"Today's schedule is a short one. You have two recordings of your show this morning to get done, and then at six this evening you have a Charity auction to attend." A messy looking man read from the diary he had in his hand.

"Ah, I'd forgotten all about that." The other answered, making a disgruntled face. "If I hate anything more, it's a room full of people competing with each other to look like the better person."

"I could make excuses for your absence?"

"Not necessary, I've never missed a charity auction or function. Will you be coming with me Will?"

"Wouldn't it be better to take a date of some kind? I'm hardly the best company." Will Graham put the diary back into the bag on his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're ready for you Hannibal." A crew member said in a rushed manner before heading back toward the rest of the crew.

Waving a hand Hannibal shooed the makeup artist as she tried to add the finishing touches and got to his feet.

"I'll pick you up at half five, no arguments" Hannibal straightened out the gray shirt he was wearing before putting on his plain white apron. "Oh and wear something smart..." He looked over Will and walked over to the kitchen area to get ready for filming.

Frowning Will looked down at his clothes. He was wearing dark jeans, a plaid shirt and worn sneakers. He didn't think there was anything wrong with the way he dressed.

Still frowning a little he wandered over to where the rest of the now unwanted crew stood to watch the recording.

"AND...ACTION."

Everyone hushed as Hannibal worked his culinary magic, talking through the people at home on how to make some kind of lamb dish. Will had never been much of a cook, he knew enough to live though. He also knew how to work the buttons on a microwave.

He watched them stop and start for a little longer before getting the iPad from his bag. As much as he could stand here and watch all day, he still had work to do. As Hannibals' manager he had to check his emails several times a day for potential TV appearances and invites to charity gigs. Everything had to go through him first.

"How're you doing new boy?" Will looked up, welcomed by a cup of coffee in his face. Taking it he smiled a little.

"Okay... Slowly getting used to all this." Will took a swig from his coffee, grateful for the caffeine. All these early mornings and late nights were killing him.

Beverly Katz smiled widely back at him. "Well I'm glad to see you've survived the first two weeks, that's a record."

Will grimaced slightly and looked up at Hannibal, who was talking to the camera. He'd heard so many rumours that the mans last two managers' had met misfortune, one dead and the other missing. He'd been the only one brave enough to take up this job.

'Maybe I should just accept, not argue and just go tonight without any fuss...' He thought to himself; feeling that that would be the best thing to do.

"Hey Beverly... Do you mind helping me out later? I need a suit..." Will hated asking for things, but he had nothing for such elegant functions and Beverly was the one that handled all the outfits for Hannibals' show here.

"Oh man... I've been wanting to get my hands on you since we first met."

Will gave her an odd look, unsure on how to interpret that.

"I didn't mean you you, I just meant your clothes." She grinned. "Give me your address, I already know what you'll be wearing."

Will shuffled feeling a little worried now as he swapped numbers and wrote down his address for her, what had he gotten himself into?


"I knew it! A perfect fit." Beverly walked around him, straightening out his jacket properly and smoothing out creases.

Will stood in front of his full length mirror, he felt weird; this was the first time in a long while he'd worn a suit.

Beverly had opted for a light gray suit, with a black shirt and black shoes. She'd decided against a tie after trimming his beard and taming his hair.

"Please tell me you have contacts, the glasses are a no-go."

He made a small noise of protest as she took them off, frowning a little as everything became blurry.


Hannibal Lecter pulled up outside his new managers' house. It had pleased him greatly when young Will had agreed to go out with him tonight, and with no arguments.

The last two had been demanding, rude. He hated rudeness more than anything else, couldn't stand it.

Walking up the front steps he rang the bell, a small smile curving the corners of his mouth as he waited.

The smile faltered, however, as Beverly Katz opened the door.

"Hey Mr. L, come in." She stood to the side to let him pass. "Will is wrestling with a contact at the moment, he should be down in a minute." She gave him a smile.

He smiled back, though his eyes didn't. "Oh? And what may you be here for Miss Katz?"

She laughed a little as she packed some items that seemed to be hers, into a bag. "William needed my magic touch, though I think he kind of regretted it when I told him he had to comb his hair and put contacts in."

Hannibal raised an eyebrow as he looked at her a little confused, only turning when he heard their topic of conversation coming down the stairs.

"It's Will not William, and I was fine putting the contacts in... after the fourth attempt."

Hannibal was a little taken back at the drastic change in the man in front of him, he hadn't expected him to of made so much effort.

"What'cha think? Doesn't he look like model?" Beverly said smiling again as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "Right I'm off, I have a job tonight. You can keep the suit Will."

Will saw her off before turning back to Hannibal. "Sorry, I'm running a little late. Let me just grab my phone and keys, then we can leave."


Will hadn't realised the charity event was going to be such a big one. As soon as they'd arrived the paparazzi jumped all over them- Will ducked his head and tried to get through the herd, but Hannibal pulled him back, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"Smile, you won't want pictures of you in tomorrow's newspapers looking miserable."

Gulping nervously, Will smiled a little. He felt like he'd been standing there for a ages before Hannibal allowed them to move on through and into the Hotel where the auction was being held.

"I think I've gone blind." Will said once they'd entered the lobby of the hotel, blinking his eyes rapidly. He really wished he'd brought his glasses with him.

"That was nothing." Hannibal smirked at him as they walked toward the large hall that had been rented for the auction.

Grabbing two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter, Hannibal handed one to Will.

"Hannibal, you came!"

Will turned as someone came up to them, looking as she exchanged greetings with Hannibal.

"Don't I always come Alana, I'm just too charitable not too." He smiled at her as she laughed a little.

"Oh, excuse me." Hannibal said, placing a hand on Wills shoulder "Alana this is Will Graham, Will this is Dr. Alana Bloom. She's the one that organises all these charity events, she's very much a pure hearted angel."

Will smiled and shook her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about your charity work."

Alana blushed a little and waved a hand. "I haven't done much at all, you two are flattering me too much."

"Would you excuse me please, I have a little hunting to do." Hannibal said, patting Wills' shoulder and walking off amongst the small chatting groups of people.

Both stood silently for a second or two before Alana spoke up again.

"So are you a close friend of Hannibals'? He hasn't brought anyone with him for a while."

Shaking his head, Graham answered. "I'm just his manager, but he insisted I come with him tonight."

"So you're the one that took the cursed job!" Alana laughed a little. "Sorry, it's just Hannibal came to me after his second manager went missing. He had convinced himself that he was cursed and that every manager he'd have was going to end up the same."

Will quirked an eyebrow and looked over to Hannibal, who was talking to someone who seemed rooted to the conversation while he, in typical fashion, seemed bemused.

"Well as I've been told, I've broken the record." He looked away and back at Alana and smiled again. "If I last, I hope I get a reward for breaking the curse."

Both shared a little chuckle, Will glancing over to Hannibal again.

"Hm... I hope you don't mind me saying, but I've noticed you don't look people in the eyes when you talk."

Will's smile dropped a little at the comment, no one had said anything about his tendencies to avoid eye contact for a while. He'd gotten better at talking to and being touched by people, but at one time in his life, things like that he avoided wholeheartedly.

"Sorry, maybe I shouldn't of said anything! It's a bad habit of mine. I'm a psychiatrist."

"No, it's fine." He shook his head, smiling at her as reassurance. "You're not the first psychiatrist to analyze me, and I doubt you'll be the last. The 'gift' I decided not to use is something people in your field of work rarely see."

Alana opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted, much to Wills' relief.

"I'm sorry. Shall we find a table Will?" Hannibal smiled at his manager and steered him away from Alana. "Thank you for keeping him company."

He found an empty table at the back of the room, other were sure to join them but for now they were alone.

Lecter looked over the man seated next to him, who was obviously in his own world.

"How do you know Dr. Bloom?" Will asked, startling Hannibal slightly.

"We used to work together. But I wasn't getting any younger, and decided to work on my first love and open a restaurant. And now I'm here four years later, with six 5 star restaurants and my own TV show."

Will didn't say anything, just kept staring into space as he listened. He'd known all about Hannibal Lecters rise to fame, but nothing about the man before.

"Why do you ask?" Hannibal Lecter tilted his head slightly, studying the other man's face.

"I just remembered something from the past when talking to Dr. Bloom." He shrugged a little. "I think I might of attended one of your lectures when I studied Criminal Psychology, before I dropped out that is."

Lecter narrowed his eyes slightly, many people had forgotten that he was even a associated with that world. He had no need to be so cautious about this drop out though.

"Hm, and why did you drop out?" Even though he had no need to be cautious, he wanted to find out more.

"I was different." Will simply said and turned to the other man, smiling a little. "I don't regret it, I've managed to keep my sanity because of my choice."

The rest of the night Hannibal thought about Wills' words, his interest in the boy was increasing more and more.

He'd also managed to bag himself a large black stag statue, and knew exactly where he was going to put it.