A Very Hannibal Christmas
I do not own Hannibal in any way.
A/N - I have no clue what motivated me to write this.
Hannibal was leaving his office when he noticed someone left in his waiting room.
The young woman stood up and straightened her jacket. "Should I have made an appointment?" she asked him.
"Family doesn't require an appointment. It's been a while Cassandra", he said.
"Could we talk inside?" she asked him.
He unlocked the door and they went inside. "What are you doing here?" Hannibal asked her.
"My…our dad died", she told him.
"I'm sorry to hear that", he said.
Cassie rolled her eyes. "I knew that you would act like it was nothing. But I guess that's what happens when you have a psychopath serial killer for a brother", Cassie said.
Hannibal smiled.
She was the only one who knew everything about him and it didn't bother her.
"Technically, you are my cousin, Cassandra", Hannibal said.
"We were raised as siblings, Han", she said, using her nickname for him.
There was a knock on the office door.
"No, don't get up", Hannibal told her. He walked over to the door and opened it. "Will, please come in", Hannibal said.
"I can come back later if this is a bad time", Will said.
"It's fine, I was just leaving", Cassie said.
"Will, this is my sister Cassandra. Cassandra, Will Graham", Hannibal introduced.
"Sister?" Will asked, "You never mentioned you had a sister".
"Technically we're cousins. In the future, you can just call me Cassie", Cassie told him.
"Cassandra, do you have somewhere to stay?" Hannibal asked her.
"I figured I'd just get a hotel", she said.
"Nonsense, you can stay with me", Hannibal said.
"Han, you really don't have to do that", Cassie said.
"I won't take no for an answer", Hannibal told her.
*2 years later *
Will entered his house to find Christmas decorations everywhere.
Cassie had struck.
There were stockings on the mantel for all the dogs and stuffed with treats.
He sighed.
Cassie needed to stop picking his locks.
He found a note from her that said, "Han and I are having Christmas Eve dinner tonight and I would love it if you would join us".
Will sighed and grabbed a bottle of wine before leaving the house once again.
Cassie entered the kitchen and found Hannibal cooking. "Please tell me that's animal or I'm not eating it", she said.
"I promise you it's entirely animal", he told her.
"It better be. I may accept that you are a psychopathic serial killer, but one thing I will never understand is your penchant for human flesh", Cassie said.
"It's really quite…" Hannibal said.
She put her hands over her ears and said, "I don't want to hear anything about eating people".
The doorbell rang.
"Just in time", Hannibal said.
"Saved by the doorbell", Cassie muttered. She made her way to the front door. "Will! Please, come in!" Cassie said.
Will stepped inside and gently hugged Cassie. "I brought this", Will said, handing her the wine bottle.
"This should go perfectly with what Han is cooking", Cassie said.
Will followed her into the kitchen where she poured the three of them a glass of wine.
"Will, Cassandra, why don't you go into the dining room?"' Hannibal suggested.
The two entered the dining room which was covered in green and red tinsel.
"Is it just me or is your brother trying to push us together?" Will asked Cassie.
She giggled as Will pushed in her chair. "Hannibal has always disapproved of my relationships in the past", Cassie told him.
"Because they all weren't good enough for you", Hannibal said, entering the room.
Cassie's cheeks burned as Hannibal placed the food in front of them.
He took his seat at the head of the table. "To friends and family", Hannibal said, raising his wine glass.
The three toasted and settled into eat.
Halfway through dinner, Will's phone rang. He got up and answered it. He came back into the dining room. "There's been another one", Will told Hannibal.
Hannibal stood up and put his napkin on his plate.
"But…but it's Christmas Eve…" Cassie said.
"I'm so sorry, Cassie", Will said.
"It's fine…" she said, pushing back from the table. She grabbed the plates and started to clear the table.
"Cassandra", Hannibal said.
She set the plates in the sink and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "I'm fine, Hannibal", she sniffled, "Just go". When she heard the front door close, she broke down. All she wanted was one normal night.
She woke up the next morning and went downstairs. She could smell something cooking in the kitchen. She made her way into the kitchen and found Hannibal making her favorite chocolate chip pancakes.
"Good morning", Hannibal said.
"We were wondering when you going to wake up. Merry Christmas", Will told her. He slid a box over to her.
She opened it and found a cell phone battery. "Umm…thanks", she said.
"Both your brother and I took the batteries out of our phones. No calls today", Will said.
"Now, who's hungry?" Hannibal asked.
They were an unconventional family, but they were family nonetheless.