trying to decipher their reactionsat the same time.
Hannibal’s face showed no visible distress at the notion, maybe mild amusement.
Will picked up his own wine glass without comment. He looked skittish and closed off, but there was nothing unusual about it.
Alana narrowed her eyes, frustrated at her incapacity to dissect the emotions on Will’s face. This was one of the reasons one shouldn’t try to psychoanalyze their friends – personal feelings always got in the way.
“Freddie Lounds must consider you a bland interview subject, if she already resorted to fiction.”Hannibal was saying, smiling to Alana and then looking to Will.
Hannibal didn’t lose his pleasant smile, but when Will stared openly back at him and held his gaze for a few moments, Alana felt a shift in the mood.
“Well, she won’t be fenced in by something as malleable as the truth. Freddie has no boundaries.” cut in Alana, wanting to dispel the strange atmosphere between the two men.
“Someone with no boundariesis a psychopath.” remarked Will. “Or ajournalist.” he added with a smile that probably aimed to be witty, but instead looked discomfited.
“Freddie isn’t the only one without boundaries.” she replied without missing a beat.
Alana was aware she sounded aggravating and maybe even a bit rude, but she was coming to a point where she didn’t care about form anymore. Like a tidal wave, her anxiety had kept rising during the entire evening and she needed some clear answers before she drowned.
“Your relationship doesn’t seem to know many.” she said in acontemplative tone of voice, inclining her head toward Will.
She noticed the other man tense up,but ignoring Will’s reaction for the moment, she moved her attention over to Hannibal. “Patient and therapist. Friend and enemy.” she elaborated, opening her eyes wide. The portrait of innocence.
“Crossing boundaries is different than violating them.” pointed out Hannibal, voice even milder than hers.
Alana couldn’t contain a snort. She bowed her head, more anacknowledgment of the man’s ability to evade tricky questions than in surrender.
Will, however, was suspiciously silent, and he was avoiding everybody’s eyes.
“Boundaries will always be subject to negotiation,” she said, staring at Will. Daring him to speak out. “It’s just hard to know where you are witheach other.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Alana noticed Hannibal put down his cutlery and gaze at Will, too.
Their dinner was rapidly evolving into a staring match and, in another context, Alana would have thought this entire charade ridiculous. As it was,she was almost holding her breath.
“We know where we are with each other.” said Will, looking straight at her. “Shouldn’t that be enough?”
Alana felt her mouth start to go slack and pressed her lips closed.
She looked at Hannibal in time to see the man incline his head ever so slightly in Will’s direction and then look back at Alana, like a spectator of a tennis match. Waiting for her rebuttal.
She had none. Even worse, she felt Hannibal’s heavy gaze on her, pinning her down while the water submerged her, daring her to get free from social constructs and just speak out her ugly thoughts. It used to light her on fire, being on the receiving end of such challenge – now she felt like she was suffocating.
Alana breathed out an incredulous laugh and resumed her dinner and, after amoment, she heard the other follow her cue.
As much as she had looked forward to this dinner, now she couldn’t wait for it to end. To take Hannibal to bed and quell her insecurities.
***
Dessert was a dark chocolate souffle served with Arabic coffee. Coffee that Will spilled all over his shirt.
He cursed viciously under his breath and jumped up from his seat, pinching the shirt to move the wet fabric away from his skin, feeling his body grow warm all at once.
“Are you hurt?” asked Hannibal, at his side a moment later.
“I’m fine.” he said with a grimace. Hannibal didn’t look convinced.
In the meantime, Alana had rounded the table.
“Are you sureyou are fine? That coffee was pretty hot.” she said, concern written all over her face.
Sweet, caring Alana, severe but just – most times. Will wanted to laugh.
“I’m sure. It doesn’t burn too much.” he lied. It hurt, but Will had felt worse in his life.
He pulled up his shirt to examine the damage. A – luckily small – patch of skin of his abdomen had turned angry red, but it didn’t look too serious.
Hannibal had to agree, because he said, “It looks superficial.” then, touching Alana’s arm, he added. “I have a first aid kit in my upstairs bathroom.”
“I’ll go fetch it.” offered Alana swiftly, already moving.
Will sent her awry smile when the woman squeezed his shoulder on her way. When he heard the clicking sounds of Alana’sheels on the polished wood of the stairs, Will’s eyes fixed on Hannibal’s face.
Now that they were alone, Hannibal was exhibiting a openly speculative expression on his face.
“You did it on purpose.” Hannibal stated in a hushed voice.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” replied Will softly.
Will strained his ears, but he couldn’t hear any sound coming from upstairs. He’d have to be quick.
He stepped closer to Hannibal and put his hands on the other man’s chest, raising his head in silent invitation. Hannibal’s right hand cradled Will’s cheek and he caressed Will’s lower lip with his thumb. Will opened his mouth to suck the finger, satisfied when Hannibal’s eyes grew darker.
Still staring at Hannibal’s face, Will started to unbutton his shirt, from top to bottom.
When Hannibal put his other hand on one of his nipples, pinching it, Will hissed and pushed into the touch.
“I’m sure you don’t.” purred Hannibal in response to Will’s denial. Before Will could make any come back, Hannibal slid his left hand under Will’s shirt to the small of his back and drew him even closer.
Using his thumb to open Will’s mouth, Hannibal kissed him languidly, so Will spread out his hands over Hannibal’s waist and just let himself be kissed. In the background, Will heard Alana’s heels once again on the stairs and took a step back with a sigh. Apparently Hannibal had different ideas and, ignoring Alana’s approach, he forced Will’s mouth open again and slid two fingers inside.
Will knew Hannibal loved his mouth, so he sucked hard on them while groping Hannibal’s clothed dick. The other man wasn’t hard, but Will thought that, given a couple more minutes, he could get him there. Even if he was older than Will, Hannibal had lots of stamina.
Hannibal’s lips peeled from his teeth in a silent snarl and Will smiled around the fingers in his mouth, already tasting victory. It made him feel powerful, to know he could crack, even a bit, Hannibal Lecter’s perfect façade.
They stared at each other in silent challenge for a beat. Then, almost as one, they took a few unhurried steps away from each other – just a moment before Alana came in sight.
“Sorry for the wait, I couldn’t find it at first.” Alana was saying, showing the first-aid kit in her hands.
She looked at the two of them with a curious tilt of her head, lingering a moment too long on Will’s face, but Will was positive she wasn’t seein ganything incriminating. Hannibal appeared as his usual composed self and even if Will appeared a bit flustered, he could always blame it on the pain.
“Don’t worry about it.” retorted Will with a wince only partially faked.
“Thank you for the assistance, Alana.” said Hannibal amiably, caressing her hand when he took the first-aid kit from her.
“You are very welcome.” smiled Alana and just like that she had forgotten about Will’s presence.
Will bit back a snort–a manipulation so plain and yet so effective, even o na smart woman like Alana Bloom.
Will endured Hannibal’s ministrations in silence, relieved by the fresh sensation of the ointment Hannibal was spreading on his over-heated skin.Once he was done dressing the injury, Hannibal asked “May I offer you afresh shirt? You must feel uncomfortable in yours.”
Biting back a smile at the – lame but plausible – excuse, Will played along, eyeing his sodden shirt with a grimace.
“Sounds good. Thank you.” answered Will, lowering his head and observing Hannibal through his eyelashes. Hannibal inclined his head in a little bow, eyes crinkled at the corner but face stoic.
“Please, make yourself comfortable, Alana. We’ll be back shortly.” said Hannibal to the woman.
Alana looked about to argue, but then she had to realize there wasn’t anything else for her to say, so she just nodded her assent.